Fantasy K-dramas that make yamdoots, goblins, ghosts and witches look good. But... Do you believe in magic?

Ji Chang-wook and Choi Sung-eun in 'The Sound of Magic', which dropped on Netflix on May 6, 2022. (Image: Screen grab/Netflix)

We are not just a cinema-mad people, we are people who celebrate life with song. You name an emotion and we can turn it into an antakshari… I’m a confirmed K-drama addict and have enjoyed the OST of many shows (even Hollywood made you hear songs used in Kill Bill, Come September and Baby Driver). It was easy to watch The Sound of Magic on Netflix although I wondered how Korean songs would translate in subtitles…

The story of a The Sound of Magic - a schoolgirl trying to make it in this big bad world of adults - resonated with me. Most of us are so burdened with responsibilities we cannot see the magic around us… Ji Chang-Wook as the magician and Choi Sung-Eun as the young girl in desperate need of help will make even the most cynical of hearts melt… The Sound of Magic is a wonderful musical that plays on Netflix.

How do the Koreans manage to create such magical fantasy shows? Can you ever cast Shah Rukh Khan or Mahesh Babu as Yamraj, the God of Death, riding a buffalo with a mace in his hand? Perhaps only in a nightmarish dream sequence where the villain is afraid of the hero. But even then, the two superstars would laugh at you for conjuring such a weird scene. Plus there would be unforgiving memes from fans…

(But you’re forgiven for remembering Yana Gupta who rode a buffalo Yamraj-style in the beginning of an item song Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo.)

The Sound of Magic, which released on May 6, 2022, got us thinking about other fantasy K-drama. Here are some recommendations:

Here's our pick of shows to binge in this genre:

Millions, though, have found themselves glued to the screen because the gorgeous Gong Yoo plays a Goblin! Of course, no dictionary meaning is going to turn this handsome man into a grotesque creature. He will remain the charming lad who wants to look his best whenever the girl summons him. This, as most K-dramas do, has a parallel story of an angel of death who falls in love with a human. Before you can say, ‘Eh?!’, a posse of good looking men is living in this fabulous mansion (BTS style) and learning to romance. But they never let you forget that the moment Gong Yoo - the lonely and great God - acknowledges his love for the young girl who is fated to be his bride, he will die.

Take the idea of heaven and hell and the concept of someone keeping tabs on your good deeds and bad on this planet. Tomorrow (weekly episodes drop on Netflix) is just that show where ‘Grim Reapers’ are sent down to Earth to save people. You grew up with a picture of a Grim Reaper being that creature in a full length hoodie that looks like Skeletor from He-Man cartoons, carrying a scythe. But the K-drama has the beautiful Kim Hee-Sun plays Goo Ryeon, the pink haired Grim Reaper who along with Yoon Ji-On form the Crisis Management team from heaven sent down to Earth to save souls. An accident brings Rowoon (yes, the gorgeous lead singer from the K-pop band SF9 turned model and actor) to their group for six months. He brings humanity to the team, and manages to save people from dying before their allotted time on Earth is up.

This show manages to tackle an impossible crisis that’s plaguing Korea without making you want to turn away from the screen. The issue is that of suicide. Every episode tops the previous one and it will make your heart melt. Whether it’s schoolkids bullying classmates, or people wanting to kill themselves for being jobless, friendless and more, this band of Grim Reapers finds solutions to their problems. The undercurrent of hope will make you swallow that feeling you have been feeling over the last couple of years and reconnect with life again. Not to forget, this band of Grim Reapers has a stern, and well turned out in black Lee Soo-Hyuk as the collector of souls.

