@BE – Oh! So you found somewhere to watch it? Please share?

Thanks for answering my question! I have lots of new dramas to add to my “to watch” list!

@Jiyuu – good list. I’ve seen all except Shining Inheritance. The reason that I didn’t include King2Hearts on my own list is that since its a fictional kingdom, I wasn’t sure if it stuck with actual court protocol, etc. But I ❤ it though.

I fully agree with the mentions for Crash Landing on You for its loving portrayal of regular life in the north, Tree With Deep Roots for giving me a better perspective on the importance of Hangul, Chuno (The Slave Hunters) for being the only sageuk I remember that barely revolves in court politics, and Gaksital (Bridal Mask) for the hope and patriotism it stirs in its viewers. It had some repetitive plot points and could have been shortened a bit but still a highly-recommended watch.

The dated-looking drama Shining Inheritance (Brilliant Legacy) is not an international favorite but got high domestic ratings probably because of its consistent portrayal of characteristics that the Korean viewers value: hard-work, kindness even in the face of trials, taking care of elders and family.

I think the movie 26 Years is a good, short introduction to the Gwangju Massacre. The action-romance Healer touches briefly upon this topic too.

It’s not much but The Crowned Clown is a reimagination on the missing 14 (?) days in the official journal of the palace (the movie is short and concise but Yeo Jin Goo is phenomenal in the drama). The first season of Netflix’s Kingdom is based on an intriguing historical entry about hundreds (or thousands) of people dying mysteriously in Joseon before.

Much maligned female historical figures are given a fresh perspective on The Empress Ki and Jang Ok Jung, Lives in Love.

The King 2Hearts (found it slow the first 7 episodes but more compelling after) and Designated Survivor: 60 Days are about reimagined politics in Korea and uses actual laws in place to mitigate conflicts.

For school issues, School 2013 seems pretty realistic. I heard Angry Mom and Sky Castle are good also (lined them up in my to-watch list).

For time-travel romance, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Faith (The Great Doctor) uses fascinating historical figures of Goryeo and certain key events into the story. Both have huge directorial/editing issues but have a solid fan-base. Surprisingly, Faith has turned me into a Kim Hee Sun fan and is probably my most favorite work of Lee Min Ho.

I am beginning to wonder just how much merit everyone can accrue simply by posting CHUNO on this blog site.

@Shamrockmom3 – thanks for this list of mostly never-heard -ofs for me. I’ve added all to my watch list.

I’ve tried to list shows that I haven’t seen anyone mention yet. Note: the asterisk * indicates something of historical significance or cultural learning.

Crowned Clown

Damo: The Legendary Police Woman* (women police officers in ancient times)
 
The Dirge Singer* (Girl stuck in profession/trade because that’s what her family does)

Empress Ki* (ancient Korean-Chinese relations)

Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love* (how the many wives/concubines are ranked and live)

Maids* (Noble woman demoted to servant class so we see some of the drudgery of the lower class)

Rebel, Thief Who Stole the People

Warrior Baek Dong Soo 

@Snowflower – Chuno!

