Kyubin

The story is based on historical facts and a very particular event. Even though it is adapted and thus liberties will be taken (especially because the facts known of that time are little, and for entertainment purposes), of course they will keep the fact that the king dies. Otherwise the plot and this story is useless.
Also, the character played by Chang Wook is still a main role of the drama, not a support or guest one. And you haven't watched it yet, like all of us, so you don't know if he will have a strong presence in all 8 episodes or not. Wait to watch.
Why being so negative even before it has even started ? And if it's from a "fan" point of view, well, you should just respect the fact that Chang Wook wanted to play that role to show the audience what is he capable of and how he can interpret King Gogukcheon through this drama.

I'm not skeptical about her, and I'm waiting to see the drama for making my opinion on her fitting the role.
Based on historical facts, it's true that she might be a little younger than the age of the real queen at that time, but totally unsure.
Considering she married King Gogukcheon in 180 and he died in 197, they were married 17 years. She died in 234, so she was at least 54 years old, but her age at that time is unknown. Marriage often happened with young girls, just barely women (meaning able to have children), so from around 13 years old. Assuming she was married young, she could have been around 30 when King Gogukcheon died, or between 35/40 if she married him at an older age.
Goguryeo kings had concubines, but still, the queen was supposed to bare the heir if possible, so considering she remains queen after marrying King Sansang (King Gogukcheon's younger brother), despite not providing any heir during the 17 years of marriage with King Gogukcheon, it's possible she was still considered fertile (even if in the end they never had children together neither), so around 30/35.

This is so funny. I love it. ^^

They are, it's even the one that is the most promoted on their social medias right now. But it's very light. It's not just this one, "Love Next Door" that just started didn't had much promotion too, it's TVING unfortunately, not the best media when it comes to promotion around a drama. For sageuk I love all the photos of characters that are usually shared, when it is KBS, MBC or SBS productions for example, but with this one it will be very poor I guess...

They do it in France too, actors go in many cinemas all over the country for some new films projections. I guess it happens when big cinemas companies (like CGV in Korea or Pathé in France) are also producers of the movie.

For some reason this place attract many people that enjoy mocking, denigrate or simply write everything that can be negative about a film, a drama or an actor just because they don't like it. Few people take the time to write constructive comments (good or bad), it's easier to just "shoot" with short and mean comments. A reflect of some generations and their educations too. It's 2024 and the reign of hate through Internet... Fortunately, all is not lost. ;)

According Korean sources ( Namu Wiki, which is quite reliable), the break-even point for the movie would have been 1,4 million people watching it in cinemas, so the budget wasn't that small. As of today, it's only 234,278 people who watched it. Unfortunately. So it will be a big loss for the producers.
The previous movie of Oh Seung Uk, in 2015, had a break-even point of 1,6 million people, but only attracted 416,154 people in Korean cinemas, so whatever the budget, it will be hard for him to attract investors for the next one. They don't care about the artistic value of a movie, only its rentability matters.
It doesn't necessarily mean the movie is bad, or the acting isn't good, but it's still a commercial failure with the Korean audience. Maybe they can do better internationally, but it's totally uncertain, and so far the movie has still not been announced anywhere, as far as I know.
I feel sad for the cast, because they really did a lot to promote the movie. I do hope that the movie will have good official critics, and maybe nominations for awards so that the work of the actors is recognised at least.
I haven't watched it yet too, but I doubt the cast will disappoint, even if the story or the production isn't to my liking. But it's yet to confirm. ;)

I agree yes. ;)
For Chang Wook, he is actually very popular in Korea too, everybody knows him. But it's actually more for being incredibly handsome than for being an incredible actor, and thus yes, it's more its international fame that makes him a "bankable" actor, not the national market itself.

What do you mean by very popular ? She is definitely well known and she is recognised as a great actress, but she isn't popular in the way of being known by everyone and having a huge fanbase.

