K Drama Addict

Today I present to you the Crème de la Crème. Beautiful, pretty, smart and unstoppable: These K-Dramas make me want to marry the female characters. I promise after watching these four series you will question yourself again what sexuality you are. 

Strong roles for female characters are actually rare in K-Drama. Too often they depend on the help and validation of men, are portrayed stereotypical or in unrealistic ways. These following K-Dramas are breaking the standard roles of those female characters and make them the heroine of the story: 

- Hotel del Luna [호텔 델루나] // 2019 by Oh Choong-Hwan, Hong Jeong-Eun // 16 Episodes 

Hotel del Luna is a story about Man-Wol, who is forced to care for a supernatural hotel due to a sin she committed in the past. It is a guest house for the souls/ghosts of deceased humans who have unfinished business on earth before going to the afterlife. Besides Man-Wol there are also other staff at the hotel such as the receptionist Hyun-Joong and the human hotel manager Chan-Sung. The story evolves around Man-Wol’s past life, her relationship with Chan-Sung and the development of her character. 

Man-Wol seems to be a closed in and out of touch character. She loves to spend money on pretty things, acts invulnerable and classy. Her character is strong and independent and as the story develops, we realise, that even in her past live she always relied on herself. The second lead character, the human hotel manager Chan-Sung, helps her to overcome the grief of her past and move on to the future, so she can finally enter the afterlife. 

It is an interesting, sometimes sad, mostly entertaining drama with a heartwarming story. If you look closely you can spot other known faces such as Sulli, Lee Do-Hyun, Kang Mi-Na and Soo-Hyun. 

Main Actresses and Actors: Lee Ji-Eun (IU) as Jang Man-Wol & Yeo Jin-Goo as Koo Chan-Sung

- Run On [런 온] // 2020 by Lee Jae-Hun, Park Si-Hyeon // 16 Episodes 

Run On is a simple romance drama without a big plot line. It tells the story about the average translator Oh Mi-Joo who lives a pretty normal live. Through her job she meets the sprinter Ki Seon-Gyeom who retires shortly after and starts working as an agent for his friend Kim Woo-Sik. They start dating and throughout their relationship they have to face different kind of problems and how to overcome them. The second plot revolves around the unemphatic CEO Seo Dan-A who meets the young art student Lee Yeong-Hwa who starts working on an art pice for her. They too start dating. 

Oh Mi-Joo and Seo Dan-A are really strong characters who have their own live and principles. Although having different backgrounds they both display an independent woman who cares for herself first. All relationships in this drama are pretty healthy and something we can actually learn from. Another fact I really like is that we finally see more than only straight characters. Dan-A for example could be seen as a non stereotypical Bi-Character and Yeong-Hwa’s best friend is a gay character with the difficulty of coming out to him. 

As I mentioned before there isn’t much of an exciting plot line but the development of the characters and their relationship is fun to watch and makes it a relaxing drama. 

Main Actresses and Actors: Yim Si-Wan as Ki Seon-Gyeom, Shin Se-Kyung as Oh Mi-Joo & Choi Soo-Young as Seo Dan-Ah, Kang Tae-Oh as Lee Young-Hwa

- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay [사이코지만 괜찮아] // 2020 by Park Shin-Woo, Jo Yong // 16 Episodes 

A story about a sassy child book author who moves back to her old house and starts working at a mental hospital to give lectures about literature. She meets Moon Gang-Tae and his little brother and starts to befriend them. Gang-Tae also works at the mental institution and lives at his old friends house. Together the three start to overcome their past traumas and problems. 

Moon-Young the child book author is a mysterious woman who seems to be sadistic and a little bit crazy. She doesn’t fit into society norms and doesn’t give a s*** about other opinions. Moon-Young also has a fantastic taste in fashion and carelessly of her surroundings wears what she loves (extravagant clothing that looks like she hoped out of a fairy tale). As the story develops, we learn that she has a lot of suppressed trauma because of her mother who wants to kill her. The male lead Gang-Tae has to deal with the difficult relationship with his autistic brother. Moon Sang-Tae, Gang-Tae’s brother on the other hand has untreated trauma from his past, that leads to him being mentally unstable. The plot line focuses on the trio who heal each other through their friendship and trust in each other. 

I really enjoyed watching this drama. All characters are interesting and have their own motives and stories. Seo Yea-Ji is a great actor and fits the role of Ga-Young perfectly plus she is super pretty. I recommend this drama for everyone who wants to watch something out of the ordinary. 

