# The Tale of Lady Ok (옥씨부인전)
**The Tale of Lady Ok** (옥씨부인전; hanja 玉氏夫人傳; revised romanization Okshibooinjeon) is a 16-episode South Korean historical drama (sageuk) that aired on JTBC from November 30, 2024, to January 26, 2025, starring [Lim Ji-yeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lim-ji-yeon) as a Joseon-era runaway slave who assumes a noblewoman's identity and Choo Young-woo as the storyteller who loves her[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [2](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/taleofladyok). It was the follow-up to *A Virtuous Sales* (정숙한 세일즈) in JTBC's Saturday–Sunday 22:30 slot[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84), and was also streamed on Netflix from its premiere[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title / format | 옥씨부인전 (玉氏夫人傳), English title *The Tale of Lady Ok*; 16 episodes, JTBC Saturdays and Sundays at 22:30[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) |
| Run | November 30, 2024 – January 26, 2025, ending with episode 16[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [2](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/taleofladyok) |
| Leads | Lim Ji-yeon (임지연) as Gudeok / Ok Tae-young; Choo Young-woo (추영우) in a dual role[5](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10011750/2) • [4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492) |
| Production | Director Jin Hyeok, writer Park Ji-sook; production companies SLL and Copus Korea; pre-produced, filmed January to August 2024[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [6](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) |
| Setting | Joseon Dynasty, centered on the legal and social gulf between slaves (노비) and the gentry (yangban)[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492) |
| Finale rating | 13.6% nationwide (14.0% in the capital area) on January 26, 2025, per Nielsen Korea; the highest for a JTBC weekend drama since *King the Land*[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84) |
| Awards | 2024 Korea Broadcast Critics drama prize; Best New Actor for Choo Young-woo at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards (2025) and the 16th Korea Drama Awards; Viewer's Choice Drama of the Year at the 2025 KCA awards[6](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84) |
## Premise
The series follows Ok Tae-young, a Joseon-era legal expert whose name, husband, and status are all fake[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok). JTBC's official character page identifies her as Gudeok-i (구덕이), born to slave parents and enduring abuse at the hands of her owner Kim Nak-su's wife, and gifted in writing, arithmetic, and athleticism; her stated dream was to save money and escape to live by the sea with her father[5](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10011750/2). Per the JoongAng Daily's account, the runaway slave Gudeok is adopted by the noble Ok family and assumes the identity of the deceased daughter Ok Tae-young, rising from slave to noblewoman in the Joseon Dynasty[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). Hong Kong's Now TV, which streams the series, describes it as the story of a woman who concealed her real identity as a slave and became the lady of the house, but soon finds herself caught up in her own lies[7](https://nowplayer.now.com/ondemand/detail?id=S202411260185764&nodeId=G201411200100001_202508040101200&type=series).
## Cast and characters
**Lim Ji-yeon** carries the drama in a dual identity as the slave Gudeok and the noblewoman Ok Tae-young[5](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10011750/2). **Choo Young-woo** plays two characters: Cheon Seung-hwi, a popular *jeongisu* (전기수) storyteller of noble-father and courtesan-mother birth, and Sung Yoon-gyeom, a character later revealed to be gay[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). As the storyteller, he travels the country reciting novels and falls in love with Ok Tae-young[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok). Namu.wiki's cast list also includes Kim Jae-won (김재원) and Yeon-woo (연우)[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
## Production and background
The drama was directed by Jin Hyeok and written by Park Ji-sook[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok). It was produced by SLL and Copus Korea (코퍼스코리아) as a pre-produced series: filming began in January 2024 and finished in August 2024, with namu.wiki giving the dates as January 4 to August 15[6](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
Writer Park Ji-sook said she drew on two identity-swap sources: the classic novel *Legend of Yoo-yeon* (유연전), written in 1607 by Lee Hang-bok, a crime investigation story based on real events during the reign of King Seonjo; and the 1542 French case of a man executed for impersonating a husband, recorded in historian [Natalie Zemon Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/natalie-zemon-davis)'s book *[The Return of Martin Guerre](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-return-of-martin-guerre-book)* (1983)[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). She said she initially wanted to base the protagonist on a real historical figure but could not find records of women with dramatic life stories, which she attributed to Joseon's patriarchal structures, so she created a fictional protagonist instead[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492).
