An easy guide to “The King: Eternal Monarch”

Spoiler alert: might contain a LOT of spoilers. Do not read if you’ve not watched the latest episode yet.

Read at your own risk!

Ever since The King: Eternal Monarch aired, fans have been anticipating new episodes weekly.

TKEM, as the fans called it, is declared as an “International Hit” with a 9/10 user ratings on Netflix.

The story of TKEM makes the viewers go crazy after every episode due to non-stop guessing and theories. I’m one of these people and if you check out our Annyeong Oppa Facebook Group, members have been creating their theories too, which adds more kick to the story.

Well, if you’re just tuning in and want to catch up, here’s an easy guide for you! You don’t want to miss this out!

Synopsis

The King: Eternal Monarch is a fantasy-romance drama that depicts the story about two parallel worlds. Emperor Lee Gon (Lee Min-ho) crosses the border between two worlds. There he was able to meet detective Jeong Tae-eul (Kim Go-eun).

Are you ready for a refresher? Read this now!

Parallel universes

Yes, there are two different worlds in TKEM! These two worlds are similar to each other with identical people living different lives!

The Kingdom of Corea – a universe where there’s a constitutional monarchy wherein Lee Min-ho portrays Emperor Lee Gon.

The Republic of Korea – another universe that is similar to present-day Korea wherein Kim Go-eun portrays Detective Jeong Tae-eul.

25 years ago, Lee Gon’s uncle, Lee Lim, killed Lee Gon’s father because he is seeking ownership of a magical flute, also called Manpasikjeok, which holds supernatural powers.

8-year-old Lee Gon witnessed his father being killed and ended up cutting the flute in half while saving himself from Lee Lim.

Lee Lim also tried to kill Lee Gon, but thankfully, a mysterious figure saves young Lee Gon (we’re still guessing who this person is!) Unfortunately, Lee Lim left a scar on Lee Gon’s neck.

Lee Lim escapes with one half of the magical flute and discovers the parallel universe. Meanwhile, the mysterious savior left Jeong Tae-eul’s detective badge from 2019.

Lee Gon has been holding on to what his savior left and trying to find this person.

Upon arriving in the Republic of Korea, Lee Lim seeks his version in this world. He also discovers that his family in the Kingdom of Corea is similar in this world, so he pretended to be this version in the Republic of Korea. He killed the entire family, leaving the counterpart of Lee Gon’s mother alive, and sent his counterpart back to the Kingdom of Corea so that people will think that he is dead.

25 years after

Lee Gon is now the king of the Kingdom of Corea and eventually discovers the portal to the parallel universe with his half of the magical flute.

From what we’ve seen, the portal is through the bamboo forest. Could there be another way in and out? We can’t wait to find out!

As he arrives in the Republic of Korea, he then realizes the worlds are very different. He also learned that there are doppelgängers with different lives in each world. 

Boy meets girl

Since Lee Gon kind of already know who Jeong Tae-eul is, he was VERY excited when they finally met!

Of course, their first meeting wasn’t as pleasant as he thought it would be.

Jeong Tae-eul thinks he’s crazy because he claims that he’s a king from another world.

I wouldn’t believe him too, but if someone has real diamonds as their buttons, you have to think twice!

However, Jeong Tae-eul starts to believe when he takes her to the Kingdom of Corea and she sees everything. She also begins to develop romantic feelings with him (well, who wouldn’t, right?). Finally, the romance we’ve been waiting for!

Kilig level: 10000000000x

The villain

While their romance is on going, we must not forget about Lee Lim!

It has been revealed that he created his own army and he’s luring people to his side for 25 years by offering them a chance to live a better life. The problem is: they have to kill and replace their doppelgänger and live their life. 

I couldn’t imagine how many people he switched all these years!

Also, thanks to the magic flute, he hasn’t aged at all!

Lee Gon didn’t know about this. Ever since he figured Lee Lim might be alive and in the ROK, he’s been wasting his time looking for an older man.

ICYMI, Lee Gon and Lee Lim finally met on episode 9! It was a thrilling scene!

#TeamLeeGon

Since we already know that Lee Lim has been travelling back and forth and formed his army, Lee Gon has to have his own team of fighters too!

As a detective, Jeong Tae-eul has been investigating the mysterious murders that have been happening. She’s slowly connecting this to Lee Lim.

Lee Gon and Jeong Tae-eul are working together to protect people from both worlds while having a cute romance on the side.

What’s more?

With 6 episodes left, I’m sure there are still plenty of things that could happen!

Here’s what you should look out for:

1. Prime Minister Goo Seo-ryung (Kingdom of Corea)

What’s her role to the king?

Is she on his side or on Lee Lim’s side?

We don’t know yet. But one thing’s for sure: Prime Minister Goo’s only goal is to become the queen of the Kingdom of Corea.

Also, we’ve seen her counterpart in the Republic of Korea via the newspapers that a mysterious person is sending to her!

2. Kang Sin-jae (Republic of Korea)

It has been revealed that Kang Sin-jae is originally from the Kingdom of Corea.

He was switched at a very young age and Lee Lim’s reason for this is still unclear.

Is he on Lee Gon’s side?

3. Luna (Kingdom of Corea)

In the recent episode, it was revealed that Luna is not her real name, but of a cat.

Her story isn’t quite established yet and we don’t know if Lee Gon can trust her. Something to look forward to!

4. Kim Bo-min (Kingdom of Corea)

In case you didn’t know, he is the kid who Luna greets in front of the bookstore.

What’s his role?

In the recent episode, he crossed paths with Lee Lim.

In this scene, Lee Lim appeared with blood on his face and it suddenly disappeared. Lee Lim asked the kid, “Why aren’t you surprised?” And the kid answered, “Because I’m a curious person.”

He was also seen reading a book titled King Arthur. He tells Lee Lim that it’s about a man with noble blood drawing a sword and becoming king.

If you can recall, Jo Eun-seop nicknamed Lee Gon “King Arthur”.

I think the mention of the book is a nod to Lee Gon’s character.

Additionally, some viewers thinks that this kid is the Diety of Fate.

We don’t know this yet, but I am sure this kid has a big role in the lives of the characters.

5. Jo Yeong and Jo Eun-seop

In the recent episode, Lee Gon left Yeong in the Republic of Korea and brought Eun-seop with him.

What will happen to these two while they are in two different worlds?

Some say that they might have been switched as a kid too! What do you think?

6. Time travelling

Could there be a time travelling concept?

There’s no definite explanation if time travelling is involved, but it could be a possibility too!

Now that you’re caught up, look out for what TKEM is going to bring to us! I’m sure there’s more to the story: more revelations, more twists, more fights, and of course, more romance!

What are your own theories about TKEM? Make sure to share them with us in the comments!

The King: Eternal Monarch is available on Netflix with weekly episodes every Friday and Saturday at 10.30pm SGT.