falsely accused, as their handwriting is the same, and is set to be beheaded the next morning. Choseon secretly releases Jangsaeng, however, telling him that he should forget Gong-gil and leave the palace. But Jangsaeng ignores the advice and returns to walk on his tightrope across palace rooftops, this time openly and loudly mocking the king. The king shoots arrows at him while Gong-gil tries in vain to stop him. Jangsaeng falls and is caught, and has his eyes seared with burning iron as punishment before being thrown into prison again. Gong-gil attempts suicide, but his life is saved by the palace doctors : the king then loses interest in him and goes back to his consort. The king has Jangsaeng walk his tightrope blind. As Jangsaeng tells the story of his and Gong-gil's trials and tribulations while balancing on the rope, Gong-gil runs out to join him. Gong-gil asks Jangsaeng what he would like to return as in his next life and Jangsaeng replies that he would still choose to be a clown. Gong-gil answers that he too would return as nothing else but a clown. At the very end there is a popular uprising resulting in an attack on the palace, and as people storm the court, Jangsaeng and Gong-gil jump up from the rope together, and Jangsaeng tosses away his fan. The last scene is a happy one where Jangsaeng and Gong-gil appear to be reunited with their clowning troupe, including the friend who died earlier during the hunting incident. The whole company jokes, sings and dances, as they all walk away cheerfully into the distance. Cast Kam Woo-sung as Jang-saeng Lee Joon-gi as Gong-gil Jung Jin-young as King Yeonsan Kang Sung-yeon as Jang Nok-su Jang Hang-seon as Cheo-sun Yoo Hae-jin as Yuk-gab Jeong Seok-yong as Chil-duk Lee Seung-hun as Pal-bok Background The film was adapted from the Korean stage play Yi, written by Kim Tae-woong, centered around Gong-gil, the feminine actor. It was based on a small passage from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty that briefly mentions the king's favorite clown, Gong-gil, whereas Jang-saeng is a fictional character. In the Joseon Dynasty, "Yi" was what the king called his beloved subjects. Since first staged in 2000, the play has won numerous awards, including the best stage play of the year, best new actor (for Oh Man-seok) and top 3 best plays of the year by