Sometimes, a breakthrough occurs when characters decide to take on a different identity, and it’s usually the answer to leaving poverty or a life of crime. The doppelgänger archetype is a means to an end or an escape route that allows struggling characters to recreate their lives and either find themselves or love along the way. 

A case of mistaken or stolen identity is a thrilling concept, but the lies and deceit that come with it construct intensifying dramas that are sensational and dramatic. Below is a list of a few melodrama series that intersect with other genres such as historical or crime, and are based on mistaken identities, creating a nail-biting watching experience.

The Crowned Clown

The Crowned Clown, a 2019 drama starring Yeo Jingoo and Lee Seyoung, is a Korean version of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper with a twist. During a time of political upheaval and disorder in Joseon, King Lee Hun (Yeo) attempts to evade assassins by switching places with a street clown named Ha Sun (Yeo). The young king, however, is on the verge of madness and self-destructing, yet his look-alike may be a true king in the making, even winning the heart of the Queen (Lee). 

Your Honor

Your Honor is a 2018 drama starring Yoon Shiyoon and Lee Yooyoung about twin brothers who are worlds apart even down to their personal core principles and beliefs. Han Kangho (Yoon) is a convicted felon constantly fleeing the law while his identical brother, Han Sooho (Yoon), is an honorary presiding judge who mysteriously disappears. In an unthinkable situation, the lawless becomes the law, as Han Kangho must take his brother’s place in court.

Mask

Mask is a 2015 drama starring Soo Ae and Ju Jihoon in a rags to riches tale. Byun Jisook (Soo) is a struggling store clerk who encounters her doppelganger one day, setting the wheels of fortune in motion as their meeting is ominous and a harbinger of chaos. Crippling with debt and the burden of her family, Byun Jisook takes up the offer to masquerade as Seo Eunha (Soo) who shares nothing with her but a similar physical appearance. Coming from affluence and power, Seo Eunha’s life is everything Jisook could have ever hoped for, but her sudden murder is a mystery to be solved, while a chaebol husband (Ju) is on the brink of discovering his wife’s true identity. 

Bride of the Century

Bride of the Century is a 2014 drama starring Yang Jinsung and Lee Hongki in a fantasy series about a long lasting family curse that runs in the largest conglomerate group of South Korea. The Taeyang family curse stipulates that the bride of the eldest son will always pass away. In order to avoid misfortune, heiress Jang Yikyung (Yang) disappears but at the price of offending Taeyang group. To avoid scandal, imposter Na Doorim (Yang) is brought in order to masquerade as the heiress engaged to Choi Kangjoo (Lee) who falls in love with her sweet disposition. 

Doppelgängers are more than alter egos, even if the identities of the two characters are distinctly different. Dramas always convey a sense of longing and desire as the swapping of lives is something the protagonist agrees to and subconsciously wants even when coercion is involved. And it is this life altering agreement that paves the way for character growth, romance, and tragedy.