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What was royal poison in 'My Royal Nemesis' really made of?

In the ongoing fantasy rom-com series "My Royal Nemesis," Kang Dan-shim (Lim Ji-yeon), a royal concubine in the Joseon era, is forced to drink a bowl of poison. Blood spills from her mouth as she collapses to the floor — a scene familiar to viewers of Korean historical dramas. But in this story, death becomes a portal. Triggered by a shaman's spell, her soul awakens in present-day Seoul inside the body of Shin Seo-ri, a struggling actress who makes a living playing minor roles in period dramas.

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[팟캐스트] (796) 논란의 ‘21세기 대군부인,’ 뭐가 문제였을까?

진행자: 박준희, Chelsea Proctor Inside 'Perfect Crown' controversy: Why its portrayal of Joseon royal rituals sparks outrage in Korea 기사 요약: 최근 종영한 아이유, 변우석 주연 드라마 “21세기 대군부인”은 즉위식과 다도 장면 등에 중국식 예법을 연상시키는 설정이 등장하면서 역사 왜곡 논란에 휩싸였다. [1] “Perfect Crown,” one of the biggest K-dramas of the first half of 2026 starring IU and Byeon Woo-seok, is facing mounting backlash over its depiction of royal traditions, with potential repercussions including the repayment of government production funding. mounting: 점점

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Joseon Royal Tombs to open free every Wednesday

The royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, a collection of UNESCO World Heritage sites, will be opened free of charge every Wednesday beginning this week as Korea moves to expand public access to its historic palaces and royal sites. The Korea Heritage Service said Tuesday that it would gradually expand free admission to royal heritage sites, in line with the government's broader "Culture Day" initiative. Until now, free admission had been offered on the last Wednesday of each month. Known collectiv

The Korea Herald

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Inside 'Perfect Crown' controversy: Why its portrayal of Joseon royal rituals sparks outrage in Korea

“Perfect Crown,” one of the biggest K-dramas of the first half of 2026 starring IU and Byeon Woo-seok, is facing mounting backlash over its depiction of royal traditions, with potential repercussions including the repayment of government production funding. The series performed strongly during its broadcast run. According to Nielsen Korea, the final episode, which aired on May 16, recorded a nationwide rating of 13.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from episode 11’s 13.5 percent, marking a ser

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Sangpyeong Tongbo

The first legal tender in Korea, Sangpyeong Tongbo was issued in 1678 (the fourth year in the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon) and used nationwide for about 200 years until the late Joseon Dynasty. The name Sangpyeong is a shortened version of sang si pyeong joon, meaning "a consistent value at all times and easily usable by anyone." On the obverse of the coin, each letter of the word "sang, pyeong," (vertical) and "tong, bo" (horizontal) was stamped around a rectangular hole in the middle, while the top of the reverse showed an abbreviation for the name of the mint. The Thousand-Character Classic, numeral letters, or codes were additionally printed later to stem counterfeiting and apportion blame. According to the unit of old Korean coinage, one Sangpyeong Tongbo equaled one Moon. One hundred Moon equaled ten Jeon, and ten Jeon equaled one Nyang.

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Horse’s Hoof-shaped Silver Coins from China

These silver ingots in the shape of a horse’s hoof served as an adjunct currency for high-value transactions in China. Horse hoof ingots began to flow into Korea (Joseon at that time) in 1894 whe Yuan Shikai (1860-1916), a powerful military official of the Qing dynasty, visited the Joseon court as an envoy or for military purposes, and flooded in in even greater quantities to fund the First Sino-Japanese War. The currency was circulated in the residential areas of Chinese merchants and the area around Korea’s northwestern borders. It was also used as a means to hoard wealth and as a material for the Daedong Eunjeon (silver coin).

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Eulyoo 1-yang Test Coin

King Gojong of Joseon made great efforts to establish a modern monetary system in his kingdom, launching a plan to issue a new set of coins made at the Central Government Mint (Jeonhwanguk), which was founded in 1883 according to the proposal of his German advisor, P. G. von Möllendorff. The government of Joseon imported blanks and coin dies from Germany and minted two of Korea’s first modern coins, a 1-nyang silver coin and a 5-mun tin test coin, in 1885. The coins are called Euryu Test Coins because they were minted in the Euryu Year (i.e. 1885). Of the two, the 1-nyang test coin bears on its front face a Taegeuk symbol with a plum spray, symbolizing the Joseon royal family, and on its rear face a dragon, symbolizing the royal authority, with inscriptions of the minting date and denomination along its edge.

