T writes:
Thanks again for writing an article for my last blog post idea about archetypes (post is here)! I loved it and shared it with some of my friends who watch kdramas too.
I had another question for you. I did a quick search of your site, but didn’t find anything.
Can you give us a quick explanation of sageuks? I have seen a few, but I’d like to understand more about them.
The different types: fusion sageuk, etc., recommendations in each category, how they are produced (if you have any insight), why they seem to be longer than other dramas, etc.
Dear T,
Thanks for your question!
I don’t consider myself an expert in sageuks, by any means, but I will do my best to share what I do know.
Hopefully that will help you at least a little bit, in your quest to learn more about sageuks.
Everyone, please feel free to share your own knowledge and insights in the comments below!
WHAT’S A SAGEUK?
The hanja for saguek is “史劇” which translates literally as “historical series.”
Loosely speaking, any historical series may be referred to as a sageuk, though in general usage, most people use the term to refer to shows set in the Joseon dynasty or earlier.
Meaning to say, turn-of-the-century dramas like Mr. Sunshine, while technically period pieces, aren’t typically referred to as sageuks.
The reason many sageuks have longer running times, is, I think, due to the court machinations which are often integral to the story, and which tend to take up large chunks of screen time.
Additionally, many of these stories (especially the more serious ones) tend to be more complex, thus requiring the extra screen time.
TYPES OF SAGEUKS – A LIST
TRADITIONAL
A traditional sageuk is one that aims to be historically accurate, and is based on actual historical figures and historical facts, as much as possible.
A great example of this type of sageuk, is ‘500 Years of Joseon’ (조선왕조500년), which ran for eight years in the 1980s. This comprised of 11 separate TV series, with more than 800 episodes in total, carefully designed to showcase the history of Joseon.
You can watch a quick clip of Gwanghaegun becoming the king of Joseon. This is from 1986.
FUSION
Due to a lack of popularity among younger audiences, in the early 2000s, the approach to sageuk-making veered away from the traditional sageuk, to the fusion sageuk.
A fusion sageuk does not aim to be historically accurate, and may or may not use actual historical figures.
Instead of focusing on dry historical events, fusion sageuks tend to focus more on the emotions and relationships of the characters, thus increasing audience interest and engagement.
Sometimes, these fusion sageuks do focus on real historical figures, but artistic license is often heavily applied, in order to make the stories come alive to audiences.
Technically speaking, all the sagueks that currently come out of Dramaland may be considered “fusion.”
In popular usage, the term “fusion sageuk” is often used to refer to sageuks which have extra modern sensibilities woven into their drama worlds.
Below, I’ve come up with a handful of sub-categories of fusion sageuks, which I hope will help you to understand the sageuk landscape a little better.
Please note that these are general labels that I’m using quite loosely, and it’s absolutely possible for some of these labels to overlap.
For example, a show might be a youth sageuk that’s primarily a romance, and it might have fantasy elements too.
I’ve just got the dramas more strictly sorted, for the purposes of this post. I hope that works for you guys.
Youth sageuk
The “youth sageuk” tends to feature young characters, and they also tend to be rather cheerful stories, with distinctly modern sensibilities woven into their drama worlds.
For example, a youth sageuk might use modern pop music to score its scenes, or showcase very modern-looking contraptions, which are obviously inspired by modern gadgets.
It’s all meant to be tongue-in-cheek fun, so no harm done.
Youth sageuks are a great starting point, if you’re looking to dip your toe into sageuks, but are intimidated by how inaccessible they might appear.
Examples of youth sageuks include:
Hwarang, Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, Splash Splash Love, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, The Tale Of Nokdu.
My personal recommendations:
Splash Splash Love
This one’s only 2 episodes, so it’s low commitment and extra accessible. The time-travel fantasy premise also means that the Joseon scenes are viewed through our protagonist’s modern eyes, which should also add to Show’s accessibility.
Most importantly, Doo Joon and Kim Seul Gi are ridiculously adorable together, and I could’ve watched these two together, for many, many more episodes. 😍
Flash review is here.
Moonlight Drawn By Clouds
This one’s light and cute in the first half, and a little heavier and angstier in its second half – but that’s basically par for the course, for just about any sageuk, really, so it shouldn’t be a deterrent.
What matters more, is that Show manages to be emotionally engaging all the way through.
Also, Park Bo Gum is delightful as our cheeky Crown Prince, while Kim Yoo Jung is cute and endearing as our crossdressing eunuch.
Review is here.
Sungkyunkwan Scandal
This was my gateway sageuk drama, so I’ve got a soft spot for this one.
Considering how I’d always felt that sageuks weren’t my thing, until I inhaled this show, that says a lot? 😁
Show boasts lots of fun earwormy modern pop tracks on its OST, and has a lot of those fun modern touches that I mentioned earlier as well.
The OTP is earnest and sweet, but perhaps more importantly, Song Joong Ki is delightful in this, while Yoo Ah In is wonderfully intense and broody.
Review is here.
Romance sageuk
There are lots more sageuks which feature romance as a main theme. However, I’m limiting this section to sageuks which feature only fictional characters, because I’ve got another section for sageuks that focus on real historical characters.
In a romance sageuk, political machinations are still likely to be integral to the story, but the dramas’ main focus is still the romance between our main characters.
Examples of romance sagueks include:
Bossam, The King’s Affection, The King Loves, The Moon Embraces The Sun
My personal recommendations:
Bossam
Show is a little too long for its own good, however, the central romance between Jung Il Woo’s character and Yuri’s character, is really well done.
It’s restrained and heartfelt, and manages to feel raw and real. I could really feel the burgeoning feelings growing between these two, over the course of our story.