Main Actresses and Actors: Seo Yea-Ji as Koo Moon-Young & Kim Soo-Hyun as Moon Gang-Tae

- The Uncanny Counter [경이로운 소문] // 2020 by Yoo Sun-Dong // 16 Episodes 

This Drama is about a high schooler named So Mun who is lives with his grand parents and is a pretty soft boy. He becomes a “Counter” and joins a group of other “Counter” to catch evil spririts. Together they start digging up the wrong doings of mayor Shin Myeong-whi and his partners while catching an unstoppable evil spirit named Ji Cheong-Sin who commits a lot of murders around their town. 

The reason I included this Drama is the strong role of Do Ha-Na who is part of the counter group and becomes good friends with So Mun. She is the definition of a strong woman who is independent and relies on herself. Nonetheless she needs help from time to time to overcome hardships. Other female roles such as Counter Mae-Ok and Mun’s friend Ju-Yeon are also non stereotypical female roles with interesting and special traits. 

The Uncanny Counter is not a romance Drama but more so an action or fantasy one. It is full of inspirational scenes, characters and interesting plot twists. 

Main Actresses and Actors: Jo Byeong-Kyu as So Mun & Kim Se-Jeong as Do Ha-Na

— Wish you — by Sung Do-Jun // 2021

Wish you is a movie about two guys who work together to produce music. It tells the growing relationship between those two and the problems they have to face.

Although the storyline is pretty simple and predictable it is still a cute movie to watch. I wish they would have produced it as a series to create a more deep relationship between the two lead characters as they seem pretty bland in the movie. But nonetheless I am always glad to see some LGBTQ+ movements inside the Kdrama world.

Main Actors: Kang In-Soo as Kang In-Soo // Lee Sang as Yoon Sang-Yi

I know. I know. Everyone wants sweet romance scenes. But every now and then we need to give other Dramas space. Dramas that shine with a good plot, interesting themes or storylines, diverse characters or thrilling vibes. I love to watch romance series, that's without a doubt, but I also really enjoy action, thriller or horror Dramas.

With that being said, I collected a few of my personal non-romance Kdramas, that focus on different genres and non-romantic storylines (but still offer some relationships between the characters).

Let me know what you think about them and if you have other suggestions!

- Sweet Home [스위트홈] // 2020 by Lee Eung-Bok & Jang Young-Woo // 10 Episodes

If you haven't watche Sweet Home yet, are you even a Kdrama Fan? It is based on the same name Webtoon and tells the story about the occupants of Green Home Building Compelx who get locked up inside as strange things start to happening outside. People start to turn into monsters of every sort, starting with heavy nosebleeding and fainting. There are many main characters in this story but it mostly evolves around Cha Hyun-Su who is a Hikikomori ( a loner, or a person who never leaves the house) and mobbing victim. As the story moves on many more interesting characters are introduced such as Lee Eun-Hyuk a medical student who becomes the leader of the group, the mysterious hitman Pyeon Sang-Wook or the charismatic firefighter Seo Yi-Kyeong.

It is definitely a horro series so if you can't watch things like that I don't recommend it. It has some jump scares as well as bloody scenes so if you are sensitive towards these pictures please refer from watching. It also needs a trigger warning because mental health problems are shown. But if you can handle these type of storylines than you will love Sweet Home!

Main Actresses and Actors: Song Kang as Cha Hyun-Su // Lee Do-Hyun as Lee Eun-Hyuk // Lee Si-Young as Seo Yi-Kyeong // Lee Jin-Wook as Pyeon Sang-Wook

- Vagabond [배가본드] // 2019 by Yoo In-Sik // 16 Episodes

Now this one remains one of the most thrilling and interesting Kdramas I have ever watched. The story evolves around a mysterious plane crash, terror organizations and bribed politicians. The main hero of this series Cha Dal-Gun (played by the incredible Lee Seung-Ri) wants to get revenge for his little nephew and with the help of Go Hae-Ri who works for the Korean National Intelligence Service he tries to discover the people who are behind the plane crash. It's a Drama which definitely has action movie vibes to it.

This Drama is extremely suitable for binge watching so be aware!

Main Actresses and Actors: Lee Seung-Gi as Cha Dal-Gun // Bae Suzy as Go Hae-Ri // Shin Sung-Rok as Gi Tae-Ung

- Save Me [구해줘] // 2017 by Kim Sung-Soo // 16 Episodes

This Drama is about a young girl who moves with her family from Seoul to the suburbs of Daegu. After the death of her younger brother, her parents get dragged into a religious cult and she becomes the main target of the cult leader who wants to form her into his own 'spiritual mother'. As her father gets completely brain washed Sang-Mi is unable to escape. Han Sang-Hwan (a former school mate) and his friends eventually try to save her from the cult.

