The Royal Gambler Explained

Alt Name:Daebak
Genre:Historical
Director:Nam Geon
Starring:Jang Keun-suk
Yeo Jin-goo
Jun Kwang-ryul
Choi Min-soo
Yoon Jin-seo
Lim Ji-yeon
Hyun Woo
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Num Episodes:24
Producer:Lee Hee-soo
Runtime:60 minutes
Company:TheKEntertainment
ONDA Entertainment
Network:SBS

The Royal Gambler[1] is a South Korean historical drama starring Jang Keun-suk, Yeo Jin-goo, Jun Kwang-ryul, Choi Min-soo, Yoon Jin-seo, and Lim Ji-yeon. It replaced Six Flying Dragons and aired on SBS on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) from March 28, 2016, to June 14, 2016, for 24 episodes.

Plot

This drama is about a prince who is forced to live as a commoner and uses his gambling skills to take revenge on the King. Dae-Gil (Jang Geun-suk) and King Yeongjo (Yeo Jin-goo) enter a match. Dae-Gil bets his life and King Yeongjo bets the entire Kingdom of Joseon on the outcome. Dae-Gil is the best gambler in the Joseon era. He holds deep resentment inside, but is also cool on the exterior. King Yeongjo is a man who never lowers his head without a convincing reason. Meanwhile, Dam-Seo (Lim Ji-yeon) exists solely to take revenge upon king.

It is a fictionalised account of events leading to the accession of the throne by King Yeongjo, and also a fictionalised account of the 1728 Musin Rebellion.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Ratings

In the table below,

the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
Episode #Original broadcast dateAverage audience share
TNmS Ratings[3] AGB Nielsen[4]
width=100Nationwidewidth=100Seoul National Capital Areawidth=100Nationwidewidth=100Seoul National Capital Area
1March 28, 20169.5%11.1%11.8%13.0%
2March 29, 20169.9%11.0%12.2%13.7%
3April 4, 20169.1%10.1%11.6%12.5%
4April 5, 20168.9% 10.4% 9.5% 10.4%
5April 11, 20168.6% 10.4% 9.2% 9.8%
6April 12, 20168.0%10.2%8.4%9.3%
7April 18, 20168.1%9.3%9.1%8.9%
8April 19, 20167.7%9.2%8.7%9.1%
9April 25, 20168.2%9.5%8.0%8.5%
10April 26, 20168.1%9.5%8.9%9.7%
11May 2, 20168.3%10.5%8.9%9.4%
12May 3, 20168.8%10.8%9.2%9.8%
13May 9, 20168.5%9.8%8.7%9.3%
14May 10, 20168.6%11.3%8.4%8.8%
15May 16, 20168.1%9.4%8.4%8.3%
16May 17, 20168.0%8.8%9.6%10.4%
17May 23, 20167.5%8.7%9.5%10.5%
18May 24, 20167.6%8.6%8.5%8.8%
19May 30, 20167.6%9.3%7.7%7.8%
20May 31, 20166.8%7.9%8.1%8.1%
21June 6, 20168.6%10.2%10.3%11.4%
22June 7, 20168.9%10.8%9.9%10.0%
23June 13, 20168.6%10.3%9.2%9.1%
24June 14, 20169.0%10.6%10.0%10.2%
Average8.4%9.9%9.3%9.9%

Original soundtrack

The Royal Gambler OST
Type:Soundtrack
Artist:Various artists
Recorded:2016
Genre:Soundtrack
Language:Korean
Label:Loen Entertainment

OST Part 4

International broadcast

In the United States, the drama airs in the Los Angeles DMA free, over-the-air on LA 18 KSCI-TV (channel 18) with English subtitles, Mon-Tue 9:15PM, from April 25 to July 12, 2016.[5]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2016 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama
Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama
Grand Prize (Daesang)
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama
Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama
Best Couple Award
Top 10 Stars Award
Idol Academy Award – Best "Drudge"
Idol Academy Award – Best Eating

Notes and References

  1. 여진구, 무시무시한 카리스마 "도성 향해 고개도 들지마라" 《The Royal Gambler》 대박 EP24. YouTube. SBS Drama. ko. January 4, 2018.
  2. Web site: Actor Jang Keun-suk wants to start anew with 'The Royal Gambler'. 2016-03-23. 2016-03-24. 2016-04-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428041428/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/03/24/0200000000AEN20160324008700315.html. live.
  3. Web site: TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu . TNMS Ratings . March 28, 2016 . ko . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131128032303/http://www.tnms.tv/rating/default.asp . November 28, 2013 .
  4. Web site: AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu. AGB Nielsen Media Research. May 6, 2016. ko. March 17, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170317134758/http://www.nielsenkorea.co.kr/tv_terrestrial_day.asp?menu=Tit_1&sub_menu=1_1&area=00. live.
  5. Web site: The Royal Gambler - LA18 Mon-Tues Korean Drama . 2016-04-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160509174240/http://www.la18.tv/ko/korean-prog/the-royal-gambler/ . 2016-05-09 .