'Secret Royal Inspector and Joy' Episode 1: Taecyeon and Kim Hye Yoon's show is a comedy period drama

A promo still of Secret Royal Inspector and Joy (Image via tvn_drama/Instagram)
A promo still of Secret Royal Inspector and Joy (Image via tvn_drama/Instagram)

Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1 introduced Taecyeon as a young lord Ra Yi Eon who passed the state exam as a topper. He is employed in the royal investigators office in the palace, and hasn't received an assignment that required him to work outside of the capital Hanyang.

However, he enjoys cooking and his colleagues enjoy the delicious food that he makes. It was also revealed in Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1 that Yi Eon was not a smart businessman either. He got his colleagues to pay for the meals that they had with ingredients that were either hard to find or expensive.

Things were good, but not for long. Soon enough, Yi Eon learned that he was assigned as the Secret Royal Inspector. He was assigned the Chungcheon region, which was known to be dangerous. In fact, the last investigator hadn't returned to Hanyang and was believed to be dead.


Kim Hye Yoon as Jo Yi (Joy) seeks divorce from husband in 'Secret Royal Inspector and Joy' Episode 1

The female lead of the show, on the other hand, introduced an interesting sub plot in Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1. Kim Hye Yoon as Jo Yi was dead set on getting a divorce from her husband.

However, the magistrate's office was not willing to grant her divorce without a witness. Her mother-in-law also manipulated the audience who were present for the hearing. She pointed out the many things that society considered to be a flaw in women in Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1.

She had requested a friend of hers to appear as a witness. Jo Yi's friend had seen Jo Yi's husband gamble, and this was fair grounds for seeking divorce in Joseon. She had hoped to get a ruling in her favor, but Bo Ri, the girl that she had been asked to appear as a witness, turned up dead on the day of the hearing.

It was revealed that she had slipped in the river where she had gone to take a bath. The truth, however, was that she was likely murdered for the accounts book that she had a copy of. She had an affair with the magistrate officer and he trusted her to keep the accounts book safe in Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1.

Now that she has turned up dead, there is a scam waiting to be uncovered, and Yi Eon is the one who needs to take charge. However, he is not interested in the investigation at all in Secret Royal Inspector and Joy Episode 1. In the K-Drama, he is interested in nothing but trying out food at all the popular eateries.

It was in that vein that he decides to visit Bo Ri's eatery, but she was unfortunately no more. Instead, he chances upon the body of a former secret royal investigator and decides to keep his wish to experience food aside to investigate the dangers that lay ahead.