Best Romantic Historical Korean Dramas (Pt 2 of 2)

Hope you were pleased with the recommendation in Part 1.  Here's the second half of the list.  Enjoy!

Healing Crystal Natural Rose Stone Heart

(6) Mr. Queen (2020)
A chef from modern-day Seoul falls off a hotel balcony and into a pool. When he comes out of the water, he is in the body of a queen during the Joseon Era. It seems that at that moment a few hundred years ago, she had jumped into a lake because she was trying to commit suicide. Somehow his soul entered her body. He was in shock when he looked in the mirror and in even more shock when he realized he had to sleep with the king! His first thought was how to avoid the king's bed until he noticed the king didn't seem to be interested in him … uuuhh? … her. So then he turned his focus on how to get back to his time period and back in his own body.

Meanwhile … he had to learn to live as the queen, which meant he was drawn into all of the palace scheming, conniving, corruption, and treachery. He had to learn the queen's friends and her enemies, and how to get along with her father. The fun part of this time-travel/body-swap misadventure was using his chef skills to prepare dishes and win over the king’s enemies. Even though the chef's identity and personality remain in her body, the queen’s identity and personality gradually become dominant.

The chef's memories get replaced with the queen's memories and the reason she tried to commit suicide became clear. But by that time, the romance between the king and the queen develops because the king also understands her reason. The king was mistaken about her true intention and her love for him. He believed she was part of her family's corrupt plan for power. The queen learned the tragic story of the king's childhood and that her father had knowledge of how his family died. They became closer to each other and fell in love. Their love story is beautiful and triumphant. Best time travel romantic comedy ever!! [Where to Watch]

TRAILER: Global, CJ ENM. “Mr. Queen.” YouTube, Video, 12 Dec. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1vplUsGDoI.

(7) Lovers of the Red Sky (2021)

Hong Cheong-Gi is the main female character and also the name of a real historical figure who was the only female painter accepted into the Korean Royal Academy of Painting during the Joseon era. The leading male character is Ha Ram. She is the divine painter and he is a divine astrologer. They first meet as children; she is born blind and he is a child with special power. The children get separated because Ha Ram is chosen to participate in a rain ritual. On the day he performs the ritual, he loses his eyesight and is possessed by a demon. At the same exact time, the blind girl gains her eyesight. When they grow up, they meet again, and their bond of friendship is renewed and matures into romantic love. However, their love and lives are endangered because they are caught up in two webs: the political power games in the human world AND the eternal power struggle of good versus evil in the spirit world. This Viki Original series is a delightful historical fantasy romance. [Where to Watch]

(8) Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist (2022)
A royal physician who works in the palace and is called upon to treat members of the royal family has such extraordinary medical skills, he is given the title “Divine Acupuncturist”. But others hatched a plan to murder the king and frame him. He is not aware that performing acupuncture would cause the king's death. Consequently, he is accused of murder and thrown into prison. The murderers hoped he would receive the death penalty and their crime would be hidden. But the crown prince set him free because he believed he was innocent and that he was also the only one who could prove who had murdered the king.

He went from working as a royal physician to working in a village hospital. But he was so traumatized that he could no longer perform acupuncture. He met a young woman and trained her to be an acupuncturist. When she first saw him she had to talk him out of committing suicide. When he met her again, she a trying to commit suicide. Not only did he have to treat her “heart”, he uncovered that she was a victim. Her mother-in-law was trying to convince her to commit suicide so her family would receive the Virtuous Widow Honor.

The royal physician who was no longer able to perform acupuncture started a new life and developed a new skill. The physician changed the way he treated patients by diagnosing both their physical sickness and determining how to heal their troubled minds. He became a “heart doctor” and he also fell in love. This K-drama has 2 seasons. [Where to Watch]

TRAILER: Global, CJ ENM. “Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist.” CJ ENM - YouTube, 18 Aug. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc2Nr-1AYBc.

(9) The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (2023)

The daughter of a nobleman owns a guesthouse left to her by her father. In addition to being a guesthouse, there are also secrets and romance. There are three flower scholars are her guests.

• One is already paying for a room before the other two guests arrive. He hopes to win the heart of the owner.

• The second guest came to town to take the civil service exam for martial arts and hopes to become a member of the king's royal guard.

• The third guest has no money but he did try to help a damsel in distress. Since the damsel is the owner of the guesthouse, he arrives there and tells her she should repay the debt by allowing him to stay there.

Two of the scholars have a secret identity and are on a secret mission. The owner also has a secret and tells all of the guests they are not allowed to go near the guestroom located at the back. It's haunted.

When the owner was a young girl, she protected a young boy who ran into her yard and hid in the dog house. That boy was the crown prince but he did not tell her his true identity. Thirteen years passed and one of the guests is that prince and he' gong to fall in love with him. This is a Viki Original series. [Where to Watch]

(10) Missing Crown Prince (2024)

A royal physician was told that if his daughter married the crown prince, he would die young and she would become a widow. His plan is for his daughter to become the future crown princess so he kidnaps the crown prince. They are both drugged and spend the night together, lying side by side, technically making them a married couple. He further plans to eliminate that crown prince and replace him with another crown prince and get him to marry his daughter.

Before he was kidnapped the crown prince was investigating her father. He had information that proved he was having a secret affair with the Queen Dowager and might be responsible for the death of a court maid assigned to the queen dowager's palace.

