Six Flying Dragons

Six Flying Dragons
Promotional poster
Also known as Roots of the Throne
Genre
Written by
Directed by Shin Kyung-soo
Starring see cast
Country of origin South Korea
Original language Korean
No. of episodes 50
Production
Executive producers
  • Han Jung-hwan
  • Lee Jae-won
  • Yoon Shin-ae
Producers
  • Lee Hee-soo
  • Lee Young-joon
Production locations Samyang Ranch, Gangwon Province
Running time 60 minutes
Production companies ANDu Entertainment
(formerly Redwoods)
Budget ₩30 billion
Original release
Network SBS
Release October 5, 2015 –
March 22, 2016
Related
Deep Rooted Tree

Six Flying Dragons (Korean: 육룡이 나르샤; RR: Yungnyong-i Nareusya) is a South Korean television series starring Yoo Ah-in, Kim Myung-min, Shin Se-kyung, Byun Yo-han, Yoon Kyun-sang and Chun Ho-jin. It aired on SBS on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 for 50 episodes beginning on October 5, 2015, as part of SBS 25th anniversary special. The drama serves as a loose prequel to Deep Rooted Tree.

Title

The Korean title of the series is in Old Korean. Nareushya is a native Korean word, which translates to nara oreuda (날아 오르다) or "soar up to the sky" in modern Korean. Thus, the literal translation of the title is "six dragons soaring up to the sky" (여섯 마리의 용이 날아오르셔서).

Plot

The story tells about the foundation of the Joseon dynasty in the Korean Peninsula, and the ambitions, success and conflicts of several real and fictional characters, with a focus on the young Yi Bang-won.

Cast

The Six Dragons

Supporting characters

People around Yi Bang-won

  • Gong Seung-yeon as Min Da-kyung (later Queen Wongyeong), Yi Bang-won's wife
  • Nam Da-reum as Yi Do (later King Sejong the Great), Yi Bang-won's third son
  • Min Sung-wook as Jo Young-kyu, Yi Bang-won's bodyguard
  • Jo Young-jin as Min Je, Yi Bang-won's father-in-law
  • Cha Yong-hak as Yi Suk-beon
  • Choi Dae-hoon as Sagok Jo Mal-saeng

People around Jeong Do-jeon

People around Boon-yi

People around Ddang-sae

People around Moo-hyul

People around Yi Seong-gye

  • Lee Soon-jae as Yi Ja-chun, Yi Seong-gye's father (cameo)
  • Kim Hee-jung as Madam Kang (later Queen Sindeok), Yi Seong-gye's second wife
  • Seo Dong-won as Yi Bang-gwa (later King Jeongjong), Yi Seong-gye's second son
  • Lee Seung-hyo as Yi Bang-u (later Grand Prince Jinan), Yi Seong-gye's first son
  • Kang Shin-hyo as Yi Bang-gan (later Grand Prince Hoean), Yi Seong-gye's fourth son
    • Kim Sang-woo as young Yi Bang-gan
  • Jung Jae-min as Yi Bang-ui (later Grand Prince Ik-an), Yi Seong-gye's third son
  • Park Si-jin as Yi Bang-beon (later Grand Prince Muan), Yi Seong-gye's seventh son
    • Kim Ye-june as young Yi Bang-beon
  • Jung Yoon-seok as Yi Bang-seok (later Crown Prince Uian), Yi Seong-gye's eighth son
    • Lee Seung-woo as young Yi Bang-seok
  • Kim Ji-eun as Yi Bang-gan's wife

