Where can I watch Lovers of the Red Sky?

Lovers of the Red Sky is available on Viki and Viu for international viewers. It originally aired on SBS in South Korea.

How many episodes does Lovers of the Red Sky have?

Lovers of the Red Sky has 16 episodes, each approximately 70 minutes long. All episodes are now available to stream.

Is Lovers of the Red Sky worth watching?

Yes — especially if you enjoy historical fantasy romance. Kim Yoo-jung delivers a radiant performance as a female painter navigating a supernatural destiny, with Ahn Hyo-seop matching her in a brooding, complex role tied to a demon curse.

Who are the lead actors in Lovers of the Red Sky?

Lovers of the Red Sky stars Kim Yoo-jung as Hong Cheon-gi, Ahn Hyo-seop as Ha Ram, Gong Myoung as Grand Prince Yangmyeong, and Kwak Si-yang as Grand Prince Juhyang, among others.

📺 K-Drama Guide · Historical · Fantasy · Romance

Lovers of the Red Sky

홍천기 · 2021

✅ Completed · 16 eps
🎬 Viki · Viu
⭐ 8.2 / 10 MDL
🔞 15+

⚡ Updated · Apr 28, 2026

Drama Overview

Completed

Lovers of the Red Sky

홍천기 · 2021 · South Korea

WriterKim Yeong-young

DirectorJang Tae-yoo

Episodes16 eps · ~70 min each

⏱️ Binge Time18h 40m

AiredAug 30 – Oct 26, 2021

GenreHistorical · Fantasy · Romance

Content Rating15+

VikiViu

Historical FantasyRomanceJoseon EraSupernaturalCurse

In a mythical version of the Joseon royal court, Hong Cheon-gi is a rare talent — a woman who has broken into the male-dominated world of palace painters through sheer skill and stubborn will. Ha Ram is a blind astrologer whose fate has been quietly tangled with dark supernatural forces since childhood, when a botched royal ritual to seal a demon changed both their lives forever. When these two meet again as adults, what looks like a reunion between old souls is only the surface of something far more dangerous.

Their story unfolds inside a court riddled with competing royal ambitions, ancient curses, and the creeping presence of a demon that was never truly contained. Cheon-gi’s gift for painting and Ha Ram’s mastery of the stars turn out to be two halves of the same destined answer — a truth the kingdom’s enemies would rather bury. The series moves between sweeping romance and palace intrigue, asking whether a love written into the stars can survive the weight of prophecy, politics, and ancient evil.

Episode Progress
16 / 16 ✅ Completed

⚡ Quick Verdict

One box. Everything you need to decide.

⭐ Worth it?YES — if you love fantasy sageuk

⏱️ CommitmentVery High — ~19 hours total

💛 VibeFated · Lush · Bittersweet

📺 Skip if…You want political intrigue over romance

⭐ 8.2 / 10
· MDL Score · 26,000+ ratings

▶ Official Trailer

Cast & Characters

12 key cast members from this Joseon fantasy romance.

Kim Yoo-jung

Hong Cheon-gi

Lead

Ahn Hyo-seop

Ha Ram

Lead

Gong Myoung

Prince An-pyeong

Lead

Kwak Si-yang

Prince Su-yang

Antagonist

Lee Bo-hee

Queen So-hun

Supporting

Ko Kyu-pil

Cheong Ji-gi

Supporting

Yoon Sa-bong

Kyun Joo Daek

Supporting

Lee Sang-un

Seo Ki-jung

Supporting

Choi Gwang-il

Hong Eun O

Supporting

Hong Jin-gi

Cha Young Wook

Supporting

Woo Tae Ha

Fortress Captain

Supporting

Yang Hyun-min

Jung Soen Nae

Supporting

🍿 Where to Watch

Stream Lovers of the Red Sky on these platforms.

Viki Viu

Episode Guide

All 16 episodes — spoiler-light recaps to help you follow the story or decide where to jump in.

EP 1 EP 2 EP 3 EP 4 EP 5 EP 6 EP 7 EP 8 EP 9 EP 10 EP 11 EP 12 EP 13 EP 14 EP 15 EP 16

EP 01

The Curse

Aug 30, 2021 · SBS

A failed royal ritual meant to seal a demon sets off a chain of supernatural consequences that will haunt the kingdom for generations. Young Hong Cheon-gi and Ha Ram are introduced through the childhood moment that binds their fates — a night that leaves Ha Ram blind and marks Cheon-gi with a destiny she cannot yet understand.

EP 02

Fated Reunion

Aug 31, 2021 · SBS

Years later, Cheon-gi has grown into a gifted palace painter — the only woman to earn a place among royal artists. Ha Ram lives under a new identity tied to the court as a blind astrologer. Their paths converge again, and the series begins weaving its two threads of romance and palace politics into a single, inevitable collision.