I think I never saw a similar plot before so this one is really interesting to watch. It has a lot of untypical style choice, the area it plays in is rarely seen in other Kdramas. Most of the characters have the typical Satori (사투리) Dialect which is also rare. It is thrilling and has excellent cliffhangers so this one as well has binge watching potential.

Main Actresses and Actors: Ok Taec-Yeon as Han Sang-Hwan // Seo Yea-Ji as Im Sang-Mi // Woo Do-Hwan as Suk Dong-Chul

- The School Nurse Files [보건교사 안은영 ] // 2020 by Lee Kyoung-Mi // 6 Episodes

The School Nurse Files is about a woman who is able to see 'Jellies' (which are human desires, spirits and feelings) that appear in the school she is working at. Her job is to keep the students safe and try to discover the source of those 'Jellies'. She befriends the son of the founder of that school Hong In-Pyo who has a magic protection shield against those creatures. Along her way she meets many other new friends. This Drama is so weird that you just can't stop watching it. It's plotline, characters and features are totally unique and everything but normal. It feels like a different universe which it totally is.

I highly recommend this one if you need a quick pause from your usual Kdrama Storylines. Because it has only 6 episodes it doesn't take away much time but is still really worthy to watch.

Main Actresses and Actors: Jung Yu-Mi as Ahn Eun-Young // Nam Joo-Hyuk as Hong In-Pyo

- Extra Curricular [인간수업] // 2020 by Kim Jin-Min // 10 Episodes

The last one on this list is a short Drama as well. It tells the story about a highschooler named Oh Ji-Soo who is an unpopular kid in his school and without parents. As he needs to make money (and he wants to make a lot) he runs a highly controversial business. His secret gets discovered by his class mate Bae Gyu-Ri and he is forced to work together with her in order to silence her. As the story develops both of them get into dangerous situations and their secret business is about to get exposed.

This Drama in my opinion is a bit controversial but still worth a watch. As it tells a story we normally don't hear and also talks about serious topics without glorifying them it can have the potential to make people think. If you have no problems watching violent scenes and if you are not sensitive about themes like prostitution you should definitely give it a try.

[idea by CinemaSins]

Disclaimer: Love Alarm is one of my favorite drama this episode is just for fun and to show that even do dramas seem romantic some things would be so wrong in reality.

Episode 3+4

Sun-Oh’s character is only getting worse. His self love in my opinion is beyond healthy. The way he treats Jo-Jo and his best friends is just so wrong to me. I get that it is meant to be romantic but in reality it is not.

After him and Jo-Jo become a couple he seems extremely jealous. He pays for her school lunch without thinking about the consequences (and although he apologizes in the end it is still wrong in the beginning). He repeatedly lets Jo-Jo know that he is a model and super rich and that she should be so happy to have him as a boyfriend. [“Jo-Jo please stop embarrassing yourself with this guy”]. There are so many more small but psychology wrong statements and actions Sun-Oh says and does that make his character so uncomfortable. For example not respecting Jo-Jo’s boundaries, asking for her number through someone else (even though she didn’t want to give it to him), telling her how to feel and what to do.

[idea by CinemaSins]

Disclaimer: Love Alarm is one of my favorite drama this episode is just for fun and to show that even do dramas seem romantic some things would be so wrong in reality.

Episode 1 + 2:

Is it just me or is everything about Sun-Oh wrong in the first episode? He is narcissistic, a stalker and he would make me feel so uncomfortable all the time. Imagine a guy you don’t know dragging you in an empty lane asking you to kiss you without respecting your boundaries. To make it even worse he is not even listening to Jo-Jo’s story about her dead parents. And he calls her strange for not ringing his love alarm - like yeah Jo-Jo you are so weird for not liking this super handsome, narcissistic stalker.

He also treats his best friend in such a weird way. Sun-Oh exactly knows that Hye-Yeong has a crush on Jo-Jo but he doesn’t care at all and just annoys him with his questions. He knows that his actions could effect their friendship in a negative way but he still continues to challenge Hye-Yeong.

Start Up [스타트업] // 2020 by Oh Choong-Hwan

I don’t even finished it yet but this Drama is already amazing. I was looking for a good romance drama for a while now and this one is just perfect.

The Story is about Seo Dal-Mi who wants to start a Start-Up to compete her sister. She teams up with her old pen pal friend Nam Do-San, not knowing that her old friend in reality is Han Ji-Pyeong who wrote her letters in the name of Do-San. The relationship of those three people is connected through the Grandmother of Dal-Mi who took care of Ji-Pyeong when he was a highschooler.

It’s a love triangle plot line with inspiring characters packed with some good comedic features and heartwarming stories.

Comment down below who your favorite character is ~

I am a huge fan of historical Dramas. But I believe it is rather hard to find one that fits your watchlist. There are political dramas, romantic comedies and Dramas based on true Stories. Whether you like classic KDrama Plotlines or not so typically Stories I am sure you will find something on this list.

