No doubt I’m not the only one who noticed the lovely hanboks of the Grand Prince. But instead of merely gushing over them, I’ll do a deep dive into the extra layers they add to the story. I’ll do the first four episodes because that’s all the time I have now.

Episode 1

Seeing his four gorgeous hanboks in this episode jogged my memory that the actor Moon Sangmin debuted as a fashion model before he switched to acting. The hanboks look like statement pieces done by designers for the runway, and not for street wear. And in essence, they’re also statement pieces by the director.

True to his name, the Grand Prince makes a splashy entrance at the Police Bureau in a lavender hanbok with delicate sheen. It’s clear to me that he’s there to role-play as a crime consultant. His crime fighting is a pastime for him as no one wears a pastel hanbok in costly fabric when he’s bound to encounter dirt, dust, grime and perhaps even blood splatters.

Next, he meets his mother to discuss marriage plans and water the flowers. Dressed in a pink hanbok with delicate floral embroidery, he’s the very picture of a flower boy. He’s one with the flowers he’s watering. When a black butterfly flutters in, I half expect it to land on him.

Later, Yi Yeol visits the Chief Investigator’s daughter to humor his mother. He’s dressed in a flamboyant hanbok strewn with butterflies and moths. I don’t think the design is an accident. It can be the director’s visual prompt for the viewers to remember the butterfly in the previous scene.

Or it can be Yi Yeol’s attempt to lull the Chief Investigator into thinking that he’s just a shallow fashionista — a visual social butterfly — until it’s time for him to take the offensive. Quickly, he exposes the Chief Investigator’s naked ambition and quashes all marriage talks.

Or to quote Muhammad Ali, he floats like a butterfly but stings like a bee.

On his way home, Grand Prince walks through the market. In his insect-theme hanbok, he sticks out like conspicuously. For one, the one-of-a-kind hanbok screams haute couture. Even among the yangbans in the market that day, he outshines them. For another, it undoubtedly costs more than all the goods in the market, combined. His hanbok isn’t sold in such stalls.

So it’s funny when he’s confounded that, without his bespoke outfit, the folks fail to recognize him as the Grand Prince. He’s bought into this idea that clothes make the man and he doesn’t yet know that, at this point in his life, he’s nothing more than his elegant clothes. Strip the clothes off (Woohoo! Naked guy!) of him, and he’s no different from any other man (because royalty is a social construct, and all that).

In contrast, when he rescues the courtesans while in EunJo’s body, he’s clothed in ninja-black. Despite wearing no fancy clothes, his authority is unequivocal because EunJo is recognized as a leader.

That said, I like it that he first meets EunJo in a poor man’s outfit. I see this as a foreshadowing of their body swap. If he had been swapped into the body of a low-born male, he would have been wearing exactly this sort of threadbare outfit.

The last and fourth hanbok he wears in this Episode 1 is the red hanbok.

He wears it during the day when he interrogates EunJo’s ahjumma friend, and at night, when he goes to his rendezvous with EunJo.

For me, the color is significant. Red symbolizes good fortune. It’s the ahjumma’s good fortune that it’s the Grand Prince who’s investigating the GilDong case because he shows her leniency and understanding. Moreover, it’s Yi Yeol and EunJo’s good fortune to meet again that evening. Unknown to them, they’re slowly changing their destinies because of each other.

I like how the camera pans up to show the viewers his attire in detail.

My comments:

1. Not to discount the actor’s looks here, but any man will look breathtaking in this ensemble. It reminds me of regimentals.

2. Note the butterfly on the ornamental string hanging from his belt.

3. This second meeting is also a foreshadowing of the end. His bodyguard DaeChu reminds him that he’s waiting for at least four hours (I explained the Korean time in another post). But Yi Yeol is willing to wait longer for her. This foreshadows the ending when he’s willing to wait for them to be together. As I said elsewhere, true love is worth waiting for.

Moving on to Episode 2.

Episode 2

There are more hanboks here but the significant one for me is the black one. I call it the “chick magnet.” You see, on the day he wears it, he encounters four women.

The first one is his mother who pays him a visit at work, displeased that he’s working at the Police Bureau and broke of the engagement talk with the corrupt Chief Investigator.

The second one is Haerim who mistakes him for the “fool” that EunJo sketched in her “In Search Of” poster.

I’m still chuckling over EunJo’s description of Yi Yeol: “Name: Unknown. Feature: Somewhat foolish. Making a fuss as if cold water were lightning. Disrespectful regardless of rank.”

Two side comments here:

1. This is a foreshadowing, of course. On the same community board, another “Wanted” poster is up and GilDong’s butcher mask is sketched. Later, JaeYi will post a picture with Yi Yeol’s face outlined on it. Note as well that he draws only Yi Yeol’s distinctive hair accessory, and not his whole face. That omission isn’t simply because he’s taunting Yi Yeol, but also because there’s a rule about not drawing the faces of royalty.

