Bloody Heart

Bloody Heart (Korean: 붉은 단심; RR: Bulg-eun Dansim) is a 2022 South Korean television series starring Lee Joon, Kang Han-na, Jang Hyuk, Park Ji-yeon, Heo Sung-tae, and Choi Ri. It aired on KBS2 from May 2 to June 21, 2022, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:30 (KST) for 16 episodes.^[6] It is also available for streaming on Disney+ in selected regions.^[7]

Bloody Heart
Promotional poster
Also known as	Red Single Heart[1]
Hangul	붉은 단심
Literal meaning	Red Heart
Revised Romanization	Bulg-eun Dansim
Genre	Historical drama[2] Romance[2]
Written by	Park Pil-joo[3]
Directed by	Yoo Young-eun[3]
Starring	Lee Joon Kang Han-na Jang Hyuk Park Ji-yeon Heo Sung-tae Choi Ri
Music by	Choi In-hee[4]
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer	Kim Sang-hui (KBS)[4]
Producers	Oh Seong-min[4] Kwak Hong-seok[4] Kim Chu-seok[4]
Running time	70 minutes[5]
Production company	GnG Production[3]
Original release
Network	KBS2
Release	May 2 (2022-05-02) – June 21, 2022 (2022-06-21)

Synopsis

Bloody Heart is a fictional historical drama about King Seonjong who ascends to the throne due to a rebellion, and Lee Tae who becomes the king after him.^[3]

It follows the story of Lee Tae—a king who has to abandon the woman he loves to survive, Yoo Jeong—a woman who has to become the queen to survive, and Park Gye-won—the first vice-premier and the real head of power in Joseon.^[8][9]

Cast

Main

• Lee Joon as Lee Tae^[10]
  • Park Ji-bin as young Lee Tae^[11]

He becomes the King of Joseon after King Seonjong. He dreams of absolute monarchy and becoming a powerful ruler, unlike his father. He believes any action is justifiable to achieve his goal.

• Kang Han-na as Yoo Jeong^[10]
  • Shin Eun-soo as young Yoo Jeong^[12]

A free-spirited woman whom Lee Tae falls in love with. Lee Tae picks her as his crown princess and she gets tangled up in the battle for power, which leads to a crisis in her family.

• Jang Hyuk as Park Gye-won^[10][a]

The first vice-premier who is a living symbol of power and a figure that everyone obeys. He is a "king maker" who is determined to create a wise and benevolent king, in order not to shake the foundations of Joseon by a tyrant ever again.

• Park Ji-yeon as Choi Ga-yeon^[14]

King Seonjong's Queen Consort whose first love is Park Gye-won.

• Heo Sung-tae as Jo Won-pyo^[15]

Minister of War whose ambitions are blocked by Park Gye-won.

• Choi Ri as Jo Yeon-hee^[16]

Jo Won-pyo's daughter who is immature and arrogant.

Supporting

People around Lee Tae

• Ha Do-kwon as Jung Eui-kyun^[17]
• Ahn Nae-sang as King Seonjong^[18]
• Woo Mi-hwa as Queen Inyeong^[18]

People around Yoo Jeong

• Yoon Seo-ah as Ddong-geum^[19]
• Park Sung-yeon as Court Lady Choi^[20]
• Ryu Seung-soo as Im Jin-sa^[21]
• Jo Hee-bong as Ma Seo-bang^[22]
• Kim Sun-hwa as Ma Seo-bang's wife

People around Park Gye-won

• Lee Tae-ri as Park Nam-sang^[23]
• Seo Yoo-jung as Madam Yoon^[24]
• Jung Young-sub as Park Song-baek

Others

• Kang Shin-il as Kim Chi-won^[22]
• Cha Soon-bae as Heo Sang-seon^[25]
• Jo Young-hoon as Jo Sa-hyung^[26]
• Park Ji-a as Court Lady Han^[27]
• Lee Seon-hee as Court Lady Kim
• Lee Seung-hoon as Noh Kyung-moon
• Go Geon-han as Kim Do-ryung^[28]
• Oh Seung-hoon as Hye Kang^[29]
• Kang Yeo-jung as Eum Jeon

Extended

• Lee Chang-jik as Minister of Interior^[30]
• Seo Hye-won as Hyang-yi^[31]

Special appearance

• Hahm Eun-jung as Yoon Jung-jeon^[32]

Production

Filming locations of the series include Yeongwol County,^[33] and Yeolhwajeong Pavilion—located in Ganggol Village, Deungnyang-myeon, Boseong County.^[34][35]

On February 3, 2022, it was announced that filming was canceled for that day after a staff and an unnamed actor tested positive for COVID-19. All production crew members subsequently underwent PCR test.^[36] A day later, it was revealed that Park Ji-yeon and Yoon Seo-ah tested positive for COVID-19.^[37][38]

