The 2009 historical television drama, “Jamyeonggo,” based on the folk tale, “Prince Hodong and Princess Nakrang,” delivers the story of the fallen Nakrang state, the ancient Korean kingdom of the first century.

According to the tale, the city-state of Nakrang hosted a magical drum called “jamyeonggo,” meaning “the drum that beats by itself.” As the name indicates, the mysterious drum possessed the power to automatically sound an alarm when enemy troops invaded. The self-sounding drum caused neighboring nations, including the warrior state of Goguryeo, hesitate about attacking Nakrang. A prince of Goguryeo named Hodong infiltrated Nakrang with the mission of destroying the drum. But the prince unexpectedly fell in love with the princess of Nakrang. For her love, the princess eventually chose to tear off the drum to betray her country. As a result, her nation fell into ruin and she was killed. Prince Hodong mourned over her death, holding her body.

TV series “Jamyeonggo” presents a new twist to the classic tale. In the drama, the drum is actually a person, embodied by the Nakrang king’s daughter, Jamyeong. The drama version shows two princesses, Jamyeong and Ra-hee, who were born on the same hour on the same day as half sisters. An oracle predicts that one of the two will betray her kingdom and the other will save it. Jamyeong survives a murder attempt by her stepmother, Ra-hee’s mother, and grows up as a commoner. When she discovers her true identity, she returns to the royal court. To avoid the renewed conflict over the right to the throne, Princess Jamyeong stays at a shrine. She creates the Jamyeonggo-gak system, where a magic war drum is placed, to defend the country from outside attacks. Jamyeong and Prince Hodong of the enemy state of Goguryeo fall in love, but Hodong, as an ambitious prince, marries Jamyeong’s half sister, Princess Ra-hee, to manipulate her into destroying the nation’s defense system. Ra-hee, who is also in love with Hodong, eventually chose to tear down her country’s war drum, becoming the traitor- and the princess of the prophecy. Princess Jamyeong, struggling to save her nation, pierces her beloved Hodong with her sword. He barely escapes death, but he realizes their fate; they cannot be together. He finally kills Jamyeong and himself.

The Korean blend of “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Trojan Horse” has been used as the main theme in a number of stories and movies, but all were focused more on the legendary romance itself and the historical facts. This TV drama, on the other hand, offers an interesting re-interpretation of the original tale with colorful imagination. The gorgeous costumes and the female characters performing dazzling martial arts techniques in their sword-fighting scenes are also worth watching. For the fight scene where the two princesses fly through the air wielding swords, the actresses are said to have undergone intensive training. Despite its unique storyline and many spectacular scenes, the period drama failed to win a great deal popularity with the audiences, with the initially planned 50-episode soap ending up in a 39-episode series due to low viewer ratings.