Love Stories of the Past

A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG Mak Sun & Su Hyeon
It all started with a simple visit. He walked through the main entrance gate and immediately brightened the whole household of a prominent yangban family, which was considered well-off among all people in Hanyang. The man, a future officer of the police bureau, comes frequently to chat with the lord of the house about Confucian values and views, but it might be a form of disguise because with each new visit, the scholar locks eyes with the maid from the yangban household, Mak Sun. Mak Sun knows of men like the scholar named Su Hyeon. The yangban men often fancy lower-class women only to throw them aside once they have enough, but something about young master Su Hyeon is very different. He smiles at Mak Sun, gives her presents, worries about her, and, most importantly, views her as his equal, which is unheard of.	On another side of the mountain, an old being is observing the lives of the people in the city. His companion is by his side, caressing his tail. Something catches the old man by surprise—a young lady running towards the temple, which was made for the observing powerful man. Was it another futile wish the girl came to beg for? To his surprise, the young lady was different from others. Her offering wasn’t fancy and shiny, but instead simple and curiosity-evoking. The young lady came to give the mountain god rocks.

MOON IN THE DAY Ri Ta & Do Ha
Coming from a famous family with her father being a known general fighting for their small kingdom of Gaya, she is bound to be known. Many would describe her as being cheerful, optimistic, and caring, but all these beautiful characteristics were suddenly long forgotten when Ri Ta’s father fell in the great battle and, along with him, the whole kingdom of Gaya. The man who caused her father’s and their families' deaths stood in front of her, towering over the townsfolk proudly with a strong demeanor. His name was Do Ha, the general of the Silla kingdom. It was that day when her whole family fell that Ri Ta promised the heavens and herself that she would certainly bring doom to the man who brought the doom upon her and her beloved; thus, Han Ri Ta changed.	She was no longer the cheerful and caring woman that everyone admired; she became a fierce, ruthless, and emotional woman who had suddenly gained only one goal in her life: to kill Do Ha.  When the night was dark and the moon hid itself behind the clouds, giving the fierce woman an imaginary invisible cloak, Ri Ta decided to intrude on the young general and kill him in his sleep.

MY DEMON Wol Sim & Yi Seon
Yi Seon was never a man of seriousness or tact; rather, he would call himself a man of free spirit. He enjoyed spending his time outside, while his loyal servants rushed after him to drag him back into his house to attend the lectures his father had prepared for him. In other words, it wasn’t easy being born into the yangban class. It was a sunny day like others in the good season, but at the same time, it was a bit different. Once again, the young master was on his way when suddenly, he encountered a breathtaking sight. In front of him, across the river, stood a woman holding two small swords. One might flee in fear at such a sight, but Yi Seon stood frozen on the spot as he observed the beautiful woman dancing on the sharp edges. It was clear as day to Yi Seon—this woman was of lower class and worked at gisaeng house because no other woman of yangban class would be bold enough to wear such clothes.	While the woman wasn’t of high class, her moves, beauty, and even sharp tongue would put her in a higher class. Yi Seon was a stranger to love and clueless about this woman’s identity, but one single thought crossed his mind: “I have to know this woman, even if I die.” But Yi Seon’s curiosity and affection were born at a very wrong age, because such feelings between gisaeng and people of thr higher class were unheard of and blasphemous.

TOMORROW Gu Ryeon & Park Jung Gil
They were both young when they met, not knowing that fate had already brought their hands together in an arranged marriage. Ryeon was fierce, and the younger boy, Jung Gil, matched the fierceness in the girl’s eyes. It was love at first sight. Years passed, and the youthful and innocent love turned into a passionate, mature romance, slowly leading the two people into marriage full of love and respect, which wasn’t common for the era the couple lived in. But every relationship has to face dark times once in a while, and thus, sorrow began to creep into them both.	War has struck the nation, and Jung Gil, being a loyal servant of the state, decided to lend his hands for the greater purpose while his wife, Ryeon, stayed home. But who would have thought that true horrors would come knocking on the couple’s door with Jung Gil far away, leaving Ryeon to handle the sharp sword?

