In the musical version of "Dae Jang Geum", Jo Gwangjo is a prominent character as a friend of Min Jung-ho. In KBS TV series "Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin" (2004-5), Yi Sun-shin's grandfather is described to have been executed for supporting Jo Gwangjo and Yi's father is arrested while holding a memorial rite at Jo's abandoned house. In 2006 KBS series "Hwang Jini", the male protagonist Kim Jeong-han is portrayed as Jo Gwangjo's disciple while another character Lee Saeng become Hwang Jini's bodyguard after he leaves his father's home in disgust because his father is Jo Gwango-jo's friend but betrays him to become prime minister. In these three dramas, Jo Gwangjo does not appear as a character but serves as a plot device to set the main characters as righteous people by association.