Summary

• Best romantic fantasy K-dramas feature otherworldly settings & intriguing plots filled with love stories bordering on the supernatural.
• Romance mixed with mystery creates addicting fantasy Korean drama experiences with deep exploration in insulated worlds.
• Truly memorable fantasy K-drama series showcase rich Korean folklore with elements like goblins, ghosts, and dragons for captivating plots.

Watching K-dramas can be one of the most entertaining forms of escapism, especially when they are filled with mysticism and other out-of-the-world elements, like the best romantic fantasy K-drama releases. From interesting plots involving folklore creatures like gumiho (a nine-tailed fox) and a mermaid to fantasies like time travel or reincarnations, K-dramas that fall within the supernatural or fantasy genres are always fun to watch, as Korean culture is rich in folklore and mythos. When mixed with romance, it creates even better fantasy Korean drama experiences.

The best of these types of shows usually feature love stories that are especially deep and romantic, made more so by their otherworldly settings or mysterious themes, making the best fantasy K-drama series addictive and perfect for binge-watching. Full of intriguing plots, stunning visuals, and deep exploration of their own insulated worlds, some of the best romantic fantasy Korean dramas feature plot elements that border on the supernatural and include interesting fantastical creatures like goblins, ghosts, dragons, and perhaps even the Korean Grim Reaper himself (Jeosung Saja).

25 My Lovely Liar (2023)

A Woman Can Hear When People Lie

My Lovely Liar is a fantasy K-drama that follows a young woman named Mok Sol-hee (Kim So-hyun). She gave up the chance for happiness when she was young because she discovered she has the ability to hear when people were lying. This has ruined her chances to be in a relationship throughout her life because she always knows when someone is hiding something from her. However, she finds a new calling as an adult when she starts working as a human lie detector for people.

Directed by Nam Sung-woo (My Roommate Is a Gumiho)

However, when she connects with a murder suspect named Do-ha (Hwang Min-hyun) who everyone believes is guilty. However, since she can hear lies, she knows he is innocent of the crime and wants to help him uncover the truth. Directed by Nam Sung-woo (My Roommate Is a Gumiho), this K-drama has 16 episodes and aired in 2023. Critics praised the chemistry between the leads, and it plays well as a romantic mystery with supernatural fantasy elements.

My Lovely Liar is available to stream on Viki Rakuten

24 Thirst (2009)

A Priest Becomes A Vampire And Falls In Love

Thirst is a fantasy K-drama that veers very close to being a legitimate horror movie. Directed by Park Chan-wook (Old Boy), the film follows Sang-hyun is a Catholic priest volunteering at a hospital who provides ministry to patients. However, when he volunteers to test out a vaccine for a deadly virus that is sweeping through the area, it fails and he develops a fatal disease. However, he learns that when he receives a blood transfusion, he instantly heals. Once he becomes dangerously ill when he goes into the sunlight, he realizes he has become a vampire.

The romance comes when he falls in love with Tae-ju, a housewife who lives a dreary life with her husband and mother-in-law, but this romance is doomed from the start. Thirst saw great success upon its release, winning the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It also earned nominations for Best Film and Best Actress (Kim Ok-bin) at the Baeksang Arts Awards and won Best Director and Best Actor (Song Kang-ho) at the Director's Cut Awards.

23 Hi! School: Love On (2014-2015)

An Angel Becomes Human After Saving A Teenager In Danger

When an angel who is obsessed with watching Korean soap operas and watches over the lives of mortals, including high school students Woo-hyun and Sung-yeol. When the angel realizes Sung-yeol is about to jump from a roof to take her own life. Woo-hyun saves her but falls himself. The angel intervenes and saves his life. Because the angel interferes, she becomes human as punishment, and she takes the identity of Seul-bi and starts to live the life of a mortal.

Seul-bi faces injustice and things that she sees as wrong head-on.

Often falling back on her role as an angel, and not understanding she is no longer immortal, Seul-bi faces injustice and things that she sees as wrong head-on and starts to develop a close relationship with Woo-hyun, and the two swear to protect each other. When Woo-hyun is forced to transfer to the same school as Sung-yeol, Seul-bi also enrolls. Sung-yeol also falls for the now-mortal angel and a love triangle forms. There were 20 episodes of the series, which aired in 2014-2015.

Hi! School: Love On is available to stream on Viki Rakuten

22 Queen In-hyun's Man (2012)

A Time-Traveling Scholar Falls In Love With An Obscure Actress

Queen In-hyun's Man is a fantasy K-drama that follows the adventures of a scholar named Kim Bung-do (Ji Hyun-woo) from the Joseon Dynasty in 1694. He is the last surviving member of his family and s the deposed Queen In-hyun, who lost her rule thanks to the royal concubine Lady Jang. However, when a mysterious talisman causes Kim Bung-do to travel to the future, he ends up in 2012 and meets a struggling actress named Choi Hee-jim (Yoo In-na).

The twist is that Choi received her first major TV role when a popular drama called New Jang Heebin casts her as Queen In-hyun. Soon, Kim meets Choi, and the two fall in love. The series ran for 16 episodes in 2012 and received critical acclaim. Yoo In-na won the Rising Star Award in 2012 at the 1st K-Drama Star Awards and earned a nomination for Romantic-Comedy Queen in 2016 at the tnN10 Awards. There was also a Chinese remake of the series, with the new title Love Weaves Through a Millennium.

