When Sarah mentioned k-dramas and the guest squee on Healer, my heart seized up for a brief moment. Ya’ll, there was a period of time where I lived for k-dramas, and just Asian dramas in general. This was pre-Netflix boom, so binge watching them was hard, though there were a few helpful sites for those wanting to watch and who didn’t speak the language. Some series I loved so much that I actually bought them.
The thing about k-dramas that I love so much is that they’ve cracked the code on balance. Comedy series are funny, yes, but they also throw in emotional moments. For me, it’s hard to categorize a series into just one thing because most that I’ve watched have a little bit of everything. But at the very least, you can expect the show to be dramatic. It’s in the name after all – k-drama.
Most shows tend to have some aspect of romance, though whether it’s a romantic comedy or something more akin to a soap opera depends on a title. What I really think is neat (or at least most aligns with my feelings on television) is that a series doesn’t go on and on forever. Most shows have around twenty episodes, give or take, and that’s it! Some of you ladies can knock that out in a matter of a couple days. So if Tara’s guest squee has piqued your interest and you want to dip you toe into the k-drama pond, I have some recommendations for you! All of these are available on DramaFever, which is like Hulu but for Asian dramas. I will say that I don’t typically watch a lot of period drama, though the costuming is gorgeous on those types of shows.
This is probably one of the most well known k-drama series that has premiered in the last decade. And it has one of my favorite tropes – girls disguised as boys! Eun Chan poses and dresses as a boy in order to get a job working in a coffee shop that employs only men. It’s not quite a host club (where men cater to women in a lounge or restaurant setting), but it’s got that vibe. The owner of the club, Han Kyul, comes from a wealthy family and is under constant pressure to get married. He comes up with the idea of having Eun Chan pose as his gay lover to deter his meddling family. Definitely a little cracktastic.
“Secret Garden” Series Trailer for DramaFever from John Stanowski on Vimeo.
This is another romantic comedy, though I’d say it’s more lighthearted than Coffee Prince. A stuntwoman and a neurotic businessman switch bodies. Yep, you read that right. The hero also has an amazing collection of track suits. FEAST YOUR EYES:
Kim Joo-wan runs a successful department store and is in want of a wife. Not for love, mind you. He only wants a woman who can increase his wealth and power. He’s definitely perfect for the playboy billionaire characterization we see in romances.
Gil Ra-im is a stuntwoman who had a less than glamorous childhood. She winds up giving all of her attention to martial arts and soon makes a career out of it. You can see why these two are total opposites and why it’s so hilarious when a twist of fate causes them to switch bodies. Be forewarned, there is a love square…a love rhombus? A love quadrangle?
This is one of the most translated series I have ever seen. If memory serves me right, this started off as a manga series and was picked up for television. I own the Japanese version – Hana Yori Dango – but I think I prefer the Korean version.
Set at a prestigious high school, there’s a group of rich boys known collectively as F4. They all have different personality types – the quiet one, the douchey one, the flirtatious one, and the kind one. The heroine, Jan Di, attends the school on a swimming scholarship because she couldn’t afford it otherwise. Her clumsy and humble nature immediately catches the attention of F4, especially its hotheaded leader and his quiet, observant best friend. This is one of the best looking casts I’ve ever seen and it’s adorable how the group grows to accept Jan Di.
City Hall has one of my very favorite k-drama heroines. I’d also liken the series to My Fair Lady but in a government setting. Shin Mi Rae is a lowly junior secretary for a local mayor. She gets coffee and does a lot of grunt work. Jo Gook (the actor who plays him is one of the sexiest men I have ever seen in my life) is power hungry and hopes to increase his political reach, and he wants to use Shin Mi Rae as his political protégé.
It’s hilarious and Kim Sun Ah (the actress who plays Shin Mi Rae) is amazing in everything I’ve seen her in. If you ever see her name on a cast list, watch whatever it is. No questions asked.
I’d like to thank TaraR. for giving me the k-drama bug once again, and I’m happy to pass along more and more recs. Maybe I’ll even review something now that I have so much free time since grad school is now finished! (Cue the Alice Cooper.)
