Deep Rooted Tree
| Deep Rooted Tree | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Deep Rooted Tree |
|
| Also known as | Tree with Deep Roots |
| Genre | Crime Period drama |
| Format | Television series |
| Written by | Kim Young-hyun Park Sang-yeon |
| Directed by | Jang Tae-yoo |
| Starring | Jang Hyuk Han Suk-kyu Shin Se-kyung |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language(s) | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Korea |
| Running time | Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Original run | 5 October 2011 – 22 December 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Protect the Boss |
| Followed by | Take Care of Us, Captain |
| External links | |
| SBS website | |
| Deep Rooted Tree | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 뿌리 깊은 나무 |
| Revised Romanization | ppuri gipeun namu |
| McCune–Reischauer | ppuri kip'ŭn namu |
Deep Rooted Tree (Hangul: 뿌리 깊은 나무; RR: Ppuri Gipeun Namu; also known as Tree with Deep Roots) is a 2011 South Korean television series starring Jang Hyuk, Shin Se-kyung and Han Suk-kyu. Based on the novel of the same title by Lee Jeong-myeong, it aired on SBS from October 5 to December 22, 2011 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes (another Lee novel Painter of the Wind was also adapted by SBS in 2008).
Taking its name from the poem Yongbieocheonga that says that trees with deep roots do not sway, the series tells the story of a royal guard (played by Jang Hyuk) investigating a case involving the serial murders of Jiphyeonjeon scholars in Gyeongbok Palace while King Sejong (played by Han Suk-kyu, in his TV comeback after 16 years of solely film work) comes to create the Korean written language.[1][2]
Contents |
Synopsis [edit]
Early in his reign, King Sejong accidentally causes the death of his in-laws and their slaves in an attempt to save them from his brutal father, King Taejong. Two young slaves, Ddol-bok and his friend Dam, survive but neither knows the other has. Ddol-bok blames the king and vows to kill him to avenge the deaths of everyone he loved. He spends several years becoming a great warrior. Dam, who has a photographic memory, becomes a court lady called So-yi (Shin Se-kyung), but she feels so guilty about her role in the other slaves' deaths that she is mute.
Ddol-bok returns to the palace under the name of Kang Chae-yoon (Jang Hyuk) in order to kill the king. However, he becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding the deaths of several Hall of Worthies scholars. The deaths were caused by a secret society called "Hidden Root," which was created long ago by followers of Jeong Do-jeon, with the goal of giving more power to ministers and less to the king. King Taejong killed Jeong Do-jeon and all of his family except his nephew, Jeong Gi-joon, who is now the leader of Hidden Root and lives in disguise not far from King Sejong.
It soon becomes known that the king, with the help of So-yi and the Hall of Worthies scholars, has been working for years on a secret project, which turns out to be the creation of the Korean alphabet. While tracking Hidden Root, Kang Chae-yoon and So-yi each realize who the other is. So-yi begins to speak, and when she shows Chae-yoon the simple alphabet and describes how it will give more power to commoners, he is convinced to work with the king instead of killing him.
However, Jeong Gi-joon believes that the new alphabet is a threat to Confucian order, and decides to stop it at all costs. He murders the king's son, but this only makes Sejong more determined. Jeong is able to stop the king's dissemination efforts, and on the day the alphabet is to be publicly announced, both So-yi and Chae-yoon are fatally wounded by Hidden Root members. However, through their sacrifices, the event is successful, and commoners begin to use Hangul.
Cast [edit]
Jang Hyuk as Kang Chae-yoon/Ddol-Bok
- Yeo Jin-goo as teen Ddol-bok
- Chae Sang-woo as child Ddol-bok
- A former slave who has become royal guard and detective of King Sejong. As a child, Ddol-bok protected his mentally retarded father from the teasing of other servants of the Queen's family. Later, Ddol-bok 's father was arrested and beaten, finally dying in front of him and his childhood friend So-yi. Though he was actually saved by King Sejong, he doesn't know it, and because he blames Sejong for his father's death, has sworn to avenge him by killing the king. He becomes a soldier under a changed name, and also trains under a martial arts master. Chae-yoon later becomes a low-level guard along with his friends. He doesn't know that So-yi is Dam, believing that she is dead.
- Song Joong-ki as teen Yi Do
- Kang San as child Yi Do
- The creator of Hangul. During his early years as king , Yi Do had a strained relationship with his father and harbored guilt for seeing people's suffering and death (including his wife's family) under his father's tyrannical rule. After the death of his father and his wife Soheon, Yi Do (now called King Sejong) employs Kang Chae-yoon as an investigator (unaware he is the same boy whom he spared years before) and is helped by So-yi in the creation of Hangul. He later finds out that Chae-yoon is the same boy who tried to kill him.
Shin Se-kyung as So-yi/Dam
- Kim Hyun-soo as young Dam
- Chae-yoon's friend who was saved as a child by Sejong's wife and became a court lady. During her early years as court lady, Yi Do apologized to her for his role in her family's death. She feels so guilty about her role in her fellow slaves' deaths that she cannot speak, but she is useful in the creation of Hangul because of her photographic memory.
- Jeon No-min as Jeong Do-kwang, "Sambong" Jeong Do-jeon's brother
- Yoon Je-moon as Jeong Gi-joon/Ga Ri-on
- Ahn Suk-hwan as Lee Shin-juk
- Lee Jae-yong as Jo Mal-saeng
- Kwon Tae-won as Choe Manri
- Jeon Seung-hwan as Hwang Hui
- Jo Jin-woong as Moo-hyool
- Sejong's bodyguard and friend who would sacrifice himself to protect his friend.
