tvN’s Alchemy Of Souls (2022) is a two-part series about young mages in the fictional country of Daeho that encounters and deals with “alchemy of souls”, a forbidden magic spell that switches bodies. It introduces Naksu, an elite warrior also known as the shadow assassin whose soul is trapped inside a blind lady named Mudeok who happens to be the lost daughter of Jin family named Jin Buyeon, the most powerful priestess. She becomes the servant and teacher of Jang Uk, a troublemaker from a noble family yet one who has been granted the power of the sky, known as the King’s star. Romance develops between them as they together fulfill their personal mission to be set free from the curse. However, a villain who aims to be the most powerful mage creates chaos, destroying lives and their plans. The story continues in part 2, entitled “Light And Shadow”.
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Historical, Romance
Also known as: Return, Soul Marriage, Can This Person Be Translated, Light And Shadow (Part 2)
No of episodes: 20 (Part 1) 10 (Part 2)
Writers: Hong Jung-eun, Hong Mi-ran
Director: Park Joon-hwa
Network: tvN
Streaming platform: Netflix
Date: June 18 – August 28, 2022 (Part 1); December 10, 2022 (Part 2)
Cast:
- Lee Jae-wook as Jang Uk
- Jung So-min as Mudeok / Naksu / Jin Bu-yeon
- Go Yoon-jung as Naksu
- Hwang Min-hyun as Seo Yul
- Shin Seung-ho as Crown Prince Go Won
- Yoo In-soo as Park Dang-gu
- Arin as Jin Cho-yeon
Full cast here.
Nielsen Korea: Nationwide TV Viewership Rating
| Rating | South Korean viewers in millions | Part 1 Episode | 2022 |
| 5.2% | 1.294 | 1 | June 18 |
| 5.8% | 1.516 | 2 | June 19 |
| 5.2% | 1.275 | 3 | June 25 |
| 6.8% | 1.760 | 4 | June 26 |
| 5.3% | 1.321 | 5 | July 2 |
| 6.6% | 1.632 | 6 | July 3 |
| 5.3% | 1.347 | 7 | July 9 |
| 6.8% | 1.804 | 8 | July 10 |
| 5.2% | 1.416 | 9 | July 16 |
| 6.9% | 1.817 | 10 | July 17 |
| 4.9% | 1.305 | 11 | July 23 |
| 7.0% | 1.769 | 12 | July 24 |
| 6.2% | 1.564 | 13 | July 30 |
| 7.6% | 1.926 | 14 | July 31 |
| 6.6% | 1.680 | 15 | Aug 6 |
| 7.4% | 1.926 | 16 | Aug 7 |
| 7.5% | 1.815 | 17 | Aug 20 |
| 9.2% | 2.359 | 18 | Aug 21 |
| 7.9% | 1.984 | 19 | Aug 27 |
| 9.2% | 2.410 | 20 | Aug 28 |
| Rating | South Korean viewers in millions | Part 2 Episode | 2022 – 2023 |
| 6.7% | 1.648 | 1 | December 10 |
| 7.7% | 1.933 | 2 | December 11 |
| 7.1% | 1.812 | 3 | December 17 |
| 8.4% | 2.126 | 4 | December 18 |
| 7.1% | 1.676 | 5 | December 24 |
| 8.2% | 1.967 | 6 | December 25 |
| 6.4% | 1.518 | 7 | December 31 |
| 8.6% | 2.054 | 8 | January 1 |
| 8.2% | 1.871 | 9 | January 7 |
| 9.6% | 2.267 | 10 | January 8 |
Good Data: Drama Buzzworthy Rankings
| 2022 | Part 1 | Jung So-min | Lee Jae-wook | Go Yoon-jung | Minhyun | Jo Jae-yoon |
| June Week 4 | 1st | 3rd | 6th | – | – | – |
| June Week 5 | 2nd | 4th | 6th | – | – | – |
| July Week 1 | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | – | 9th | – |
| July Week 2 | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | – | – |
| July Week 3 | 2nd | 6th | 8th | – | – | – |
| July Week 4 | 3rd | 5th | 6th | – | – | – |
| Aug Week 1 | 3rd | 6th | 5th | – | – | – |
| Aug Week 2 | 3rd | – | – | – | – | – |
| Aug Week 3 | 3rd | 6th | 10th | – | – | – |
| Aug Week 4 | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 4th | – | 9th |
| 2022 – 2023 | Part 2 | Lee Jae-wook | Go Youn-jung | Hwang Min-hyun | Jo Jae-yoon |
| November Week 3 | 6th | – | – | – | – |
| November Week 4 | 5th | – | – | – | – |
| December Week 1 | 5th | – | – | – | – |
| December Week 2 | 2nd | 6th | 3rd | – | – |
| December Week 3 | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | – | – |
| December Week 4 | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | – |
| December Week 5 | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 8th |
| January Week 1 | 1st | 1st | 2nd | – | 3rd |
Netflix Worldwide: Non-English TV Rankings
| Week | Part 1 (2022 – 2023) | Rank | Viewing hours |
| 1 | June 27 – July 3 | 5th | 9,920,000 |
| 2 | July 4-10 | 5th | 12,310,000 |
| 3 | July 11-17 | 5th | 14,640,000 |
| 4 | July 18-24 | 5th | 15,760,000 |
| 5 | July 25-31 | 4th | 19,080,000 |
| 6 | Aug 1-7 | 4th | 20,100,000 |
| 7 | Aug 8-14 | 4th | 17,840,000 |
| 8 | Aug 15-21 | 5th | 18,040,000 |
| 9 | Aug 22-28 | 3rd | 28,590,000 |
| 10 | Aug 29 – Sept 4 | 3rd | 27,200,000 |
| 11 | Sept 5-11 | 6th | 16,840,000 |
| 12 | Sept 12-18 | 10th | 10,890,000 |
| 13 | Sept 26 – Oct 2 | 8th | 10,980,000 |
| 14 | Oct 3-9 | 6th | 9,780,000 |
| 15 | Oct 10-16 | 7th | 7,750,000 |
| 16 | Dec 12 – 18 | 5th | 13,500,000 |
| 17 | Dec 18 – 25 | 8th | 11,830,000 |
| 18 | Jan 18 – 22 | 8th | 11,580,000 |
| 19 | Jan 23 – 29 | 10th | 14,930,000 |
| 20 | April 10 – 16 | 9th | 5,850,000 |
| 21 | April 17 – 23 | 9th | 5,800,000 |
| Week | Part 2 (2022-2023) | Rank | Viewing hours |
| 1 | Dec 12 – 18 | 6th | 13,070,000 |
| 2 | Dec 18 – 25 | 5th | 15,060,000 |
| 3 | Dec 26 – Jan 1 | 6th | 17,170,000 |
| 4 | Jan 2 – 8 | 6th | 20,510,000 |
| 5 | Jan 9 – 15 | 7th | 14,980,000 |
| 6 | Jan 30 – Feb 5 | 7th | 11,520,000 |
| 7 | Feb 6 – 12 | 7th | 11,610,000 |
| 8 | Feb 13 – 19 | 9th | 11,900,000 |
Awards
- Park Joon-hwa as “Best Director” at the Korea Drama Awards 2022
- Lee Jae-wook for “Global Excellence Award” at the Korea Drama Awards 2022
Part 1 posters from tvN
Part 2 posters from tvN
KORB 