Prince Hours

Plot

The story set in a universe where South Korea is a constitutional monarchy. The Empress regnant, (Myung Se-bin), already in her thirties, is still unmarried and without an heir, which prompts the imperial court to look for a suitable Crown Prince. They encounter Lee Hoo (Se7en), the son of the empress' uncle, and brings him into the palace where he begins to learn the life of a royal. However, another competitor arrives at the court: Lee Joon (Kang Doo), the son of another uncle of the Empress. They compete for the title of Crown Prince via a trial of several tasks to determine the worthy future king of the country.

Cast and characters

Se7en as Kang Hoo/Lee Hoo

A prince raised as a commoner because his mother was thrown out of the palace shortly before his birth. After his mother's death, he was raised by one of the former Palace guards. The royal family was unaware of his existence until he was taken into the succession line by the Queen. At the beginning, Lee Hoo seemed to be the least likely candidate to fill the spot of Crown Prince. He was rash, lacked focus and was seemingly selfish to most but as he struggled to learn of the life he was destined to live, he turned into a considerate, mature and responsible young man. He is also fair and has a great sense of right and wrong.

Huh E-jae as Yang Soon-ae

Prince Lee Hoo's childhood friend and one of the few that still refer him as Kang Hoo (the name he was raised as). A sensible and kind-hearted young woman who works as a palace maid. She is in love with Lee Hoo, and is supportive of Lee Hoo during his journey to becoming a Crown Prince.

Kang Doo as Lee Joon

Raised by nobility, Prince Lee Joon has his mind set to be the next King of Korea. He was to be engaged to the Prime Minister's daughter Shin Sae-ryung and agreed to the arrangement, but later resented it as he fell for palace maid Yang Soon-ae. He later refused the throne after realizing the truth of his father's greed, and decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a musician.

Park Shin-hye as Shin Sae-ryung

The daughter of the Prime Minister, who was raised to be a proper lady and groomed to be the next Queen of Korea. She had always followed her father's instructions after her mom left her for a life of simplicity. Though her only interest was to be the Queen, she eventually fell for Prince Lee Hoo. She eventually came to peace with her mom's decision, and remain friends with both Princes.

Myung Se-bin as Queen Hwa-in

South Korea's current reigning Queen. In public, she seems to be the most well-adjusted woman with high regards, but in truth, she has been concealing her feelings. She had been in love with a half-Korean, half-English professor whom she met during her studies at Oxford University, but had to leave him and return to Korea to assume her role. She becomes conflicted when her former love, Alexander comes to Korea, when she is forced once again to choose between her love or people.

Marc Andre Jourdan as Alexander

The Queen's love interest. He's half-Korean, half-English, and though unable to speak fluent Korean, he is able to understand the language. He came to Korea, accepting a job offer at the Royal Academy and at the same time seeking for an answer for the choices the Queen had made. He later backed out, realizing that it would make the situation difficult for the Queen. He left Korea and later it was revealed that he also contributed to Yang Soon-ae's education fund.

Oh Mi-hee as Queen Mother

The mother of the current Queen, who is rather detached from the outside world from having lived in the palace for a very long time. She is unable to distinguish the difference between the latest technology. She is very fond of Prince Lee Hoo. Though she supported Prince Lee Hoo's father when he chose to marry a commoner, she strongly opposed his Lee Hoo's relationship with Yang Soon-ae, for fear of history repeating itself.

Supporting cast

Ha Jae-young as Grand Duke Hyo-sung

Chun Ho-jin as Grand Prince (Hyojang Daegong) Lee Gyeom, Joon's father

Yoon Ye-hee as Jang Yoon-hee, Joon's mother

Cha Hyun-jung as Min Shi-yeon, Joon's bodyguard

Lee Hong-pyo as Min Young-hyun

Jeon Hye-soo as Shi Jong-gwan

Seo Song-hee as Ma Young-nam, Soon-ae's friend

Seo Young-don as In-woo

So Do-bi as Min-hyuk

Lee Man-young as Kwak Nae-kwan

Song Baek-kyung as Bulbam

Ye Soo-jung as Court attendant Han

Lee Ki-young as Go Sang-ki

Lee Joo-hyun as Yoon-chul

Lee Ho-jae as Jin Sin-sa

Kim Hong-sik as Shin Jae-man, Sae-ryung's father

Jeon Soo-hyun as court attendant Choi

Kim Chang-sung as Jjooba

Jung Hye-young as Hoo's mother (cameo)

Cho Sung-hwan as Jjodaeng

Hwang In-woo as Hwang Ka

Moon Ga-young

Reception

Although Princess Hours was a hit, Prince Hours failed to attract many viewers. Initial overnight ratings averaged around 10%, about half of the original's. Further in its run, the ratings decreased to 7-8%.

Despite the low ratings, Goong S was the most searched and rewatched drama online and ranked higher than its competition: KBS2's Dal-Ja's Spring and SBS's Surgeon Bong Dal Hee. The drama has also gained a wide variety of support from international fans in the U.S., Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, Philippines etc.

Ratings

Source: TNS Media Korea

International broadcast

Indonesia

Channel: Indosiar

Broadcast: September 13, 2007

Japan

Channel: MNet Japan

Broadcast: June 9, 2007

Channel: BS Japan

Broadcast: August 15, 2007

Malaysia

Channel: 8TV

Broadcast: March 26, 2008 - May 2, 2008

Philippines

Channel: Studio 23

Broadcast:2010

Singapore

Channel: Channel U

Broadcast: October 13, 2007 - December 8, 2007

Taiwan

Channel: GTV

Broadcast: July 4, 2007

Thailand

Channel: Channel 7

Broadcast: June 17, 2007 - August 12, 2007

Turkey

Channel: TRT 1

Broadcast: January 10, 2007 – March 15, 2007, January 29, 2009 - February 25, 2009

United States

Channel: LA18

Broadcast: February 21, 2007 - April 25, 2007

Vietnam

Channel: HTV7

Broadcast: August 8, 2007