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Eight Days – The Mystery of Jeongjo’s Assassination 8일 – 정조암살미스터리

Genre: Sageuk, Political, Thriller
Episodes: 10
Broadcast network: Channel CGV (Cable)
Broadcast period: 2007-Nov-17 to 2007-Dec-16
Air time: Saturday & Sunday Night, 11 pm
Producer: 박종원 (Park Jong-Won)
[우리들의 일그러진 영웅 (My Twisted Hero, 1992), 영원한 제국 (The Eternal Empire, 1995), 송어 (Rainbow Trout, 1999)]
Writer: 김원석 (Kim Won-Seok)
[토지 (Land, KBS 1986), 지리산 (Mt. Jiri, KBS 1988), 임꺽정 (Im Kkeok-Jeong, SBS 1996)]
Music: 전창엽 (Jeon Chang-Yeop)
[바람의 화원 (Painter in the Wind), 신의 저울 (The Scale of Providence)]

Soompi thread

CAST:

* Kim Sang-Joong as King Jeongjo
* Jung Ae-Ri as Lady Hyegyeong
* Park Jung-Chul as Jung Yakyong
* Lee Seon-Ho as Jang In-Hyung
* Hee Won as Sohyangbi
* Kim Seong-Gyeom as King Yeongjo
* Kim Gi-Hyeon as Kim Jeongsu
* Park Chan-Hwan as Shim Hwanji
* Kim Hee-Jeong as Queen Mother Jeongsun
* Lee Dae-Yeon as Moon Inbang
* Jo Han-Joon as Crown Prince Sado

BRIEF INFO:

Particularly in these days, when the sa (history) part of sageuk has as much credibility and importance as a scriptwriter for a porn film, it’s important to single out those works that, albeit in the form of “faction,” live up to the original spirit which made historical dramas great. That is, history being a very large portion of the proceedings, not just glorified salad dressing. It’s peculiar then that two of the best examples of this faction “mini-renaissance” were both short (8 and 10 episodes), aired in 2007, and dealing with the tumultuous reign of King Jeongjo. But while 한성별곡-正 (Conspiracy in the Court) has won its share of mania fans both in Korea and abroad, the second example was a little less lucky. This little known cable drama aired in late 2007, with little to no fanfare, no DVD releases at home, no reruns on any cable or network channel, not even any online services to speak of. Hell, even the cable rips were plagued by horrible compression and even broken frames. It seemed like there would never by a way to see this gem again in a decent format. Until now.

Adapted from Oh Se-Young’s 원행 (Journey), Channel CGV’s first ever drama 8일 (Eight Days) was a success on all fronts, surprising many sageuk fans who were expecting total collapse of the genre around 2007, and were blessed with this badass, hard-hitting political thriller instead. Costing 4 billion won for a mere 10 episodes, this was on average one of the most expensive sageuk of all time, bringing in acclaimed film director Park Jong-Won — who, interestingly, directed what’s still the best big screen Korean sageuk of the last 20 years, that 영원한 제국 (The Eternal Empire) which… sure enough, dealt with more or less the same period as this show — and TV sageuk veteran Kim Won-Seok, who wrote the fantastic 임꺽정 (Im Kkeok-Jeong) over a decade ago. It cast sageuk mainstays like Kim Sang-Joong, Jung Ae-Ri and Kim Gi-Hyeon along with interesting newcomers like Jo Han-Joon. And, last but not least, it interpreted this historical period with the kind of verve and panache only those well versed in the genre and period can do. It might not be as easily accessible as what passes on as sageuk nowadays, but any history buff will find the “theories” exposed here particularly relevant, especially a jaw-to-the-floor moment highlighting the double standards of the famous 한중록 (The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong), which many people still consider an historical document worth the paper it was written on, when it’s clearly not the case.

King Jeongjo was known as the “reformist ruler” of Joseon, but he had mostly been portrayed on the losing end of things on the big and small screen, either connected to the tragedy his father (Crown Prince Sado) faced at the hands of King Yeongjo — 홍국영 (Hong Guk-Young), 대왕의 길 (King of the Wind), 하늘아 하늘아 (Oh! Sky!) and so on — or through Ahn Nae-Sang’s unforgettable portrayal in Conspiracy in the Court, once again ending in sorrow. The Jeongjo portrayed here is instead the strong willed and masculine ruler of the middle portion of his reign, when it seemed as if he could really be the man to change things in the rotten Joseon politics of the period, dominated by the Byeokpa party and their vile shenanigans.

To celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother Lady Hyegyeong and late father Crown Prince Sado, King Jeongjo organized an immense retinue headed for the tomb of Prince Sado, in the current Hwaseong Fortress. The “journey” lasted eight days, starting from February 9 of the 19th year of his reign (1795). This is where the annals stop, and the imagination of the brilliant original story begins: what if those who couldn’t tolerate a reformist like Jeongjo on the throne decided to assassinate him, right as this spectacular journey took place? There’s no better way to get rid of a beloved, brilliant ruler than creating the perfect accident. And it only would take eight days…

SUBTITLES:
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ZIPPED SUBTITLES – All Episodes

EPISODE 1
Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link

EPISODE 2
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Timing QC: selvaspeedy
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 3
Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 4
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Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 5
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Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 6
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Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 7
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Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
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EPISODE 8
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Timing QC: julier
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EPISODE 9
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Timing QC: julier
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EPISODE 10
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Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link