With a cast like this, you can be sure that we’re going to be in for a lot of pretty in this show. MBC’s sageuk romance Rookie Historian Gu Hae-ryung has released posters of its leads, Shin Se-kyung (Black Knight) and Cha Eun-woo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty), plus Park Ki-woong (Return) who FINALLY makes an appearance in the promos.
The fusion sageuk follows the unlikely tale of Gu Hae-ryung (Shin Se-kyung), whose unusually progressive upbringing abroad and assertive temperament leads her to take the civil exam and becomes the first female royal historian in Joseon. How much do I love that she’s entering the palace not as a cross-dresser nor as the traditional maidservant/nurse/shaman role, but as a female official in her own right? In any case, at the palace, she will encounter both Prince Rim (Cha Eun-woo), who moonlights as a romance novelist, and the just Crown Prince Jin (Park Ki-woong).
I’m not entirely sure if the three of these characters end up in some love triangle, but it doesn’t seem like it judging by these posters. It almost feels like Park Ki-woong is in a different drama entirely, actually, with Shin Se-kyung and Cha Eun-woo in a sageuk youth drama and the Crown Prince in a political sageuk. Shin Se-kyung’s poster says, “I come before you as a royal historian, Your Majesty,” while Cha Eun-woo’s caption reads, “I… have no intention of letting you go.” Meanwhile, Park Ki-woong’s Crown Prince makes a promise that, “Even if the people turn their backs on this kingdom, I shall not turn my back on the people.” I really hope he doesn’t end up in a one-sided love for Shin Se-kyung’s character, because this show is just setting me up for a severe case of Second Lead Syndrome, which I don’t appreciate at all!
Rookie Historian Gu Hae-ryung will premiere on July 17 and air on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
