What I really appreciate about SRIJ, fiction though it may be, is that Jo-yi is not subservient. She has agency, so do Gwang-Soon and Bi-Ryung, and her mom. It's quite refreshing for a Sageuk drama. Again, I know it doesn't depict the reality of the times. To be honest, I don't watch Kdramas for a dose of realism, I have a playlist full of nordic-noir for that.











