K-Dramas: Where To Start?

Article contributed by Suya Chry

You must have heard about these Korean dramas more and more as the South Korean entertainment industry continues to grow! What is so special about K-Dramas is the fact that they truly are dramatic. You see the weirdest characters, you cry over their not-so-smart actions, and you fall in love with them. K-Dramas are also unique in being comedic in any episode, any series.

But if you have no idea what it is and where to start, I have compiled a list of 10 K-dramas that will give you an exciting start and make you fall in love with them. Binge some of these and you’ll understand people’s obsession with them!

1. Cinderella and Four Knights (2016)

Eun Ha Won, a young girl, is trapped with her cruel stepmother and has no money for higher education. As fate decides, she meets an old man, and is hired by him to move into a mansion to take care of three cousins, who are heirs to the fortune of the old man. Swiftly, Eun Ha Won falls into the hottest quadrangle of Korean dramas. The fourth knight is the bodyguard of the cousin brothers. A very dynamic, character-driven drama series, these 16 episodes were also my introduction into the world of Korean dramas.

2. The Beauty Inside (2018)

Probably one of the best romantic K-Dramas out there, The Beauty Inside is based on the 2015 film of the same name, but it’s even better. Han Se-Gye is an A-list actress who suffers from sudden change in her appearance to a different person for a week every month. Seo Do-jae is the executive director of his family’s airline business, who seems the perfect young man, but he secretly suffers from prosopagnosia. Their romance is a beautiful, shocking, and sad one and brings out all the feels.

3. Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

More on the psychological side, Kill Me, Heal Me is a drama focusing on Cha Do Hyun, a heir to a business, who develops dissociative identity disorder, what we commonly call multiple personality disorder, due to traumatic events early in his life. Oh Ri Jin, a psychiatric resident tries to help him secretly so he can gain control over his seven personalities. This drama is easily the best DID related series as it so perfectly portrays several personalities of a single character.

4. W (2016)

For the fantasy lovers out there, W is the one for you. In this highly rated drama, Oh Yeon-joo, a cardiothoracic surgeon goes to her father’s office to investigate his sudden disappearance and is pulled into the world of the Webtoon that her father illustrates. There, she meets Kang Chul, and is pulled into a murder mystery. The series centers on the clash between the two worlds, the real one and the webtoon world, and is definitely worth the watch.

5. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)

As the title suggests, the main character, Do Bong Soon has superhuman strength that she can utilise for good, and she has trouble finding a job as an aspiring game developer. Ahn Min Hyuk, the young CEO of a software company witnesses her strength and following the incident, hires her to be his personal bodyguard against a man who has been sending death threats to him. They soon realise that their relationship is not just a boss-employee one and is turning into something more.

6. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016-17)

If you are even a bit interested in Korean entertainment, then you might have heard of this one. One of the highest rated K-Dramas ever, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, also called as Goblin, follows Kim Shin, an immortal goblin, almost a millennium old. Cursed to stay immortal, Goblin helps humans and is kind to those in need. The only soul that can remove the sword in his chest and end his existence is the Goblin’s Bride. Ji Eun-Tak is a teenager who has a tragic and shocking past, rescued by the Goblin as a baby. She is also the Goblin’s Bride, but can she kill him when they’ve just started to form a relationship?

7. Crash Landing on You (2019-20)

More romance for the romantics out there. Crash Landing on You is a more recent drama that blew up the charts, being amazing as it is. It follows the story of two star-crossed lovers, the South Korean business heiress, Yoon Se-ri, and the North Korean soldier, Ri Jeong-hyeok. The two develop an unusual relationship and fall in love despite the feud between North Korea and South Korea. Watch this show to see how these two defy the odds of life. The series also shows the dramatic business family where Se-ri’s brothers fight to get the company. And who doesn’t love some rich family drama once in a while?

8. SKY Castle (2018-19)

SKY Castle is a satire that shows the lives of wealthy people who ruthlessly fight for their family’s survival and reputation at the cost of destroying many others. In the drama, four women, each married to successful men and having grown children, live in SKY Castle, the suburban luxury community where doctors and professors live. These women strive to support their husbands, raise their children in luxury, and most importantly, make them enter a top university at any cost whatsoever. The series shows the realistic situation of rich people making their children qualify from the best universities by using only money.

9. Are You Human Too? (2018)

Nam Shin is the son of a genius scientist, Laura Oh, and is destined to one day own his parents lucrative business empire. However, one day, he is attacked, putting him in a coma. To not decrease his credibility as the company’s heir, his mother creates a lifelike android into the world- Nam Shin III. The former MMA fighter Kang So Bon is hired to protect the robot, but complications arise as she starts to develop feelings for this automation.

10. Suspicious Partner (2017)

For those of you who like lawyer related shows, here’s one for you. Noh Ji Wook is a lawyer who recently changed his profession from being a prosecutor to an attorney in a private law firm. Eun Bong Hee is a trainee who wants to one day become a prosecutor herself. When a murder happens, Bong Hee is pulled in and becomes a suspect. The two then work together to find the mysterious killer and find out just how much they are connected.

Do you have any recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!