@moonandstars I’ll be sure to check the Chinese historicals you recommended out. It’s time I get into Chinese historicals!
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You could check this channel. Lacruiser did a great job putting them all there
https://www.viki.com/tv/22648c-the-sageuk-channel
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Let’s recommend both versions of Iljimae, I liked them both and I can’t pick one.
Iljimae with Lee Jun Ki: https://www.viki.com/tv/1c-iljimae?q=Iljim
The Return of Iljimae with Jung Il Woo: https://www.viki.com/tv/29547c-the-return-of-iljimae
Both seem to be completely subbed in English, The Return of Iljimae has hardsubs.
Iljimae is kind of like the Korean Robin Hood. His family was killed by some royals so he wants revange and meanwhile helps the poor.
Ohh you don’t have to watch it in a certain order… They both cover the same story and both aired on a different network around the same time so one had to change the title a bit.
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Jang Ok Jung is also historical, I didn’t finish it but the actors are great so maybe check it out.
Sword and Flower - also didn’t finish, but I remember it having a different feel to it than the usual historical dramas, more dark somehow.
The Princess’ Man - lots of people loved it (didn’t have time to get through more than a few eps, maybe in the future sometime~)
Goddess Of Fire, Jeongi
Hong Gil Dong
I’ll add a Chinese recommendation (although I didn’t watch many, but this are really good with the acting and the whole cloths and palace colors so pretty ^^)
Scarlet Heart (you might not watch to go into the 2nd season, really disappointing)
Chronicle of Life
The Imperial Doctress
Sound of the Desert
You can see a trend there… yup after Scarlet Heart I decided to drama stalk Liu Cecilia…
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Hwang Jini’s not here 
I liked their actual singing ost and colorful costumes the most 
emperor of the sea was more like pirates of the carribbean bgm
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I thought iron empress was a bit draggy. Didn’t finish last 20 eps and skipped to the end. The beginning was good. I just love Chae Si Ra if she’s in it I’ll see it.
Empress Ki is also not on viki. It was SO PRETTY but had the more than average amt of angst so viewer beware…
I like Ha Ji Won so if she’s in something and i think plots not too bad, I’ll watch. (sorry 2 hearts whatever I thought plot was blargh)
I loved iljimae for the OST and the pretty scenes. I like Park Hyo Shin 
(ost singer)
I loved holy pearl.
The Holy Pearl is a 2011 Chinese television series starring Gillian Chung as the daughter of an archaeologist. She travels back in time only to discovers she is the reincarnation of a warrior-priestess. She teams up with a human-dragon hybrid to recover a broken magical vase.
It’s available on YouTube
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@sophie2you It is definitely worth watching
@freefall I’m not sure about that. Why did they ban it?
I actually found Holy pearl by accident but I’m glad I watched it. Lots of handsome guys in the drama drools
Greetings!
Here’s a list of some fun, and some utterly amazing C and K dramas to try. Not in order except the first one…because it is the 10 out of 10… but some of my favorites and why:
- Nirvana in Fire. Chinese, 2015. Hu Ge - a truly great actor, great cast, this is the best drama anywhere, EVER. 54 episodes. Watch it carefully, give it time. Do NOT try to do anything but watch it because even people walking through a corridor have meaning at the end! Everything about this drama is complete…and you will need several viewings to see it all. Fair Warning.
- Sound of the Desert - aka Da Mo Yo - 2013, Chinese - Hu Ge (again) but it’s a similar role, this time with the utterly great Cecelia Liu (aka Liu Shi Shi). Fun. 35 episodes. Very playful.
- Go Princess Go. It’s not really historical, the sets are from IKEA…and there’s one stunt “DURIAN”…but it’s fun. 36 or so episodes, they made extra endings for those who didn’t like the first one…it’s that cool. They are short episodes too. Get past episode 1 and you may be hooked! these folks are new - that actress though and the emperor rock…! this one makes you laugh and cry both.
