Under the Queen’s Umbrella | Korean Historical Period Drama Series

Under the Queen’s Umbrella is a Korean historical period drama series, released in 2022, that is currently streaming on Netflix. Warning! Do not push the button and activate “Mama Bear Mode”.

But Mom! We Don’t Want to Be King!

The worth of the flowers in the palace, i.e. the king’s women, is judged by how many sons they bare the king. Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong (played by Kim Hye-Soo) has been very fortunate. She bore five (5) sons for the king. Her oldest son is the crown prince, but he is suffering from a life-threatening illness. He could die any day! If he were to die, who would take his place?

The crown prince already has a son of his own, so according to the line of succession, his son, her grandson, should be heir to the throne. Then as alternatives, one of his brothers, i.e. her four other sons who are grand princes, could be chosen. But her sons are perfectly content to never be king. Their brother is king and they sure don’t want to take his place. They are not as smart; and as far as they’re concerned, they’re not king material. Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong was not ambitious and did not want to push her sons. She would have been content to allow them not to pursue the throne EXCEPT …

The Deposed Queen Also Had Many Sons

She would have been content to allow them not to pursue the throne EXCEPT … her son, the crown prince, is suffering from the same illness as the son of the previous queen, Queen Yoon. Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong wants to know if or how her son can be treated. Even though she knew that visiting the deposed queen could be interpreted as treason if she could save her son’s life it was worth the risk. What she discovered from her visit was that all of he sons were in danger of being killed.

How did she find out? Queen Yoon told her so! She too was the mother of a crown prince, and she also had sons. Her son, the crown prince, was murdered and she was accused of treason. She made the mistake of thinking that if she lived quietly in exile with her remaining sons, life would be good. Instead, all of her sons were murdered because … ?? Because as long as they were alive there was always a possibility they could be king. The ones who killed her firstborn son eliminated the rest of her sons. Queen Yoon pushed the button. That information caused Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong to go into full-blown “Mama Bear Mode”. Kill all of her sons? Not if she can help it! She and her sons will not suffer the same fate as Queen Yoon and her sons.

Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong Now Understands She’s at WAR!

Unfortunately, in the history of the Joseon Era, kings often ascend to the throne because they eliminated the one who was on the throne before them. In short, they killed the previous king! Even the kings who are sent into exile conveniently end up dying. There are several ways to dispose of a king, but the most common method of “elimination” is poison. There’s the method of elimination and then there are the person or persons who are doing the elimination. In the case of Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong, she has to defend her sons and her grandson against:

• Corrupt officials who want a king they can control and they don’t like the grand princes or the crown prince’s heir;
• Ruthless flowers in the palace, i.e. the king’s concubines, who want their sons to be king; and
• A cut-throat hateful mother-in-law, the Queen Dowager, who never wanted you as queen in the first place and surely didn’t want any of your sons to sit on the throne.

Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong loses her firstborn son, the crown prince; and she is accused of giving him the medicine that caused his death. However, she is certain it was not the medicine that killed him. But how can she prove it?

The court officials, the concubines, and the mother-in-law think they have her backed into a corner. Proving she did not willfully kill her own son was not easy, but when you’re in “Mama Bear Mode”, it is amazing what you can do. Your intelligence, wits, survival, and maternal instincts are all activated. It’s killed or be killed. She outsmarts all of them and lives to fight another day! The war to save her sons is just getting started.

Viewership Ratings

From the very first episode when you are introduced to the queen and her sons, you give them your full support. You want Mama Bear and all of her bear cubs to kick butt!! Every once in a while you even want to cheer for Papa Bear, i.e. the king.

It’s not easy for him. After all, the Queen Dowager is his mother. Even if you’re a king, do you know how hard it is for a man to be stuck between his mother and his wife? His mother constantly reminds him that if it weren’t for her efforts he would not be king. His wife lets him know that her sons are his sons too! If she has to take his mother down, she’ll do it! With or without him.

Kim Hye-Soo’s performance as Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong is award-worthy. But giving credit where credit is due, quite frankly, all of the actors and actresses in this series gave exemplary performances. They played their roles as if they were real historical figures in the Joseon Era.

Under the Queen Umbrella is 16 intense episodes. Viewers gave this series 4.9 out of 5 stars. I agree.