The Sad Story Of Yoo Ah In’s Prince Sado

Fresh from his success in "Secret Love Affair," Yoo Ah In has taken on the role of Prince Sado in the film "Sado," but he won't be the only actor to take on the role this year.

Lee Je Hoon will play the prince in a drama version.

Both the film and drama version will take a new look at the life of the tragic prince and the reasons for his death.

They will attempt to clarify the story of a prince that some say was unfairly accused and his controversial death, which is considered the greatest scandal of the Joseon era.

History said that the prince was insane and given to murderous rages that resulted in many deaths. His father could not execute him since he was a royal so he ordered him sealed in a rice bin until he suffocated.

But the new film and drama say that the prince may not have been as prone to murderous rages as was previously thought. His story may have suffered from revision by people who did not like his political views, particularly his ideas on land reform.

The way the prince has been perceived is largely based on his wife's memoir titled  "Hanjoongrok." The memoir focused on his manic behavior.

The portrait of the prince in that memoir was used as the basis for the 1956 film "Crown Prince Sado" and the 1988 film "Sky Sky." An alternate view of Prince Sado as a revolutionary was posed in the novel "The King's Wrath."

The film "Sado," which begins shooting this month, will also explore the idea that he was a revolutionary whose views greatly displeased his father. In the film Yoo Ah In will play the prince, who died at the age of 27.  Song Kang Ho will play his father Young Jo. Moon Geun Young plays Sado's wife.

According to Lee Duk Il, the author of the book "The World Dreamed by Prince Sado," the prince was not insane but rather a man who faced an unfortunate death due to his desire to create a more democratic status-free world. This clashed with his father's desire to maintain the monarchy's power.

Prince Sado's story will also be the subject of an upcoming SBS drama titled "Secret Door" starring Lee Je Hoon as the prince and Han Suk Kyu as his father. An SBS representative recently told the JoongAng Daily that the drama will also highlight the prince's revolutionary tendencies.