7. Just Between Lovers
I don’t know why people don’t talk about this drama enough in the local scene when it has a) that kilig, b) an idol in it, and c) a good story. This is another slice of life drama that centers around the story of two individuals who lost their loved ones in a tragic accident when they were younger. This catastrophic event, of course, changed their lives forever. However, by some twist of fate, they manage to run into each other as adults. The drama follows how they’ve both coped with that pain in their lives and shows us how different their lives turned out from how they originally planned it when they were younger.
6. Signal
One of the highest-rated and critically-acclaimed dramas in Korea, Signal tells the story of a detective in the year 2000 who communicates with a cold case profiler in 2015 through a mysterious walkie talkie. Together, they solve cases while communicating through the device. I wasn’t sold on it at first but then I realized I was ten episodes deep in it and there was no turning back. This drama has one of the best casts ever put together and I thank the drama gods every day for this ensemble. Unlike a lot of police procedurals, this time-and-space-bending factor gives it a twist that keeps episodes interesting.
5. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
I was excited about this because I love Seo In-guk who plays the lead and that was it. I didn’t know that it was an adaptation of a Japanese drama or that I’d be so invested in the characters in this story. Maybe it’s the Japanese-ness of its origin that made me feel like I was watching a drama from the 2000s, but it gave me that familiar feeling of devastation that I liked feeling back then? That sounds weird, and I won’t lie and tell you that this drama is not a walk in the park to watch, but it’s sooo good. You’ll be following a mystery and a love story at the same time and it’ll hold your heart long after the final scene has ended.
4. Prison Playbook
From the director and creator of the extremely popular Reply series comes a black comedy about prison inmates. Its central figure is a famous baseball star who has to go to prison for accidentally killing his sister’s stalker (it was self-defense!). He has to learn how to adjust inside prison with an eclectic group of cell-mates that become a small family to each other. This, like most of the dramas on this list apparently, also made me cry a lot. You’d think a comedy would make you laugh, and it definitely did, but the tears were flowing after a couple of episodes and I couldn’t stop. This is such a nice breath of fresh air in the whole K-drama landscape because you’d think a story about prisoners would be dragging and heavy, but this is a feel-good show.
ALSO READ: 15 2018 K-Dramas that are Worth Watching
3. Age of Youth
Age of Youth is a drama that serves real boarding house realness. Five college-age ladies all live together in a house called Belle Epoque and go through lives together all while maintaining grades and their social standing. I remember crying every other episode because of all the life hugot feels it gave me. You’ll fall in love with every single character in this show and find yourselves in them. One word I’d say would describe this show is down-to-earth (it’s one word!). It’s so real that I’m sure you’d find yourself huddled under a blanket and crying your eyes out too. Good news: Age of Youth has two seasons! That’s two seasons worth of feels!
2. Sky Castle
Sky Castle is literally the highest-rated cable show in all of Korean television history so I have faith that you’ll love this. It’s a story about wives and mothers who live in a high-brow suburban area in Seoul called Sky Castle. Ambitious, the women in this show do their best in order for their husbands to become successful and for their children to live their lives almost akin to modern-day royalty. Think Real Housewives, but it’s in Korean and not a single one of them is trashy. This drama took Korea by storm in late 2018 and it continues to be a topic of discussion in the country, turning into a pop-culture icon in its own right.
1. The Guest
If you want to watch something that doesn’t have a single dull moment in it (and I get bored easily so take my word on this), The Guest is for you. A lot of dramas these days have unnecessary filler scenes and episodes. Meanwhile, The Guest scraps all of that in order to fit in as much as it could in an episode without making it feel like you’re taking on too much. It’s a mystery, horror-thriller that merges both traditional Korean shamanism and modern-day Catholicism. Its main characters, a trio composed of a priest, a detective, and a clairvoyant psychic from a family of shamans, develop into a pseudo-family on their quest to vanquish a demon that’s ruined all of their lives. It’s exciting and completely terrifying in some parts and you’ll find yourself wanting more after each episode ends.
How about you? Which K-dramas do you feel need some more local lovin’?