Based on the movies that were the most viewed in cinemas in Korea, I can't see this one being a hit, so I'm not surprised personally.
It doesn't mean it's a good thing. I just don't think it's a waste of the actors talent neither. There is something that they wanted to show through these roles. So for me it's still a good thing for those who like it, even if it is a commercial failure.
And I think popular actors still get roles even with flops movies/TV series. Being a popular and a good actor isn't always the same thing. Jeon Do Yeon is a very good actress, but she isn't a popular one.

Of course every movie is made for being viewed by the public and they always hope for the best outcome. But I think it was predictable that this kind of movie will not be a mega hit in cinemas, that's why in the end, it's more a festival and critics movie, not that it was intended that way. But that still doesn't make it a waste of the actors work for me. On the contrary, when I see great actors play mediocre roles in big productions for money, that is a waste of their talents.

Why a waste ? It's not because a movie doesn't make millions of entries that it is bad, or a waste of the actors work.
That film could never have been a hit at the Korean box office anyway. It's not the type to be loved by the general audience in Korea and not a story that would attract millions of viewers. It's more a festival and critics film, that will probably do better with the international market.

I have already watched "Empress Ki" four times now, and I really don't feel tired of it. It's not perfect, it wasn't the first time I saw neither. And with time passing, having a new perspective watching it, some things bother me now, compared to before (and others not anymore actually). But still, it stays, and will forever stay, a masterpiece for me. Just few dramas, characters and actors left an impression and feelings as strong as "Empress Ki".
I can't wait to watch Chang Wook in a new sageuk again after 10 years. It will very different, but as the first drama I saw him in, seeing him again in a sageuk feels really special. I would love to see Kim Seo Hyung play in a new sageuk too, she would be marvellous I'm sure.

Oh I'm sorry I don't remember, it's been a while. But I'm pretty sure it was the original version, without subtitles.

You see, I will just give one example that shows that you, the staff in general, always argue things here using so-called rules, but these things are totally illogical (and not always followed by the staff too).
So, you announced that from now on you want to systematically follow the revised romanisation that is used in Korea since 2000. Good ! But in the same time, you decide to not follow it all the time and choose your own romanisation whenever you want... Why ? We don't know.
The "고" family name, used in this drama for the Royal Family, is romanised "Go" in Korea (I lived there and know some people with that surname, so I know what I'm talking about), but here on MDL you decide to translate it "Ko". Why ? Why do you not follow the revised romanisation that is used in Korea for this one ? Nobody knows. It's the opposite of what you announced but it's the rule so we have to blindly (and stupidly) follow it...
That's just one example of many rules or guidelines you tell people to follow but are totally illogical (or respected by the staff whenever they want or not).
And I'm not the only one that think the rules and their application here are very inconsistent and illogical many times, and it's not surprise that some people, like me, are annoyed by it when they just want to help give the audience the best information about actors and films/TV series.

No, but they are all paintings I own and commissioned to a wonderful artist (portraits of Chang Wook's characters too), you can check her work on IG (doodilight.art). ;)

Great references, that most people usually ignore. The film is so good, and Chang Wook was amazing in it, I just love it and watched it countless times. ;)

The new synopsis accepted by the staff just show how poorly some of them do their job here. An empress is the wife of a king ? Seriously ?!
Even a seven years kid could point the errors, but no, it's fine for them and they just accept that... probably because it's from one of their friends.
And when you try to correct it, they give you reasons and rules to reject your edit, but the current edit don't even respect them. What a joke. They really do whatever they want.
Just like the new edits on the characters names. The majority of people don't use this romanisation of hangul (even in Korea), but just because they use AsianWiki as a sources instead of Korean ones it's fine. They don't even bother to make it clean, sometimes they use parentheses, sometimes brackets...
They really do a poor job, so annoying.

I would love that too !

Well they are actually taped on as they are fake. ^^
Maybe because I have watched countless sageuk I don't find it unrealistic though.
I guess it's also because people aren't familiar with bearded Korean men, and especially these actors wearing beards, that's why it might look weird. But compared to old Korean portraits paintings, or old photos of Joseon people in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the best references for that, it really is realistic.