My Girl star Lee Dong-wook leads new K-drama Tale of the Nine Tailed – why is TVN’s urban fantasy series already trending in Korea, and will it be on Netflix next?
Tale of the Nine Tailed may only have been airing in Korea for barely a month, but it’s held viewers captive from its very first episode.
So what’s the secret recipe behind Tale of the Nine Tailed’s success?
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It’s a K-fantasy that’s very, very Korean
Tale of the Nine Tailed is unique for how it takes supernatural beings from traditional Korean folk tales and legends and places them in the modern world, where they live among us. Aside from the titular gumiho, viewers also meet a fox spirit similar to the one in the folk tale The Fox Sister,; a stone Buddha that answers prayers, and immortals.
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Its gumiho isn’t female, but male
In Korean legends, gumiho are typically beautiful women, but the show turns that expectation on its head with a male gumiho lead. Lee Yeon once ruled Baekdudaegan Mountain as a god or mountain spirit, and has divine, irresistibly handsome looks and extraordinary abilities to match.
The show toys with the gumiho mythology in another way, too – nine-tailed foxes are usually mischievous tricksters who seduce humans for their own gain, but Lee, in contrast, never abandons his partner, even waiting for her to be reincarnated after her death so that he can reunite with her. (Handsome, supernaturally powerful, and a good boyfriend? Be still our beating hearts.)
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It combines tradition with modernity
This might be the TV show’s most notable aspect. The mythological river that connects the world of the living with the underworld, for instance, is reimagined as an immigration office. Instead of living in a rice paddy field, the snail spirit of folk tale The Snail Bride runs a Korean restaurant. Even the gatekeepers of the underworld, who are usually described as spooky grim reapers, are shown sipping coffee and struggling with office equipment.
And that’s just the beginning. According to Tale of the Nine Tailed’s production team, “In the future, various figures from legends and tales will appear and intertwine with the characters who are pioneering their destiny, increasing the dramatic tension. Tale of the Nine Tailed … will get more and more interesting.”
This article originally appeared on Zapzee.
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The fantasy TV series might be the hottest new show of the season – and its success lies in its heady mix of Korean folk tales, relatable modern settings and a lead who could be the man of viewers’ dreams