Best Korean Dramas with a historical genre/theme
What are the best Korean Dramas you have watched that falls on the category of historical, whether it be Joseon Era/China Invasion/Japanese Era.
MG Mayre Oct 19, 2023
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![Alchemy of Souls]()
Set in a fictional country called Daeho that does not exist in history or on maps, it is about the love and growth of young mages as they overcome their twisted fates ...more -
![Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo]()
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 ...more -
![Mr. Queen]()
Jang Bong Hwan is a South Korean chef who has risen up the ranks to cook for the country’s top politicians in the Blue House’s presidential residences. After a serious accident, he ...more -
![The Red Sleeve]()
In 18th-century Korea, Prince Yi San is a perfectionist haunted by his father's murder. He's set to inherit the throne once his cruel grandfather, the current king, passes away. Despite the emotional ...more -
![Empress Ki]()
Genghis Khan built an empire that spanned vast regions in East Asia and East Europe. And there was one woman who held immense power in the Yuan Dynasty, which Genghis Khan founded, ...more -
![My Dearest]()
A love-story between a noblewoman and a mysterious man who shows up in her hometown set in the 1600s during the Qing invasion. Yu Gil Chae is a pretty, bubbly, and a ...more -
![Kingdom]()
As the Joseon King succumbs to smallpox the rumors of his death begin. The Cho Clan, which is the clan of the pregnant Queen and her father, together with the the Chief ...more -
![Splash Splash LOVE]()
Dan Bi is a high school senior who has given up on math. On the day she is about to take the KSAT for college, she is transported back into the past ...more -
![Love in the Moonlight]()
To protect herself and her family, Hong Ra On disguises herself as a man and counsels men on dating. Due to a love letter she wrote for a client, she meets Crown ...more -
![Mr. Sunshine]()
Mr. Sunshine centers on a young boy born into a house servant's family who travels to the United States during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea). He returns to his homeland ...more -
![Jewel in the Palace]()
About 500 years ago during the time of Chosun Dynasty, Korea boasted a rigidly hierarchical and male dominated social structure. Based on a true story about a legendary girl, Jang Geum, who ...more -
![Queen Seon Deok]()
The story of a beautiful queen, who has to give up her love to save the people. A biopic of Queen Seon Deok, who was born a princess and later became the ...more -
![Dong Yi]()
"Dong Yi" is a historical drama based on the life of Dong Yi later known as Choi Suk Bin. She worked in the royal palace as a lowly water maid. King Sok ...more -
![The Crowned Clown]()
Joseon is in a state of disorder due to uprisings and a power struggle surrounding King Lee Hun. To avoid assassination, a clown named Ha Sun is brought to the palace to ...more -
![Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow]()
15. Alchemy of Souls Season 2: Light and Shadow
Korean Drama - 2022, 10 episodes592 points by 6 votersJang Uk returns from death, and three years later, the story of the mages unfolds anew. Jang Uk becomes a hunter of the soul-shifters when a young woman, a prisoner in her ...more -
![My Country: The New Age]()
Set during the transition from the Goryeo to the Joseon period, two friends become enemies due to differing views on "my country." Seo Hwi, a skilled warrior and son of a renowned ...more -
![Under the Queen's Umbrella]()
Within the palace exist troublemaking princes who cause nothing but headaches for the royal family and are about to be turned into proper crown princes. Their mother, Im Hwa Ryeong, is the wife ...more -
![The King's Affection]()
Set during the Joseon Dynasty, the story follows twins born to the Crown Princess Consort, who orders the death of the daughter due to superstition. To save her, the baby girl is ...more -
![The Bridal Mask]()
Lee Kang To is an ambitious and callous Korean officer employed by the Japanese colonists. Despite his mother's disapproval of his work and his own brother's antagonistic history with the Japanese, Kang ...more -
![Hwarang]()
The names of just a few Hwarangs are recorded in history. Not many people these days truly know about Hwarangs. How did they start? How did beautiful looking young men become at ...more -
![Warrior Baek Dong Soo]()
Set in the Joseon Dynasty during King Jeong Jo's reign, this martial-arts fusion sageuk is centered around the events involving Crown Prince Sa Do's conspiracy. Warrior Baek Dong Soo was a real-life ...more -
![Live Up to Your Name]()
Heo Im, who is born in a concubine family in the Joseon era and has very outstanding medical skills, is frustrated about his career as he fails to climb to higher positions ...more -
![Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist]()
Yoo Se Poong’s legendary abilities as a physician are well-known in the royal palace. Nonetheless, he was expelled from the royal court when his involvement in a conspiracy against the royal family ...more -
![The Princess's Man]()
Princess Se Ryung is the headstrong and forward-thinking daughter of Grand Prince Su Yang, who is determined to be King. She falls in love with the son of his mortal enemy, and ...more -
![Iljimae]()
Set during the Joseon Dynasty, Yong acted as a hooligan in the marketplace by day but at night he was a thief who robbed corrupted government officials to give to the poor. ...more -
![The Hymn of Death]()
Kim Woo Jin is a stage drama writer while Korea is under Japanese occupation. He is married, but he falls in love with Yun Shim Deok. Shim Deok is the first Korean ...more -
![Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung]()
The story takes place at the beginning of the 19th century. Goo Hae Ryung is an intern to become a palace historian. However, it was not acceptable for women to write historical ...more -
