Park Jin shows Yul the blue mark on Naksu's body
At Songrim, the leader teaches Yul how a soul leaving its body leaves a blue bruise, and they find a bird whistle on the dead assassin.
Park Jin
Every Alchemy of Souls moment featuring Park Jin, in story order. Played by Yu Jun-sang.
114 moments · 4h 21m
Dang-gu bursts in with tavern gossip
Dang-gu rushes to his uncle with rumors about Naksu, gets scolded for hanging around bars, and reveals Uk has been sent to train with a monk.
Uk demands the right to learn spells
Unable to draw his father's sword because of the spell on him, Uk is told no one will open his gate of energy, and vows to find a master himself.
Intruders raid Songrim to steal back Naksu's body
Masked intruders break into Songrim, the Training Center burns, Jeongjingak is emptied, and Mu-deok realizes her old master sent them.
Uk asks whether Naksu had a round face like Mu-deok
Naksu's body is gone and a spy is suspected; Uk teases Mu-deok while the others discuss how soul shifters pick similar bodies.
Cho-yeon arrives with Gwigu to hunt a soul shifter
Everyone in Songrim is gathered and locked in while Jin Cho-yeon brings Gwigu, the Jin family's ghost dog that sniffs out sorcery.
Uk and Cho-yeon, awkward exes
The Four Seasons are together again for the first time since Uk and Cho-yeon called off their wedding, and it shows.
Uk is frozen in place as punishment
Mu-deok learns he broke the pottery to save her; the Songrim leader confronts Uk and forbids him from moving or speaking.
Songrim and Cheonbugwan clash before the king
The king considers promoting Jin Mu for killing Naksu's men; Songrim objects, and Jin Mu asks to burn Naksu's body and keep her sword.
Jang Gang refuses to say who fathered Do-hwa's baby
Pressed about the infant, Jang Gang says sealing his power is the only way the boy lives, and calls him the son of a dead man.
Uk takes the blame for his own poisoning
Uk tells the Songrim leader he poisoned himself and his maid only obeyed, then refuses treatment unless Mu-deok is treated too.
Heo Yeom gave Uk ten years of his energy
Heo Yeom admits he opened Uk's gate and gave him extra energy to recover; Park Jin insists he take it back to keep Uk far behind.
Heo Yeom finds Park Jin's lonely-night wine
Heo Yeom demands the wine hidden in Park Jin's room, teases him about never getting over Do-hwa, and finds the bottle already empty.
Dang-gu drinks his uncle's wine and gets caught
Over stolen wine, Dang-gu and Yul find Mu-deok suspicious for faking blindness, then Yul abandons Dang-gu as his uncle arrives.
Maidservant Kim and Park Jin trade old heartbreaks
Maidservant Kim raises the rumor that Park Jin is Uk's father; he brings up her acorn jelly for Jang Gang, and both admit to old, unhealed loves.
The secret of Uk's birth: a king's son
Park Jin remembers being told Uk's father was the late king, and that a destined king would be seen as treason, so Uk must seem ordinary.
Uk is banished from Songrim
Uk asks to join Songrim and offers Naksu's sword; instead he is banished and, for losing the Spirit Plaque, sentenced to a hundred lashes.
The hundredth lash
After 99 lashes Uk refuses to leave, demands the leader deliver the last one himself, then has Mu-deok take the sword.
A petrified victim and the lore of Hwansu
A plea to let Uk return is shut down; over a soul shifter's petrified victim, the Songrim leader explains the alchemy of souls needs Hwansu mastery.
Uk unsheathes his father's sword before Park Jin
Uk shows the Songrim leader he can now draw his father's sword and begs to be taken in, but unbound, his arm cannot hold the blade.
Uk locked up for insulting the royal family
Cho-yeon brags that Uk beat the Crown Prince, but the leader hears Uk threatened the Prince and orders him locked up as dangerous.
Park Jin tells Uk he is not Jang Gang's son
Uk vows to become Gwanju like his father; Park Jin tells him he is not Jang Gang's son and should stop dreaming.
Park Jin and Maid Kim argue over who is better-looking
Nursing a wound he chose not to dodge, Park Jin muses about claiming to be his father; Maid Kim's jab about his looks turns into a grudging truce.
