My Dearest

While one is Chinese and the other Korean they reminded me of each other for the growth in the characters. Destined has an immature rich male lead that learns and grows through marriage and a war while My Dearest has an immature rich female lead that suffers through war and grows and changes.

Both dramas have male leads that will do anything for the female lead. Both show the ravages of war on the people and the court. Both have strong and loyal side characters.

Differences are that My Dearest shows a much more gruesome side that can be hard to watch while Destined is more slice of life with hardships sprinkled in. However the character growth in both gives the same kind of vibe to me and I think if you liked one you would probably like the other.

FL is obsessed with a man who is too cowardly to love her back in the beginning. She falls for the playboy instead who is the one ready to drop everything for her.
FL is also very spoiled in the first part of the drama

=> Both are kdramas of the same story: My Dearest. Each of the two shows recommended are two seasons of the same show.

*War background
*Immense love but difficult circumstances
* CL beautiful, talented, magical
* 2 high-budget productions, with top-notch cinematography!

*** Magnificent, moving, but sad series. Viewers are suffering during a good part of the series.

However MD has a happy ending, while KMLM has a bittersweet ending.

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.

Min Jae Yi, a gentle and poised daughter of a prominent family, is engaged to the son of a powerful State Councillor. Devoting herself to learning everything she needs to know to become a good wife and mother, Jae Yi dutifully prepares for the future. Sadly, destiny has other plans for her future.

Just days before her wedding, tragedy strikes when her family is brutally murdered, and Jae Yi is falsely accused of the crime. Amidst the turmoil, she crosses paths with the cursed crown prince, Lee Hwan, who agrees to help her in exchange for her assistance in breaking his curse. As they navigate their challenges together, Jae Yi and Lee Hwan begin to develop unexpected feelings for each other. But their love faces countless obstacles, including their pasts, their uncertain futures, and the threat of the curse. Can they overcome these challenges and find a way to be together?

I find similarities in these two dramas because they both take place outside of the palace. Also, the feel is quite gritty and the cinematography is gorgeous.

The romance is a slowburn and ML is quite a mystery.

Both of them have that same “fighting for” a certain definition of “my country” and what’s most important to them individually

Lee Heon is the king of Joseon. 7 years ago, when he was a crown prince, his beloved wife died. To this day, he has not been able to get over her death. For the past 7 years, the royal family and government members have tried to get King Lee Heon remarried without success. The nation has also implemented a geumhonryung edict, which is a ban on all single women marrying during this time when the king has not married. People are furious over the marriage ban. One day, King Lee Heon hears of a woman named Ye So Rang, who claims the spirit of the king's late wife exists within the royal palace. Meanwhile, Ye So Rang is a swindler and claims to interpret marital harmony signs. She is arrested and jailed where Officer Lee Shin Won works. To get out of her predicament, she pretends to be possessed by a spirit in front of Lee Shin Won. During her ruse, she mentions that the spirit of King Lee Heon's late wife exists within the royal palace. She is then brought in front of the king and he asks her if she can really see his late wife's spirit. To survive, Ye So Rang acts like her body is possessed by the king's late wife. Ye So Rang's lies get bigger and more audacious.

Yu Jin was raised within the desert tribes of Xiong Nu, although her foster father is a Han. Under certain circumstances, she was forced to flee to Chang'an, the then capital of the Early Han Dynasty, changing her name to Jin Yu along the way. Along her journey, she first meets the calm and kind Mo Xun (aka Jiu Ye, ninth master) and later the handsome, cold general Wei Wu Ji. Jin Yu falls for one of them but is rejected. Will she untangle her love knot? Who will she choose in the end?

When My Dearest leaves you stranded — heart still aching, breath still shallow — The Story of Pearl Girl offers a quieter continuation of the same longing.

Both are woven from loyalty, loss, and the aching weight of choices made too late.

Where My Dearest scorches, Pearl Girl lingers — a story that doesn't rush to heal you, but lets you carry the echoes of love across a lifetime.

If My Dearest breaks you open, Blossom teaches you how to carry the broken pieces with grace.

Both stories live in the quiet aftermath of loyalty, sacrifice, and love that refuses to die — even when life demands it.

Where My Dearest sears, Blossom lingers like a memory you never meant to keep, but never truly wanted to lose.