Viki Original Kdramas Like “The Haunted Palace” (Pt 2 of 2)
Rakuten Viki is a popular go-to platform for fans of Original historical K-dramas.
- Part 2: Continuing the list of Viki Original Historical Korean dramas similar to “The Haunted Palace”, released April 2025; you’ll probably like these 6 sageuk dramas.
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(6) The Matchmakers (2023)
A widow, disguised as a matchmaker, and a widower who is a prince working as a matchmaker according to a royal decree, work together and also fall in love. But their love is forbidden. They work diligently to unite compatible couples who will live a long and happy married life. But what about them? The widow has to use a disguise because she is from a powerful noble family, and noble ladies should not engage in a lowly activity such as matchmaking, but she has a gift. The prince became a widower because on the day of the wedding, the princess he married dropped dead. The king knows he has a brilliant mind, so he commands him to find a way to thwart the corrupt officials who keep preventing the marriage of the crown prince. If he is successful, the king will have his marriage to the princess annulled. Great! He will be free to marry. But the woman he fell in love with is a widow who is not free to marry. Is he brilliant enough to figure out a way for them to live and long and happy married life?
TRAILER/TEASER:
LoveBreak_Official. “The Matchmakers.” YouTube, 27 Oct. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjOfywOiDsk.
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(7) Missing Crown Prince (2024)
A royal physician is told of a “curse”. If his daughter married the crown prince, he would die young, and she would become a widow. But he wants his daughter to become the crown princess, so he kidnaps the crown prince. He drugged both of them and laid them side by side. Technically, that’s considered “marriage”. He didn’t expect his daughter to wake up, but she did, and she helped “this man” (???) escape, not knowing that he was the crown prince. The complications continue. The crown prince discovered that the Queen Dowager is having a secret affair. It turns out her lover was the royal physician. The daughter didn’t want to be a crown princess. She wanted to practice medicine. When she learned her father’s secret, she despised him because she believed he had killed her mother so that he could be with the Queen Dowager. The royal physician and the Queen Dowager have an “agenda”. The crown prince has an “agenda” which includes punishing them for adultery. The physician’s daughter is in love with the crown prince. She doesn’t care about the “curse” or being a crown princess, has cut off ties with her father, and decided to support the crown prince. It’s a clash of strong wills.
TRAILER/TEASER:
D. K.-Drama Top View. “Missing Crown Prince.” YouTube, 15 Apr. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ISFTuinn0.
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(8) Queen: Love and War (2019)
During the Joseon Era, twins were often viewed as a bad omen due to superstitions and societal beliefs. Couples who had twins were forced to hide them. The twins were trained and warned never to be in the same place at the same time. A prince made friends with the daughter of a nobleman when they were children, but he did not know she had a twin sister. He promised her that he would marry her. An accident happened on a boat, and the twin the prince met drowned. Her father thought she had died, but someone saved her. Unfortunately, she lost her memory. Her twin sister grows up, and the prince, now king, chose her to be his queen. Corrupt officials arranged to assassinate them on their wedding day. The queen died, but the king miraculously came back to life. The people are terrified. How can he possibly come back from the dead? The twin is told that her sister was murdered. She secretly buried her sister’s body and returned to the palace in her place, pretending that she had also risen from the dead. She wanted to find out who killed her sister. Even though she must live with the king as his wife, she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Eventually, she falls in love with him. But life in the palace with him is love and war!
TRAILER/TEASER:
Korean Drama List. “Queen: Love And War (2019) Trailer – 여인들의 전쟁.” YouTube, 27 Feb. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCoikDgjc1k.
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(9) The Red Sleeve (2021)
This K-drama is based on historical records. It is the true and tragic love story between Uibin Seong (real name: Seong Deok-im) and King Jeongjo. Everybody knew that all of the women in the palace were the king’s women, including court ladies in the palace who wore uniforms that had a red cuff on their sleeves. He can take his pick, and they dare not refuse him. But Seong Deok-im did refuse his advances. Ultimately, she fell in love with him and became his concubine. However, her life was not very happy because she lost her freedom when she became the king’s woman. Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong passed away at the age of 33.
TRAILER/TEASER:
Viki Global TV. “The Red Sleeve – OFFICIAL TRAILER 2.” YouTube, 18 Oct. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBvMK4ZcfEU.
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(10) River Where the Moon Rises (2021)
This series is about Princess Pyeonggang and On Dal. Princess Pyeonggang was born into royalty, but her mother was murdered, having been falsely accused of infidelity. It was a corrupt power grab, and her father was a jealous man and easy to manipulate. He believed that his daughter had also died. But the princess was taken away and raised as an assassin. Later, she discovered her true identity and came back to reclaim her throne and country. He crossed paths with a peace-loving man named On Dal, who fell in love with her. He got involved with her mission because he wanted to protect her (even though she’s a trained assassin). This historical Korean drama is a retelling of the classic Goguryeo folktale about On Dal and Princess Pyeonggang. (REF: The Princess and the Idiot: Behind Every Good Man Is a Great Woman : Korea.Net : The Official Website of the Republic of Korea. https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=122048. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.)
TRAILER/TEASER:
Viki Global TV. “RIVER WHERE THE MOON RISES – OFFICIAL TRAILER.” YouTube, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SruaLVejWmk.
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(11) The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (2023)
A young crown prince barely escaped death by running into the yard of a nobleman, and hid in a dog house. A young girl protected him, and he promised her that one day he would return her kindness. Thirteen years passed and the young girl grew up and became a savvy businesswoman and a savvy businesswoman who converted her father’s home into a guesthouse and rented out the room to scholars. Three scholars rented rooms at the guesthouse, and one of them is the crown prince, now a young man, whose life she saved. He does not reveal his identity to her because people are still trying to kill him. The two other scholars also have a secret identity and are on a secret mission. It seems that her guesthouse is a great place for keeping secrets and for romance.
TRAILER/TEASER:
KDTeaser tv. “The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (Korean Drama) Teaser 1,2 & 3.” YouTube, 4 Mar. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Bonf77yPM.
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RELATED LINKS:
Tales of Korean Dynasties: Historical Dramas You Can’t Miss in 2025 | The Teen Magazine
30 Best Historical K-Dramas, Ranked | Screen Rant
Rakuten Viki’s Slate Of Original Productions Continues To Grow | Forbes
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