I presume that most of us are pretty selective and meticulous with the TV series we choose to watch. At least for me, I first have to take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself before I start a new drama for it is likely that I’ll be sacrificing my sleep schedule to immerse myself into a new world as I follow a stranger through their life journey. When you do find a good one, though, it can be therapy. You can recharge, reflect, and take away something valuable, whether it’s a more positive outlook on life or a deeper understanding of yourself. The genres I love the most are slice-of-life, coming-of-age, and wholesome romances. If this is your cup of tea, I would like to recommend five of my favorite heartfelt, emotional, tear-jerking, sentimental, wholesome, relatable, and healing Korean dramas (in no particular order) that are well worth your time.
- Run on
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Run on is like a warm, consoling hug. It’s my all-time favorite drama and comfort show. The visuals are bubbly and light, tinted with a happy, pastel filter. The actors all have incredible chemistry with one another, and I guarantee that you will get butterflies. If you are NOT a fan of corny or cliche dramas but still want a wholesome love story, you will enjoy Run-On. What distinguishes this drama from other stereotypical romance dramas is the unconventional dynamics of the relationships and the witty back-and-forth dialogue between the characters. The gender roles and dynamics that are typically portrayed in K-dramas have a unique twist. Run-On presents an upright, introverted track star who has basically been living under a rock, and a resilient, independent film translator who is experienced with navigating her way around life. With the second couple, we have a chic and hubristic female CEO of an agency, and a broke but cheerful college art student (aka human golden retriever). The nonconforming, but realistic and relatable aspect of the story is something I really appreciate. With every single watch, the drama feels fresh, new, and balanced. It surprises me how I still haven’t gotten tired of it considering the number of times I’ve rewatched it.
What makes this drama such a satisfying watch is the genuine respect and effort that the main couple communicates to each other and the clearly defined morals that each character stands for and lives out. It is truly a breath of fresh air from the toxic relationships portrayed in many TV series. The main couple demonstrates the epitome of a healthy and wholesome relationship for they emphasize self-love as the key to meeting someone happily for a long time. They pat each other on the back for getting through a long day, eat a warm meal together when they’re lonely, hold the other’s hand when one is sick, and give each other a big hug when they need to cry. Slowly but surely, they heal each others’ wounds and find the will to grow into better human beings together. Green flags everywhere. The characters learn to be expressive, honest, and in touch with their emotions, which makes them so down-to-earth and likable. Despite how there aren’t many dramatic ups and downs or even a climactic moment, the simple but thoughtful words and actions of Run-On’s heartwarming characters are enough to get you immersed into their ordinary lives. You will be cheering them on through the progression of their relationships with themselves and with the people around them.
OST recommendation: Run to You – LUCY
- Misaeng
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Jang Geu Rae is thrown into the cold reality of the corporate world as an office intern. There, he struggles as he is hit wave after wave of work, dealing with ruthless competition and rebukes, having to tiptoe around certain people, making mistakes that put him at risk of getting fired, and being pressured to prove his worth to secure his spot. Geu Rae, Mr. Oh, and his co-workers overcome hardships and develop their callouses to life as they encounter more and more hurdles and learn to get back up even when they fall flat on their face, multiple times. The solutions to problems are not always what are expected or hoped for, but they reflect reality. In spite of not starting with much, Jang Geu Rae becomes a model of perseverance and grit as he rightfully earns his spot not as a temp, but as a full-time employee, with his ability alone. And ultimately, he proves everyone who underestimated him wrong.
If you’ve ever been a “newbie,” whether in a new job, or maybe an intern position, or perhaps as a new board member of a club or organization, you’ll probably understand the awkward feeling of constantly tripping over yourself, feeling lost or confused, and blanking out from time to time, but also pretending to be okay and acting like you’ve always belonged there. Surrounded by people who know what they’re doing and casually going about their usual routine, you suddenly realize that you lack knowledge on how to do the simplest of things because it’s all new to you. It’s not your fault, but you still blame yourself and make yourself feel small and useless. Nonetheless, you yearn to do better, and that fuels you to learn and adapt with time. These are the very emotions rendered so realistically in the drama. Misaeng will be a relatable story for college students and young adults entering or preparing to enter the workforce. If you’re still figuring out what exactly you are doing with your life and whether you’re living up to your standards and values, you will see a reflection of yourself through the characters in the drama. Misaeng means “incomplete life” in Korean. It holds the meaning that we are all a work in progress, imperfect and incomplete. This series personally taught me many lessons, allowing me to ruminate on what I can do to overcome my shortcomings and grow further.
