# Secret Healer (2016)

> A cursed Joseon-era princess abandoned in the mountains falls in with a young man as shamanic black magic shapes her fate.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58481

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 65 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: fantasy, romance, drama
- Created by: Yang Hyuk-moon
- Network: JTBC
- Cast: Yoon Shi-yoon, Kim Sae-ron, Lee Sung-jae, Yum Jung-ah, Kwak Si-yang, Jang Hee-jin, Jo Dal-hwan, Choi Seong-won
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5646548/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: mystical, melodramatic, wistful, tense, romantic

## What critics say

Viewer reception is sharply divided, with one reviewer finding the mix of shamanic magic and historical Joseon setting poorly executed and the pacing weak across its twenty episodes.

## Synopsis

Mirror of the Witch (2016) is a South Korean historical fantasy romance drama created by Yang Hyuk-moon for JTBC. Kim Sae-ron plays Seo-Ri, a girl born through shaman Hong-Joo's black magic and cursed to be abandoned deep in the mountains, where she meets the young man Heo Jun, played by Yoon Shi-yoon. Their bond grows against the pull of the court and the magic that defines both their lives. The engine of the story is Seo-Ri's struggle to understand the curse that marks her and the reach of the sorcery that made her, as shaman rivalries, royal ambitions and family secrets move around her. The series runs as a single twenty-episode season of roughly sixty-five-minute episodes, following one continuing storyline rather than standalone cases. It is set in Joseon dynasty Korea, with its palace intrigue and mountain retreats rendered through a shamanic, mystical lens. The tone mixes romance, mystery and a sense of dread about the cost of dark magic, with a wistful, melodramatic register. Fans of Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Hwarang and Jang Ok-jung, Living in Love will find resonance in its blend of period romance and supernatural intrigue.

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