Today's thread: Lee Gon's manner of speech

Prompted by @CitizenOfCorea who asked me why I said that Gon "used a stiff way of speaking".

#Tkem #TheKingEternalMonarch #LeeEul

So Gon uses a mix of 반말/banmal and 하게체 (Hagaechae? idk how to spell it in English) --

하게체/hagaechae is a form of informal-neutral manner of speech usually used when you're talking to younger or lower-rank people.

It’s umm... a kinda “outdated” way of speaking. Like... grandparents sometimes use this kind of speech. Here, it makes sense that he uses 하게체/hagaechae since, well, he’s the freaking King of Corea so by definition everyone around him are lower-rank people.

Example.
In this clip, Gon uses 하게체/hagaechae: “가려고? 왜? 가지말게” (Galyeogo? Wae? Gaji malgae”)

If he used 반말/banmal only, he would have said: “가려고? 왜? 가지마” (Galyeogo? Wae? Gajima”)

This is the kind of subtlety that gets lost in translation: Lee Gon speaks differently vs. the other characters.

(The first time I watched tkem, I was like "why does he talk like a grandpa")

The scenes in the first few episodes are even funnier when you understand all this. Eun-Sup is like "What's wrong with this guy"

THATS BECAUSE HE TALKS LIKE A FREAKING OUTDATED IDIOT

It amplifies the comedic effect.

By the end of the drama, Gon only uses 반말/banmal with Tae-Eul (again: in-ti-ma-cy!).

But he continues to use 하게체/hagaechae with other people (the Palace staff, Lady Noh etc.)