The Haunted Palace

Supernatural with cute comedy and great bromance

I have said it before and I will say it again, this was a supernatural drama with hints of horror at times. The true chemistry was between the King (played by Kim Ji Hoon) and Yun Gap/Gang Cheol (played by Yook Sung Jae). Their comedic timing was perfection and their banter felt natural. Bo Na's Yeo Ri initially felt a little stiff to me, however as the show progressed and I understood the character's backstory, I came to realize that stiffness actually was the actress doing a good job playing Yeo Ri who has experienced profound grief and loneliness and therefore holds herself apart from others, even as she cares deeply.
Kim Ji Hoon and Yook Sung Jae both completely took me by surprise. This is my first drama with Yook Sung Jae and I will keep an eye for future projects and try his older works. Kim Ji Hoon blew me away with his deep, heart rending portrayal of a man balancing his responsibilities as a king and as a father. The torment of this powerful man born into royalty, and has always been alone as a result, feeling helpless in the face of an enemy he cannot even see, trying to do his best for his people, only to realize his ancestor had abandoned them in the worst way, the guilt, the remorse and the wish to make amends were so masterfully played. I really, sincerely hope Kim Ji Hoon picks more such roles which give him a canvas for the talent we saw here. Out of all the characters, his was the one that resonated the most with me.

The story of a girl who denies her shaman roots and focuses on making eyeglasses (a good metaphor perhaps for shamanic talents - helping people see things more clearly) only to get swept into a tug of war between good and evil that exists in the palace was an entertaining show but had deeper tones to it. The nuanced plot, where good and evil cannot always be ascertained merely by identity, or even current actions was an interesting overlying message. Those who seem good, have committed vile acts and still attained high positions, while the good are left to suffer until the resentment burns so deep that their very anger at the injustice forces them to become evil. That people are not born evil, rather are created by their experiences and choices, yet once they step on that path, it is almost impossible to remain untainted.
The juxtaposition of two equal and opposing forces that was the focus of the show was exhibited throughout the drama using explicit imagery like the fire spirit vs. fresh water deity, the female and the male warding stones or the implicit like the imoogi ascending at the same time when the human king stoops low, saving his life by sending a whole village to its death. It eventually became so interesting how the Yin and Yang was woven throughout the story that I actively began to watch out for it exclusively.
The supporting cast comprises of veteran actors who were stellar in their work, and I applaud the whole team for the fabulous run for 8 weeks.
The drama fits the historical, comedy and fantasy or supernatural tags, however as a devotee to the romance genre I feel the romance tag is a bit of an overstatement. Yes there is romance and even a HE, however I wish for more scenes where the chemistry between the Imoogi and Yeo Ri could be deepened, it felt sudden and then not enough. Over all a good drama, I don't know if I would rewatch it. if I did rewatch bits of it, those would be the scenes where Imoogi and King banter back and forth and I guess that says it all.

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Imugi and I deserved better.

I went in thinking I’d love it — and honestly, I kind of did. At least in the beginning. But by the end? I don’t even know where to start.

There are five things I really like:
Strawberries.
Climbing walls ( I want to be like Janja Garnbret)
Playing in the sea all day like an overcaffeinated dolphin
Angel Fruity Fair by Mugler (smells like happy)
Ghost stories
This is how little I need to be happy.
I like romance movies. I love stupid and fluffy romance movies that make me have teary eyes or even bawling my eyes (The notebook) out and rom coms are also Okey.
So by all logic, I should’ve adored this series.
But… yeah. About that.

The Short Version:
Overall, it wasn’t bad — there’s definitely an interesting story here — but I’m still a bit disappointed. The pacing dragged. It felt boring — unnecessarily stretched — and could’ve wrapped up in 10 episodes without losing anything important. I sound like a hater but I was really enjoying it at first the premise was nice and I liked the ghost and shamanic aspect but the execution was a bit weak and sadly there was just something missing — maybe the pull that connects you with the world and characters.


The Long Version:
It watching like your typical run-of-the-mill romance, but with fantasy elements as Imugi and ghosts. Reading the summary, I honestly thought this was going to be fantasy adventure with a shaman, magic, dragons etc. And honestly? The series had me in a chokehold during the first half. I was completely captivated by the setting and the characters. It was imaginative, fun, and pulled me in right away. I loved how we got to learn their backstories — it gave the world more depth and made it feel alive. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between the two leads — it had that "reluctant allies to lovers" vibe, which I’m always a sucker for.
But then… the second half happened.
The pacing slowed a lot (like… snail-on-vacation levels of slow), and the events started to feel repetitive.
Unfortunately, encounters with ghosts—one of the story's selling points—didn’t live up to expectations. They lacked tension which made them feel like a chore to get through a trial began, I found myself wishing it would end quickly. It’s a shame because they had so much potential to bring excitement to the story. It wasn't scary, it wasn't exciting, and it wasn't worrying. Worse than that though, the plot took a predictable turn—the exact one I hoped it wouldn’t—which made the final twist feel underwhelming and, honestly, pretty eye roll worthy. Lots of eye rolling.
Okay.
That didn't work out as long as I wanted. Anyways.
I cannot deny that it is beautifully filmed, and this is perhaps why I stayed with it for as long as I did despite feeling a bored by it. I was seduced by the cinematography. I think if the plot had been tightened, and so wasn't quite so long, it could have really worked better for me.

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