The Big Picture

• The historical setting and body-swapping twist makes Mr. Queen a joy for K-Drama fans craving originality and romance.
• Shin Hye-sun shines as the lead, delivering comedy and charisma, while Kim Jung-hyun brings depth and heart to the romantic pairing.
• Despite some unresolved queer undertones, Mr. Queen offers a refreshing take on love and power dynamics in Korean dramas.

Mr. Queen, the tenth highest-rated cable drama in Korean history, couldn't offer more delights if it tried (and oh, does it try). Consuming any piece of popular media involves the weight of expectation: could this possibly be as excellent as its reputation claims? Does it truly deserve to be a top 10 K-Drama? When it comes to Mr. Queen, set those worries aside and bask in everything a fan could ask for as well as everything you didn't know you needed: a historical setting replete with palace intrigue, a reluctant romance, body-swapping time travel, and a romance somewhere on the queer spectrum. Created by Studio Dragon, one of Korea's most prestigious production companies, where has this drama been all of our lives? To be fair, the series aired in Korea from December 2020 until February 2021, eventually arriving on Netflix on February 15, 2023.

Mr. Queen (2020)

15HistoricalRomanceFantasyComedy

When a modern day chef gets trapped in the body of a queen in the Joseon era, chaos ensues.

Release Date December 12, 2020 Main Genre Historical Seasons 1 Production Company Crave Works, YG Studioplex Number of Episodes 20 Streaming Service(s) Netflix Expand

What Is ‘Mr. Queen’ About?

The series follows Jang Bong-hwan (Choi Jin-hyuk), a 21st-century cooking prodigy with an ego as boundless as the ocean and a womanizing reputation to match. He's the affluent head chef for the South Korean president, so his suave arrogance, although eyeroll-inducing, isn't without merit. However, Bong-hwan's hubris gets him in, ahem, hot water politically, and he almost drowns in his apartment swimming pool while running from the police. When Bong-hwan wakes up from the accident, he's in a different body and a different time period – a woman's body during the 1800s Joseon dynasty, to be exact. To make matters even more complicated, the body he inhabits belongs to the controversial queen of Joseon, Kim So-yong (Shin Hye-sun). To survive the cutthroat world of palace politics, Bong-hwan must solve the supernatural mystery behind this body swap and contend with King Cheoljong (Kim Jung-hyun), his thoroughly irritating husband who has secrets of his own.

To be fair, neither historical romances nor the body/soul-swap are new creative grounds. But Mr. Queen's concept is especially ineffable. For one, it's presented through the lens of Studio Dragon's high production value and executed with an expertly comedic touch that maximizes its potential. The scripts balance the tone as effortlessly as Bong-hwan chops vegetables, shifting between outrageous comedy and just the right amount of severity.

‘Mr. Queen’ Reaches New Heights Thanks to Its Impressive Cast

Mr. Queen remains a comedy at heart, thanks to actress Shin Hye-sun triumphantly playing Bong-hwan in So-yong's body. To call her a revelation is an understatement incarnate. Shin was nominated for Best Television Actress at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards, and it's easy to see why within just one episode. Choi Jin-hyuk isn't onscreen as Bong-hwan for long, but his performance sufficiently and memorably conveyed his personality quirks. Shin doesn't just mimic Choi's mannerisms but inhabits them. Her reproduction of Choi's extravagant alpha-male body language, smug little smirks, impossibly expressive eyebrows, and general demeanor is just uncanny. Compare the two actors side-by-side, and the transition from Choi to Shin could almost be invisible.

Because he's such a privileged modern man, Bong-hwan refusing to appease the sexist expectations of the Joseon court is hysterical and satisfying all in one. Obeying such rules doesn't even occur to him. A real queen would have been deposed, executed, or tucked out of sight for Bong-hwan-as-So-yong's behavior, but it's fiercely enjoyable to watch a woman's persona soar through Korea's most powerful patriarchal hierarchy without a care in the world. Bong-hwan-as-So-yong can flirt with girls, insult her husband, melodramatically hog the spotlight, cuss in public, steal the palace chef's job (there's a McDonald's ad placement that puts all other ad placements to shame), and man-spread like there's no tomorrow. Between Shin's outward performance and Choi's internal monologue, it's impossible to dislike Bong-hwan — although learning how restrictive Joseon life was for women helps his cause. His lessening arrogance in tandem with his growing empathy shows itself through quieter moments instead of flashing neon signs, even if Bong-hwan's enough of a dummy that it takes swapping bodies with a cis woman for him to achieve that character growth. (Hey, whatever works.)

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Praise for Shin aside, her co-lead is far from a slouch. After stealing scenes and breaking hearts as Gu Seung-jun, the second romantic lead of Crash Landing on You, Kim Jung-hyun landed the leading man role he deserved in Cheoljong as well as one that develops his existing strengths. His precise comedic timing proves a match for Shin (obviously no easy task). And once Cheoljong's secret intentions are revealed as honorable and liberating, what more might one ask for in their romantic hero? Here is the country's most powerful man in title, but, in truth, a puppet king who's battling against his own sociopolitical and ideological confines. He has frequent nightmares; he falls in unexpected love with the queen he despised, he's tender, and full of enough yearning to burst (with a healthy dash of harmless sexual frustration that just makes him more endearing).

The Romance Isn’t Perfectly Queer, but It’s Also a Step Forward

Close

Whether Mr. Queen counts as a queer romance is debatable. Ultimately, while imperfect, it's more of a "yes and no" than an "either/or." Shin and Kim's chemistry make for one of K-Drama's best romantic pairings, certainly. So-yong's memories and love for Cheoljong overlap with Bong-hwan's own feelings and form a mesh that isn't cleanly separated into "heterosexual love" and "accidental queer love that's a byproduct of a body swap." Bong-hwan demonstrates enough of his own interest in Cheoljong that it can certainly be read as a bisexual awakening, especially since Bong-hwan's consciousness is the one in the driver's seat 99% of the time. Cheoljong, meanwhile, falls for the woman he believes to be So-yong, yet the personality belongs to a man.

Unfortunately, the resolution of this unconventional love triangle leaves something to be desired thanks to Korea's strictly conservative views. At the same time, all 20 episodes are a sight more progressive than K-Dramas of the past. Because Bong-hwan and Cheoljong initially detest one another, their refusal to consummate their marriage reads more like enemies negotiating how to manage an unpleasant situation than something deeply homophobic that's played for laughs. And once the consummation finally happens, any over-the-top bisexual confusion on Bong-hwan's part doesn't stick around for long. They're sexy, they're awkward, and they're devotedly in love even if they dance around the words. Maybe words don't yet exist for this couple, and that's perfectly fine.

If you're looking for a classically produced historical comedy with whimsy and heart, look no further than Mr. Queen. Start it for the twists and turns, power schemes, and old-fashioned costumes, and stay for all the daring originality they could manage.

Mr. Queen is currently available to stream on Netflix.

WATCH ON NETFLIX

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