![Six Flying Dragons]()
A fictional, historical drama about the ambition, rise and fall of real and fictional characters based around Yi Bang Won. Yi Bang Won was the third king of the Joseon Dynasty in ...more -
![Chicago Typewriter]()
In the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the 21st century. Han Se Joo, a bestselling author in the present, struggles with writer’s block, while Yu Jin Oh, a talented ghostwriter in ...more -
![Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist Season 2]()
Once a royal physician, Yoo Se Poong was ousted from the palace after his involvement in a conspiracy surrounding the royal family. With nowhere else to go, Se Poong eventually found himself ...more -
![Grand Prince]()
Centered around one woman who gets caught up in a bloody romance with two princes. This drama tells the story of a man who would kill even his younger brother to have ...more -
![The King in Love]()
Wang Won’s father is the king of Goryeo while his mother is the Yuan emperor’s daughter. He was born with many gifts as he has good looks, the wisdom of a snake, ...more -
![Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency]()
Lee Soo, once an ordinary blacksmith, unexpectedly becomes the king of Joseon at twenty-three. Struggling with the palace's restrictions, especially in matters of the heart, Lee Soo's dream of marrying his childhood ...more -
![Arang and the Magistrate]()
It tells the story of a cynical and not-so-friendly government official named Eun Oh, who wanders the whole nation to look for his mother, who disappeared because of his mistake. Eun Oh ...more -
![Tree With Deep Roots]()
Early in his reign, King Se Jong accidentally causes the death of his in-laws and their slaves in an attempt to save them from his brutal father, King Tae Jong. Two young ...more -
![100 Days My Prince]()
Lee Yul, Crown Prince of Joseon, is a perfectionist who disregards most royal palace nobles. His cold and demanding demeanor masks deeply-rooted loneliness. He comes to pass a law stating that Korean ...more -
![The Forbidden Marriage]()
King Lee Heon of Joseon has been grieving the death of his beloved wife for seven years. Despite efforts to have him remarry, he remains in mourning, leading to the nation’s geumhonryung ...more -
![Shine or Go Crazy]()
Wang So, a Goryeo prince, was born with the name, “Shine.” Shin Yul is a woman hailing from the Balhae kingdom and believed to have the powers of an oracle. A prince ...more -
![Moon Embracing the Sun]()
Thirteen-year-old Heo Yeon Woo, the daughter of a high-ranking official, meets Crown Prince Lee Hwon at her brother's civil service exam celebration and they fall in love. Yeon Woo is chosen as ...more -
![Queen for Seven Days]()
This drama is about the love story between King Jung Jong and his Queen Dan Kyung, who was crowned and deposed within the span of a week due to rival political factions ...more -
![Kingdom Season 2]()
Following the events in season one, waves of the undead threaten to reach the capital. In an attempt to save the people during the plague and regain his right to the throne, ...more -
![Faith]()
A 21st-century plastic surgeon Eun Soo gets kidnapped and brought 700 years into the past for her healing powers. Goryeo era bodyguard to the king, General Choi Yeong is smart but a ...more -
![The Return of Iljimae]()
The story is about a man fighting against a selfish and corrupt government to save ordinary peasants. Iljimae was abandoned by his birth father and adopted by a Chinese couple. He returns ...more -
![The Nokdu Flower]()
Set during the Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894-1895), two half-brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. Baek Yi Kang, the son of a wealthy but notorious local official and a woman ...more -
![The Emperor: Owner of the Mask]()
The story of a crown prince named Lee Sun who fights the Pyeonsuhwe society that holds absolute power over the kingdom and also controls the water supply by privatizing it. The drama ...more -
![Night Watchman's Journal]()
Young watchmen of the Joseon Dynasty fight demons in this "Ghostbusters"-like story. Set in the backdrop of the royal palace, the good guys vanquish demons while the bad guys use them for ...more -
![Queen: Love and War]()
Kang Eun Bo is determined to avenge her twin sister’s murder in the ultra-conservative Joseon Dynasty. The only way to do so is to earn the royal title of Queen, which requires ...more -
![Jumong]()
Jumong was the founder of Goguryeo in 37 BC. He was the son of General Hae Mo Su and Lady Yoo Hwa and was raised by King Geum Wa, who took him ...more -
![Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People]()
“The culprit who is posing as a royal official is not stealing wealth. He is stealing the hearts and minds of your people, Your Majesty.” There was a divisive figure in the ...more -
![Hong Gil Dong]()
Hong Gil Dong was the illegitimate son of a high ranked minister. A local monk took him under his wing and taught him martial arts. Hong Gil Dong was inspired to fight ...more -
![Destined]()
Liu Yu Ru is the only legitimate daughter of a former cloth merchant living a stoic life with her mother in a household where they're mistreated despite their status. Due to a ...more -
![Bossam: Steal the Fate]()
Ba U, a degenerate man involved in gambling, stealing, and fighting, hides his true identity while making money through Bossam, a remarriage custom in Joseon where widows were kidnapped to marry. During ...more -
![Maids]()
Kook In Yeob is the only child in a noble family. She is famous for her beautiful and stylish appearance. Due to an incident, her status falls to the lower class. As ...more -
![Saimdang, Light’s Diary]()
Seo Ji Yun, an art history lecturer aiming for a professorship, is assigned by her mentor Min Jeong Hak to write a thesis on a valuable painting, "An Gyeon’s Mount Geumgang." Her ...more
