The King: Eternal Monarch is a K-drama series about parallel universes. Later this week I’ll have a discussion about the concept of parallel universes, but first the show that got me thinking all about it.
This show blends parallel worlds known as Korea and Corea (notice the interesting difference in spelling) where in Korea the capital is Seoul and the other its parallel counterpart is Busan.
It’s a fantasy-romance drama that depicts the story about two parallel worlds. Emperor Lee Gon (the King of Corea) crosses the border between two worlds. There he was able to meet detective Jeong Tae-eul (part of the police force in Korea).
There’s an epic romance between the two and they discover that the magic from the half flute (Manpasikjeok) the King holds is the key to the portal between the worlds. However, he’s not the only one traveling through the portal and apparently his uncle discovered the power earlier than him. The King’s uncle (who actually killed the King’s father) ended up faking his death by using his half of the Manpasikjeok to kill his doppelganger in Korea, bringing him back to Corea as a decoy. We discover in the show that he is switching places of doppelgangers in the hope that he can create a group that will help him get the rest of the Manpasikjeok so he can become the King of Corea.
We also learn later that there’s a time dimension so once the Manpasikjeok is one piece, the one holding it can travel across different times. However, in its half, they cannot travel laterally.
The show had an interesting concept and I liked how they tied in the past and present together so we understand the King’s history. However, because we jump back and forth throughout the show, it sometimes gets confusing and at times, it lacks consistency.
8/10