I am usually not much of a fan for Korean dramas about the demonic spirit world but I watched this one, Haunted Palace (2025) due to my fondness for the leading male actor Yook Sung Jae (Goblin, Mystic Pop Up Bar, The Village, Reply 1994, Who Are You: School 2015). He's always fun to watch, no matter the role. The leading lady is the sweet Bona (Twenty-Five, Twenty One) whom I had only seen in one other drama previous to this one. Both actors gave excellent performances in a very mysterious and spooky story. My only real criticism of this drama is that I think it could have been edited down some to about the more typical twelve episodes, the average number of episodes of most Korean dramas made today. Otherwise I enjoyed all the acting from the entire cast. The ratings were good for SBS, reaching up to 10%, which is considered very good today in this age of so much competition among Korean dramas.

I was happy also to see the second male lead playing the King was the handsome, under-rated actor Kim Ji Hoon (Stars Falling From The Sky, Flower Boys Next Door). He is a delight in his role here. What fantastic acting bone structure in his face!

 

The drama was written by Yoon Soo Jung and directed by Seong Sik Yun (Bridal Mask, The King's Face, Slingshot). They made a very creative team. I also liked the OST which was a combination of romantic and spooky.

The Story:

Yoon Gab (Yook Sung Jae) is a government officer and works within an old royal Joseon palace. He has a good reputation in the kingdom and has a handsome appearance. One auspicious day Yoon Gab's body becomes possessed by a spooky Imoogi creature. Soon people begin to talk about him as if he had lost his mind. The Imoogi that has possessed Yoon Gab is related to Yeo Ri (Bona), a woman with a spiritual gift inherited from her shaman grandfather. She has loved him quietly for awhile, wants to help him recover from his possession, and in the process he becomes attracted to her, too.

Yeo Ri refuses her fate as a spirit medium for a long time. She prefers to work instead as a glass craftswoman. The Imoogi possessing Yoon Gab needs Yeo Ri's body to ascend to Heaven, but Yeo Ri won't allow it. She enters the palace that is filled with powerful female ghosts and evil spirts, and she tries to tame them. Meanwhile, King Lee Sung (Kim Ji Hoon) is a reformist monarch who dreams of a strong Joseon nation. He gets caught up in all the odd spiritual craziness going on in the palace and among his people.

Weird and terrible incidents continue to take place within the palace. These are related to the powerful female ghosts and spirits, who hold a grudge against the royal family and especially the King Lee Sung. To get rid of the ghosts, Yoon Gab, Yeo Ri, and King Lee Sung join forces to search for the secrets of the female ghosts haunting the palace and the people. We are left to wonder if this "Ghostbusters" team will succeed, or not.

If you like spooky and romantic stories you will definitely enjoy The Haunted Palace. It's available to watch streaming on VIKI.com as of this writing. Enjoy.