Watching today’s episode of “My Sassy Girl,” I noticed something interesting in Jo Woon’s desk…an electric lamp. Oopsss!
Well, the first electric light plant was open at the Gyeongbokgung palace in 1887. Since this drama is not set during a real time period in Joseon, we are left to wonder when it is taking place. The Joseon Dynasty ended in 1897, so I seriously doubt anyone outside the palace would have had electricity and especially a lamp like this one.
Anyway, I’m sure it was a mistake during filming but I thought it was interesting enough for a little research.
That’s so funny.
But what irks me more are modern sounding songs, with English thrown in, as “My baby” in Queen for Seven Days. And of course all the Hwarang OST. But then Hwarang was a joke to begin with, whereas Queen for Seven Days is otherwise a well-made sageuk.
I don’t mean the music should be Korean traditional or anything. But if I remember the beautiful music of Rooftop Prince, or Jackpot - it is of course modern Korean, but it is not overly modern, doesn’t clash, it has a sort of old-time charm. https://youtu.be/GcfamMSVh7M https://youtu.be/t-zxdDGlcrc https://youtu.be/xt9gvFwpL4w
don’t you love to watch tv shows,dramas & movies and look for those little mistakes? I do so fun to see something well like a wristwatch, ever see those conrails( y. know the plane railes in the sky) what about those mysterious paths that has wheel tracks, and we could go on and on. lamp likes like you mentioned, there also was one in andother drama some time ago. have fun y’all
This isn’t the only electric lamp in this show. There’s one by his bed too. Unlike another person here, I don’t mind English in the songs at all, since those don’t represent the story’s setting at all. But electric lamps in Joseon? Come on. And BTW the desk lamp is featured early in the credits. This seems like a choice by the show’s crew, not a mistake. Bizarre.
I know I’m late to the discussion, but I wanted to point out that the show is deliberately anachronistic, which has only gotten stronger in sageuks over the past 7 years–especially those that are in some way adapting a Shakespeare work, like this one is (well, it’s adapting a modern rom-com k-film that’s itself an adaptation of Ten Things I Hate about You, which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew). That said, it’s clearly set in the late 19th century because trade relations with Qing are normalized and big, and there are even a fair number of Westerners disembarking from the ship in the first episode. Not to mention translations of Western works in the secret bookshop (including Shakespeare). Plus the kisaeng are hiking up their skirts like a late 19th century western bustle style.
Although the electric desk lamp is a 20th century invention, and the king in the show is fictional (Hwijong, not Gojong) it wouldn’t be wrong to locate this show in the 1870s, just before the Japanese infiltration in 1876. And Gyeon is the son of a top court official and supposedly the most valuable person in Qing as well, so maybe he’s got some tech prototypes on his desk.
he’s got a lot of overhead light on his head too…