In 1867, Sin Jae Hyo leads the Dongrijungsa, which teaches pansori (traditional Korean musical storytelling). A young girl, Chae Seon, who wants to perform pansori, appears in front of him. Chae Seon has dreamed of performing pansori since she first heard Sin Jae Hyo perform when she was little, but Sin Jae Hyo turns her down because women are not allowed to perform pansori. Chae Seon then disguises herself as a man and enters the Dongrijungsa to learn pansori, but Sin Jae Hyo doesn’t accept her as his student. One day, he hears Daewongun, the most powerful man in Joseon and the father of the King, is going to hold a national competition of pansori performers known as “Naksungyeon”. Sin Jae Hyo decides to teach Chae Seon, who has a true voice to perform “Chunhyangga". If anyone finds out that Chae Seon is a woman, Sin Jae Hyo and Chae Seon will both face death.
During the Joseon Dynasty, a young woman named Hong Chun Ki is a painter – a true rarity in Joseon Korea, where Confucian values dictate that such pursuits are unsuitable for a woman. She was born blind but somehow managed to acquire a sense of vision. And now she has been accepted to the most prestigious art college in the land. One day, she meets Ha Ram, an astrologer whose fate is the polar opposite of her own: Although he was born sighted, he lost his vision in a childhood accident. Regardless, he is also in possession of an astounding talent that allows him to read the future by tracing the movement of the sky at night despite the fact that he is blind. The duo is sucked into the machinations of the royal court, particularly those involving two princes, the free-spirited Prince Yang Myung and the cruel, scheming Prince Joo Hyang – a man who longs to become the next Joseon king.
Both are heavy political dramas and have a Crown Prince as ML. Both crown princes are very similar and want to be good kings who really care for people. Haechi has more action while Secret Door is more psychological. One thing to keep in mind is that the 2nd male lead in Secret Door is also the main character in Haechi. Both characters and dramas are based on true story. Obviously each drama tells its own version about personality of this prince (and later King).
