Directed by Kim Dae-Seung, The Concubine takes place in Korea during the early Joseon Dynasty. Like most movies about the lineage of royalty, machinations control the outcome. We meet Hwa-Yeon, played beautifully by Yeo-jeon Cho, a minister’s daughter and Kwon-Yoo, played brilliantly by Min-Joon Kim, a commoner. Both are deeply in love with each other. It’s a forbidden attraction because of the caste system.

For this reason, Hwa-Yeon is ordered to the royal palace to become the royal concubine. She and Kwon-Yoo attempt to flee and spend the night together. Hwa-Yeon’s father and men, who threaten to kill Kwon-yoo, intercepted them.

To save her one true love, Hwa-Yeon agrees to go to the palace as King’s concubine as instructed. Unbeknownst, her father castrates Kwon-yoo as a punishment, which sets up some compelling drama later in the movie.

Five years later, Hwa-Yeon is the mother of the heir to the throne, but the King slowly dies. After his death, the King’s stepmother, played by Ji-Young Park, uses her power to appoint her biological son Sung-won, played emotionally charged by Dong-Wook Kim, as the successor.

Sung-won has been madly in love with the unobtainable Hwa-Yeon for years. Now that he must procreate to produce an heir to the throne, he can have any woman he wants except Hwa-Yeon based on his mother’s manipulation. She has vengeance on Hwa-Yeon, whose life is in danger.

Kwon-Yoo reemerges into the story, pushing them into a dangerous chess game of lust, sex and power. When Hwa-Yeon discovers what her father has done to her true love, she’s devastated but regains strength. 

The Concubine theatrical release in 2012 received accolades and was the 11th most-watched Korean movie. Some reviews at the time focused on the erotic aspect of some scenes, which caused audiences to misunderstand the director’s intent. Mainly, the film shows two powerful women fighting for power. However, the ending is tragic. The director gets us there with beautiful imagery thanks to Ki S. Hwang’s cinematography and Geun-Hyun Cho’s production design.

English subtitles suffice, but I prefer to watch the movie, but the storyline gets lost. The running time is 102 minutes.

Special Features Include: 

· Special collector’s media book packaging

· Two-disc set

· Original trailer

· 24-page booklet featuring director/actor profiles