Cover When it comes to Korean TV royalty, no one is more regal than repeat TV aristocrat Ju Ji-hoon. (Photo: IMDB)
When it comes to Korean TV royalty, no one is more regal than repeat TV aristocrat Ju Ji-hoon. (Photo: IMDB)
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From palace plots to modern dynasties, K-dramas feature their fair share of TV royalty—icons who reign over Hallyu
Forget Buckingham Palace. The real drama is happening in Seoul (usually Joseon). K-dramas have transformed royals into some of the genre’s most enduring figures—part fantasy, part cultural export. They’ve given us kings who invent alphabets, queens possessed by 21st-century chefs and crown princes who look devastatingly good even while fighting zombies.
TV royalty via K-dramas isn’t just about lavish costumes and glittering palaces. It’s also about power struggles, forbidden love, political intrigue, maybe a culinary conundrum and the eternal question: can a monarch also be a heartthrob? These roles have launched actors into superstardom and even reignited interest in history among younger audiences.
Here’s our coronation of the best K-drama royals who wielded both their sceptres and their screen presence with unforgettable flair.
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1. King Lee Gon in ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’ (2020)
Above Lee Min-ho dons the mantle of a parallel-universe emperor, galloping between dimensions while guarding his throne and finding heart.
Korean TV royalty Lee Min-ho returned to K-drama screens in The King: Eternal Monarch as the impossibly elegant King Lee Gon, a monarch ruling a parallel Korea where the monarchy survived. With a sword in one hand and equations about parallel universes in the other, Lee balances stately dignity with swoon-worthy vulnerability. It’s half fantasy, half historical cosplay and wholly a reminder that Lee Min-ho wears a crown like it was custom-tailored.
2. Prince Lee Yeong in ‘Love in the Moonlight’ (2016)
Above Park Bo-gum charms as Joseon’s crown prince who secretly courts his eunuch. Plot twist? He happens to be a disguised young woman.
Before Park Bo-gum was dubbed the nation’s boyfriend, he was the nation’s Crown Prince. Many people may have forgotten Park’s role as TV royalty. In Love in the Moonlight, Park plays Lee Yeong, the playful Joseon prince who falls for a young woman disguised as a eunuch. What begins as a comedy of mistaken identity blooms into one of the most bittersweet palace romances in K-drama history. Bo-gum’s charm made this prince feel less like an untouchable heir and more like the boy you hoped might wink at you across the courtyard.
3. Empress Ki in ‘Empress Ki’ (2013-2014)
Above Ha Ji-won rules as the Goryeo-born woman who rises from palace maid to Empress of Yuan.
Forget dainty tiaras: Ha Ji-won brought steel to the throne in Empress Ki. Her character, Ki Seung-nyang, is a woman of Goryeo origin who rises to power in Yuan dynasty China. The series spans decades, palace intrigues, betrayals and heartbreaks, with Ha Ji-won commanding every frame. She’s a survivor first and a royal second, and in her, viewers saw not just a heroine, but a strategist who bent history to her will.
4. King Sejong the Great in ‘Tree With Deep Roots’ (2011)
Above King Sejong (Han Suk-kyu) swaps courtly ease for intellectual firepower as he births Hangul amid bloody palace conspiracies.
A drama about the invention of Hangul could have been dusty history, but Han Suk-kyu breathed fire into King Sejong. Tree With Deep Roots follows a series of murders tied to the creation of Korea’s unique alphabet. Han’s Sejong is both visionary and vulnerable, driven by his people’s need for literacy yet haunted by the costs of leadership. It’s a rare portrayal where the crown isn’t just a symbol. Interestingly, it’s a crushing weight.
5. Prince Lee Chang in ‘Kingdom’ (2019-2020)
Above Ju Ji-hoon is true Korean TV royalty. For this zombie series, he plays a Joseon prince battling both court usurpers and a kingdom of ravenous undead.
