bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Pierce Conran

This article contains mild spoilers.
Lead cast: Jang Dong-gun, Lee Joon-gi, Shin Se-kyung, Kim Ok-vin
Latest Nielsen rating: 5 per cent
Four years on from its first season, Arthdal Chronicles bids us to return to the fantastical land of Arth and all of its warring tribes and races.


Set eight years after the events of season one, The Sword of Aramun features many of the same characters, but not all the same actors. The most notable absentees are Song Joong-ki and Kim Ji-won, replaced here by Lee Joon-gi and Shin Se-kyung.
The new season opens with back-to-back catch-up segments led by different narrators who remind us of the show’s complex web of characters and the mythology underpinning Arth.
8 of the best new Korean drama series to look out for in September 2023
Explanatory titles, although not uncommon in K-dramas, appear aggressively throughout the series. Main characters are even reintroduced in different episodes, as if the writers lack confidence in the clarity of the story they are telling.
The most important figures remain the same. Tanya (Shin) and twins Saya and Eunseom (both played by Lee) are “Igutu”, born between “Sarams” (humans) and “Neanthals” (supernatural blue-blooded barbarians), who are prophesied to bring about the end of the world.
As the season begins, Tanya is high priestess of Arthdal, while Saya commands its armies. The tyrannical Tagon (Jang Dong-gun) remains on the throne with his devious queen, Tae Al-ha (Kim Ok-vin), by his side. Meanwhile, Eunseom marauds across the plains of Arth, uniting the 30 outer tribes to fight against Tagon.

Despite its fantastical setting, this narrative framework struggles to differentiate itself from the legions of period dramas, set during the rule of Korea’s Joseon dynasty, about power-hungry regents facing off against righteous opponents.
What The Sword of Aramun does have going for it is an additional layer of soapy melodrama. Twins Saya and Eunseom are leading opposite flanks, but they are unaware of each other’s existence.
Their hidden identities drive most of the intrigue in the season’s opening episodes, which culminate in the pair meeting face to face. While the showdown doesn’t lead to them coming to blows, it is by far the most exciting moment we’ve had so far.

Their reunion is expected, but an assassination attempt and the courage of an Arthdal captain who drags them from the ensuing fire spices things up considerably, and that’s before the pair are mistaken for each other and subsequently brought back into the wrong camp.
That Arthdal captain is the stolid season-one holdover Mubaek. His act of bravery costs him his life, and the show has lost one of its best performers. The wonderful Park Hae-joon will be sorely missed.
Once again armed with a significant budget, the show features several major set pieces, including an all-out battle on the plains. Whereas the visual effects and staging of season one brought criticism, this is an area where the show appears to have improved.
This is surely in no small part thanks to new director Kim Kwang-sik, whose last directorial outing was the action-packed and critically acclaimed period siege drama The Great Battle.

Unlike the recent hit Alchemy of Souls, this show relies less on its fantasy elements, which only come into play every so often. That puts the focus on familiar period drama tropes, which appear here but lack the novelty one might expect from the setting.
This brings us to the elephant in the room: how many people were clamouring for a continuation of this story?
Arthdal Chronicles originally rode on a wave of anticipation owing to its high concept, major cast and the fact that, at the time of its release, it was the most expensive Korean show ever produced.
But it never became what those elements suggested it should have done. The show’s ratings were considered disappointing, viewers in South Korea didn’t warm to it, and the production was beset by criticism of its similarities to Game of Thrones and of its brutal working conditions on set.

What saved it was a better-than-expected performance overseas, presumably strong enough to pave the way for this new season.
Shows around the world are recast all the time for a variety of reasons, and new additions Lee and Shin, both popular screen veterans, do well in their roles – but their interpretations of the characters are quite different. It will be up to individual viewers to decide whether the change they offer is refreshing or jarring.
Perhaps because season one set the bar so low, The Sword of Aramun seems like a worthy successor, and with only 12 episodes compared to the 18 produced in 2019, regardless of where it goes it will be a swifter journey.
Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun is streaming on Disney+.


HBO Max K-drama The Judge Returns: Ji Sung in fantastical and melodramatic morality play

Disney+ K-drama Made in Korea: Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung in slick period political thriller

The 15 best K-dramas of 2025 ranked, from Melo Movie to When Life Gives You Tangerines

Netflix K-drama Idol I: Choi Soo-young, Kim Jae-young lead K-pop-infused legal drama

Korean drama reviews

Disney+ K-drama Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun – sequel to fantasy series offers new perspective on the land of Arth

Disney+ series Arthdal Chronicles is back for a second series, with some new faces and a hot mess of catch-up sequences, character introductions and explainers. Above: Jang Dong-gun as Tagon in a still from “Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun”.

Lee Joon-gi, who plays twins Saya and Eunseom, in a still from “Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun”.

Shin Se-kyung as high priestess Tanya in a still from “Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun”.

