Original subtitles

Jang Yeong Sil

[Episode 13] Now that you're an official, you even learned how to lie.

Pardon me?

I came by last night.

I was told you were out, so I waited.

Well... That's...

Did you believe that?

Why would I wait for you all night?

I came out to see the stars,

and came here because I thought of you.

Let's go in.

Lord Lee will be happy to see you.

It's okay.

Let's go for a walk.

You must've made a simplified armilla after returning from Ming.

Where have you been making observations with it?

My lord.

I'm sorry.

(Jang Yeong Sil)

I cannot tell you.

Yeong Sil.

I'm the one who knows you the best out of everyone in this world.

Do you know what your face looks like now?

That face you had when you were standing before Ming's water clock.

You have that exact same look on your face now.

Just like how you revived that dead water clock,

you must be trying to solve a problem now.

Last night's lunar eclipse isn't included in Ming's calendar.

By any chance, did you predict it?

You did!

Then what was the difference between the time of the actual eclipse...

and what you predicted?

How many minutes was it off by?

It was off by 15 minutes.

That is amazing!

It was only off by 15 minutes.

The discrepancy could be bigger next time.

I think that there is a fundamental problem we're failing to address.

That is probably why errors keep occurring.

My lord. Please stop living in seclusion...

and meet the King.

It'd be amazing if you could join us.

The King...

has abandoned me because of what happened in Beijing.

I know that you and Lord Lee...

are not the type of people who would tattle on me.

But the King...

must have figured out everything I did.

No.

The King is waiting for you to pull yourself together and come back.

I think that I've been focusing more on...

agonising myself instead.

Listening to you now...

is making me think that my troubled heart has worsened.

Yeong Sil, you're filling my gap and being a great subject to him.

I, too,

was once the King's loyal subject whom he was fold of.

Go in now.

You have undertaken an important role, so be careful.

Do not let people find out where you're making your observations.

Don't let me find out, Yeong Sil.

My lord.

I will be waiting for you.

(Princess So Hyun: King Taejong's illegitimate daughter)

Put the chamber pot there.

If the Princess takes even one step out of this room,

your life will be on the line, Il Seon.

Do you understand?

For the next little while, my servants...

will be standing guard in front of your door and the fence.

Consider yourself informed.

I must discuss this matter with the King.

I will go and speak to the King.

I told you that you're not allowed to walk out of this room!

(Gyeongbokgung Palace)

(King Sejong: The fourth king of Joseon)

What brings you here?

Let His Majesty know immediately.

What brings you here?

Your Majesty, I apologise for visiting you like this...

without informing you in advance.

I'm aware that it may seem impolite,

but I need to speak with you about something urgent.

Your Majesty.

I visited Princess So Hyun because I heard the rumour.

The rumour must've already spread throughout the palace and the city.

Your Majesty. Jang Yeong Sil holds a post in the government now,

but he was born as a servant.

How could a servant marry King Taejong's daughter?

When things like this happen in noble families,

they beat up the servant to death.

A severer punishment is only just in case of a royal family.

Your Majesty.

Princess So Hyun must get remarried before it is too late.

You must find someone from a well-reputed family...

and make the Princess marry him.

- The Princess must be remarried. - The Princess must be remarried.

- The Princess must be remarried. - The Princess must be remarried.

(Office of Construction and Architecture)

Now, we know all formulas used in Guo Shoujing's Shoushi calendar.

We can also make clocks now.

But why did we fail to predict the lunar eclipse accurately again?

What is the problem?

Yeong Sil.

This. This. They want you to work on this now.

- This drawing. - Okay, I will.

Gosh, that startled me.

What are you doing now?

People who don't know their places are worse than lowly animals.

So I went through an ordeal to get those servant clothes...

so that you don't become one of those animals.

Don't ever forget that you were born as a servant!

Goodness.

Gosh, Suk Gu!

How dare a servant try to get involved when we, noblemen,

are trying to teach a lesson!

I don't know why you're doing this,

but are noblemen allowed to kick servants like this?

We're allowed to kick you, servants, as much as we want.

We, noblemen, are here to teach a lesson to you servants.

We can kick you 10,000 times.

There is a thing called hierarchy and order in this kingdom.

As your masters, it is our job to teach you manners.

- You jerk! - Don't call me like that.

As far as I know, my position is higher than yours.

You said that people of higher position should give a lesson.

I threw him because it'd be more effective than kicking.

Shall I throw him once again?

My position is higher than yours,

so I must follow your method to teach you a lesson.

Sure.

Go ahead.

I will also continue using the method...

to teach these two.

You will greatly regret this later.

