# Jang Yeong-sil (TV series)

Jang Yeong-sil (Korean: 장영실) is a 2016 South Korean historical drama television series starring Song Il-kook, Kim Yeong-cheol, Kim Sang-kyung and Park Sun-young. It replaced The Jingbirok: A Memoir of Imjin War and aired on KBS1 from January 2, 2016 to March 26, 2016 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 (KST) for 24 episodes.

## Plot

A television series talk about Jang Yeong-sil, a popular scientist of Joseon in the 15th century. Born as a slave but with the remarkable talent and the profound passion for astronomy, he was known by King Sejong and was recommended to the court. Jang Yeong-sil had a lot of contributions for the science-technology of Joseon, he has left many great inventions such as the water clock, the sundial, the astronomical instruments, the rain gauge and also many research on weaponry.

## Cast
### Main characters

* Song Il-kook as Jang Yeong-sil (or Jang Young-sil)
** Jung Yoon-seok as young Jang Yeong-sil
* Kim Sang-kyung as Yi Do, later King Sejong the Great (1397~1450)
** Hong Hyun-taek [ko] as young Yi Do
* Kim Yeong-cheol as Yi Bang-won, later King Taejong (1367~1422)
* Park Sun-young as Princess Sohyun – King Taejong's daughter and Yi Do's older sister (fictional character)
** Yoon Si-yeong as young Sohyun

### Supporting characters
#### Royal household

* Kim Ki-hyeon as King Taejo
* Lee Byung-wook [ko] as Prince Yangnyeong
* Kim Bo-mi as Princess Gyeonghye
* Han Jeong-woo as King Munjong
** Choi Seung-hoon as young Yi Hyang (later King Munjong)
* Choi Dong-ah as King Danjong
* Go Young-bin [ko] as King Sejo

#### Court officials

* Kim Do-hyun [ko] as Lee Cheon [ko]
* Son Byong-ho as Ha Yeon [ko]
* Jung Han-yong as Hwang Hui
* Kim Byung-ki as Maeng Sa-sung [ko]
* Lee Young-seok [ko] as Jo Mal-saeng [ko]
* Han Ki-joong [ko] as Heo Jo [ko]
* Kim Hyo-won [ko] as Jeong Cho [ko]
* Kang Shin-goo [ko] as Jeong Heum-ji
* Jeong Eui-gap [ko] as Jeong In-ji
* Park Seung-gyu as Park Eun [ko]
* Hwang Yi-geon [ko] as Kim Goo-nam
* Lee Geon-myung [ko] as Park Yeon [ko]
* Ahn Shin-woo [ko] as Choe Manri

#### Seoungwan people

* Lee Byung-hoon [ko] as Lee Sun-ji [ko]
* Seo Hyun-chul as Choi Bok (fictional character)
* Im Hyuk as Yoo Taek-sang
* Min Joon-hyun [ko] as Jeon Bae-cheon (fictional character)
* Lee Joo-hyun as Ji Gyeong-chan (fictional character)
* Kang Ji-hoo [ko] as Sung Sa-gook (fictional character)

#### Dongraehyeon people

* Lee Ji-hoon as Jang Hee-je (fictional character)
** Kim Dan-yool [ko] as young Jang Hee-je
* Kim Myeong-soo [ko] as Jang Sung-hwi – a Goryeo's scientist, minister and Jang Yeong-sil's father
* Kim Ae-ran as Eun-wol – a Kisaeng and Jang Yeong-sil's mother (assumed character)
* Son Ho-gyun [ko] as Jang Gi-bae (fictional character)
* Kang Sung-jin as Seok-goo – Jang Yeong-sil's best friend (fictional character)
** Lee Joon-seo as young Seok-goo
* Kim Dae-jong [ko] as Kim Hak-joo – a noble and Jang Hee-je's friend (fictional character)
** Lee Kye-in as young Kim Hak-joo

#### Hanyang people

* Yoon Ah-reum [ko] as Eul-seon (Chinese: 乙善; Pinyin: Yǐ Shàn) – princess Sohyun's maid, later Seok-goo's wife
* N/A as Oh Goo-san
* Lee Geon [ko] as Han Nae-gwan
* Kim Mi-ra [ko] as Uhm Sang-goong

#### Ming dynasty

* Im Dong-jin as Joo Tae-kang (Chinese: 朱太江; Pinyin: Zhū Tàijiāng) – a Ming dynasty old prince (fictional character)
* Park Gyu-ri as Joo Bu-ryeong (Chinese: 朱副伶; Pinyin: Zhū Fùlíng) – Tae-kang's daughter (fictional character)
* Im Chul-hyung [ko] as Yoon Bong [ko] – a Joseon person working as a eunuch in Ming dynasty
* Kwon Bin as Zhengtong Emperor

