The King and the Queen

The initial title was Life of the Wind (바람의 생애), but was later changed into The King and the Queen (왕과 비) to reflect the conflict between the main historical figures of the series – King Sejo, Queen Junghee and Queen Insoo, and later Yeonsangun and his mother.^[9] As a follow-up to Tears of the Dragon (용의 눈물),^[10] the theme song was the same.^[2]

It was originally scheduled to end by December 1999 to make way for the follow-up drama Taejo Wang Geon; however, as Taejo Wang Geon was postponed to March 2000 due to the withdrawal of director Kim Jae-hyung after bribery allegations, The King and the Queen was extended to cover not only Queen Insoo's successful seizure of power, but also Yeonsangun, the second literati purge of 1504 and Queen Insoo's death.^[10] The directing team also changed to Yoon Yong-hoon and Yoon Chang-beom as PD Kim Jong-sun, who had been co-directing, left to direct Taejo Wang Geon.^[10]

The King and the Queen was criticized for glorifying Sejo's usurpation of power and giving it historical legitimacy,^[10] as well as depicting immorality excessively.^[11] Chae Shi-ra's acting as Queen Insoo was deemed "flat" and "pitiful to watch".^[11] Towards the end of the series, reporter Kang Chan-ho wrote "The King and the Queen is not highlighting great figures, but rather relegating almost all of its characters to the status of vengeance incarnations or animals struggling for survival."^[11]

For The Dong-A Ilbo, the series was unable to receive the support typical of historical dramas due to the IMF crisis that hit the broadcasting industry at the time; however, its ratings began to rise rapidly after King Sejo's death and the more prominent role taken by Queen Insoo, although it received criticism for becoming a palace struggle among women.^[12] Nonetheless, ratings rose over 35%.^[12]