If this show makes you teary, then switch to a fantasy show called The Uncanny Counters. At first I thought it was a name lost in translation but no, you’re counting evil beings that exist on Earth and destroying them because you have the supernatural powers to identify them. This is such a fun show because the heavenly demon hunters run a popular Noodle shop and when a category 3 demon kills one of them, the heavenly spirit gets into a young schoolboy (Jo Byeong Kyu from Sky Castle). How can a boy with an injured leg become a powerful demon hunter? Of course every demon hunter has unique powers (one can heal, one is a telepath, one is strong!) and they have to find these demons… The stories of the people they save seem to be equally good, so watch! The weekly episodes will keep you engrossed (unless you are like me and wait for two or three episodes to drop before I binge watch), and you will become a fan of this super versatile actor Yeon Hye-Ran. She has this amazing ability to transform herself into the character she plays - an old lady or even the villain - in the various shows.

During the pandemic, so many of us have lost our loved ones, and they’re always in our thoughts as the raised bats of our cricketing stars are wont to demonstrate, as our popular movies have scenes where characters stand in front of photographs of a parent and say, ‘Look ma, I have fulfilled your dreams!’ or ‘I know you’re watching me from the heavens!’ (when looking at a starlit sky). We cope with the loss of our dear departed ones, by saying that they are watching over us. This heart-rending K-drama hit one out of the park when they chose to show a mother’s love that lasts beyond the grave. Hi Bye, Mama is a show where a mother is constantly keeping an eye on her cute as a button daughter even after death. Trouble begins when she is given 49 days to earn her place in the family again. It’s an awful choice because she will be disrupting the life of her husband who has remarried. Her reappearance will confuse her daughter and disrupt the life of the new bride. What is her choice, really? Does it remind you of the old Hindi movie Basera (Shashi Kapoor, Rakhi, Rekha)? Keep a box of tissues handy for every episode.

Fantasy TV gets really fun when you get Hollywood flashbacks of mermaids turning into women. Most of us weren’t around when movies like Splash gave us that fantasy. Also, Disney’s Little Mermaid trope has been around for decades. But as I said before, K-drama tells us this story with so much style, you don’t want to have it any other way. Besides, where else will you find a heroine bite people? This show is so much fun, you’ll want to keep lots of cheesy popcorn next to you while you watch The Legend Of The Blue Sea on Netflix.

The Tale Of The Nine Tailed will make you wonder how the Koreans dream up such great storylines. They have a treasure trove of webcomics to fall back upon, of course, but this one had me foxed for a while, even though the story line is pretty straightforward: The legendary nine tailed fox abdicates his throne and takes an avatar on Earth to seek out his one true love. It helps when the show stars Lee Dong-Wook who brings that charisma which helps in the story. But as always, it’s the chemistry between all the characters in the ensemble cast that will keep you enchanted when watching this story. Is it a love story? Is it horror? It’s worth noting that the soundtrack is so amazing, you may find yourself exploring the work of the artistes on it... 'Blue Moon' by Kim Jong-Wan; 'I'll be there' by Shownu, 'parting at the river of three crossing' by Hong Dae Sung and more.

If you thought Hotel Transylvania was a fun watch for kids, tune in to Hotel Del Luna, a K-drama hotel which accommodates only the dead. The owner wants to get out of being the guardian keeper, but someone else has to commit a sin greater than hers to relieve her of her position. The staff at this hotel for ghosts are so good, you like the way they interact with one another. Plus, the lead is a gorgeous woman this time. Lee Ji-Eun popularly known as IU (I and You become one through music, hence the name IU) is a singer songwriter and an actor. She is brilliant as she says, ‘You don’t need an MBA to work at this hotel.’

There are so many fantasy shows that the Hallyu wave has brought into your life that it would be amiss on my part to not mention the best of the fantasy genre: zombies. You may learn to double tap to confirm a zombie kill thanks to Hollywood, but the Koreans will get to the bottom of why zombies were created. If you watch all the seasons of Kingdom, and the spinoff Ashin Of The North, you will become a confirmed fan of their art, the super talented actors, the stories, the special effects, the makeup, the clothes, and yes the handsome men (and gorgeous women). Pardon me for I have run out of adjectives. Kingdom is a period drama and you will love it, as have thousands and thousands of k-drama fans.