Empress Ki (2013)

While watching this Drama it often reminded me of Empress Ki. It's the same type of story about the palace and plotting and backstabbing in the harem and which effects it has on people living through it. Empress Ki compared with Legend of Zhen Huan is a bit lighter though

Both sageuks have important events that happened outside Joseon. There is also a non-Korean character in a high position in love with at one of the main leads.

- Historical
- Court Scandals & Drama
- Opinionated and book smart Female Lead
- The Female Lead falls for a Male Lead she can't have in the end
- Male Lead has a tragic end
- Crazy/Obsessive One-Sided Love from an Emperor

Both have woman disguising themselves as men and both grew up like that. Empress Ki is also a bit more entertaining depending on what you want to look at.

both involve an awesome female lead that's good at fighting, is highly intelligent, and good at revenge.

A historical drama featuring a star-crossed love triangle starring Ha Ji Won. The stories may be quite different but if you watched Empress Ki or Damo, and liked either of them really well, you must obviously have become a Ha Ji Won fan because since she's the lead of both shows. Therefore, I am recommending Damo to Empress Ki fans and Empress Ki to Damo fans. Both dramas feature Ha Ji Won as an orphan poor girl who has to overcome a lot of trials in her life. Both dramas are also her sageuks where she shows a lot of swordfighting and other action skills. Also in both shows, it appears that she had always loved a man who is kind and caring, but somehow became drawn to another man who she was not supposed to love. The love triangle in both dramas have great effects on Ha Ji Won's character since they both have/gave her something very important to her.
I suggests fans of either dramas watch the other since Ha Ji Won is fantastic in it. Also, because Damo was such a great drama for its time in 2003 but is somehow currently ignored because of so many newer dramas.

Empress Ki and Queen Insoo are both strong woman who are smart and cunning.

Complicated/sophisticated plot of a girl losing loved ones and trying to get revenge, falling in love along the way. Also epic love triangles!

Similarities between both dramas
-love triangle
-strong female lead
-FL ends up with second ML
-FL cares about both male leads till the end
-storyline is a bit similar
Both the dramas are really well acted by their respective actors/actresses. Empress Ki is a korean drama and it has much satisfying ends to the villians unlike in sound of the desert drama.
Empress ki was a much better drama for me.

The kings in both dramas are almost or completely (you be the judge) insane.

both present the situation of an extremely capable woman in times women had little to no perspectives on getting an education and using it for the common good. They aren't greedy for power, but want it to save the state or improve the quality of ordinary people's lives. Their idealism comes in pair with an acute political sense. Even though they're surrounded by the men who love and admire them, their advice is often disregarded, their possibilities limited and their lovers would gladly just put them in a cage so they wouldn't get hurt. You got your fun, girl, now go home and let the boys play.
Both are gender-benders (short arc in Empress Ki, more in Tempest) and hide their identity. Both have multiple love interests. Both become a ruler's concubine. Empress Ki has stronger rivalry in the harem, while in Tempest even though the harem is a scene of a financial schemes, women are in comradery.

Romance! Historical! Romantic Triangle, though 1 guy wins by a landslide. And production quality is great.

The storylines are very similar, how a woman's journey to become the most important female figure (Queen) of a country. The South Korean Drama has one female lead and two male lead, just like this one.

Both have really strong female leads who have had a difficult past and hunger for vengeance. Also, they both pretend to be a man at some point in the drama.

The two are about beautiful women fighting for the king's attention, in the midst of a war. Besides, in the two, the heroine has temper, and gives up her first love by ambition/revenge