Ghosts of Korea's past: Korean dramas blend history with supernatural to draw audiences

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Ghosts of Korea's past: Korean dramas blend history with supernatural to draw audiences

Published: 21 May. 2025, 16:10 Updated: 22 May. 2025, 18:20

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A scene from the new Netflix genre-infused historical drama series ″The Haunted Palace″ [SBS]

Blending romance, action and occult elements, a new wave of genre-infused period dramas is captivating Korean audiences, with shows like SBS’s “The Haunted Palace” leading the trend by reimagining traditional sageuk (Korean historical drama) through fantasy and mythological storytelling.

Yeo-ri, played by Kim Ji-yeon, lives as an eyeglass maker while rejecting her fate as a shaman and is entangled in a 13-year-long, ill-fated relationship. Her partner in the relationship is Gang-cheol, played by Kim Young-kwang, an imugi — a mythical serpent — who claims he can only see shamans with spiritual power.

Gang-cheol believes that his ascension into a dragon was thwarted by humans, and he goes around committing evil deeds. Then he meets Yeo-ri, whose soul is pure, and attempts to use her to become a dragon again. Yeo-ri, however, despises Gang-cheol and tries to avoid him. Thus, the two become inextricably linked.

Things become further complicated when Yeo-ri’s first love, Yoon-gap, played by Yook Sung-jae visits her again to drive out evil spirits in the royal palace and becomes possessed by Gang-cheol. “The Haunted Palace,” which recently gained audience attention, begins with these intertwined relationships.

The 16-episode drama, which began airing on April 18, recorded a 10.7 percent viewership rating, according to Nielsen Korea, with its ninth episode on Friday, breaking the so-called double-digit barrier.

The 10th episode of “The Haunted Palace,” which aired on Saturday, garnered a rating of 9.8 percent, ranking second after KBS’s “For Eagle Brothers” at 18.6 percent. It significantly outperformed other weekend dramas aimed at similar audiences, such as tvN’s “Residence Playbook” at 6.6 percent and JTBC’s “Heavenly Ever After” at 6.1 percent.

A scene from the SBS's genre-infused historical drama series ″The Haunted Palace″ [SBS]

What makes “The Haunted Palace” appealing is its genre. Branding itself as an exorcism fantasy show, the drama’s other main character is a ghost. The title originates from the drama’s setting, a “palace possessed by ghosts.”

Along with the eight-foot ghost that haunts the palace, East Asian mythical ghosts such as the one-legged ghost, death curse ghost and glowing ghost also appear and play major roles in the plot.

The drama is further enriched by the vivid design of these ghosts and the exorcism action performed by Yook, who plays Yoon-gap.

“Like the success of the film ‘Exhuma’ [2024], there’s been growing public interest in shamanism and traditional folklore-based worldviews, which was one reason for programming ‘The Haunted Palace,’” said an SBS representative. “Previous successes of occult genre dramas such as ‘Revenant’ [2023] and ‘The Judge from Hell’ [2024] made us believe it was worth attempting.”

A scene from the SBS's genre-infused historical drama series ″The Haunted Palace″ [SBS]

“Many recent historical dramas are increasingly using imagination to differentiate themselves, and they’re incorporating genre grammar from contemporary dramas for more effective storytelling,” said culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun.

On Friday, Netflix released the mystery-romance historical drama “Dear Hongrang.” Set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the drama follows Hong-rang, played by Lee Jae-wook, a son who returns home having lost all memories, and his stepsister Jae-yi, played by Jo Bo-ah, who alone suspects him. The plot is based on the mystery genre and interwoven with a romantic narrative between the protagonists.

“Dear Hongrang” quickly rose in viewership and, as of Wednesday, made No. 3 on the domestic Netflix chart.

KBS has scheduled the fantasy-romance historical drama “The First Night With the Duke” as its new series to broadcast on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and is set to premiere next month. It tells the story of an ordinary female college student who becomes possessed by a minor character in a romance novel and spends a night with the male lead of the novel.

Based on a web novel of the same name, the original story belongs to the romance-fantasy genre, which has been adapted into a historical setting.

A scene from the new Netflix genre-infused historical drama series ″Dear Hongrang″ [NETFLIX]

Earlier in the year, romance and fantasy-infused historical dramas like JTBC’s “The Tale of Lady Ok” (2024), Tving’s “The Scandal of Chunhwa” and tvN’s “The Queen Who Crowns” garnered viewers’ love.

This trend reflects both the broad demographic appeal of historical dramas and the changes in the production environment.

“Historical dramas have a higher probability of success,” Jeong commented. “They feel trendy when combined with genre grammar for younger audiences and offer familiarity to older generations."

“Historical dramas also require high production costs, but compared to modern dramas with unaffordable investment scales, the situation is more manageable,” said television critic Gong Hee-jung. “This is why broadcasters with long experience and the ease of differentiation are turning to historical dramas.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHOI HYE-RI [[email protected]]