No thanks necessary! I only wish I myself had caught the bug after my thesis semester had been completed. I am currently reeling from the rollercoaster that is “Gaksital” (“Bridal Mask”) and have thus decided to finish my writing before I am rendered any more incoherent from all the squee.
I totally agree with you about series length. I think a shorter finite number of episodes make for better character arcs and tighter storytelling in general. I also love the fusion of genres that goes on–some of the best shows are the ones that deftly weave elements of mystery, action, suspense or fantasy together with romance and comedy.
“Coffee Prince” is definitely on my post-thesis kdrama list. I have also heard alot of good things about “Pinocchio”, “I Hear Your Voice” and “Queen In Hyun’s Man”.
Ah, Coffee Prince. My gateway drug to the whole K-drama craze. On our K-drama-inspired trip to South Korea, one of our destinations was the Coffee Prince cafe. The owner was very nice, though the coffee’s a bit overpriced.
A period drama I recommend is Sungkyunkwan Scandal (the title makes it sound a bit raunchy, but it’s not). It’s about a girl who’s awesome at Confucian philosophy, and ended up cross-dressing to attend the all-male Sungkyunkwan Confucian school. Naturally, there’s a somewhat comedic love story but there’s also a bit of political intrigue and real dramatic moments.
@TaraR: “Queen In Hyun’s Man” is a great take on the time-traveling trope (the hero is a political advisor during the Joseon dynasty, and for some reason ended up traveling to present-day S. Korea). The heroine here is the heroine’s sidekick in “The Secret Garden”.
I’m gonna check out City Hall, as I’m on vacation and need a good series to binge on.
City Hall and Coffee Prince are fantastic dramas! I love the short length and the emphasis on romance in dramas, but I hate the ever present wrist grab.
I recommend Dream High. Its a drama aimed toward teens and most of the cast’s acting is bland, but it features complex female friendships, a prickly female lead, and an adorable romance. The dance numbers are fun and the drama addresses issues in the entertainment industry that are oftentimes ignored.
I Hear Your Voice is fantastic also. Its about lawyers, a mind reading high school student, and a serial killer. The main female lead is awesome and the male lead treats her as such. She is one of my favorite female characters shown on television.
You Who Came From the Stars was a huge trend last year and rightfully so. Its the love story of an alien and Korea’s top actress. The main female character is absolutely hilarious and amazing. She steals the whole show. It is completely worth watching just to see the actress and the main leads amazing chemistry.
I loved “You Who Came From the Stars”! Kim Soo Hyun was amazing as the 400 year old alien with only 3 months left on earth. But yes, it’s the actress I loved the best. They were soooo good together!
My sister and I just finished watching an entire K-drama series, Happiness in the Wind(aka A Good Day for the Wind to Blow). Amongst the delights of this show are a rivalry between two dairy companies, deceptions about pregnancies,gangsters who harass a children’s school and a heroine who falls into a coma while saving a child’s life. For a show with such a cheerful title, there’s a lot of heartbreak!
Boys Over Flowers, Boys Over Flowers, Boys Over Flowers. This may or may not be a spoiler since it was in the trailer featured above…but that scene where Geum Jan Di kicks Goo Joon Pyo in the face is absolutely priceless. Now that’s how to make a boy fall in love with you!
Seriously though I think k-dramas are right up romance readers’ proverbial alleys. You WILL get addicted. K-pop also has its share of dramatic music videos. Watch T-ara’s futuristic Day by Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brnCe8lL7l4
And I’d be cruel if I didn’t post the second part, Sexy Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb___tTA1po
Btw, my sister asked me to ask if any of you are familiar with the following K-dramas: Farewell To Tears(aka Goodbye Sadness), The Bizarre Bunch and The Great King Sejong(the last one is more of a historical drama and it’s playing on our local Korean channel).
FYI, I’m pretty sure Secret Garden is on Netflix now.
Ive watched all th se dramas and I can vouch they are all awesome!
Thank you all for the suggestions! I’m actually hoping to start a new series and do some recommendations for the site, so this is really helpful!
