I love watching Korean dramas and prefer them over any Hollywood shows out there. They’re cute, romantic and funny but you also get the occasional thriller, mystery and action dramas too. Here are a few dramas I have watched first hand that I couldn’t help but binge watch over a couple of days. I have attached trailers below with English subtitles, so you can get a feel for the shows!
1) While You Were Sleeping (2017)
(Photo Credits: Wikipedia)
While You Were Sleeping is a fantasy drama where the main character; Nam Hong-job is a field reporter. She dreams about troublesome events that will come true and has a chance to stop them. The main female protagonist feels the burdensome weight of being accountable for other people’s lives and being able to predict the outcome. This is where the young, handsome, prosecutor Jae-chan comes in to help her. Neither of them realises that they share the same gift to see future deaths but when they do, they realise that their paths are intertwined and that they are meant to work together. Through a number of events and heroic rescues, a romance buds between the two of them. This is a drama about the reality, romance and hardships.
Watch The While You Were Sleeping Trailer Here
2) Strong Women Do Bong Soon (2017)
(Photo Credits: Wikipedia)
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a very popular show as it was also listed on Netflix so many people, outside of the regular target audience watched and raved about it. It surrounds a young woman called Do Bong Soon who has incredible strength which has been passed down through the generations of women in her family. She had struggled to find a good job as she didn’t perform well at school and always compared herself to her intelligent twin brother. One day, a wealthy, young handsome businessman, Ahn Min-hyuk (who owns a successful gaming company), sees her fighting a gang of men off easily and decides to hire her as his bodyguard as he has been receiving anonymous threats lately. Do Bong Soon is constantly confused by his character as his sexuality isn’t explicitly announced, but after some confusing situations, she ends up in a love triangle with him and an alumni student; Guk-doo. She had previously fancied Guk-doo as a student and he is now working as a police officer. She isn’t an official bodyguard though as her powers must be kept a secret so she poses as his personal assistant. This leads to their cute love story being formed but with a hint of drama, mystery and action.
Check Out The Trailer Here!
3) What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (2018)
(Photo Credits: Wikipedia)
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is one of the most recent dramas and has already been a hit with many people. I personally loved it as I hadn’t watched a drama with this type of story line before. Lee Young-joon is the male protagonist, he is a handsome but narcissistic man who is incredibly sassy and relies on his secretary to make sure everything in his life runs smoothly. However, his life turns over when his secretary tells him she wants to quit her job, to be able to live her life and enjoy herself. That marks the beginning of the humorous, romantic and occasionally serious drama as he tries to keep her in his life which is surprising for both characters. Throw in a love triangle with Lee Young-Joon’s younger brother who Kim doesn’t realise is related to her boss, alongside other office romances occurring around them and you have a great plot. What’s different about this drama is that it isn’t your ordinary cute drama, there is something dark lurking in the background in Lee Young-Joon’s mind, something that doesn’t allow him to become close to others and this really draws the audience with unending curiosity of what the unspoken reality is.
Watch the advert for What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim now
4) My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (2018)
(Photo Credits: Pinterest)
My ID is Gangnam Beauty is the most recent show I have watched and I must say, I was personally touched by it as it’s not just your regular cute drama. The main character is bullied throughout her time at school because of her appearance. Being branded ‘ugly’ she decides to reconstruct her entire face before she starts a new chapter of her life at university but despite having a new face, the past catches up with her. The audience is teased the entire time by the producers as every time a scene from the past comes up, her face is always blurred so to keeps us on edge, always wondering how she looked before and whether it will be shown or not. That was definitely a factor that played on my mind throughout the show but I won’t spoil it by exposing whether we finally get to see her real face or not.
There were a lot of real life situations shown that really try to empower young people and women. Specifically, to reveal tough realities that people face whilst simultaneously trying to showcase why people go out of their way to hurt others and in what way their behaviour is extremely harmful. However, despite everything I have mentioned, it isn’t a sad drama even though it touches on the above issues as there are elements of hope and kindness. The trailer may seem light hearted, and the drama is but there are a lot of serious moments and issues that are bought to attention too, so this drama becomes more realistic when related to issues such as bullying, judgment, relationships, family problems, etc.
Go and watch this thrilling trailer here!
So, whether you’re into Korean dramas or have never seen one before, I hope these suggestions and trailers conjured up some interest for you to go and watch an episode before getting involuntary sucked in. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!