Have you been on the hunt for a new show to binge-watch? Whether you’re a big fan of K-Dramas or have never seen one, I can guarantee that these recommendations are worth checking out. While the main genre of these dramas is certainly romance, they include an array of sub-genres as well which makes them accessible to a wide audience.
Without further ado, here are five K-Dramas that are so good I would sell my first-born child to watch them again for the first time:
CRASH LANDING ON YOU
What it’s about
Yun Se-ri is an ambitious and wealthy South Korean chaebol heiress who is far too busy running her business to make time for romance. At a tense family dinner, Se-ri’s father announces that Se-ri has been chosen to take over his company, much to the disappointment of her shallow-minded siblings. To celebrate this victory, Se-ri decides to go paragliding. All of a sudden, she gets swept up in a tornado and the next thing she knows, she has crash landed just over the North Korean border. That’s when she meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok, a high-ranking North Korean army officer who usually sticks to the book. Se-ri uses her natural-born charm and persuades Jeong-hyeok to help her get back home safely. Though it puts Jeong-hyeok and his comrades at an immense risk, he does everything he can to hide and protect Se-ri. Through their efforts to return Se-ri to her rightful place, the couple go on many bizarre adventures, overcome many life-threatening obstacles. . . and begin to fall in love along the way.
Why I like it
This show includes all of my favourite tropes: found family, grumpy x sunshine, slow burn and hurt/comfort. They execute each of them so well. I became attached to every character in the show and that was what kept me invested. Furthermore, the plot was incredibly intriguing and, at times, had me on the edge of my seat. Se-ri and Jeong-Hyeok’s character arcs are beautifully portrayed. Both of them carry immense emotional trauma from their pasts. The show delves deep into their baggage from the very beginning with flashbacks. This makes the characters highly relatable and I easily connected with each of them in different ways.
I would recommend this to someone who enjoys slow burn love stories.
IMDb rating: 8.7/10
TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE
What it’s about
It’s the late 90s in South Korea and the Asian financial crisis affects both Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-Jin’s lives in tremendous ways. Na Hee-do is a youthful and passionate high school student who dreams of becoming a fencer. Baek Yi-Jin is a young man who belongs to a wealthy family. Due to the financial crisis, his father’s business goes bankrupt and Yi-Jin struggles to cope with the fallout. Hee-do is trying to find someone to sponsor her fencing training, Yi-jin is a beginner news reporter who is trying to establish his career. The two form an unlikely bond and, over the course of several years, strive to cheer each other up when life brings them down.
Why I like it
If you’ve ever watched a k-drama before, you know how dramatic and over-the-top they can be. Something that immediately pulled me in about this k-drama is how different it is. I find that most k-dramas romanticize every moment; people falling in slo-mo, sparks literally flying when lover’s eyes meet, and so on. Twenty-Five Twenty-One has a much more down-to-earth feel to it. Being set in the 1990’s, the way the images look and the clothes the characters wear are a little retro which I enjoyed. The show also has some of the best cinematography I’ve ever seen.
I would recommend this to someone who likes coming-of-age stories.
IMDb rating: 8.6/10
Queen of Tears
What it’s about
Hong Hae-in and Baek Hyun-woo have been married for three years. Hae-in is a third-generation heiress of the corporation Queens Group and Hyun-woo is their legal director. As the result of an unfortunate loss and some miscommunications, the couple have begun to grow apart. Both at home and in the office, they are cold towards each other and everyone in their vicinity can feel it. At his breaking point, Hyun-woo decides to present Hae-in with divorce papers. Just as he is about to do so, Hae-in shares shocking news: she has terminal brain cancer. With only a few months left to live, Hae-in begins to rethink her life choices while Hyun-woo steps in as her caretaker. In the limited time they have left together, Hae-in and Hyun-woo reflect on what went wrong in their relationship and slowly rediscover the reasons why they fell in love.
Why I like it
I haven’t seen many films or shows about married couples who work through the problems in their relationship and fall back in love. I see so much media about divorce, which is fair since it is becoming more and more common; however, it was refreshing to watch a show where old love prevails. This show does an excellent job of slowly rebuilding trust between the two main characters. Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s path to happiness together is messy and authentic. I experienced such an emotional rollercoaster while watching this show and I loved it.
I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a good cry. YOU will be the Queen of Tears.
IMDb rating: 8.2/10
HOTEL DEL LUNA
What it’s about
The Hotel Del Luna has existed for centuries. Invisible to living human beings, it is a hotel for spirits with unfinished business . . . a stop on their way to the afterlife. Jang Man-wol has been the owner of the hotel for a thousand years. She has been holding a deep-rooted grudge since she passed away and, consequently, is cursed to stay in the hotel until she resolves it. Years before the show begins, Man-wol saves a man’s life and asks to have his son, Koo Chan-sung, in return. After twenty years of jumping from country to country in an attempt to escape Man-wol, Koo Chan-sung returns to Korea. On his birthday, Man-wol pays him a visit and gives him a gift: the ability to see ghosts. Stuck with this unwanted gift, Chan-sung surrenders and agrees to become the general manager of Hotel Del Luna. Together, Chan-sung and Man-wol help the spirits at the hotel find closure so they can finally be at peace. While working as a team, a friendship begins to bloom between them. Man-wol’s heart begins to open and, with Chan-sung’s help, she unburies the grudge that has been eating away at her soul.
Why I like it
New characters enter the show in every episode and somehow I was able to become emotionally attached to each and every single one of them. This show does an amazing job of making you care about its characters.
I would recommend this to someone who enjoys shows that include many short stories within one overarching story.
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
LOVELY RUNNER
What it’s about
A devastating car accident has left Im Sol, a young woman with big dreams, paralyzed from the waist down. One day at the hospital, Sol feels so depressed that she almost commits suicide. As she is debating it, she receives a phone call from a radio station. A debuting kpop idol, Ryu Sun-jae, lifts Sol’s spirits with inspiring words. Sol becomes a fan of Ryu Sun-jae and goes to see him in concert. Later that night, Ryu Sun-jae is pronounced dead after jumping off the balcony of his apartment. When Sol hears the news, she falls and, mysteriously, is transported back in time to when she was in high school. Sol soon discovers that Sun-jae attends the same high school as her. She enters his life and befriends him in an effort to change the future and reverse his death. Sol’s mission has many unexpected ups and downs. On her path to saving Sun-jae, Sol also learns things about her own life that she had missed the first time around. Sol takes advantage of this rare opportunity to twist fate and she navigates the consequences that ripple all around her.
Why I like it
This is another one that includes a lot of my favourite tropes. The time travel element is really entertaining and there are multiple plot twists within the show that I didn’t see coming. The romance between Sol and Sun-jae is, no doubt, the best part of the show. I was rooting for them to be together the whole time because they are so meant to be. The attractiveness of the male lead might also contribute to my immense love for this show…
I would recommend this to someone who likes stories that incorporate many different genres.
IMDb rating: 8.6 /10
I hope you enjoy these K-Dramas as much as I did! Sorry not sorry for any emotional suffering that they put you through…