Please keep in mind that this list is only made in my opinion and from what I truly thought about these Dramas. If you have any recommendations for other dramas that fit in this list, please let me now!

*I only included the directors of the Dramas

- The Last Empress [황후의 품격] // 2018 by Joo Dong-Min

A Drama that plays in our period of time but can nonetheless be called a history drama. It displays how a monarchy would function in modern South Korea. The Story is about an unsuccessful and naive musical actress who marries the Emperor of the Korean Empire. Her character seems clumsy and featherbrained but being the main act in this drama her role is bond to change. This series starts of rather light and comedic however it'll change in later episodes as the Plot develops into an investigation storyline.

Main Actresses and Actors: Jang Na-Ra as Oh Sunny // Choi Jin-Hyuk as Na Wang-Sik // Shin Sung-Rok as Emperor Lee Hyuk

- The Tale of Nokdu [조선로코 - 녹두전] // 2019 by Kim Dong-Hwi

This Drama plays in the Joseon Dynasty and tells the story about Nokdu, a young man who wants to find the truth about his birth. On his way he disguises himself as a woman in order to enter a widow village where the answers to his questions lie. Given that this Story is a romantic comedy we also have our female lead character, a young woman living in a Kisaeng house next to the widow village. As the Plot develops, more and more interesting characters are introduced but the storyline lacks cliffhangers and overall interesting turning points. Nonetheless it's a light and fun to watch Drama.

Main Actresses and Actors: Jang Dong-Yoon as Jeon Nok-Du // Kim So-Hyun as Dong Dong-Joo // Kang Tae-Oh as Prince Neungyang

- My Country: The new Age [나의 나라] // 2019 by Kim Jin-Won

This is by far my favorite History Drama. The story revolves around two good friends but their different ranks in society leads them on two different paths. It's a story about a big revolution but it isn't the outcome that is important. This Plot has everything: Epic fighting scenes, an unbreakable friendship, an interesting plot with excellent cliffhangers and unpredictable turning points. All characters are unique and have their own plotlines which makes you even more anticipated to watch. The lead actors are well known figures and fit the two main characters perfectly.

Main Actresses and Actors: Yang Se-Jong as Seo Hwi // Woo Do-Hwan as Nam Sun-Ho // Kim Seol-Hyun as Han Hee-Jae

- Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung [신입사관 구해령] // 2019 by Kang Il-Soo & Han Hyun-Hee

A romantic drama about a rookie historian and an abandoned prince who secretly works as an author of love novels. Although it doesn't start of very interesting the many small plotlines lining to an connected end make it worth to watch till the last episode. Fans of Astro will definitely have a joy watching this cute drama, with Cha Eun-Woo as the main lead and adorable clumsy prince. But also the historical background is rather interesting as we don't see this kind of topic often. After all it's more a romantic comedy than epic story but still entertaining to watch.

Main Actresses and Actress: Cha Eun-Woo as Yi Rim // Shin Se-Kyung as Goo Hae-Ryung // Park Ki-Woong as Prince Yi Jin

- The King: Eternal Monarch [더 킹: 영원의 군자] // 2020 by Baek Sang-Hoon, Jung Ji-Hyun & Yoo Je-Won

Another modern monarchy story taking place in two parallel worlds which gives this drama fantasy vibes. The drama tells the story of detective Jeong Tae-Eul and the Emperor Lee Gon who meet each other under very interesting circumstances. Because this story takes places in different times and worlds it comes across confusing in the beginning but the heartwarming characters and love story make up for this. This drama has beautiful cinematics and interesting plot twists not to mention great actors like Lee Min-Ho and Woo Do-Hwan. In the end it's a classic romantic love Drama and less a historical piece.

Main Actresses and Actress: Lee Min-Ho as Emperor Lee Gon // Kim Go-Eun as Jeong Tae-Eul & Luna // Woo Do-Hwan as Jo Yeong & Jo Eun-Sup

- Hymn of Death [사의 찬미] // 2018 by Park Soo-Jin

Hymne of Death is based on a true story and takes place in 1920, when Korea was under Japanese Occupation. The Drama tells the tragic love story of Soprano Yun Sim-Deok and playwright Kim Woo-Jin. Going as far as calling it the Korean Romeo and Juliet this short Story is full of dramatic plotting and beautiful poetic scenes. The historical part doesn't come to short and shows us Korea in periods of change but also the harsh reality of the Japanese invasion.

Main Actress and Actor: Shin Hye-Sun as Yun Sim-Deok // Lee Jong-Suk as Kim Woo-Jin