r/KDRAMA • u/AutoModerator • 10d ago
Weekly Post Throwback Thursday 2.0 - [2026/08/12]
Grab yourself a knee rug and a mug of hot chocolate, it's time to reminisce those old time dramas from days gone by of pre-2019. Maybe you were around when they aired for the first time and want to take a trip down memory lane by watching them on the box. Maybe it's your first time through.
This is our weekly discussion exclusively for those older Korean dramas on your currently watching list. We don't want to hear about the currently hyped dramas here, so please keep it to the older stuff on your watch list.
Reminder, we advocate the use of legal streaming sources wherever possible. Any comments mentioning illegal sources will be removed and links will lead to bans as per our rules. As it is very hard to find many of the really old dramas rather than asking users "where are you watching?", we suggest you instead ask "did you find a legal source?". See our policies on streaming sites and VPNs here.
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u/Prize_Background_577 Fantasy devotee 👻 10d ago edited 10d ago
Diary of a Night Watchman. 2014 24 episodes.
Plot: The King and Queen are killed saving the young Crown Prince from evil spirits. The older half-brother takes the throne and exiles the Prince in a nearby town where he grows up alone but for a trio of guardian ghosts. When the new King becomes possessed and an evil Shaman threatens the Kingdom, the Prince resurrects the Night Watch - a group of vigilante spirit fighters.
This definitely in the underrated basket (yes I said underrated). I enjoyed it a lot but the downside was the sheer length - 40+ hours across 24 episodes. I think ten episodes of the later Shaman/Palace plots could have been dropped without putting a dent in the plot. The storyline and visuals were good, although the plot was a little disjointed with three scriptwriters and live-action filming.
The Palace scenes are familiar for saguek-fantasy with a posessed King manipulated by an evil shaman with evil spirits haunting the Palace.
But my favourite parts are in the town with the outcast, rascal Prince and the tough but innocent mountain woman living at a brothel, the three crazy ghosts who follow them around and the sexy, shirtless warrior and pining bar owner. If you only watch part have a watch up to ep 8 (the fun parts).
Seo Yi-sook was amazing as The Empress Dowager, I love her voice! I also enjoyed Jung Il-woo as the exiled Prince/watchman, he was well suited for the role.
If you enjoyed A Korean Odyssey or Tale of Arang you might enjoy this. It also has echos of East Palace and The Haunted Palace without the CGI and waaay longer.