2. I’m not 100% sure about this because I’m not a Korean expert on archival paintings. But I think EunJo has committed a crime in drawing the Grand Prince. From what I know, drawing the images of royalty is strictly forbidden unless a) the artist is authorized by the royal court (aka a “divine painter”) and b)  the portrait is meant for state purposes. Remember now: kings are supposedly divine. Drawing the face of royalty is akin to capturing his/her divine spirit.

3. It’s also more than a crime for EunJo, it’s a foreshadowing. When she draws Yi Yeol’s image and likeness on paper, she’s foreshadowing the capturing of his spirit in her body during the body-swap.

Now, where was I? Ah! The hanbok and four women.

The third woman is GilDong. Yi Yeol obviously doesn’t know that she’s a woman when he “captures” her on the rooftop.

The fourth and final woman is EunJo. It’s the black cat that leads him to the Hyeminseo so he can get his injury treated.

I like that there isn’t any costume change here because it shows the trajectory of his character: from mama’s boy to “crush-able guy” to thief/co-conspirator and finally, to EunJo’s beloved.

Episode 3

In Episode 3, the significant hanbok is the blue hanbok made from Chinese silk.

After gifting the Hyeminseo with loads of medicinal herbs, he decides to visit EunJo on the pretext of inspecting the Grand Prince’s “anonymous” largess. But before dropping by, he orders DaeChu to pass by the Royal Wardrobe and pick up the robe he had made from the silk that the Ming envoy sent. In other words, he intends to dress to impress EunJo.

So it amuses me how things don’t go as planned.

One, before EunJo can even get to see him in his handsome attire, he dirties it.

Two, he isn’t worried about ruining the silk when he covers a female patient’s exposed leg with it. That’s the whole point of that slow-motion camera when he twirls his robe in the air. The audience is being shown his chivalry; he wants to protect the woman’s modesty like in those fairy tales.

However, this moment also tells us about his priorities. Yes, he likes fancy clothes, but he doesn’t view them as “too precious” to be wasted on a stranger. He’s genuinely kind. Hmmm…come to think of it, he didn’t castigate the woman who accidentally threw dirty water on his butterfly hanbok the other day.

Three, EunJo offers to compensate for it, with her own wage no less. Lol. Ignorance is indeed bliss. It’s a good thing she doesn’t recognize expensive silk and is unaware of the market value of rare silk from China.

And four, he rips the string of the robe to bandage EunJo’s cut with it. There goes the silk!

The good news is he can now use the string as an excuse to pay her a visit afterwards. On the day, the corrupt Chief Investigator is brought to justice, and his victims compensated, Yi Yeol wears the same grand blue outfit to pay EunJo a visit.

Just like when he went to the Hyeminseo after the delivery of the medicinal herbs, he intends to see EunJo to see her reaction to the good news. But he also uses the moment his missing string as a personal excuse.

And they ended up having a heart-to-heart on the rooftop.

As you can see then, the blue hanbok is an important prop in this episode.

Episode 4 

In Episode 4, there’s a parade of hanboks again:

• the hanboks he wears while pining for EunJo.
• the hanbok when he practices archery. For me, this is the gaudiest hanbok he’s worn so far with the bold embroidery running on his shoulders and arms. But I get it. It’s a total display of his frivolity. He engages in this needless activity to cover up that he’s actually deliberating on an important matter.

• the hanbok when he goes fishing after being rejected. The drab olive green robe is funny because it mirrors his emotion. But pay attention to the striking red sleeves underneath the robe. Red means fortune, remember? And sure enough the young monk appears to give him the blue bracelet. Also, note the butterflies on the string he wore on his gat.

• the hanbok he wears on the day of EunJo’s nuptials. It has a bamboo design on the right chest and bamboo is a symbol of resilience and unwavering loyalty. No doubt the bamboo reflects his feelings for her.

But for me, the significant hanbok here is the blue one that he wears when he seeks her out in the marketplace and proposes to her.

There’s a delicate flower painted on the bottom left of the hanbok. It’s hardly visible because it’s swallowed up by the billowy silk. To me, however, that flower is symbolic of his feelings for her.

Remember what he says to her after she rejects him. She dismisses his proposal, thinking it’s just a passing whim.

YY: Whims. You are right. As you said, I grew up without watching my step or holding back. I admit my rambling was a confession that didn’t consider the others, and a love without respect. I wasn’t even curious about that gap you mentioned because I didn’t need to know. I don’t want to pretend I understand now. However, even for someone of my status, it takes dozens, hundreds of rehearsals before appearing before the woman he loves. Each step, heavy and hesitant. People usually call that courage, you know. How cold of you. I’ll be going.

Obviously, EunJo is deceived by the sartorial elegance of his hanbok. But Yi Yeol urges her to look beyond the surface and see that behind his seeming lightheartness, his affection for her is true. That, for me, is the message hidden in the hanbok. That under its flowing and silky appearance, love has blossomed, and even the whimsical can be sincere.

So there you go. I can go on and on about the Grand Prince’s hanboks in this series. The costume designer did a great job matching his exterior appearance to his interior world.