A talented and respected fortune-teller and face-reading physiognomist falls in love with a beautiful young shaman.  But when they realize that both their own destiny and the fate of the country are dismal, they band together to change the future by replacing a corrupt ruler with an unlikely young man who shows great potential to be an honest and fair leader.  But those in authority will stop at nothing to maintain their power and influence.  And their dangerous game could cost the couple everything they have ever wanted.  

Go Sung Hee as Lee Bong Ryun

Lee Bong Ryun meets Chun Joong when she is just a young girl.  She is the humble daughter of a shaman, but she and Chun Joong become fast friends and first loves.  She later finds out that she is actually the daughter of the current King and moves into the palace.  As a princess, her life changes drastically, but she never forgets Chun Joong.  But as their relationship becomes a series of reunions and heartbreaking separations, her mother warns her that their future together will not be a happy one.  Now Bong Ryun will risk everything to help Chun Joong put an unlikely King on the throne, in the hopes of granting herself and her country a bright, new future.  

Lee Bong Ryun is humble and fiercely loyal.  She has spent her life protecting the people she loves.  Even after moving to the palace, she has never forgot her humble beginnings or let her new-found power go to her head.  She has a quiet strength and elegance that makes her a perfect princess.  Go Sung Hee plays this kind yet reserved kind of character well.  She is believable as the self-sacrificing and vulnerable princess, and I thought the role was a good one for her.

Sung Hyuk as Chae In Gyu

Chae In Gyu grew up with Chun Joong and has always been jealous of him.  He is adopted into the Jangdong Kim clan and works as Byung Woon’s right hand man.  In Gyu has always been in love with Bong Ryun, but she has only ever had eyes for Chun Joong, which has added to his dislike of him.  His desperate attempts to gain attention and appoval end up putting his own life in danger.

 ♥ 8 Pillars

The concept of the 8 pillars isn’t one I’m very familiar with.  I loved how this drama used the concept of face-reading physiognomist as a credible way to determine someone’s destiny, while still entertaining the idea that no fate is set in stone.  I also loved the way Chun Joong and Bong Ryun’s gifts always lead to the same conclusions.  It gives a fun validity to both approaches and links them together in a destiny that is stronger than all the events that will try to separate them.  

 ♥ Chun Joong and Ha Eung

The constant push and pull between Chung Joong and Ha Eung was one of the most interesting and well-developed interactions of this drama.  Their relationship was complex from the first moment they met as strangers who seem to share a common goal until their bittersweet goodbye that acknowledges their mutual respect despite their differences.  While Chun Joong’s relationship with Bong Ryun emphasizes the idea that different methods often produce the same results, his relationship with Ha Eung shows that even the same goals can produce very different perspectives and outcomes.   

Too Many Episodes

The pacing for this drama felt a bit inconsistent.  The beginning packed a lot of information, but there were episodes that felt a bit too slow and sometimes I didn’t feel as invested in parts of the story.  I feel like they could have told the full story in fewer episodes. Historical dramas often aim for 20+ episodes to have time to show the intricate politics and relationships, but in this case, there seemed to be a bit too much filler that wasn’t necessary and slowed down the overall pace.

The Queen

I found the character of the queen in this drama to be fascinating.  From the very beginning, they tell us that she will one day be the queen, even though she doesn’t have any political connections or prestige.  But parts of her story felt like they could have used more development.  She could have been given a much bigger role in the process of Chung Joong’s vision for a new King.  While her advice definitely influenced Lee Jae Hwang, there are only a couple scenes that really show their dynamic.  And while we know that she started by having a crush on Chung Joong, her feelings for both the King and her bodyguard are unclear, even by the end.  It seems like that King energy both Chun Joong and Bong Ryun felt from her eventually made her a true ruler, but we only saw hints of it.  

I really enjoyed the ending of “King Maker: The Change of Destiny” even though the political story is left pretty open-ended.  But our lead couple get the happy ending that they deserve and all of their friends are together creating their own utopian society.  In Gyu dies protecting Bong Ryun, which is really the only ending possible for our poor, obsessive stalker.  Chun Joong makes one final attempt to go on a “tiger hunt” by placing a bomb inside Ha Eung’s party for the Lantern festival. But the plan fails when innocent children show up at the celebration.   Chun Joong is captured and Ha Eung plans a public execution for him. But Pal Ryong and the gang save him at the last minute. Now the only option is for them to leave Korea for good. But first Chun Joong and Bong Ryun stop for one final farewell with Ha Eung.  Chun Joong ends up getting shot by Byung Woon’s thugs and Bong Ryun is forced to leave him there to die.  Everyone else makes it out alive and we see them living in their own little town where they are building a school and farming together.  Bong Ryun still misses Chun Joong and we see her thinking of him, when suddenly the fireflies show up.  She follows them and, sure enough, a rider approaches and it’s Chun Joong.  The final scene shows everyone standing on the mountainside looking down toward Korean and the palace as they wish them all well.