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Hojo Taehwan Banknote

King Gojong of Joseon established the Central Government Mint (Jeonhwanguk) of Incheon in 1892, and the Office of Currency Conversion (Taehwanseo), the agency responsible for exchanging banknotes. The office issued convertible banknotes in denominations of 50, 20, 10 and 5 nyang for the purpose of withdrawing from circulation the old coins known as Sangpyeong Tongbo. The front face of the note bears the inscription, “This bill has been issued to be exchanged with currency in circulation,” together with a warning, “Anyone who forges or falsifies this bill or who circulates it knowing that it is forged or falsified will be subject to severe punishment.” Banknotes such as this were incinerated before being circulated after the Central Government Mint of Incheon was taken over by Imperial Japan and the Office of Currency Conversion was disbanded

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Bank of Joseon Notes during the period of Japanese Occupation

After seizing sovereignty over the Korean Empire in 1910, Japan re-established the Bank of Korea as the Bank of Joseon in 1911. The Bank of Joseon issued notes in four denominations: 100-won, 10-won, 5-won, and 1-won. The banknotes were re-issued from time to time, making changes in printed words or printing method under varied circumstances such as the abandonment of the gold standard or war-induced shortages. In 1914, the Bank of Joseon issued its first banknote, a 100-won note, with a portrait of Black Mahakala, one of the Japanese protector deities. All other notes applied a portrait of Shou Lao, which symbolizes longevity. The Bank of Joseon Notes were used until after the 1945 liberation but soon demonetized once the Bank of Korea started to issue its banknotes.

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Commemorative Banknote: The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018

On November 17, 2017, this commemorative banknote was issued to promote the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at home and abroad and boost the Olympics' successful hosting. Sophisticated anti-counterfeiting features equivalent to that of the 50,000-won note were applied to this first commemorative banknote ever issued in Korea. Speed skaters were chosen as the design theme for the front, and "Songhamaenghodo" (Tiger under the pine tree) by the renowned painter Kim Hong-do from the Joseon Dynasty was used for the back to depict the Korean national emblems, tiger and pine tree. The note's color is grey, which carries the atmosphere of winter, and it measures 140mm wide and 75mm tall.

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Knife-shaped Coins

Knife Money (Mingdaoqian) is a bronze coin widely circulated from the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. The coin bears the character "Ming (明)" on one side and three straight lines on the handle with the ring-shaped end. Similar coins unearthed in the northwestern part of the Korean Peninsula, including the Cheongcheongang River, the Daedonggang River, and the upstream of the Yalu River. Mingdaoqian is the most frequently found among the ancient Chinese coins in the Korean Peninsula, indicating that Gojoseon engaged in active trade with the Yan Dynasty.

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Kanei Tsuho

The Kanei Tsuho is a Japanese coin that is comparable to Joseon’s Sangpyeong Tongbo in that it was issued in larger amounts and in more types than any other coin, and was circulated for the longest period in the history of Japanese currency. The coin was issued in local mints across Japan for about 240 years from 1626, the 3rd Kanei year in the Tokugawa Shogunate period, to 1868 and was used widely by the common people of Japan. The front face of the coin is inscribed with four Chinese characters representing its name, Kanei Tsuho (寬永通寶), while its rear face contains inscriptions of the name of the area, a decorative design, numbers and characters.

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Dangbaekjeon

In November 1866, the third year of the reign of King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty, the government issued Dangbaekjeon coins, which came to be used nationwide for about six months to raise additional funds through seigniorage. On the obverse of the coin printed Sangpyeong Tongbo (常平通寶), while the reverse showed Hodaedangback (戶大當百). Dangbaekjeon coins weighed only five to six times than Sangpyeong Tongbo coins, but its denomination was around 100 times that of the Sangpyeong Tongbo coins. The government stopped its minting in May 1867 since this high-value coin, which increased only face value, caused rapid inflation.

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Byeoljeon

Byeoljeon coins were minted in the reign of King Sukjong of late Joseon. The coin was initially produced to check the quality and weight of materials used for Sangpyeong Tongbo coins, but it also served as a commemorative coin with sophisticated decorations and strong symbolization. The royal family or the gentry mainly owned these coins. At the end of the Joseon Dynasty, key charms bundling up several Byeoljeon coins became articles for marriage among the upper class. Byeoljeon coins with Norigae, Korean traditional ornaments, or keys dangled meant good luck.

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타임라인 키워드

What was royal poison in 'My Royal Nemesis' really made of?

[팟캐스트] (796) 논란의 ‘21세기 대군부인,’ 뭐가 문제였을까?

Joseon Royal Tombs to open free every Wednesday

Inside 'Perfect Crown' controversy: Why its portrayal of Joseon royal rituals sparks outrage in Korea

Sangpyeong Tongbo

Horse’s Hoof-shaped Silver Coins from China

Eulyoo 1-yang Test Coin

Hojo Taehwan Banknote

Bank of Joseon Notes during the period of Japanese Occupation

Commemorative Banknote: The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018

Knife-shaped Coins

Kanei Tsuho

Dangbaekjeon

Byeoljeon