20 best shows like Youth of May (2021)

Based on a true story, the drama tells the tragic love story of Kim Woo Jin, a married stage drama writer, and Yun Shim Duk, Korea's first professional soprano, who meet while studying at Tokyo University in the 1920s. Yun Shim Duk's recording of "Death Song" became the first Korean pop song in 1926.

The story of the woman that would become Empress Ki, and her struggles as she worked her way through war, political conspiracies, and the imperial palace to become Empress of China. This Korean Drama re-imagines the historical figure as a fierce, independent woman who goes to extreme lengths to protect those she loves.

Gu Family Book is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Lee Seung-gi and Suzy. The fusion martial arts action historical drama is about a half man-half monster who is searching for a centuries-old book that according to gumiho legend, contains the secret to becoming human. It aired on MBC from April 8 to June 25, 2013, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes.

A drama set in the Goguryo period. It is about how Moo Young, the daughter of King Young Ryu, falls in love with Yeon Choong, the son of Yeon Gaesomun had with a concubine. But Moo Young debates whether she should have her revenge, as Yeon Gaesomun is the man who killed her father. Meanwhile, Yeon Choong as the son of a noble blood father and a servant mother, despite his talent, he finds he cannot rise higher in rank due to the fact that he is a concubine′s son. He is later ordered by his father to kill the person he loves, and comes into inner conflict.

Xie Xiang disguises herself as a man in order to attend military school, where she and her classmates become embroiled in a series of tale-worthy events. After an academic career that wins her classmates’ and instructors’ respect, Xie sets out for China’s northeast to battle with Japanese forces that have rallied under a newly returned Chamber of Commerce president. As conspiracies and traps mount against her side, Xie will have to prove her valor in battle at last.

Rong Le, a princess of the royal family of the Xiqi Kingdom who wakes up one day to find that she has lost her memory. She is ordered to marry Wu You, seventh prince of the neighboring Beilin Kingdom, though her husband-to-be refuses to let her inside his manor. Unable to return home, Rong Le settles down in Beilin and opens a teahouse under the alias of Man Yao. It is rumored that the Qin family has misplaced an extraordinary tome that will supposedly usher in a time of prosperity for all the kingdoms, and Man Yao embarks on a journey to find the book. Man Yao and Wu You meet and fall in love without realizing each other's true identity, though they are forced to separate when Rong Le's brother Rong Qi orders her to marry the powerful General Fu Chou.

France, 1815. Jean Valjean, a common thief, is released from prison after having lived a hell in life for 19 years, but a small mistake puts the law again on his trail. Ruthless Inspector Javert pursues him thorough years, driven by a twisted sense of justice, while Valjean reforms himself, thrives and dedicates his life to good deeds. In 1832, while the revolution ravages the streets of Paris, Valjean and Javert cross their paths for the last time.

Haute couture meets the high court in this drama based on Lady Jang Hui Bin, or Jang Ok Jung, one of the most celebrated royal concubines of the Joseon Dynasty. Lady Jang establishes herself as a coveted fashion designer who quickly finds herself sought after not only by fashionable noblewomen, but by the king himself. Political drama and the catwalk collide in this tale of fashioning dreams into reality!

Desperate to escape from his emotional baggage and the heavy responsibility he’s had all his life, a psychiatric ward worker begins to heal with help from the unexpected—a woman who writes fairy tales but doesn’t believe in them.

This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.

A story that revolves around five aristocratic families, set during the reign of Alexander I, and centered on the love triangle between Natasha Rostova, Pierre Bezukhov, and Andrei Bolkonsky.

Marrying a king guarantees a turbulent life. Shin Chae Kyung is the daughter of a powerful politician during the Joseon Dynasty. She falls in love with Crown Prince Lee Yuk, who lives under the tyranny of his half-brother, King Yeon San Gun.When Lee Yuk rises to the throne and becomes King Jung Jong, Chae Kyung becomes Queen Dan Kyung, who becomes caught in the cross-fires of different political factions as well as the jealousies between the brothers. When Dan Kyung’s own father stages a coup against the king, Queen Dan Kyung is dethroned only after seven days and expelled from the palace.What will happen to the love between the king and queen when they can no longer be together?

