Success does not discriminate: The Jewel in the Palace

Point to Ponder: "Champions (Winners) aren't made in gyms (conference rooms and class rooms). Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill." Muhammad Ali

Story Line (from 2006): The beauty of success is that it does not discriminate...and nor is it exclusively held for certain classes of people based on gender, race, social status, national origins or religions.

So during my last overseas visit, when I repeatedly heard about a Korean Mini Series "Jewel in the Palace", which has captivated 100s of millions of viewers of all kinds over South east Asia (From Manila to Malaysia, Seoul to Singapore and Taipei to Tokyo), my curiosity took over.

About 500 years ago, during the time of Chosun dynasty, Jang Geum, a poor eight year orphan girl from a lower class of society is brought to the King's palace to work as a court lady. "Jewel in the Palace" is a true story of Jan Geum's journey from the lowly court servant to the head of Royal Kitchen and ultimately she became the first woman to be the Royal Physician in charge of the king and awarded the title Dae (Great) Jang Geum.

What is even more fascinating are the characteristics of winners that she displays right from childhood as well as a demonstration of Out of the Box Thinking techniques (Focus, Challenge, Associate and Paradigm Shift) throughout her life in a highly beauracratic and hierarchical structure. She is not allowed in the school becuase of her low status but she peeks in the classrooms through windows and learns.

Winners in life have a definite purpose. There was never a winner who did not plan to win in advance and Jang Geum is no exception. In her first encounter with Palace Heads, the eight year old declares, “I want to be the head of the Royal Kitchen.” (Imagine a fresh graduate in his first meeting with VPs saying "I am here to become a COO or CFO". How would it go?). Winners are aware of the price they will have to pay and Jang Geum endures all kinds of (some very severe) punishments, hardships and discriminations throughout her life but stays on course.

She practices OBT ideas by closely observing things, recombining normal ingredients to create new dishes and medicines; which delights the royal family. But the ultimate is the example in Paradigm Shift where she uses acupuncture and surgery to heal a rabbit. It had never been done before and in the process she demonstrated the surgery was a viable option where traditional medicines were not effective.

And just like many Risk Takers, she goes in and falls out of grace with superiors and eventually becomes a prey of Palace politics and fired. She is sent to exile to a remote island. She makes the best out of the situation and learns about medicines and becomes a Physician. With fierce drive and determination, she finds a way back into the palace. Her resourcefulness, integrity and valued solutions are eventually noticed by the king himself and she becomes the first woman to be the Royal Physician of the king.

Reflection: I am sure it is clear to you by now why the story is titled “(The) Jewel in the Palace.” It is a powerful story from Korean history about the rise of a little girl from a meager background to the head Physician of the Palace. During my business trip in Asia I found out that Corporate Executives and  managers/engineers were hooked on this miniseries so upon return I spent 3 full weekends watching it. I realized that in the history of every culture there are stories like this that one can learn a lot from. Things that one can learn from such stories are normally taught in corporate leadership classes; one can just watch such movies and get real life lessons.

Theme song from the mini-series

 

 

Comments

[Carol]

Probably the most popular and well made Korean mini-serious in recent memory. Korean pride. I watched it on DVD dubbed and subtitled in Cantonese for the Hong Kong and overseas Chinese market. Loved it: audience young and old, all went wild. We just enjoyed the wholesome, never-a-dull-moment entertainment value with great actors, storyline, directing, and high budget production with gorgeous costumes, etc. You took this as a deeper lesson to ponder to a whole different and higher level. Kudos, Anand!

[Neighborhood Friend]

Thank you Anand. Very timely.I was thinking of what should I tell my daughter. And this came as God's own voice.

[Mina]

I loved "The Jewel in the Palace"! Watch it at least twice and still have the DVDs on our bookshelves. It's a wonderful story of how the human spirit prevail, and succeeded in spite of all the hardships and difficulties.

[K-11 classmate]

Superb. I saw the video too . The actress is looking very innocent. When you make up your mind , then nobody can stop you achieve the goal

[FE-Japan]

Wow, what a story! Now I’m curious about the series, Anand! 🙂

[SC3 Veteran]

Happy Friday Anand☺ you are right on, Jewel in the Palace, was my all-time favorite Korean Drama.
I guess you are doing well, enjoying slow daily routine with loved ones around you!

[Shardamandir Friend]

Inspiration story

[Former MQ team member]

I've learned so much from your wisdom Anand and have been applying all the concepts learned into everyday life. Thanks for sharing.

[Lee Ann Moore]

Another beautiful thought for our Friday. Thank you Anand for once again brining great things into our life.

[Elizabeth Wu]

“The Jewel in the Palance” is my very first Korean TV series that i watched and also my number 1 favorite, I was fascinated with how they served the foods and became interested on the Historical Story