From ‘Perfect Crown’ to ‘Princess Hours’: K-dramas featuring romance between royals and non-royals

Princess Hours walked so Perfect Crown could run, serving as a gateway K-drama for many early adopters of the Hallyu wave. The MBC rom-com stars Ju Ji-hoon as modern-day crown prince Lee Shin and Yoon Eun-hye as his commoner bride Shin Chae-gyeong. Kim Jeong-hoon and Song Ji-hyo join the cast, completing what would become a love square—a popular trope in K-dramas of the era.

Adapted from the manhwa Goong, written by Park So-hee, the story revolves around a regular high school student who learns that she must marry into the royal family. Bright and cheerful, Chae-gyeong resents the cold, arrogant crown prince and the sacrifices required to adjust to palace life, including maintaining a pretend relationship with her tsundere fiancé. But as the two grow closer, romance slowly blooms.

The K-drama, a certified hit and cultural phenomenon, would thrust its four young leads, all relatively newcomers, into superstardom. Ju Ji-hoon would go on to star in many popular K-dramas, including the Netflix global hit Kingdom and the upcoming Disney+ series The Remarried Empress—where he also plays royalty. Yoon Eun-hae, who would later star in Coffee Prince alongside Gong Yoo, would become that era’s K-drama It girl.

Even decades later, Princess Hours continues to captivate fans and has even inspired a petition for a remake starring Lovely Runner co-stars Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hye-yoon.

See more: From Byeon Woo-seok in ‘The Lovely Runner’ to Kim Soo-hyun in ‘Queen of Tears’, top K-drama actors of 2024

A sleeper Netflix hit in 2025, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty—adapted from Park Kuk-jae’s web novel Surviving as Yeonsangun’s Chef—stars Girls’ Generation’s Yoona as Yeon Ji-yeong, a chef who travels back in time opposite Lee Chae-min in a star-making turn as King Lee Heon.

Directed by Jang Tae-yoo of My Love from the Star, the series, loosely inspired by the turbulent reign of the real-life Joseon tyrant King Yeonsangun, masterfully blends time travel, sageuk and romantic comedy. Light and engaging, it charmed audiences across the globe, landing on Netflix’s global top ten. Viewers praised Yoona and Lee Chae-min for their compelling performances and palpable chemistry.

Another highlight of the show is how it seamlessly weaves the culinary elements into the narrative, becoming central to both the story and the romance. The visually arresting shots of the dishes—more reminiscent of Chef’s Table than a typical K-drama—paired with the hilarious reactions of those tasting them, had fans coming back for more week after week.

See more: Your next time travel binge: 6 addictive shows and films to watch after ‘Bon Appétit, Your Majesty’

The K-drama marked Lee Min-ho’s long-awaited return to the small screen after a three-year hiatus. In the fantasy romance, he stars as King Lee Gon, ruler of the Kingdom of Corea—a modern monarchy in a parallel universe. Meanwhile, Kim Go-eun plays his love interest, Jeong Tae-eul, a police detective from this universe.

Written by Kim Eun-sook, who brought audiences K-drama hits like Lovers in Paris, Secret Garden, Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, The Heirs and Mr Sunshine, The King: Eternal Monarch follows the sweeping love story of Lee Gon and Tae-eul across time and space. Key scenes like the famous “neck kiss” and the dramatic rescue scene where he tells his guards to protect the future queen of Corea, left fans swooning.

Though the convoluted parallel-universe plot sometimes bogged down the story, the stars’ on-screen—and behind-the-scenes—chemistry kept fans hooked. And the “Min-Eun” pairing remains a fan-favourite.

The highly successful MBC K-drama stars 2PM’s Lee Jun-ho and Lee Se-young, who bring to the screen the real-life tragic romance between historical figures King Jeongjo and his beloved consort Uibin Sung. Considered one of the best sageuks, it traces their love story from childhood to adulthood, seamlessly moving between lighthearted courtship to devastating heartbreak.

When court lady Seong Deok-im (later Uibin Sung) comes into King Jeongjo’s life, he falls deeply in love with her. But the free-spirited Deok-im wants nothing less than to be trapped in palace life as a royal concubine, even as she begins to fall for the king herself.

The series was both a commercial and critical success, reaching a peak viewership rate of 17.4 per cent and sweeping the 2021 MBC Drama Awards. It also earned Lee Jun-ho the Baeksang Awards that year for Best Actor and Most Popular Actor.

Considered one of the big K-dramas of 2016, alongside Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, The Legend of the Blue Sea, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, Signal, W - The Two Worlds and Scarlet Heart Ryeo, the period rom-com Love in the Moonlight stars Park Bo-gum as crown prince Lee Yeong and Kim You-jung as Hong Ra-on/Hong Sam-nom.

In this gender-bending K-drama, Hong Ra-on, a woman forced to dress as a man all her life, is mistaken by the crown prince for a palace eunuch. Though their relationship is initially antagonistic, their constant squabbling gradually gives way to romantic feelings. Think Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, but make it K-drama.

Thanks to the irresistible playful romance and its leads’ undeniable chemistry, Love in the Moonlight was a huge national hit, reaching a peak viewership rating of 23.3 per cent. It was also an international sensation, cementing Park Bo-gum’s status as a Hallyu icon.

The K-drama features a prince who thinks he’s a commoner ending up with a commoner who is actually a noblewoman. In this popular sageuk, Exo’s DO (Doh Kyung-soo) plays Lee Yul, the cold and fearsome crown prince who loses his memory after a failed assassination attempt. Rechristened Won-deuk, he runs into Hong-shim (played by Nam Ji-hyun), an outspoken and fiercely independent village spinster.

Suddenly a commoner, he falls victim to a royal decree he himself had issued before his amnesia—one that mandates all unmarried women must wed—and ends up marrying Hong-shim. It turns out, life in the village is exactly what the doctor ordered. The more he lives with her and the simple townspeople, the more he learns about humility and kindness. By the time he regains his memory, he is a changed man and a better ruler.

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From the highly anticipated Perfect Crown to the genre-defining romance of Princess Hours and the time-travelling hijinks of Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, the best K-dramas about royals and non-royals prove that no divide—not rank, not era, not even parallel universes—is any match for a great love story. Whether you're a longtime Hallyu fan or a first-time K-drama viewer, these series are essential watching.

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