To the Joseon Dynasty—Five Underrated Historical Korean Dramas
South Korea produces arguably the best television series, captivating audiences with its unique storylines packed with rich plots and twists. They can craft quality drama series even with a simple plot which makes predicting the end almost impossible. South Korea creates top-tier K-drama in almost every genre there is, including historical Korean drama.
King, concubines, betrayal, and greed for the throne are elements we know all too well in historical Korean dramas. Even with familiarity to common plots in historical dramas, these underrated historical K-dramas left me tensed from beginning to end.
To the Joseon Dynasty—Five Underrated Historical Korean Dramas
Dong Yi
Dong Yi takes inspiration from the love story of King Sukjong and real-life historical figure, Choe Suk-bin.
Dong-yi’s father and brother were members of the Sword Fraternity, an organization accused of murdering noblemen. Dong-yi (played by Han Hyo-joo) hides her identity and enters the palace to investigate, determined to prove her family’s innocence. While investigating, she encounters problems of her own after uncovering dark secrets between the royal members in the palace. Her talent and innate kindness naturally draws the King closer to her.
Even with righteous wrath and power, Dong-yi remains humble and refuses the title of Queen. Dong-yi or Choe Suk-bin becomes a prominent historical figure promoting the law of preventing concubines to become queen.
The Moon Embracing The Sun
The Moon Embracing The Sun is a 2012 historical-fantasy drama adapted from a novel written by Jung Eun-gwol. This drama boasts quality with its star-studded cast like Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-Woo, and Kim Min-Seo. Also, the drama also features phenomenal young Korean stars Yeo Jin-goo, Kim Yoo-jung, Lee Tae-ri, and Kim So-hyun.
The Moon Embracing The Sun tells the story of a poignant love between Crown Prince Lee Hwon and Lady Yeon-woo. Betrayals and greed for power hinders the fate of the two coming together. The King chooses Yeon-woo over Bo-kyung, the daughter of the Prime Minister as Lee Hwon’s wife. The Queen Dowager’s greed to continue her clan’s influence pushed her to kill Crown Princess Yeon-woo. After their attempt to kill her, Yeon-woo suffers from amnesia after the trauma of being buried alive. Yeon-woo’s tragic loss of memory rebirthed her into becoming a shaman. Despite the darkness that looms over the sun and the moon, the fate of the two seems to intertwine every time.
Empress Ki
Ambition, rage, love, loyalty, betrayal, and power, Empress Ki embodies all these. The 51-episode historical drama depicts the story of Ki Seung-nyang, a commoner becoming the Empress of the Yuan Dynasty.
Ki Seung-nyang (played by Ha Ji-won), a Goryeo-born commoner, disguises herself as a man and becomes a rebel warrior. Seung-nyang seeks revenge for the death of her mother during an attempted slave escape. She becomes well-versed in battle capable of using a sword and bow, besting many men. Seung-nyang comes across Toghon Temur, an exiled son of the Yuan Dynasty to keep him from power. Upon returning, Toghon (played by Ji Chang-wook) demonstrated trust and favor towards Seung-nyang, making her his royal concubine.
As the story progresses, Emperor Toghon begins to lose grip on his power with enemies threatening his rule. Eventually, Seung-nyang takes power and becomes the first foreign-born empress of the Yuan Dynasty. With great power, Empress Ki’s desires take over causing her to become selfish and greedy.
Six Flying Dragons
Six Flying Dragons depicts the end of Goryeo and the birth of the Joseon Dynasty through immense political struggle. The six flying dragons become prominent figures of the movement and serve as the foundation of the Joseon. The movement centers on the vision of a great political strategist, Jeong Do-jeon.
The fate of the dragons intertwined when Jeong Do-jeon, one of the dragons, envisioned building a new country. Do-jeon needed a new king fit for the new dynasty he’s building. Lee Bang-won (played by Yoo Ah-in), the hero of the story, discovers Do-jeon’s secret cave and learns his plan. At an early age, Bang-won already learned about power and justice. He joins Do-jeon and positions himself as an integral part of the plan. Do-jeon needed a new king fit for the new dynasty which was Bang-won’s father, General Lee Seong-gye. General Lee, a powerful and respectable man, led the Goryeo army to many victories countless times. An honorable man who wants to do what is right for the people was fit for a king.
Boon-yi (played by Shin Se-kyung) is a commoner whose life intertwined with Bang-won back when they were just children. Boon-yi becomes an advocate for the poor, joining hands with Do-jeon to better the lives of the people. Ddang-sae, the brother of Boon-yi, joins her sister and contributes his swordsmanship to advance the cause of Do-jeon. Moo Hyul (played by Yoon Kyun-sang) is a loyal bodyguard of Bang-won and has become a prominent figure in advancing Joseon.
The Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People
The Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People, popularly known as The Rebel, is my favorite historical K-drama. This narrates the story of Hong Gil-dong (played by Yoon Kyun-sang) in becoming Joseon’s first revolutionary activist. Hong Gil-dong is a real-life character described as an outlaw during the Joseon dynasty.
Hong Gil-dong is a son of servant Hong Ah Mo-gae who yearns to give a better life for his wife and sons. Their status eventually becomes better, causing Ah Mo-gae’s owner to become greedy and frame him for stealing. The conniving idea of Ah Mo-gae’s owners led them to harm Ah Mo-gae’s pregnant wife, who died while giving birth. As he grieves, Ah Mo-gae moves forward along with his children and creates a fabric business.
Unlike his brother, Gil-dong dreams to become a vendor like his father once became. Their life took a drastic turn when old enemies resurface, separating the siblings from each other. Gil-dong, born with special abilities, tries to get his family back together by creating a rebel group against the tyrannical king.