EP 03

Painting and Prophecy

Sep 6, 2021 · SBS

Cheon-gi’s talent draws attention from powerful figures inside the palace, while Ha Ram’s role as court astrologer pulls him deeper into royal affairs. The mystery of their supernatural bond begins to take shape — and the forces that have been watching from the shadows begin to move.

EP 04

Hidden Motives

Sep 7, 2021 · SBS

The rival princes begin to reveal their hands. Prince Su-yang’s ambitions grow more visible, while Prince An-pyeong — who has developed feelings for Cheon-gi — tries to protect her without understanding the full extent of the danger she is already in. Cheon-gi and Ha Ram must learn to navigate both their growing feelings and a court full of people with reasons to use them.

EP 05

The Palace Trap

Sep 13, 2021 · SBS

Secrets about the original sealing ceremony begin to surface, and with them comes the unsettling realization that the demon may never have been fully contained. The palace becomes a more dangerous place as trust erodes — and Cheon-gi begins to understand that her gift is not simply an artistic talent but something older and far more consequential.

EP 06

Shadows Rising

Sep 14, 2021 · SBS

Ha Ram’s hidden purpose comes into sharper focus, and Cheon-gi’s role expands beyond painting into something she was never prepared for. Their enemies become more active, testing whether two people who are only beginning to trust each other can hold their ground against forces with decades of preparation behind them.

EP 07

Broken Trust

Sep 20, 2021 · SBS

The supernatural threat and the political struggle begin to converge, making it impossible for either Cheon-gi or Ha Ram to stay on the sidelines. As the princes’ rivalry intensifies and loyalties inside the court fracture, Cheon-gi’s closeness to Ha Ram becomes the thing their enemies are watching most carefully.

EP 08

The Demon Returns

Sep 21, 2021 · SBS

The signs that the sealed evil was never truly gone become impossible to ignore. The stakes rise sharply as the demon’s resurgence threatens not just individuals but the entire palace order. The lovers are pushed further toward the center of a conflict that was set into motion long before either of them were born.

EP 09

Choosing Sides

Sep 27, 2021 · SBS

Characters across the court begin making definitive choices about where their loyalties lie — and some of those choices carry consequences that cannot be undone. Cheon-gi’s artistry and Ha Ram’s knowledge of the stars stop being passive gifts and start becoming active weapons in a fight that is now unavoidable.

EP 10

Fractured Alliances

Sep 28, 2021 · SBS

The royal court splinters as factions shift and betrayals rise to the surface. At the center of the chaos, Cheon-gi and Ha Ram hold onto each other with a quiet, stubborn determination — the kind that doesn’t look like much from the outside but is the only thing keeping both of them upright.

EP 11

The Final Strategy

Oct 4, 2021 · SBS

The story shifts from reaction to intention. Cheon-gi’s power as the divine painter becomes the key piece in a plan to stop the demon — and the urgency of exposing the true threat inside the court drives the pacing into something tenser and more propulsive than the series has allowed so far.

EP 12

Face of the Enemy

Oct 5, 2021 · SBS

Prince Su-yang’s ambitions turn destructive and the threat to the throne becomes immediate rather than abstract. Ha Ram is forced to confront the darkness he has been carrying inside himself since childhood — and the cost of doing so may be higher than Cheon-gi is prepared to accept on his behalf.

EP 13

Bloodline and Fate

Oct 11, 2021 · SBS

The drama ties the curse, the royal succession struggle, and the couple’s shared destiny into a single thread. Cheon-gi and Ha Ram stop reacting to events and start actively driving toward a solution — a shift that makes the episode feel like the true beginning of the end rather than just the penultimate act.

EP 14

Into the Fire

Oct 12, 2021 · SBS

The conflict reaches critical mass. The demon’s influence grows harder to contain, and every major character is drawn into direct confrontation. The palace becomes the arena for a final power struggle — one that will settle both the supernatural threat and the question of which prince will define the kingdom’s future.

EP 15

The Last Seal

Oct 25, 2021 · SBS

Cheon-gi prepares to complete the sealing of the evil force through her painting — the act her whole life has been unknowingly building toward. Ha Ram must face the personal cost of his own connection to the demon. Every major character reaches their breaking point, and the finale is set into motion with no easy escape route left for anyone.

EP 16

Love Beyond Fate

Oct 26, 2021 · SBS

The demon is sealed into the painting, ending the supernatural threat that has haunted the kingdom since the opening night of episode one. Prince Su-yang’s ambitions are stopped, and the royal conflict reaches its resolution. Ha Ram and Cheon-gi survive the ordeal — and the story closes on a quiet, earned peace: the kingdom saved, the evil contained, and two people who fought fate finally free to build a life on their own terms.