On February 11, 2022, it was confirmed that actor Heo Sung-tae also tested positive for COVID-19, forcing filming to be canceled for that day.^[39] Later on February 16, Heo fully recovered from the contagion and resumed his filming schedules.^[40]

On March 11, 2022, Ha Do-kwon's agency announced that the actor tested positive for COVID-19 on the afternoon of the 10th, and all his filming schedules were cancelled.^[41]

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Released on May 3, 2022 (2022-05-03)^[42][43]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Dimly" (아스라이)	Choi In-young	Choi In-young	Rio	3:32
2.	"Dimly" (아스라이; Inst.)		Choi In-young		3:32
Total length:					7:04

Part 2

Released on May 10, 2022 (2022-05-10)^[44][45]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Wish Becomes Stars" (소망은 별이 되어)	Kebee	Tenzo (Papermaker) Loogone	Kim Yeon-woo	4:18
2.	"Wish Becomes Stars" (소망은 별이 되어; Inst.)		Tenzo (Papermaker) Loogone		4:18
Total length:					8:36

Part 3

Released on May 17, 2022 (2022-05-17)^[46][47]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"It's Red" (feat. Dawool Park)	Kim Min	Kim Min Taylor	ID:Earth	3:39
2.	"It's Red" (Inst.)		Kim Min Taylor		3:39
Total length:					7:18

Part 4

Released on May 23, 2022 (2022-05-23)^[48][49]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"A Star in the Dawn" (새벽에 핀 별 하나)	Yoo Song-yeon Jay Lee	Yoo Song-yeon Jay Lee	Chungha	3:33
2.	"A Star in the Dawn" (새벽에 핀 별 하나; Inst.)		Yoo Song-yeon Jay Lee		3:33
Total length:					7:06

Part 5

Released on May 31, 2022 (2022-05-31)^[50][51]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Let It Flow" (흘려보낸다)	Kim Seong-yoon	Kim Seong-yoon	Lim Sang-hyun	3:28
2.	"Let It Flow" (흘려보낸다; Inst.)		Kim Seong-yoon		3:28
Total length:					6:56

Part 6

Released on June 7, 2022 (2022-06-07)^[52][53]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Missing You" (그리워서)	Friday	Athena (Galactika) E.Na (Galactika)	Han Dong-geun	3:40
2.	"Missing You" (그리워서; Inst.)		Athena (Galactika) E.Na (Galactika)		3:40
Total length:					7:20

Viewership

Season		Episode number																Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	1041	998	863	992	961	1111	902	1074	896	955	1001	1071	1237	1398	1171	1398	1067

Bloody Heart : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[54]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[54]		TNmS[55]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	May 2, 2022	6.3% (10th)	6.4% (6th)	5.3% (13th)
2	May 3, 2022	6.0% (8th)	6.0% (7th)	4.8% (12th)
3	May 9, 2022	5.3% (9th)	4.8% (13th)	3.9% (16th)
4	May 10, 2022	5.6% (8th)	5.2% (10th)	4.5% (14th)
5	May 16, 2022	5.8% (10th)	5.1% (13th)	4.6% (14th)
6	May 17, 2022	6.4% (8th)	5.7% (9th)	5.3% (10th)
7	May 23, 2022	5.5% (12th)	5.0% (13th)	4.6% (15th)
8	May 24, 2022	6.6% (7th)	5.9% (7th)	5.3% (10th)
9	May 30, 2022	5.7% (13th)	4.9% (14th)	4.5% (16th)
10	May 31, 2022	6.3% (7th)	5.5% (7th)	5.1% (10th)
11	June 6, 2022	6.1% (10th)	5.6% (8th)	5.3% (14th)
12	June 7, 2022	7.3% (5th)	6.7% (5th)	6.1% (9th)
13	June 13, 2022	8.0% (5th)	7.1% (5th)	5.8% (11th)
14	June 14, 2022	8.9% (4th)	8.3% (3rd)	6.6% (9th)
15	June 20, 2022	7.7% (6th)	7.1% (5th)	5.5% (11th)
16	June 21, 2022	8.9% (4th)	8.6% (4th)	6.6% (8th)
Average		6.65%	6.12%	5.24%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
KBS Drama Awards	2022	Best Couple	Kang Han-na and Lee Joon	Won	[56]
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Kang Han-na	Won	[57]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress		Nominated	[58]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Lee Joon	Won	[59]
		Popularity Award, Actor		Nominated	[60]
		Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries	Park Ji-yeon	Won	[61]

Note

1. Park Gye-won is loosely based on historical figure Park Won-jong, who led the Jungjong coup that brought King Jungjong to the throne.^[13]