[da-man-si]

Please, Gu Cheon. Let us make it out of the palace alive.

[da-man-si]

I will leave this palace in death. If I die here, I will turn into a relentless ak-gwi. And when I do... I will come for the King first.

[da-man-si]

From now on, I will accompany you to the Realm of Gwi. Two are better than one.

[ibrethhere]

I mean she waited beside his dead body, for three days without anything confirming that he might come back to life. Thats joseon level insane, she avoided anyone trying to barry him, they probably thought she was attracting some kind of bad omen. And then she went to haunt his soul, to guide him back to his body. They did soulmate like no one this year.

[captainjoongki]

every modern kdrama romance writer needs to watch the last episode of the east palace and learn from princess saengang and gucheon's dynamic.

SHE makes sure that he is safe and runs off to the spirit hell world to protect his life and end hers to fix this curse.

HE wakes up and immediately slits his throat to reach her.

SHE dies there to make sure that HE won't have to.

HE ends up there and gives her his LIFE to make sure she lives.

SHE immediately wakes up in the real world and RUNS to him and begs that he comes back because how can she lose him?

she then spends DAYS with his DEAD BODY and refuses to believe he's gone, before running to the river to wade into it and beg, screaming, crying for his SPIRIT even to return to her, no matter what form it takes. it's unfathomable for her to live without him.

he then wakes up and she engulfs him in a hug and then instead of staying at court or living as a princess, leaves with him for more adventures.

this is the dynamic i want from my romances. i don't want half-assed one sided nonsense. i want a princess who has never once received respect, meeting this strange ghost seeing orphan man, who calls her "princess" with more warmth than anything else, and whom she fights her own father, the king, hell, and the universe to bring back to her.

and mind you, this was not a fully or even slightly romantic drama, by any means at all. and they served SO much!

[captainjoongki]

if you cannot find your way back, then ring our bell so i may find you.

princess saeng gang x gu cheon, the east palace (2026)

[liveasbutterflies]

I should send you out of the palace at once, but I cannot for now. You are the only one I can rely on.

The East Palace (동궁) 2026

[romchat]

Man, watching The East Palace made me really miss Kingdom.

(Bring back real horror, Korea, I know you have it in you!)

[captainjoongki]

the east palace has it all.........high fantasy, cho seung woo serving cunt as a grey shaded king, kwak dong yeon special appearance that steals the show, a CGI labubu, and a beloved lead pairing of a shunned princess and her precious orphan protector who both go to hell and back to save each other multiple times over. what a fun watch. 10/10 for me.

[captainjoongki]

oh how i love a good height difference

[captainjoongki]

the east palace may have some of the best cinematography i've seen in a kdrama in ages? perhaps the best ever?? absolutely stunning cinematic shots, and the use of colors, and the saturation of scenes and the fact that you can see!! all the night scenes!!!!! the art of lighting and color grading are not lost here people!!!!

[mostlyfate]

You carry a great deal of Yang energy A rare constitution, indeed. 

THE EAST PALACE 동궁 · 2026

[captainjoongki]

the east palace (2026) - episode 1

[captainjoongki]

what if you were an orphan living with buddhist MONKS and suddenly the literal king of the nation shows up and KIDNAPS you because you can see GHOSTS and says you gotta save my bloodline from a demonic curse and then sends his literal daughter the shunned PRINCESS to watch over you and you literally could not care less but you're a good person so you travel to spirit dimensions to save the royal family while the princess' BELL ties your soul to hers so she can summon you back to reality and save your SOUL from spirit demons and creatures and now you guys are some ghostbuster spirit hunting duo in the span of 4 business days

[da-man-si]

The possessed young prince almost stabbing himself in his eye is definitely a The Guest reference. Definitely because the writers of The Guest wrote this one as well. They made that reference for me. Thank you.

On that note, if you’re a horror fan, go watch the 2018 horror kdrama, The Guest.

[da-man-si]

Watched ep 1 of East Palace and it’s so gorgeous and so fun. Plus, it actually is spooky. Not bone chilling horror or anything but the scary vibes are there and I love them. It’s the perfect watch for a rainy day. It’s the perfect watch for when you’re craving something horror but the kind that’s fun and not the dreadful kind that leaves you feeling nauseous. I love both kinds but I needed the former right now so I know I’m going to have a fantastic time with East Palace.

[da-man-si]

On Dreamer’s Plain, the gathering of delegations from the Twelve Crowns of Raine for the coronation of the Queen of Raine looked like an invading army. So the young transcriptor thought, gazing out a window as she awaited a visiting scholar. She had never been so high in the palace library, and rarely so warm. Usually at this time of the morning she was buried in the stones below, blowing on her fingers to warm them so they could write.

Started reading Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip and these first lines already have me feeling good and excited about this book because I love this setting and the writing (I’ve read a few pages). I don’t know much about the plot except that it’s centered on a translator trying to decipher an ancient book and I love books that are about books/stories/libraries. This is why I love Shadow of the wind and Sorcery of Thorns so much.