Korean shows are becoming popular day by day. In 2016, the popular K-movie was Train to Busan and in 2019, all of us talked about the K-movie Parasite which won four Oscars. In 2020, K-drama Extracurricular and Crash Landing on You were popular among K-drama lovers. Now the talk of the town is a K-drama called Squid Game. All these popular Korean shows that got viral are different from each other in terms of what stories they tell and this is what makes K-drama enjoyable. So, if you want to explore more K-dramas with different themes and stories, keep reading this article.
I won’t be categorizing the K-dramas that I recommend in genres because most of the K-dramas have too many flavors to place them into one category. Personally, I watch K-dramas based on my mood. If I am stressed with school work there is no way I am watching a sad, dystopian society-based drama to make myself even more stressed. Once I couldn’t finish a movie because I felt like the main characters of the movie would be brutally killed at the end. For the same reason, I haven’t watched the K-drama Squid game yet; I will watch it when I am “happy and healthy.” Since I haven’t watched Squid Game yet, I will be recommending 10 K-dramas to watch based on what mood you are in or what mood you want to be in.
Move to Heaven: I will be starting my list with some sentimental dramas because who doesn’t love to cry when they are stressed about school and life. This drama has 10 episodes which are shorter than the typical 16 episode K-dramas. The main characters in this drama run a trauma cleaning service who clean up deceased people’s belongings. They gather the deceased person’s belongings in a yellow box and give them to their relatives, if the deceased had any. It makes you think about what items they would put in that yellow box when you pass away.
Crash Landing on You: It’s a drama that you should watch after watching a drama like Move to Heaven. It’s neither a sentimental drama like the last one I recommended nor a polar opposite rom-com drama. I would say it’s in between these two spectrums which makes this drama a perfect candidate for lightening up your mood a little bit if you are too sad after watching Move to Heaven. Spoiler Alert: the ending of this drama might make you a little mad. South Korea has a lot of movies and dramas about the division between South Korea and North Korea being a hindrance to characters’ love stories. CLOY is one of them, but the plot of this drama has a perfect balance between romance, comedy, and politics.
Sweet Home: Out of all the dramas that I will write about in this article, Sweet Home is the only one that has a similar theme as the Squid Game, meaning something bad might happen with your favorite character here too. It’s an apocalyptic, zombie-based horror drama that I recommend you to watch if you can’t believe the ending of CLOY and have to watch something to stop thinking about the ending.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo: We call this drama a classic Korean rom-com. Everything about this drama is perfect. This drama will give you no stress. So watch it when you want to be happy. It’s a love story that takes place in college; so you can experience your “dream” college life through this drama.
Mouse: We are done with getting serotonin through watching dramas. Now it’s time that I recommend you a drama that plays with your brain, mind, and body. It’s a psychopathic thriller drama and I am mentioning this because some of the episodes are rated 19+. If you are a weak-hearted person like me, I suggest you watch something lighthearted after you finish watching this drama.
Reply 1988: This drama will make you reminisce about your childhood. It’s a healing drama that will make you cry and think about the people who you grew up with. The pace of this drama might be slow for some watchers, but the slow pace of this drama gives you the chance to reflect on your life for a longer time. It’s the perfect drama to watch if you are looking for a stress-free drama.
Vincenzo: After watching a family-based drama like Reply 1988, you probably want to watch something more fast-paced and entertaining. The main male character is an Italian mafia lawyer who ends up fighting trashier human beings than mafia’s in South Korea. The main theme of the movie is fighting evil deeds with evil deeds.
Mr.Queen: Some people don’t prefer watching historical dramas. However, it’s one of the few historical dramas that was able to keep a balance between politics and entertainment. This drama will make you scream out of joy and anger; a perfect balance.
Vagabond: It’s rare to see good action-based K-dramas. Most of the scenes from this drama took place in Morocco. It’s a mystery, thriller, action drama that will keep you interested. Spoiler alert: this drama has an open ending scene. So, if you hate dramas that don’t give you a definite or happy ending, you might get frustrated with the ending of this drama.
Itaewon Class: Okay, the purpose of this article is not to make you into a K-drama addict. So, watch Itaewon Class to get back into the mood of studying. The center of this drama revolves around a guy who wants to overtake his enemy by fulfilling his dreams. It’s going to motivate you to work towards your own dreams. Extra information: The lead male actor of this drama got cast for Marvel this year.
You can find all these recommended K-dramas on Netflix or Viki (streams only Asian shows). Most of the k-dramas are 16 episodes long, and they rarely have any second season which makes it easy to binge watch. Hope you enjoy your K-drama ride.