I primarily use DramaFever for streaming. But Netflix is a good option too, as some of you pointed out. Hulu as some as well, if I’m not mistaken!
Another recommendation: My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox. And yep, it’s exactly what it sounds like!
OH k-dramas! Such a delight. Great dramas mentioned in the post. Anyone looking for MOAR awesome, I have some recs, as well… You can watch all of these on Dramafever or Viki (websites + apps):
1. The Master’s Sun – ghost seeing heroine and selfish CEO hero track down ghosts for fun + profit.
2. Arang and the Magistrate – Amnesiac ghost seeks answers from magistrate hero about her mysterious death
3. The Moon that Embraces the Sun – Soulmate, supernatural romance set in ye olde times about a king who falls in love with a shaman.
4. Fated to Love You – A one night stand between a quirky office assistant and a cunning billionaire results in drama, love and hilarity.
@Lady T– The dramas you mention are all a bit older and hard to find. None are on Dramafever or the other legal streaming services. (I haven’t seen any of them myself– would love to see King Sejong.)
Some more recommendations, mostly historicals (I too am a K-drama addict, and am a particular sucker for glorious costumes and sets, and also stunt calligraphers):
The Princess’ Man– epic, intense romance between son & daughter of 15th c. political rivals. Somehow manages to be both tragic and uplifting. Plenty of action & intrigue, but the romance is central.
Jejoongwon– introduction of western medicine to Korea in late 19th c.– lovely little slow-burn romance, plus proto-med school rivalries, with much fascinating (if sometimes quite awful) history going on all around it.
Jewel in the Palace– 16th c. woman who rises from the palace kitchens to become the king’s physician (loosely based on a historical figure). This one is long, 50-some episodes, but a classic. Copious food porn!
Painter of the Wind– re-imagines a famous 18th c. painter as a woman in disguise. (similar concept to Sungkyunkwan Scandal above) The art is handled wonderfully, and the whole thing is visually stunning.
Also a Chinese one (on Viki, not Dramafever): Startling With Each Step (Bu bu jing xin). Modern girl transported to Qing dynasty and caught up in rivalry of princes for the throne. Starts a bit goofy, and there are numerous lighter, lovely moments along the way, but by the end… let’s just say your sinuses & tear ducts will take a beating (of the best kind!). This thing ruined me for TV of any kind for a few weeks after I finished it– I just couldn’t want to watch anything else. You will also learn to think that men with Qing hairstyles (bald with long pigtail) are profoundly hot. (I’m not kidding.)
Also two more contemporaries for the list:
My Name is Kim Samsoon (a sort of Korean Bridget Jones, and another classic, like Coffee Prince, etc. same lead actress as City Hall above)
City Hunter– if you liked Healer or the description of it, you’ll love this too. Action and romance. Humor and pathos. All the K-drama things.
(oops. that went on longer than planned)
Right now I’m watching kdrama ‘Mask’ with our heroine pretending to be someone else. She gets into a marriage of convenience with hero and the feelings are starting to develop.
I wouldn’t say it’s the best written show, but it hits my most beloved tropes with the marriage of con.
I’ve really been more on a Chinese/Taiwanese drama kick recently. Just watched Loving, Never Forgetting on youtube and it’s like a harlequin come to life, a little slow at first, but so fun to see somewhat doormatty heroine, super cold hero, a secret baby, and the list goes on.
Also watching Murphy’s Law of Love which has another favorite trope of mine, hero falls first. I like the characters here, hero isn’t a douchebag and heroine has a lot going for her.
Also starting to watch remake of Roy Leh Sanae Rai, a Thai drama. I loved the first one, about a guy pretending to fall in love with a girl to marry her, and get the money back his dad gave her. Another harlequin plot there.
I enjoy watching movies, dramas from other countries and wanted to note that other countries, especially Japan, has a wide range of different dramas like procedurals, slice of life, horror, etc.
