Focusing on the Positive with The King: Eternal Monarch

Today I want to focus on the positive.

And what better way for me than to focus on the show I can’t stop watching: The King: Eternal Monarch.

There are many things I love about this Korean romantic-fantasy on Netflix that overcome the very few things I noticed that were lacking continuity or were a little awkward from where I was sitting. It was these negative pieces that were often the focal point of many reviewers. I found reading these negative reviewers to be...well...negative and unhelpful.

For me, focusing on the positive makes this a more enriching experience.

“If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” -- Rabbi Harold Kushner

Let me see if I can convince you.

Let’s start with the imagery. The colours, the mix in depth of focus, the different camera angles, the framing...so many of the shots were simply stunning. This actually includes the over the top product placement throughout -- which may be why so many of the shots were so beautiful. They could afford to make it so.

The original soundtrack is also beautiful and moving. I would love to sing along, although I don’t know enough Korean. So I will settle for just humming along. Even the English translation of the song Gravity is beautiful:

The silent screams

Help me to breathe

In this place where no one answers

Your touch leads me

Above the waters

And I follow you as if I’m bewitched

In your eyes

We’re facing our destiny

A big pull that can’t be denied

Gravity

Dark nights

Filled with long sighs

In my mixed up time

Your voice wraps around my dry heart

So I chase after you as if I’m drunk

In your eyes

We’re facing our destiny

A big pull that can’t be denied

Gravity

Can you feel me?

I’m spreading into you

Thickly colored by you

In your eyes

We’re facing our destiny

A big pull that can’t be denied

We’ve come close to the tip of the universe

A big pull that can’t be denied

Gravity

Source: https://ilyricsbuzz.com/kim-jong-wan-gravity/

The script written by the amazing Kim Eun-sook contains three specific themes throughout that simply speak to me:

1) Being a die hard romantic, the King’s words to Jeung Tae-eul are incredibly romantic. They are spoken without hesitation, without any hint of doubt, and with a sincerity you wouldn’t doubt.

Some of my favourite phrases from the English subtitles include the following:

“If that door closes, I’ll open all the doors in the universe. And I’ll come to you.” From Episode 12.

“Don’t tell me not to come and don’t tell me not to leave. I have to go back sometimes and when I do, I want to come back soon. Whichever it is, if you tell me not to come or leave, I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything. So I’m asking you not to get exhausted.” From Episode 7.

And the ending:

“No matter what kind a door opens before us in life…

And even if the moments we share make us sad at times,

I wish to love tirelessly.

Just like that, we decided to love the fate that chose us.

Just for today, and only today.

And forever.”

2) The King is an amateur mathematician and his reference to mathematics and architecture are truly beautiful.

“Among real numbers, zero is my favourite. You have the nature of that number. ...Usually, a zero means that there is nothing, but it’s actually a number of absolute power. It can nullify any number or take everything away from it. What makes money powerful is not the number at the front, but the number of zeros behind it. A number trapped in a root symbol can escape under only two circumstances. They need to have a square root or meet the power number, zero. You’re always busy, and you don’t care much for me. Because of you, I’m powerless here, but it’s fine. You are much more amazing than I had imagined. And you’re standing in front of the root symbol I’m trapped in.” From Episode 3.

“The architect Richard Fuller said, “When I find a solution to a problem, I know that I am wrong if the solution is not beautiful...Whatever problem you are working on, I hope your solution and your answer are both beautiful.” From Episode 5.

3) The moving poetry of Kim Sowol from his one and only book, Azaleas: A Book of Poems, is woven throughout, as if the story was created with his words in mind. The following are two of the poems featured:

The Stream

Translated by https://bitchesoverdramas.com/2020/05/26/the-king-the-azaleas-poem-3/

What is your reason for doing that?

Sitting alone by the stream

The green grass was sprouting

And the water was splashing from the spring breeze.

You promised that even if you go,

You won’t be gone forever.

That is what you promised.

I sit by the stream each day

And think about it endlessly:

When you promised that even if you go,

You won’t be gone forever,

Were you asking me not to forget you?

My House

Translated by David R. McCann

At the base of a distant hill, the edge of a field

hard by the shore of the broad sea,

I shall build it, my own house,

And put a wide road out front,

Those who go by, some

might stop in, then go on alone.

The day will turn dark at the rise by the white rapid.

I shall stand at the gate and wait.

From shadows growing lighter as dawn birds cry,

the day turns bright and still,

the morning comes sparkling,

and I look at each one who passes, wondering

Might it be you? Might it be?

Imagine if we could all be this romantic.

Lastly, the pacing of some of the scenes is set in a way of truly evoking the emotions of the characters, allowing the viewer to experience the full impact. So when they hurt, you hurt. When they love, you love. When they cry, you cry. When was the last time you felt that while watching a TV show?

While I might watch a show for pure entertainment and/or escapism, I also love how this show pushes me to appreciate today, and only today, and the goodness that I have in my own life.

This concludes the reasons for why I love The King: Eternal Monarch: a mix of what I see, what I hear, what I read, what I feel and what I am grateful for.

Now how did reading this make you feel?

Did you notice how focusing on the positive can be a valuable experience?

Now just imagine if you focused on the positive of every member of your team.

Just imagine how that would make them feel.

Just imagine how that would make you feel.

Photo: Tammy Brimner/TLBVelo Photography