Shadows in the Palace

Shadows in the Palace Hangul RRGungnyeo is a 2007 South Korean film directed by Kim Meejung. The mystery thriller is a fictionalized account of gungnyeo, court maids during South Koreas Joseon era.

The film is set amongst a group of gungnyeo, or palace women in Korea during the time of the Joseon dynasty, and is primarily about the hidden dynamics that unfold between them. Sworn into secrecy, submission, and celibacy, the women of the palace officially devote their lives to the wellbeing of the royal family. Currently, the kingdom has no heir to the throne, and at such a time, the royal concubine Heebin Yoon Seah has given birth to a son. The queen mother wishes for the queen to adopt the child as her own, but Heebin hesitates proceeding with this, fearing she will be disposed off once the adoption is official.One morning, as the court maids go about their work, one of them, Wolryung Seo Younghee, also Heebins most trusted maid, is found dead, hanging from the rafters of the palace roof. Initially assuming it to be suicide, Chunryung Park Jinhee, the royal medic, discovers as she proceeds with the autopsy that Wolryung was actually strangled. She also discovers that there are signs that the maid had given birth at some time in the past, which would have been absolutely forbidden under palace rules. Ignoring orders from her superiors to wrap up the case quickly, Chunryung sets off in search of answers. ........

Source: Wikipedia