If you liked The East Palace take a look at this one.
Supernatural Joseon-era K-drama blending ghost hunting, light romance, and political intrigue, starring Yook Sung-jae, Bona, and Kim Ji-hoon.
Plot and Premise
- The Story: Follows Yeo-ri (Bona), a glass maker and granddaughter of a famous shaman who rejects her own spirit-seeing fate, and Yoon Gap (Yook Sung-jae), a royal official whose body gets possessed by Gang-cheol, an ancient snake deity (Imugi) trying to ascend to a dragon.
- The Conflict: The trio—along with the conflicted King Yi Sung (Kim Ji-hoon)—must battle a towering, vengeful royal guard spirit from the past while resolving ghostly mysteries inside the palace walls.
What Works Well
- Character Dynamics: Yook Sung-jae shines balancing the dual nature of his roles, while Kim Ji-hoon’s portrayal of the regal, troubled king anchors the dramatic weight.
- Tone and Pacing: Rather than a heavy or terrifying horror, it leans into a fast-paced “supernatural team” adventure with a well-balanced, medium romance and creative fantasy lore.
- Visuals and Practical Effects: Praised for impressive physical costume design for the central antagonist rather than relying entirely on CGI.
Available on Viki.
Combining comedy, drama, romance and horror with equal measure, this series does not shy away from hitting dramatic notes and is not afraid to keep the stakes high by allowing harm to come to ‘safe’ characters.
Yook Sung-jae
Yun Gap (Yook) is a government officer who works in the palace. He has a good reputation and has a handsome appearance. One day, Yun Gap’s body becomes possessed by an Imoogi creature. Soon afterwards, people start talking about him as if he has lost his mind.
The Imugi who possessed Yun Gap is related to Yeo Ri, whose first love was Yun Gap. Yeo Ri is the only granddaughter of a famous shaman. She has a divine gift but refuses to accept her fate as a medium of spirit. Instead, she works as a glass craftswoman.
The Imugi needs Yeo Ri’s body to ascend to Heaven, but Yeo Ri won’t allow it. After Yun Gap becomes possessed, Yeo Ri enters the palace filled with powerful evil spirits.
Meanwhile, King Yi Seong is a reformist monarch who dreams of a strong Joseon nation. Weird and terrible incidents continue to take place within the palace. A great evil wants to destroy the King’s bloodline and only Yeo Ri and Yun Gap can stop it.