I wouldn't have even started it if I were going to regret it.

What a lunatic.

You're oblivious to the situation you're in.

How dare you seduce the Princess and dream of becoming her husband!

The royal relatives went to speak to the King...

and asked him to stop you in tears.

You had no idea, did you?

The royal relatives aren't the only ones.

No nobleman in this land of Joseon...

will allow you to marry the Princess.

You will probably be murdered on the street.

I never intended to marry the Princess.

But how could you, noblemen, be allowed to kill me for it?

Right.

I guess you can't understand us.

I can't understand you either.

How could I understand you servants...

Should I act like this?

You servants work so hard.

I should be nice to you.

I'm sure you servants...

have dreams too.

Just like this,

if I can think in reverse and try to put myself in your shoes,

we could understand each other and lessen the gap between us.

A world where you,

who were born as a servant, doesn't have to suffer...

might actually be possible.

However,

expecting noblemen to understand servants...

is as ludicrous as...

thinking that the earth orbits the sun.

It's just impossible.

Yeong Sil!

Why are you trying to act like a nobleman...

and causing all of this mess?

Knowing your place and living as a servant will be much easier!

Why do you volunteer to risk your life like this?

What did you just say?

Did you speak about reversing our situations?

You said that could lessen the gap.

That's what you said, right?

Yes.

Expecting me to understand you...

is like thinking that the earth is orbiting the sun.

I am trying to tell you that it is absolutely impossible.

Do not forget.

That's right!

We never thought of reversing it.

We locked ourselves up inside what we thought we knew.

We were just immersed in our foolish thoughts...

Yes! We must get out of it!

The belief that the sun orbits the earth.

It must be changed!

Thank you!

Thank you very much!

You're my saviour.

You helped me realise something very important!

What a lunatic.

- Reversing the thought... - Listen, Yeong Sil.

What is wrong with you?

Have you lost your mind?

Why do you keep laughing like this?

Suk Gu.

I think I have a clue now.

It's about predicting lunar eclipses!

Yes.

I should reverse what I've been thinking.

I doubted it too.

I doubted the belief that the sun orbits the earth.

I'll calculate again assuming that the earth is orbiting.

It'd be truly amazing if it works!

(The observatory)

Let's reverse it.

This.

Let's reverse what we've been thinking.

Reverse it?

Goodness, should I do this again?

Well, it's a circle. It'll look the same even if you do that.

Right? It'll be the same, right?

I see. Is that so?

Then what are you saying that we should do?

What I'm trying to tell you is that...

we should reverse the locations of the sun and the earth.

Pardon?

Then are you saying that...

the earth is orbiting the sun...

Are you saying that we should think about that possibility?

Yes.

What did you say? That's complete nonsense.

What's wrong with you, Sir Jang?

I knew that he'd overwork himself...

and end up losing his mind like this.

Goodness.

Why are you being like this, Sir Jang?

Sir Park.

(Park Hyo Won)

The earth could be orbiting the sun?

Until the day we die,

we won't be able to prove how that'd work.

But I actually agree with Sir Jang's thoughts.

Venus, Mars and Jupiter move in a circle like that.

Their circular movement might actually be more odd...

than thinking that the earth might be orbiting the sun.

Don't you agree?

Sir Park.

That's exactly what I think.

Actually,

I read your notes from your studies...

in your notebook.

When did you...

I read them.

There were many innovative thoughts written in your notebook.

After reading your notes, I realised.

If we just believe what we see,

what we hear...

and what we already know,

we will never improve.

So what are you suggesting?

To be honest,

I started calculating the planet's circular movements again yesterday.

I wanted to prove that the belief is wrong.

And thanks to Sir Jang's suggestion,

I think I found a better solution.

Listen.

Then are you going to base your calculation on...

the assumption that the earth is orbiting?

If that's what you want to do, you need a calculation method...

that is different from what's used for Shoushi calendar.

I'll work on coming up with a new method.

By the way, why do you think that...

the earth orbits around the sun?

For instance, the earth could be orbiting around Jupiter.

That's right. Let's be open to all possibilities and try everything.

If my guess proves to be wrong,

we'll put Jupiter in the centre of the movement and calculate again.

Yes. If we're wrong this time, we'll think of all possibilities...

and calculate differently.

Yes, that's right.

But both the moon and Venus are...

invisible when the sun is up and only become visible at night.

The sun seems to have the most influence on other planets, so...

we should first assume that the sun is in the centre of the movements.

Then calculating the times of eclipses too...

We'll assume that the earth spins once a day...

while it orbits around the sun.

We'll think in reverse.

That's correct.

