Netflix's Bridgerton is currently in the spotlight as one of the most intense and wild period dramas in recent years. The widely successful show is set in London during the Regency Era, and it features a series of dramas, scandals and romances that are bound to keep viewers coming back for more. For those who have finished the show already and want to satisfy their thirst for more gripping romance tales set in the backdrop of real history, South Korean dramas have plenty of those to offer, and all of these are available to stream on Netflix right now.
Mr. Sunshine
While this drama is indeed historical, it the closest show to the modern day on this list. Set in the late 1800s, the drama focuses on the time period just before the Japanese Annexation of Korea. Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun) was a former slave born in Korea's Joseon Dynasty, but he moved to the United States and grew up to become a Marine Corps officer. Choi is assigned to a mission in Joseon and later falls in love with Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri), a member of the Righteous Army, a civilian militia formed to fight off the Japanese invaders. Mr. Sunshine has plenty of love triangles for viewers to go through, all while telling the captivating tale of Choi's fight for Korea's sovereignty.
100 Days My Prince
K-Pop fans will be in for a treat, as this historical drama stars Do Kyung-soo, a.k.a. D.O. from the hugely successful Korean boy band EXO. D.O. stars as Lee Yul, a Joseon Dynasty-era prince who develops amnesia following an attempted assassination, and he finds himself becoming a low-status commoner under the care of a peasant girl named Hong-shim (Nam Ji-hyun). With a new identity, the prince forms a new life for himself, finding himself in the middle of Hong-shim's relationship predicaments. This show has a good combination of comedy and drama while telling a captivating story.
My Sassy Girl
This drama, based on a 2001 film of the same name, follows Gyeon-woo (Joo Won), a scholar in the Joseon Dynasty who is assigned by the king to educate his sassy daughter, Princess Hye-myung (Oh Yeon-seo). In the process, Gyeon-woo unwittingly finds himself becoming more of a protector after discovering a plot targeting the princess. The story is made even more wild when one considers that this show is a dramatization of a novel based on a true story. Much like 100 Days My Prince, My Sassy Girl delivers as much comedy as it does drama, and it is a great, light-hearted romantic series.
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
In the patriarchal society of the Joseon Dynasty era, a strong and daring female protagonist is certainly a breath of fresh air. Goo Hae-ryung (Shin Se-kyung) is an independent and well-read single woman and becomes one of the first female historians in the kingdom after the king opens up the position to men and women. Hae-ryung and the other two female historians have to constantly prove their worth and perform their job all the while combating systemic sexism and palace politics. Hae-ryung is soon assigned to be the personal historian for Prince Dowon (Cha Eun-woo), a kind and gentle being who secretly writes romance novels and longs to explore life beyond the palace walls. Rookie Historian is a quirky romantic drama that manages to hit all the right parts while showing a perspective that is rarely explored in the historic genre.
My Country: The New Age
While the dramas mentioned above all take place in the Joseon Dynasty, My Country: The New Age is set right before that time, during the transitional period from the previous Goryeo Dynasty. Unlike most Korean dramas, the main focus is not on the romance but rather on friendship, as the drama tells the story of two friends, Seo Hwi (Yang Se-jong) and Nam Seon-ho (Woo Do-hwan), who became enemies due to their difference in opinions. In addition to drama, the show also features plenty of action sequences, with some of the most realistic sword fights ever seen on Korean television. The show is very well acted, and it can be easy to get emotionally invested into this gripping tale.
My Only Love Song
This Netflix original series stars Gong Seung-yeon as Soo-jung, a vain and egotistic actress in the modern day who accidentally slips through a time portal and finds herself stuck in the Goryeo dynasty in the sixth-century. There, she meets On-dal (Lee Jong-hyun), a man who is equally as vain but has a soft spot for those helpless. While trying to find a way home, Soo-jung makes an attempt at adjusting to her new life, and along the way, she meets a number of historical figures in Korean history. This show is a bit more of a fantasy than the other dramas mentioned on this list, but it gets bonus points for showing ancient societies through a modern lens.