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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Jing Bi-rok" Episode 47

Well, it's finally happened. After forty plus episodes of King Seonjo being a generally ineffectual leader, his insecurities finally get the best of him. King Seonjo makes an obviously terrible decision based on the self-serving advice of a minority of his advisors and from here, it's only going to get worse. What really stands out about the situation is just how ridiculous it is- even the Japanese seem to be in complete disbelief as to the scale of their good luck here. Not that this in any way weakens their resolve.

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What's especially awkward about Lee Soon-shin's imprisonment is how so many people, even the members of the political faction that pushed for it, have obvious second thoughts. The worried looks on their faces at the carousing scene are pretty inescapable. The problem is that there's not really any way to turn back from a decision this big. Go that far, and everyone might as well admit that they're either stupid or outright malicious.

Seong-ryong does what he can to try and ameliorate the situation but he's not able to do much precisely because what's happened is really that important. Now that the threat of apparent invasion is apparently gone, King Seonjo isn't depressed, and he's trying to act more like an assertive leader. Unfortunately he's assertively making wrong decisions, which is an element a lot of leaders tend to forget. Aggressive behavior isn't automatically strong- a lot of the time it's just plain stupid.

It's something that's hard for me to forget, having grown up in the United States in the early 2000's. There was just this huge disconnect everybody had in regards to what a strong leader actually looks like. Bush only commanded any kind of "respect" with the moderate right-wing American electorate. Everyone else thought he was a bumbling bully. Of course, it's not like King Seonjo in weak-willed Obama mode was much better...

And that's really the broader moral point here. There's not some magic switch Seong-ryong can flip on to turn on to turn King Seonjo into the leader that Korea actually needs right now. In the end Lee Soon-shin ends up having the best idea of what to do- he just accepts what he knows can't change, and hopes that the situation doesn't completely degrade in his absence. For this, he's rewarded a meager concession by the end of the episode. It's not much, but for now, it will have to be enough.

Review by William Schwartz

"Jing Bi-rok" is directed by Kim Sang-hwi and Kim Yeong-jo, written by Jeong Hyeong-soo and Jeong Ji-yeon and features Kim Sang-joong, Kim Tae-woo, Im Dong-jin, Kim Hye-eun, Lee Kwang-ki and Lee Kwang-ki.

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