Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Chilling beyond ghosts: 'The East Palace' ushers in new era of K-occult
Actor Nam Joo-hyuk is seen in this scene from Netflix series "The East Palace." Courtesy of Netflix
By Park Jin-hai
“I will wipe out the King’s entire bloodline.”
A mysterious ghost hunter arrives at a palace consumed by a sinister curse. Swarming with vengeful spirits, the royal court is a perilous labyrinth of buried secrets and political conspiracies.
Navigating between reality and the eerie "world of spirits," the hunter tracks the source of the curse. This is the premise of Netflix’s new series "The East Palace" — a brutal, shadowy clash between a cursed dynasty, those desperate to break the spell and the ghosts hell-bent on taking over the throne.
Breaking away from the conventional tropes of royal court period dramas and zombie apocalypses, "The East Palace" delivers a highly original piece of "Joseon Gothic occult action," seamlessly blending Korean shamanism with Western dark fantasy.
Writers Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won, who previously laid the groundwork for modern K-occult thrillers with "The Guest" (2018), have successfully transplanted their expertise into the Joseon court, crafting a mesmerizing yet grotesque abyss.
Ahead of its global release on July 17, the first four episodes of the eight-part series were unveiled to the press. The story begins as one crown prince after another is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Rumors spread like wildfire that a cursed pond spirit has returned to claim the king's lineage. Though the King (Cho Seung-woo) initially dismisses these claims as mere superstition, he is forced to act when his last remaining young son collapses.
Actor Nam Joo-hyuk in Netflix series "The East Palace" / Courtesy of Netflix
In absolute secrecy, the King summons Gu-cheon (Nam Joo-hyuk), a rogue swordsman capable of crossing into the spirit realm to slay demons. Alongside Saeng-gang (Roh Yoon-seo), a court lady who possesses the uncanny ability to hear the dead, the duo begins to unearth the dark truths buried deep beneath the palace pond.
The crowning visual achievement of the series lies in its layered spatial design, where reality and the "spirit world" overlap. Much like the desolate "Upside Down" in the hit Netflix series "Stranger Things" or the burning ruins of Hell in the film "Constantine," the spirit realm in "The East Palace" serves as a mirror image of the actual Joseon palace — a twisted alternative reality governed by darkness and warped laws of physics.
In this brutal borderland hidden from ordinary eyes, the dark fantasy action spearheaded by the outcast demon-slayer Gu-cheon and the spiritually attuned Saeng-gang delivers pure, unadulterated genre dopamine. Grounding this chaotic supernatural energy is Cho, whose chilling portrayal of a king hiding a manic obsession behind the facade of a benevolent ruler provides the series with a rock-solid emotional anchor.
Yet, the true horror of "The East Palace" does not stem from its flashy action sequences or supernatural entities. Instead, the drama achieves narrative depth by posing a ruthless thesis: "The palace is a place where the powerless can escape only through death."
The royal court is portrayed not merely as a residence for nobility, but as a giant, dehumanizing machine that systematically crushes the dignity of low-ranking court ladies and political rivals just to preserve the status quo. In this inescapable hell, the ultimate evil is not an invisible curse, but the vicious lust for power of those willing to weaponize the lives of the vulnerable to protect their own status.
For the marginalized, the living world is already as unforgiving as the afterlife. Thus, the protagonists' life-or-death struggle transcends a simple exorcism, evolving into a desperate rebellion against the oppressive power structure itself.
By utilizing the occult genre, "The East Palace" sharply exposes the terrifying depths of human depravity hidden within the most exclusive and opulent tomb of the Joseon Dynasty. With its grotesque yet sophisticated mise-en-scene and a hauntingly apocalyptic message, the series marks the arrival of a well-crafted genre masterpiece that will linger in the mind long after the credits roll.