Five drama recommendations… for ghostly dramas

by DB Staff

It’s the time of the year where many people like to embrace all things spooky and haunted. Here in dramaland, though, “spooky and haunted” usually also means rife with comedy and romance (why have one thing when you can have everything). Below are some of our favorite ghostly dramas — some spookier than others, but all guaranteed to hit you in the feels. Or at least tickle your funny bone. Or give you something to swoon over.

Master’s Sun (2013)

Master’s Sun is a classic Cinderella and Chaebol romance with a ghostly twist. And yeah, the ghosts are a little more visually creepy than I’d prefer, but I’m willing to sit through all the horror FX makeup for the love story between Gong-shil (Gong Hyo-jin) and Joong-won (So Ji-sub). A prickly, money-motivated businessman, Joong-won loves to tell people to go away with a trademark wave, and the only thing he hates more than people touching his money, is people touching him.

The latter doesn’t bode well for Gong-shil, though, who wants nothing more than to put her hands on his body — but not for the reason you’re thinking. Skinship with Joong-won makes the scary ghosts go away, and, for obvious reasons, seeing ghosts hasn’t been easy. So when our heroine discovers that she can find a slight reprieve just by touching him, she does her best to convince him that ghosts are not only real, but she can see them. What sounds like a crazy pick-up line turns out to be the actual beginnings of a destined love (and ghost) story. –@daebakgrits

Oh My Ghostess (2015)

When it comes to ghostly K-dramas, I prefer my spirits to be of the comedic unfinished-business variety, so it’s unsurprising that Oh My Ghostess — and its mostly rom-com story — is at the top of my favorites list. Plus, it stars the always delightful Kim Seul-gi as Soon-ae, the lustful virgin ghost who body-heists Bong-sun (Park Bo-young), a shy assistant chef. And whenever Soon-ae is in the driver’s seat, hilariousness ensues as she tries to help Bong-sun win over her celebrity boss: chef Sun-woo (Jo Jung-seok).

Of course, Soon-ae’s assistance is not entirely altruistic because she died a virgin, and that leaves her with some major unfinished business that threatens to turn her into a malevolent ghost. There’s also the added mystery of how she died, and that’s where things get a little spooky — but not so scary that I have to sleep with the lights on. –@daebakgrits

Hotel del Luna (2019)

The concept of a hotel for ghosts on their way to the afterlife is full of possibility for fantastical world-building, striking character design and development, and moving storytelling — and Hotel del Luna delivers on all accounts. IU’s hotel owner Man-wol is probably my favorite of the characters I’ve seen her portray, from her overall fabulousness to her journey to make peace with her past so she can finally move on.

While I enjoy my share of thrills, I prefer ghost stories that lean a little less in the horror direction as the characters unravel mysteries and pursue justice for themselves and the ghosts they encounter. Again, Hotel del Luna delivers, as the newly recruited hotel manager (Yeo Jin-gu) learns to see and honor the humanity in even the most frightening of ghosts he wishes he didn’t have the ability to see. In short, the story is heartwarming, intriguing, romantic, and cathartic. And if the Hong sisters ever decide to tell the story of Hotel Blue Moon, I will definitely be tuning in! –@mistyisles

The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim (2021)

If you like your ghostly dramas on the lighter side, The Great Ga Doo-shim is a great choice. With only 12 episodes at about 20 minutes each, you can safely binge this web drama without losing a whole weekend. I love a short drama that sticks to the plot but still makes time for some good character development and relationships, and that’s exactly what we get here.

Kim Sae-ron plays the titular Doo-shim, a shaman by birth who was told by her grandmother that she could live a normal life if she manages to make it past her 18th birthday. Understandably, Doo-shim finds her shamanism more a burden than gift. After a spirit-related death at Doo-shim’s new school, classmate Woo-soo (Nam Da-reum) gains the ability to see ghosts. So naturally, they have to team up to protect their fellow students and rid the school of evil. Nam Da-reum and Kim Sae-ron are always fun to watch, and they’re so cute together here. I loved seeing sweet Woo-soo and jaded Doo-shim grow closer as they bravely fight for their classmates.

Despite the ghostly premise, The Great Ga Doo-shim falls more on the fun than scary side of things. Yes, there’s some death and spirit shenanigans, but it’s not super dark. And there are plenty of cute moments to keep the tone balanced. With ghosts, prophecies, superpowered teens, high school crushes, and endearing leads, what’s not to like? –@quirkycase

Sell Your Haunted House (2021)

As someone who doesn’t favor ghost themes or case-of-the-week anything, this drama was a slam dunk and hit all the right beats for me. Our badass and prickly exorcist heroine (Jang Nara) rocks her motorcycle boots, heavy eye makeup, and bad attitude all to cover up her fragility and sadness. And though she meets many different ghosts/subplots over the course of the drama, the story of her mother’s death progresses the plot as a whole. Throw our hero (Jung Yong-hwa) into the mix to challenge our heroine’s behavior and methods, and it’s a fun ride filled with ghost-possession, looks that could kill, and wonderful moments of vulnerability.

I think what I liked most about this drama is that while the story has a lot of (creepy) specificity around our heroine’s exorcisms, gifting, and goals (oh, the world-building!), it’s really about her growth as a character. Whether that’s breaking down her walls and letting people in (ish), or just getting out her anger on the punching bag conveniently located in her “realty office,” I love a drama that can take a supernatural premise and make it delightfully human.
–@missvictrix

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Five drama recommendations… for ghostly dramas