My Girl star Lee Dong-wook leads new K-drama Tale of the Nine Tailed – why is TVN’s urban fantasy series already trending in Korea, and will it be on Netflix next?

Nov 18 , 2020

Tale of the Nine Tailed tells the story of nine-tailed fox Lee Yeon and Nam Ji-ah, the television producer who’s determined to track him down. Photo: Kdramadiary

The fantasy TV series might be the hottest new show of the season – and its success lies in its heady mix of Korean folk tales, relatable modern settings and a lead who could be the man of viewers’ dreams

Tale of the Nine Tailed may only have been airing in Korea for barely a month, but it’s held viewers captive from its very first episode.

Also known as The Tale of a Gumiho, TVN’s new series is an urban fantasy K-drama that tells the story of a male gumiho, or nine-tailed fox, played by Lee Dong-wook (who you might also know as Bae Suzy’s ex-boyfriend), and the fearless television producer who’s determined to track him down, played by Jo Bo-ah. The show is already trending in South Korea, and has topped viewership ratings – leading to hopes it will picked up for international streaming soon.

So what’s the secret recipe behind Tale of the Nine Tailed’s success?

It’s a K-fantasy that’s very, very Korean

Tale of the Nine Tailed draws on traditional Korean folk tales. Photo: TVN

Tale of the Nine Tailed is unique for how it takes supernatural beings from traditional Korean folk tales and legends and places them in the modern world, where they live among us. Aside from the titular gumiho, viewers also meet a fox spirit similar to the one in the folk tale The Fox Sister,; a stone Buddha that answers prayers, and immortals.

Its gumiho isn’t female, but male

Broody and handsome, Lee Dong-wook stars in Tale of the Nine Tailed. Photo: TVN

In Korean legends, gumiho are typically beautiful women, but the show turns that expectation on its head with a male gumiho lead. Lee Yeon once ruled Baekdudaegan Mountain as a god or mountain spirit, and has divine, irresistibly handsome looks and extraordinary abilities to match.

The show toys with the gumiho mythology in another way, too – nine-tailed foxes are usually mischievous tricksters who seduce humans for their own gain, but Lee, in contrast, never abandons his partner, even waiting for her to be reincarnated after her death so that he can reunite with her. (Handsome, supernaturally powerful, and a good boyfriend? Be still our beating hearts.)