favorite historical Kdramas

[soryang]

Been watching the Princess's Man on viki.com. There's a pay wall so I wasn't going to post anything but the drama is so good I'm finding an excuse to mention it anyway. It's set in the 15th Century and is a romance similar in nature to Romeo and Juliet, where family political allegiances preclude the relationship. It is so well acted and performed it definitely goes on my list of best historical Kdramas.

So I'll add to my list in chronological order:

Queen Seonduk, Silla dynasty 3 Kingdoms period
Empress Ki, Yuan dynasty (China) and Goryeo Dynasty (Korea)
Six Flying Dragons, transition from the Goryeo to the Chosun dynasty
Jang Yeong-shil, Chosun (King Sejong reign) (Korea's renaissance inventor)
Tree with Deep Roots (King Sejong's project to create a Korean alphabet)
The Princess' Man (Grand Prince Sujang's coup)
Yi San (King Jeongjo, 22nd ruler of Chosun)
The Merchant Gaekju (emerging commerce and social turmoil in late Chosun)
Nokdu Flower (the rise of a peasant rebellion in late 19th Century Chosun)
Different Dream (the Korean independence movement during the Japanese occupation)

I know I missed a couple of good ones, but these are ten I won't forget. There's been a dry spell lately for good Korean historical dramas, so I was surprised to find The Princess' Man. I didn't post a preview, because they are not well done, or there are spoilers in them. The wikipedia write up is a spoiler too.

[blm]

1. Appreciate this list.

My daughter and I have been getting more into the historic dramas.

[soryang]

2. These dramas have reached an international audience

Still, I'm amused when I watch a travelogue into some place far away from Korea or the US, and the local people, usually young people when contacted by the South Korean PD, greet him in Korean and say we love Korea, we watch Korean drama a lot in Korean. You can tell they've been getting a steady diet of Kdramas.

Although, the contemporary popular music from BTS and the other idol groups is world famous, I don't believe you can learn the language from this style music. It doesn't really tell much about the traditional culture either. Once a long time ago, I heard a Korean psychologist refer to contemporary South Korean culture as "so bi ja moon hwa," consumer culture and is a result of western style commercial influence on culture. Still some of the contemporary Korean dramas reflect traditional values in modern society. Now I'm showing my age.

I'm trying to get my grandchildren to learn the Korean alphabet and learn how it sounds from watching and listening to Korean programing.