Secret Door (2014) ~ Political Shadows That Cover Up Murder

“Secret Door” is a 2014 Korean drama, 24 episodes, categorized as Mystery, Political, Crime, Thriller, Costume and Period, Historical Political Thriller, and Historical period, and streaming on Viki and KOCOWA+.

 

• Memorable Quote: “But since it is illegal, renting a book is harder than trying to meet a spy.”

SUMMARY: Crown Prince Sado dreams of equality, but his ideals threaten the political order of Joseon. The relationship between the prince and his father, King Yeongjo is turbulent. Corruption, murder, and the power struggles of political factions escalate, and the father-son conflict spirals toward a tragic ending.

♦ MEET Father and Son

“Secret Door” is set during the reign of King Yeongjo, one of the longest-ruling monarchs of the Joseon Dynasty. At its heart, the storyline is about the volatile relationship between the king and his son, Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado). They have conflicting visions for the future, and it doesn’t help the crown prince that his visions conflict with the various powerful political factions, as well.

• King Yeongjo is a shrewd and calculating ruler determined to consolidate royal authority. But his survival depends on navigating these treacherous waters, and he often chooses political expediency over personal sentiment. Two powerful political groups, the Noron and Soron, often tie his hands.

• By contrast, the king’s son, Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado), is passionate, empathetic, and idealistic. The ideological opposite of his father. He dreams of a society where class barriers dissolve, and commoners have access to knowledge and justice.

King Yeongjo’s Rise to Power

The story begins with a scene where the Noron faction is manipulating King Yeongjo’s rise to power. They prepared a document for him to sign. If he doesn’t sign, he’ll be killed, and they’ll put someone else on the throne. It’s that simple. King Yeongjo signs the document, but later he burns down the building that stores official documents. He thinks he’s gotten rid of Noron’s chokehold on him. However, the document implicating the king and his collusion with the Norons was discovered. But who found it, and what will they do with it?

Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) knows nothing about this “secret door”. Those in political power find it difficult to control him the way they control the king. He’s not like his father and directly opposes the entrenched elites. For example, Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) enjoys reading detective stories, and even though it’s illegal to rent books, he sneaks out of the palace with his friend to exchange books. One day, he witnesses government officials raiding the bookstores and violently assaulting commoners. At a meeting with the court officials in the palace, he publicly supports the distribution of books to commoners. He dares to challenge centuries of rigid hierarchy, further alienating and angering the elites.

His father, the king, is angry because the crown prince decided not to consult with him. The crown prince realizes his righteous zeal has caused a predicament. The king threatens to abdicate the throne. That means all the court officials, no matter which political party, and the crown prince must bow before King Yeongjo and beg for his forgiveness. Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) has been on his knees many times. Whenever the king can’t have his way, he threatens to abdicate.

A Mysterious Death of a Commoner

The artist who paints the official portrait of Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) is also his close friend. One night, he sends the crown prince a note telling him he needed to know something important that could change his fate. It’s about the secret document the king thought had been destroyed in the fire he orchestrated. But Lee Sun doesn’t know that. He waits and waits, but his friend never arrives. The next day, there is an official event. The friend had found the hidden document and would have revealed it to the crown prince, except he never showed up. The next day, Lee Sun and his father are visiting the grave of the late king, King Yeongjo’s brother. The dead body of Lee Sun’s friend is found at the royal tomb.

Lee Sun is certain his friend was murdered, but powerful officials want to cover it up as a suicide. To make matters worse, King Yeongjo wants the young man branded as a traitor. The injustice is too much for Lee Sun to bear, and he personally spearheads the investigation. His pursuit of the truth becomes a dangerous obsession. The investigation exposes corruption at the highest levels and deepens the rift between father and son. The king, fearing instability and manipulation by political factions, begins to view Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) as a liability rather than an heir to the throne.

There is a Witness

Seo Ji-Dam is a brilliant writer. She’s the young woman who writes the detective stories the crown prince loves to read. On the night his friend was coming to see him, Seo Ji-Dam was also out, and she saw Lee Sun’s friend fall off a bridge. She ran to see if she could render aid, but he was already deceased. Instead, she ran to the police and brought them back to the place where she saw the body. Mysteriously, the body was not there.