Uk flees before Cheonbugwan can take him
Royal guards come for Uk after the duel challenge; warned he could lose his arm or life, he slips away to Sari Village with Mu-deok.
The mages' assembly votes on Uk's fate
At a Unanimous Assembly, mages who once taught Uk propose stripping his powers; Songrim accepts the royal duel instead.
Songrim's investigation reaches Cheonbugwan
The soul shifter was a Cheonbugwan star recorder, so Jeongjingak mages search the office and ask to see its secret room.
A marriage to save Uk: the Jin family offer
Cho-yeon's mother offers to block the King's order with the Jin family plaque, if Uk marries Cho-yeon; Cho-yeon says she still wants him.
Heo Yeom's old master breaks the barrier
Debating the Jin marriage, an elder admits he once left his master for love; then an intruder breaks the barrier and Heo Yeom greets his master.
Master Lee comes to Songrim with Gwigu
Master Lee suspects Cheonbugwan, reins in Heo Yeom, teases grown-up Park Jin, and reveals he took the dog Gwigu to hunt soul shifters.
Yul reveals he met Naksu as a child
Yul tells the Songrim leader of a girl hiding in Danhyanggok whose father wrote down the stars, and learns of a recorder killed by the four families.
Songrim fears someone has unsealed the ice stone
At Songrim, the talk turns to Gwigu's origins and to the only way souls can be shifted without Hwansu: the ice stone is back in the world.
Maid Kim asks Park Jin if he would lock her in too
Maid Kim asks if he would lock her in like Jinyowon's leader; he will not lie to her, and only admits too late how it would break his heart.
Songrim's leader learns of Naksu's father and the King's Star
At Cheonbugwan, Songrim's leader hears that Naksu's father was a soul shifter and is shown the hidden star plate from the night Jang Uk was born.
Park Jin asks whether Jang Gang practiced soul alchemy
Park Jin asks about Jang Gang's secret spell training before Uk's birth, and the talk turns to a shocking claim about whose son Uk is.
Rumor spreads: Naksu has returned in a tall man's body
Songrim mages spin the Tansu killing into a legend of an invincible Naksu in blue cloth who is coming for them next.
Maidservant Park gets permission to slap Park Jin
Shaken by fears for Uk, Maid Kim plays at being someone else; Park Jin offers his back, admits he never wants to hurt her, and asks her to keep it up.
Songrim's leader refuses to stop the duel
Asked to keep Uk away from the formal duel, Songrim's leader says he will only watch, whether Uk runs or dies.
Jang Uk is sworn in as a mage of Songrim Jeongjingak
Uk receives the uniform, Spirit Plaque and Book of Regulations, bows to the leader and his peers, and the mages head off to party on the Jang family's tab.
Gray hairs and a hangover pill
Two old friends reminisce about Uk as a newborn, then squabble over a raisin tree pill and whether one of them is going gray.
Park Jin chases Maid Kim with a hangover pill
Uk and Mu-deok split Master Heo's pill, and Park Jin keeps trying to hand his to Maid Kim as she walks away.
Master Heo blames Park Jin for losing Do-hwa
Drunk Master Heo reveals he brought Do-hwa to Sejukwon to match her with Park Jin, who never said the words; his shrug at lost love sends Maid Kim off.
Uk wakes up to Sun-i instead of Mu-deok
Hungover Uk asks for Mu-deok and gets the maid from the inn, learns who Yun-ok is, and Maid Kim says she reminds her of Madam Do-hwa.
Park Jin and Maid Kim's lover's quarrel, and slow-witted Dang-gu
Park Jin's logic sets off a spat with Maid Kim that everyone can read, and Dang-gu gets scolded for trying to follow Uk and Yun-ok.
Uk asks for Mu-deok and decides to follow the rules
The leader refuses an exception and probes whether Uk needs his maid to reach a secret master; to protect her, Uk gives in.
Uk memorizes the rules, Park Jin hands him another book
Uk recites Songrim's rules from memory to win his freedom, but the leader says he only memorized them and sets a new condition.
Park Jin admits he never meant to train Uk
The leader reveals he is keeping Uk close only to stop trouble, expecting Jang Gang to come once he hears his son entered Songrim.
