We’re saying goodbye to the engrossing tale of The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract.
Korean fantasy romance time travel dramas are absolutely captivating! They often weave together elements of fantasy, romance, and time travel, creating a mesmerizing storyline.
That’s what we got from this latest MBC series with a setting featuring two or more periods in time.
So, here’s what to watch after The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract!
Queen and I
Kim Boong-Do (Ji Hyun Woo), a quick-witted scholar trusted by King Sukjong, works on the reinstatement of the deposed Queen In-hyun in Joseon era. His apparent goal has had him earn the ire of the opposing faction engaging him to life-threatening dangers thrown by the evil perpetrators.
His big heart has obtained him loyal people and one of those supporters, Yoonwol, gave him a talisman for his protection. In one of his life attempts, the talisman took him 300 years after and met the perky TV actress, Choi Hee-jin (Yoo In Na) playing the TV role of Queen In-hyun at present time.
The time-trek-causing talisman has a catch though it will permit its power only when the owner is in grave danger. The talisman’s loyalty can be swayed by either Boong-do to whom the amulet was prayed for and given; Yoon-wol – whose yearning to protect and make her master achieve happiness had the talisman’s power binding; and to the head-monk who created the paper periapt and initiated its mojo.
Boong-do’s nimble self easily perceives the sort of magic he has acquired and uses it to his advantage to resolve Joseon’s circa conflicts alongside exploring the advancement of a different time and falling in love for the first time with He-jin. With his keen mind, he was able to maximize the time and resolve the discordance in his era, but the same power he has with time will endanger his own personal bliss.
With the time traveling and fantasy parade in the K-DramaLand, the series has managed to bring a lot of surprises through its neat and clever narrative enabling a consistent and enticingly appealing plot.
Rarely would you remember equally the story and the characters, but with Queen and I, the characters synchronize well with the story. The balance of fantasy and romance elements also made it such a gravitating drama to watch.
Rooftop Prince
Joseon Era – All is going well with Prince Yi-gak (Park Yoochun). The empire is smooth sailing and he enjoys afternoon walks with his princess and riddle games with his sister-in-law. Until a morning of surprise when the Crown Princess is found dead. Determined to catch the culprit of his princess’ death, he gathered three of the most useful Joseon men he could find and off they went to uncover the mystery.
Their pursuit to unveil the mystery leads them to travel to the future. Transported 300 years after, they land in modern-day Korea at the rooftop house owned by Park Ha (Han Ji Min).
From there the real adventure begins. They have to face the villains who resemble the same bad guys with ulterior motives in the Joseon timeline. Apart from that, to solve the cryptic crime they left behind, Park Ha, the prince, and his minions work to utilize the clues from parallel events to save the love pairing’s reincarnated romance.
My Love From The Star
The road to finding love for the person you least expect it to happen and the pain of being hindered by the love they both deserve made Do Min Joon and Cheon Song Yi’s love story remarkable and deeply affecting. There you have a girl who is not so perfect and at times has her way of perceiving things but her ability to express what she feels and her sensitivity to know when to stop made her such an endearing and memorable heroine.
Their love thread eventually started as Min-joon’s hearing ability learned of Song-yi’s fears and loneliness which sparked up his protective instinct that eventually solidified when he realized that she looked like the young woman who was his very first friend on the planet and whom he had been yearning to try and meet again through his years of living on earth.
Feisty and fun, My Love From The Star has surely and splendidly built up the conflict, the romance, and the conflicting romance. Binding viewers in a perplexing contemplation on how a drama with a typical rom-com premise surged a romantic bliss, never looking back and coming strongly and surely. Moreover, its seemingly faultless execution of how-to-make-a-perfect-fantasy-romcom guidelines remains a classic to date.
K-Drama Review: “My Love From The Star” Momentously Seals A Worth-Watching Fantasy Rom-Com
Faith
Choi Young, the strong and steamy hot Woodalchi warrior is a General serving the Goryeo King. His last mission before embarking on his dream of becoming a bummer is to escort the new king and his queen who were held hostage by the Yuan Empire.
The opposing forces tried as much as they could to prevent the King not reaching the palace. They are unsuccessful in their intention but are able to harm the queen.
