Love in the Moonlight (2016) Review: A Palace Romance Glows

Is Love in the Moonlight worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. Love in the Moonlight is one of the most charming sageuk romances of its decade, built on a warm, witty pairing of Park Bo-gum and Kim Yoo-jung that makes a familiar disguise plot feel fresh. The first half is a near-perfect mix of palace comedy and budding romance. The drama is less assured once court intrigue takes over, and its political villains never become as interesting as its lovers.

What is Love in the Moonlight about?

Set in the Joseon dynasty, the series follows Hong Ra-on (Kim Yoo-jung), a young woman who has lived her whole life disguised as a man. She scrapes by as a street-smart counsellor on matters of love, and a run of bad luck and debt sends her, still in disguise, into the royal palace as a trainee eunuch. There she keeps running into Lee Yeong (Park Bo-gum), the sharp-tongued, lonely crown prince, who is trying to hold his own against a powerful clan that controls much of the court.

Jinyoung plays Kim Yoon-sung, a gentle nobleman who becomes the third point of a love triangle, while Chae Soo-bin plays a noblewoman caught up in the court’s marriage politics and Kwak Dong-yeon plays the prince’s loyal friend and guard.

Love in the Moonlight is a South Korean series in Korean, adapted from a web novel by Yoon Yi-soo, and it originally aired on KBS2. This review covers the complete show: one season of 18 episodes, with a finished story.

Two leads who make the disguise believable

The pleasure of the drama is its central relationship. Park Bo-gum, moving from the gentle genius of Reply 1988 into his first major lead, plays Lee Yeong as a young man who hides kindness behind arrogance and grows visibly lighter in Ra-on’s company. His comic timing in the early episodes, full of prickly banter and wounded pride, is a pleasure.

Kim Yoo-jung has the trickier role and makes it look easy. Ra-on has to be quick, funny and resourceful enough to survive in a world that would punish her if she were discovered, and Kim gives her a warmth that makes the prince’s fascination entirely believable. Their scenes together, particularly the playful, secretive meetings in the palace grounds, give the drama its title’s glow.

Handsome period craft with a light touch

As a production, it is a lovely thing to look at. The palace sets, the costumes and the many night-time scenes lit by lanterns and moonlight give the series a storybook softness, and a lush soundtrack underlines every glance. The direction keeps the comedy brisk without turning the historical setting into pure pastiche, and the eunuch quarters provide an ensemble of fellow trainees and elders who add a steady stream of gentle humour.

Where the court intrigue falls short

The political plot, in which the crown prince tries to break the grip of a dominant noble family on the throne, is the drama’s weakest thread. The antagonists are drawn in broad strokes, schemes are resolved more by convenience than cunning, and the story’s more serious turns in the second half sometimes feel imported from a heavier drama. The love triangle also stays lopsided: Jinyoung is appealing, but the show never makes his rivalry feel like a real contest. The romance survives these problems, but it would be a sharper series with a stronger villain.

Who should watch Love in the Moonlight?

It suits anyone who enjoys historical romances, gender-disguise comedies and lead chemistry that does the heavy lifting. Eighteen episodes make it a comfortable binge over a week or two, and it is an easy recommendation for viewers new to sageuk. There is some court violence and a few sombre moments, but the tone is mostly gentle and suitable for teenagers.

If it wins you over, try these next:

• Mr. Queen for a far more anarchic Joseon comedy with its own identity-swap premise.
• Reply 1988, which made Park Bo-gum a star in a very different, contemporary ensemble drama.
• Hotel Del Luna for another romance that mixes comedy, fantasy and longing.

The verdict

Love in the Moonlight is a sparkling historical romance whose leads give it far more charm than its plot strictly earns. The politics are thin and the later episodes wobble, but Park Bo-gum and Kim Yoo-jung make it one of the most rewatchable sageuk dramas of the 2010s.

Rating: 4/5