Kdramas Like The East Palace: This was a special kind of Netflix K-drama that manages to incorporate just about every genre out there in a perfectly balanced way. You have one scene in which Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang try to solve the mystery of a haunted palace, while in the next, they get to experience family betrayals and political secrets along with monsters from Korean mythology. With Nam Joo-hyuk and Roh Yoon-seo’s chemistry on screen, it’s no wonder that eight episodes seemed not enough.
One thing about 동궁 is that the ghosts were never made to scare us. All the ghosts had a sad backstory, each ghostly appearance unveiled yet another secret, and every venture into the ghost world was accompanied by a tragic sacrifice. Rather than resorting to easy scares and thrills, the show made us empathise with both the living and the dead. It was not only the suspense that kept us hooked, but also the willingness of Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang to lay their lives down for each other. How could we forget about the sweet Ggeomeoksali? One of my favourite characters without a doubt!
For those suffering from K-drama withdrawal syndrome due to the completion of the drama, you have a lot of choices. There are plenty of dramas out there which have managed to incorporate some elements from this particular show. Some focus on the intrigue of court life, while some others are more focused on supernatural tales, which are both terrifying and captivating. If you love curses and ghosts, then these Kdramas similar to The East Palace will definitely make your watch list better.
Supernatural Kdramas Like The East Palace
Kingdom
Of course, we will begin with Kingdom because the show is arguably the best historical supernatural K-drama that has been made. Starring Ju Ji-hoon as Crown Prince Lee Chang with Bae Doona, Ryu Seung-ryong, and Kim Hye-jun joining him in the cast, this Netflix original takes viewers on a roller coaster ride inside the Joseon kingdom, where the outbreak of a plague causes the dead to rise up from their graves. As other characters are trying to figure out to whom the throne belongs, Crown Prince Lee Chang tries to save his subjects from the catastrophe that could end up destroying the whole country.
However, if I may be permitted to say that The East Palace is about ghost stories, whereas Kingdom is all about zombies, I would be stating the only major difference between the two dramas. Both series present their supernatural villains within a realm that is slowly falling apart due to sheer greed and corrupt practices. While Gu-cheon learns gradually that his biggest threat lies not in the spirits, Lee Chang also understands that most scary things come out of the royal palace itself. For you, who loved seeing royal conspiracies and supernatural disorder within the kingdom of The East Palace, completing this in one weekend will be no big deal.
If Wishes Could Kill
Among the latest shows on the Korean supernatural drama on Netflix, If Wishes Could Kill demonstrates that there is no need for castles from centuries past or ancient kingdoms to deliver a scare to its audience. In this show starring actors like Jeon So-young, Baek Sun-ho and more, the story revolves around a group of high school friends who descend into horror after they discover the enigmatic Girigo app that can make any wish come true. However, every wish turns out to be fatal. After several deaths occur, the remaining members of the group turn to shamans named Haetsal (Jeon So-nee) and Bang Ul (Roh Jae-won) and uncover a tragic story from decades ago.
On the surface level, If Wishes Could Kill seems to have nothing to do with The East Palace; however, the more we get into both works, the more we start to notice parallels. In the same way as Gu-cheon is a mediator between humans and the spirit world, Haetsal and Bang Ul use the Korean shamanism tradition to battle ghosts and keep people alive. In these two works, spirits are not villains; they are poor souls who got stuck in the cycle because of their own hate.
Moreover, in both dramas, the viewer starts to realise that horror is not about spirits; it is about human decisions. Regardless if it is about Gu-cheon crossing the line between the two worlds or Se-ah breaking the curse of Girigo with all her will, both works show that fighting with evil can sometimes require great sacrifices.
The Haunted Palace
If I were to choose one drama which is similar to The East Palace and which captures its essence completely, then that drama would be none other than The Haunted Palace. In the drama cast by Yook Sung-jae, Bona (Kim Ji-yeon), and Kim Ji-hoon, Yeo-ri is a talented shaman who has tried hard to stay away from the spiritual world for many years but finds herself drawn back into it because of strange happenings within the royal palace. On the other hand, Yoon Gap, an honourable member of the royal household, gets possessed by the strong spirit of an Imugi.
The parallels practically write themselves. The two shows are about ghosts within haunted castles that keep a whole lot of dark secrets buried inside their walls. The spirits here are fueled by hate, while the heroes have some supernatural powers of their own – which they definitely did not ask for. Watching Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang chase down one ghost after another really made me feel like I was watching Yeo-ri and Yoon Gap doing their thing from The East Palace. In fact, apart from the whole ghost-hunting aspect, the two shows are masters at knowing when to let their characters breathe and bond.
Revenant
Shifting from their typical historical settings while retaining their mystical feel, Revenant offers some of the scariest ghost stories seen on Korean television in recent times. In this drama, actress Kim Tae-ri portrays the character of Gu San-young, a common girl whose life comes crashing down around her after a ghostly spirit starts following her. Alongside folklore professor Yeom Hae-sang (Oh Jung-se) and detective Lee Hong-sae (Hong Kyung), she starts looking into deaths related to an ancient object and finds out that every question answered raises even more sinister questions from Korean folklore.
One concept that both dramas grasp very clearly is that the scariest ghosts are often those who bear unbearable suffering. Neither of the two dramas considers the ghosts to be monstrous entities that simply wait to attack unsuspecting individuals. The haunting only happens because someone has been hurt, betrayed or unable to move on from their past. This makes both dramas very compelling to watch. Seeing how Gu-cheon travels into the spirit realm to seek out the truth gives me the same thrill that I got watching San-young unravel the mysteries behind each of the supernatural events. If you enjoyed the folklore and myths, Revenant will definitely keep you enthralled.
Bulgasal: Immortal Souls
There seems to be something about tragic fantasies that appeals to everyone, especially when it comes to love stories, and Bulgasal: Immortal Souls is an excellent example of this. The drama stars Lee Jin-wook as immortal Dan Hwal, Kwon Nara as Min Sang-un, as well as Lee Joon, Gong Seung-yeon and Jung Jin-young. In this story, the man has been looking for almost 600 years for the woman whom he thinks cursed him with this eternal existence. But when the man starts remembering all of the things that happened back then, he begins understanding that the real reason for his curse is not revenge but much deeper and darker than that.
Although this show doesn’t take place within a royal palace, Bulgasal conveys the same emotional feeling that made The East Palace an unforgettable watch. Both shows create their mystical realms based on the concept of resentment, souls and curses that won’t disappear with time. Even more important than that is that both shows never forget the emotions of humanity that are behind all those tales.
In much the same way as Gu-cheon risks himself again and again to save Saeng-gang even though he knows what might happen, Dan Hwal also ends up making unattainable sacrifices for the people he loves. If you found yourself just as engrossed by Gu-cheon’s sad tale as you were by the ghost story, then Bulgasal is the perfect choice for you.
Hope you guys enjoy it, and excuse me, though, as I carry on my hope of Netflix somehow producing The East Palace season 2, as I am not quite ready to wave goodbye to Gu-cheon, Saeng-gang, and that cutest labubu kind Ggeomeoksali.
