Korean novels have gained new life by being reborn as television dramas. From epic sagas to historical fiction and web novels, diverse literary works have been dramatized, allowing the stories of original works to reach broader audiences and sometimes delivering new emotions that surpass the originals.

Pak Kyong-ni’s epic novel Land, written over 25 years from 1969 to 1994, is a monumental work in Korean literary history. It chronicles five generations of a wealthy family from Gyeongsangnam-do Province from the late 19th century through the Japanese colonial period to 1945. This vast narrative has been adapted into television dramas three times—twice by KBS and once by SBS—bringing new emotions to viewers of different eras.

Works that blend fiction with historical facts have also achieved great success as dramas. Lee Jung-myung’s 2006 novel Deep Rooted Tree was adapted into a drama by SBS in 2011. This mystery faction historical drama, which dramatizes the story of King Sejong, based on historical narratives, was inspired by a series of murders of scholars at Gyeongbokgung Palace during the seven days before the promulgation of Hunminjeongeum, Korea’s indigenous writing system. The work received recognition for its artistic merit by winning the Grand Prize at the 2012 Baeksang Arts Awards and Seoul International Drama Awards. Jung Eun-gwol’s 2005 novel Moon Embracing the Sun was broadcast as a drama on MBC in 2012. This work, which depicts the love between a fictional young king and a shaman in the Joseon dynasty, recorded an overwhelming viewership rating of 40% during its broadcast.

Recently, web novels have emerged as a new source for drama production. Yun I-su’s 2015 romance web novel Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, set in the Joseon dynasty, tells the fateful palace romance between a genius monarch and a traitor’s daughter, and was adapted into a drama that gained widespread popularity. The 2024 tvN drama Lovely Runner, based on Kim Ppang’s web novel Tomorrow’s Best, reached number one in 133 countries on the global OTT platform Rakuten Viki. It also generated significant buzz by ranking first on TIME magazine’s 2024 Best K-Dramas list.