OST recommendation: Fly – Yi Sung Yol
- reply 1988
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Reply 1988 is the #1 nostalgic, feel-good drama that will take you back in time. It is set in the year 1988, hence the name. Families are watching the Olympics hosted in Korea on their small TVs, kids are running to the convenience store for an ice cream bar or to the street food stand in front of their school for some tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cake), siblings are eating tangerines on cozy heating pads during the winter, moms all with the same ‘ahjumma perm’ are preparing bean sprouts on the wooden deck, their sons and daughters are exchanging side dishes with their next door neighbors close to dinner time, and students are falling asleep in their reading room cubicles to the voice of singer Lee Mun Sae on their cassette tapes. The drama tells a coming-of-age story of five friends who grew up together since childhood, along with each of their families, in a Ssangmundong neighborhood in Seoul. There’s a comforting balance of love, family, friendship, and personal growth, with a generous sprinkle of comedy. And most importantly, Reply 1988 highlights the Korean concept of ‘jeong’: the feeling of affection, attachment, and loyalty that grows deeper over time between people who share a strong bond and emotional connection. Jeong is intertwined within the different friends and families in the neighborhood, a silver lining that persists as you follow them through the highs and lows of their youth and experience the precious emotions that you can only experience at a certain age. If you’re looking for a drama to warm your heart, you can never go wrong with Reply 1988.
The drama is nostalgic, even for people who haven’t lived through the 80’s or 90’s. Reply 1988 manifests practically every element of the 1980s in Korea; every scrupulous detail in music, fashion, hairstyles, neighborhoods, technology, entertainment references, and other visual aesthetics is drawn out so vividly that it will feel like you actually lived during those times. This series prompted my own parents to walk down memory lane and reminisce about their childhoods. On top of that, the amazing OSTs (remakes of Korean songs of the late 80s and early 90s) have a significant impact on creating the warm and fuzzy ambience of the analogue days.
OST recommendation: Hyehwadong (or Sangmundong) – Park Boram
- Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
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Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a drama that will automatically put you in a good mood. “La-la-la-la-la~” Every time you hear the iconic OST “Romantic Sunday”, you’ll be smiling so wide without you realizing. The story takes place in a small seaside village with blue waters, sunshine, and a tight-knit community of people who all know one another and have their noses in each others’ business. According to the director, the drama was named “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” because “Cha-Cha-Cha is a type of dance you can’t do alone… It’s fitting to the overall story and characters of our drama series.” If you are ever weighed down and suffocated by the burdens of life and work in the city, come down to the small welcoming village of Gongjin for a breath of fresh air by the sea. You can take a visit to the one cafe-pub in town that makes bad coffee or chicken & beer late at night, the convenience store stocked with nostalgic snacks, or the small sashimi restaurant around the corner that sells the freshest seafood. Take a seat in the new dentist’s office for a checkup, next to the grandmas who will cook you a warm, homemade meal, or by the middle-aged ladies chattering about the hot gossip around the village. Gongjin may be a small town, but everyone is as busy as they can be, experiencing and sharing their pain, joy, disappointment, and compassion with one another.
Not only is the setting of the drama alleviating and refreshing, but Hong Du-sik, the reliable, multi-talented handyman and hero of Gongjin, has the ability to brighten up any space with his altruistic heart and big smile. There’s something about his character that makes you feel safe and assured that everything will be alright. But of course, not everything can be all sunshine and rainbows. The characters have heart wrenching pasts that they try to hide behind their laughter as they go about their daily lives. It is the crucial component that gives the drama its realness and depth, and makes you feel a great deal of empathy for them.
OST recommendation: Romantic Sunday – Car, the garden
- OUR blues
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One perfect word to summarize the drama: bittersweet. Each episode focuses on the story of the relationship between two or three characters and the different perspectives they offer. Therefore, every person mentioned in the twenty episodes is a main character and an essential part of the drama. Similar to Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, the story takes place by the sea, but this time, on Jeju Island. It tells multiple stories of the people who live and work in a small, bustling village located on the island. What makes Our Blues different from Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is that it incorporates more unfiltered components of our real-life struggles. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s darker or more depressing. Rather, it will hit much closer to home. You will go through many ups and downs, through thick and thin with all of the characters who are involved in each others’ lives and have an impact in some way. Feelings of resentment, hesitation, frustration, depression, fear, regret, and insecurity are essentially the underlying themes that are addressed and learned to be dealt with by the characters as they transform them into empathy, forgiveness, courage, patience, hope, trust, persistence, and sacrifice. I was impressed by how accurately the actors were able to convey the tiny, awkward details and the somewhat embarrassing moments that we experience on a daily basis that ultimately make us human, whether it’s a slight twitching of the face, trembling and choking up of the voice, a feigned smile, welled-up tears conveying mixed emotions. The acting is very natural and triggers so much sympathy because it feels real, like you’re watching yourself on screen.
When you’re rolling with the punches, it’s hard to realize how much you’ve repressed or how far you’ve come. It’s not until you take a step back and reflect on the person that you have become and what has led you to act or feel a certain way that you can finally dig through and release the burdening load of memories, thoughts, and feelings you’ve buried deep inside you as a way to remain strong. It takes courage to do this, and the drama allows us to see the process of it all. Of course, none of this can be done without the help of others. There is a strong sense of community in the Jeju village; everyone genuinely cares about each other and has each others’ backs. It’s really wonderful to see. As we watch all of this unfold from the perspective of someone witnessing everything from afar, we are able to catch the melancholic details that portray the pain and beauty of everyday life and capture the rawness of emotion.
OST recommendation: For Love – 10cm