The Royal Tailor

The Royal Tailor
The Tailors Character Poster Promotional poster for The Royal Tailor
Directed by	Lee Won-suk
Produced by	Kim Su-jin Yun In-beom
Written by	Lee Byoung-hak
Starring	Han Suk-kyu Go Soo Park Shin-hye Yoo Yeon-seok
Music by	Mowg
Cinematography	Kim Ji-yong
Edited by	Nam Na-yeong
Production company	Bidangil Pictures Waw Pictures
Distributed by	Showbox (South Korea) Finecut (worldwide)
Release dates	December 24, 2014 (2014-12-24)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	US$10 million
Box office	US$5,406,469

The Royal Tailor (Hangul: 상의원; RR: Sanguiwon) is a 2014 South Korean period film directed by Lee Won-suk, and starring Han Suk-kyu, Go Soo, Park Shin-hye and Yoo Yeon-seok. The rivalry between two tailors at the Sanguiwon, where the attire worn by royalty were made during the Joseon era, plunges the court into scandal and tragedy.

Plot

The film starts with a modern-day press conference, in which Jo Dol-seok is introduced as the only royal tailor, who single-handedly revolutionized the fashion of Korea's Joseon dynasty. Before one of his works is shown, the scene changes to the kingdom of Joseon, where a different story is told: Jo Dol-seok has tailored clothes for three generations of kings before finally becoming the head of the Sanguiwon, the department responsible for the royal attire. Jo was born a commoner, and looks forward to upgrading his social status after serving the royal family for thirty years. Careful to use the traditional rules and patterns, Dol-seok denies the queen's request when she asks him to replace the king's robe that was accidentally burnt by a gungnyeo (female attendant). He insists that to do so would be against court customs, but also simply impossible in the short time before the robe is needed. Anxious to cover her mistake, the queen looks for a designer elsewhere. She is introduced to Lee Gong-jin, a young designer whose good looks and expertise at making unconventional hanboks have charmed many women in the capital; he is portrayed in the film as inventing the bell-shaped design of hanboks and introducing new colors. Gong-jin falls in love with the queen at first sight and uses his extraordinary gift as a tailor to save the dress. He subsequently becomes a tailor at the Sanguiwon and begins a prosperous career. He repeatedly uses his craft to support the queen, who is at risk of being dethroned and replaced because she and the king - who never visits her - have no children.

Soon Dol-seok becomes jealous of the young designer's talent, whose inventiveness he cannot rival with his use of the traditional shapes; he fears his own position as best tailor is undermined. He lets the king use him to frame Gong-jin for attempting to assassinate the king. The king then tries to lay the blame on the queen for inciting the young tailor, but Gong-jin saves the queen by claiming he acted on his own motives. Even when the young designer awaits his execution, the head tailor vows to have his name erased from history. Only when Gong-jin is dead, not only the queen, but eventually also Dol-seok silently mourn his death.

At the end of the film, women of Joseon are seen wearing Gong-jin's bell-shaped, merrily colored hanboks. In the last shot, Gong-jin's design of the queen's royal ceremonial dress is shown at the modern press conference, but as was hinted in the first scene, it is wrongly attributed to Jo Dol-seok.

Cast

• Han Suk-kyu as Jo Dol-seok
• Go Soo as Lee Gong-jin
• Park Shin-hye as Queen
• Yoo Yeon-seok as King
• Ma Dong-seok as Pan-soo
• Shin So-yul as Wol-hyang
• Lee Yu-bi as Royal concubine Soui
• Jo Dal-hwan as Dae-gil
• Bae Sung-woo as Je-jo
• Park So-dam
• Jo Hyeon-do as young Dol-seok
• Heo Sung-tae as Officer Jong
• Kim Jae-hwa as Ji-mil
• Kim Seo-hyun as Dae-jeon
• Woo Do-im as Hong-ok
• Lee Do-yeon as Court lady Hong
• Yang Eun-yong as Nobleman's wife
• Kang Ji-won as Madam Kim
• Kim Hye-hwa as Madam Lee
• Choi Hee-jin as Madam Park
• Park Yeong-gyu as Ssang-dung-i yangban
• Park Gun-hyung as Chwui-hyang-ru yangban
• Park Byung-eun as the late King

Production

Filming began on February 21, 2014 and wrapped on July 2, 2014.

More than 1,000 hanbok appear in the film, with actress Park Shin-hye wearing 30 intricately embroidered pieces. ₩1 billion (US$909,000) was spent on costumes, a significant portion of the film's ₩7.2 billion total budget. Costume designer Jo Sang-gyeong said she was inspired by the clothing during King Yeongjo's reign (1694–1776), which according to historical records was when a short jeogori, the jacket that sits on top of the dress, and jar-shaped skirts started to become fashionable.

Release

The film was released in South Korea on December 24, 2014.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2015	17th Udine Far East Film Festival	Audience Award - Second Place	The Royal Tailor	Won
		My Movie Audience Award		Won
	51st Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Supporting Actor (Film)	Yoo Yeon-seok	Nominated
		Most Popular Actress (Film)	Park Shin-hye	Won
	24th Buil Film Awards	Best Art Direction	Chae Kyung-sun	Nominated
	52nd Grand Bell Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Yoo Yeon-seok	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Kim Ji-yong	Nominated
		Best Art Direction	Chae Kyung-sun	Won
		Best Lighting	Jo Kyu-young	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Jo Sang-gyeong	Won
		Best Sound Recording	Choi Tae-young	Nominated

External links

• Official website (Korean)
• The Royal Tailor at the Korean Movie Database
• The Royal Tailor at IMDb
• The Royal Tailor at HanCinema