Social Class in "Jewel in the Palace"

I've only watched the first couple of episodes of Jewel in the Palace, but have noticed an interesting connection. Aside from the emphasis on food, I think there are some key insights into social class structure that are related to concepts found in Storey's book. For me, there were two instances in which the concepts materialized in the drama. The first is when the head lady chef is talking with her niece after the attempted murder on Jang Geum's mother. The chef's niece asks if they were maybe too harsh on Jang Geum's mother. The head lady chef tells her niece that she needs to harden her heart in order to prepare for her furture postion as chief chef. This quickly reminded me of a sentence in chapter two of Storey's book where he talks about preparing the middle class children for the power that is to be theirs. The second time is when young Jang Geum pleads with her mother about not wanting to be part of the slave class anymore. Her mother scolds her and insists that she does not go to school to learn with the other children. This obviously reminded me of the idea that children are taught where they are in term of social class and instruced in a way that forces them to remain at that particular class level. Although this is not really the same point that Storey tries to get across becasue Jang Geum's mother is simply trying to protect her family, it still shows the importance of social class and the inherent desire to rebel aggainst suppression even at a young age.

I do not know if these example from the drama were specifically designed to get across social class and cultural norms, but I felt that they at least maybe strengthened some of the arguments made in Storey's book. Other aspects of the drama seem very deliberate in terms of what points are trying to be made like the importance of food and feasts for example. In the second epidsode, all the women who prepared a feast for the King hold their breath to see if the King enjoys the food. After he smiles, they all breathe a sigh of relief.