Park Jin and Maid Kim fall out over a bribe
Park Jin scolds Maid Kim for gifting a scarf to get Mu-deok into Songrim; wounded pride turns it into a falling-out neither wanted.
Park Jin starts to wonder about Mu-deok
Told Uk read the book and carried his collapsed maid to Sejukwon, Park Jin realizes Mu-deok has always been at Uk's side.
Park Jin brings weeds, Master Lee brings flowers
Master Lee visits Maid Kim with flowers; Park Jin shows up worried and empty-handed, and she tells him she wants flowers, not weeds.
Dang-gu asks Park Jin if he has a secret child
Park Jin scolds his nephew for courting Jinyowon's heir; Dang-gu wishes for a sibling to inherit instead and gets chased out.
Park Jin's autopsy demand blocked at the funeral
Park Jin wants Master Kang's body examined for sorcery before cremation; Jin Mu objects and Lady Jin sides with him.
The truth about who Naksu was killing
Two masters piece together that Naksu, Cho Chung's daughter, unknowingly disposed of Jin Mu's discarded soul-shifter bodies.
Yul forces Master Kang's body to run wild
At the cremation Park Jin has Yul pour energy into the body; it turns out to be a soul shifter, and Songrim claims the case.
Songrim battles the rogue soul shifter
Park Jin confronts Jin Mu over the cover-up, then the rampaging soul shifter fights until Cheonbugwan strikes it down.
Park Jin denies Jin Mu a honey biscuit
Jin Mu reminisces with Maid Kim about serving Jang Gang and asks to share biscuits with Uk; Park Jin refuses and sends him away.
Park Jin shuts Uk out of Songrim's mission
Park Jin sends every trained mage to Sejukwon except Uk, telling him he is excluded and may go home.
The honey biscuit excuse: Park Jin covers for Uk
Park Jin offers a flimsy reason for Uk's visit, Uk accuses Jin Mu of hiding a soul shifter, and the Crown Prince orders a check on the eunuch.
Mu-deok's tearful act saves Uk from Jin Mu's punishment
Park Jin apologizes and offers to fix the basin; when Jin Mu insists on punishing Uk himself, Mu-deok's wailing plea gets him released to Songrim.
Park Jin praises Mu-deok's fuss and believes Uk
Mu-deok explains why she made a scene; Park Jin says he knows they told the truth and suspects Jin Mu holds the ice stone.
Jinyowon's leader refuses to help Songrim hunt soul shifters
Songrim's leader asks for Jinyowon's relics to unmask soul shifters; Lady Jin refuses and he accuses her of a deal with Jin Mu.
Jang Uk reaches Chisu while Master Lee talks about geniuses
Master Lee explains that some are born able to grasp energy and others fear them, as Uk catches the Golden Fish and Mu-deok tells him he has reached Chisu.
Uk tells Park Jin that Master Lee is courting Maid Kim
Asked why Master Lee helps him, Uk 'reveals' the family matter: Lee is winning over Maid Kim, and Uk offers Park Jin the first chance.
Old masters bicker over who Maid Kim really loves
Master Lee says his chastity is over, Park Jin insists she still loves Jang Gang, and he is told he is the slow-witted one.
Mu-deok cleans Park Jin's room, beside the bow that shot her
Mu-deok eyes the bow Park Jin once used on her and teases him about forgetfulness; impressed, he orders a quiet check into her past.
Park Jin confronts Mu-deok with the broker from Sari Village
Park Jin says the broker exposed her eyes; the broker claims she faked blindness to escape debt, and Mu-deok plays along.
The broker explains who paid him to lie
Alone with Mu-deok, the broker admits Ju-wol paid him with Uk's money, warns her about So-i, and says he likes her anyway.
Park Jin finds Mu-deok beside the broker's body
Park Jin accuses Mu-deok of killing the broker; she denies it, the dead thugs point to a swindler from Sari Village, and she slips away.
Park Jin tells Maid Kim that Mu-deok is hiding something
Park Jin explains the bodies at the ferry inn to Maid Kim and warns that Mu-deok fled instead of proving her innocence.
