Haunted Palace: Korean movie is causing a fever, breaking the gloomy scene of kimchi cinema

At a time when Korean television is in a crisis with a sharp decline in viewership and many major films failing right from the start, the appearance of The Haunted Palace is a bright spot.

The new work in the mysterious historical genre of SBS just aired its first episode on the evening of April 18, the film recorded a record high rating of up to 9.2%, the highest point recorded was 10.7%. This achievement makes the film the miniseries with the highest opening viewership rating in 2025 on all three major stations SBS, KBS, MBC as well as cable channels such as tvN and JTBC. Not to mention the number 9.2% also helped the Haunted Palace take the top spot on the miniseries rating chart of the week. This is a perfect start for a film labeled as science fiction - which often has difficulty attracting mass audiences in Korea.

The Haunted Palace is a fantasy romantic comedy set in the Joseon Dynasty, revolving around the love story between the shaman Yeo Ri and the snake spirit Kang Cheol Yi, an Imoogi who cannot transform into a dragon and is possessing the body of the scholar Yun Gap. Together with King Lee Seong, they join forces to exorcise evil spirits, destroying ghosts that hold grudges against the royal family to protect the people and the fate of the country.

The haunted palace was written by Yoon Soo Jung and directed by Yoon Sung Shik. Director Yoon Sung Shik is known for a series of famous films such as: Oasis of Youth, The Maid Girls, The Queen, Adversity, Hoa Lang...

Set in the Joseon Dynasty, the story revolves around supernatural forces and the ancient feud between spirits and the royal family. Eight Imoogi, ghosts in the form of snakes who have not yet transformed into dragons, hold a deep grudge against the king. In this context, Yun Gap (Yook Sung Jae), an official who is deeply trusted by the king, suddenly becomes the center of disaster.

Yun Gap is known for his upright personality and handsome appearance, but his fate is turned upside down when he is possessed by an Imoogi. He goes from being calm to strange, causing people to suspect he is insane. With his mind manipulated, Yun Gap becomes the subject of gossip, and the Imoogi's presence within him gradually reveals a connection to Yeo Ri (Bona), his first love.

Yeo Ri is the only granddaughter of a famous shaman, possessing innate spiritual powers. Although blessed with the ability to communicate with spirits, she always refused to become a spirit medium, choosing a simple life as a glassmaker. Her strong personality and independent will helped her live far away from the spiritual world until the Imoogi wanted to take advantage of her body to become a dragon. Only Yeo Ri could see him. She saw him as the embodiment of evil, wherever he went, flowers and grass withered.

After Yun Gap is possessed, Yeo Ri is forced to enter the royal palace, which is filled with female ghosts who harbor deep resentment towards the royal family. She confronts dark forces while trying to protect Yun Gap and stop the Imoogi from carrying out his plan to ascend to heaven through her body.

Meanwhile, King Lee Sung (Kim Ji Hoon) is a reformist monarch who aspires to build a prosperous Joseon. However, mysterious phenomena continue to occur in the palace, all related to powerful female ghosts and a deep hatred for the royal family.

Faced with an ever-growing supernatural threat, Yun Gap, Yeo Ri, and King Lee Sung must join forces to uncover the secrets behind the ghosts, opening up a thrilling, emotional journey where love, fate, and responsibility intertwine between light and darkness.

In addition to the engaging plot, fast-paced, dramatic opening, the point that makes Haunted Palace so hotly discussed is the impressive performance of the female lead Bona. With a delicate face, pure and innocent temperament and melancholy eyes, she almost captivated the audience right from the first frames. Not only is she incredibly beautiful, Bona also shows incredible acting ability: gentle, strong, weak in the pain of loss but also full of courage when facing evil spirits. Meanwhile, Yook Sung Jae also scores points thanks to his ability to flexibly switch between two character shades: an upright censor and a dangerous evil spirit in human form.

Immediately after its broadcast, the film immediately climbed to the top of search results and dominated forums and social networks. A series of positive comments such as "Kim Ji-yeon's acting is the best", "After watching it, I want to transform into Gang Cheol Yi to see Yeo Ri every day", "An hour passed in the blink of an eye, the film is truly great"... showed the undeniable popularity of the film. With an impressive opening, Haunted Palace is expected to continue to maintain its form and become the next historical and mystical phenomenon of Korean cinema this year.

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