The Moon That Embraces the Sun / The Sun and the Moon

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Average Ratings: 9.82 out of 10 based on 11 votes

Drama Title: The Moon That Embraces the Sun
Korean Title: 해를 품은 달
Romanization Pronunciation: Haeleul Pum-eun Dal / Hae-leul Poom-eun Dal
Also Known As: The Sun and the Moon
Chinese Name: 拥抱太阳的月亮 / 月亮怀抱太阳 / 捧日之月
Japanese Name: 太陽を抱いた月
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Place: South Korea
Broadcast network: MBC
Broadcast period: 4 January 2012 – 15 March 2012
Language: Korean
Air time: Wednesday and Thursday 9:55 PM

Preceded By: Me Too, Flower! / I’m Flower Too!
Followed By: The King 2 Hearts

Plot Summary

A “court romance” drama which is set again the historical background of Joseon Dynasty, the drama secret love between Lee Hwon, a fictional king of Joseon Dynasty, and his lover Wol, a female shaman, whom he is ready to give all his life. It is a sad but beautiful love story of innocent love among young people of a different era. Their pure royal romance shrouded in gloom. Love of different colors… The drama also talks about right-positioning. Every element should be set in its proper place. Just how it is dangerous for the solar system if the sun and the moon were to swerve off course, the whole world can be dangerous when things stray from their original path. This is the political ideology of King Lee Hwon.

Synopsis

Yeon Woo, whom was born from a noble family and whom th crown prince Lee Hwon fell in love with on first sight at young age, becomes a crown princess after betrothing to Lee Hwon. But Yeon Woo was plotted against, entrapped and believed to be executed by the people who are both jealous and fearful of her beauty and wits when she was just a young girl.

Yeon Woo was saved by a female shaman after her killers abandoned her as she was deemed to be dead. She lost her memory and subsequently grew up by her adopted mother with the name of Wol, and becomes a shaman.

By chance, Lee Hwon who has since grew up to be a cruel, callous and uncaring king after losing his beloved Yeon Woo encounters Wol, who looks very similar to Yeon Woo. Lee Hwon began to returned back to his original kind nature after meeting Wol, but he again in dilemma by the truth that his mother and sister involved in the plot behind the death of Yeon Woo.

On the other hand, in the life of Woo there are three men who appears fatefully with sincere hearts, helping her to recover her memory, but eventually she still choose Lee Hwon.

Cast

Main Characters

Kim Soo Hyun (김수현) as Lee Hwon (이훤 / 暄)
Han Ga In (한가인) as Wol – Heo Yeon Woo (월.허연우 / 月.煙雨)
Jung Il Woo (정일우) as Prince Yang Myung (양명군 / 陽明)
Kim Min Seo (김민서) as Yoon Bo Kyung (윤보경 / 寶鏡) – Lee Hwon’s Queen [정비(正妃)]
Song Jae Hee (송재희) as Heo Yeom (허염 / 炎)
Song Jae Rim (송재림) as Woon (운 / 雲)
Kim Yoo Jung (김유정) as Young Wol – Heo Yeon Woo
Yeo Jin Goo (여진구) as Young Lee Hwon
Lee Min Ho (이민호) as Young Prince Yang Myung
Kim So Hyun (김소현) as Young Yoon Bo Kyung
Lee Won Geum (이원근) as Young Woon
Si Wan (시완) as Young Heo Yeom

Family of Heo Young Jae

Sun Woo Jae Duk (선우재덕) as Heo Young Jae (허영재) – Father of Heo Yeon Woo
Yang Mi Kyung (양미경) as Pure and Reverend Lady (Jeonggyeong Buin) Shin – Mother of Yeon Woo and Yeom (어머니인 정경부인 신씨)
Yoon Seung Ah (윤승아) as Seol (설 / 雪)
Seo Ji Hee as Young Seol

Family of Lee Hwon

Kim Young-Ae (김영애) as Queen Dowager Yoon (성조대왕) – Grandmother of Lee Hwon
Ahn Nae Sang (안내상) as King Sung Jo (성조대왕) – Father of Lee Hwon
Kim Sun Kyung (김선경) as Queen Hanssi (대비 한씨) – Mother of Lee Hwon
Nam Bo-Ra (남보라) as Princess Min Hwa (민화공주 / 旼花)
Jin Ji Hee (진지희) as Young Princess Min Hwa
Kim Myoung Su (김명수) as Prince Uiseong

Family of Yoon Dae Hyung

Kim Eung Soo (김응수) as Yoon Dae Hyung (윤대형)
Jang Hee Soo (장희수) as Mrs. Kim (김씨부인)
Kim Seung Wook (김승욱) as Yoon Soo Chan (윤수찬)

Seongsucheong (성수청)

Jun Mi Sun (전미선) as Jang Nok Young (장씨녹영) – Yeon Woo’s adoptive shaman mother
Kim Ik Tae (김익태) as Guru Hye Gak (혜각도사)
Bae Noo Ri (배누리) as Jan Shil (잔실)
Jo Min Ah (조민아) as Young Jan Shil
Jang Young Nam (장영남) as Ari (아리)