Ending Explained

What really happened in the finale — and what it all means.

⚠️
Spoiler Warning — This section covers the full finale of Lovers of the Red Sky. Stop here if you haven’t finished the series.

The painting completes the circle. Everything in Lovers of the Red Sky has been building toward a single act: Cheon-gi painting the demon back into containment. What makes the finale land is that the series never lets this feel like a simple heroic gesture. The ritual costs something real — Ha Ram, whose soul has been entangled with the demon since childhood, must sever that bond in a way that risks losing himself entirely. The tension of the final episodes rests not on whether the demon will be defeated, but on whether the price of defeat will leave Ha Ram as someone Cheon-gi can still reach.

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) — Episode 15 still

Prince Su-yang’s defeat closes the political arc. The ambitions that have been fracturing the court since the early episodes are finally extinguished — and the series is clear that his fall is not only a military or political event but a moral one. The supernatural and the political were always mirrors of each other in this story: both involve men who reach for power that does not belong to them and end up destroying what they sought to control. His defeat allows the kingdom to reset, and with it, the people who survived the chaos find a path back to something resembling normalcy.

The epilogue earns its happiness. Lovers of the Red Sky is not a drama that pretends its ending is without cost. Ha Ram regains himself, but the series is honest that surviving a connection to something like the demon leaves marks. What Cheon-gi and Ha Ram build afterward is quiet rather than triumphant — a life together in a world that has just barely held. The final image of the two of them in peace is satisfying precisely because the drama never made peace look easy. A fate-driven story that trusts its ending enough to let it breathe rather than rush — the kind of finale that rewards the investment.

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) — Episode 1 still

KDramaWorlds Editor’s Take

Our honest read on this one — no spoilers beyond what you’d find in a review.

🌸 Lush Visuals✨ Fantasy Romance🎨 Painter Lead🌙 Supernatural Curse👑 Joseon Court

Lovers of the Red Sky is one of those rare historical fantasies that commits fully to both halves of its genre. The romance between Kim Yoo-jung and Ahn Hyo-seop is genuinely tender — anchored less by dramatic declarations and more by a quiet, earned trust that the two actors build one scene at a time. Yoo-jung brings her usual warmth to Cheon-gi, but there’s something specifically compelling about watching her play a woman who insists on existing in spaces that were designed to exclude her. The Joseon art world as a battleground for female ambition is an angle that the drama doesn’t over-explain but simply lives in — and it gives the romance a backbone that many similar series lack. If you love Alchemy of Souls or The Red Sleeve, this one belongs on your list.

Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) — cinematic still

Where the drama is more divisive is in the middle stretch. Episodes 6 through 11 spread the supernatural and political threads thin — there are stretches where the pacing stalls, the royal intrigue circles without advancing, and the demon-related mythology becomes denser without becoming clearer. Viewers who come primarily for the romance will find these sections work fine, but anyone hoping for the kind of tight plotting that the fantasy elements seemed to promise early on may find their patience tested. Kwak Si-yang’s Prince Su-yang is a functional antagonist, but the writing never quite gives him the complexity that would make his threat feel personal rather than structural.

What saves it — and what makes the finale feel earned — is that the series always knows what it is at its core: a love story between two people who were marked by the same night, shaped by the same curse, and moving toward the same destiny. The cinematography is consistently gorgeous, the costumes and production design do real work in establishing the period’s atmosphere, and the final episodes pull the mythology and the emotion together in a way that pays off the patience required by the middle. It is not a perfect drama, but it is a full-hearted one — and that matters more than it might sound. Recommended, especially for viewers who enjoy their fantasy with a strong romantic center.

👍👍👍 BEST FOR 👍👍👍

🎨 Historical fantasy romance fans who want both genres taken seriously
✨ Kim Yoo-jung fans — this is one of her most luminous performances
👑 Viewers who love Joseon-era aesthetics with supernatural stakes

⚖️ Final Verdict

What works

•Kim Yoo-jung’s radiant, grounded performance as a woman who refuses to be defined by fate

•Ahn Hyo-seop’s layered portrayal of a man carrying supernatural weight with quiet dignity

•Stunning Joseon-era production design and cinematography throughout

•A finale that brings the mythology and the love story together with genuine payoff

What to know first

•The middle section (eps 6–11) paces more slowly — patience is required

•The supernatural mythology gets complex without always being fully coherent

•Viewers seeking tight political intrigue may find the royal arc underwritten

•Very High commitment — 16 episodes at 70 minutes each is a real time investment

8.2 / 10Worth the 19 hours — the romance is real, the visuals are stunning, and the ending delivers what the story promised.