궁Goong : Princess hours 궁

Episode 1-2 one shot episode

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 1-2

This is going to be a very prince-and-princessy story. A Cinderella tale full of antagonistic couples, formal outfits, national gossip and really big palaces. Bring it on.

In an alternate-present South Korea, the land operates under an English-style constitutional monarchy (much like in the recent popular show King 2 Hearts). The royal family's Crown Prince Shin is in his last year of high school, but his grandmother decides that it's time for him to marry because the family numbers are dwindling. Shin's bride has already been picked by his deceased grandfather, the former king. But everyone is shocked by the old king's choice of an arranged marriage for his heir--Shin will be marrying a sloppy, profoundly ordinary commoner named Chaekyung.

Our Heroine. Teenage Magnet for Disaster.

What's more, Chaekyung already attends the same arts academy as the prince. She knows that Shin is half-dating/half-best buds with Hyorin, a classy ballet dancer at their school. It's not clear whether they're really a couple, because while some people refer to them as dating, Hyorin talks about not wanting to ruin their good friendship. Shin asks Hyorin to marry him, because otherwise his parents will pick a wife for him. But Hyorin wants to be a world-famous dancer unfettered by the strict palace life, so she turns down his proposal.

Now we learn more about Chaekyung. Her home is chaotic--her dad is a jolly house husband, while mom became the uptight breadwinner after Dad's business went under. When they all learn of the old king's promise regarding the royal marriage, there's a cute scene of Chaekyung debating whether to get married or not as her family goes crazy in the background, hoping she'll agree. (There are some identical conversations in Boys Over Flowers, where the family is thrilled to have their daughter get close with a rich guy, and where mom especially insists that money is everything.)

Forced to Marry a Rich, Handsome Prince to Save her Family. Poor Child.

Chaekyung reluctantly agrees to the marriage, and although Shin agrees as well, he starts to show his full princely coldness to Chaekyung. He outright calls Chaekyung ugly and disgraceful. When Chaekyung asks why he didn't just marry Hyorin instead of agreeing to an engagement with her, Shin says that he wouldn't want Hyorin to be cooped up in the stuffy palace for the rest of her life. But he doesn't care about Chaekyung, so it's fine if she's the one trapped. Ugh. I was on Shin's side until he let loose with that piece of barbed meanness.

Cold and Sharp, Like A...Cold, Sharp Thing.

Meanwhile, we learn that Shin's cousin Yul has been living in England for 14 years, but he's returning home to Korea. All the servants love him and remember him fondly, and Yul is generally lighter-hearted than Shin, perhaps because his life hasn't been so full of official obligations. The Queen Mother is thrilled to see her grandson Yul, but the Queen is displeased because she thinks he might supplant her own son, Shin.

Yul and His Uppercrust Tea-Drinking Habit. 

It turns out that Shin's father, the King, is secretly sick, and the Queen worries that Yul is here to make a true play for the throne, since his own dead father was the current king's older brother. And another Yul-related kicker? The Old King's promise was not that Shin specifically marry Chaekyung, but that "the prince who is to take the throne" would marry her. Ooh. We might get a royal marriage, but it might not be the one we expect! Yul's going to be important later on, I'm sure.