A new character appears in historical drama Queen Seon Deok. He is Kim_Nam_Gilplaying the role of Bi-dam. We came to know about Bidam when he appeared in the drama series when both Yushin Rang and Deokman were resting while a long trail of hiding from their enemies. Later on, he saved Deokman when the latter was surrounded with enemies. The next thing he did, he asked Deokman to confide to Munno, his master, that he helped both Yushin and Deokman. Bidam once saved Deokman when she was still nangdo and many times after when she turned Princess. And later on helped her way to the throne.
WHO IS BIDAM?
He was the abandoned child of Mishil from her union with King Jinji. After failing to get King Jinji on her side, Mishil stages a coup, replacing him with King Jinpyeong, and also discarding Bidam in the process since she has no use for him any longer. She was so into the competition of power that she even abandoned her own child Bidam. He was adopted and raised by Lord Munno, who aspired him to be the king who would lead the for the unification of the Three Kingdoms. That is, before he found out the true nature of Bidam’s character in an incident where Bidam assassinated a large group of people when he was just a young boy. After that incident, his master never trusted him again, always expecting the worse from him. Lord Munno, who initially was like a father figure, distanced himself from Bidam, treating him with detachment. This episode in Bidam’s life is the key event that forever haunts him. Bidam, often said in the drama itself, is one daunting specimen. It’s exactly this that leads to Bidam developing an eccentric character with a nut loose, one that mirrors his mother, Mishil and also inherited his god-like fighting skills. Bidam is thus a hybrid of Mishil’s cunning and Munno’s righteousness.
His ultimate downfall is his inability to trust. Being physically abandoned by his mother since a baby is more than enough to inflict pain in a child. He desperately wants to be wanted. He behaved the way he thought Munno wanted him to behave, to gain his approval. But Munno also abandoned him, albeit not physically, but emotionally. This feeling of being unwanted was heavy in his heart until one day he met Deokman, who was the first person to ever offer him what he was seeking – approval. She was the only person who showed gratitude to him and the only person who accepted him with her whole heart. Deokman seems to accept him for what he is; turning everything about him that he thought was bad into something positive. Thusly, he describes his attachment to Deokman ‘like a duckling that just comes out from the egg and followed the first person it sees at all cost’.
The heart of a young man who never had the chance of being loved intertwined in the strength of this great person, Deokman. For many instances, he was so inspired with the way Deokman handled her fate. The kind of person Deokman is what binds her with Bidam in different circumstances knowing the unpredictability of Bidam. Later on the drama, he helped her way to the throne. When she became Queen, their feelings for each other were revealed. Yes, Queen Seon Deok’s intention to give up the throne and live with Bidam for the rest of her days is sincere. But, her enemies turned her last dream a misery. Bidam died because he committed treason, he leads a rebellion against the country, which was of course due to a devise concocted by his followers for their own benefit. Bidam who is Lady Mishil’s son, is indeed a double-bladed weapon that erased Queen Seon Deok’s last dream.
WHAT IS BIDAM’S CHARACTER?
Bidam’s character is considered as the drama’s secret weapon.
Bi-dam’s personality is so complicated. It is hard to fully understand the character of Bi-dam. He has a layered character that stands on the thin line between good and evil. The character Bi-dam will go from one end of the spectrum to the extreme other end.
Bi Dam’s character is unique. He could be charming, funny, smart, clever, caring, kind, brave, and fighter person but suddenly he could become very fearful and mean.
Bidam at first was really out-going who enjoys his life. He is a good guy, someone who grows up to be a good and brave member of the Hwa-rang despite the sad back story of his birth. Yet, due to his surrounding environment, he begins to change as his hidden desires begin to come out.
Bidam is comical at times, but in a split second he becomes a cold-blooded killer. He is a mysterious character that challenges anyone and everyone he meets. When he wants something he could be more evil than Mi-shil. He will have what he wants no matter what and that he’ll try to remove all obstacles that are laid in front of him.
Among others Bidam is a very innocent character. That’s how he doesn’t get swayed, he is happy to have a friend like Deokman and will get excited over his own thoughts when everyone else is serious. Everyone will say something about that to him but for Bi-dam, the excitement of doing something with a friend for the first time is greater. However, from that point on, Bi-dam, who had been on a blank page, will gradually start to express that he wants something. If Bi-dam till now was someone who is a good guy but has a side to him where he can occasionally kill people cruelly, I think he will gradually become someone who hides the evil growing inside him and deceive people by pretending to be good.
Bidam is actually quite simple minded, in a way. He wants acceptance, and he will do anything to achieve that. His desire, ultimately, is to be accepted by Deokman. He can be childlike. Any sign of trust from Deokman, and he’s over the moon. His devotion towards Deokman is very one-dimensional, which in real life can be a scary thing. Mishil once said to Bidam, “I tried to gain the throne by gaining people’s hearts. But you are trying to gain this country to gain people’s heart.” Unlike Yushin who turns his love for Deokman into a devotion of a subordinate towards his ruler, sharing her grandiose dream and dedicating his effort to achieve those dreams, Bidam is different. He couldn’t care less about those grand dreams, the title and fickle followers. For him, those are merely means to get to Deokman’s heart. What he wants is not Deokman the King, but Deokman the woman.
He’s too unpredictable. But rapidly he turned into a character that’s hard to ignore, and hard not to root for.
IS BIDAM BAD?
He had never known love. He was taken under the wings of his master who had treated him quite nicely at first, but after a horrible incident, he lost even that. The master chose to subject him to a self fulfilling prophecy when he put a cold emotional distance between them. Then there was his mother, the mother who even in her last breath never acknowledged him, referring to him as something she had already thrown and had no need for. All his life what he only wanted was acceptance. He struggled so much, always trying to prove himself worthy of people’s affection and trust, but sadly, nobody gave that to him. Yes, she was loved by Deokman, she accepted him for what he is with her whole heart. Deokman’s intention to give up the throne and live with Bidam for the rest of her days is sincere. But it was so sad that the people who follow him concocted a plan that inevitably loses his trust to his beloved Deokman.
Looking back, there was no moment that his love faltered. It is undeniable that she loved Deokman enough to support her and save her life in so many ways no matter how difficult the circumstances may be. Only when his mother, before its death, hinted an evil plan for him to accomplish, Bidam was swayed by her mother’s followers to seize the crown. Betrayed by a follower, Bidam thought that Queen Seon Deok betrayed him when in fact she was willing to abdicate the crown and live with him. It was too late, Bidam was declared an enemy of the state and had to die in her presence. Bidam was not really bad; he was just surrounded by people who are more than willing to play with his emotions just to get what they want. Being unnoticed by the King (his father), abandoned by her mother after his birth, and rejected by Munno who raised him. Despite the fact that he was a person who grew up with a blade and always ready to kill an enemy, he took care of his master before its death before anything else. Besides, Bidam died ten paces away from Queen Seon Deok with the fulfilment of his promise, to call her by her name- Deokman- even before his last breathe despite the fact that doing such disrespectful act is prohibited and as if their world is other than Shilla and the crown that was adorned in her head. In the heart of Queen Seon Deok, she wanted Bidam to call her Deokman and love her as a woman.
I would like to quote from a book The Shadow of the Wind, that I think describes Bidam’s situation: “The downside of childhood is that you don’t have to understand things to feel them. By the time your mind is able to comprehend, the cut is already too deep.” –Taken from a blog, sorry, I forgot the site.
Thisknee Land 