“The Red Sleeve” depicts the sad romance between a king, who prioritizes his country over love, and a court lady, who wants to protect the life she has chosen. Actress Lee Se-young played the role of the court lady Seong Deok-im (Uibin Seong) and Lee Jun-ho played King Jeongjo Yi San.
However, the two actors, Lee Se-young and Lee Jun-ho, were not cast from the beginning. In fact, Park Hye-soo was cast for Seong Deok-im and Kim Kyung-nam as Yi San. However, the casting was canceled due to Park Hye-soo’s school bullying scandal that broke out last year. Later, Kim Kyung-nam also stepped back and dropped out of the cast.
After that, the roles naturally went into the hands of Lee Se-young and Lee Jun-ho. Lee Se-young, who used to appear in various historical dramas, such as “Dae Jang Geum”, “King’s Dream”, and “The Crowned Clown”, accepted the offer to play Deok-im. Known to have read the original novel himself, Lee Jun-ho also confirmed his appearance in “The Red Sleeve”.
“The Red Sleeve” ended with the 17th episode on January 1st. With an average viewership exceeding 15% (based on Nielsen Korea’s data), it surpassed other TV programs with the same broadcasting time to top the rating chart.