By Oh Young-jin
City Editor

Ignorant men! Respect and serve women as the new masters of the world because your time at the helm of history is over and theirs has arrived.

Rise up, women, and take charge (if you have not already)!

Am I daydreaming? I don't think so. Am I trying to lure women's votes for my political ambitions? Again, the answer is no.

I am merely prophesying about the present for those who can't see the shift in the balance of power that is taking place even as I write this column.

I base my prophecy wholly on the MBC's period drama "Queen Seondeok," which recently concluded after eight months.

Why am I making a big fuss about this program when there are uncountable numbers of other Korean, American, British and other countries' dramas are available to talk about? I have two reasons: its unusual cast and the reaction it draws from viewers.

First, beware that "Queen Seondeok" is not a faithful translation of conventional history but a rendition heavily colored by the scriptwriters' imagination and their sense of the contemporary.

So one would be advised to treat it like "Romance of Three Kingdoms," the Chinese epic novel Lou Guanzhong wrote in the 14th century about the post-Chin unification of China proper in the second century.

You would not be far off if you took this recent epic drama as if you were reading James Clavell's Asian Saga series that included "Shogun" and "King Rat."

But all things considered, the writing on the wall is indelible.

A major departure "Seondeok" represents lies first in its two main characters ― Misil, the woman who took virtual control over the pre-unification Silla Kingdom over a puppet king, and Seondeok, the princess who tried to wrestle power back from Misil and put the monarch back in control. Misil is briefly mentioned in the history books but the drama's descriptions are far from being substantiated.

The main plot evolves over the power struggle between the two women.

Before "Seondeok," period movies and dramas often portrayed women as femme fatales who fought to curry favor with men in power. Female characters in contemporary dramas and movies often play subordinates to men, reinforcing the stereotype that women can't control their own fates.

But "Seondeok" attempts to reverse the stereotype by portraying women as leaders that make decisions that affect the future of the nation, and placing men playing in the subservient role.

Here are a couple of scenes from "Queen Seondeok" that stick out in my mind.

Misil and Seondeok, then a princess, sit face-to-face. In a scathing criticism of Misil's ironfisted rule, Seondeok says, "I will listen to my subjects' grievances and want to give them freedom."

Misil tries to cajole the young princess by saying, "The subjects are afraid to talk. They are burdened by freedom and want to be governed." Then, Misil goes one step further, saying, "We may be enemies but in reality we share the same destiny ― governing the people." Their dialogue smacks of the closed-door meeting between FDR, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in Potsdam, where they discussed a new world order.

The two women are made more prominent at the cost of the male characters' charisma.

In the drama, Gen. Kim Yu-shin, who history says played a key role in Silla-led unification of three kingdoms, is a faithful No. 2 man. He falls in love with Seondeok but gets married to a daughter of her political rival to benefit his master. Seondeok reciprocates Yu-shin's loyalty by providing full rights for Yu-shin's Gaya tribe, which had been subjugated by Silla.

Bidam, a fictional character, fought Yu-shin to win the heart of Seondeok. The love triangle ends in tragedy. Ironically, Bidam, who proves to be Mishil's child, helps bring an end to Misil's rule and plays a key role in putting down the nobility's rebellion.

But in the end, he is tricked into staging a rebellion. In one of the final scenes, Seondeok watches as Bidam fights his way through phalanxes of soldiers in order to tell her of his undying loyalty. He takes his final breath only 10 steps away from his queen, with his chest full of arrows fired by Seondeok's royal guards.

Seondeok is sympathetic but does not interfere, showing she is a leader who can make sacrifices in order to secure strategic gains for the nation as a whole.

Also interesting is Misil's relationship with many men. Her official husband is the prime minister and the two have a child. She also maintains a common law marriage with a top general. She also has Bidam from her affair with a king.

So how did the viewers react to this reversal of roles?

The Seondeok series recorded high ratings but, more importantly, I found from my informal poll of people close to me that men liked it more than women.

Why didn't women like it as much? My interpretation is that men are realistic enough to see a significant shakeup in the social pecking order except for a handful of ignoramuses. We are accepting it as an inevitable matter of fact. In contrast, perhaps some women are still stuck in an inferiority complex, resentful of an unjust social order.

To those women, I say, "Wake up! You are the new master."

Maybe I am reading into this way too much. After all, it's only a television drama.

foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr