Show Information
About This Show
Cast & Characters
Lim Ji-yeon
Kang Dan-sim / Shin Seo-riHeo Nam-jun
Cha Se-gyeJang Seung-jo
Choi Mun-doLee Se-hee
Yoon Ji-hyoKim Min-seok
Bae Gwang-namByeon Seo-yun
Mo Tae-heeYoon Ju-sang
Cha Dal-sooKim Hae-sook
Nam Ok-soonYoon Byung-hee
Son Jae-hanPark Jin-woo
Gu Pil-gyuSeasons & Episodes
Season 1
2026My Royal Nemesis Season 1 takes a familiar time-travel concept and gives it a fun Korean romantic-comedy twist. Instead of simply sending a modern character into the past, the series sends Kang Dan-sim, a woman from the Joseon era, into modern-day Seoul. She wakes up inside the body of Shin Seo-ri, an aspiring actress, with absolutely no understanding of smartphones, cars, modern clothes, social media or the strange rules of 21st-century life. And honestly, watching a woman who survived palace politics struggle with something as simple as modern technology is one of the showβs funniest ideas.
The story becomes much more interesting when Dan-sim meets Cha Se-gye. Se-gye is a powerful chaebol heir who has built his life around control, ambition and business. Dan-sim, meanwhile, is not the type of woman who is easily intimidated. Their personalities immediately collide, creating the classic enemies-to-lovers setup. What makes their relationship enjoyable is that neither character simply falls in love overnight. They argue, misunderstand each other, manipulate situations and slowly begin to realize that the person standing in front of them might actually be the one person they cannot ignore.
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The first episode of My Royal Nemesis wastes very little time introducing Kang Dan-sim as a woman who is absolutely not interested in playing by anyone elseβs rules. She is a royal concubine in Joseon and has developed a reputation for being clever, ambitious and dangerous. Her life inside the palace is surrounded by politics and suspicion, and eventually she is sentenced to death by poison. Just when it seems that her story is over, the drama pulls its biggest trick. Dan-sim wakes up in modern-day Korea, inside the body of Shin Seo-ri. Read Full Episode Review β |
8 May 2026 | β 8.1 | 1 hour 12 minutes |
| 2 |
Episode 2 focuses more heavily on Dan-simβs attempt to survive in the modern world. She has already realized that returning to Joseon is not going to be easy, so she begins thinking about how she can establish herself in this unfamiliar society. Her old personality quickly proves useful because she understands people extremely well and has no problem taking advantage of an opportunity when she sees one. Read Full Episode Review β |
9 May 2026 | β 8.4 | 1 hour 12 minutes |
| 3 |
Episode 3 begins shifting the story from simple attraction toward something much more complicated. Se-gye finds himself unable to stop thinking about Seo-ri, even when he has no logical reason to be so affected by her. A strange dream only makes matters worse because it brings emotions to the surface that he does not fully understand. Read Full Episode Review β |
15 May 2026 | β 8.4 | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| 4 |
Episode 4 continues developing the relationship between Seo-ri and Se-gye while revealing more about Seo-riβs past. By this point, the two leads are spending more time together, but neither of them is willing to openly admit what they are feeling. Instead, they continue sending mixed signals and testing each otherβs reactions. Read Full Episode Review β |
16 May 2026 | β 8.4 | 1 hour 11 minutes |
| 5 |
Episode 5 leans heavily into the romantic comedy side of the series. Se-gye becomes increasingly confused by Seo-riβs behavior and decides that if he wants to understand her, he needs to win her over. The problem is that Seo-ri is not exactly making things easy for him. Her unpredictable personality keeps him guessing, and his usual methods of getting what he wants do not work nearly as well on her. Read Full Episode Review β |
22 May 2026 | β 8.5 | 1 hour 8 minutes |
| 6 |
Episode 6 takes Seo-ri and Se-gye away from their usual surroundings as they travel to Jeju. The change of location gives the characters an opportunity to spend more time together without the same level of pressure from work and family. It also allows the relationship to develop in a more personal way. Read Full Episode Review β |
23 May 2026 | β 8.5 | 1 hour 7 minutes |
| 7 |
Episode 7 brings a new complication into the romance when Mo Tae-hee makes her interest in Se-gye clear. Seo-ri has already started developing genuine feelings for him, so Tae-heeβs presence naturally creates doubt and jealousy. For someone as proud as Dan-sim, watching another woman openly claim the man she cares about is not exactly an enjoyable experience. Read Full Episode Review β |
29 May 2026 | β 8.4 | 1 hour 7 minutes |
| 8 |