The unique, and rarely told true stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War.

Set during the turbulent time of the fall of Goryeo and the founding of Joseon, two former friends face-off against one another over a woman and the future shape of the nation.

Iljimae is a 2008 South Korean historical action television drama series, starring Lee Joon-gi in the title role of Iljimae, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Young-ah and Park Si-hoo. It is loosely based on a comic strip Iljimae, published between 1975 and 1977, by Ko Woo-yung that was based on a Chinese folklore from the Ming dynasty about a masked Robin Hood-esque character during the Joseon era. It was directed by Lee Yong-suk and produced by Chorokbaem Media. It aired on Seoul Broadcasting System from May 21 to July 24, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible her life is only hinted at during a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons in the Book of Genesis. Told through Dinah's eloquent voice, this sweeping miniseries reveals the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood. Dinah's tale begins with the story of her mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah tells us of the world of the red tent, the place where women were sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and illness; of her initiations into the religious and sexual practices of her tribe; of Jacob's courtship with his four wives; of the mystery and wonder of caravans, farmers, shepherds, and slaves; of love and death in the city of Shechem; of her half-brother Joseph's rise in Egypt, and of course her marriage to Shechem and it's bloody consequences.

Dan-Bi is a senior high school student. She has a special ability which allows her to transport to anywhere on rainy days. For her university entrance exam, Dan-Bi can't deal with the pressure and runs off to a playground. Without knowing why, she goes into a puddle and finds herself transported to the Joseon period. There, she meets Lee Do. He is a young King of the Joseon period. Lee Do is in a difficult situation due to droughts and the spread of an epidemic.

Lim Ju-kyung is a high school student. Since she was little, she has had a complex about her appearance. To hide her bare face, Ju-kyung always wears make-up. Her excellent make-up skills make her pretty and she hides her bare face in front of others. She gets involved with 2 men; Lee Su-ho and Han Seo-jun.

She is no ordinary woman. Do Bong Soon is a woman who possesses Herculean strength. She can crush objects in her bare hands when she holds them too tightly. Although Bong Soon longs to be a dainty, elegant woman that men fall in love with, she can’t deny her superhuman strength. Her special attribute allows her to get a job as a bodyguard for Ahn Min Hyuk, the chaebol heir with eccentric tendencies who runs a gaming company. Bong Soon’s childhood friend In Gook Doo has had a secret crush on her since elementary school. How will he react when sparks begin to fly between Bong Soon and her crazy boss?

When a gateway opens to a parallel universe in modern-day Korea, a king must step into another world in search of answers to a long-unanswered mystery.

The remarkable story of the chance meeting that transformed penniless, ostracised archaeologist Howard Carter into a household name following his discovery of the tomb of the boy-king, Tutankhamun.

Can a woman do anything for the sake of love? Ha Ni is a mermaid princess in the underwater empire but she longs for the human world when she sees and falls in love with a man. She transforms into a human and follows Hyun Myung to live in a temporary house for people who are preparing for employment. The pragmatic Hyun Myung is trying to find a good-paying job to provide him with a comfortable life. But will he be distracted by Ha Ni, who has just 100 days to make Hyun Myung fall in love with her so that she can remain a human?

Set in the Joseon Dynasty, three women learn what love means as they try to navigate through the class system and survive. In Yup (Jung Yoo Mi) is a beautiful noblewoman who becomes a servant overnight when her father is framed and labeled a traitor. She ends up falling in love with a fellow servant, Moo Myung (Oh Ji Ho), while working for the royal family, and becomes friends with her own handmaiden Sa Wol thanks to their shared experiences. Meanwhile Ga Hee is the most famous gisaeng of the city but with her own aspirations for romance. She falls in love with Moo Myung, but what can she do when his heart lies elsewhere?

A romantic historical drama set around and after the 1953 Iranian coup d'état.