Cho-yeon testifies for Mu-deok in front of Dang-gu
Cho-yeon tells Park Jin she saw Mu-deok at the inn, insisting it was her first visit, and suspicion shifts to the swindler So-i.
Park Jin interrogates Uk and Mu-deok separately
Park Jin tells each that the other confessed their secret; they must guess what the other said, or one of them dies.
The shared secret: Uk and Mu-deok both confess their love
Both told Park Jin they love each other; Uk teases Mu-deok, she orders him to choose life over love, and he refuses.
Jin Ho-gyeong storms Songrim and calls Master Lee a thief
Jinyowon's leader demands Gwigu back, accuses Master Lee of stealing it, and kills the dog that housed the relic to protect her daughter.
Dang-gu takes Cho-yeon's hand in front of both families
Ho-gyeong rejects a match and eyes the Crown Prince for Cho-yeon; Cho-yeon refuses, Dang-gu declares himself, and both get thrown out.
Songrim decides it needs Jang Gang to return
Songrim's elders fear Jin Mu will use Uk's birth against them, and pin their hopes on the wandering Jang Gang hearing the soul shifter rumours.
Maidservant Kim and Park Jin misread each other's crush
Park Jin fishes for whether an older, plainer man has a chance; Kim thinks he means himself, while he thinks she means Master Lee.
Park Jin gives Dang-gu a secret task
Dang-gu pleads for his love; Park Jin sends him to Uk's house to watch for one man: Jang Gang, Uk's father.
Ho-gyeong reveals the ice stone at the Unanimous Assembly
Jinyowon's leader lists Songrim's overreach, presents her daughter, and announces the ice stone has been in Jinyowon all along.
The mage families turn on Songrim
The assembly calls Songrim's crusade a fraud, Jinyowon refuses to destroy the stone, and the families shout Songrim out of the debate.
Park Jin forbids the ice stone from leaving Songrim
Ho-gyeong claims the right to convene the assembly for Jinyowon; Songrim's leader orders his mages to stop anyone taking the stone.
A barrier seals Jeongjingak with the young mages inside
Outside, the elders find an invisible barrier around Jeongjingak with the Crown Prince and their children trapped, and start blaming each other.
Words of the Heart is read as Seo Gyeong's love letter
Before the King, Songrim reveals the scroll is a confession to Jin Seol-ran: Seo Gyeong spared the ice stone for his dying lover, and she refused it.
Jin Ho-gyeong confesses she let Jang Gang take the ice stone
Pressed by Songrim, Jin Ho-gyeong recalls her stillborn baby and admits she opened Jinyowon to Jang Gang, losing the ice stone.
Dang-gu tells Park Jin that Jang Gang started it all
Dang-gu reports the real Queen is found and urges discretion, then names Uk's father, Jang Gang, as the Songrim mage behind everything.
The burned shaman stands before the court: she is the real Queen
A disfigured woman locked up for years is brought before the King and declares she is Queen Seo Ha-seon, robbed of her body by a shaman.
The ashes of Gwigu expose the false Queen
With no mark to prove it, Songrim produces ashes said to hold Gwigu's power; the false Queen panics, and the bluff proves she is a soul shifter.
Shaman Choi accuses every family of hypocrisy
Cornered, the shaman says no one may call her evil: Jin Ho-gyeong let the ice stone out, Park Jin hid the truth, and Jin Mu stood by.
The real Queen demands Uk be punished for his father's crimes
Trapped in a scarred body, the Queen asks why Uk is spared; Songrim answers he lost his powers and his right to lead Cheonbugwan.
Jang Gang's letter reveals Uk's real father
A message from Jang Gang tells Maidservant Kim and Park Jin that Uk was conceived when the late king shifted souls; they vow to keep it secret.
House hunting turns into Maid Kim's confession to Park Jin
Touring houses, Maid Kim describes her dream home; when Park Jin offers to gift it for her wedding to Master Lee, she tells him he is the one.
Maid Kim's furious 'lovingly' outburst
Hurt that Park Jin never noticed, Maid Kim shouts about the balsam-dyed fingernails she imagined, then storms off demanding a 100-room house.
Park Jin's balsam seeds: an answer at last
Uk tells Park Jin he may take Maid Kim away for good; Park Jin finally stops her with balsam seeds and asks her to wait for them to bloom.