Roles Related to the Palace

Jung Eun Pyo (정은표) as Hyung Sun (형선)
Yoon Hee Suk (윤희석) as Hong Kyu Tae (홍규태)
Kim Ye Ryung (김예령) as Lady Park (희빈 박씨) (Mother of Yang Myung)
Lee Seung Hyung (이승형) as Han Jae Gil (한재길)
Seo Hyun Chul (서현철) as Shim San (심산)
Chu Gwi Jung (추귀정) as Court Lady Jo (조상궁)
Kim Min Kyung (김민경) as Court Lady Min (민상궁)

The Moon that Embraces the Sun Characters Description

Production Credits

Director: Kim Do Hoon (김도훈)
Screenwriter: Jin Soo Wan (진수완)

Synopsis by Episode

Viewership Ratings (Ranking)

Date	Episode	Nationwide (TNS)	Seoul (TNS)	Nationwide (AGB)	Seoul (AGB)
4 January 2012	1	15.0 (3rd)	16.9 (3rd)	18.0 (3rd)	19.7 (2nd)
5 January 2012	2	17.3 (3rd)	20.8 (2nd)	19.9 (2nd)	22.2 (1st)
11 January 2012	3	19.4 (2nd)	22.3 (1st)	23.2 (1st)	26.1 (1st)
12 January 2012	4	20.6 (2nd)	25.1 (1st)	23.4 (2nd)	26.0 (1st)
18 January 2012	5	21.6 (2nd)	24.9 (1st)	24.9 (1st)	28.3 (1st)
19 January 2012	6	25.9 (1st)	28.6 (1st)	29.3 (1st)	32.9 (1st)
25 January 2012	7	25.5 (1st)	28.8 (1st)	29.7 (1st)	33.8 (1st)
26 January 2012	8	26.2 (1st)	29.4 (1st)	31.7 (1st)	35.3 (1st)
1 February 2012	9	28.4 (1st)	32.3 (1st)	34.5 (1st)	38.9 (1st)
2 February 2012	10	30.5 (1st)	35.1 (1st)	37.1 (1st)	40.5 (1st
8 February 2012	11	34.3 (1st)	38.6 (1st)	37.1 (1st)	41.7 (1st)
9 February 2012	12	33.7 (1st)	37.8 (1st)	37.1 (1st)	40.8 (1st)
15 February 2012	13	34.6 (1st)	39.3 (1st)	38.4 (1st)	42.9 (1st)
16 February 2012	14	37.2 (1st)	42.0 (1st)	37.6 (1st)	42.1 (1st)
22 February 2012	15	37.7 (1st)	42.6 (1st)	39.1 (1st)	43.1 (1st)
23 February 2012	16	39.8 (1st)	45.5 (1st)	41.3 (1st)	46.1 (1st)
29 February 2012	17	33.3 (1st)	36.1 (1st)	36.0 (1st)	39.7 (1st)
1 March 2012	18	40.7 (1st)	47.0 (1st)	41.2 (1st)	45.8 (1st)
7 March 2012	Special Feature 1	24.7 (1st)	25.0 (1st)	24.5 (1st)	26.9 (1st)
8 March 2012	Special Feature 2	19.8 (3rd)	21.7 (1st)	19.2 (2nd)	20.9 (1st)
14 March 2012	19	38.9 (1st)	42.9 (1st)	38.7 (1st)	41.8 (1st)
15 March 2012	20	42.3 (1st)	46.5 (1st)	42.2 (1st)	45.8 (1st)

Source: AGB Nielson & TnMS

Trivia

Based on adaptation from the novel The Moon That Embraces the Sun / “Haereul Poomeun Dal” (해를 품은 달) by Jung Eun Gwol that was first published on December 29, 2005. Jung Eun Gwol is also the author of the novel that Sungkyunkwan Scandal was based on.
Jung Il Woo replaced Joo Won for the role of Prince Yang Myung after the latter dropped out of due to Ojakgyo Brothers being extended for more than 10 episodes.
Kim Jeong Hoon was casted to play the role of Heo Yeom but dropped out before filming start to prepare for his album launch in early 2012 in Japan.
The overall plot of the drama series is contained in the short The Moon that Embraces the Sun poetry published by MBC, which describes the destiny of main characters in the drama.
The Moon that Embraces the Sun Filming Venues
Wol (Han Ga In) recovers her Yeon Woo’s memory during the total solar eclipse, implying the embracing of the sun and the moon. The event was hinted by Guru Hye Gak (Yoon Hee Suk) in episode 13 as he told Jang Nok Young (Jun Mi Sun) that it’s as the last chance for everything to return to original position.
Meaning of Names in The Moon Embracing the Sun
Background Image of The Moon Embracing the Sun Poster Background: Irworobongdo
Price Tag for Kim Soo Hyun Gonryongpo Imperial Robe: 1.5 Million Won
Price Tag for Han Ga In Imperial Dress: 3.4 Million Won
Goof: Coffee Girl Found 100 Years Ago
Goof: Anachronism of Wrong Era
Goof: Jung Il Woo Appears with Dyed Hair
Goof: Same Scenes but Different Arrangements
Goof: Yang Mi Kyung Teleport