We'll reverse their positions.

My head is about to explode, okay?

I have...

always thought that I could happily die...

the moment...

I find out how the celestial sphere operates.

This earth.

The sun and the moon.

The five planets. I want to know how all planets move...

and why astronomical phenomena take place.

My father...

passed away after spending his entire life chasing the sun.

If we can find out these things,

we will be able to understand why...

phenomena like time, wind and seasons take place.

Right now, I'm feeling a thunder...

deep in my heart.

No one has tried these things before us!

I can guarantee that we're the first ones, indeed.

Who else would do such a ludicrous thing?

But...

Sir Jang looks so serious,

so he could prove to be right.

No. I hope that he is right.

Let's just say that we're crazy and try this thing.

I like that!

We're crazy.

We've been working hard here...

and have become crazy!

He's funny.

That's right. I've gone crazy too.

No. I'm the craziest one here!

No, no. If we're doing this anyway, I want to be the craziest one.

Wait, hold on.

I've gone totally crazy!

Wait, hang on! Hang on!

There's something we must do before we all go crazy.

We should make a copy of all the observation records.

Gosh, why?

What for? There's so much!

Just in case. They could be destroyed in fire.

All right. Sir Park and Sir Lim, please develop a new formula.

- Sure. - Understood.

Sir Choi and Sir Sung, please work on making the copy with me.

Sir Jang, why are you doing this to me?

You know that I'm well versed in arithmetics.

Let me work on coming up with the new formula.

Who is against me working on the formula?

I can't believe this.

- Goodness... - Mum...

Mum...

Mum!

- Mum... - Mum...

This country has gone mad. This is crazy.

She got those severe punishments just for not using coins.

She was dragged to the police agency too.

How does this make any sense?

Those coins could become useless anytime.

How could they expect us to use them?

She must've felt very wrongly accused.

She took her own life and left her little ones behind like that.

My blood would've boiled too if I were her.

I would've bitten through my tongue and killed myself!

Even if the government threatens us with extremely severe punishments...

in an effort to make us use the coins, it won't work.

It's so pathetic that they don't know it.

When the entire family is starving,

the only things we can depend on are rice and oil.

Joseon Tongbo or whatever they're called. Those stupid coins.

It's not like we could eat them when we're starving!

Can the King think or not? Goodness.

Gosh, seriously. It's beyond pathetic.

Today, I made...

one of my people lose her life.

Your Majesty.

Even if the policy was designed to make the people's lives better,

if could bring forth...

unforeseen problems when it is implemented.

It is the ministers' fault for not being able to foretell the issues.

We'll make sure to be more thorough and thoughtful in the future.

Making the people understand my intentions...

is very difficult, indeed.

The distance between me and the people is immense.

I wasn't even aware of it.

Am I really a good ruler?

Your Majesty, please do not burden yourself too heavily.

There was nothing you could do.

No.

I don't feel burdened at all.

I'm actually gathering my strength now.

Please take care of those children who lost their mother.

I will make sure that something like this will never happen again.

I will also do my best to take great care of those children.

Your Majesty. It will get dark soon.

You should return to the palace now.

We need to stop by somewhere.

(Princess So Hyun's residence)

Your Highness, I apologise for visiting you unexpectedly.

Please think of me as an uncle and talk comfortably.

Your Majesty.

So Hyun.

All royal relatives are visiting me every day to pester me...

about making you get remarried.

Don't get remarried.

I came here to tell you that.

If I force you to do something you don't want to do,

how will I stand before the people...

and promise them that I will do what they want?

That is why I'm not making you get remarried.

I am not able to...

help you marry Yeong Sil right now.

I'm sorry.

Your Majesty.

I guess I'm slow.

I had no idea that the two of them have feelings for each other.

Right, Your Majesty.

You must be slow, indeed.

Sir Hwang.

He had no idea.

Until the day I can help the two of you get married,

will you be able to endure through the painful times?

Yes, I will endure it all.

You must also need to endure a lot...

in order to go against all the royal relatives.

I cannot say that I won't be able to endure it.

I apologise, Your Majesty.

You're already going through a lot to govern the kingdom.

I feel that I made your life more difficult.

I am so sorry that I don't even know what to say to you.

Don't worry.

This actually taught me many things.

The two of you are also my people.

As time goes on, the people will desire more and more things, and...

I'll go through many difficulties to fulfil their wishes.

So I decided that I, as the King, will not live comfortably...

in order to fulfil all of my people's wishes.

For the betterment of the people's lives, I'll think harder...

and study harder.

Perhaps I'm a greedy king, when it comes to...

wanting to improve the people's lives.

