Chilling beyond ghosts: 'The East Palace' ushers in new era of K-occult

“I will wipe out the King’s entire bloodline.” A mysterious ghost hunter arrives at a palace consumed by a sinister curse.

Swarming with vengeful spirits, the royal court is a perilous labyrinth of buried secrets and political conspiracies.

Navigating between reality and the eerie "world of spirits," the hunter tracks the source of the curse.

This is the premise of Netflix’s new series "The East Palace" — a brutal, shadowy clash between a cursed dynasty, those desperate to break the spell and the ghosts hell-bent on taking over the throne.

Breaking away from the conventional tropes of royal court period dramas and zombie apocalypses, "The East Palace" delivers a highly original piece of "Joseon Gothic occult action," seamlessly blending Korean shamanism with Western dark fantasy.

Writers Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won, who previously laid the groundwork for modern K-occult thrillers with "The Guest" (2018), have successfully transplanted their expertise into the Joseon court, crafting a mesmerizing yet grotesque abyss.

Ahead of its global release on July 17, the first four episodes ...