The Royal Tailor is a Korean historical drama set in the Joseon period. The story focuses on Jo Dol-seok , who has made the clothing for three generations of kings and Lee Gong-jin, a commoner whose clothes are mostly seen on ladies of the evening. When the Queen needs a last minute repair of one of the King’s robes, Jo refuses, but gives Lee the chance, which leads to a close friendship/love between the Queen and Lee. Lee has to balance his feelings for the Queen with his desire to see her end her estrangement from the King (her dream). Fueled by jealousy over Lee’s “dream like” designs, and a desire to be made a nobleman, Jo undermines Lee, and eventually causes his death, and takes credit for his style defining designs. One interesting feature that isn’t often seen in U.S. historical pieces was on a few occasions, when the very period sounding music is replaced with a soundtrack reminiscent of 1970s action films, and there were brief comedic moments that accompanied this mood change. This film has some adult themes, but no bad language, nudity, or violence. High school English teachers could use this as a companion piece when they teach about the work, Amadeus. Both involve older, establishment artists, and the “arrogant” geniuses they fear. Students could compare and contrast the stories, characters, and other themes. This could also be used by art/textiles or history teachers to look at some of the artistic works that went into creating royal clothing during this period.
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