IU‘s Shocking Encounter: What Happens When a Royal Meets a Commoner in ’21st Century Grand Lady'?

Daniel Kim | 2026.04.10

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[SpoTV News=Reporter Bae Sun-young] IU witnessed Byeon Woo-seok being slapped by Gong Seung-yeon.

In the first episode of MBC’s Friday–Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Princess,' which premiered on April 10, Seong Hee-ju (IU) and Grand Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok) meet for the first time during the king’s birthday celebration in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy version of South Korea.

Seong Hee-ju, lost inside the palace, runs into Grand Prince Ian. He asks, "Who are you?" She replies, "I’m sorry — I’m lost. My name is Seong Hee-ju. I’m not a palace attendant." He responds, "You’re not palace staff, yet you’re wandering where outsiders aren’t allowed. If you disappear before I count to three, I’ll let it go."

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While they’re talking, a fire breaks out in the palace, and it triggers a traumatic reaction in Grand Prince Ian.

At that moment, Queen Dowager Yoon I-rang (Gong Seung-yeon) slaps him and shouts, "Are you trying to kill this country’s king again?" Seong Hee-ju, who witnesses the scene, is left visibly shaken.

'21st Century Grand Princess' is set in a contemporary constitutional monarchy in South Korea and tells a status-defying romance between a woman from a chaebol family who is legally a commoner and the king’s son, a man who has nothing he can claim as his own.