I love coffee prince, yoon eun hye is my favorite actress! Great list btw
I really enjoyed “My Lovely Sam-Soon” (alternate title for “My Name is Sam-Soon”). I’ve also seen “Did We Really Love?” and “Mr. Duke”, but “Winter Sonata” starring Bae Yong-Jun (who is so gorgeous that a friend and I called the first drama we saw him in “The Mr. Hottie Show”) and Choi Ji-Woo will always be my go-to for romance and feeeeeeeels.
Loving these recommendations! Seconding “My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox.” Also highly recommend “Lie To Me” – a woman gets caught in a lie when she claims she is married to wealthy hotel manager; shenanigans ensue. These are the only two I’ve watched all the way through; I’ve started a couple others and they haven’t grabbed me. (Somehow I’ve missed that the lead actress in Lie to Me is also in Coffee Prince…!)
Coffee Prince is perfection *-*
I also recommend The Greatest Love, Answer Me, 1997, School 2013, My Name is Kim Sam Soon and Personal Taste.
@janeish-Thanks for the heads up. We saw Happiness in the Wind on our local Korean channel(with some YouTube viewings as well) and the others I haven’t seen myself.
We did try to watch The Good King Sejong but the episodes play very late at night and are at least an hour long, so not great for our beauty sleep:)
Eeee! I was so happy to see y’all talk about k-dramas last month and so excited to see more this month!
Let me tenth (or whatever) the Coffee Prince rec. I think the build-up and consequences of cross-dressing are the best I’ve ever seen. Love it so much!
And let me second both Lie to Me and City Hunter. The first has just a really sweet and funny romance between two people you’ll really like and root for. City Hunter has a ridiculous premise, but I loved the romance, the soundtrack is great, and Lee Min-ho is so much hotter w/o his Boys Over Flowers curls, imo.
I actually haven’t been watching much k-drama in the last year or so (I binged and have been recovering), but these articles and comments have gotten me excited again!
I <3 Dramas! I literally put my life on hold for a week to watch Sungkyunkwan Scandal. It was like crack for me. I also like City Hall because the OTP are a bit older, which isn't something I see that often.
I prefer the Japanese version of Hana Yori Dango, myself as well as the Taiwanese version of Fated to Love You. I'm currently watching the Korean FTLY, though and love how they changed the characters a little. Too often, it's a direct reproduction rather than a different interpretation. My one criticism is that I do frequently have to put my inner feminist in a box to watch these. Like someone already mentioned, there are frequent times when the hero grabs the heroine to exert control over her. All in all, though, good fun 🙂
I love Korean dramas. Soooo addictive. I got into watching them back when I was on third shift at work a few years back and have stayed hooked. The above suggestions are great. I would also add My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Queen In Hyun’s Man, Kill Me Heal Me, You’re Beautiful, Delightful Girl Chun Hyang, Two Weeks (or anything with actor Lee Jun Ki).
Also a huge thumbs up for the suggestion of Startling with Each Step (Chinese modern classic).
A list of k-dramas on a romance site wouldn’t be complete without “What’s Up Fox?” The heroine writes bad erotica for a men’s magazine. It also has the best use of a plastic uterus ever.
Other recommendations:
>”Answer Me 1997″ is a great intro to k-drama watching, I think. Even if you don’t get any of the references and cameos, there’s something universally nostalgic about it.
>”9 End 2 Outs” is also good if you’re looking for something a little less over-the-top than something like “Healer” or “Coffee Prince,” but a charming look at two friends who never got their timing right for falling in love.
>The two lovers in “Soulmate” don’t actually meet until late in the series — it’s about all the little ways their lives are connected. But their paths to true love are both hilarious and emotional, totally worth the journey.
>Kim Sun-A is the bomb; if you like her, then I also suggest anything with actress Gong Hyo Jin, another tough-as-nails actress. “Thank You” is high on melodrama, and also stars the dreamy Jang Hyuk. “Greatest Love” and “The Masters Son” is goofy Hong sisters fun. People say “Pasta” has no plot, but it starts with the cutest meet-cute ever and then there’s lots of food and chemistry between the two leads. “It’s Okay That’s Love” is available on Netflix.
