K-Dramas for Beginners:

Boys Over Flowers

꽃보다 남자

Genre: Comedy, Rom/Com

Episodes: 25

Aired: 2009

For Lovers of: Coming of Age, Cinderella Stories, Strong Heroines, Love Triangles, Chaebol (rich heirs with mean families), forbidden love, and teenage angst.

Summary: Hardworking Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) attends the exclusive Shinhwa High School by a scholarship. She finds her shallow, privileged classmates unbearable, especially the notorious F4. Rich, handsome, and arrogant, Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho), Yoon Ji-hoo (Kim Hyun-joong), So Yi-jeong (Kim Bum), and Song Woo-bin (Kim Joon) are the kings of the school and no one, not even the teachers, dare challenge them. No one, that is, except Jan-di.

Kat’s Take: You guys, this is a classic. It has all of the K-Drama tropes (like when Jan Di loses her home and has to work side jobs to take care of her brother). Or the random comedy moments where the usually cool Jun Pyo has a freak out. Or the long, drawn out hugs that mean so much more than the hottest make-out scene in an American Drama (just trust me on this). It has all of the wide-eyed innocence of a first love story and some extra wide-eyed sweetness thrown in. Also, there is the required cast makeover about midway through and the flash forward in time (don’t worry it’s only a little bit as corny as it sounds). This show is super addicting and a great intro into all that is K-Drama.

K-Drama 2.0

My Love From Another Star

별에서 온 그대

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Melodrama

Episodes: 20

Aired: 2013

For Lovers of: Science Fiction, secret Childhood connections, Love Triangles (kind of), Paranormal Romance, Mystery (murder-mystery), Main Heroine who started on top and has to start all over, secret identities, and forbidden love.

Summary: an alien who landed on Earth in the Joseon Dynasty and, 400 years later, falls in love with a top actress in the modern era.

Kat’s Take: For something a little more sci-fi fantasy, you gotta watch this show. Kim Soo Hyun and Gianna Jun are amazing actors. Also, the love story is sweet and well developed. And it doesn’t hurt that there is a big over-arching mystery during the whole series. It does kind of get melodramatic, but if you’re used to the melodrama that comes with so many K-dramas then it won’t bother you.

Advanced K-Drama

Pinocchio

피노키오

Genre: Mystery, romance, drama

Episodes: 20

Aired: 2015

For Lovers of: Friends to lovers, mystery, secret connections, secret identities, working to expose corruption, thrillers

Summary: The idealistic Choi In Ha has her work cut out for her when she becomes a broadcast journalist, especially when she suffers from a condition known as “Pinocchio syndrome,” which makes her break out into hiccups whenever she tells a lie. Her rookie colleagues include Choi Dal Po, whose shabby appearance masks his true eloquence and sharp memory; Seo Bum Jo, a wealthy heir who has had everything handed to him in life; and Yoon Yoo Rae, whose fangirl knowledge comes in handy in covering the news. The 20-something newbie reporters pursue justice as they try to discover themselves in the process.

Kat’s Take: this drama does a thing that many K-dramas do, they make up a completely fictional condition and make it the crux of a character’s struggle. For Choi In Ha, it’s the fact that she cannot lie but she has chosen a profession where lying is often necessary. However, to Choi In Ha, the profession she loves shouldn’t have to involve lying and she will fight to prove that. It’s all tied into a bigger theme/message of how to do the right thing in a world that constantly wants you to sugar coat things or sensationalize things for entertainment purposes. On the other end of the spectrum, Dal Po will do anything he can to do what he thinks needs to be done. This is why Pinocchio is such an amazing drama, because you see these two characters come together and clash. The drama also uses the format that is very common, where you spend the first few episodes in the past before you get to the meaty present storyline. At first, it might seem odd and jarring, but it’s so important and it establishes really important aspect of the characters. Also, it’s super funny how they make one of the most beautiful actors in Korea, Lee Jong Suk, look frumpy for like half of the show.

K-drama viewer for life

The Reply Series—Reply 1997, Reply 1994, Reply 1988

Reply 1997

Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy

Episodes: 16

Aired: 2012

For Lovers of: Slice of Life, Nostalgia, the 90s, Love Triangles, Romance, Quirky main heroines, 90s K-pop, friend groups, high school, families

Summary: Set in the 1990’s, “Reply 1997” follows female high school student Shi-Won (Jung Eun-Ji), who idolizes boyband H.O.T and her 5 high school friends.

Kat’s Take: This is a series of dramas that go back into recent Korean history and center on a big cultural or pop phenomenon that was happening at the time. The first in the series focuses on the huge rise in K-pop in the late 1990s and one of the biggest boy bands at the time H.O.T! I personally really loved H.O.T so this was a very fun drama for me to watch. Be aware that if you did not grow up in Korea in the 90s (or visit it a bunch as a kid like I did) some of the easter eggs or references might be lost on you. However, it’s such a well-done drama and has so much heart. And at the end of the day it’s about family and childhood and friendship. So, it’s got something anyone can relate to even if they’re not familiar with the Korea of the past.