I freaking love watching Korean dramas. It has been my favorite pastime activity since 2011.
I was introduced to Korean dramas in 2010 by a former crush and close friend when she sent me a Tumblr link to a funny scene of a particular drama. That drama was Coffee Prince. The next year, I started watching it, but unfortunately, I never got to finish it as I stopped around episode 14 or 15. It was my first ever drama.
Since then, I have watched numerous of shows ranging from all genres from romantic comedies to action and drama to horror. Here are five Korean dramas I recommend watching first. Links provided in the titles.
The fifth one is the one you should REALLY watch.
NO SPOILERS.
Honorable Mentions included at the bottom.
1. It's Okay, That's Love
Genre: Romance, Medical, Melodrama
Year: 2014
This drama will get your emotions on a loop, so prepare with a box of tissues. It focuses on mental issues and disorders on people, including the main characters. Jang Jae-Yeol is a writer and a radio host that suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder while Ji Hae-soo is a smart psychiatry fellow that has anxiety issues toward commitment and phobia toward sex. As the two clash, they both go through life changing experiences.
2. Master's Sun
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy
Year: 2013
Again, grab a bunch of tissues. This drama is about a woman named Tae Kong-Sil who is able to see and hear ghosts after an accident. Since then, she is unable to live a normal life. Joo Joong-Won, on the other hand, is a self-centered, arrogant, and greedy CEO of a business. An unsolved kidnapping incident when he was young left him extremely distrustful and heartless toward everyone. As the two meet, they work together to uncover secrets of his past.
3. Nine: Nine Times Time Travel
Genre: Time Travel/Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Supernatural, Drama
Year: 2013
If you love the concept of time traveling, this a great drama for you. This drama has a great amount of plot twists and will get you more interested in time traveling. It focuses on a man named Park Sun-Woo who finds a way to travel back 20 years in the past nine times. Because of a tragedy in the past that left everyone around him in the present devastated, he attempts to change it. However, his actions are not without consequences as it affects everyone around him, in the present, including himself.
A US remake is being put into development by ABC.
4. Signal
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Crime, Drama, Action, Thriller, Mystery
Year: 2016
Inspired by and based on the Hwaseong serial murders and adapted from the 2000 American film Frequency, this drama focuses on a criminal profiler named Park Hae-Young who finds a mysterious walkie talkie that allows him to communicate with a detective named Lee Jae-Han in 1989. Together, they work together to prevent unsolved crime cases from ever happening. At the same time, they stumble upon an unsolved murder case relating to Jae-Han. However, the actions in 1989 and 2015 are not without consequences.
It is considered the highest on my personal list of favorite dramas.
Currently, it is one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history.
5. Goblin
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Melodrama, Action, Mystery
Year: 2016 - 2017 (Just ended January 21, 2017)
This drama is about a 900 year old immortal goblin, and guardian, to people named Kim Shin. He lives a lonely life as punishment looking for his bride to remove the sword inside him that has kept him alive in order to die in peace. He finally meets a girl named Ji Eun-Tak who can see and hear ghosts. At the same time, by "coincidence," a grim reaper moves in to his house and becomes roommates and best friends.
Currently on par with Signal as
the highest on my personal list
, this Korean drama played with my
emotions hardcore from laughter to deep sadness especially with the
acting from the cast. The soundtrack is superb, and this has one of the best cinematography I have seen so far. Gong Yoo is the lead actor, and if you have seen the movie,
Train to Busan and the Korean drama, Coffee Prince, then you know who he is (as he is the lead actor for both).
That's all I'm saying. There is much more to the plot than what I have said, so I am telling you to go binge watch it. Currently, it is one of the highest rated Korean drama in cable television history, topping Signal.
Honorable Mentions
W - Two Worlds
Secret Garden
You're All Surrounded
Pinocchio
What are you waiting for? Go out there and watch!
