nettlestonenell: Citizens of the Republic, Subjects of the Kingdom, and Gentle Readers, read on to d
nettlestonenell: Citizens of the Republic, Subjects of the Kingdom, and Gentle Readers, read on to discover why it should come as no surprise that in the bamboo forest, when asked to describe himself as a King, Lee Gon tells Lieutenant Jeong Tae-Eul that he is a rower. [He places rowing on a list before mathematician, well-grown orphan, and even his ownership of the Four Tiger Sword]+Despite the lack of a Korean War taking place w/i the Kingdom of Corea, Lee Gon’s empire has an abundance of Western influences. Take, for instance, this scene, which is clearly the King participating in what Americans would call “Crew”, or competitive rowing. The watercraft in play is that of a racing shell (or fine boat - UK term).It differs from Chinese Dragon Boat Racing (a far more geographically adjacent sport to Corea). Dragon Boat racers have much larger crews of rowers, and all face the direction of travel (rather than in Crew, where only the coxswain does). Drums are also involved.Keep in mind that in Crew, the rowers in seats 6,5,4, and 3 are generally the biggest and strongest rowers, who provide most of the power to the boat. BUT, you may notice that Peyha is seated right in front of the coxswain. Of course he is, this makes him “Stroke seat”, which, per Wikipedia: The “stroke” is…usually the most competitive rower in the crew. Everyone else follows the stroke’s timing - placing their blades in and out of the water at the same time as stroke. The stroke can communicate with the coxswain (when in a stern coxed boat) to give feedback on how the boat feels. During a race, it is the stroke’s responsibility to establish the crew’s rate (number of strokes per minute) and rhythm. Because of the great responsibilities, the rower in the stroke seat will usually be one of the most technically sound members of the boat, capable of setting a good rhythm. The stroke is typically the best rower in the boat. He doesn’t steer the boat (that’s the coxswain), he doesn’t power it. He works to keep it in rhythm/alignment.Wait for it… The next rower (‘seven’ in an eight) sits directly behind stroke and is typically both fit and skilled: this rower acts as a buffer between the stroke and the rest of the crew. They closely follow the rhythm set by the stroke and help transmit this rhythm to the rest of the boat. If the stroke increases or decreases the stroke rate it is essential that seven follows this change so that it is translated to the rest of the crew. Number seven usually watches the back of stroke so that they can time when to…copy their rhythm. The job of seven is to emulate the rhythm of the stroke. With the conclusion of the series, we [now] know rower seven is one-half of the personification of Manpasikjeok. So what we have here, in the first two-thirds of Episode One, is our King, [deemed to be best-suited to it] working to keep things in proper alignment, seated in the hierarchy adjacent to the flute/destiny/the key to unlock parallel worlds that need to be brought back into harmony/rhythm with each other–positioned in reference to the King where the goal is to emulate/follow the pace and flow the King set.And they win that race.And that is why a boat race in Kim Eun-Suk’s The King: Eternal Monarch is more than just a boat race.image credit -- source link