- Scarlet Heart. this is I think 2013 or 2014 Chinese - and wow. Liu Shi Shi again, plus Yuan Hong and a lot of great men…LGX…Nicky Wu…Qing Dynasty and it is about a modern girl who ends up in the middle of Kangsxi Emperor’s world with all his sons…VERY cool. Hard to put down! 35 episodes and you can’t stop watching it.
- And now for some Korean dramas to try: Six Flying Dragons. 50 episodes. There’s a lot of backstory, 5 episodes with the child actors…and then you get Yoo Ah In. You’ll understand why he’s best actor…! it’s the story of how the Joseon Dynasty began. And then most of all, it makes you think about Lee Bangwon…Taejong of Joseon. Farther of Sejong the Great. Half the dragons are fictional characters…but it’s really fun…and you find it full of HEART.
- For someone who hasn’t watched a lot of historical dramas - Painter of the Wind is pretty cool. Girl becomes a painter…and in the 20 episodes, you get some idea of what cool paintings they had from major painters later in the Joseon Dynasty. Fun and educational even!
- Sungkyankwan Scandal. I can’t spell it. but it’s REALLY great. 20 episodes of girl who wants to get an education…and it has Yoo Ah In as well. Watch it and you won’t want to stop.
- Moon Embracing the Sun. I seriously had to buy the dvd’s here. 20 episodes…and it’s similar to Jackpot and Mirror of the Witch (also both recommended, but Jackpot higher). Moon is really really great in the male acting - wow. The young man who played the crown prince in this one plays our Prince Yeoning in Jackpot! good actor! This one is very much a romance…some cool fights, but it’s really the romance that won’t die…
- And now the drama with the best first episode…Warrior Baek Dong Soo. 29 episodes. AWESOME FIghts. Romance. Bromance. this drama has it ALL. Great sound track too. Two generations of swordsmen…GREAT actors. And you see the same older actors in Jackpot, by the way…again, it’s really one to see. Again, hard to put down. The lead actor is also…
- He’s the Emperor in Empress Ki. Empress Ki is arguably a bit long…but it has GREAT moments. (I can’t recall how many episodes…and I think it’s not here at Viki right now. All the rest I’ve listed so far are.
There are a lot of great shows…and even more every day. The only constant so far is that NIF - Nirvana in Fire - is the gold standard. If they make a better drama, wow.
This is just a starting list…I mean, I didn’t mention yet Queen Inhyon’s Man…which is fun and a fusion drama with modern and historical…and really fun too.
Warmest Regards, enjoy! from Denver, Colorado, USA
Crouching Dieter, HIdden Donut
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Sigh. I did watch iron empress. I love the actress - and she’s REALLY great in Queen Insoo by the way… Iron Empress needed an edit. (The one I had to put down? Emperor of the Sea. Dang! and I LOVE the main actor…After all, he’s mr. Jumong! Chae Si Ra was good in there, it just really needs editing. Sound track needs work too, sigh. Jumong…though…OMG. My sword saint is there…aka white faced scholar…and yeah, Jumong! Kingdom of the Wind is also great! I also had to stop watching the one about the giseang - Ha Ji Won is great, but that plot didn’t grab me. Empress Ki and Empress of China are both REALLY great dramas. wish Viki had them. And of course, there’s a list of wish they hads:
Jinbirok to go with King’s Face
Jeong Do Jeon to go with Six of course
Jang Youngsil to go with Six and Tree…
King Sejong the Great to go with Six and Tree…
And then there’s
Three Kingdoms (2010). 95 episodes that make you forget Yoona ever did er, Zhao Yun (WRONG).
Yeah TK will erase all of that pain…sigh. I love Yoona in the one she does well, Queen Inhyon’s Man. But I think historical is not her style, whereas for some it really IS their style. Hu Ge’s modern isn’t as good as historical. Liu Shi Shi is queen of historical without a doubt :).
Huo Wallace…oh yeah.
Crouching Dieter, HIdden Donut
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Watch Chronicle of Life for the male acting but I’m going to say avoid the main actress generally. You’ll understand.
