The Red Sleeve

The Red Sleeve is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho, Lee Se-young, and Kang Hoon. It is a fictionalised account of the lives of King Jeongjo and his royal consort  Ui-bin Seong. It aired on MBC TV from November 12, 2021, to January 1, 2022, every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST).

Synopsis
Based on a novel of the same name, The Red Sleeve tells the record of a royal court romance between the King of Joseon who places his duty to his country above love, and a court lady who wants to protect the life she has chosen. The story is told from the viewpoint of the court lady.

Main

 * Lee Jun-ho as Yi San, later King Jeongjo
 * Lee Joo-won as young Yi San
 * The arrogant and perfectionist grandson of King Yeongjo. He constantly strives to become a benevolent King, but his father's death has left an emotional trauma in his heart.


 * Lee Se-young as Seong Deok-im, later Royal Noble Consort Ui-bin Seong
 * Lee Seol-ah as young Seong Deok-im
 * A court lady who wants to live the life of her choice, rather than just be one of the numerous court ladies called "the King's women".


 * Kang Hoon as Hong Deok-ro
 * Choi Jeong-hoo as young Hong Deok-ro
 * The Crown Prince's teacher who hides a cold personality beneath his warm-hearted appearance.

Royal family

 * Lee Deok-hwa as King Yeongjo
 * Jang Hee-jin as Queen Jeongsun
 * Kang Mal-geum as Hong Hye-bin, later Lady Hyegyeong
 * Kim I-on as Princess Cheongyeon
 * Jo Seung-hee as Princess Cheongseon
 * Go Ha as Royal Consort Suk-ui Moon
 * Park Seo-kyung as Hong Dan, later Royal Noble Consort Won-bin Hong

Court ladies

 * Park Ji-young as Head Court Lady Jo
 * Ji Eun as Kang Wol-hye
 * Cha Mi-kyung as Court Lady Park

People around Yi San

 * Oh Dae-hwan as Kang Tae-ho
 * Moon Jeong-dae as Seo Gye-jung
 * as Jung Jae-hwa
 * Kim Kang-min as Kim Du-seong
 * Yoon Hyo-sik as Yi San's head eunuch

People around Seong Deok-im

 * Jang Hye-jin as Court Lady Seo
 * Lee Min-ji as Kim Bok-yeon
 * Yoon Hae-bin as young Kim Bok-yeon
 * as Bae Kyung-hee
 * Lee Seo-hyun as young Bae Kyung-hee
 * Lee Eun-saem as Son Young-hee
 * Jo Si-yeon as young Son Young-hee
 * Yang Byung-yeol as Seong Sik

Yi San's political opponents

 * Jo Hee-bong as Hong Jung-yeo
 * Seo Hyo-rim as Princess Hwawan
 * Kwon Hyun-bin as Jeong Baek-ik

Extended

 * as Yi San's guard warrior
 * Kim Ja-young as Court Lady Kwon
 * Kim Byung-chun as Shim Hwi-won
 * Yi Seo as Royal Noble Consort Hwa-bin Yun

Special appearances

 * Ha Seok-jin as a magistrate
 * Do Sang-woo as Crown Prince Sado
 * Nam Gi-ae as Royal Noble Consort Yeong-bin Yi
 * Lee Soon-jae as an elderly citizen

Production and release
The lead roles were initially offered to Kim Kyung-nam and Park Hye-su. The first script reading of the cast was held in May 2021.

The series was originally scheduled to premiere on November 5, 2021, but it was delayed by a week due to program adjustment for the broadcast of a professional baseball game.

On December 9, 2021, it was announced that the series would be extended by one episode due to its popularity and would end with 17 episodes. Due to the extension, episode 13 aired on December 24, while episodes 14 and 15 aired on December 25.

It was reported that filming started in May 2021 and continued filming for about seven months until December 21. It was mainly conducted at Mungyeong Saejae Open Set, Jeonju Hanok Village, Gwanghallu Garden in Namwon, Naganeupseong Folk Village, Yeokrin Set in Damyang County, and Yeolhwajeong Pavilion—located in Ganggol Village, Deungnyang-myeon, Boseong County.