Writer Jung Ha-yeon Dies at 82 on Nov. 1, Leaving a Lasting Legacy with ‘The King and the Queen’ and ‘Empress Myeongseong’

A 50-year writing career probing human desire and history

“The King and the Queen” and “Empress Myeongseong” were among the works that left a lasting mark on Korean television. Their writer, Jung Ha-yeon, died on Nov. 1 at the age of 82. The Korean Broadcasting Writers Association and her family officially announced that she died that afternoon.

Born in Hwanghae Province in 1944, Jung honed her playwriting skills through Yonsei University’s Yonhui Theater Arts Research Society. She began her professional writing career in 1968, when “Echoes” won in the one-act play category of a New Year’s literary contest. That same year, “The Rainbow Falls” won a new playwright competition, followed the next year by “Fantasy Murder,” which won a full-length play competition. The consecutive wins quickly established her as a leading figure in theater.

In the 1970s, she expanded her work to the screen. She wrote numerous film screenplays, including “A Story of Love” (1971) and “That’s You” (1974), both starring and directed by actor Shin Seong-il, as well as “The Rocking Horse and the Girl” (1976), demonstrating her exceptional feel for popular culture across the board.

Historical dramas were undoubtedly where Jung’s talent shone brightest. Starting with “Jang Nok-su” in 1995, she followed up with a string of successful epic historical dramas marked by sweeping scope and meticulous storytelling, including “Jo Gwang-jo” (1996), “The King and the Queen” (1998–2000), “Shin Don” (2005–2006) and “Insu, The Queen Mother” (2011–2012). Her work firmly established her reputation as a master of historical dramas.

Jung also demonstrated keen insight into the human psyche in contemporary dramas. Through melodramas such as “Sea of Desire” (1997) and “Flames of Desire” (2010), she laid bare human ruin and greed. In “Wife” (2003) and “Sweet Life” (2008), she traced the characters’ nuanced emotions and explored the fundamental value of life, earning acclaim from both viewers and critics.

From 2004 to 2005, through the EBS cultural history series “Count of Myeong-dong” and “Even Now, at Marronnier”, she vividly recreated the anguish of young people in the 1960s and the spirit of the times. Jung’s final work was the MBC drama “Let’s Hold Hands Tightly and Watch the Sunset”, which aired in 2018.

Her more than half a century of dedicated writing earned her numerous awards. In 1979, she won the Special Award at the Dong-A Theater Awards and the Best Playwriting Award at the Baeksang Arts Awards for “The Road to Marronnier”. For “The King and the Queen,” she received the Writer Award at the 1999 KBS Drama Awards and the Writer Award at the 2000 Korea Broadcasting Producer Awards.

The funeral will be held in Room 5 of the funeral hall at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul, beginning at 9 a.m. on Nov. 2. The funeral procession is scheduled for Nov. 4.