Netflix's fantasy period series 'The East Palace' brings folklore realm of the dead to life

In Korean folklore, gucheon refers to the otherworld where souls go after death. Spirits with unresolved resentment or lingering attachments to earthly desires are said to wander gucheon, unable to ascend to heaven and fully leave this world behind.

In the new Netflix fantasy period series "The East Palace," the word is also a name: Gu-cheon, a man who can travel between the worlds of the living and the dead, played by Nam Joo-hyuk in his first role since leaving the military. 

Nam said he first read the script during his mandatory service, which ended in September 2024, an environment that gave him “many moments” to let his imagination run.

"I really wanted to take on the challenge,” Nam said at a press event in Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of the series’ release on July 17. “I was curious about how the world of spirits would be portrayed, and the mysterious events inside the palace flowed so naturally that I had a lot of fun following the story. I thought that, if I joined this project, I could throw myself into creating Gu-cheon.”

Nam is joined by Cho Seung-woo, who also returns to a drama after more than three years, and Roh Yoon-seo, who is trying her hand at her first period piece role, for the main cast.

"The East Palace" follows Gu-cheon and Roh's Saeng-gang, a woman who can hear spirits, as they go to court under the summons of Cho's King Yi-yeon to uncover the mysterious killings of people in the royal family, including the king's sons. 

The series has all the makings of a Netflix Korea summer original: action, royal court intrigue, occult mystery and fantasy wrapped in a period piece. Add to that Korean shamanism — gut rituals, talismans and traversing between the living world and the spirit world — and the series may feel somewhat familiar to viewers who have watched works like “Exhuma” (2024) and “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025), both of which drew from Korean spiritual or supernatural traditions.

Director Choi Hyun-gyu said he tried to make "The East Palace" feel accessible to global audiences while naturally weaving in Korean motifs.

“I believed that if the story was entertaining and the actors’ performances were strong, viewers would enjoy it,” Choi said. “What I paid the most attention to was making the Korean elements feel natural."

If "KPop Demon Hunters" had brought tigers and magpies to the spotlight, Choi wanted the beauty of the palace to stand out in "The East Palace."

“What I wanted to show, visually speaking, was the beauty of the palace attire and architecture,” he said. “While filming, I often found myself admiring the costumes and production design.”

The ghosts in the series were largely created by the writers, who drew from historical texts, existing folklore and stories passed down orally, according to the director. The challenge, he said, was preserving their original characteristics while making them feel more concise and universal.

“Rather than explaining everything about them, we tried to express what kind of beings they were and what kind of personalities they had through their appearance and design in a more intuitive way,” he said.

Ironically, given the number of fantasy elements that had to be created with computer graphics, the director said he was most satisfied with scenes grounded in real weather and physical conditions.

“The scenes I was most pleased with were actually the ones where it really snowed, or where we shot on very cold days, or where the wind was actually blowing,” Choi said. “I thought those moments would look good once visual effects were added on top.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]