History Series / ArangAndTheMagistrate

Euh Oh is the son of a nobleman and a slave, with the ability to see and speak with ghosts, but prefers to ignore any and all people, corporeal or ghostly, in his quest to find his missing mother. He travels to the town of Miryang, following up on the last place she was rumored to be. On the way, he bumps into Arang, a feisty female ghost. They join forces to discover what happened to Arang during her human life, and discover that her life and the life of his mother are inextricably intertwined with the village, it's corrupt leader, and demonic machinations. He assumes the mantle of magistrate in order to facilitate his investigation, never realizing that the fate of the couple and the people they love are part of a game set up by [[GodOfTheDead King Yeomra]] and the Jade Emperor in Heaven.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Lord Choi has no redeeming features whatsoever. Averted by Eun Oh's father Lord Kim, who seems to have been TheGoodChancellor.
* BetaCouple: Dol Swe and Bang Wool, who provide a comedic, laid-back contrast to the high drama of the main couple.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Lord Kim arrives at the last moment to stop Eun Oh's and Dol Swe's execution, bearing a royal decree which acquits them completely.]]
* BrilliantButLazy: Eun Oh, at the beginning of the story.
* ButIReadABookAboutIt: Bang Wool gets most of her know-how from books written by a succession of female ancestors, who were considerably better shamans than her.
* CessationOfExistence: What supposedly happens to supernatural beings, such as Grim Reapers, if they die. [[spoiler:This is the ultimate fate of Mu Yeon, but the Jade Emperor takes pity on Mu Young and allows him to reincarnate... as a heavenly goat.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Eun Oh goes from completely selfish to caring about the town and its ghosts.
* ChekhovsGun: Eun Oh is seen walking around with a fan from the first episode, but only halfway through the series the fan is revealed to be an evil-spirit-slaying instrument [[spoiler:given to him by the Jade Emperor himself]].
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: Joo Wal [[spoiler: takes a header off a cliff in the final episodes.]]
* ClearMyName: Eun Oh and Dol Swe get accused of high treason by Lord Choi and the Governor.

* DarkestHour: [[spoiler: Eun Oh is forced to kill his mother in order to release her soul.]]
* DeadGuyJunior: Implied. [[spoiler:The reincarnated Eun Oh has the same name and is strongly hinted to be Dol Swe and Bang Wool's son, so he was probably named after the departed master.]]
* DeadPersonConversation: Eun Oh and Arang frequently interact with ghosts, which also includes fighting them.
* DealWithTheDevil: Mu Yeon's "hunters" supply her with victims in exchange for money and power. The position was previously occupied by Lord Choi, who was replaced with Joo Wal.
* DeathActivatedSuperpower: [[spoiler:Eun Oh's ability to see ghosts turns out to be the result of briefly dying as a child and being resurrected by the Jade Emperor.]]
* DemonicPossession: Mu Yeon [[BodySurf changes human hosts]] every few years in a process that works like that. The host needs to be willing (at least initially).
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:While they're both on their way to being tried for their crimes, Lord Choi still finds time to mock Geo Deol and blame him for the situation. Geo Deol has had enough and dispatches him with one of guards' sword.]]

** [[spoiler:Joo Wal takes a dive off the same cliff where he disposed of Lee Seo Rim's body.]]
** [[spoiler:After finally killing Mu Yeon, Mu Young turns the dagger on himself.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Wow, what the canon couple has to do to stay together.
* ExactWords: The "Mother's Heart Hairpin" was supposed to win the heart of Eun Oh's mother, [[spoiler:but ends up ''inside'' her heart.]]

* {{Foil}}: Joo Wal to Eun Oh. Both are handsome young noblemen with secrets related to their birth, who carry a torch for the same woman. Eun Oh is an AntiHero who becomes a straight hero during the course of the plot; Joo Wal is a TragicVillain who comes to see that his evil deeds weren't worth it after all.
* ForcedToWatch: It is later revealed that [[spoiler: Lord Choi forced Eun Oh's mother to watch her family members brutally tortured and killed; hence, driving Eun Oh's mother to near insanity and bent on getting revenge on Lord Choi.]]
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Joo Wal doesn't remember the first time he met Arang/Lee Seo Rim.

* TheGlomp: When Dol Swe is released from jail, he is tackled and hugged by a crying happy Bang Wool.
** As opposed to the SecurityCling that Arang gives Eun Oh in the same scene; intense emotion but much quieter.

