A wandering spirit holds a grudge against the king, a female shaman opposes it, and as an Imugi, it takes home in the body of the royal archivist—just by that description alone, you know there will never be a dull moment in “The Haunted Palace.” The drama stars BTOB's Yook Sungjae as Yoon Gap, a diligent royal archivist who gets possessed by Gang Cheol, an evil spirit known as an Imugi. In the middle of this soul swap is Yeo Ri (Kim Ji Yeon), who has special powers but instead uses her skills in crafting eyeglasses. But, it seems only Yeo Ri can save Yoon Gap as well as the Imugi. As she finds herself in this strange and equally tricky situation, there are adventures, misadventures, and laughs aplenty on the way.
Warning: spoilers from episodes 1-2 ahead.
Yeo Ri is the granddaughter of a renowned shaman. She is warned by her grandmother to never set her sights on the wicked Imugi (a mythical creature which has the ability to transform into a dragon upon acquiring a jewel). The Imugi in question is the serpent Gang Cheol (Kim Young Kwang), whose ascension was interrupted after he was sighted by human. A vengeful creature, he hates humans in equal measure. However, he has tried to befriend Yeo Ri, so as to harness her powers, which could help him with his final ascension.
Yeo Ri's grandmother, having pre-empted Gang Cheol's designs, wants to protect Yeo Ri from him and tells her to leave the village. Even though Yeo Ri is hesitant, she has no choice after a mishap kills her grandmother. The villagers, convinced that Yeo Ri is unlucky and cursed, force the little girl to flee from the village.
13 years later, Yeo Ri travels all over the country as an artisan who designs glasses, hesitant to use her shamanic powers and zealously avoiding Gang Cheol, who continues to hover around her. Even though Yeo Ri picks the presence of entities, she tries her best to free them, only for attempts to be thwarted by Gang Cheol. The banter between Yeo Ri and Gang Cheol is rather comical, as he tries every trick in the book to get her to relent, but she refuses to.
Yoon Gap (Yook Sungjae), a royal archivist and trusted subject of the liberal King Yi Jeong (Kim Ji Hun), is Yeo Ri's childhood friend and first love. Yoon Gap wants to take Yeo Ri to the capital, since the royal place is haunted by an eight-foot-tall spirit which bears a grudge against the king. The palace is also haunted by several female spirits, which hate the royal family. The young crown prince too is in a delicate situation, with no cure to his malady.
Yoon Gap takes Yeo Ri on the pretext of the king wanting new spectacles, well aware she wouldn't go otherwise. But when Yoon Gap gets grievously injured, Gang Cheol takes home in his body. The soul swap comes with strange twists of its own. Yoon Gap, known for his obedient and reticent personality, suddenly turns into a gregarious person due to Gang Cheol's reckless instinct. In the meantime, Gang Cheol is encumbered being trapped in Yoon Gap's weak body. A hilarious moment is when Gang Cheol gets a taste of human food for the first time, goes on a binge fest, and greedily eats everything in sight.
As Gang Cheol brazenly defies royal protocol and behaves arrogantly, it throws the palace into disarray and chaos. As many wonder what happened to the meek Yoon Gap, several theories start doing the rounds, whether it is memory loss or a case of insanity.
But there are secrets all around them. Yeo Ri, well aware Yoon Gap has been possessed, wants to free him. But she needs to connect with Yoon Gap's spirit first. In the meantime, Gang Cheol, who didn't anticipate taking home in a human body would be this complicated, also seeks freedom. With Yeo Ri and Gang Cheol trying to seek a solution to their problems, this could well be the beginning of an unexpected friendship.
But there is also the curious case of King Yi Jeong. It seems he is well aware of the going ons around the palace. He doesn't seem to be as shocked as the rest in regards to the sudden shift in the loyal Yoon Gap's personality. There is a moment when the king stares deeply into Yoon Gap's eyes, asking him pertinently what he might have on him. Could the king have something on Gang Cheol? In the meanwhile, Yeo Ri, who has misplaced the spirit ward stone given by her grandmother, is surprised to see King Yi Jeong's spectacles have been sourced by the stone, which only her grandmother had access too. So are their fates entwined?
The first two episodes comes with several tense moments, but the hilarity of the situations around Yoon Gap, Gang Cheol, and Yeo Ri keeps up the momentum. “The Haunted Palace” is a period drama with a twist as it weaves in fantasy, the supernatural, and romance with plenty of humor.
Start watching “The Haunted Palace”:
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Puja Talwaris a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok andLee Junhobias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewedLee Min Ho,Gong Yoo,Cha Eun Woo, andJi Chang Wookto name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.