The best laid plan usually doesn't work out. The daughter wakes up and helps the prince escape not knowing who he is. He also does not know that she is the daughter of the royal physician he was investigating. The other prince the father had hoped his daughter would marry was very close to the crown prince. They grew up together and had a strong bond. But that strong bond might be broken because both of them fell in love with the royal physician's daughter. This K-drama series is a spin-off of “Bossam: Steal the Fate”, another Viki Original which was released in 2021. This is a Viki Original series. [Where to Watch]

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Best Romantic Historical Korean Dramas (Pt 1 of 2)

Need some recommendations for binge-watching historical romantic Korean drama?  Here is a 2-part list.

Heart Sticky Notes

(1) Dong Yi (2010)
A true story: a real-life love story between Dong Yi and King Sukjong. A concubine with a heart of gold, who suggested to the king that there be a law preventing a concubine from becoming queen (according to the TV series). She saw and experienced the cruelty of the “palace flowers” toward each other and the lengths they went to trying to eliminate their “competition”. In the actual history of Joseon, the strict Confucian social hierarchy and the established court protocols did make it difficult for concubines to rise to the status of queen consort. Dong Yi, who was the king's favorite concubine, was elevated to the status of Royal Noble Consort Suk-bin and became the mother of King Yeongjo. [Where to Watch]

(2) Shine or Go Crazy (2015)

Set during the period BEFORE the Joseon Era when the country was called Goryeo. Wang So is the Prince of Goryeo who is kicked out of the palace because they believed he is cursed. When his future was read, it was determined that he was born with both a light and fire, meaning he will either shine bright like a star OR he'll be a crazy man. Shin Yool is a princess from Balhae who survived her country's destruction and is included in a prophecy concerning Wang So. The prophecy said she would help a prince of Goryeo ascend to the throne and become king. They met each other in a most unusual way. They were both in a foreign country and she was trying to escape an arranged marriage.

Wang So was a random man she saw on the street and she persuaded him to participate in a fake marriage. When they met she was living as a successful businesswoman. She didn't know he was a prince and he didn't know she was a princess. Separately, he returned to Goryeo and she came to Goryeo later to do business. She recognizes him when she sees him but he didn't recognize her. This time, not only did he not know she was a princess; he didn't even know she was a woman. Shin Yool disguised herself as a man because her gender would prevent her from doing business in Goryeo. They met again and would fall in love, neither realizing that their relationship a part of a prophecy. “Shine or Go Crazy” is based on a novel of the same name. [Where to Watch]

(3) 100 Days My Prince (2018)
Yul is a young prince befriends Yi Seo, a nobleman's daughter and told her that he would marry her when they grew up. Unfortunately, his weak-minded and wicked father authorized the slaughter of her family because they were preventing him from ascending to the throne. He bravely helped her and her brother escape. His father became king and he became the crown prince who forced into a loveless marriage because his father-in-law wanted more power. His father-in-law even tried to assassinate him because the crown prince was simply getting in the way of his power plays. The assassination attempt failed but in the process Yul lost his memories.

Yi Seo had been adopted and raised by a loyal servant from her father; household. There was a royal command that all of the spinsters in the villages had to be married. Since her father knew that Yul had amnesia, he told him that he a his daughter's fiancé and they were to be married. Yi Seo was about to be flogged for disobeying the royal command. Just like that! Yul had inadvertently married his first love, the young girl he had promised to marry. Only they did not recognize each other. This series is based on a webtoon. [Where to Watch]

TRAILER: TV, Viki Global. “100 DAYS MY PRINCE - OFFICIAL TRAILER.” YouTube, Video, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LxsJGR7DgU.

(4) Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019)
During the Joseon era, women were very limited in activities they could engage in freely. Goo Hae-ryung's older brother who raised her had decided that it was time for her to marry. He had out it off long enough. At the same time, the king decided to authorize the hiring of female historians. It was a first! There had never been female historians but there was a critical need. It was not to ensure that history was properly recorded. It was a way for the king and his corrupt officials to be able to gain access to the areas in the palace where only women could go.

The king and one of his corrupt court officials wanted to snoop on the queen, the queen dowager, the crown princess, the concubines, and any and all women in the palace. They wanted a record of people who met with the “flowers in the palace” and what they discussed. Hiring female historians was the perfect solution to “their problem”. Goo Hae-ryung believed being hired as a female historian was the perfect solution to “her problem”, i.e. avoiding an arranged marriage and remaining independent free-spirited woman. She passed the test and became a part of the group of the first female historians in Joseon. Once inside the palace she met and fell in love with a prince. Their romantic relationship hit a few roadblocks. There was no way to avoid the palace intrigue and treacherous schemes. They had to find a way to overcome them. [Where to Watch]

TRAILER: K-Content, Netflix. “Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung.” YouTube, Video, 8 July 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqaGhUJ9Vgs.  

(5) The Tale of Nok Du (2019)

Nok Du is a prince who thought he was a commoner because his adopted father kept his true identity a secret from him. Why? Because his own father, the king, tried to kill him to thwart a shaman's prediction of his future. Nok Du was content to be a commoner. He had a happy home with his father and brother on a beautiful island with friendly villagers. But one day female assassins showed up at his house. He overpowered them so they tried to escape. Nok Du chased after them and he was relentless in his pursuit. He followed the assassin into a widows' village and … they beat him up and kicked him out!

Nok Du needed to know why assassins showed up at his home and he knew the assassin was in that village. There was only one way to get inside that village. He dressed up like a woman and pretended to be a widow. In the village, he met a young woman, Dong Dong Ju, who dressed up like a man whenever she left the community. Dong Dong Ju was not a widow, but the head of the village allowed her to stay there. It was a safe haven for her because members of her noble family had been killed. Dong Dong Ju was on a mission of revenge. She planned to kill the man responsible for the death of her family members, i.e. king, Nok Du's father. They end up sharing a room together in the village, and she learns he is a man. They fall in love but it's gets complicated. [Where to Watch]

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