* HellOfAHeaven: Mu Yeon's StartOfDarkness. After many lifetimes as a mortal, she was reincarnated as a divine spirit. However, she found life in Heaven - where there is no emotion or desire - excruciatingly boring, and decided she wants to go back to life as a human.
* HeroicSacrifice: Attempted multiple times by the lead couple, [[spoiler:but in the end the winner is Eun Oh, who throws himself into a portal to Hell to prevent Arang from being sucked in.]]

* ISeeDeadPeople: Eun Oh and Arang see ghosts from the start; the Shaman eventually gets this ability.
* JacobMarleyApparel: Arang spends her three years as a ghost wearing the same ''hanbok'' that she died in. Eun Oh figures out how to give her new clothes, though.

* MissingMom: Literally, as Eun Oh becomes the magistrate while on a quest to look for his mother.
* OneManArmy: Dol Swe, who holds off soldiers with a ''grass mat''.
* ParentalAbandonment: Eun Oh was turned away by his mom and forced to live with his father.
* PhonyPsychic: Bang Wool isn't completely phony, but her unreliable shamanistic powers force her to embellish things up a bit (without much success). Her abilities vastly improve later.
* PressGanged: How Eun Oh becomes magistrate, as the three Bangs are desperate to fill the position as quickly as possible.
* ThePromise: Euh Oh to Arang: "I will take you to Heaven!"
* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler: At the end Eun Oh and Arang both decide to reincarnate back on earth instead of staying in Heaven.]]

* SmugSnake: Lord Choi's servant, Geo Deol.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: Dol Swe in his clumsy attempt to woo the Shaman.
* SoulEating: Mu Yeon sustains herself on the pure souls of murdered girls.
* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Arang experiments with this look, but after the first magistrate she tries approaching dies of fright, she decided to stick with a more orderly style.

** Bang Wool has a thing with pork (which is apparently hereditary, since the ghost of her mother also wants some when she appears).

* HellOfAHeaven: Mu Yeon's StartOfDarkness. After many lifetimes as a mortal, she was reincarnated as a divine spirit. However, she found life in Heaven - where there is no emotion or desire - boring, and decided she wants to go back to life as a human.

''Arang and the Magistrate'' is a 2012 fusion saeguk that aired on South Korea's Creator/{{MBC}} network.

Euh Oh is the son of a nobleman and a slave, with the ability to see and speak with ghosts, but prefers to ignore any and all people, corporeal or ghostly, in his quest to find his missing mother. He travels to the town of Miryang, following up on the last place she was rumored to be. On the way, he bumps into Arang, a feisty female ghost. They join forces to discover what happened to Arang during her human life, and discover that her life and the life of his mother are inextricably intertwined with the village, it's corrupt leader, and demonic machinations. He assumes the mantle of magistrate in order to facilitate his investigation, never realizing that the fate of the couple and the people they love are part of a game set up by Hades and the Jade Emperor in Heaven.

* CharacterDevelopment: Eun Oh goes from completely selfish to caring about the town and it's ghosts.

* CosmicChessGame: Hades and the Jade Emperor play ''badook''; their play affects the humans on Earth.
* CuteGhostGirl: Arang

* DeadPersonConversation: Eun Oh and Arang frequently interact with ghosts, to also include fighting them.
* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: Joo Wal.]]

* FluffyCloudHeaven: The gods hang out on a floating garden with beautiul woman as their assistants.

* GrandpaGod: Hades is portrayed as a white-haired bearded man in black.

* HotGod: The Jade Emperor

* ManipulativeBastard: The Jade Emperor
* MissingMom: Literally, as Eun Oh becomes the magistrate specifically to look for his mother.

* SmugSnake: Lord Choi's servant

* SociallyInept: Dol Swe in his clumsy attempt to woo the Shaman.

''Series/ArangAndTheMagistrate'' is a 2012 fusion saeguk that aired on South Korea's MBC network.

* TheWoobie: Joo Wal, surprisingly.

* DarkestHour: [[spoiler: Eun Oh is forced to kill his mother in order to release her soul.]]

* OneManArmy: Dol Swe, who holds off soldiers with a ''grass mat''.

* UnfinishedBusiness: The ghosts stay on earth to take care of something.

* MoralEventHorizon: Joo Wal [[spoiler: not only stabbed Arang to death to deliver her soul to his demon mother, but also years before, caused her death and threw her body off a cliff. Nevermind the countless woman he killed down through the years to satisy his evil mom.]]

* FriendOnTheForce: The Bangs help the magistrate with the townspeople.

''ArangAndTheMagistrate'' is a 2012 fusion saeguk that aired on South Korea's MBC network.