by jadea, February 2, 2016
61

I’ve watched plenty of dramas over the years and they’ve all been great! Well, most of them anyway.

While some dramas are good, others are filled with clichés, overused tropes and just plain unoriginal storylines. I mean, if you’re going to be cliché-filled and unoriginal, at least make it interesting. If I see one more chaebol drama with a cold male lead, a female lead that everyone steps on and an evil mother-in-law, I might scream!

I watch dramas like that (I won’t mention names) and get so bored that I find myself thinking about all the potential storylines that could be written but aren’t being written. There’s a big world out there and so many topics dramas have yet to cover!

So I keep thinking to myself, “What kind of drama would I like to see?“ – or better yet, “If I were a drama writer, what would I write?”

And so, if I were a drama writer, the first drama I’d write would revolve around an idea that’s been floating around in my head for the longest time…

A sageuk! Wait, wait, wait! Don’t run away yet! I’m not talking about one of those super long and boring sageuks where all the officials sit around for the majority of the show trying to figure out the best way to manipulate the king. These types of dramas are usually filled with heavy dialogue and political topics I have a hard time following.

Nope, instead this drama would be all about a gisaeng house!

But not just any gisaeng house. These gisaengs aren’t your average gisaengs… because they’re men! I know gender benders (one of my favorite tropes) have been done before a million times over, but usually they're about women pretending to be men and rarely, rarely the other way around. Is that too much to ask for?!

But anyway, this gisaeng house is full of drag queens who entertain on a daily basis. They sing and dance for men and women that want to see a different kind of show. Though this gisaeng house is Joseon’s best-kept secret, people hear about it through word of mouth, making it a popular house that many flock to in order to see the guys perform.


                                                               Main Characters

There are three gisaengs who are the most popular in the house and the most sought-after.

The main male lead is…

Park Seo Joon! Because I love him. His character, due to some unforeseen (typical drama) events, winds up all alone with no family and no place to stay – until he’s scouted in the market by a gisaeng owner who wants him to come and perform.

Of course Seo Joon’s character can’t say no because the man is offering him a place to stay where he won’t have to worry about braving the Joseon winter or where his next meal is coming from. So he agrees, but he is skeptical at first because he’s just so shy and reserved, he couldn’t possibly perform in front of an audience – and certainly not dressed as a girl.

Fortunately for him, he finds that performing in drag isn’t all that bad. It’s actually quite fun and Seo Joon becomes a completely different person when he performs.

The main female lead will be played by…

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Yoon Eun Hye! Because it’s been way too long since she’s been in a drama, especially a good one. Her character is feisty, sarcastic and smart. Her vocabulary is filled with curse words but she’s as sweet as she can be – unless you cross her.

She’s landed at the gisaeng house in search of her missing sister who she knows had been employed there at some point. When she’s not searching for clues, she works at the gisaeng house teaching the guys the ways of a gisaeng.

When she first meets a timid Seo Joon, she thinks he’s boring and probably hopeless, but quickly discovers that as soon as he puts on makeup and a hanbok, there’s more to him than meets the eye.

Second male lead has to be…

Yoon Hyun Min! Because this drama needs a bromance and if Witch’s Romance is any indicator, he and Seo Joon are great together.

His character is the complete opposite of Seo Joon’s. He’s outgoing, goofy, and loud (a type of role he’s brilliant at) and wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s been at the gisaeng house for years now and when he first meets Seo Joon, he makes it his mission to become the guy’s best friend. Seo Joon’s a little stand-offish at first, but slowly comes around when he realizes that Hyun Min’s a good guy he can trust.

He’s a natural performer of course. He’ll fall in love with a serious woman who goes to the gisaeng house to see what all the fuss is about, since some of her fellow nobles want to shut it down because they think it’s inappropriate. It’s love at first sight for Hyun Min, but he’ll have to get her to see that he’s more than just a man-child… in a dress. I can’t help but picture Hyun Min flirting with her using all the feminine ways he’s learned as a gisaeng.

This popular gisaeng house needs an owner to make sure everything goes smoothly. He’ll be played by…

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Park Hyeok Kwon! Because I’ve already gotten a taste of his flamboyancy in Six Flying Dragons and that tells me he’d be great here. Plus, he looks great in eyeshadow.

His character is an ex-cop who got hurt while on duty. Thus he had to find a new way to make a living, so why not open up a unique type of gisaeng house? Cross-dressing has always been his secret passion and here he’s free to be himself. He has a kind heart and takes in the poor souls he finds on the street. He’s like a father to them all and takes care of them like they’re his own.

And last but not least….

Hong Eun Taek! Because I decided it would be cute to have a little cutie pie running around. He’ll play the gisaeng house owner’s son and honestly he’s just here to be cute. He imitates his dad and dresses in full gisaeng gear, too. He goes around meddling in adult conversations, offering them advice, and seems to know way too much for a kid his age. Everyone loves him, even though he’s a brat sometimes.


                                                            The Main Conflict

Now while all this cutesy and funny stuff is going on, we’ve got to have a central plot, right? While all our guys – and girl – are working at the gisaeng house, a murder takes place at another notable house.

Everyone is led to believe that it is an isolated incident until another murder occurs at a different house. When one of their own disappears, they decide to work together to find him before he becomes another victim of the gisaeng murderer. Seo Joon, Hyun Min and Eun Hye will take it upon themselves to investigate when the police dismiss their concerns. They figure that they ought to be able to find out something. After all, a lot of shady people like to say a lot of shady things in front of the entertainers when they think they’re not listening.

With the help of their former policeman “Madam” and clues Eun Hye’s sister left behind, they’ll get closer and closer to the person behind all the murders and their motive for committing them.

Who do you guys think would be a good fit for a murderous villain? And if you're feeling extra creative, what would their motive be?

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