If we are speaking of culture as opposed to political history:
I think the salary man phenomenon is dramatized well in Misaeng and to a lesser degree My Mister, and much more currently, the terrific and vastly under heralded On the Verge of Insanity. The continuous over the shoulder spying on employees, the office culture, the afterwork drinking, the bureaucratic politics, the pushing people out of long held jobs because of aging, and all around workplace paranoia that consumes the daily lives of the professional and sales workplace in large corporations.
Certainly Sky Castle and to a lesser degree Secret Love Affair pull the curtain up over the higher education system, the pressure on young people to succeed academically in the higher economic classes, and how wealthy families try to manipulate admissions, and it is a bit interesting to know that the law that made adultery a felony for which women were sent to prison was written off the books the year after Secret Love Affair aired. And Secret Love Affair also, imo, struck me as the best series I have seen for realistically presenting a picture of cheobol corruption without making its examples into extreme caricatures, as well as by embodying it in its two lead characters the vast gulf between working and upper class lives that almost every contemporary Korean drama at least touches upon.
I do not know how accurate it is, but The Stranger series seems to give a very interesting picture of how the administration of justice works in South Korea, especially vis a vis the power of prosecutors and the turf war between prosecution and police.
Slice of life dramas such as Dear My Friends and My Unfamiliar Family give an interesting set of portraits of the generation, the every person life, of South Koreans who were children in the aftermath of the Korean war, which experienced almost none of the cultural phenomena taking place in the US and Europe during the sixties, and actually appear much more like the generation that preceded the baby boom in such locales. Also highlighted in several such dramas is the resulting generation gap between those characters and their children who experienced something much more like what Americans and Europeans experienced in the sixties during the social upheavals of the eighties and the modernization and growth of wealth in the ensuing years.
The social issue of bullying rearing its head today in contemporary South Korea, is presented somewhat tangentially in two sports series, Run On and Racquet Boys.
And one can certainly read between the lines watching a number of shows concerning the tension being built up around the corruption and cultural disruption being created by property development, a stock theme of many melodramas across the genre spectrum.
That is to say, one can infer at least some cultural predilections watching a great number of dramas largely unconcerned with what one typically associates with historical events.
A number of historical dramas have been mentioned by K and other posters so I will limit myself to those as yet unmentioned, and mostly concern myself with films rather than serial drama.
First, I would like to mention films with some of my favorite actors:
The Fortress which takes place during the Qing invasion of 130,000 troops into Korea in 1636, and King In Jo’s defense at a fort near the northern border in wintry conditions. Lee Byung Hun and Kim Yeon Seok deliver phenomenal performances as ministers politically opposed to one another each trying to convince the King of the most appropriate way to deal with the overwhelming crisis. And Jo Woo Jin (he played the translator for Eugene Choi in Mr. Sunshine) puts in a devastating performance as a traitor to Joseon motivated by the extreme injustice of the life of the peasant class, which is quite clearly elucidated throughout the film, during this time in the Joseon Empire.
Another iteration of the King Sejong saga is Forbidden Dreams, concerning Sejong’s relationship with the astronomer, Jang Yeong Shil, and the political price both pay for that relationship. Han Seok Kyu reprises his role in Tree With Deep Roots as Sejong, and is upstaged by the magnificent Choi Min Sik who enacts Jang Yeong Shil. When Choi Min Sik is good, he is great, and he is great in this.
Another Choi Min Sik historical dramatic film that is simply an epic piece of cinema, is Admiral, Roaring Currents. The entire film chronicles just one battle at sea, the legendary 1597 sea battle in which a formerly imprisoned Admiral Yi Sun Shin with twelve small ships defeats an invading Japanese naval force of three hundred. While it did not have the same far ranging effects as the defeat of the invading Spanish Armada by the British, it was a far more miraculous victory. And imo the naval battle scenes taking up the final hour of the film may well be the best such scenes ever made in a movie.
On a smaller scale, another Han Seok Kyu vehicle, albeit he played the second lead in this, is The Royal Tailor, concerning the flamboyant life and design innovations of Lee Gong Jin for the courtly garb that today is ubiquitous in sageuk drama during the later Joseon era, who emerged from the streets to vie with the ensconced Royal Tailor, Jo Deol Seok, and the tragedy that resulted for both.
Another small film with a big star is The Last Princess starring Son Ye Jin as the last Joseon Empire princess Deok Hye that was taken hostage in Japan during the colonial period in the early twentieth century. Not one of her more famous roles, for me it is my favorite of Son Ye Jin, a complexly rendered character drama.
The Age of Shadows, a thriller set in the Japanese colonial period starring the absolutely masterful Song Kang Ho with support performances from Gong Yoo and Lee Byung Hun, is a bang up film covering the more violent and tension filled atmosphere of that era.
Director Lee Jon Ik’s black and white biopic Dongju: Portrait of a Poet traces the life of the rural born, poverty stricken, and unknown during his lifetime poet Dong Ju, who grew up during the colonial period preceding World War 2, educated both in Korea and then Japan and died in a Japanese prison during the war. All of Dong Ju’s wonderful poetry was published subsequent to his death, and in its wake, he has become a national hero. Plays, books, and this film have made about his life. And this film clearly depicts the oppression of the times in which he lived. There is, by the way, a bit of irony snuck into the series Money Flower, wherein Jang Hyuk’s character gifts the old corrupt cheobol don a collection of Dong Ju’s poetry for the time he will spend in prison.
The Man Standing Next, featuring Lee Byung Hun in what I consider to be his most powerful performance, covers the immediate period preceding and during the assassination of South Korea’s third President Park Chung Hee by his intelligence chief and former comrade in arms, Kim Gyu Peong (who is based on the actual assassin Kim Jae Gyu).