I was thinking that I don't have many days left to live,

but now, I suddenly have this desire to live a long life.

What I mean is that I want to live a longer life...

than the King and die after him.

Tell me. Why do you want to live longer than the King?

I'm just curious.

His Majesty never ceases to amaze me with his wisdom and insightfulness.

I don't want to die because...

I want to see the future of Joseon that he will create.

I want to live just two more years than His Majesty.

I wish for no more.

Then you could just live one more day than him.

You're so clueless.

After he passes away,

I'll go around the town and say, "I served that wonderful King."

I should brag about it for at least two years before I die.

If our King...

lives to be 100,

does that mean I must live...

to be 130?

My lord.

Thank you for letting us observe the sky and create our calendar.

Joseon will become a great nation one day.

But...

deep inside my heart...

blooms a flower of sadness.

Do you know why a full moon is so sad?

Why is it sad?

A full moon is full...

and has nothing left to do but to wane.

Think about our King and the men who serve him.

There is me,

and there is you.

There are Jeong Cho, Jeong Heum Ji and Jeong In Ji.

And the many scholars at Hall of Worthies.

Although they are against what the King does,

Ha Yeon and Heo Jo are upright scholars of Confucianism.

There are many good men.

The King has...

enough people around him to be able to create...

a great generation.

So many talented people have met.

The King's moon is fit to burst.

Our King is well and truly blessed.

All we have to wish for now...

is for the moon's light to reach every man in the nation.

Life...

has its ups and downs.

Everything our King has planned for the future...

can only better us and help us rise.

Then there will be a downhill.

I fear he will lose too easily what he worked so hard to gain.

You worry too much.

That is exactly what we calculated.

So why is there a discrepancy?

Trust me. This time, it will be right.

Jang.

Do I really seem clumsy?

Maybe.

(Yoon Joong Bu)

I shall think of the Wandering Star as you and look at it.

Then...

I will also think of you when I look at the Wandering Star.

(Office of Construction and Architecture)

You must find jade to send to Ming,

do your duties here,

and observe the stars in secret.

You must be busy.

(Ha Yeon)

Why are you so shocked?

I know what...

you and the King...

have been doing in secret.

Stop studying the stars.

If you do not,

Ming will find out,

and the Emperor will send his men to crush us for betraying him.

Our people will die...

and our nation will be destroyed.

Imagine all those innocent people dying.

Jang Yeong Sil.

You and the King...

will be responsible.

It will be on you!

How much...

do you trust and believe in...

our King?

I trust and believe...

his feelings...

and the love he has...

for his people.

Our King...

has no idea how fearsome Ming can be.

He thinks that even if he makes our own calendar,

it will not become that big of an issue.

The second he realises just how fearsome Ming can be,

he will forget all about you...

and abandon you.

He would...

never do that.

No.

He must do that.

Because...

he is the King.

Any King must one day...

abandon those who were closest to him.

That comes with the power of the crown.

So before the King abandons you,

you must leave.

That is the last thing you can possibly do...

to protect the King and serve Joseon.

If you...

do not do as I say,

then I must...

kill you all for our sake.

I cannot exchange a calendar for the future of Joseon.

Please, my lord.

Please...

turn a blind eye.

We are not...

doing this to ruin Joseon.

Our studies will soon bear fruit.

We can live by a time that our stars tell,

not the time that the Ming Emperor told us to use.

Our farmers can work according to our seasons.

As much as you love our people,

please understand that our work will help them also.

I have watched you for years...

and it broke my heart.

Had you been born a noble,

your great mind and calm nature would have made you...

a great scholar.

You could have done so much for Joseon and its people that way.

I am sure that...

I am using the talents I was given to help the people.

All I said...

fell on deaf ears.

I gave you...

a chance to save everyone.

Remember that...

everything that happens from now on...

will be your fault.

It is all on you.

Do you understand?

You won't be able to...

find our observatory.

We will continue our work.

And we will do so in secret if we must.

Wait and see.

Until now,

you managed to deceive me.

We shall see...

how you manage.

Let's see how well you hide.

Are you here to see me?

(Jang Hee Je)

Yes, my lord.

I shall stop what Yeong Sil and the King are up to.

The loyal Jang Hee Je is back at last.

I must be in full control.

You have men spying on them to locate the observatory.

Send them to me.

Very well. I will leave everything to you.

I know how loyal you are,

so don't worry.

I am so grateful that you decided to step up.

Thank you for believing in me.

Go.

Go and save Joseon.

Yes, my lord.

(Sung Sa Guk)

(Kim Hak Joo)

So you want to build an archive...

and bury the extra copies beneath it?

