The Emperor: Owner of the Mask (2017) is a period drama and will remind many Korean Drama devotees of another period drama, ‘The Crowned Clown’ (2019). There are 40 episodes of 30 minutes each. This Korean drama is well worth that commitment time of 20 hours. This commitment is a slow boil, as it builds to a loud crescendo in the back part of the drama. At times this drama becomes a little melodramatic, but by episode 20 the pace is allegro (quick, fast) as action builds to a burst. This is an ‘Ole School’ type Korean Drama.

Emperor: Owner of the Mask has court intrigue, twists and turns, and several great love triangles. “To whom does power really belong?”, that is the question. It belongs to The Owner of the Mask. How that plays out is slow but great storytelling. The drama received post awards for screenwriting. Emperor: Owner of the Mask started off in Korea at a viewing audience rating of 10% for episode 1, which starts off this drama as a hit drama (10% is considered a hit drama). The drama reached a rating of 16% by the finale, with some of its episodes as high as 20% of the viewing public. The last two episodes have some issues, but these can be overlooked.

Cast

Kim So-Hyun (Love Alarm, My Lovely Liar)—She is a beast of an actress, who started off in the industry as a child actress.

Kim Myung-Soo (Royal Secret Agent, Angels Last Mission:Love)—Kpop band member from INFINITE and an actor. He does a great job in this drama

Yoo Seung Ho (Memorist, My Strange Hero)—He is also a child actor, reaching heartthrob status by age 18 years old in his memorable Korean Drama Warrior Baek Dong Soo.
Yoon So-Hee (Ghost Doctor, The Spies Who Loved Me)— She does a great job in her role.