K-dramas: Royal court

Taejo Wang Geon

The King in Love

In the Goryeo dynasty, the ambitious young Crown Prince Wang Won shares a deep bond with his childhood friend Wang Rin. When the two meet a young woman named Eun San, the three quickly become close friends, but both young men soon find themselves falling for her.

The Red Sleeve

Inspired by the lives of King Jeongjo and Consort Ui and adapted from a novel, this is a romance set in the Joseon royal court. A king who puts duty to the nation before love meets a court lady determined to guard the path she picked for herself, and the story unfolds through her eyes.

Ballad of Seodong

Seodong is a commoner, a technician raised at Taehaksa, Baekje's leading institute of science and technology. He falls for Princess Seonhwa, who belongs to the enemy kingdom of Silla, a love that ignores rank and class. He also hides something that could change Baekje's future, while his rival Sataek Giru schemes with Buyeo Seon to ruin his plans.

Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers

In the royal court of King Injo, the concubine Gwi-in Jo is set on seeing her own son take the throne. She allies herself with the official Kim Ja-jeom, manipulates the king for her own ends, and looks for ways to push Crown Prince Sohyeon out of her path.

Bossam: Steal the Fate

In Joseon under King Gwanghaegun, Ba-woo lives off bossam, an old custom in which a bachelor wraps a widow in a blanket at night and takes her as his wife. His life takes a sharp turn when he grabs the wrong woman: Su-kyeong, the king's widowed daughter.

Dae Jo-yeong

The drama opens in 645, during a war between Tang China and Goguryeo, before Dae Jo-yeong is even born. His father, Dae Jung-sang, is a Goguryeo general, and his mother, Dalgi, helps defend Ansi Fortress. When the baby arrives, a prophecy declares that he is destined to rule, making him a target of the powerful Supreme Commander Yeon Gaesomun.

Queen Woo

The moment the death of Goguryeo's King Gogukcheon is announced, a fierce battle among the tribes breaks out. Queen Woo, targeted by five power-hungry tribes, has just 24 hours to place a new king on the throne, and the race to secure her future begins.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

In early 19th-century Joseon, Goo Hae-ryung is a free-spirited woman, still single at 26, who loves to study and stands up for people who are treated unfairly. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Prince Dowon lives cut off from court in a quiet pavilion, secretly writing hugely popular Hangul romance novels under the pen name Maehwa.

The King's Daughter, Soo Baek-hyang

General Yung, cousin of Baekje's King Dongseong, loves Chae-hwa, daughter of court official Baek-ga, who hopes to put Yung on the throne. When Yung is accused of killing the king, the lovers are torn apart, and Chae-hwa flees to Gaya, where she gives birth to his daughter, Seol-nan. Years later, Seol-nan's ambitious younger half-sister Seol-hee sets her sights on becoming a princess.

Empress Cheonchu

Based on a real figure from the Goryeo dynasty, the series follows Cheonchu, granddaughter of the kingdom's founder, who dreams of reclaiming lands her grandfather lost. When her brother, King Seongjong, names her son as his heir and has his own wife raise the boy, she fights to win her son back amid foreign invasions and court intrigue.

Insu, the Queen Mother

Set in the royal court during the Joseon era, this historical drama follows three women locked in a bitter struggle for power. At its center is Queen Insu, an ambitious woman who dreams of one day holding absolute rule over the Joseon dynasty.

Jang Yeong-sil

In 15th-century Joseon, Jang Yeong-sil is born a slave but has a rare gift and a deep love of astronomy. His talent catches the attention of King Sejong, who brings him to court, where he sets out to build clocks, gauges and instruments that could change the kingdom.

Jeong Do-jeon

It is 1374, the last year of King Gongmin's reign, and Goryeo is sinking under corruption, abuse of power and political chaos. The scholar and politician Jeong Do-jeon dreams of a new era and works alongside the general Yi Seong-gye to plan a new dynasty, Joseon, facing many obstacles along the way.

The King of Legend

This historical drama follows Baekje's warrior king Geunchogo. The story reaches back seventeen centuries to Hansan, where Yeogu, a second son pushed aside from the royal line, is sent off to make a living selling salt so that no one will fear he might try to claim the throne.

The Remarried Empress

Empress Navier is stunned when her husband, the emperor, asks for a divorce so he can marry his mistress. Refusing to quietly step aside, she takes a bold gamble and forms an unlikely alliance with Prince Heinrey, a mysterious royal from the Western Kingdom.

Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo

In 1795, King Jeongjo leads a grand eight-day procession from the palace to Hwaseong Fortress to honor the 60th birthdays of his mother, Lady Hyegyong, and his late father, Crown Prince Sado. Along the way, a millenarian sect and the scheming Noron Faction plot against the king's life.

Gwanggaeto, The Great Conqueror

When the future King Gwanggaeto is born, Goguryeo is far weaker than it once was: his grandfather has been killed by Baekje forces, and the armies of Later Yan are on the attack. The drama follows his path toward the throne and his vow to bring back the kingdom's lost strength.

Kim Su-ro, The Iron King

This drama follows Kim Su-ro, remembered in legend as the founding king of Geumgwan Gaya, a city-state known for sea trade and ironwork. Relying on his fiery temper, charisma and sharp mind, he battles through a long political struggle against rivals including his half-brother Ijinashi, his former friend Seok Tal-hae and the ambitious Shingwi Ghan.

Love Song for Illusion

Yeon Wol conceals who she really is and becomes an assassin to avenge her family. Sent to kill the king, she falls into a trap laid by an unknown hand and wakes the next day with no memory of her past, only to be named the crown prince's concubine.

Queen: Love and War

Kang Eun-ki becomes Queen of Joseon, but she and King Lee Kyung are attacked by assassins during their wedding parade. As her father faces a treason charge, her secret twin sister, Kang Eun-bo, enters the palace contest to choose a new queen under a false name, determined to uncover who planned the attack on her sister.

Foundation of the Kingdom

Set at the close of the Goryeo dynasty, this historical series follows the turbulent years in which the old kingdom falls apart and the new Joseon dynasty is founded. It traces the political upheaval of a nation passing from one ruling house to another.

Strongest Chil Woo

Around 1648, during the troubled reign of King Injo of Joseon, a group of mysterious assassins takes vengeance on behalf of the suffering poor, with a Zorro-like hero at the center of the story. As old political plots from earlier bloody purges resurface, a string of murders shakes the kingdom.

Tears of the Dragon

Stretching from Joseon's birth through King Sejong's time, this saga follows Yi Bang-won, fifth son of the dynasty's founder, who later rules as King Taejong. Devoted to keeping the young kingdom stable, he shows deep loyalty to his father and heir, but the killings carried out in his name stir bitter anger in return.