GOBLIN Kim Sun & Wang Yeo
Kim Sun never let the gloominess of the era she lived in tackle her. Even when her brother fought in many battles, she still held on to her positive spirits and patiently awaited her elder brother’s return. And he did, every time. One journey—one battle—was Sun’s to take charge of, and it was her marriage. She knew who she was promised to, and she knew her brother was nervous about it, but still, she didn’t let her spirits down and accepted her arranged marriage. The palace was gloomy and big and full of people and rules, so navigating between herself and palace customs was hard, but one thing helped the new bride settle into her new home: her future spouse.	He wasn’t strict, old, or crude, like she feared because of her brother’s reactions. No, he turned out to be a gentle man who slowly found his way into Sun’s heart. But little did Sun know that sometimes power is stronger than one’s warm heart...

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN Intouch & Korn
Intouch was supposed to focus on his university studies, like all the other students attending, but something, or rather someone, changed the trajectory of his life. It wasn’t the first time he saw him slumped and reading some kind of heavy-looking book. He was always around and very easy to spot. After all, who in their university was constantly alone, without any companions? So Intouch reached out and said hi to the handsome stranger. The answer? Bad. Not only was he pierced through by the stranger’s sharp gaze, but he was reprimanded by his friends, who told him to never speak with the stranger ever again. But who was Intouch to be ordered around? He would warm up the lonely man, no matter what. Even when said stranger was the eldest son of a prominent mafia clan’s boss.	The days went on, and Intouch kept bugging the lonely man until he finally saw ripples in his behavior. Finally, the man named Korn gave in and started to smile whenever Intouch was around him, orbiting around him like the moon. But it wasn't always all flowers and rainbows; both men lived in a time period where homosexuality was viewed as a sickness, and moreover, Korn was supposed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Two men, one love, and one fate.

CHICAGO TYPEWRITER Ryu Soo Hyun & Seo Hwi Young
Hwi Young knew right away what kind of man he wanted to be. It wasn’t a doctor who would save lives with his hands, but a man who saved his nation with strong words of encouragement. When Korea fell under Japanese rule, Hwi Young was quick to lead the Joseon Youth Liberation League in order to bring his country into a peaceful and once again free state. One evening, his constant chain of busy thoughts was interrupted by a beautiful singer who stood on the stage of his favorite bar, Carpe Diem. Her name was Anastasia. Anastasia wasn’t an easy woman who would be swayed by nice names, though. Behind her sweet, honey-laced voice was a strong woman who shared the same views as Hwi Young; thus, she dressed in men’s clothes and secretly helped the man who tried to lead the nation into peace.	But Joseon in the 1930s was a harsh place to live, and dreams of love were oftentimes the product of dreams, not reality. Fighting between the feelings of justice for the nation and love—which one will win?

CONCLUSION

We have reached the end of this article, and once again, I want to thank you for reading, because you readers are truly the heroes of each article of mine.

As you can see, this article has a very different format compared to my others. This is the first time I tried to “woo” viewers into watching these dramas by writing a very quick recapitulation of the stories of past lives, which truly captured my romantic heart. To tell you the truth, for some reason I could watch these past life stories as standalone dramas because they are of such high quality.

As I was finishing this article, I was pondering why some people, like myself, lean towards past-life romances so much. Honestly, I haven’t found the right answer, and I don’t believe there is a right answer as each one of us feels differently, and feelings like love are subjective. Whenever I think about why I feel so connected to these stories, the first thing that comes to mind is that they give me hope for my own life. One day, somewhere, I am going to meet the right person and hopefully settle down.

You might be curious about my picks, and I don’t really have much to say except that I love them all dearly and each story is tattooed into my memory, so creating this list was very easy for me.

I cannot pick which story is my favorite, so please consider all of them as my favorites because I shed tears while watching every story in this article. Each story carries a great deal of love, sadness, pain, and even frustration, but somehow, it is all laced with tranquility.

If you are a fellow lover of past-life romantic stories, please share your own reasons for liking this type of romance in the comment section below. For those who do not enjoy this trope, I am also curious about your opinion on the matter!