During the Chosun Dynasty (1592-1910), the kingdom of Korea (called Chosun) had its own ruler, but it was very influenced by and paid tribute to China. Korean society of the time was based on the ideas of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucius taught that the secret for the wellbeing of a kingdom was for each person to know his or her place. There were guidelines for how each person should behave in relationship to those in higher or lower places, such as a king to his subject, and a subject to the king.

In order to be a noble or yang ban, one had to be born to two yang ban parents. Otherwise you were a commoner and nothing you did in life could change that. Yang ban had the leisure time to study, the opportunity to take the state examinations, and the hope of scoring well enough to be given an appointment to serve in government. Common people could do none of these things.

Hong Kil Dong’s dilemma is that he has the potential to be a fine scholar and leader. But because his mother is a commoner, he can’t claim his place as yang ban. There seems to be no opportunity for him to use his abilities. But he is so determined and so gifted (a little magic never hurts!) that he figures out how to make his own way.