Continuing in our 12 for 12 Challenge series, we’re moving ahead to the year 2012 to recommend some dramas that you might have missed. When looking into the most popular dramas from this year, we noticed that there were a lot of “time slip” stories. Time slips are exactly what they sound like… one or more characters accidentally slip through time moving either forwards or backwards by a significant amount. Sometimes these stories are hilarious, and sometimes they take a more serious route, but it is always interesting to see a fish out of water story like this.

1. Rooftop Prince

What do you get when you combine a time slip with a mistaken identity? Hijinks. You get hijinks. Rooftop Prince is goofy nonsense about a Crown Prince transported with his sidekicks into a future where he resembles a missing chaebol heir and meets a woman who looks just like his dead wife. However, Rooftop Prince is also an interesting whodunnit about a Joseon prince who’s beautiful wife dies mysteriously. Her younger sister was the originally intended bride and is good friends with the prince who has never seen her face due to the veils she wears to hide a terrible scar.

The stories of the reincarnated sisters in the modern day mirrors the story from the past and leads one to wonder if the current love story might also end in tragedy. The modern chaebol heir story involves family politics and business, because of course it does. There is an illegitimate older brother and the mystery of why the heir is missing. The story of the missing heir in the modern day might shed some light onto the mysterious death in the past. While on the face of it, Rooftop Prince appears nonsensical, it is a fan favourite not just because of the humour, but also because of the mystery and romance.

2. Queen In Hyun’s Man

As with our previous drama, Queen In Hyun’s Man involves a plot from the past that instigates some time travel to the future. Unlike the previous story, however, this one involves a lot of back and forth between the past and present. Our male lead is a scholar from the past determined to set right the political machinations that led to Queen In Hyun being deposed. In the future, our female lead is an actress set to start playing Queen In Hyun in a career making drama role. The politics in the past are a major part of the series’ plot and the way that story plays out has some effect on the modern day since it’s a major part of the history of Korea.

All of that said, the thing that most people talk about and remember with this drama is the romance. The chemistry between Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo is off the charts. The characters are so cute in their interactions with each other it’s easy to believe that they are in love… so easy that the actors believed it themselves and actually dated for several years after filming this drama. For many fans of this drama, Queen In Hyun’s Man is a regular re-watch. In truth, I was surprised to see that Rooftop Prince is ranked higher on MyDramaList.com since this is the one I hear mentioned far more frequently.

3. Faith

Unlike our previous two outings, Faith is about a person from the present travelling backwards in time. Also unlike the previously mentioned dramas, this one has a woman as the main time traveller. Kim Hee Sun plays a modern day doctor who gets kidnapped back to the past in order to save an important life. The majority of the story takes place in the historical time period. Of the three dramas, this is the one that is the most traditional sageuk story full of court intrigue and murder.

The English word “faith” is a homonym for the Korean word for “divine healer” which is where the title of the drama comes from. The plot of bringing modern medical knowledge to the past is coupled with an element of magical healing. Time travel is not the only fantasy element to this drama (wait til you see Sung Hoon in his platinum wig). Magic, romance, modern medicine, and political intrigue all combine to create a very watchable historic drama.

Final Thoughts

I’ve only watched one of these dramas, but in writing this post I am definitely planning to check out the other two as well. I like a good time slip story, and it seems like 2012 had a bumper crop of them. If you’re taking part in the Certified Noonas #CN12for12Challenge and looking for a 2012 drama to round out your list, maybe a time slip is what you need. I’m curious now if I could find time slip drama or movie for each year of the challenge. Maybe that will be next year’s theme for me.

If you’re looking for more Korean drama recommendations, don’t forget to join us on Twitter on the first Monday of every month for our #KdramaChat. Meet other like-minded fans and have fun telling others about your favourite Kdramas.

If you’re interested in more historical Kdrama recs, check out the Certified Noonas episode on Sageuks. At least one of them mentions a time slip drama.