# The Haunted Palace (귀궁) (TV series)
**The Haunted Palace** (귀궁; romanized Gwigung, also known as Devil Palace and Return to the Palace) is a 2025 South Korean television series starring [Yook Sung-jae](https://www.edgepedia.org/yook-sung-jae), Kim Ji-yeon, and Kim Ji-hoon, broadcast on SBS TV from April 18 to June 7, 2025.[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) It is a fantasy period drama that mixes horror, romance, and comedy, set in a Joseon-era royal palace overrun by vengeful spirits and centered on a shaman's granddaughter who must confront her inherited powers.[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Haunted_Palace) • [3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-haunted-palace/umc.cmc.7p42x5c2s50zhx5jvujvvw79)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 귀궁 (Gwigung); also known as Devil Palace, Return to the Palace[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) |
| Broadcast | SBS TV, April 18 to June 7, 2025, Fridays and Saturdays at 22:00[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Haunted_Palace) |
| Episodes | 16, each about 70 minutes[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) |
| Main cast | Yook Sung-jae as Yoon Gap / Gangcheori, Kim Ji-yeon (Bona) as Yeo-ri, Kim Ji-hoon as King Lee Seong[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) |
| Streaming | Rakuten Viki internationally; also listed on Netflix in several regions[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) • [4](https://kdrama.co.kr/dramas/the-haunted-palace/) |
## Premise
The story is set in a Joseon palace overrun with powerful female ghosts and evil spirits, all of whom harbor grudges against the royal family. Yoon Gab (Yook Sung-jae), a government officer working within the palace, becomes possessed by an Imugi, a mythical serpent-like creature that can become a dragon.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-haunted-palace/umc.cmc.7p42x5c2s50zhx5jvujvvw79) As a result of the possession, Yeo-ri (Kim Ji-yeon), who comes from a shaman family, enters the palace hoping to heal Yoon Gab, and is compelled to face both her family's heritage and the man she once loved.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-haunted-palace/umc.cmc.7p42x5c2s50zhx5jvujvvw79)
Yeo-ri is the only granddaughter of a famous shaman and has a divine gift of her own, but she refuses her fate as a spirit medium and works instead as a craftswoman who makes eyeglasses.[5](https://dramalist.net/drama/146/The-Haunted-Palace) The Imugi that possesses Yoon Gab needs Yeo-ri's body to ascend to Heaven, and she refuses to allow it.[5](https://dramalist.net/drama/146/The-Haunted-Palace) Meanwhile, the reformist monarch King Lee Seong (Kim Ji-hoon) sees his plans disrupted by the strange and terrifying events unfolding within the palace, and Yeo-ri must team up with Yoon Gab and the King to restore order before the vengeful spirits take over.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-haunted-palace/umc.cmc.7p42x5c2s50zhx5jvujvvw79)
The Imugi, named Gangcheol (강철이), is played in spirit form by Kim Young-kwang.[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13) According to the series' premise, his ascension was interrupted after he was sighted by a human, and he hates humans in equal measure; he tries to befriend Yeo-ri so as to harness her powers, which could help him with his final ascension.[6](https://www.soompi.com/article/1738399wpp/first-impressions-the-haunted-palace-is-a-fantasy-sageuk-k-drama-filled-with-spooks-and-laughs)
## Cast
- **Yook Sung-jae** as Yoon Gap / Gangcheori / Kang Chul[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
- **Kim Ji-yeon (Bona)** as Yeo-ri[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
- **Kim Ji-hoon** as King Lee Seong[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
- **Kim Young-kwang** as Gangcheori (soul) / Kang Chul[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
- **Shin Seul-ki** plays Choi In-sun, daughter of Choi Won-woo and the couple's sole daughter, whose family is well regarded in Joseon.[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
- **Kim Sang-ho** as Pung-san, **Son Byong-ho** as Kim Bong-in, and **Gil Hae-yeon** as Neup-deok[1](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
## Production and broadcast
The series was written by Yoon Soo-jung and directed by Yoon Sung-sik and Kim Ji-yeon, with production by iWill Media and Studio S. It aired in SBS's Friday and Saturday 22:00 time slot, taking over from *Buried Hearts* and followed by *Our Movie* on June 13, 2025.[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Haunted_Palace) • [7](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=The_Haunted_Palace) An official soundtrack was released in parts, including "You Better Run" by Jeong Dong-ha (Part 1), "Be Your Shade" by [K.Will](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-will) (Part 2), and "So that I can write again" by Son Tae-jin (Part 3).[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6qVqR7HqHc)
SBS's own program description frames the drama as an exorcism story featuring various spirits from unofficial histories, and at the same time a love story between the failed dragon Gangcheol and the shaman Yeo-ri, in which the Imugi who once hated humans is moved by Yeo-ri's self-sacrifice and the King's devotion to his people, and comes to save them himself.[9](https://programs.sbs.co.kr/drama/hauntedpalace/about/84587)
## Reception
The series ran its full 16 episodes and ended on June 7, 2025.[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Haunted_Palace) A review in the *South China Morning Post* described it as a supernatural period drama starring Bona that "ends on a high note."[10](https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3313679/k-drama-haunted-palace-review-supernatural-period-drama-bona-ends-high-note)
## References
1. [The Haunted Palace, Asia Historical Drama](https://asiahistoricaldrama.com/index.php/component/content/article/the-haunted-palace?Itemid=101&catid=13)
2. [The Haunted Palace, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Haunted_Palace)
3. [The Haunted Palace, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-haunted-palace/umc.cmc.7p42x5c2s50zhx5jvujvvw79)
4. [The Haunted Palace, KDrama.co.kr](https://kdrama.co.kr/dramas/the-haunted-palace/)
5. [The Haunted Palace, DramaList](https://dramalist.net/drama/146/The-Haunted-Palace)
6. [First Impressions: "The Haunted Palace" Is A Fantasy Sageuk K-Drama Filled With Spooks And Laughs, Soompi](https://www.soompi.com/article/1738399wpp/first-impressions-the-haunted-palace-is-a-fantasy-sageuk-k-drama-filled-with-spooks-and-laughs)
7. [The Haunted Palace, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=The_Haunted_Palace)
8. [The Haunted Palace OST playlist, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6qVqR7HqHc)
9. [귀궁 프로그램 소개, SBS](https://programs.sbs.co.kr/drama/hauntedpalace/about/84587)
10. [K-drama The Haunted Palace review, South China Morning Post](https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3313679/k-drama-haunted-palace-review-supernatural-period-drama-bona-ends-high-note)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean historical drama (sageuk)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license