I’ve always been a Fantasy TV show/film fan; whether that’s Vampires, Harry Potter or even Mothers who try to sew buttons into your eyes (Coraline). As it turns out, this also transcends language and my most favourite genre of Kdramas is… Yes, you guessed it, fantasy. You’d be surprised to know that I’ve only recently found out that fantasy Kdramas are my favourite to binge-watch! Today I’ve piled together my favourite ones so you can find something new.
Disclaimer: Most, if not all of these are romance based too.
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Also known as Goblin)
After being betrayed by the King during the Goryeo Dynasty, Kim Shin (played by Gong Yoo) is punished by being brought back to life and being immortal. The only way he is able to die is to meet his Goblin bride, who can see and pull the sword out of his chest. Kim Shin meets his Goblin Bride Ji Eun Tak (played by Kim Go Eun) far in the future. Along the way, he accidentally becomes roommates with one of many Grim Reapers. Of course, once Kim Shin meets his Bride, they slowly fall in love. There is also the side story of the Grim Reaper (played by Lee Dong Wook) who falls in love with a Human called Sunny. He can also erase memories, which makes for an interesting side story.
I personally loved Goblin and binge-watched it entirely. There is a slight controversy as there is a large age gap between Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun (12 years). This may make viewers uncomfortable but once you get past this and enjoy the storyline, it’s a great drama to watch.
Tale Of The Nine Tailed
They say that Lee Dong Wook is the King of fantasy Kdramas and I would have to agree. Tale Of The Nine Tailed is the story of a Nine Tailed Fox called Lee Yeon (a mountain spirit God), who gave up his God-like position in order to find the reincarnation of his one true love.
After following her soul halfway up the Samdo River**(the river which is the bridge between life and death) Lee Yeon gives his love a Fox Bead, in order to be able to identify her in her future lives. This drama follows Lee Yeon and the troubles he has with his half brother Rang, finding the reincarnation and dealing with an Imoogi (a serpent beast that has the ability to kill humans with a click of a finger) who wants the Fox Bead, in order to destroy the human race.
I truly loved this drama and it has become my favourite of all time. I also binge-watched this one and have no regrets. There’s so much character development and interesting storyline development throughout the whole 16 episodes. I cried with the characters and laughed with them too. I think it’s an incredibly underrated Korean drama and would recommend it to everyone, even if they were not a fan of fantasy Kdramas or Kdramas in general.
Strong Girl Bong Soon
After spending her life trying to hide it and control it, this drama follows Bong-Soon (Park Bo-young), a woman with superhuman strength. Coming from a long line of women in her family who possess it (and lose it!) Bong Soon tries to use her powers for good, before she is caught by the CEO of a gaming company, who hires her to be his bodyguard and eventually they fall in love.
This fantasy Kdrama is so funny and honestly had me laughing within the first 10 minutes of the show! Overdramatic (in the best way) and also a good drama for female empowerment, this drama is one to watch if you’re in the mood for a chick flick.
W – Two Worlds Apart
This was actually my first fantasy Kdrama that I watched and I was honestly so surprised and became quickly obsessed with it. This (so far) is also the only Kdrama that I have watched twice!
This drama follows Oh Yeon Joo (Han Hyo-joo) who is a nurse at her local hospital. Her Father, who Yeon Joo is quite close to, regularly writes a popular online webcomic that has been spanning over several years. One day, as she visits him, she realises that he is missing. Upon visiting his office in order to look for him, Yeon Joo somehow gets sucked into the webcomic that her father was creating. This drama follows the ins and outs of her life as she gets sucked back into the webtoon world regularly, the characters becoming more and more real with the comic and Yeon Joo writing the comic from inside.
There are a lot of twists to this fantasy Kdrama so I will not spoil it for you! (Even the tiniest phrase thing can spoil it!) so definitely give it a watch! (Now I feel like re-watching it again…)
Hotel Del Luna
Featuring popular Kpop idol star IU (who plays Jang Man-wol) Hotel Del Luna is a hotel managed by Man-wol that caters only to ghosts.
Located right in the centre of Seoul and invisible to human eyes (unless given an invitation) we follow the temperamental hotel owner who was cursed to look after this hotel until she remembers the awful crime she committed earlier on in her very long life. (She is immortal until she remembers!)
The staff who assist in the hotel of ghosts are ghosts themselves who refuse to head to the afterlife due to unfinished business and assist other ghosts in moving on through the tunnel.**
This Kdrama was a great watch and a little bit spooky at times (duh, ghosts!) but I loved it. I didn’t actually know that IU was a Kpop idol before watching this and just thought she was another actress! I loved it and if ghosts and romance are your aesthetic, this one’s for you.
Extraordinary You
Another one of my fantasy Kdrama favs!
At the start of the drama, Eun Dan-oh (Kim Hye-yoon) discovers that she is not the main character in her life and is in fact the side character. As the drama progresses, she realises that she is in a comic book and so is everyone around her! This fantasy Kdrama follows Eun Dan-oh as she tries to change the narrative of the comic book which has already been written out for her. She also falls in love with a background character (with no name) in the process.
I loved this Kdrama a lot! There are a lot of twists and anticipations as you wait for the other people to try and realise that their lives are not real too. I’ve made a few people close to me watch this and they’ve also become hooked so quickly!
The Uncanny Counter
I briefly spoke about The Uncanny Counter on my other post – The Top 6 Kdramas To Watch If You’re A Beginner
This fantasy Kdrama has now ended and had me hooked right to the very end! Head over to that post to learn more, you won’t regret it! (it opens in a new tab)
I also believe there will be a season two for this drama, may be released later this year. Completely worth the watch and I believe season two will be so much better!
Scripting Your Destiny
A newly released Kdrama that you’re able to watch all in one sitting! This fantasy Kdrama has episodes that are only 30 minutes long (usually they’re 45 mins – 1 hour) with 10 episodes.
Scripting Your Destiny follows Shin Ho Yoon (Ki Do Hoon) who is a God in charge of determining human fate. He and many others have the job of writing out a human’s life in a notebook assigned to them. However, if they get involved in a human’s life in any way at all they disappear and have their memories erased. This drama follows Shin Ho Yoon, who has the challenge of writing a romantic destiny for one of the people he’s in charge of, but drastically fails and falls in love with her himself.
If you want something light-hearted and easy to watch, I definitely recommend you give this a go. This would also be a good introduction to the world of fantasy Kdramas.
**Kdramas often follow this narrative, be it a river or bridge to go to “the other side” aka the final phase of a soul death due to be reincarnated.
That concludes my post for you on fantasy Kdramas! I personally have never read any descriptions of all Kdramas I plan to watch. I feel sometimes they spoil it completely. Especially if there is a description for every episode! I always go on recommendations alone so I hope my descriptions here have done you justice.
Also it is worth noting that these are all set in modern times, with often historical themed flashbacks.
Let me know your thoughts!
These can all be found on Viki or Netflix, if they are not available on either then I recommend Dramacool
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Feeling overwhelmed with the choices? Why not give my Kdrama’s To Watch If You’re A Beginner post a read?
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