The Crowned Clown (2019)

Comedic film of a fusion-historical genre. Cute lover boy Heo Saek becomes Joseon's first male gisaeng and a flower-like woman named Hae Won who thinks ahead of her time, search for true love together.

I wrote this recommendation after completing episode 12 of Confession where there's a big plot twist which I bet many didn't expect. There was also a major plot twist somewhere in episode 8 or something (I don't quite remember). This quality of screenwriting reminds me highly of The Crowned Clown, where the good and bad guys are continuously cancelling each other's chess moves and keeping the viewers hooked in. I rate The Crowned Clown a perfect 10, so you can imagine the quality of screenwriting in Confession when I compare both of them this way.

Both male leads accidentally become people of power and use this position to fight corruption and injustice

Both have rich narratives that intertwine historical contexts with elements of romance and mystery, providing a captivating viewing experience for fans of the genre.

Crown Prince Yi Gak finds that he has been transported from the Joseon Dynasty to modern-day Seoul. He meets Hong Se Na, who bears a striking resemblance to his dead wife, and is determined to solve the 300-year-old mystery of her death. With his own resemblance to the CEO’s grandson at the company where Se Na works, Gak assumes the identity of the young man to stay close to her. Can the Crown Prince navigate a modern corporation to find clues to his own time period?

Many reasons revolve around the protagonist:
- protagonist of low(er) status takes on the role of the emperor
- falls in love with empress
- initially happy-go-lucky
- idealistic, wants uphold justice/equality for the people
- naive in his actions to achieve ideals, suffers because of it
- struggles with harsh reality of palace politics and human nature
- struggles with reality that he can't create a happy ending for everyone

The rest is pretty standard for almost any historical drama:
- fight for throne
- power struggle between different groups of nobles
- revenge
- assassination
- deception
- etc

Real recomendation: Also has identity swap. In "Crowned" there are 2 men basically identical to each other: one is the king of Joseon (Korea) and the other is a clown (literally). The clown ends up having to act as a substitute of the king, fooling the whole court, the country and even the queen.

Both The Crowned Clown and My Country: the New Age are sageuks with incredible acting, beautiful cinematography and great soundtrack. While the stories aren’t very alike and they’re set a few centuries appart, some of the characters reminded me of each other. Both Hwi and Ha Seon, the male leads in the shows, are lower class and don’t seem to have much ambition to gain a lot of power at the begining of the show, but they’re still smart and it shows. They just want to make sure their families have food on the table and are safe. Both MLs are outgoings and kind and have protecting the people they care about as their number one priority, whatever it takes, even if it cost them their lives. They especially love and care for their little sisters. Officer Jang also reminded me of Sung-rok, both are skilled fighters that look stoic and cold, but are way too loyal for their own good. Also, both shows feature a lot of struggle for power and the throne, and there’s much scheming involved.

The King, a non-rightful heir, suffers insomnia and manic paranoia as he fears the actions he has committed. He concocts a plan to replace himself with an identical jester in order to rid the threat of assassination.

A popular teenager inexplicably finds herself in the body of an unpopular classmate - and her body's new owner has no intention of switching back.

The series centers on Ayumi Kohinata, a first-year high school student who has a cute and shy personality. She's excited that she just started dating her first boyfriend, but on the day of their first date, she gets a mysterious call from her classmate Zenko Umine. Zenko says she's going to die, and Ayumi witnesses Zenko jumping from a building. The next thing she knows, Ayumi wakes up in a hospital, but in Zenko's body.

When a total eclipse of the sun takes place, Go Ha Jin is transported back in time to the start of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea during King Taejo's rule. She wakes up in the body of the 16-year-old Hae Soo and finds herself living in the house of the 8th Prince Wang Wook, who is married to Hae Soo's cousin. She soon befriends several of the princes and meets the ostracized 4th Prince, Wang So. Although knowing she should not get involved in palace intrigues over the succession to the throne, she inadvertently becomes a pawn in the struggle, as several of the Princes fall in love with her.

If you enjoyed the brilliant acting of YeoJinGoo in Link and how he was able to switch emotions in a snap.. Then you'll be blown away how he managed to play two entirely opposite characters in one frame! Just stunningly amazing..

Both develop in Jeoson Era. Being a really long Era, you can see the progression in terms of society and living of the different social classes because they part from different initial points of the Era.

Even though The Crowned Clown isn't based on a real story and the inspiration came from other stories, the cultural elements of life during those times are evident. On the other hand, Mr. Sunshine is indeed inspired by some historical facts as a whole and the fictional story was created around that.

Also, the contrast between both shows is really interesting. While The Crowned Clown focuses more in life inside the court, Mr. Sunshine focuses more in life during times of interventions and occupations of others countries and how different cultures clashed.

Suspense , agony , phycological pressure , palace politics and battling to survive inside the palace and save your soulmate from death....
Those 2 dramas are identical. Action , suspense and romance all combined.
In both dramas the Emperor is a kindhearted young man who tries his best to be a good ruler but the corrupted officials try to bring him down /kill him.
In both dramas the emperor does everything in his power to save female lead whom he loves deeply.
Great cinematography in both dramas.
Every episode ends with a cliffhanger and leaves you wanting more.

Both are about political power and people trying to gain more power, lots of political unrest.

Both are about replacing the king, though Crowned Clown is just a street performer who looks like the king while Queen Woo is about her marrying the king's brother to stay as Queen.

FYI Queen Woo is rated 18+ with explicit content, but still watchable.