The Royal Tailor

Cho Dol-Seok (Han Seok-kyo) has been the royal tailor for three Kings, including the current King (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Queen (Park Shin- hye). He's maintained his position by keeping to traditional, dignified clothing styles, ones that emphasize position and gravitas. The royal court is not without intrigue, however, and soon the Queen has a rival, young Concubine Soo-Yi (Lee Yoo-bi). The Queen meets a young tailor, Lee Gong-jin (Ko Soo), who unlike Cho is a true artist in terms of his creations, and it's not long before the divided loyalties in the court are made manifest through which tailor makes one's clothes....

This is an absolutely beautiful-looking film, as befits a movie where the clothes are paramount in telling the story. It's also very well-acted, particularly by the two actors playing the tailors, who depict their deep friendship while at the same time having completely different temperaments and spirits. There's some humour in the piece, but it's generally quite somber and tragic - as is frequently fitting for a period drama like this one. Gorgeous to look at, but it might just break your heart.

Great effort with the costumes and cinematography. It's a visual feast of fabrics. I tuned in for Park Shin Hye and she looks lovely but doesn't get a lot of chance to act. Go Soo is charismatic as the rebel tailor. What isn't good is the jealousy story and tragic end is so predictable. Here a twist would have been nice. Depressing ending.

All of the leads are wonderful actors beloved in South Korea and with a strong supporting cast. The costumes, of course, are breathtaking and become more so with each of Kong-Jin's creations born of dreams and gentle love, especially for the queen. But for a bit of slow pacing and some continuity breaks, the film is perfect. It is also wrenching and heartbreaking as it moves from a story about making beautiful clothes to a parable of jealousy and karma. Strongly recommended.

The costumes and actors/actresses were wonderfully aligned and prepared for this beautiful movie.

The Royal Tailor, or Sang-eui-won in korean. When the new king takes the throne, the queen needs a new robe. The royal tailor says he cannot do this by the deadline. But a younger, more handsome tailor makes new clothes quickly, and easily. But he does not follow the traditions for royal gowns. The younger man is now in big demand, and is in the queen's favor. So the royal tailor plots a scheme to frame the young upstart. Some great visuals of colors, fashion. At the beginning, we see lots of elegant, flowing white uniforms. As the movie progresses, the younger tailor introduces fancy collars, colors, designs that were never allowed before. Discussions of power. Tradition. Discipline. The head tailor will have his revenge! Not so different from raise the red lantern, from 1991. Jealousy and competition between the king's wives. Directed by won-suk lee. Showing on kanopy streaming and several others.