Queen In-hyun's Man is available to stream on Roku.

21 Oh My Ghost (2015)

A Ghost Possesses A Timid Young Woman

In Oh My Ghost, Na Bong-sun (Park Bo-young) is a young woman who works as an assistant chef at the Sun Restaurant. She is insecure, timid, and has low self-esteem. She can also see ghosts thanks to her grandmother being a shaman. One day, a lustful virgin ghost possesses her and sets out to lose her virginity, hoping that will allow her to move on to the afterlife. The change that comes over Na is striking, and few people who know her understand how to react when she starts hitting on everyone, trying to find romance.

This is not just a romance, as the ghost realizes that there might be one more thing she needs to do to move on

The male lead is Kang Sun-woo (Jo Jung-suk), the owner and head chef who Na has always had a crush on, and when she starts acting more aggressively and with confidence, she finally catches his eye. However, this is not just a romance, as the ghost realizes that there might be one more thing she needs to do to move on — and that is to use Na to find out who killed her. Both Park Bo-Young and Kim Seul-gi won DramaFever Awards for their performances in this fantasy K-drama.

Oh My Ghost is available to stream on Roku and Viki Rakuten

20 I Can Hear Your Voice (2013)

A Mind Reader Helps A Public Defender Solve Crimes

In I Can Hear Your Voice, Jang Hye-sung is an apathetic public defender who does her job, but has little concern for anyone other than herself. Park Soo-ha is a man who gained the ability to read people's minds by looking them in the eyes — a skill he gained when he watched his father's murder. These two met earlier in life when Jang helped testify to put Park's father's killer in prison. However, when they meet again years later, Park is astonished at how much Jang has changed, and how it seems she doesn't care about life anymore.

Soon, Jang realizes she can help so many more people if she gives up her aimless life and works with Park, using his unique skills to solve cases and save people's lives. This romantic fantasy K-drama was a massive success, winning five awards at the 6th Korean Drama Awards and seven at the SBS Drama Awards with 12 nominations.

I Can Hear Your Voice is available to stream on Viki Rakuten

19 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

During A Solar Eclipse, A Woman Is Transported Back In Time

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is a fantasy K-drama based on a Chinese novel by Bu Bu Jin Xin. The series lasted for 20 episodes and follows a 25-year-old woman transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty during a total solar eclipse. When she wakes up, she is in the body of Hae Soo, surrounded by the princes of the ruling Wang family.

The series is both sad and memorable and was one of the most-watched fantasy K-dramas of 2016.

In the new era, she falls in love with one prince and then with a second. During all this time, she ends up involved in palace politics and is stuck in between the princes as they fight for the throne. The series is both sad and memorable and was one of the most-watched fantasy K-dramas of 2016. It was also nominated for twelve prizes at SBS Drama Awards, winning seven

18 Alchemy Of Souls (2022)

Young Mages Deal In Adventures Of Heaven & Earth

Alchemy of Souls is a 2022 fantasy Korean drama about a couple of young mages who fall in love after a forbidden magic spell is cast that allows souls to switch bodies. An elite warrior named Nak-su had his soul trapped in the body of the weak Mu-deok. However, she soon meets Jang Uk, a noble, and becomes his servant and his master, and they soon fall in love.

Created by the Hong Sisters, this is one of the most ambitious projects for the sisters. When Songrim and Jang Uk are together, she teaches him how to become a mage, and the two work together to battle evil lurking in the shadows together. The second part follows a tragic ending for the first season, and this forces Jang Uk into a dark path where he needs to find love again.

Alchemy of Souls is available to stream on Netflix.

17 Extraordinary You (2019)

A Girl Learns She Lives In A Comic Book

The fantasy K-drama Extraordinary You follows a high school girl named Eun Dan-oh at a prestigious academy. However, she soon learns that she lives in a world that is actually part of a fantasy comic world. Based on the Korean Webtoon July Found By Chance, when she realizes that she nor anyone she knows really exists, she decides to change her story and her fate.

This fantasy Korean drama was a huge success, winning five MBC Drama Awards, including Drama of the Year.

It is similar to the American blockbuster Ryan Reynolds movie Free Guy, where a man in a video game decides he will become the game's hero. However, in this situation, the girl realizes that it might not be her place to change the story of the comic after she meets a nameless student in her class and faces the fact that this might not even be her story to change. This fantasy Korean drama was a huge success, winning five MBC Drama Awards, including Drama of the Year.

Extraordinary You is available to stream on Viki Rakuten

16 My Roommate Is A Gumiho (2021)

A Gumiho Wants To Become Human By Finding Love

Released in 2021, My Roommate is a Gumiho is a fantasy K-drama that tells the story of a 999-year-old Gumiho, or a nine-tailed fox, a mythical creature who takes the form of Shin Woo-yeo. His dream is to become human one day, and this 16-episode series follows him as he seeks this dream. In the typical myths, the Gumiho often takes the form of a beautiful woman, so she can seduce men and eat their liver or heart.

This fantasy Korean drama takes a different look at it since it is in a male body, and he doesn't want to feed on anyone but wants to become a human. However, when a young woman swallows one of his sacred beads, she will die, and he will never become human if they don't get it out.

My Roommate Is A Gumiho is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.