Moon Embracing the Sun

 

 


Moon Embracing the Sun also known as The Moon That Embraces the Sun or The Sun and the Moon) is a 2012 South Korean television drama series, starring Kim Soo-hyunHan Ga-inJung Il-woo and Kim Min-seo. It aired on MBC from January 4 to March 15, 2012, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

The historical-fantasy drama is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Jung Eun-gwol. It tells of a secret, poignant love story between a fictional king of the Joseon Dynasty and a female shaman against the backdrop of a Korean traditional palace; and the conflicts and conspiracy of vying political powers.

The drama reached a peak rating of 42.2%. It won the Best Drama and Best Actor awards in the television category at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards, and multiple awards at 2012 MBC Drama Awards, including Drama of the Year.

 




Plot

The Queen Mother orders the assassination of her stepson to protect her own son's ability to become king. Ari, a shaman of the Royal Star Mansion (Royal Astrology House), witnesses the murder. The pregnant wife of the palace's Chief Scholar helps her escape, and Ari vows to protect her unborn child, who has a "noble fate."

Ari is arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. She tells her friend and fellow shaman, Jang Nok-yeong, to look after the unborn child in her stead. Ari is declared guilty of treason and killed.

Yeon-woo, the unborn child Ari swore to protect, and Crown Prince Lee Hwon fall in love. Prince Yang Myung, the Crown Prince's half-brother, has also fallen in love with Yeon-woo, who does not reciprocate his feelings.

The Queen Mother seeks to promote Bo-kyung, the daughter of the Prime Minister and her blood relative, to be the Crown Princess in order to maintain her clan's power. However, the king is impressed by Yeon-Woo's intelligence and chooses her over Bo-Kyung, infuriating the Queen Mother and Prime Minister Yoon.

The Queen Mother secretly orders Nok-yeong to cast a deadly curse on Yeon-woo so that Bo-kyung can take her place.

Yeon-woo is diagnosed with an unidentifiable illness, expelled from the palace, and loses her title as Crown Princess. She "dies" from this illness and is buried. Nok-yeong digs Yeon-woo out of the grave; the spell is temporary and only mimics the appearance of death. However, Yeon-woo is so traumatized by being buried alive that she has lost all of her memories. She and Nok-yeong leave the capital.

Crown Prince Lee Hwon is unwillingly married to Bo-kyung. He refuses to consummate the marriage by citing an unnamed illness; he broods over his "dead" first love, Yeon-woo.

Eight years later, Lee Hwon is now king. Yeon-woo is now Shaman Wol (which means "moon"); unaware of Wol's true identity, the Queen Mother calls her to the palace so that she can cure the king's "illness." The king is struck by Wol's unmistakeable resemblance to Yeon-woo, and he quietly launches an investigation into Yeon-woo's death. Meanwhile, Wol struggles to understand the strange memories of her life as Yeon-woo, which she interprets as shamanic visions. Wol must fight Queen Bo-Kyung, the Queen Mother, and Prime Minister Yoon in order to reclaim her rightful place as the Queen of Joseon. Political intrigue continues to build and comes shockingly to a head as King Lee Hwon fights for his throne, fights for the woman he loves, and fights for his very life.




 
Awards and nominations
 

Year

Award

Category

Recipient

Result

Ref.

2012

48th Baeksang Arts Awards

Best Drama

Moon Embracing the Sun

Won

Best Director (TV)

Kim Do-hoon & Lee Seong-jun

Nominated

Best Actor (TV)[22]

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

Best New Actor (TV)

Yeo Jin-goo

Nominated

Best New Actress (TV)

Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

Most Popular Actor (TV)

Kim Soo-hyun

Nominated

Jung Il-woo

Nominated

Yeo Jin-goo

Nominated

Yim Si-wan

Nominated

Most Popular Actress (TV)

