• Both are set in the Joseon era, using history as a stage for bigger questions about power, corruption, and human nature.
• They both dive into political intrigue and corruption — Masquerade focuses on palace officials plotting in the royal court, while The Murky Stream shows corruption flowing through merchants, officials, and society at large.
• At the heart of both stories is the idea of an ordinary or underestimated figure being pushed into a position of leadership, and how that changes them.
• Themes of identity and hidden selves are central: masks, secrets, or hidden pasts drive the drama forward.
• Both works explore how empathy and moral courage can transform leadership, even in dark, cynical times.
And tying it together even more: they share the same director, Choo Chang-min. That’s why you’ll notice a similar tone — elegant but intense, heavy on moral dilemmas, and visually rich with Joseon-era detail.
• They both dive into political intrigue and corruption — Masquerade focuses on palace officials plotting in the royal court, while The Murky Stream shows corruption flowing through merchants, officials, and society at large.
• At the heart of both stories is the idea of an ordinary or underestimated figure being pushed into a position of leadership, and how that changes them.
• Themes of identity and hidden selves are central: masks, secrets, or hidden pasts drive the drama forward.
• Both works explore how empathy and moral courage can transform leadership, even in dark, cynical times.
And tying it together even more: they share the same director, Choo Chang-min. That’s why you’ll notice a similar tone — elegant but intense, heavy on moral dilemmas, and visually rich with Joseon-era detail.
Sakahira Riku, a first-year high school student, is jokingly pushed on the shoulder by his friend Tasaki while swimming by the pool, and falls into the pool with Mizumura Manami, who is next to him. The next day, when he wakes up, he finds that his body has been swapped with Manami's. Both are confused and try everything to get back to normal, but nothing works. They are forced to desperately exchange information about their families, friends, club activities, etc. in order to play the role of each other.
Crown Prince Yi Gak finds that he has been transported from the Joseon Dynasty to modern-day Seoul. He meets Hong Se Na, who bears a striking resemblance to his dead wife, and is determined to solve the 300-year-old mystery of her death. With his own resemblance to the CEO’s grandson at the company where Se Na works, Gak assumes the identity of the young man to stay close to her. Can the Crown Prince navigate a modern corporation to find clues to his own time period?
When a total eclipse of the sun takes place, Go Ha Jin is transported back in time to the start of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea during King Taejo's rule. She wakes up in the body of the 16-year-old Hae Soo and finds herself living in the house of the 8th Prince Wang Wook, who is married to Hae Soo's cousin. She soon befriends several of the princes and meets the ostracized 4th Prince, Wang So. Although knowing she should not get involved in palace intrigues over the succession to the throne, she inadvertently becomes a pawn in the struggle, as several of the Princes fall in love with her.