The truth about Lord Cho Chung, and why Jin Mu must die
Uk wants answers about his father; the elders learn Jin Mu framed Lord Cho Chung, and fear Jin Mu could expose Uk's secret.
The in-laws bicker over surnames on the wedding day
Park Jin and Jin Ho-gyeong argue over whose family Dang-gu is marrying into while Uk wonders where Mu-deok is.
Maid Kim begs to stop the funeral fire
Barred from mourning properly, Maid Kim pleads to stop a body being burned like a criminal's, and Park Jin says Songrim has no say.
Park Jin's kimchi obsession and Maid Kim's tearful thanks
Retired Park Jin makes crocks of kimchi nobody wants; Maid Kim tries to slow him down, then cries thanking him for stepping down.
Park Jin's welcome-home feast for Seo Yul
Park Jin cooks for Seo Yul's return; the friends gang up on the next 'victim' and Yul politely gives up on the charbroiled deodeok.
Jang Uk asks Park Jin if the ice stone could be removed
Hearing of Bu-yeon's lost powers, Jang Uk asks whether a priestess could extract the ice stone, even if it kills him, to finally find peace.
Park Jin vows to make meju from red beans
Park Jin sets out to prove a proverb wrong, he and Maid Kim volley 'red beans' versus 'soybeans', and news of Jang Uk's bride shocks him.
Park Jin's failed meju and the secret to red bean success
Over failed red bean porridge, Park Jin warns Jang Uk not to marry someone who would take his life, and Uk explains how a red bean lie survives.
Leave-it-to-luck rice cakes
Dang-gu's uncle serves a honey-or-fish-sauce rice cake game with a lesson on destiny, before news breaks of Naksu's rumored return.
Park Jin gets jealous over Master Lee and Maid Kim
Teasing about Master Lee's old feelings for Maid Kim makes Park Jin brood, and he punishes the gossips with a pot of spicy beef soup.
Park Jin fakes illness to keep Maid Kim
Told Maid Kim might tend to Master Lee, Park Jin suddenly develops stomach knots and a fever so she stays by his side.
Caught at night, Park Jin proposes
Park Jin and Maid Kim hide from late visitors, laugh about feeling young, and he proposes to Kim Yeon of Wol Fortress as the household cheers.
Bu-yeon's gift for sensing energy and memories
Bu-yeon locates the hidden earthenware and explains she sees others' memories by touching their things, then is told she resembles spring.
Park Jin asks who Maid Kim would save first
Park Jin sulks that Uk always comes first and poses the drowning question; Maid Kim turns it back on him, and both admit how much they care.
The Crown Prince blocks Jang Uk at Cheonbugwan's gates
Facing Uk's sword, Go Won admits Uk's rage is aimed at him and asks him not to waste years of restraint; Songrim declares it stands with Uk.
Park Jin: save both people who are drowning
Park Jin teases Uk with a drowning riddle about himself and Maid Kim, then tells him not to abandon Bu-yeon to save Yul.
Maid Kim catches Park Jin stopping Yul's help
Park Jin admits he told Yul to stay out of it; Maid Kim calls him out, and Uk vows to win over Lady Jin.
Jang Uk decides to accept the fight
Uk tells his elder he is going north and asks if he will back him; he says he knows his target and what he must protect.
Jang Uk leaves Jeongjingak for the north
Maid Kim wants to follow Uk north, Park Jin protests, and Uk tells her to stay with his uncle.
The too-small ring on Maid Kim's pinky
Park Jin offers to move north after the wedding and notices her ring on the wrong finger; she keeps it anyway as a promise.
Park Jin must seal the door with Maid Kim inside
As relics escape a collapsing Jinyowon, Maid Kim, trapped inside, begs Park Jin to seal the door, calling it what must be done.
Park Jin refuses Jin Mu's offer to save her
Jin Mu and the King offer Park Jin the power to save Maid Kim; he admits he wants it, then vows to stop them anyway.
One year later: Maid Kim babysits the twins
Maid Kim dotes on Dang-gu's twin boys while Park Jin grumbles about newlywed trips, until a sudden queasiness hints at news.