The Real Story Behind Lee Jin Wook’s Prince In 'Three Musketeers'
Lee Jin Wook plays Crown Prince Sohyeon in "The Three Musketeers." He's obviously a prince with a sense of humor, as he is not too upset by Jung Yong Hwa's crush on his wife. And he likes to tease his young guard.
But in real life, Crown Prince Sohyeon did not have the happiest life. The k-drama version of "The Three Musketeers" is based on the Alexander Dumas novel of the same name. The Dumas novel is set in France in the 17th century. It concerns the adventures of four young men who swear allegiance to each other, namely the three musketeers and D'Artagnan. Their adventures involve them in royal intrigues in the courts of France and England. None of the original fictional musketeers was a prince. But there was a real Crown Prince Sohyeon, so the k-drama version of the story uses facts from his real life.
Born in the 17th century, Sohyeon was the son of King Injo. It was a time of great conflict. Sohyeon became the crown prince in 1625 when his father took the throne. During the Second Manchu invasion of Korea, he fled with his father to a mountain fortress but when it seemed as if his father might be captured, he gave himself up as a hostage, along with his wife.
While he was a hostage, he tried to mediate between Korea and China, so that Korea would be treated well by its invaders. He even learned the language of the Mongols. But for all his efforts, some people criticized him for betraying Korean interests.
But he really got on his father's bad side when he returned to Korea. He tried to introduce western ideas and Christianity. King Injo did not want to bring Christianity and science to Korea.
No one is sure how the Crown Prince died but some suspect that his father killed him. He was found bleeding in the king's room. Other historians suspect that he was poisoned. The King would not let anyone investigate and promptly had the prince buried. He named another one of his children as Crown Prince, bypassing Sohyeon's children. The King then exiled Sohyeon's three sons to Jeju Island. Only one of them returned alive. And he executed Princess Minhoe, Sohyeon's wife, for treason.
Hopefully the k-drama won't focus too much on the prince's sad end, but we can guess that Jung Yong Hwa's character will not get to run away with Princess Minhoe as the prince must eventually have warmed to her. The real-life prince and princess had three sons.