>The heroine in “Stars Falling from the Sky” starts out self-centered, but she has to grow up quickly when her parents die, leaving her with younger siblings to take care of. Another one that blends comedy, drama and a little bit of mystery.
>”How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor” is described as a “low-key drama about four people who learn to grow up while falling in love.” Maybe by low-key, they mean there’s also murder, illegitimate children, star-crossed lovers, dashing rogues and suicidal heiresses. This stars Bae Doo Na, a name people might recognize from movies such as “The Host” and “Cloud Atlas.” She’s very cool.
>”The Moon That Embraces the Sun” is if great if you want to see a costume drama. A girl and the heir to the throne fall in love, but the machinations of those who want power tear them apart. And there’s an amnesia! A popular k-drama trope.
>A little slow, but the relationships in “Miss Korea” are complex. Lee Yeon Hee plays a bad-ass from the wrong side of the tracks and there is something mesmerizing about Lee Sun Kyun’s voice.
>”History of a Salaryman” is crazy satire of noir mysteries full of quirky characters, but does a good job of not being too cartoony.
>”Me Too Flower” has its funny moments, but it’s also great drama about two lonely people who learn to overcome past hurts in order to trust and love each other (written by the same person as “My Lovely Sam Soon”).
Oh. My. God. Someone loves “What’s Up Fox?” besides me? What a pleasant surprise!
K-Drama! Yes, please!
A friend of mine got me a Roku streaming stick for Christmas, and I started exploring Hulu. I found the K-drama “High School Love On”, started watching it… and was hooked. Seriously hooked. Watched the whole series in 3 days hooked. It’s more of a show for teens, but since I write YA fiction, it worked for me. And in my opinion, it’s WAY better than a lot of the “teen” shows on American TV. A female angel saves a boy from death, and in doing so becomes temporarily human. Her “sun-bae” (senior) angel keeps trying to bring her back to the angelic ranks, but she’s fallen in love with the boy and doesn’t want to leave. Sun-bae kind of goes off the deep end, resorting to using his powers to try to kill the boy and his best friend, both of whom are in love with the angel.
I second Lola’s recommendation of Dream High. I tried to get into the sequel series Dream High 2, but the first episode didn’t grab me enough to keep watching.
I wasn’t a big fan of Boys Over Flowers either, to be honest… After four or five episodes, Jan-Di’s constant screaming and shrieking got on my nerves, and I couldn’t understand why she appealed to any of the guys.
Other K-dramas I would recommend:
Queen’s Class- a teacher with a reputation of being a “witch” takes over a class of 11-year-olds, gets way too involved in their lives, and although she’s overly strict and sometimes cruel, she actually helps them
God of Study/Master of Study (depending on where you look for the title; it’s God on Hulu, but Master on AsianWiki)- an attorney takes over a failing high school with the promise that he’ll get five students admitted to the most prestigious university in South Korea. The female lead actress is in Jupiter Ascending.
Shut Up and Let’s Go (a/k/a Shut Up Flower Boy Band)- a group of “slackers” who have been playing music together for years try to take it to the next level. When they lose their leader, the remaining members follow his dream of entering a rock contest. They find fame and fortune but get a bit lost along the way. I have to say this is probably my favorite of the K-dramas I’ve seen so far.
K-dramas have become my new daily fix of romance for a while now and I just finished Coffee Prince. And I LOVED it. Jin-Soo is my spirit animal! I feel this great need to spread the love:
* Bride of the Century – Seriously, you’ll thank me later. To the feisty heroine and a hero with lots of growing up to do and their awesome chemistry, this show adds a truly hilarious ghost, a family curse and doppelgangers!
> Other amazing ghost trope using dramas – Master’s Sun (Joo Jong Won Dramas with heroes’ coming-of-age dilemmas that make me laugh, cry, go aww and shout particularly colourful things – The King 2 Hearts, Best Love or The Greatest Love, and Shut Up! Flower Boy Band (other dramas in the Flower series are quite fun too).