Princess’s Man about Sejo goes nicely with Queen Insoo that’s being translated here too.
Sword and Flower…ah that one took some time to get into it. Two tries and I watched it end to end. Better than i thought…and it’s that Choi Min Soo guy again. (warrior baek dong soo, jackpot, etc).
Crouching Dieter, HIdden Donut
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I loved Great King Sejong. Great four dimensional Sejong there.
Haha I should continue my first viki project ever right? (Queen Insoo)
the ones you wish viki had… I never got to.
Chronicle Life has K-subs oh yeah~~
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Great King Sejong - the Taejong and Sejong there both reprise their AMAZING roles in Jang Youngsil, korean, 2016 - with Master Song…his triplets also play some roles in this series! So if you liked the kings in Sejong, you will also like Jang Youngsil.
Now that I think about it, there are even more good series. Wow. Here’s some of my all time favorites:
Can’t believe I forgot this one:
Su Baek Hyang, the King’s Daughter. 108 episodes - Korean. amazing actress in the lead, the romantic lead is great, this has a VERY good story, a good cast, and you can’t put it down. 30 minute episodes so do not fear the 108 episodes…it’s a page turner. There’s a lot of “girl dressed as guy” roles…but this one is girl AS girl, going against the guys at one point… and not quitting. really good stuff!
Did I mention both Empresses? Empress Ki AND Empress of China. Both are fairly long series but highly watchable. I find I can’t live without either of them.
Legend of Qin that’s here at Viki also has some really great moments and another actor who deserves a better role - when you see Lu Yi in that one, you will notice him a lot. That drama is wuxia - and historical both…and romantic. VERY much so. Get past the yelling “tian ming” and “yue er” all the time and this one is VERY interesting. Casting is pretty darned good in this one…! (If you watch one of the other dramas with Lu Yi in it - “Song in the Clouds” - it’s here I suggest you stop where he leaves the drama…cause it’s very poorly done AFTER that. Again, Lu Yi needs another GREAT role…like the one he had in THREE KINGDOMS…where he plays Kongming, aka Zhuge Liege.)
The Young Warriors and Legend of the Condor Heroes should be watched for similar reasons - Hu Ge, Yuan (Justin) Hong, and Cecelia Liu/aka Liu Shi Shi aka Mrs Nicky Wu. Both are really good but do not have complete english subs if you need them yet.
As soon as Queen Insoo is complete by the way, i’m going to rewatch that end to end.
Currently rewatching Six Flying Dragons …because it’s good. I do admit I am fast forwarding through some of the back story on the fictional folks but that’s because I watched it carefully the first time.
And I’ll rewatch both Nirvana in Fire and Go Princess Go again very soon. The hardest episode for me to watch is NIF’s episode 54.
I am waiting for more of the many episodes of The Flower In prison to be subbed/released so I can go and watch that one - I admit I will otherwise get a bit frustrated waiting on a 50 episode that’s not even halfway there yet. There are so many good and great dramas around right now that I have plenty to see…and rewatch too.
Crouching Dieter, HIdden Donut
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I didn’t really like Su Baek Hyang. I couldn’t believe that it was 106 eps. Mother didn’t like it. I thought it was weird…
Morever… it made me realize we lived through 160 of The Ladies of the Palace.
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Is The Ladies of the Palace 여인천하? If you do, can you PM me where I could watch it?
I watched it via vcr from the video store across the street from our apt building when it was airing…
That was my first historical
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Su Baek Hyang might appeal more to me - I’d like to be that capable girl who overcomes it all, instead of just dressing like a man…but then I also like Chang Ge Xing (Singing all Along) Chinese 2016 for the same reason. Maybe in another world or life, I am that hero girl.
I think one of the new ones, Moonlight Embracing Clouds, will be fun.
Again, perhaps my tastes are a bit eclectic…I still admire Warrior Baek Dong Soo for many reasons too.
Warmest Regards,
CD, HD.
p.s. Simi roped me into helping. I am now working on The Duo. (Also a pretty good drama, by the way).
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