Should the queen die, Goryeo will be facing Sauron’s eye because the queen is a Mongolian Yuan empire princess so the King desperately finds a cure to salvage the wounded queen.
He resorts to an urban legend of a famous doctor who just suddenly disappeared. He commands General Choi Young of the Royal family’s elite soldiers to go to the Heaven’s Door to bring the doctor.
Choi Young bravely goes to the portal and what they thought to be a heavenly place turns out to be modern-day Gangnam City in Korea where he finds Yoo Eun Soo (Kim Hee Sun), a plastic surgeon.
Not realizing and buying the craziness of the whole deal, the general takes the doctor to Goryeo period to fulfill the King’s command with a promise that he will return her afterward.
Complications arise when the news of a doctor from heaven sweeps the Kingdom, the wily Prince Gi Cheol, who has sworn brothers and sisters with supernatural abilities, wants Yoo Eun Soo for his invincibility dreams. From there, Choi Young promises to protect the doctor. Eventually, falling in love with her in the process.
Assimilating the action plot with supernatural spices and decorating it with folklore made Faith an astounding drama treat. Having a band of villains equipped with mojos and X-men powers, a sassy and bubbly modern-day doctor that was lost cutely to a new world she was forced to live in, and of course, the Thor-ish General who made Kenshin Himura look so inferior – were the essentials that made this drama such an enthralling TV experience.
K-Drama Review: Lee Min Ho & Kim Hee Sun’s Time-Defying Romance In “Faith”
Legend of the Blue Sea
A mermaid chooses to live in the land out of faith that the man she loves will love her back. It turns out their connection runs deep as they were also lovers in their previous lives.
The fusion of reincarnation plot and the mermaid-human romance appeared trite at its onset, but as the plot thickened, it felt like the mythical element was stronger as the driving point than the real-life premise projected in the story.
Another thing that was nicely done by the writer was how the melancholia of the past timeline seemed to complement the quirky flow of the present timeline. The Legend of the Blue Sea makes viewers smile a lot. It warms our hearts as we cheer on the impossible fulfillment of Cheong and Joon Jae’s reincarnated romance.
Remarkably, it effortlessly keeps us piqued on how the plot will unfold because it came well prepared for its weekly spectacle. On that note, the series knows when to trigger the adorable points and cast the entrancing spell for viewers to stay invested in its future.
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Full of optimism, Hae Soo (Lee Ji Eun) carries on with her life despite enduring painful moments. She then gets transported back to Goryeo where she meets the Kingdom’s princes. She first develops a connection to Wang Wook (Kang Ha Neul), but amidst the throne battle between the brothers, she falls in love with 4th Prince Wang So (Lee Joon Gi).
Just as life is short, love is also fleeting. The all-important love lesson Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo taught us is how loving someone does not stop when we give up on the person because the love does not belong anymore in the future.
It is a sweet reminder to keep as many happy memories as you can to keep you going in moments when you yearn to be with them, but they can’t stay by your side anymore.
Tomorrow with You
Tomorrow with You chronicles the life of a time traveler, Yoo So Joon (Lee Je Hoon) and his quest to prevent his eventual death in the future. When he survived a subway explosion, he obtained the ability to navigate through time.
He learns about his imminent death, so he saves the woman who will be with him in his future fatal encounter, thinking that she can be of help to evade his looming death. Soon enough, they fall in love and get married, but layers of mystery are uncovered as the story threads on the focal conflict of their shared inevitable misfortune.
Working out the strenuous hitch is no easy task due to his perceptive wife Song Ma Rin (Shin Min Ah), who wants everything in their married life done together. Eventually, So Joon confronts his predicament not with his initial urge to survive, but because it dawns on him that he cannot picture a future without his wife anymore.
Tomorrow with You can test a viewer’s fortitude, so focus on the love promise to overlook the plot confusions. Unrequited and forbearing love is the tangible bond that cushioned So Joon and Ma Rin’s tale.
Realistically, it was a tough job to unlace the intricate links of their characters’ time transcending movement in the narrative. It felt like a roller-coaster as you hiked on the coils and turns of their time-traveling chronicle.
It might give you a frustrating ride – so consider you are forewarned if you are not used to a story that you must analyze from start to finish. Nevertheless, you’ll get closure even if they fit it in less than 60 minutes.
Photos: Respective production companies and networks