Han Ga-in

Nominated

Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

6th Mnet 20's Choice Awards

20's Drama Star – Male

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

Upcoming 20's

Yeo Jin-goo

Won

Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

39th Korea Broadcasting Prize

Best Actor

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

18th Shanghai Television Festival
Magnolia Awards

Silver Award for Best Foreign TV Series

Moon Embracing the Sun

Won

7th Seoul International Drama Awards

Outstanding Korean Drama

Nominated

Outstanding Korean Actor

Kim Soo-hyun

Nominated

Outstanding Korean Actress

Han Ga-in

Nominated

14th Mnet Asian Music Awards

Best Original Soundtrack

Back in Time - Lyn

Nominated

4th Pierson Movie Festival

Best Child Actor

Yeo Jin-goo

Won

Best Child Actress

Kim Yoo-jung

Won

5th Korea Drama Awards

Grand Prize

Kim Soo-hyun

Nominated

Best Drama

Moon Embracing the Sun

Nominated

Excellence Award, Actress

Jeon Mi-seon

Nominated

Best New Actor

Yim Si-wan

Nominated

Best Young Actor/Actress

Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

Kim So-hyun

Nominated

Yeo Jin-goo

Nominated

Best Original Soundtrack

Back in Time - Lyn

Won

1st K-Drama Star Awards

Top Excellence Award, Actress

Han Ga-in

Nominated

Excellence Award, Actor

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

Acting Award, Actress

Jeon Mi-seon

Nominated

Best Young Actress

Kim Yoo-jung

Won

25th Grimae Awards

Best Achievement for a Production, Drama category

Kim Sun-il, Jung Seung-woo

Won

MBC Drama Awards

Grand Prize

Kim Soo-hyun

Nominated

Han Ga-in

Nominated

Drama of the Year

Moon Embracing the Sun

Won

Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries

Han Ga-in

Won

Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries

Jung Il-woo

Nominated

Golden Acting Award, Actor

Kim Eung-soo

Nominated

Jung Eun-pyo

Nominated

Golden Acting Award, Actress

Yang Mi-kyung

Won

Jeon Mi-seon

Nominated

Best New Actor

Yim Si-wan

Nominated

Best New Actress

Kim Min-seo

Nominated

Nam Bo-ra

Nominated

Best Young Actor

Yeo Jin-goo

Won

Lee Min-ho

Nominated

Best Young Actress

Kim Yoo-jung

Won

Kim So-hyun

Won

Jin Ji-hee

Nominated

Writer of the Year

Jin Soo-wan

Won

Popularity Award

Kim Soo-hyun

Won

Han Ga-in

Nominated

Yeo Jin-goo

Nominated

Jung Il-woo

Nominated

Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

Kim So-hyun

Nominated

Yim Si-wan

Nominated

Best Couple Award

Kim Soo-hyun & Han Ga-in

Nominated

Kim Soo-hyun & Jung Eun-pyo

Nominated

Yeo Jin-goo & Kim Yoo-jung

Nominated

2013

46th WorldFest-Houston

Special Jury Award

Moon Embracing the Sun

Won


 Main Cast

Kim Soo-hyun as Crown Prince / King Lee Hwon (Yeo Jin-goo as 15-year-old Lee Hwon)

Han Ga-in as Heo Yeon-woo  Shaman Wol (Kim Yoo-jung as 13-year-old Heo Yeon-woo)

Jung Il-woo  as Prince Yang-myung

Lee Tae-ri as young Yang-myung

Kim Min-seo as Yoon Bo-kyung

Kim So-hyun as young Yoon Bo-kyung


Filming locations

Most of the royal palace scenes were filmed on location at MBC Dramia located at Cheoin-guYongin-si in Gyeonggi Province, where other historical dramas such as Dong YiJumong and Queen Seondeok were also filmed. The House of Choi Champan was used as Yeon-woo's childhood home, and the Korean Folk Village was used for local markets, private residences of commoners, and night scenes

 

International broadcast

·          Japan: NHK - special program on January 13, 2013, followed by its premiere on January 20, then aired every Sunday thereafter Reruns aired in July 2014

·          Philippines: GMA Network - aired from August 13, 2012 to November 2, 2012, on Monday to Friday. It is also available to stream on Iflix with subtitles

·          Singapore: Starhub TV VV Drama - aired from November 24, 2012 to January 26, 2013, every Saturday night at 9.30 p.m. MediaCorp Channel U - premiered on April 23, 2014, airing on Mondays to Fridays at 10 p.m.

·          Iran: IRIB TV3 - aired from February 14, 2015 to March 15, 2015, everyday 20:45 in 30 episode.

·          Sri Lanka: Rupavahini - It premiered on May 26, 2015 under the title, Hiru Sandu Aadarei replacing Goddess of Fire. It is also available to stream on Iflix.

·          India: Puthuyugam TV - airs from September 16, 2015, Monday - Friday 9:00 PM as part of the channel's K-series programming block.

·          Myanmar: - Skynet International Drama.

·          Thailand: Channel 3 - airs from March 1, 2016, Monday - Wednesday 11:00 AM. It is also available to stream on Iflix.

 

💖 Heo Yeon Woo who finally married Lee Hwon gave birth and lived well. At the end of the episode Lee Hwon showed his charm as he prepared for a gayageum performance for Heo Yoon Woo's birthday. The last scene is a kiss scene between Lee Hwon and Heo Yeon Woo prorating a happy ending, same as the original novel.

💖 Filming for "The Moon Embracing The Sun" takes place at the Korean Folk Village, located in Yongin (satellite city of Seoul), Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

💖 So, the sun quietly obeyed, and continued on loving the moon so much that he died every night to let her breathe. To this day, they are lovers who rarely meet, always chase, and almost always miss one another. But once in a while, they are allowed to cross, and they kiss, and the world stares in awe of their eclipse





                    





 

 


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