From left, posters for SBS’ “My Royal Nemesis,” Tving’s “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier” and Netflix’s “The WONDERfools” / Courtesy of SBS, Tving and Netflix

With courtroom revenge dramas and dark crime thrillers having dominated broadcast schedules recently, fantasy comedies are now moving in, seeking to offer viewers something fresh by putting stories with offbeat premises in the hands of veteran directors.

Lim Ji-yeon plays a Joseon-era villain who transcends time and possesses the body of an unknown actor in SBS’ drama “My Royal Nemesis.” Courtesy of SBS

First to arrive is “My Royal Nemesis,” an SBS Friday-Saturday drama set to premiere on May 8. The romantic comedy centers on the stormy romance between an unknown actor possessed by the spirit of a notorious Joseon-era villainess and a ruthless chaebol heir, blending the genre with a time-transcending possession.

Shin Seo-ri, played by Lim Ji-yeon, carries the sharp edges she developed to survive. After firing back at the rude male lead with an archaic insult, she laughs and cries her way through centuries of Korean history.

Park Ji-hoon plays Kang Sung-jae, who grows into a legendary military cook with the help of a game-style choice window, in Tving’s original series “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier.” Courtesy of Tving

Throwing military life, cooking and game-like elements into one fantasy mix, Tving is set to start airing “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier” on the 11th. The series follows a fresh recruit who carries a kitchen knife instead of a rifle and wears an apron rather than a cartridge belt, as he follows instructions from a mysterious game-style choice window and levels up his cooking skills to becoming a legendary military cook.

The drama drew attention early on for being based on a popular Naver webtoon of the same name. It also marks Park Ji-hoon’s first follow-up project to the massive hit film “The King's Warden."

At a press event Wednesday, Park jokingly introduced himself as a “military otaku” and said he practiced his knife skills before shooting began. “I immersed myself in the role so the scenes with the game-style choice window would feel realistic,” he said, adding that balancing humor and charm was a key part of his performance.

The drama promises playful chemistry among its colorful military characters, from a bulldozer-like supply officer and a quietly charismatic lieutenant to a senior sergeant nearing discharge who has little interest in cooking.

Source: Korea Times News