Nothing says “worst day as a crown prince” like discovering your kingdom has been overtaken by zombies. In Kingdom, Ju Ji-hoon plays Prince Lee Chang, who must battle court politics and the undead at the same time. Dressed in Joseon robes and wielding a sword, he’s as much an action hero as a royal heir. The show’s balance of horror and history cemented Lee Chang as a royal unlike any other. Here, we have fewer tea ceremonies and more slashing through flesh-eating hordes.
6. Queen Cheorin in ‘Mr Queen’ (2020-2021)
Above Shin Hye-sun delivers bedlam as a modern male chef trapped in a Joseon queen’s body, revising royal etiquette with slapstick flair.
The crown has never been this funny. In Mr Queen, Shin Hye-sun plays Queen Cheorin, except with a twist: she’s possessed by the spirit of a modern-day male chef. What follows is a palace rom-com of identity swaps, scandalous behaviour and slapstick humour. Shin’s performance, oscillating between regal grace and frat-boy swagger, made Queen Cheorin one of the most unpredictable and beloved of K-drama TV royalty.
See more: K-dramas to leave you hungry: 14 best food-centric Korean series
7. Empress Oh Sunny in ‘The Last Empress’ (2018—2019)
Above This K-drama answers what happens when a modern-day musical actress is thrust into a fictional Korean monarchy, where betrayal, murder and campy palace politics reign supreme.
If sageuks give us reverent portrayals of historical monarchs, The Last Empress gleefully flips the tiara. Set in an alternate present where Korea remains a constitutional monarchy, Jang Nara plays Oh Sunny, a bubbly musical actress who accidentally marries into the royal family. Instead of palace perfection, she gets conspiracy, betrayal, plus a body count to rival Game of Thrones. Jang Nara balances slapstick charm with steel-edged determination, growing from wide-eyed ingénue to scheming survivor. The series was a sensation, partly because it let viewers fantasise about modern royalty while satirising power itself. Think Diana meets Penthouse drama, with Jang Nara holding court in stilettos.
8. Crown Prince Lee Shin in ‘Princess Hours’ (2006)
Above An arranged marriage? Not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but Ju Ji-hoon made everyone swoon with his aloof yet charming portrayal.
Long before he was the dark, brooding prince of Kingdom, Ju Ji-hoon wore a school uniform and a crown in Princess Hours (Goong), the cult drama that turned an entire generation into royal-watchers. The premise: a common high school girl (Yoon Eun-hye) finds herself in an arranged marriage with aloof Crown Prince Lee Shin. Ju Ji-hoon played him with the perfect combo of cold indifference and slow-burn tenderness. It made viewers forgive every icy glare once he finally cracked a smile. The drama wasn’t just a hit; it spawned fashion trends, tourism booms and even inspired global remakes, cementing the K-drama royal romance formula we still see today.
9. Queen Im Hwa-ryeong in ‘Under the Queen’s Umbrella’ (2022)
Above Critics praised Kim Hye-soo as one of the most compelling royal figures in K-drama history. Her Queen Im Hwa-ryeong was equal parts tiger mom and stateswoman.
If Ju Ji-hoon was the reluctant dreamboat, Kim Hye-soo was the hurricane. In Under the Queen’s Umbrella, she plays Queen Im Hwa-ryeong, a monarch not content with embroidery and etiquette but fiercely determined to protect her sons from palace intrigue and assassination plots. Unlike the porcelain queens of earlier sageuks, Kim’s character is whip-smart, sharp-tongued and unafraid to go toe-to-toe with corrupt ministers. Critics praised her as one of the most compelling members of Korean TV royalty. Beyond the palace corridors, the drama resonated with viewers for its fresh feminist lens.
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Sasha Lim-Uy Mariposa is a lifestyle journalist who is known for her food writing. Based in Manila, she also covers entertainment and dining, as well as a broad range of topics. She was the former digital editor at Esquire Philippines and was the digital managing editor at Spot.ph, and now writes for the different Tatler Asia markets as a contributing writer for T-Labs.
