Together the group comes up with a skit mocking some members of the royal court, including the king and his prostitute-turned-concubine Jang Nok-su.

The corruption within the court is revealed when the clowns put on a performance ridiculing the council members by implying that they receive expensive gifts for favours.

Days after the hunting trip, the king forcibly kisses Gong-gil while his violence against the members of his own court escalates, especially at the mention of his father who he feels still rules over the kingdom even after his death.

Jangsaeng takes the blame for the crime for which Gong-gil has been falsely accused, as their handwriting is the same, and is set to be beheaded the next morning.

But Jangsaeng ignores the advice and returns to walk on his tightrope across palace rooftops, this time openly and loudly mocking the king.

Gong-gil attempts suicide, but his life is saved by the palace doctors: the king then loses interest in him and goes back to Jang Noksu, who jeers at his fickleness.

The last scene is a happy one where Jangsaeng and Gong-gil appear to be reunited with their clowning troupe, including the friend who died earlier during the hunting incident.

[5][6][7] The film was adapted from the Korean stage play Yi, written by Kim Tae-woong, centered around Gong-gil, the feminine actor.

It was based on a small passage from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty that briefly mentions the king's favorite clown, Gong-gil, whereas Jang-saeng is a fictional character.

[8][9] [10] In South Korea, the film sold a total of 12.3 million tickets, including 3,659,525 in Seoul, in its four months of screening, which ended on 18 April 2006.

[14] For a low-budget film costing only ₩4 billion, it surpassed the 10 million viewer mark on 2 February, received good reviews from both critics and audiences.

The success was also surprising given the lack of a big budget and high-profile top-billing actors and director compared to other films such as Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War and Silmido, who have both surpassed 10 million viewers.