It was worth sitting through Show’s rather repetitive last stretch, for these two.
Review is here.
The Moon Embraces The Sun
I enjoyed this one, for how simple and slurpy it is. It’s not complicated, nor does it aspire to be.
Our story is all about our young king’s smolder, as he grapples with his feelings for his leading lady. And Kim Soo Hyun smolders oh-so-well. 😍
Show slumps a little at the end, and Han Ga In’s delivery lands pretty limited and flat, but dang, it was worth it for the Kim Soo Hyun smolder. 😁
Review is here.
Folklore-inspired / Fantasy sageuk
Aside from court intrigue, one of the popular themes in sageuks is that of the folklore hero.
Aside from this, meshing fantasy and sageuk together can make for some interesting storytelling, which is why this is also quite popular.
Technically, this could be split into two different sections, but I’ve chosen to merge them into one, because there’s a good amount of overlap between folklore and mythology &/or fantasy.
Examples of folklore-inspired / fantasy sagueks include:
Arang and the Magistrate, Arthdal Chronicles, Faith, Gu Family Book, Iljimae, Joseon X-Files, Kingdom, Lovers of the Red Sky, Mirror of the Witch, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Scholar Who Walks The Night, Mr. Queen, River Where The Moon Rises, The Return Of Iljimae, The Three Musketeers, Warrior Baek Dong Soo.
My personal recommendations:
Arang and the Magistrate
The internal mythology of this show is very solid, with a lot of thought clearly put into the world-building.
On top of that, Shin Min Ah is delightful as Arang, our titular ghost, and Lee Jun Ki is wonderfully restrained and intense, as her magistrate.
Show slumps a bit near the end, but that’s not enough to put me off this excellent OTP, who share such a crackly, enjoyable brand of chemistry. 🤩
I really liked this one.
Review is here.
Mr. Queen
The time-traveling, body-swapping hijinks are suitably hilarious, and the OTP chemistry is very excellent, but hands-down, THE reason to watch this one, is Shin Hye Sun’s outstanding delivery, of a modern man suddenly trapped in a Joseon woman’s body.
Super fun, and also, surprisingly heartfelt.
Review is here.
Meatier sageuks
What I mean by meatier sageuks, are sageuks that aren’t folklore or fantasy based, and feature fictional characters (versus real historical figures), but offer more in their story, than the straightforward romance.
Examples of meatier sagueks include:
Bloody Heart, Chuno, Joseon Gunman, Nokdu Flower.
My personal recommendation:
Chuno
There is some political intrigue that’s relevant to our story, but most of our story actually takes place outside of the palace.
Our key characters are mostly slaves and slave hunters, rather than officials of the court, and that already provides a very different perspective than a court-based sageuk.
It’s beautifully shot, the OST is fantastic, the entire cast is excellent, plus, this is arguably Jang Hyuk‘s most iconic role. And he’s utterly magnetic and mesmerizing in this. 🤩
Review is here. Open Threads are listed here.
Alterna-reality sageuk
This type of sageuk features (at least some) actual historical figures, and re-imagines what might have happened, that’s not recorded in the pages of history.
I have a definite soft spot for this type of sageuk, because it’s always so interesting to me, to see how a writer might re-imagine history.
Examples of alterna-reality sagueks include:
Dong Yi, Empress Ki, Hwang Jini, King’s Daughter Soo Baek Hyang, Jang Ok Jung: Live in Love, Jang Yeong Sil, Jewel In The Palace, Jumong, King of Tears Yi Bang Won, Queen For Seven Days, My Country, Painter Of The Wind, Six Flying Dragons, The Crowned Clown, The Great Queen Seondeok, The Princess’s Man, The Red Sleeve, Tree With Deep Roots, Yi San.
My personal recommendations:
The Crowned Clown
Based on the 2012 film Masquerade, this story focuses on Gwanghae-gun, the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, and hypothesizes that the King had met a doppelgänger in a clown, and had put the clown on the throne.
Yeo Jin Goo plays both king and clown, and does a fantastic, impressive job of both roles. Additionally, I thought the story was well-written overall, and quite affecting.
Review is here.
The Red Sleeve
Based on a novel of the same name, this is the re-imagined court romance between King Jeongjo and Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong, who had started out as a court lady.
Show is so tenderly written, directed and produced, that it basically shows in every frame. This is truly a labor of love by the entire cast and crew.
Junho and Lee Se Young do marvelous jobs of their roles, and together, make a compelling OTP whom I instinctively rooted for.
Altogether quite exceptional. ❤️
Review is here.
IN CLOSING
I hope you find this post useful, and that it gives you some clarity on the various types of sageuks that are out there in Dramaland.
You might also find this Dear kfangurl post, where I talk about various dramas from which we can learn Korean culture and history, tangentially useful &/or interesting.
Like I mentioned earlier, everyone, please feel free to add your own knowledge, thoughts and insights (and favorite sageuks!) in the comments below. As they say, sharing is caring. 🥰
I hope this post helps!
Smooches.
~ KFG ❤️
PS: The Dear KFG post that I wrote in response to the other half of T‘s question, about good starter kdramas that would be suitable to introduce to drama newbies, is here!
PPS: I thought I’d leave you all with Park Bo Gum‘s Boombastic dance for the Moonlight Drawn By Clouds trailer. Coz it’s fantastic, and why not, right? 🤩
POST-SCRIPT:
1. If you feel that I missed anything, or if you have your own insights that you’d like to share with the rest of us, do tell us about it in the comments!
2. Do you have a question of your own? Drop me a comment here or on the Dear kfangurl page, or send me an email!
