10 Recent Fantasy K-Dramas For Fans of Nine-Tailed Foxes and Mermaids
The perfect blend of love and legends.
Fantasy k-dramas can be very different – with ghosts, paranormal phenomena, and even parallel universes. There is something enchanting about this genre that makes you want to watch episode after episode.
1. Hotel Del Luna, 2019
There is a mysterious hotel in Seoul called Del Luna. Ordinary people cannot see it, and the guests there are ghosts. A thousand years ago, the warrior Man-wol was made its owner as punishment for the murders she committed. Now her destiny is to welcome lost souls.
However, there should always be one living person among the hotel employees – the manager. And this person is Gu Chan-sung. Twenty years ago, his father made a deal with Man-wol: she would save his life and provide him with money, and when his son grew up, he would work for her.
2. The Legend of the Blue Sea, 2016-2017
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The male lead was played by Lee Min-ho, a young South Korean TV star who has millions of fans around the world. And the role of the mermaid was played by Jun Ji-hyun, also known as Gianna Jun. The Korean teen icon made her way to Hollywood and was the first Korean actress to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine.
3. Tale of the Nine Tailed, 2020
In East Asian mythology, there is a demon – a nine-tailed fox that can transform into a human being. A fox named Lee Yeon lived in the mountain forests, but was punished. Now he works in the human world, protecting it from evil creatures. And searches for the reincarnation of his beloved.
High ratings and South Korean icon Lee Dong-wook in the lead role are already a good reason to watch the series. This is a great show for those who are new to k-dramas – it has a love story, interesting mythology, and spectacular action scenes.
4. The Bride of Habaek, 2017
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Habaek, God of Water is young, confident and a little narcissistic. He lives in the heavenly world and claims the throne of the emperor. But to get what he wants, he must pass a test: descend to the human world and collect the emperor's seal. Habaek must be helped by his bride from the family that promised to serve the gods. But when Habaek finds her, things don't go according to plan. She works as a psychiatrist and is suspicious of a young man who calls himself a god.
The Bride of Habaek is a spin-off of the manhwa of the same name about the adventures of the river god and his mortal lover, but transfers the action from ancient semi-mythical Korea to modern Seoul.
5. Mystic Pop-up Bar, 2020
The drama created a lot of buzz and became one of Netflix 's most popular projects of 2020. Like Hotel Del Luna, this show tells about a mysterious woman who must be punished for her actions.
Weol-ju owns the Mystic Pop-up Bar, which opens its doors at midnight. The hostess treats the guests to a special elixir that makes them share their problems. In return, Weol-ju has to comfort them. But not only out of good intentions: to atone for the sins of the past, a woman must comfort ten thousand people.
6. W, 2016
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Imagine that there is a world that is similar to ours and yet different. Yeon-Joo lives in modern Seoul and works as a surgeon. Kang Chul, an entrepreneur, lives in the same city. One day, Yeon-Joo saves Kang Chul from a fatal wound, and the two fall in love.
There's just one problem: Kang Chul isn't a real person, but a character from a W comic Yeon-Joo's father is working on.
7. A Korean Odyssey, 2017-2018
Little Seon-mi sees ghosts and doesn’t consider it a gift at all. One day she meets a man who promises to give her a ghost-repelling umbrella in exchange for a favor. Seon-mi has to go to the house in the forest and get the fan.
At the house, Seon-mi meets a man who promises to help her if she frees him. But the stranger turns out to be a liar and disappears as soon as he is freed. When Seon-Mi finally comes to terms with her abilities and even starts to profit from them, the mysterious man appears again.
8. My Demon, 2023-…
Jeong Gu-won is a demon who lives in the human world and makes deals. Every wish can be fulfilled, but ten years later, Gu-won comes with a contract and sends the soul to hell. He decides to celebrate and rents a restaurant, but his party is interrupted by a young woman.
Do Do-hee is an independent manager of a huge company. Her boss, Mrs. Joo, wants to marry her at any cost. However, she is not doing this out of kindness, but because of the terrible secret she is hiding. On Joo's orders Do-hee comes to the restaurant where she meets Gu-won. However, the first meeting does not end with love at first sight.
9. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, 2016-2017
A 939-year-old demon, or "dokkaebi" in Korean, in the form of a man, wanders our world as punishment for his past sins. His goal is to find a demon bride. According to an ancient legend, only she can help him.
Guardian is an excellent guide to Korean mythology. Dokkebi is perceived differently in Korean culture: it can be either an immortal creature with supernatural powers or an element. And there you can also meet the Grim Reaper, who escorts the souls of the dead to the afterlife. It's not for nothing that the show devotes a special place to thinking about the value of life and atonement for mistakes.
10. My Roommate Is a Gumiho, 2021
The 999-year-old gumiho (or nine-tailed fox) Shin Woo-yeo accidentally loses his pearl, which is swallowed by the student Lee Dam. A magical object can exist in a person for one year, after which it kills its bearer, and Woo-yeo doesn’t want it – he has been collecting energy in a pearl for centuries in order to become a person.
Desperately hoping that nothing will happen to his pearl, he invites Lee Dam to move in with him for a while. Lee Dam is hesitant at first, knowing how dangerous gumiho are. But Woo-yeo seems to be completely different from other gumiho.