The King and the Clown

Two male street clowns and tightrope walkers, Jangsaeng (Kam Woo-sung) and Gong-gil (Lee Joon-gi), are part of an entertainer troupe that gets arrested for staging a play satirizing the king. They are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh with their performances. The clowns form a new group with three other street performers and come up with a skit mocking some members of the royal court, including the king and his concubine Jang Nok-su. When their performance is met with terror by the minor performers, Gong-gil and Jangsaeng barely save themselves with one last joke at the king, who laughs and makes them all part of his court. The clowns make flyers asking for other minstrels to audition and put on a performance ridiculing corrupt council members, which delights the king but angers them. As time passes, the king falls for Gong-gil, whom he often calls to perform finger puppet shows, disturbing Jangsaeng. The king becomes more unstable, performing plays that depict violence against his mother and concubines, and eventually slaughters these women at the end of one play. In response, the clowns decide to leave the palace, but Gong-gil begs Jangsaeng not to leave him alone.