Secret Royal Inspector & Joy

Secret Royal Inspector & Joy^[6][8] (Korean: 어사와 조이) is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Ok Taec-yeon and Kim Hye-yoon.^[7] It aired on tvN from November 8 to December 28, 2021.^[9] It is also available for streaming on iQIYI and Viu in selected territories.^[10][11]

Secret Royal Inspector & Joy
Promotional poster
Also known as	Inspector Joy[1] Secret Royal Inspector Joy[2]
Hangul	어사와 조이
Revised Romanization	Eosawa Joi
Genre	Historical drama[3] Comedy[3]
Created by	tvN[4]
Developed by	Kim Young-Kyu Studio Dragon
Written by	Lee Jae-yoon[5]
Directed by	Yoo Jong-seon[5]
Starring	Ok Taec-yeon Kim Hye-yoon
Composer	Dalpalan (music manager)
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16[3]
Production
Executive producers	Jeon Heung-man Kim Ryun-hee Kim Ki-tae (CP)
Producers	Yoo Byung-suk Lee Ji-min Kim Chang-su Park Yoo-jung
Running time	60 minutes[6]
Production companies	Studio Dragon[7] Mongjakso[7]
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	November 8 (2021-11-08) – December 28, 2021 (2021-12-28)

Synopsis

Set in Joseon dynasty, it tells the story of a young gourmet who unintentionally becomes a royal inspector and a divorced woman who rushes to find happiness, as they team up to investigate and expose corrupt politicians.^[3][12]

Cast

Main

• Ok Taec-yeon as Ra Ian,^[a] an intelligent and unmarried 6th grade public service worker who wishes to open a small dumpling shop, but ends up becoming a secret royal inspector.^[13]
• Kim Hye-yoon as Kim Joy,^[b] a realist woman who is full of desire and passion, and believes that divorce can happen to anyone.^[14]

Supporting

People around Ra Ian

• Lee Joon-hyuk as Crown Prince Sohyeon^[15]
• Yang Hee-kyung as Madam Jo

People around Kim Joy

• Chae Won-bin as Hwang Bo-ri / Biryoung^[16]
• Nam Mi-jung as Jang Pat-sun
• Joo Jin-soo as Noh Chu-han

Secret royal investigators

• Min Jin-woong as Yook-chil^[16]
• Park Kang-seop as Goo-pal^[17]
• Lee Sang-hee as Kwang-soon^[18]

Gangbyeonsau

• Lee Jae-kyoon as Park Tae-seo^[19]
• Jung Soon-won as Cha Mal-jong^[20]
• Kim Hyun-joon as Ji Maeng-soo^[21]
• Park Shin-ah as Kang Han-gi

Rulers

• Jeong Bo-seok as Park Seung^[22]
• Jo Kwan-woo as King Injo
• Choi Tae-hwan as Park Do-soo^[23]

People in Kkori Island

• Bae Jong-ok as Deok-bong^[16]
• Ha Seung-jin as Ba-hoe

Extended

• Cha Yeop as Hong Seok-gi^[24]
• Kwon Oh-kyung^[25]

Special appearances

• Song Jong-ho as Jang Ki-wan^[26]
• Cha Hak-yeon as Choi Seung-yul^[27]

Production

• The series is formerly known as Tale of the Secret Royal Inspector and Joy (어사조이뎐; Eosajoidyeon).^[28] It is one of tvN's 15th anniversary special projects.^[5]
• The lead roles were first offered to actors Jo Byeong-kyu and Jung So-min.^[29]

Viewership

Season		Episode number
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	1098	920	1075	1164	1085	887	947	980	987	1025	872	765	746	704	810	848

Secret Royal Inspector & Joy : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[30]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[30][31]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	November 8, 2021	4.961% (1st)	5.073% (1st)
2	November 9, 2021	4.035% (1st)	4.440% (1st)
3	November 15, 2021	5.257% (1st)	6.063% (1st)
4	November 16, 2021	5.050% (2nd)	5.495% (2nd)
5	November 22, 2021	4.514% (1st)	5.145% (1st)
6	November 23, 2021	4.249% (1st)	4.832% (1st)
7	November 29, 2021	3.912%(1st)	4.242%(1st)
8	November 30, 2021	4.332% (1st)	4.691% (1st)
9	December 6, 2021	4.471% (1st)	4.665% (1st)
10	December 7, 2021	4.624% (1st)	4.969% (1st)
11	December 13, 2021	3.653% (1st)	3.835% (1st)
12	December 14, 2021	3.410% (1st)	3.860% (1st)
13	December 20, 2021	3.403% (1st)	3.355% (1st)
14	December 21, 2021	3.236% (1st)	3.546% (1st)
15	December 27, 2021	3.592% (1st)	3.801% (1st)
16	December 28, 2021	3.799% (1st)	3.610% (1st)
Average		4.157%	4.476%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Notes

1. Korean: 라이언; Hanja: 羅二言; RR: Ra I-eon^[6][7]
2. Korean: 김조이; Hanja: 金祚怡; RR: Kim Jo-i^[6][7]