Under the Queen's Umbrella

Under the Queen's Umbrella (Korean: 슈룹; RR: Syurup)^[a] is a 2022 South Korean television series starring Kim Hye-soo, Kim Hae-sook, and Choi Won-young. It aired on tvN from October 15 to December 4, 2022, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST).^[7] It was released as a limited series on Netflix in selected regions on October 15.^[8][9][10]

Under the Queen's Umbrella
Promotional poster
Also known as	The Queen's Umbrella[1]
Hangul	슈룹
Literal meaning	Umbrella[1]
Revised Romanization	Syurup
Genre	Period drama[2] Black comedy[2]
Created by	Studio Dragon (planning)[3]
Written by	Park Ba-ra[3]
Directed by	Kim Hyung-sik[3]
Starring	Kim Hye-soo Kim Hae-sook Choi Won-young
Music by	Kim Joon-seok (Movie Closer)[4] Jeong Se-rin (Movie Closer)[4]
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Yoo Sang-won Shin Seon-joo (CP) Kim Seung-won (CP)
Producers	Park Jin-hyung Son Jae-seong
Editor	Kim Na-young
Running time	73 minutes[5]
Production company	How Pictures[3]
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	October 15 (2022-10-15) – December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)

The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history.^[11] Under the Queen's Umbrella remained for eight weeks on Netflix's "Global Top 10" list of the most-watched non-English television titles.^[12]

Synopsis

Set in a fictional period within the Joseon period, the series deals with the top 1% education method to make the troublemaker princes, who cause nuisance for the royal family, into proper princes.^[2][6][13]

Queen Hwa-ryeong (Kim Hye-soo) is expected to embody grace and dignity in her royal role. However, her sons prove to be mischievous troublemakers. Faced with this challenge, the queen decides to abandon strict protocols and embarks on a journey to transform her sons into deserving princes through education and personal growth. With determination and perseverance, she endeavors to instill in her sons the values and skills necessary to fulfill their royal responsibilities, all while navigating the complexities of motherhood and royal life.

Cast

Main

• Kim Hye-soo as Queen Im Hwa-ryeong^[2][14]
  • Chaerin as young Im Hwa-ryeong^[15]
• Kim Hae-sook as Queen Dowager^[14]
• Choi Won-young as King Yi Ho^[14]
  • Choi Yoon-je as young Yi Ho^[16]

Supporting

Queen's sons

• Bae In-hyuk as Crown Prince^[17]
• Moon Sang-min as Grand Prince Seongnam / Yi Kang (personal name)^[18]
• Yoon Sang-hyeon as Grand Prince Muan / Yi Moon (personal name)^[19]
• Yoo Seon-ho as Grand Prince Gyeseong / Yi Hwan (personal name)^[20][21]
• Park Ha-jun as Grand Prince Ilyeong / Yi Yul (personal name)^[22]

Concubines

• Ok Ja-yeon as Royal Consort Gwi-in Hwang, later demoted to Royal Consort Sug-won^[23][24]
• Kim Ga-eun as Royal Consort So-yong Tae^[25]
• Woo Jung-won as Royal Consort Gwi-in Go^[26]

Concubines' sons

• Kang Chan-hee as Prince Uiseong^[27]
• Kim Min-gi as Prince Bogum^[28]
• Moon Seong-hyun as Prince Simso^[29]

People in the palace

• Kim Eui-sung as Chief State Councillor Hwang Won-hyeong^[30]
• Jang Hyun-sung as Minister of Military Affairs Yoon Soo-kwang^[31]

Others

• Oh Ye-ju as Lady Yoon Cheong-ha, Grand Prince Seongnam’s future wife ^[32][33]
• Jeon Hye-won as Cho-wol^[34]
• Seo Yi-sook as Deposed Queen Yoon^[35]

