About This D

The story is set in Korea under the Joseon Dynasty, during the reigns of King Seongjong, King Yeonsan-gun (1494-1506) and King Jungjong (1506-1544). The story begins with Lady Yun, mother of Yeonsan-gun (the Crown Prince at the time) being poisoned by a group of imperial guards under the order of the king.

After the incident, an imperial guard, Seo Cheon-soo, who accompanied the group, returns to his home but suffers an accident on his way back. He is rescued by a Taoist hermit, who tells him that his life will revolve around three women: that he shall cause the death of the first woman, that he will save the life of the second woman but will also cause her to die, and a third woman who, finally, will cause his death, but who will be the savior of many lives. (It does not become clear until much later that the three women are Lady Yun (Yeonsangun's mother), Park Myeong-yi (Jang-geum's mother), and lastly, Jang-geum herself.). Psychological distress from the incident eventually caused him to resign. On the other hand, Palace maid Park, an apprentice at the Royal Kitchen, witnesses a conspiracy against the Queen Mother by Lady Choi (who had added a toxin to the food) and Park Myeong-yi is in turn indicted on false charges by the inner circle of senior kitchen staff, and secretly executed per their internal procedures (forced to drink poison). She is first saved by Palace maid Han, who mixes antidote in the poison served and slips her a letter, and later saved, inadvertently by the retired Seo. The two married and secretly lived in a remote village, posing as low class people cheonmin, raising a very bright young daughter, Seo Jang-geum.

In the year 1504, King Yeonsangun orders a massive investigation into his mother's murder, and eventually finds Seo and his family, partly because Jang-geum had immaturely blurt out the truth that her parents were not low-class people, that Seo was a military officer of the palace. This leads to the arrest of Seo and the scattering of their family. Jang-geum and her mother fled, but her mother was fatally wounded by their enemies. Before her death, she tells Jang-geum her last wish, that should she choose to do so, is for her to become the Top Lady of the Royal Kitchen and record the injustice done to her, in the kitchen Ladies' journal or record book (to restore her honor).

Jang-geum goes through some adventures and manages to enter the palace. Through her courage, curiosity, talent, kind-heartedness and hard work, she helps Lady Han (her mother's best friend, which she does not discover until much later) to become the Top Lady. During her years in the palace, she undergoes many ordeals and is shunned because she is smarter than the other apprentices. Jang-geum, however, does not become discouraged and continues cooking with the philosophy that the goal of cooking is to bring good health and happiness to the person who eats the food. Unfortunately, a conspiracy headed by Lady Choi and her niece Geum-yeong, as well as high-rank officials and merchant Pan-sul Choi (Lady Choi's brother) to retain monopoly over Royal Kitchen supplies, results in the exile of Lady Han and Jang-geum to Jeju Island, on false accusations. On the way to Jeju, an exhausted Lady Han dies of a fever. Back in the palace, Lady Choi replaces her as the Top Lady.

While Jang-geum is in the Jeju Island, she meets Jang-deok, whom she initially believed was a fellow slave. However, she soon discovers that Jang-deok is a famous Medical woman. Jang-deok's frank and pragmatic nature initially offends her, but she soon learns that she is truly dedicated to her profession of saving lives.

Jang-geum learns that competent medical women can be selected into the Palace through a vigorous selection process. She realizes that that is only way to return the palace to avenge her mother and Lady Han. Under Jang-deok, she learns medicine, and her hard work and tenacity nature makes her a competent medical woman.

However, in her quest to become a medical woman, she has to learn to rid herself of the hatred in her heart, in order to truly embrace the virtues of being a medical practitioner. This she does, and eventually successfully re-enters the palace.

Soon, she comes face to face with Geum-yeong, who has now become the Top Lady. Her predecessor, the ruthless Lady Choi, has become Chief Lady,[1] after ousting the previous Lady Park. As they plot to rid themselves of her once and for all, Jang Geum's relationship with Lt. Min Jeung-ho intensifies, and the love story between them develops. Eventually, through a dramatic interrogation process, the past plots of Lady Choi and her subordinates are revealed, resulting in the destruction of the Choi family (with Geum-yeong as the family's last descendent) and high-ranking officials.

Through her dedication to the royal family, perseverance and skill, she was subsequently recognised as the best medical personnel in the palace. Previously, Jang-Geum had correctly diagnosed the Queen as having a stillborn fetus in her womb, saving her life. She had also managed to convince the Queen Mother to undergo medical treatment and had found out the root cause of the King's chronic illness, which had remained misdiagosed for a long time by royal physicians. Now, she further earns the gratitude of the Queen, when she successfully cures her son, the prince, of smallpox, which was a fatal disease.

In a strange turn of events, the King falls in love with Jang-Geum, but refrains from making her a royal concubine because he understands that Jang-Geum's loves lie with Jeung-ho and in medicine. In recognition of her achievements and to keep her by his side, the King decides to make her his personal physician, conferring on her the use of "Dae" (meaning "The Great") before her first name and the position of a third grade official in a 9-rank system (where the lowest-ranking official is the ninth-rank official).

The King's decision is met with much controversy and outcry from scholars and ministers, since having a woman in the elite bureaucracy was an open defiance of Confucianist ideals and having a medical woman as the King's personal physician as unheard of. Jang-Geum, after understanding that she could assert the rights and capability of women by accepting the post, reluctantly does so at personal risk. Min Jeung-ho, in his staunch support of her promotion, is indicted for going against scholarly teachings and exiled. They are thus separated.

The King became critically-ill and there was little Jang-geum could do, despite her comprehensive understanding of his condition and attentive care. He could no longer be treated with acupuncture or medicine. As a last resort, she suggested surgery. The court officials were horrified at her revolutionary approach, which was unheard of and moreover, the King was considered too sacred to be allowed to bleed. Though the King believed in her, he was concerned that should the surgery fail, Jang-geum would surely be put to death. With his condition deteriorating, the King knew his end was near, but he was more worried about Jang-geum's fate. To protect her, the King sent her away against her wishes, allowing her to reunite with Jeong-ho and escape the palace. They married and live together for eight years with their daughter. All this while, Jang-geum and Jeong-ho are compelled to lead vagrant lives, as their detractors have been searching for them since King Junjong's death. However, Jang-geum continues to help patients wherever she goes.

As a result, they were finally traced and ordered to return to the palace. Instead of being punished, both reinstated by the Queen Mother - formerly Queen Munjeong who favoured Jang-geum when she was a medical woman, and now wields enormous power. However, they are wary of the palace politics and decided to move on. The story ends as Jang-geum successfully performs the first caesarean surgery ever for a pregnant peasant-woman.

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