- Park Hyuk-kwon as Jeong In-ji
- Jang Ji-eun as Queen Soheon
- Kim Ki-bang as Cho Tak
- Shin Seung-hwan as Park Po
- Song Ok-sook as Do Dam-daek
- Han Sang-jin as Shim Jong-soo
- Seo Jun-young as Prince Gwangpyeong
- Lee Soo-hyuk as Yoon Pyeong
- An assassin who was smitten by So-yi when he took her hostage.
- Kim Ki-bum as Pak Paengnyeon
- Hyun Woo as Seong Sam-mun
- Jo Hee-bong as Han Myung-hoi/Han Ga-nom
- Jun Young-bin as Mak-soo
- Yoo Hyun-soo as Lee Soon-ji
- Shin So-yul as Mok-ya
- Shim So-hun as Duk-geum
- Baek Yoon-sik as King Taejong/Yi Bangwon (cameo)
- Han In-soo as Sim On (cameo)
- Heo Joon-seok as Kkeut-soo
- Ryu Seung-soo as Jang Sung-soo
- Baek Seo-bin as Jang Eun-sung
- Min Ji-young as Yeon-doo's mother
- Lee Se-na as Geun-ji
Ratings [edit]
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS Ratings[3] | AGB Nielsen[4] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | ||
| 1 | 5 October 2011 | 9.2% (17th) | 11.0% (10th) | 9.5% (15th) | 11.1% (11th) |
| 2 | 6 October 2011 | 8.2% (18th) | 9.8% (13th) | 9.8% (15th) | 10.6% (15th) |
| 3 | 12 October 2011 | 16.4% (3rd) | 18.7% (3rd) | 18.2% (3rd) | 20.7% (2nd) |
| 4 | 13 October 2011 | 18.8% (2nd) | 22.6% (1st) | 19.1% (2nd) | 21.8% (2nd) |
| 5 | 19 October 2011 | 17.7% (3rd) | 20.6% (1st) | 18.3% (3rd) | 20.5% (3rd) |
| 6 | 20 October 2011 | 18.3% (3rd) | 20.8% (2nd) | 18.6% (2nd) | 19.1% (2nd) |
| 7 | 26 October 2011 | 17.9% (3rd) | 21.0% (2nd) | 18.9% (3rd) | 20.1% (2nd) |
| 8 | 27 October 2011 | 18.3% (3rd) | 20.5% (2nd) | 19.2% (2nd) | 20.5% (2nd) |
| 9 | 2 November 2011 | 17.3% (3rd) | 19.2% (2nd) | 17.4% (3rd) | 18.9% (3rd) |
| 10 | 3 November 2011 | 18.5% (3rd) | 20.7% (2nd) | 20.2% (2nd) | 22.1% (2nd) |
| 11 | 9 November 2011 | 17.9% (3rd) | 20.3% (2nd) | 19.1% (1st) | 20.4% (1st) |
| 12 | 10 November 2011 | 18.9% (1st) | 20.9% (1st) | 19.9% (1st) | 21.3% (1st) |
| 13 | 16 November 2011 | 18.7% (2nd) | 21.4% (2nd) | 19.4% (1st) | 20.9% (1st) |
| 14 | 17 November 2011 | 19.0% (3rd) | 21.6% (2nd) | 20.5% (1st) | 22.0% (2nd) |
| 15 | 23 November 2011 | 17.8% (3rd) | 20.6% (1st) | 20.1% (1st) | 21.1% (1st) |
| 16 | 24 November 2011 | 19.9% (2nd) | 21.9% (1st) | 21.1% (2nd) | 22.3% (1st) |
| 17 | 30 November 2011 | 18.8% (3rd) | 20.7% (1st) | 21.0% (1st) | 22.0% (1st) |
| 18 | 1 December 2011 | 18.6% (3rd) | 21.4% (1st) | 20.8% (2nd) | 22.2% (1st) |
| 19 | 7 December 2011 | 20.1% (2nd) | 23.1% (1st) | 21.6% (1st) | 23.0% (1st) |
| 20 | 8 December 2011 | 20.2% (2nd) | 23.5% (1st) | 21.7% (1st) | 23.0% (1st) |
| 21 | 14 December 2011 | 19.7% (2nd) | 22.3% (1st) | 21.9% (1st) | 23.3% (1st) |
| 22 | 15 December 2011 | 19.3% (3rd) | 22.1% (2nd) | 22.7% (1st) | 24.7% (1st) |
| 23 | 21 December 2011 | 19.7% (3rd) | 22.5% (1st) | 21.4% (1st) | 23.2% (1st) |
| 24 | 22 December 2011 | 23.6% (1st) | 27.5% (1st) | 25.4% (1st) | 27.3% (1st) |
Source: AGB Nielsen Korea
Awards [edit]
- 2011 SBS Drama Awards
- Grand Prize - Han Suk-kyu
- Best Drama
- Producer's Choice Award - Song Joong-ki
- Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special - Shin Se-kyung
- Top 10 Stars Award - Han Suk-kyu, Jang Hyuk
- Special Award, Actress in a Drama Special - Song Ok-sook
- 2012 (7th) Seoul International Drama Awards
- Grand Prize
- 2012 (48th) Baeksang Arts Awards
- Grand Prize
- Best Screenplay
Trivia [edit]
Real-life father and son Baek Yoon-sik and Baek Seo-bin co-starred in the drama.
References [edit]
- ^ Hong, Lucia (29 September 2011). "Jang Hyuk said did not want to take role in Tree at first". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "Actor Jang Hyuk's Soundtrack Picks". 10Asia. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved 2012-10-31.
- ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved 2012-10-31.
