# Empress Ki (2013)

> A Korean-born woman rises through love, war and court politics to become empress of China's Yuan dynasty.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54534

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 51
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history, romance
- Created by: Han Hee
- Network: MBC
- Cast: Ha Ji-won, Joo Jin-mo, Ji Chang-wook, Jin Yi-han, Baek Jin-hee, Jeon Kuk-hwan, Im Joo-eun, Lee Won-jong
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322566/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melodramatic, intense, sentimental, romantic, dramatic

## What critics say

Audience reception is acclaimed on a small sample, with viewers praising the lavish historical drama and romance but faulting how the story loses momentum after its early episodes.

## Synopsis

Empress Ki (2013-2014) is a South Korean historical melodrama series created by Han Hee for MBC, running fifty-one episodes. Ha Ji-won plays Ki Seung Nyang, a woman from Goryeo who makes her way into the Yuan court, while Joo Jin-mo plays King Choong Hye of Goryeo and Ji Chang-wook plays Ta Hwan, a Yuan emperor whose affections and rivalries pull her in different directions. Her engine is simple and relentless: she wants safety, status and revenge, and every step upward requires a new alliance, a new betrayal or a new bargain with rulers who all want something from her. Each episode is built from palace maneuvering, romantic entanglements and the strain of wars that spill across borders, so the story moves through shifting loyalties rather than a single case. Set in the fourteenth-century Yuan dynasty and Goryeo Korea, the series has the sweeping costume scale and emotional heat of a long-form period soap. Its tone is intense and sentimental, foregrounding longing, resentment and ambition against the backdrop of court politics. Fans of Dae Jang Geum, Jewel in the Palace and Rise of the Empress will find the same mix of palace intrigue, romance and a determined woman climbing through a hostile hierarchy.

## Shows like Empress Ki

- [Faith (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/40716)
- [Empresses in the Palace (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/45592)
- [Marco Polo (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/54166)
- [Lee San, Wind in the Palace (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/14108)
- [Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/76887)
- [Emperor of the Sea (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/13259)
- [Under the Queen's Umbrella (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/118708)
- [Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69924)
- [The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/41357)
- [The Warrior Princess (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/112750)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt