Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung

Don't judge this series by the strange title. It's a suprisingly involving historical drama and the setting and costumes are quite beautiful. The first episode might seem a little trite but stick with it, things get better as the series progresses. The love story is charming enough but isn't the main part of the show. There is an epic royal conspiracy and political intrigue, an epidemic, and some insights about the role of historians in recording the truth independently. Shin Se Kyung as the title character is sweet and intelligent looking which is right for the role and her character comes across as endearing and likable without being self righteous. Che Eun Woo is prettier than her. The supporting actors are convincing and serious as a balance including the crown prince and the historian Min. I liked the tone of this series - not too heavy - a good balance of romance drama light comedy and historical context.

First of all just treat it as fantasy. There were no female history writers of this time and an unmarried 26 year old woman would not have been allowed. Just enjoy the great sets and costumes, a story that zips along over 20 episodes and some really great comedy, Shin Se-Kyung is lovely and plays her self rather than acts as such. Cha Eun-Woo has the right sense of nievteand wonder. The comedy is spot on and laugh out loud. The story is preposterous but fun with a good ending. Enjoyed this a lot.

The introduction to the show's plot, all the background information and getting to know the characters makes up 25% of the series. Getting through that wasn't easy in my opinion. But when the actual story finally started (as in the prince and the historian meeting for the first time), I was HOOKED. The characters are great and really funny most of the time, yet it didn't feel ridiculous in any way because they were still dealing with some serious topics. I'm not sure how accurate the historical side of the story is, but it didn't seem implausible to me.

The ending was kind of rushed in my opinion, but see for yourself.

In conclusion: don't stop watching if you're struggling with the first few episodes and definitely don't let the somewhat ridiculous title of the show fool you. It's such a good series that deserves to be watched.

I was at Changdeokgung palace and the secret garden in Seoul a week ago, and started watching this when i got home to Australia a few days back as it is on my to-watch list. Along with a few squeals of "I've been there!", and "the pond has more lotus plants now", and "oooh they hid the fire hydrant & lighting well" i've been pleasantly surprised by the storyline and acting (Cha Eun-Woo isn't hard to watch either), but the storyline is a bit slow. I'm only a few episodes in but i'm going to keep watching as it's nice to see some empowered females in a storyline for a change, fighting against sexist gendered stereotypes with low expectations of women's abilities other than to breed and keep house. It's a nice pleasant watch.

Very nice korean series. Warm feelings and particurarly interesting to get to know korean culture. Good for Netflix to share this type of entertainment. The actress and main character is wonderful.