The East Palace Character Guide: Gu-cheon, Saeng-gang, the King, and Ggeomeoksali Explained
Netflix’s Korean fantasy series The East Palace, also known by its Korean title Donggung, combines royal politics, supernatural mystery, and traditional Korean ghost lore.
The story follows Gu-cheon, a spirit slayer who can enter the world of the dead, and Saeng-gang, a court lady who can hear the voices of spirits. After being secretly summoned by the king, the two enter the East Palace to investigate a curse threatening the royal family.
With court secrets, royal family conflicts, and several supernatural beings appearing throughout the series, the character relationships can feel confusing at first.
Here is a simple guide to the main characters and how they are connected.
Spoiler note: This guide explains the basic character relationships but avoids revealing the biggest twists in the ending.
The Main Trio: Gu-cheon, Saeng-gang, and the King
The central story revolves around three characters: Gu-cheon, Saeng-gang, and the king.
The king brings Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang together and orders them to uncover the truth behind the mysterious deaths taking place inside the East Palace.
Gu-cheon — Nam Joo-hyuk
Gu-cheon is an unconventional spirit slayer who can see the dead and cross into the Realm of Gwi, the world inhabited by supernatural beings.
He can fight spirits with a special blade, but he does not behave like a noble or heroic warrior. He is sarcastic, blunt, and initially accepts the king’s mission because his own life is at risk.
As Gu-cheon investigates the palace curse, however, the case becomes far more personal than he expected.
Gu-cheon’s main connections
- The king summons him to remove the palace curse.
- Saeng-gang becomes his guide and investigation partner.
- Ggeomeoksali follows him and forms a special bond with him.
Saeng-gang — Roh Yoon-seo
Saeng-gang is a court lady, not a princess. She was born with the ability to hear the voices of the dead, but she considers this power more of a burden than a gift.
The king assigns her to accompany Gu-cheon through the palace. She serves as his guide while also secretly watching his actions on the king’s behalf.
Quiet and observant, Saeng-gang carries a royal secret of her own. As she and Gu-cheon uncover more about the pond spirit, she begins to question where her true loyalty belongs.
Saeng-gang’s main connections
- She works with Gu-cheon to investigate the curse.
- She follows the king’s orders but does not trust him completely.
- Her hidden past is connected to the royal family.
The King — Cho Seung-woo
The king publicly dismisses rumors about ghosts and curses as superstition. Privately, however, he is desperate enough to bring a spirit slayer into the palace.
He orders Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang to find and destroy the pond spirit before the curse takes the life of his final surviving son.
The king’s motives are not always clear. He appears to want to protect his children, but he is also determined to defend the legitimacy of his throne and prevent the palace from descending into chaos.
The king’s main connections
- He hires Gu-cheon to destroy the pond spirit.
- He assigns Saeng-gang to guide and monitor Gu-cheon.
- He has an uneasy power struggle with the queen dowager.
- The deaths of the crown princes threaten both his family and his throne.
The Queen Dowager — Jang Young-nam
The queen dowager is one of the most powerful and intimidating figures in the palace.
Unlike the king, who was born to a concubine of low status, she represents the traditional legitimacy of the royal family. She is determined to preserve a strong royal bloodline, even as the princes of the East Palace continue to die.
Her grief, ambitions, and past actions are deeply connected to the history of the palace curse, making her one of the most important characters in the royal storyline.
The Crown Prince — Kwak Dong-yeon
The mystery begins when the crown prince is found dead in the pond near the East Palace.
His death causes panic within the royal court and revives an old rumor about a vengeful pond spirit that once promised to destroy the royal bloodline.
Although the crown prince initially appears to be another victim of the curse, his role becomes increasingly important as Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang investigate the deaths of the royal heirs.
The crown prince should be treated as part of the royal tragedy storyline. He has no direct friendship or companion relationship with Ggeomeoksali.
The Pond Spirit
The pond spirit is believed to be the source of the curse haunting the East Palace.
According to the rumor spreading through the royal court, the same spirit killed several princes 30 years earlier and promised to return to eliminate the entire royal bloodline.
When the king’s sons begin dying under similar circumstances, the palace assumes that the old curse has returned. Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang are ordered to enter the spirit world, find the pond spirit, and stop it before another prince dies.
However, the mystery of The East Palace is not simply about whether ghosts exist. The investigation also exposes the greed, fear, and secrets of the living people inside the palace.
Ggeomeoksali
Ggeomeoksali is one of the most memorable supernatural creatures in the series.
It is a gwi-mae, a creature formed from negative energy rather than the soul of a dead person. Unlike most gwi-maes, which remain attached to a particular location, Ggeomeoksali attaches itself to Gu-cheon.
It follows him around to steal his yang energy—and occasionally his food—but gradually becomes his strange and lovable companion. Netflix’s official spirit guide even describes Ggeomeoksali as a character that rivals Saeng-gang for the position of Gu-cheon’s closest friend.
Ggeomeoksali’s main connection
- Ggeomeoksali is connected directly to Gu-cheon.
- It is not the crown prince’s companion.
- It provides humor and warmth within the darker palace mystery.
The East Palace Character Relationship Chart
Main Characters at a Glance
Gu-cheon
A spirit slayer who can enter the Realm of Gwi and fight supernatural beings.
Saeng-gang
A court lady who can hear the voices of the dead and accompanies Gu-cheon during the investigation.
The King
The ruler who secretly summons Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang to protect the royal family.
The Queen Dowager
A powerful royal figure whose past and political ambitions are connected to the palace mystery.
The Crown Prince
A royal heir whose mysterious death triggers the main investigation.
The Pond Spirit
The vengeful spirit believed to be responsible for the deaths within the royal family.
Ggeomeoksali
A small gwi-mae that attaches itself to Gu-cheon and becomes his supernatural companion.
Final Thoughts
The easiest way to understand the relationships in The East Palace is to divide the characters into three groups.
First, Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang are the investigators, while the king is the person who brings them into the palace.
Second, the king, queen dowager, and crown prince form the royal family storyline, where questions of bloodline, succession, and hidden history are especially important.
Finally, the pond spirit and Ggeomeoksali represent two very different sides of the supernatural world. The pond spirit is connected to the palace curse, while Ggeomeoksali is personally attached to Gu-cheon.
Once these groups are separated, the story becomes much easier to follow—and the deeper secrets of the palace become even more interesting.
This article is based on the official Netflix character descriptions and events introduced in the series. Some character motivations and relationships may be interpreted differently after viewing the complete ending.
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