Joseon court officials

Goryeo peoples

Others

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Episode # Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS Ratings AGB Nielsen
Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area
1 October 5, 2015 10.6% 12.5% 12.3% 13.5%
2 October 6, 2015 10.3% 11.8% 12.4% 14.0%
3 October 12, 2015 10.8% 12.2% 11.6% 12.9%
4 October 13, 2015 11.2% 13.3% 13.0% 13.7%
5 October 19, 2015 11.2% 12.2% 13.7% 15.5%
6 October 20, 2015 12.8% 14.3% 15.4% 17.6%
7 October 26, 2015 9.5% 11.1% 12.5% 13.4%
8 October 27, 2015 11.9% 13.9% 14.1% 16.0%
9 November 2, 2015 10.8% 12.5% 13.5% 15.0%
10 November 3, 2015 11.0% 13.0% 13.5% 14.5%
11 November 9, 2015 10.0% 11.4% 13.3% 14.7%
12 November 10, 2015 11.3% 13.2% 14.1% 15.4%
13 November 17, 2015 9.6% 10.9% 12.2% 14.1%
14 November 17, 2015 9.9% 11.4% 13.2% 15.4%
15 November 23, 2015 10.7% 12.6% 14.6% 16.3%
16 November 24, 2015 10.1% 11.8% 12.6% 13.5%
17 November 30, 2015 10.1% 11.9% 14.1% 15.4%
18 December 1, 2015 10.2% 12.0% 13.6% 14.8%
19 December 7, 2015 10.4% 12.6% 13.3% 15.1%
20 December 8, 2015 9.9% 11.3% 13.4% 15.7%
21 December 14, 2015 10.5% 12.5% 13.3% 15.4%
22 December 15, 2015 9.9% 10.8% 13.9% 15.3%
23 December 21, 2015 10.0% 11.6% 13.1% 14.8%
24 December 22, 2015 10.0% 11.2% 13.7% 15.4%
25 December 28, 2015 10.2% 11.5% 13.4% 15.1%
26 December 29, 2015 10.5% 11.4% 13.8% 15.9%
2016
27 January 4, 2016 10.7% 12.5% 14.6% 16.6%
28 January 5, 2016 10.4% 11.6% 13.7% 15.8%
29 January 11, 2016 12.5% 14.3% 15.1% 16.8%
30 January 12, 2016 12.5% 14.5% 15.8% 17.4%
31 January 18, 2016 12.0% 14.0% 14.6% 16.5%
32 January 19, 2016 12.2% 13.4% 14.9% 16.6%
33 January 25, 2016 11.6% 13.6% 15.0% 17.2%
34 January 26, 2016 12.6% 13.4% 15.1% 17.3%
35 February 1, 2016 13.2% 15.1% 16.3% 18.5%
36 February 2, 2016 14.6% 17.3% 16.8% 19.3%
37 February 8, 2016 11.3% 12.9% 12.3% 13.3%
38 February 9, 2016 13.6% 16.7% 14.1% 15.3%
39 February 15, 2016 12.8% 14.7% 15.2% 16.9%
40 February 16, 2016 13.6% 15.3% 14.9% 16.6%
41 February 22, 2016 12.0% 13.6% 14.3% 15.9%
42 February 23, 2016 13.9% 15.2% 16.1% 18.9%
43 February 29, 2016 13.6% 15.0% 15.9% 18.0%
44 March 1, 2016 12.7% 13.5% 16.4% 18.3%
45 March 7, 2016 13.1% 14.6% 16.1% 17.9%
46 March 8, 2016 13.2% 14.7% 16.1% 17.4%
47 March 14, 2016 14.3% 16.6% 16.7% 17.9%
48 March 15, 2016 13.8% 15.7% 16.2% 17.9%
49 March 21, 2016 13.7% 15.9% 16.2% 17.9%
50 March 22, 2016 13.9% 16.4% 17.3% 18.8%
Average 11.6% 13.3% 14.3% 16.0%

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2015
23rd SBS Drama Awards
Grand Prize (Daesang) Yoo Ah-in Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Yoo Ah-in Won
Kim Myung-min Nominated
Chun Ho-jin Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Yoon Son-ha Nominated
Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Byun Yo-han Won
Choi Jong-won Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Shin Se-kyung Won
Special Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Park Hyuk-kwon Won
Jeon No-min Nominated
Special Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Jeong Yu-mi Nominated
Top 10 Stars Yoo Ah-in Won
Shin Se-kyung Won
Best Couple Award Yoo Ah-in and Shin Se-kyung Won
Producer's Award Yoo Ah-in Nominated
New Star Award Gong Seung-yeon Won
Byun Yo-han Won
Yoon Kyun-sang Won
2016
52nd Baeksang Arts Awards
Best Drama Six Flying Dragons Nominated
Best Director Shin Kyung-soo Nominated
Best Actor Yoo Ah-in Won
Best New Actor Byun Yo-han Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Young-hyun, Park Sang-yeon Nominated
43rd Korean Broadcasting Grand Prize Awards
 Best Feature-Length Drama Six Flying Dragons Won
11th Seoul International Drama Awards Best Series Drama Won
Best Actor Yoo Ah-in Nominated
5th APAN Star Awards
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Kim Myung-min Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Shin Se-kyung Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Jeong Yu-mi Won
9th Korea Drama Awards
Best Drama Six Flying Dragons Nominated
Best Production Director Shin Kyung-soo Nominated
1st Asia Artist Awards
Grand Prize (Daesang) Yoo Ah-in Nominated
23rd Grimae Awards
Best New Actor Yoon Kyun-sang Won
9th Tokyo Drama Awards
 Best Foreign Drama Six Flying Dragons Won
2017
5th Annual DramaFever Awards
Best Actor Yoo Ah-in Nominated