This was a Korean version of grand settings and fabulous costume, and smoking hot actors and actresses. The story was well written and the acting was superb. The drama was intense with moments of humour to lighten the tension. It invoked a whole range of emotions - anger, suspense, sadness, laughter, romance, joy... It featured betrayal and loyalty, love and hatred, and jealousy - the common emotions in life. It was almost like the drama Nirvana in Fire but with the key strategist a woman (a slave girl) instead of a man (a former general).

The story centred around Empress Ki who became the empress in the Yuan (Mongolian) dynasty which ruled China and Mongolia. Although of Korean descent, she rose from a tribute slave girl to the highest female position among the Yuan nobilities. Many of the characters in the story existed in history, but of course the story was twisted to make it highly dramatised - otherwise who would watch it.

The story was very well woven together and very complicated. The story centred around Ki Nyang (the empress), Emperor Toghon Temur of Yuan and King Wang Yoo (Korean King). The Korean King struggled to keep his throne while the Yuan are scheming to take over the kingdom to make it part of the Mongolian empire. Emperor Temur grew from a frightened teenager living in the shadow of his ambitious regents to become an emperor who won the respect of the various feudal lords and commanded an empire. In the middle of it all was their rivalry over Ki Nyang's love.

Empress Ki (Ha Ji Won), Emperor Toghon Temur (Ji Chang Wook), King Wang Yoo (Joo Jin Mo), Tanashili (Bake Jin Hee), Dowager Hwang (Kim Seo Hyung) and Tal Tal (Kim Ji Han) were all smoking hot. What particularly left an impression was Kim Ji Han (Tal Tal). Although he was only a support actor who spoke very little during the drama, he left a strong impression. Instead he spoke with his facial expression - the disbelief, suspicion, concern for the empress (with perhaps a hint that he was in love with her as well but never expressed it)... He was dashingly handsome, certainly the most handsome of the lot, and acted his part with dignity and carriage. In this drama, he was a strategist and general who was calm, collected, knowledgeable, observant, inscrutable, intelligent and rather scheming. It's a pity I did not see many of his dramas where he was the lead actor, listed in mydramalist.com. Hope to see more of him in lead roles in outstanding dramas in future.

Of course, like a lot of dramas, some parts were a little unrealistic - for example, the Emperor on intercepting love letters between King Wang Yoo and Ki Nyang did not confront her. If he had, the entire scheme of the cunning would fall apart. What husband would not say anything and suffer in silence, much less an emperor.

Watching Korean dramas is a refreshing break from Chinese dramas - there are some distinct differences in the way things are interpreted and approached. But you have your eyes glued to the TV so as not to miss the subtitles.

If you know the Yuan dynasty history, they were eventually driven out of Southern China by the Chinese, and Emperor Toghon Temur ruled during this period. Although the story centred around Yuan and Korea with China being left out of it mostly, you should expect what the ending would likely be.