'East of the Palace' Cast Explains Shamanism Popularity in K-Dramas

If Wishes Killed, My Royal Nemesis, and now East of the Palace. Just from these alone, we already have three major 2026 K-dramas that weave the mystical elements of South Korean shamanism into their stories. When a trend like this happens, it’s a clear sign not only of its deep-rooted popularity in Korean society, but also of the country’s desire to “export” or present this aspect of its culture to those of us on the other side of the ocean.

• “Why Did Nam Joo-hyuk Choose 'East of the Palace' to Return to K-dramas?

At a press conference attended by Omelete, actors Nam Joo-hyuk and Roh Yoon-seo — who star in East of the Palace as a warrior and a shaman hired by a king (Cho Seung-woo) to hunt spirits — spoke a bit about the origins of South Korean storytellers’ fascination with the country’s oldest religion.

Nam traced this trend back to Hometown Legends, the celebrated horror series originally aired by South Korean broadcaster KBS in 1977. With periodic revivals over the years, the production explores the folkloric roots of shamanism for their storytelling potential, opening up a whole new path for the country’s screenwriters.

REPORTER: Historical K-dramas are very popular in Brazil, but at the same time East of the Palace incorporates the element of shamanism, which we’re not very familiar with. What was it like to mix those two things in this series?

NAM: Shamanism is very popular in Korea, and the starting point for that was an old Korean drama called Hometown Legends. It was from that work that many other stories about shamanism branched out into different themes all the way up to today. And I was just a little boy at the time — I grew up watching those stories — so now, as an adult, being part of a project with shamanism as its central theme has been something that brought me a lot of joy.

ROH: I understand that shamanism, and other popular beliefs of the same kind, have very deep cultural roots in Korea. And it’s precisely because it’s something so old and deeply rooted that the theme sparks so much curiosity. On top of that, visually speaking, the inclusion of shamanism clearly brings great value to the work. Even as a viewer, I feel that these elements make the series instantly more interesting.

REPORTER: As mentioned, Brazilian fans have a very strong connection with K-dramas, and they especially enjoy stories that combine emotion and fantasy. What message would you like to share with Brazil about East of the Palace?

NAM: If Brazilian fans enjoy works with sensitivity and fantasy, then our project is certainly full of those elements. So I have no doubt that many people will like it. On top of that, this is a work with plenty of visual delights for the audience.

ROH: I love Brazil, and I’ve always thought about traveling there someday. First of all, thank you so much for loving K-dramas. Since East of the Palace is a series that combines several different genres and offers a wide variety of content, I think Brazilian fans will really enjoy it and have a lot of fun.

East of the Palace is now available to stream, with its full eight-episode season, on Netflix.