3 Past Life-Centric K-Dramas Like “Moon In The Day” To Binge Before 2024

“Moon in the Day” has reached its end, but there are reincarnation dramas a plenty to binge-watch during this holiday season. From mysteries, to love stories gone awry, here are some of the most heartfelt, poignant dramas to grace our screens in recent years. If “Moon in the Day” was up your alley, then these very likely will be!

Note: the reviews below are spoiler-free!

1. “Bulgasal”

This show deserved more love. It was expected to be a derivative version of “Goblin” but distinguished itself by building a thrilling tale of a man driven by revenge to seek out the woman who took everything from him 600 years ago. The hero, Dan Hwal (Lee Jin Wook), is the titular Bulgasal and the last of his kind, driven to hunt down the woman who holds the key to his unending existence (just like Do Ha (Kim Young Dae) and Kang Young Hwa/Han Ri Ta (Pyo Ye Jin)). The heroine, Min Sang Woon (Kwon Nara) is on the run for different reasons. A Bulgasal killed her family plus her twin sister, years ago, and only she and her youngest sister survived. She has every reason to believe that Dan Hwal is said Bulgasal. But what if they’re both wrong?

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An ancient predator has been following them for a very long time, and he finally has both Hwal and Sang Woon right where he wants them. This show’s got monsters, mayhem, and a ton of heart. If there’s one thing that “Bulgasal” emphasizes above all others, it’s the cyclic nature of relationships, whether it’s familial bonds or ill-fated partings. Every encounter leaves with it a scar in the person’s soul that will someday echo once more when that person is reincarnated. In firmly anchoring itself to the past, the characters in “Bulgasal” appear doomed to walk the same paths they took all those years ago. The central question becomes one of whether anyone can ever break free.

Why you’ll love it: 

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This is very much an ensemble show, and every character is easy to love. Most importantly, Hwal isn’t a jerk. Many revenge dramas have the male lead starting off as an absolutely irredeemable person but Hwal remains good-hearted over 600 years, killing only to protect. Even upon finally encountering the woman he’s chased after for all these years, his first instinct isn’t to draw blood. He’s cold to her, but without being nasty. He’s open about his plans for her, but he’s never cruel. It’s little wonder then that Min Sang Woon can’t help but start caring for him. Both understand where the other comes from, and they approach the problem of his revenge and the great debt she owes him pretty rationally.

seawherethesunsets

seawherethesunsets

This isn’t an overtly romantic or perfect show, but there is a palpable tenderness between the leads and moments of genuine greatness that elevate it above derivative status. It’s a great watch, especially if you love Lee Joon!

 

 

2. “Chicago Typewriter”

The past haunts the present in this ode to the Korean freedom fighters of the 1930s. From the writer that brought us “Kill Me, Heal Me,” “Chicago Typewriter” is a tale of bravery, tragedy, and to death never being the end.

Han Se Joo (Yoo Ah In) is a bestselling author who’s unfortunately suffering from writer’s block. Granted, he lives all alone in a big mansion with no use for people, but people (and his agent) want another bestseller, and it just isn’t coming to him. Plus, his personality isn’t the best. His arrogance turns former super fan Jeon Seol (Im Soo Jung) into an anti-fan in less than a day. But Se Joo’s life is irrevocably altered when he purchases a typewriter that shows him flickers of his past life as a freedom fighter in Japan-occupied Joseon during the 1930s. Even worse, he awakens from these flashbacks to find that a mysterious man, Yoo Jin Oh (Go Kyung Pyo), has written up those dreams and published it under Se Joo’s name. Se Joo’s aghast that he’s somehow ended up with a ghostwriter, but grows increasingly curious about whether these glimpses into the past are true, so he forges a tentative agreement that Jin Oh can stay as Se Joo’s ghostwriter. But Jin Oh is more than he appears, and he’s here for a reason. The trio have a history stretching back to 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, and the past isn’t done with them just yet.

Why you’ll love it:

There are so many reasons! There’s bromance, romance, and the most amazing ride-or-die friendship to ever grace the screen. All three actors shine in their dual roles: modern day and as resistance fighters of the 1930s. The show has the same luminous effervescence that permeates “Moon in the Day” – a gentle sadness mixed with yearning and hope. There’s a grace and pride to the story that’ll resonate long after the show has ended. This is a show you’ll never forget!

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kdramaspace

 

3. “Hotel Del Luna”

Starring IU, Yeo Jin Goo, Lee Do Hyun, and more, “Hotel Del Luna” was the summer drama of 2019. The titular hotel serves as a rest-stop for the dead before they make their way to the afterlife. Its irascible proprietress, Jang Man Wol (IU), has been forced by the goddess, Mago (Seo Yi Sook), to run it because of a grave sin she committed centuries ago. She wearies of her endless existence but luxuriates in what it affords her: high-end clothes, diamonds, caviar, and of course, champagne. Enter Goo Chan Sung (Yeo Jin Goo), whose father made the mistake of stealing flowers from the magical tree at the center of Man Wol’s garden. In a gender-reversed adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Man Wol claims Chan Sung as punishment. She’ll wait 20 years, but afterwards Chan Sung has to work for her. His father unwittingly agrees, and thus begins Man Wol and Chan Sung’s story.

Why you’ll love it:

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Yeo Jin Goo plays the bewildered average human (okay, Harvard-educated human) who is pulled into a supernatural world that he’s ill-prepared for. Ghosts terrify him, and it takes a while to acclimate himself to the strangeness of his occupation as a hotelier for the dead. Yet, this is as much a story of his growth as it is of Man Wol. Together, the two encourage each other to become the best versions of themselves as Mago watches and waits, because there is more to Man Wol’s punishment than she understands.

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Inscrutable deities, weary immortals, and the humans they love, this show has it all!

 

cr: Soompi