Extended

• Shin Soo-jeong as Royal Consort So-ui Kim^[36][37]
• Song Young-ah as Royal Consort Sug-ui Choi^[36]
• Lee Ha-young as Royal Consort So-won Moon^[36]
• Lee Hwa-kyum as Royal Consort Sug-won Ok^[38]
• Lee So-hee as Special Court Lady Park^[38][39]
• Shin Ian as Prince Yeongmin^[40]
• Hong Jae-min as Prince Hodong^[41]
• Kim Young-jae as Chief Royal Secretary Min Seung-yun^[42]
• Lee Jung-eun as Court Lady Nam^[43]
• Yoo Yeon as Court Lady Oh^[44]
• Park Jun-myeon as Court Lady Shin^[45]
• Kim Jae-bum as Physician Kwon / Yi Ik-hyeon (real name)^[46][47]
  • Cha Sung-je as young Yi Ik-hyeon^[48]
• Kwon Hae-hyo as Master Toji / Yoo Sang-uk (real name)^[49]
• Kim Seung-soo as Park Gyeong-woo^[50]
• Han Dong-hee as Crown Princess Min^[51]
• Seo Woo-jin as Grand Heir^[52]
• Tae Won-seok as Seo Ham-deok^[53]
• Yoon Seul as Mak-ryeo^[54]
• Jo Ah-young as Min Seung-yun's eldest daughter^[55]
• Kim Jung-ho as Royal Physician Cho Guk-yeong^[56]
• Ha Dong-joon as Personnel Officer Lee Jo-jeon-rang^[57]

Special appearances

• Jung Ji-hoon (Rain) as a passerby (episode 7)^[58]
• Ahn Yong-joon as the representative of Sungkyunkwan scholars^[24]
• Park Hyo-joo as a nursemaid^[59]
• Jung Soon-won^[60]

Production

Most of the scenes were filmed at Mungyeong Saejae Open Set, some were filmed in Jeonju Hanok Village.^[61] Lead actress Kim Hye-soo filmed her parts from April 2 to November 20, 2022.^[62]

On November 21, 2022, it was revealed that actor Moon Sang-min suffered facial injury in the lower part of his left eye while filming an action scene at the end of October. He underwent surgery and returned to the set after a few days.^[63]

Viewership

Season		Episode number
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	1.846	2.039	1.682	2.286	1.750	2.690	2.104	2.873	2.426	3.015	2.599	3.247	2.935	3.389	3.047	4.049

Under the Queen's Umbrella : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[64]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[64]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	October 15, 2022	7.649% (1st)	8.668% (1st)
2	October 16, 2022	9.062% (1st)	10.259% (1st)
3	October 22, 2022	6.980% (1st)	7.307% (1st)
4	October 23, 2022	9.471% (1st)	10.065% (1st)
5	October 29, 2022	7.751% (1st)	8.334% (1st)
6	October 30, 2022	11.285% (1st)	12.008% (1st)
7	November 5, 2022	9.365% (1st)	9.590% (1st)
8	November 6, 2022	11.821% (1st)	13.043% (1st)
9	November 12, 2022	9.993% (1st)	11.015% (1st)
10	November 13, 2022	12.296% (1st)	13.391% (1st)
11	November 19, 2022	10.842% (1st)	11.548% (1st)
12	November 20, 2022	13.415% (1st)	14.201% (1st)
13	November 26, 2022	12.851% (1st)	14.012% (1st)
14	November 27, 2022	14.100% (1st)	14.786% (1st)
15	December 3, 2022	13.353% (1st)	14.562% (1st)
16	December 4, 2022	16.852% (1st)	18.159% (1st)
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).

Accolades

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
Baeksang Arts Awards	2023	Best Actress – Television	Kim Hye-soo	Nominated	[65]
		Best New Actor – Television	Moon Sang-min	Won	[66]

Notes

1. 슈룹〮 (Yale: syùlwúp), pronounced as /sjù.lúp/
   The native title is a Middle Korean word for "umbrella", first attested in Hunminjeong-eum haerye in 1446. The middle dot before the second syllable (in 룹〮) indicates a high pitch contour, while the unmarked first syllable is pronounced with a low pitch contour.^[6]