So if you've finally decided to give K-dramas a try. But with thousands of titles out there, knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. Don't worry. These five dramas will ease you in, wreck your emotions, and have you scheduling your entire weekend around a screen.
My Demon
My Demon is the kind of show you put on thinking you'll just watch one episode to see if it's for you — and then suddenly it's 3 AM and you're five episodes deep and completely unashamed about it. The story kicks off with a setup that's already fun on paper. A powerful, practical woman who runs a business and an ancient demon who has accumulated thousands of human souls for millennia find themselves in an unexpected arranged marriage when his magical abilities are taken from him.
This show may seem intimidating at first, but it does an awesome job of capturing the humour & the love that will develop amongst the characters throughout this story line as well as elicit an emotional investment in these characters without being too preachy. The chemistry between both lead characters is so obviously organic that it makes each shared moment together pure enjoyment.
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
Everyone tells you Goblin is good. What they don't tell you — or maybe they do and you just don't believe them — is that it's the kind of good that does something to you. Not just entertains you. Actually does something to you. As if they were remembering something that they were still processing.
The plot centers around a goblin who has lived for almost one thousand years due to a curse where he cannot die until his destined bride removes a sword from his heart. When he finally meets her — a teenage girl who can see ghosts and has been carrying more loss than anyone her age should — what unfolds is one of the most genuinely beautiful stories you'll watch in this genre. Or honestly, in any genre.
It's Okay To Not Be Okay
The show, "It's Okay to not Be Okay“, is not somethig you can watch and forget about. Rather, it is an emotionally impactful show that brings forth deep feelings of empathy within its viewers, whether you remember certain scenes or quotes from the show. You will always have those feelings etched into every part of your body, or at least in mind or heart.
The show revolves around a successful author of children's books who has lived through the traumatic loss of his mother and the family surrounding the author. You have the author, who is cold, emotionally shut off from the world, and is a difficult person to interact with, while at the same time the show also follows a warm, quietly exhausted caregiver at a psychiatric hospital, who has put his own selfishness aside in order to take care of his mentally disabled brother for his entire adult life.
Crash Landing on You
This is the tv series that people bring up to help explain K Dramas to those that have never seen one before due to how much it has appealed to virtually all viewers regardless of whether they watch dramas or do not; even those that have said they will NEVER watch anything with sub-titles. It is a hit with just about every category.
In case you don't know, the premise is as follows: A South (Korea) female heir paraglides backwards into North Korea after being blown around in a storm. After that, she meets a North Korean military officer who has no idea what he will do with her. After a couple of episodes you stop thinking about how ridiculous the setup is and start just becoming a part of the story - that's how good the production of this show is.
Business Proposal
Not everything on this list has to be emotionally heavy, and Business Proposal is proof that a K-drama can be completely lighthearted and still be completely addictive. The premise is already set up for comedy from the jump.
A young woman agrees to go on a blind date in place of her friend with the plan of acting so badly that the guy will never want a second date. The problem is that the man sitting across from her turns out to be her own CEO — who then, for his own reasons involving family pressure about marriage, proposes that they fake a relationship.