A Frozen Flower

Set in the Goryeo dynasty, when the kingdom answered to the Mongol-led Yuan empire, A Frozen Flower centres on a king caught between his obligations and his private life. The monarch has no heir, and Yuan has married him to a princess of its own house, giving it grounds to remove him should the line fail. At court it is no secret that he favours Hong-rim, the commander of his personal guard, a bond that stirs resentment in the queen. Facing pressure to secure a successor, the king turns to Hong-rim with a request that draws the three of them into a conflict none of them can control.

This 2008 drama was written and directed by Yoo Ha, arriving between A Dirty Carnival and Gangnam Blues in a filmography that also includes Marriage Is a Crazy Thing and Once Upon a Time in High School. Yoo also wrote the screenplay, with Sin Gyeong-ho producing. Zo In-sung plays Hong-rim, Ju Jin-mo the king and Song Ji-hyo the queen, among a credited cast of twenty-seven. Made for about 10 million US dollars, it took roughly 19 million worldwide, a solid return for a Korean period drama. Audiences rate it 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb across some 5,700 votes and 6.9 out of 10 on TMDB from around 165, a narrower but comparable spread.