Shout outs to It’s Okay, It’s Love (dreamy soundtrack), King of Dramas (meta goodness), Modern Farmer (for the FratBoy in me that loves slapstick), and City Hunter (the sizzles are strong in this one)!
OMG Amanda, thank you so much for these recs! I was CRAZY in love with k-dramas and j-dramas from like, 2004-2009 and watched probably thirty of them. Unfortunately, I don’t remember hardly any titles anymore. haha! I remember one where a girl had a one-sided love for a boy, accidentally kissed his bad-boy brother, and then SPARKS! It was so good~
I did see the Japanese version of Hana Yori Dango (the live-action one–I think they did an anime, too?) and I’m PUMPED to see the k-drama version. Thank you, thank you!
Thanks so much everyone for your comments and now I have a Google doc with way too many recommendations. However, I think I’m going to start my k-drama addiction back up with Fated to Love You. Can’t wait to watch it and then squee all over the place!
Oh, I heart you, who ever mentioned Lie to Me–I started watching that on Netflix and loved it but put it aside after two episodes and then completely forgot what it was called. And also what it was about–I was reminded of it reading this post, and went through my whole netflix viewing activity (which was very depressing, wow I watched a lot of tv.), still couldn’t find it, and was like “That’s okay, I’ll ask on this thread.”
Um, yeah. That would have worked well. “so it’s this korean tv show with a guy and a girl, and there are misunderstandings, and there’s a scene in an elevator? And um, lots of people? And the girl is all OMG, EMBARRASSED all the time.” WORST. habo. EVER. So thankfully someone mentioned it and my brain went ‘bing!’ (and I did see it on the Netflix list, but as I ALSO watched the american tv show lie to me, I assumed it was that.) SO thaaaank you, and now I will go see if I can watch it anywhere.
Also, it is very much anime and not K-drama, but it is SO SO SO good and I’ll bet you all love it too–Princess Jellyfish. It’s a bunch of super geeky and shy girls who live in a house together like a really geeky sorority, and one day one of them–a jellyfish geek–has some super fashionable chick help her, and so she lets her crash at the house overnight, and it turns out in the morning that she’s a he!!!! Straight boy, just likes cross dressing (because it reminds him of his mom). And so she has to hide him from the rest of the place, but he really likes it and comes back again and again. And that’s episode 1, basically.
And ultimately, it’s about the fact that everyone is a geek about something, and money doesn’t buy happiness, and there’s some makeovers and some cinderellaing, and a lot about looks not being the most important thing–the guy is GORGEOUS as a girl, but obviously, so what? He’s a guy. And if he can look that awesome, he can certainly make the girls look that awesome, but that doesn’t change who they are (in a good way–they’re all like, “Hey, I can be smoking hot, but that was a lot of work, so only on special occasions, maybe.”) it’s just super super sweet, and I loved it–LOVELOVELOVED it. The anime was only 11 episodes (on Netflix), but I actually went and looked it up online to find the manga so I could start it over again.
Thanks for the great article, Amanda. K-dramas are magnificent beasts that need to be share with the world. I’ve been watching them for years and can get obsessed about the one(s) I’m currently watching. With dramafever and netflix, it is getting easier and easier to get my fix especially when my favorite actors and actresses are involved like Hwang Jung Eum and Gong Hyo Jin to name a few. I was all up in the Boys Over Flowers drama when it aired since I’d already watched both the Taiwanese (Meteor Garden) and Japanese (Hana Yori Dango) versions. The fashion alone in that drama was wonderful.
If you really like Cha Seung Won, I really recommend The Greatest Love. He’s brilliant in it, killing all the comedic and dramatic scenes.
I’m still reeling from the awesome applesauce of Kill Me, Heal Me and am continuing my evil plan of world domination by spreading its love like wildfire. Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum are excellent together. I buy their chemistry like it’s July and I’m hoarding all the gorcery store’s popsicles. Their drama from last year, Secret, was also amazing.
Is this gushing too large to be considered a comment? Whoops, when it comes to k-dramas, my conversations tend to last for hours.
Oh and don’t get me started about the soundtracks for each drama and how the songs stick in your head for days even though you don’t know the words.