Seo Ji-Dam is bewildered, and the police accuse her of pulling a prank and wasting their time. Later, she hears that the young man’s body was found in the well at the royal tomb. She knows that’s not where he died, and she wants to tell the police what she knows. Her father is against it because he runs an illegal book rental store. Getting involved with the police could have an adverse ricochet effect. Even though she is a key witness to a murder, coming forward could get her, her father, and all of his workers in trouble. She may want to do the right thing, but they could all end up being branded as traitors. Seo Ji-Dam’s conscience won’t allow her not to say what she knows. Against her father’s advice, she becomes entangled in the murder investigation.

The Crown Princess Must Protect Her Own

Lady Hyegyeong, Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado)’s wife, is stuck between the proverbial “rock and a hard place”. She struggles to protect her husband and her son while navigating palace politics. In the palace, dying is easy. Staying alive is the hard part. Lady Hyegyeong knows she must tread carefully and not make enemies of her father-in-law, the king, or her husband, the crown prince, and the various influential political parties. Who knows which side any of them will choose? Some are loyal, some are opportunistic, and all are dangerous.

The political factions view Lee Sun as a threat to their power and exploit his vulnerabilities. They manipulate King Yeongjo and force him to choose between love for his son and losing the throne. In the end, he orders the death of his own child, Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado).

• “No matter how small the king’s voice is, everyone can hear it. But no matter how loud the citizens’ voices are, no one can hear them. That’s why they gather. They have to band together for anyone to take notice they’re talking.” – Sado

(NOTE: If this quote is true, then the record shows that, even though his ending was tragic, the real crown prince landed on the right side of history. But keep in mind that “Secret Door” is not real history. The K-drama introduces invented conspiracies, secret societies, and murder mysteries to build suspense and make a good fictional story with real historical figures.)

Main Characters:

• King Yeongjo (played by Han Suk-Kyu, “Doubt”, “Dr. Romantic 1, 2, and 3”, “My Paparotti”, “The Berlin File”, “Watcher”, “Tree With Deep Roots”)
• Lee Sun (Crown Prince Sado) (played by Lee Je-Hoon, “Signal‘, “The Art of Negotiation”, “Time to Hunt”, “Chief Detective 1958”, “Taxi Driver 1, 2 and 3”, “Move to Heaven”, “My Paparotti”, “An Ethics Lesson”, “Tomorrow With You”, “Escape”, “Collectors”, “Noryang: Deadly Sea”)
• Seo Ji-Dam (played by Kim You-Jung, “Dear X”, “Thread of Lies”, “Lovers of the Red Sky”,“My Demon”, “Dong Yi”, “The 8th Night”, “Commitment”, “Chicken Nugget”, “Love in the Moonlight”, “Grudge: The Revolt of Gumiho“, “Tamra Island”, “Il Ji-Mae: The Phantom Thief‎”)
• Lady Hyegyeong (Lee Sun’s wife) (played by Park Eun-Bin, “The WONDERfools”, “Hyper Knife“, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, “Castaway Diva”, “The King’s Affection”, “The Ghost Detective”, “Judge vs. Judge”, “Road to Boston”, “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One”)

Where to Watch: Viki and KOCOWA+

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.3 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.5 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series: 8.6 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

There are many Korean dramas that wrap a storyline about the relationship between King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado. This one landed on my re-watch list. I vaguely remember watching “Secret Door” when I was introducing myself to Korean dramas over a decade ago. This was before realizing the amazing talents of Lee Je-Hoon, Kim You-Jung, and Park Eun-Bin. It’s obvious why they have such a loyal fan base. They’ve been around!

“Secret Door” is a revisionist retelling of the final years of Crown Prince Sado. The scriptwriters drew mainly from real historical documents. In particular, they relied on “The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong”. Lady Hyegyeong wrote about her life first, as Crown Princess, consort of Prince Sado; then as his widow after he was executed; and finally, as the mother of King Jeongjo. The memoirs were made into a TV series with 62 episodes, released in 1988, but it is not available on US streaming platforms. An English translation of “The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong” is available if you’re interested in reading.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Secret Door: The Good, the Bad, and the Acceptable Ones. | The Talking Cupboard

[Review] Secret Door – Uigwe Murder Case | Musings of a Chunkeemonkeeato

Secret Door [Review]. | Red Watches TV

TRAILER/TEASER:

C Chloe. “Secret Door TEASER.” YouTube, 24 Oct. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWHiM5BHoM.

♦