Korean Dramas to Watch in this Lockdown
(First List)
Here are my recommendations for the list of Korean Dramas I suggest you watch this lockdown. These are purely for the hopeless romantics out there and for those who don’t mind the mush and gush factor.
I have been watching Korean movies since I was 18 years old and with other such Korean influence while growing up, I have begun to love the Korean way of everything. Especially their cooking and eating. For my next list I will cover the latter, but for now, hope you enjoy watching these RomComs.
- Oh My Venus
Oh My Venus is about a girl who used to be an all-rounder in a school in Daegu, Korea and popularly called ‘Daegu Venus’ (Venus of Daegu). Current situation: she’s struggling at work, is chubby and overweight, her boyfriend from high school has just dumped her for her friend. The story starts from here, this dramedy about her trying to lose this weight with the help of a celebrity trainer, basically getting her groove back. The actors make this show so much more intense and worth watching. Even though, there are parts which are slightly dragging but overall the couple as main leads keep the show engaging. It is a true Romantic Drama. And did I tell you how hot So ji-sub (Lead Actor) is?!
2. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim
I love Park Seo-Joon (Lead Actor) and probably why I am biased towards this show. TBH the story is good, it routes back to the characters’ childhood and a traumatic experience they faced. It’s about a reserved, methodical and serious CEO who has had an extremely efficient secretary for years, but now she has finally decided to quit, and this has left him wondering why? The romantic story brewing in a fun office keeps you humorously engaged. Everyone in the show has acted really well, therefore side stories of each character keep you invested. Above all, it’s a sheer pleasure to watch Secretary Kim and the way she runs the show at work, definitely #workgoals for me. She’s smart, efficient, on top of things (personally and professionally) and the two main leads make an excellent match. It’s a must watch!
3. Another Miss Oh
The lead actor is a psychic and he can see things before they happen. He was engaged to be married, but his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar (literally). After a year, he finds out his ex-fiancée is now getting married to some rich business man. So, psychic guy takes revenge by sending rich business man behind bars for bankruptcy, only to find out that it wasn’t his ex-fiancée after all but another girl with the exact same name as his ex. And this is where the story starts!
The story starts off well and the comedy, comical timing, the bold acting and openness to living in and sex (which is something you seldom find in K-Dramas) was excellent. I also admire the main lead for not being pitiful, after everything she has been through, she still makes stupid mistakes and doesn’t really come across as seeking sympathy. She comes across as a more strong and fierce character, which I really liked. I l enjoyed how real and raw her character is.
4. Suspicious Partner
Ok, this was a revelation. I watched it only because I thought it was another office romance. But it turned out to be much more than that, it’s about a murder, the legal fraternity in Korea and how the main lead is the witness in all this. The story covers a love triangle, thriller and mystery, on-point investigation and some comedy. The lead actor is superb and equally brilliant is the villain. This, I highly recommend to those who love mystery thrillers. After watching Ji-Chang Wook in this, I went on to watching Healer.
5. Healer
The Healer has an Ethan Hunt meets Jason Bourne story line going for it. Definitely not that level, but has similar vibes. It’s about 4 journalist friends trying to broadcast true stories and realities of Korea under constant threat and opposition from the Korean government and people doing nasty things in influential positions. Fast forward 20 years, the friends’ kids have grown up and coincidentally they too are fighting similar struggles in their respective professions till they come together to run a broadcasting unit of their own. Encouraging free speech and taking the right news to people. It is so relevant for current times. This show has political and gangster drama and a love story steering the main plot. The ending could have been better and more impactful, adding to this, I also felt that the bang with which it starts narrating the story of the 4 friends and the beautiful struggles they faced together, it could have been shown more of.
6. Oh My Ghost
Another one, with a strong murder story line. This is less horror and more comedy. It’s a fun story about a timid girl who can see ghosts therefore, she has been living a low life, till a ghost enters her body and refuses to leave. This ghost is of another girl who doesn’t know how she died (which is the myster part of it) and is a complete opposite in personality to that of the timid girl. The ghost girl assumes and believes that the reason her spirit hasn’t had a good send-off is because she died a virgin, which is the reason why she is lingering around and now wants to borrow the timid girl’s body to have sex with a man, so that she can leave in peace. It’s hilarious, the ways in which the girl changes in terms of her behaviour and attitude, from being shy and quiet to being bold and aggressive. The lead guy is a Chef, so you get to see great food and cooking throughout the movie.
The actress Park Bo-Young is extremely cute and funny. She’s spunky and adorable. Worth watching her in this one.
7. Strong Girl Do Bong-Soon
This is so women centric and women dominated. Park Bo-Young comes from a family where only the women due to some genetic mutation are born with extraordinary strength. It’s passed on from mother to daughter. The story revolves around her immense strength and how she doesn’t know how to use it. There is a serial kidnapper sub-story within it, which makes it even more interesting. It is a progressive drama, with broad minded parents, showing women, LGBT in a strong and equal right. I didn’t care too much for the romantic story brewing on the side, I was more interested in Bong-Soon and her powerful character. It is worth a watch!
8. Her Private Life
This is a mature and feel-good romantic comedy. There are multiple love triangles and a strong fan-girl story. While Park Min-Young has a very respectable job and professional role, her Private Life shows what she does after work, i.e. being a fan girl for a particular singer celebrity.
Park Min-Young has acted so well, like a puppy eyed love stricken fan girl which is adorable as well like a thorough, hardworking office assistant during work hours. Her boss is handsome it’s interesting the things she goes through to hide that she is a fan girl from him. This is an interesting drama that shows the life of fan girls in Korea.
9. Coffee Prince
This is a 2007 drama, about a girl pretending to be a guy in order to secure herself financially. She eventually falls for her boss, who for the longest time thinks she’s a boy. There is also a mature love story of a couple shown on the side and it’s good to see the difference and connection of the two love stories. I really like how they have touched on topics like live in, not wanting to get married, gay love in a beautiful manner and subtly shown how progressive the story line is even though it’s set in 2007 (unlike most Kdramas). The story is engaging till the end and the characters are so intense and natural. I highly recommend this one.
10. She Was Pretty
Hwang Jung-eum is a brilliant actor and therefore I recommend this. The story is unique, about a girl with a unique skin pigmentation problem which she develops after graduating and therefore refuses to reveal herself after 15 years to her best friend (and supposed sweetheart) , who has now grown up to be a hunk (Park Seo-joon) and is coincidentally her current boss. In order to hide her appearance (so called not-so-good looking self) she forces her current best friend to pose as her so that the school sweet heart remembers her as the same sexy and pretty crush. Unfortunately, girl best friend also starts falling for school sweetheart. Anyway apart from this story line, the show is full of fun with a dynamic office staff, a fun and handsome colleague who loves Hwang Jung-eum inspite of her skin problem, and a touching story about friendship and real connection.
11. Romance is a Bonus Book
I was running away from watching this, but I finally gave in. It’s about a woman in her mid 30s, who made the wrong choice in love and marriage and ended putting her husband before her career. Now after he has left her, she with the help of her best friend (a guy who loves her) is trying to make a come-back in her job and life. I just started watching this, and I am loving it right now. I will review it in a couple of weeks, after I am done watching it.