Director Jin Hyuk described the intended message through Gudeok and Seung-hwi as that "you should craft your destiny and cultivate hope without being restrained or disheartened by the material of the spoon in your mouth that you were born with"[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492).
## Historical setting and accuracy
The series is set during the Joseon Dynasty, a slave-holding society whose rigid status system separated nobi (hereditary slaves) from the yangban gentry; the drama's premise, an enslaved person passing into the gentry, engages that hierarchy directly[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). Its character is fiction grounded in real identity-fraud episodes: the fake-husband case in King Seonjo's reign that underlies the 1607 *Legend of Yoo-yeon*, and the 1542 Martin Guerre case in France[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). Namu.wiki lists anachronisms that drew viewer criticism, including a woman wearing danryung (단령) official dress, cement-brick walls appearing in episode 9, and historically misplaced practices such as the virgin-woman/hyo-bu cult and irregularly held gwageo civil examinations[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
## Release and broadcast
The series premiered on JTBC on November 30, 2024, and ran in the Saturday–Sunday 22:30 slot through its 16th and final episode on January 26, 2025[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [2](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/taleofladyok). It streamed on Netflix in Korea and internationally from the premiere[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492), and is carried in Hong Kong on Now TV under rights held by SLL Joongang Co., Ltd.[7](https://nowplayer.now.com/ondemand/detail?id=S202411260185764&nodeId=G201411200100001_202508040101200&type=series). According to namu.wiki, two scheduled broadcasts were preempted by news specials covering the December 3 martial law incident and the related impeachment motion, yet ratings continued to rise[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
## By the numbers
Nielsen Korea's nationwide ratings, as reported by the JoongAng Daily, climbed from 4.2% for the first episode to 6.8% for the second and 7.8% for the third, reaching 10% by the fourth episode[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). Namu.wiki's episode table also reports 10.3% for episode 9 and a peak of 11.1% for episode 10[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84). On the finale both agree: episode 16 recorded 13.6% nationwide and 14.0% in the capital area on January 26, 2025, the highest rating for a JTBC weekend drama since *King the Land*[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84). Namu.wiki also records a special episode aired February 1, 2025, at 2.1%[3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
## Reception
The JoongAng Daily frames the drama's distinguishing feature as its foregrounding of marginalized characters such as slaves and women, and its departure from traditional sageuk convention: where a historical protagonist would conceal a damaging birth secret, this protagonist reveals hers[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492). The same account quotes critic Jeong Deok-hyun observing that recent Korean historical dramas project modern revisionist perspectives onto past settings, a frame under which *The Tale of Lady Ok*'s social-consciousness themes and its noted anachronisms both fall[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492) • [3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
**Awards followed the run.** The drama received the drama prize at the 2024 Korea Broadcast Critics Association awards (한국방송비평상), and Choo Young-woo won Best New Actor in the drama category at both the 16th Korea Drama Awards and the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards in 2025[6](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84). The series was also named Viewer's Choice Drama of the Year at the 2025 Consumer Day KCA awards, and at BAEKDEL Day 2025 it took a BAEKDEL Choice 10 listing with a writer award for Park Ji-sook[6](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok) • [3](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84).
## References
1. [The Tale of Lady Ok, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok)
2. [옥씨부인전 | JTBC 공식 홈페이지](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/taleofladyok)
3. [옥씨부인전, 나무위키](https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A5%EC%94%A8%EB%B6%80%EC%9D%B8%EC%A0%84)
4. [From slave to noble: 'The Tale of Lady Ok' takes on modern issues with Joseon Dynasty setting, The Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/from-slave-to-noble-the-tale-of-lady-ok-takes-on-modern-issues-with-joseon-dynasty-setting/12479492)
5. [등장인물소개 | 옥씨부인전 | JTBC](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10011750/2)
6. [The Tale of Lady Ok, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Tale_of_Lady_Ok)
7. [The Tale of Lady Ok, Now TV (Hong Kong)](https://nowplayer.now.com/ondemand/detail?id=S202411260185764&nodeId=G201411200100001_202508040101200&type=series)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean historical drama (sageuk)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license