Look, I know I live in delulu land sometimes, but what if we took some of our favorite modern K-dramas and sageuk-ified them? Like, same characters, same vibes, but now we’re in the Joseon Dynasty with hanboks, royal curses, and dramatic lantern lighting. (You think I should have been born during the Joseon dynasty? I know, right?

Why? I don’t know, my brain said so, and now that I’ve imagined it, I can’t go back. We are in this together, by the way.
So here are 5 historical spin-offs based on modern dramas that absolutely nobody asked for… except me.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

Let’s just title this: The Cursed Princess and the Royal Healer.

So Ko Moon-young is the daughter of a disgraced royal shaman, living in isolation at the edge of the palace grounds. Whispers say she’s cursed. Others say she’s just terrifyingly honest. Enter Moon Gang-tae, a royal healer tasked with “fixing” her. But the more time he spends with her, the more he uncovers secrets about the palace… and about himself. There will be ghost sightings, a cursed book that writes itself, and a love story so chaotic it might just heal them both. Add Moon Sang-tae sketching visions of the future on royal scrolls? Yes. I want it now.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Title? Swords at Sunset.

Na Hee-do is a noble lady with zero interest in embroidery and full interest in fencing. She sneaks into the royal fencing academy (not sure that will be a thing in Joseon, but it’s delulu land anyway) disguised as a boy (classic sageuk behavior, right?) and ends up dueling half the court. Baek Yi-jin is a former noble turned government clerk, now delivering secret messages for the crown. They fall for each other during sparring sessions and hushed conversations in moonlit gardens. Political unrest brews. Loyalties are tested. And one rainy fencing match will absolutely emotionally ruin all of us (sorry, no happy ending here as well).

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

I will just title this one ‘ The Legendary Maid of Hanyang,’

So Bong-soon is a royal maid with the strength of ten men, but if anyone finds out, she’s doomed. Why? women aren’t supposed to lift heavy scrolls, let alone throw palace guards across courtyards. She’s sent to work for Min-hyuk, a quirky young noble whose family has been receiving death threats. He hires her as his “bodyguard,” except she keeps breaking things (and people) in the process. There’s rooftop chases, secret identities, and flirtation via swordplay. Just imagine a sageuk where the damsel saves the prince, every time, and sorry, I am fitting in no love triangle here. I need a break. It’s my script, after all.

My Roommate is a Gumiho

Let’s keep the title simple: The Fox and the Maiden

Shin Woo-yeo is a 999-year-old gumiho trying to become human before the next eclipse. Then there’s Dam, a scholar’s daughter who accidentally swallows his magical bead and suddenly starts seeing spirits, hearing fox thoughts, and craving raw meat at royal banquets. She moves into his secluded mountain estate for “protection,” but the longer they stay together, the more trouble brews, especially when other supernatural beings start sniffing around. There’s romance, mysticism, and plenty of village and even palace drama.

Judge from Hell

Call this one ‘Justitia of Joseon: The Demon in the Robes’ and you will be more than right.

In the Joseon era, a demon judge named Justitia gets herself exiled to the human world after wrongly condemning an innocent scholar to eternal suffering. Her punishment? She has to wear hanbok, live as a human magistrate, and punish ten unrepentant murderers or face total annihilation. No pressure. Now disguised as Magistrate Kang Bit-na, she starts doling out poetic justice with terrifying accuracy. Poisoners? Burned at dawn. Assassins? Sent to the ghost forest. But then she meets Han Da-on, a brilliant royal inspector with trust issues and perfect cheekbones, who starts noticing things. Like how Bit-na seems not exactly human. And how her verdicts are always one step ahead of the law and even branding criminals. But romantic feelings set in (the worst punishment of all). Slowly, the line between justice and humanity blurs, and she begins to question: is she judging them or becoming one of them?

And that’s my new dream sageuk lineup. If the K-Drama gods are listening, please just let me live out my Joseon-era spin-off dreams, because let’s be honest, the 2025 K-Drama lineup is not giving us enough Sageuk.

Which of these should we write an actual episode for? Because I’m one scroll away from starting a fanfic. Also, let me know if you need more. I will enter the delulu castle for you anytime!