One historical mini series no one has mentioned is the tragic Hymn of Death, taking place during the Japanese colonial period of the star crossed lovers, famous opera singer Yun Sim Deok, played by the inimitable Shin Hye Sun, and her paramour Kim Woo Jin, a son of a wealthy Korean family forced into an arranged marriage. The title does say it all, powerful, and one can see why their tragic lives became the stuff of legend, but uncompromising.

Ones I’d add:

Giant – sweepingly epic portrayal of the period from the seventies to 2009, told through the often brutal but remarkably fascinating lens of the construction industry. I had no idea road construction and building permits could be so interesting. Has a fantastic ensemble cast.

Nokdu Flower – while it has fictional elements, it provides a pretty accurate look at the social turmoil of late 19th century Korea – not always an easy watch, but a good one, and the rare sageuk that focuses on ordinary people, not nobles and royals.

The Great King Sejong – a much more historically accurate look at Sejong’s reign than other saguek versions – it’ s really long, and not always a fast watch, but for once all of the various ministers and court figures are actually complex, compelling human beings, and it provides a nuanced look at how best to wield power for the common good.

Sandglass – has one of the first and most realistic depictions of the Gwangju uprising/massacre in kdramas

Capital Scandal – not highly realistic, but one of my favorite shows set during the Japanese occupation – despite its rom-com framing, it does a remarkably good job at looking at the various ways ordinary folks survived the occupation and the complex moral decisions they were forced to make.

Just wanted to add that I heard they got actual North Korea defectors as consultants for Crash Landing on You, so they did try to do research into life in North Korea. I like how they showed many kinds of North Korean characters rather than stereotyping into a single enemy. I agree I felt the longing Koreans have to reunify their country after watching that show.

In terms of books, Pachinko was an amazing, heartbreaking read, starts during Japanese occupation of Korea and you follow one Korean family through to emigrating to Japan and they go through World War 2, the Korean War. The historical events are a backdrop to their ordinary lives.

I submit the following dramas/ movies for inclusion:

“Waves, waves”–140+ daily drama episodes from 2017. Excellent view of postwar Korea 1953-1968, not a typical time frame but fascinating nonetheless. Accuracy level high as the Korean pastor at my church grew up in Korea during that time and corroborated many things I had questions about!

“Gosanja” aka The Map against the World. Movie from 2016 about the man who walked the entire Korean peninsula and mapped it with woodcuts. Highly recommended.

“Jang Yong Sil–the Greatest Scientist of Joseon” TV Drama 2015-2016. King Sejong’s Court Scientist who accurately predicted eclipses and an amazing performance by Song Il Kook make this one a must-watch.

Honorable mentions include the movie “Taxi Driver” for its portrayal of the 1980’s Gwangju uprising, and “Default” (same time frame).

Not explicitly Korean history, but for a 2nd generation Korean American take on the April 1992 LA Riots, check out Justin Chon’s movie “Gook”. Has a few dissonant moments, but does pack a good story into a 90 minute film.

I will be checking a few of these shows too!
We should also make an alternative list, with shows that one should not trust when it comes to learning about Korean history, such as Love in the Moonlight, Moon lovers or, the champion of inaccuracy, Empress Ki!

Another excellent post on interesting topic.

I find that most sageuks give a lot of information on Korean history and culture. Here are some additions to your list:

Chuno – mostly fictional story set in 1648, with references to real historical events and figures. What sets it apart from other sageuks is the memorable depiction of the life of the lower classes.

Jejungwon – an unfairly underrated sageuk dealing with the beginnings of Western medicine in late 19th century Joseon. The characters are fictional, but inspired by actual people.

The Painter of the Wind – an excellent (somewhat fictionalized)introduction to the work of two celebrated 18th century artists.

Hwang Jin Yi – the life and art of a 16th century gisaeng.

Jumong- the legendary beginnings of the Goguryeo kingdom.