Kim Jung Nan as Lee Myung Joo in ‘SKY Castle’ I ask you: can a true drama even exist without at least one birth secret? SKY Castle and Penthouse don’t seem to think so. Han Seo Jin ( Yum Jung Ah) and Lee Soo Im ( Lee Tae Ran) in ‘SKY Castle’ Oh Yoon Hee ( Eugene) and Cheon Seo Jin ( Kim So Yeon) in ‘Penthouse’ The birth secrets The two women who knew each other as children and reconnect as adultsĪnd neither pair got along when they were kids either. Both deaths initially seem like suicides, but deeper investigation proves otherwise. How they die is also comparable: both girls fall from a great height either into or next to a fountain. Kim Bo Ra as Kim Hye Na in ‘SKY Castle’ Jo Soo Min as Min Seol A in ‘Penthouse’ Kim Bo Ra’s character is much more well-liked by the other teens in general, however, while Jo Soo Min’s character is despised by the others. Neither girl comes from wealth or power, and both actually end up tutoring in the richer families as well. Either way, both girls beat out their financially wealthy peers whose families are well-connected. In one case, it’s schoolwork - and in the other, it’s classical singing. Joo Seok Hoon ( Kim Young Dae) and Joo Seok Kyung ( Han Ji Hyun) The poor girl who bests all the other teens and ends up dying under suspicious circumstances ‘SKY Castle’ twins:Ĭha Ki Joon ( Jo Byeong Gyu ) and Cha Seo Joon ( Kim Dong Hee) ‘Penthouse’ twins: the adults of ‘SKY Castle’ the adults of ‘Penthouse: War In Life’ The twins Both groups are filthy rich, entitled, and snobby (with a couple of exceptions, but that’s something that exists in both dramas as well). Let’s start off with the most obvious, which is that both dramas have an elite, exclusive group that most of our characters belong to. Starting off with similarities (buckle your seatbelts): The good ole boys’ club Warning: If you haven’t watched SKY Castle or Penthouse: War In Life, not only will you probably not enjoy this post to its fullest, but be warned there are spoilers for both dramas ahead - especially the fully-aired SKY Castle (as opposed to Penthouse, which only has four episodes out at this point). Hopefully Penthouse can come out from under the shadow of SKY Castle someday for now, let’s look at the two dramas when stacked side by side. I like both, and I aim to keep this comparison post objective and fun.
In fact, check out my review of its first two episodes if you’d like to see more of my thoughts on it.Īlso, just for the record, I’m not Team SKY Castle or Team Penthouse. It’s not my new favorite drama or anything, but I’m sincerely enjoying Penthouse as its own cinematic piece. But I decided to dismiss SKY Castle from my mind and give Penthouse a fighting chance. I confess I almost dropped it after watching a few minutes’ worth and seeing the similarities. But if the only reason you’re not watching it is because of peoples’ comments saying it’s a SKY Castle copycat or whatever, I’d encourage you to still give it a shot. If you liked SKY Castle, wouldn’t you want to watch something with the same vibes? If you’re purely not interested in the drama, by all means, drop it.
I have to begin by saying that those who are not even giving Penthousea shot just because it has a lot (truly a lot) of similarities to SKY Castle are sorely missing out. Incidentally, if you’re interested on hearing my opinion of Penthouse as it continued airing, simply click here.
This post is not an in-depth analysis of the two dramas, a fact I find pertinent to disclaim since Penthouse is now already on its third season. Some viewers were comparing it (in a negative light) to SKY Castle, so I thought I’d go ahead and write objectively about the similarities and the differences between the dramas. *Update as of : I wrote this post when Penthouse had just begun airing.