Best Korean Dramas with a historical genre/theme

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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" 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

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

Jang 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

Set during the end of the Goryeo period to the early Joseon period. Two friends aim their swords against one another due to differences in opinion about "my country." Seo Hwi is ...more

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 story is set during the Joseon Dynasty, at a time when twins were considered an ominous sign. As a result, when the Crown Princess Consort gives birth to twins, an order ...more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras: one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. The three main ...more

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

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

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

Growing up an ordinary country blacksmith, Lee Soo had no idea he would ever rule all of Joseon; but, at the age of twenty-three, that’s exactly what happened. Now as king, Lee ...more

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

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

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

Lee Heon is the king of Joseon. 7 years ago, when he was a crown prince, his beloved wife died. To this day, he has not been able to get over her ...more

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

Thirteen-year-old Heo Yeon Woo, the daughter of a high-ranking official, accompanies her mother to the royal palace to attend her brother, Heo Yeom's civil service examination congratulatory ceremony. By chance, she comes ...more

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

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

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 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

Set during the Donghak Peasant Revolution (1894-1895), two half-brothers find themselves on opposing sides of the conflict. Baek Yi Kang is the first son of a prominent family whose wealthy father is ...more

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

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

Kang Eun Bo is a woman on a mission. When her twin sister is murdered, she vows to find the killer and bring them to justice. But during the ultra-conservative Joseon Dynasty ...more

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

“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 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

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

A story of life and love that touches upon the oppression experienced by women and the impoverished. Ba Woo is a degenerate man who gambles, steals, fights and hides his real identity. ...more

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

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