Episode 8 turns the romantic tension up another level when Tae-hee announces her engagement to Se-gye publicly. The announcement naturally creates chaos because Se-gye himself is angry about it, while Seo-ri has to deal with jealousy and uncertainty. Read Full Episode Review β |
30 May 2026 | β 8.3 | 1 hour 8 minutes |
| 9 |
Episode 9 finally pushes the biggest question surrounding Seo-ri and Dan-sim to the front. Se-gye confronts Seo-ri about her identity and wants to know who Dan-sim really is. For Seo-ri, this is a difficult moment because the secret she has been carrying cannot remain hidden forever. Read Full Episode Review β |
5 June 2026 | β 8.3 | 1 hour 6 minutes |
| 10 |
Episode 10 delivers one of the biggest developments of the season as the connection between Seo-ri and Dan-sim is finally revealed. After so much mystery surrounding her identity, the truth changes the relationship between the main characters. Read Full Episode Review β |
6 June 2025 | β 8.2 | 1 hour 7 minutes |
| 11 |
Episode 11 takes a major turn when Dan-sim wakes up back in the Joseon era. After spending so much time in modern Seoul and developing a relationship with Se-gye, returning to her original time feels like a cruel twist of fate. Read Full Episode Review β |
12 June 2026 | β 8.0 | 1 hour 6 minutes |
| 12 |
Episode 12 continues exploring the collision between Dan-simβs past and Seo-riβs present. The two identities and timelines are becoming increasingly intertwined, making the situation more emotionally complicated for everyone involved. Read Full Episode Review β |
13 June 2026 | β 7.7 | 1 hour 12 minutes |
| 13 |
Episode 13 raises the emotional stakes even further when Seo-riβs grandmotherβs health takes a serious turn. The situation forces the characters to think about family, time and the consequences of their choices. Read Full Episode Review β |
19 June 2026 | β 7.8 | 1 hour 18 minutes |
| 14 |
The final episode brings the central time-travel story to its emotional conclusion. After everything Dan-sim has experienced in the modern world, she is ultimately forced to make a choice that changes everything. Her decision sends her back to the Joseon era, leaving Se-gye heartbroken and alone in the modern world. Read Full Episode Review β |
20 June 2026 | β 7.8 | 1 hour 14 minutes |
Show Review
My Royal Nemesis is one of those Korean dramas that sounds complicated when you explain the plot but becomes surprisingly easy to enjoy once you start watching. A Joseon-era villainess wakes up hundreds of years in the future, finds herself inside the body of an actress, gets involved with a powerful chaebol heir and somehow has to deal with romance, family drama, corporate rivalry and the consequences of her previous life. On paper, that is a lot. Fortunately, the series keeps the story centered around Dan-sim and Se-gye.
The biggest strength of the drama is its lead pairing. Lim Ji-yeon gives Dan-sim the confidence and sharpness needed to make her believable as someone who survived palace politics, while also bringing enough vulnerability to make her modern-day journey emotional. Heo Nam-junβs Se-gye starts as the classic cold and arrogant chaebol character, but the performance becomes more interesting as his emotional walls begin to come down.
The drama also understands that time travel does not always need to be treated as a complicated science-fiction puzzle. Here, it is primarily used to explore identity and fate. Dan-sim gets a second chance at life, but that second chance comes with its own problems. She has to decide whether she belongs to the world she came from or the world she has learned to love.
The romance is definitely the main reason to watch the series. Dan-sim and Se-gye have enough arguments, misunderstandings and emotional moments to keep their relationship interesting throughout the season. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic works because both characters have strong personalities, and neither one immediately gives the other what they want.
With 14 episodes, My Royal Nemesis also has enough space to develop its supporting characters and the conflict surrounding Choi Mun-do. Some of the later episodes become more serious and emotional than the earlier comedy-focused chapters, but that tonal shift makes sense as the story approaches its conclusion.
Overall, My Royal Nemesis is a charming Korean fantasy romantic comedy with a strong enemies-to-lovers relationship, an interesting time-travel premise and a talented lead cast. It may not reinvent every K-drama trope it uses, but it combines them effectively and gives the story enough personality to stand on its own.
Overall Rating: 8.2/10
The series has 1 season and 14 episodes, with the finale airing on June 20, 2026. Netflix officially lists it as a limited series and categorizes it under Korean TV comedies and romantic TV comedies, with reincarnation and enemies-to-lovers themes.