#### Extended cast

* Kwak Min-ho [ko] as Go Gil-soo – a trader between Joseon and Ming dynasty (fictional character)
* Jo Sang-goo [ko] as Byun Dae-chi
* Byun Joon-seok [ko] as Choi Yool
* Jang Gwang as Jo Gwang
* Hwang Chan-ho [ko] as Moo-san
* Kim Min-hyuk [ko] as Oh Pil-gyo
* N/A as Bae Kang-choon
* Cha Ye-joon as Im Myung-deok
* Kim Ae-ran as Eun-wol
* Oh Ji-hyuk as Yoo Cheol
* Cha Bo-sung as Sung Sam-moon
* Jang Joon-nyung [ko]
* Jin Hyun-kwang [ko]
* Lee Je-kwan [ko]
* Park Dae-kyu [ko]
* Jeon Jin-ki [ko]
* Seol Chang-hee [ko]
* Choi Dong-yeob [ko]
* Kim Moon-sik
* Shin Chi-young
* Jo Shin-geun
* Jo Yeon-ho
* Hwang Bi-ho
* Lee Ho-yool
* Lee Joo-yeon

### Cameo appearances

* Nam Il-woo [ko] as Jang Sung-bae – Jang Sung-hwi's oldest brother
* Chae Dong-hyun [ko] as Kim Beob-rae
* Yeo Hoe-hyun as Na Ki-soon
* Song Triplets as three little beggars

## Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | TNmS Ratings | TNmS Ratings | AGB Nielsen Ratings | AGB Nielsen Ratings |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area |
| 1 | January 2, 2016 | 8.5% | 8.7% | 11.6% | 11.5% |
| 2 | January 3, 2016 | 8.6% | 8.4% | 11.5% | 12.3% |
| 3 | January 9, 2016 | 9.6% | 8.6% | 10.2% | 10.4% |
| 4 | January 10, 2016 | 9.0% | 9.2% | 11.3% | 12.3% |
| 5 | January 16, 2016 | 9.8% | 9.3% | 10.1% | 10.1% |
| 6 | January 17, 2016 | 10.0% | 9.9% | 12.2% | 12.9% |
| 7 | January 23, 2016 | 12.2% | 11.3% | 14.1% | 14.2% |
| 8 | January 24, 2016 | 12.4% | 10.8% | 14.1% | 15.1% |
| 9 | January 30, 2016 | 10.7% | 9.3% | 12.2% | 12.5% |
| 10 | January 31, 2016 | 10.4% | 10.0% | 13.4% | 13.5% |
| 11 | February 6, 2016 | 9.9% | 9.5% | 11.9% | 12.5% |
| 12 | February 13, 2016 | 9.2% | 8.2% | 10.9% | 11.8% |
| 13 | February 14, 2016 | 9.1% | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 14 | February 20, 2016 | 9.0% | 9.5% | 11.0% | 11.1% |
| 15 | February 21, 2016 | 9.2% | 8.4% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 16 | February 27, 2016 | 8.8% | 8.3% | 10.8% | 10.8% |
| 17 | February 28, 2016 | 9.6% | 9.3% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 18 | March 5, 2016 | 10.5% | 10.1% | 11.5% | 12.1% |
| 19 | March 6, 2016 | 9.7% | 8.2% | 11.8% | 11.6% |
| 20 | March 12, 2016 | 9.4% | 8.4% | 10.4% | 10.1% |
| 21 | March 13, 2016 | 10.1% | 8.2% | 12.0% | 12.2% |
| 22 | March 19, 2016 | 9.5% | 8.2% | 10.4% | 10.0% |
| 23 | March 20, 2016 | 10.5% | 9.8% | 11.9% | 11.9% |
| 24 | March 26, 2016 | 9.4% | 8.0% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| Average ratings | Average ratings | 9.7958% | 9.0875% | 11.55% | 11.775% |

### Remark

* Episode 12, scheduled to be broadcast on the evening of February 7, was canceled because South Korea was in emergency after the North Korea's missile launch (Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4) at 9:30 am in the same day.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2016 | KBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor | Song Il-gook | Nominated |
| 2016 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama | Song Il-gook | Won |
| 2016 | KBS Drama Awards | Best Young Actor | Jung Yoon-seok | Won |