- Netflix’s K-drama series The East Palace has earned a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, with nearly 5 million views and 32.9 million hours of viewership.
- The limited dark fantasy series, set during a fictionalized period of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, follows an irreverent spirit slayer and a court lady as they uncover secrets within a cursed palace.
- The East Palace is currently the second most-watched non-English language show on Netflix, following the success of Squid Game, as Netflix continues to invest in Korean content with a $2.5 billion investment over the next four years.
<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/americans-remake-koreans-lee-byung-hun-b2945242.html” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Netflix’s newest K-dramato capture audiences’ attention, The East Palace, has earned a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The limited dark fantasy series from director Choi Jung-kyu was released July 17 and has already racked up nearly 5 million views and 32.9 million hours of viewership.It lands second on the streamer’s most-watched non-English language shows for the week of July 13.
Starring Nam Joo-hyuk, Roh Yoon-seo, and Cho Seung-woo,the eight-episode limited series is set during a fictionalized period of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty. It follows an irreverent spirit slayer (Nam) as he’s forced to hunt a dangerous ghost that’s killing off the ruling dynasty. With the help of a court lady (Roh), who can sense the dead, the two risk their lives for the king (Cho), uncovering secrets within a cursed palace.
The East Palacehas managed to retain an en nine reviews. However, this could change as more critical reviews roll in
According to Decider, the series has “enough intrigue” and is worth watching for its “stunning cinematography” and commitment to world-building.
It will “hook viewers on the first episode and immerse you in its twisting tale,” the outlet’s Maddy Casale wrote. “If you’re a fan of K-dramas, historical fantasy, and dark supernatural stories, then you should STREAM IT!”
Meanwhile, the audience score currently sits at 92 percent. This rating is also subject to change as more viewers log their reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. “The acting was passable but it did lack that emotional depth,” one person said on Reddit. “I think that plus the storytelling. It felt too linear even though they tried to throw tangents to get us curious and build suspense. Something just felt missing there. But if you watch it without expectations, it’s a good watch.”
The series comes a year afterSquid Gameconcluded its third season. Squid Game is Netflix’s biggest global K-drama breakout, making history as the first Korean series to top U.S. Netflix’s daily top-ten list. It also surpassed Tim Burton’s Wednesday tobecome the platform’s most-watched TV show of all time, with 2.2 billion hours viewed and 265.2 million total views.
Since then, Netflix has beefed up its investment in South Korean entertainment. In 2023, co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the streamer would be investing $2.5 billion into creating Korean content for the platform, including TV series, movies and unscripted shows, over the next four years.
“We are deepening our partnership with the Korean creative industry, which has produced global hits such as Squid Game, The Glory and Physical:100,” Sarandos said in a statement. “With the partnership, we will continue to grow with the local industry while sharing the joy of entertainment with Korean storytellers to our fans around the world.”
The East Palaceis streaming now on Netflix.
