Prince Imperial Geum Lee Lim (played by Lee Jung-jin) wants to be the King, Eternal Monarch. He covets the throne of his half-brother who is the ruler of the Kingdom of Corea. The king possesses the Manpasikjeok but does not believe in its legend. According to legend, this instrument has the power to bridge two different but parallel worlds. Lee Lim wants to rule both worlds, so he murders the king. The king asks Lee Lim if he feared the punishment of the skies (or the heavens). Just before he ruthlessly murders his half-brother, he responds: “God never created humans. It was the weak who created God.” In other words, he’s not weak and he’s going to rule the world. Or rather, two worlds. His plans don’t include a “God” who needs to be feared by him. All he needs are loyal minions who fear him. He knows where to find them and how to convert them.
Lee Lim also intends to kill the king’s son, since the young child is the legitimate heir to the throne. However, his attempt fails because law enforcement officers from the other world, the Republic of Korea, crash his takeover party. Lee Lim evades capture by going through a portal that allows him to move between the Kingdom of Corea and the Republic of Korea.
A female lieutenant saves the life of the young crown prince. He is alive, but semi-conscious because of his uncle’s brutal attack. Somehow he grabs the lieutenant’s badge and clutches it in his hands. The lieutenant and the rest of her team leave the scene of the coup in Corea and return to the police station where they work in Korea. The crown prince becomes the 3rd king of Corea, the eternal monarch. King Lee Gon (played by Lee Min-Ho) grows into a fine young man and a beloved ruler.
One day Lee Gon is alone, horseback riding through the forest. A portal in the forest opens and he enters the other world, i.e. the Republic of Korea. Riding a horse through a forest is fine. But a man on a horse prancing down a busy street in Korea among cars and buses is very conspicuous. A law enforcement officer stops him and tells him to dismount. Who is that officer? Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul (played by Kim Go-eun). He recognizes her face from the identification badge he clutched in his hands when he was a child. He dismounts, walks up to her, and says: “I’ve finally met you”. Then he hugs her. That’s probably not what you should do to an officer who is trying to decide if she should arrest you or have you committed to a mental hospital. Bystanders looking on think he must be a movie star.
Lee Lim, the murderous uncle is in Korea recruiting loyal subjects to serve him in his Eternal Kingdom of Corea. Lee Gon, his nephew, the true Eternal Monarch, needs to find his uncle and stop him!
In the process, he falls in love with Jeong Tae-eul. OK! So? What’s the twist? Somehow the two worlds got crisscrossed. She ended up in Corea where she saved the life of Lee Gon, when he was a young prince (who became king after his father’s murder). When he became an adult, he started searching for the woman who saved him and found her in Korea. The attempted murder happened in 1994, but the police badge was issued in 2019. When they meet, they are both about the same age. That’s the twist. But the beauty of a romantic-fantasy is that age differences can easily be eliminated. Consequently, a romance can develop.
From the beginning of his career as an actor, Lee Min-ho (“Boys Over Flowers”) has never given a disappointing performance. In fact, by my standards, a movie or series automatically rates 3 stars just because he plays the main character. Fans were excited about this Netflix Korean drama series because this was his first acting gig after having completed his required military service.
Most viewers gave this series a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. I agree.
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