Currently MBC‘s Mon-Tues fusion sageuk Shine or Go Crazy is comfortably leading the ratings for its time slot, but fifty episode long sageuks don’t just materialize out of thin air so all eyes are on followup drama Splendid Politics (Hwajung, or could be called Princess Jungmyung). Usually MBC does its long sageuk earlier in the year but Splendid Politics won’t arrive until mid-April. If it does well then MBC can breathe a sigh of relief that it hasn’t lost the touch with respect to its stranglehold on the long sageuk series. The network released a statement this week confirming that the main casting is complete and the adults are headed into filming.

Starring Lee Yeon Hee, Cha Seung Won, Kim Jae Won, Seo Kang Joon, Han Joo Wan, Jung Woong In, Park Young Kyu, Kim Chang Wan, and many many others (see full cast collage picture below), this drama cast is bursting at the seams with veterans and younger stars alike. Too bad Lee Yeon Hee’s two leading men in Cha Seung Won and Kim Jae Won are both playing her male relatives, and this ain’t no Flowers in the Attic series of incest on the horizon. Her love interest is instead going to be pretty Seo Kang Joon, who hopefully can raise his acting ability massively in the next few days to rise up to this challenge. I have the same hopes for Lee Yeon Hee herself, that she can continue her Miss Korea improvement. I’m super looking forward to this epic line-up!