Yes. That way, they will survive a fire.

About building the archives.

Must it be so far away from the observatory?

It's just hard to get to.

The extra copies must be as far from the originals as possible.

What if our observatory were to be burned down?

We'd lose the extra copies we made.

The further away they are, the safer they'll be.

You're right.

They must be kept safe.

Losing the records of our observations in a fire?

Just the thought of it makes my heart ache.

We have no time to waste.

Let's get digging, shall we?

Here, I have some spades you will need to do just that.

I will do the digging.

Jang, you can rest.

(Lim Myung Deok, Park Hyo Won)

Yes. We'll dig.

You have something else to do.

Let me.

- Let me. - No.

Yes. He's right.

Lim and Park have to finish the calculations.

We can't wait until you are done.

I shall dig the hole.

You two have something more important to do.

What? I'm a good digger.

Wait and see.

Hang on.

Sung always goes missing when there's work to do.

You're very right.

I bet he got bored of copying books.

I hope he comes back soon.

I wonder how he will react when he sees that...

an even harder task has been set for him.

Wait... Wait.

Just a moment.

I need to...

My stomach...

I have to go.

I need to go.

That's what he'll say.

You're right.

- Let's go and dig. - Let's go.

Is this that big of a deal?

I'm sorry.

Watch out.

Someone could sleep in here.

Shall I?

Well done. You've never built anything before.

It's not like he did anything.

You were all talk, so I bet your mouth hurts.

You wouldn't know,

but directing is a tough job.

Now we have extra copies.

It's such a relief.

It is.

Until now, you managed to deceive me.

We shall see how you manage.

Let's see how well you hide.

My brother would like to see you.

Your King has lost his mind.

(Mohwakwan: Place of accommodation for Ming's envoys)

How could he do something that unbelievable...

unless he has lost his mind?

You.

What did you say the last time we met?

(Yoon Bong)

You have a mouth. Use it!

I said that if you created a calendar,

my Emperor would send soldiers to crush you.

What did you say?

I apologise.

Please forgive us...

and turn a blind eye.

Burn the observatory to the ground...

and kill everyone you find in or around it.

Especially Jang Yeong Sil.

If you do that, I will return and pretend that nothing happened.

I will let you off just this once.

Yes. I understand.

These lunatics.

They will be the death of me.

If the Emperor finds out,

he will kill me on the spot.

Joseon is done for.

(Do Won Pyung)

Along with that foolish Yoon Bong.

I shall go and...

find a messenger to inform the Emperor...

of this incredible news.

Please...

Please don't.

I will...

make sure that the observatory is burned down.

Please, please inform your Emperor that...

we chose to destroy...

what we were trying to create in favour of your calendar.

Let me see...

How will your sons do in the state exam?

Let me see.

The names and birth dates...

Your son will never become an official.

What?

He has done nothing but study...

for the past three years.

If he can't pass the exam, who can?

If you are that confident,

why are you even consulting a fortune-teller?

Who would worry if everything we read would stay up here?

All he does is sit at his desk.

He is not destined to enter the office.

We should leave, ma'am.

Let me see...

Will we be able to predict the lunar and solar eclipses...

successfully and accurately?

Of course it's a yes.

Oh dear.

This means a disaster will befall us.

What...

What a terrible omen this is.

This means...

death.

Is something bothering you, Sir?

Yes.

Something is bothering me.

You have been...

studying the skies with Yeong Sil.

I have not looked up at the skies for a while now.

Excuse me.

Very soon...

your observatory will be found out.

Everyone there will die.

Don't you...

want to live?

Do you have it?

Do you?

(Jang Yeong Sil)

The new calculations are complete.

When will I be able to escape this torture?

Are you any better than me?

Who was it?

Name the people you suspect!

There is a tomb...

on the south side of Mount Soraesan in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.

(Mount Soraesan)

It is the tomb of Joseon scholar and court official Ha Yeon.

The drama portrays him as a minister...

who opposes all things scientific,

but in actuality, he was a great man...

who eventually became Prime Minister.

He was also King Munjong's tutor and he wrote many books.

One of his works is "The Geology of Gyeongsang Province",

which helps us understand...

life in early Joseon.

Not far from the tomb...

is a building erected in his memory.

(Sosan Seowon)

One small building on the grounds houses Ha Yeon's memorial tablet.

His descendants gather here every year to remember him...

and his great legacy.

They also work hard to preserve local traditions.

Ha Yeon was a great scholar and a loyal subject to the king.

Why not visit his tomb and learn more about his life?

(Ha Yeon's tomb and Sosan Seowon)