Kim Ok-vin as queen Tae Al-ha in a still from “Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun”.

Shin Se-kyung (left) as high priestess Tanya and Lee Joon-gi, who plays twins Saya and Eunseom, in a still from “Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun”.

Amazon Prime K-drama The Kidnapping Day: Kiss Sixth Sense’s Yoon Kye-sang and Park Sung-hoon headline twisty and appealing mystery

Yu-na as Choi Ro-hee and Yoon Kye-sang as her kidnapper, Kim Myeong-jun, in a still from “The Kidnapping Day”.

Yoon Kye-sang, seen previously in K-drama “Kiss Sixth Sense” as kidnapper Kim Myeong-jun n a still from “The Kidnapping Day”. The twisty, cinematic Korean thriller series is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Yu-na as kidnapping victim Choi Ro-hee in a still from “The Kidnapping Day”.

Kim Shin-rok as kidnapper Kim Myeong-jun’s ex-wife in a still from “The Kidnapping Day”.

Park Sung-hoon as a detective in a still from “The Kidnapping Day”.

Yu-na as Ro-hee and Yoon Kye-sang as her kidnapper Myeong-jun in a still from “The Kidnapping Day”.

Who is Kim So-hyun, star of K-drama My Lovely Liar, who has been charming audiences since her days as a child actor?

Korean actress Kim So-hyun, currently starring in drama series “My Lovely Liar”, is still only 24 but has been on our screens for 18 years. Photo: Instagram/@wow_kimsohyun.

Kim So-hyun in a still from “My Lovely Liar”.

Kim So-hyun in a still from “River Where the Moon Rises” (2021).

Kim So-hyun in a still from “Man of Vendetta” (2010).

Kim So-hyun in a still from “Who Are You: School 2015” (2015).

Kim So-hyun in a still from “Love Alarm” (2019).

Kim So-hyun in a still from “Unforgettable” (2016).

Disney+ K-drama Han River Police: action comedy starring Kwon Sang-woo and Lee Sang-yi struggles to get its feet wet

Kwon Sang-woo (left) as river policeman Han Du-jin and Kim Hee-won as fellow officer Lee Cheon-seok in a still from “Han River Police” on Disney+. Photo: Disney+

Bae Da-bin as tomboy river police officer Do Na-hee in a still from “Han River Police”.

Lee Sang-yi as foul-tempered corporate heir Go Gi-seok in a still from “Han River Police”.

Sung Dong-il as police captain Do Hyun-il in a still from “Han River Police”.

Lee Sang-yi (left) corporate heir Go Gi-seok and Kwon Sang-woo as river police officer Han Du-jin in a still from “Han River Police”.

Netflix K-drama review: A Time Called You – Ahn Hyo-seop, Jeon Yeo-been reconnect in head-spinning time-travel romance

Jeon Yeo-been as Jun-hee in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Jeon Yeo-been as schoolgirl Min-ju, one of two characters she plays, in a still from “A Time Called You”. The time-travel K-drama romance on Netflix is a head-spinner, with so much going on it gets very silly. Photo: Netflix

Ahn Hyo-seop (top) as high-school heartthrob Nam Si-heon and Jeon Yeo-been as a schoolgirl with a crush on him, Kwon Min-ju, in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Kang Hoon as Jung In-gyu, friend of Nam Si-heon, in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Jeon Yeo-been in the present as the grieving Han Jun-hee, a marketing executive, in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Ahn Hyo-seop as Koo Yeon-jun, Jun-hee’s boyfriend who died, in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Jeon Yeo-been back in 1998 in a still from “A Time Called You”. Photo: Netflix

Blackpink’s Jisoo eyed for zombie romance K-drama Influenza; Seo In-guk, Lee Sung-kyung in talks on In Your Brilliant Season – Korean drama casting latest

Jisoo of Blackpink is being eyed for K-drama zombie romance Influenza. Photo: Instagram/@sooyaaa__.

Jisoo of Blackpink is being eyed for a lead role in zombie romance K-drama Influenza. Photo: Instagram/@sooyaaa__.

Park Jung-min (left) and Kim Hyun-joo in a still from “Hellbound”. Photo: Netflix

Jang Ki-yong in a still from “My Roommate Is a Gumiho”.

Seo In-guk in a still from “Cafe Minamdang”.

Shin Min-a in a still from “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”.

Lifestyle

K-drama

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

K-Pop

Arthdal Chronicles is back for a second series, with some new faces and a hot mess of catch-up sequences, character introductions and explainers
This period-set story is boosted by twins Saya and Eunseom (both played by Lee Joon-gi), who are unaware of each other but fighting on opposing sides


The period drama returns, with some new faces and too many explainers and catch-up sequences. Twins Saya and Eunseom (both played by Lee Joon-gi) fight on opposing sides of a battle, unaware of each other.
