“My Royal Nemesis” (멋진 신세계)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Teen Vogue
June 30, 2026

☆☆☆ (out of ☆☆☆☆)
Shin Seo-ri/Kang Dan-shim (played by Lim Ji-yeon)
Cha S e-gye (played by Heo Nam-jun)
Choi Moon-do (played by Jang Seung-jo)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

Some people mistakenly describe K-dramas (even the best K-dramas) as soap operas. While daytime shows certainly exist in Korea—typically airing Monday through Friday for about 50 to 200+ episodes—the K-drama umbrella covers a multitude of genres. There’s crime (Signal), fantasy (Alchemy of Souls), medical (Hospital Playlist), slice of life (Our Blues), time travel (Lovely Runner), reincarnation (See You in My 19th Life), legal (Extraordinary Attorney Woo), historical sageuk (Moon Embracing the Sun), zombies (Kingdom), horror (Strangers From Hell) and more.

This year has already been a strong one for K-dramas, with top stars like Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo and Mr. Sunshine’s Yoo Yeon-seok starring in two of 2026’s best shows. It has also been a year where Kim Mu-yeol and Heo Nam-jun became international stars, thanks to their latest shows.

This charming fish-out-of water K-drama explores timeslips, shamanism, betrayal and, most of all, unconditional love that spans eras. Kang Dan-shim (Lim Ji-yeon, The Glory) is a consort in the Joseon Dynasty when she is sentenced to death. But instead of dying, Dan-shim wakes up on the set of a 21st Century K-drama in the body of former child actress, Shin Seo-ri. Dan-shim doesn’t act so much as she reacts to what is happening around her. This draws the ire of the jealous leading lady on set and the attention of rakish chaebol grandson, Cha Se-gye (Heo Nam-jun).

As the series progresses, we learn that Se-gye’s business skills are constantly undermined by his jealous cousin Moon-do (played by As You Stood By villain Jang Seung-jo). The what-happens-next plot device is driven by clever backstories that depict how the main characters’ lives intersected in Joseon. Who they were then informs who they are today, for better and for worse. There are a few things to quibble about. For instance, no Joseon woman would ever dare bare her skin like Seo-ri does when she lands a modeling contract, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to navigate today’s technology as well as Dan-shim does. But what this series depicts so well is that Dan-shim understands that her survival is dependent on her adaptability. The result is not one, but two happily ever afters. (Netflix)

Airdates:  Fourteen hour-long episodes aired on SBS TV from May 8 through  June 20, 2026. (I watched this on Netflix.)

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