Call them silly or stupid or whatever, Korean dramas are entertaining and engaging. If you have already seen ‘Boys Over Flowers’ or ‘My ID is Gangnam Beauty’, here are some more popular Korean dramas to fill up your time as you while away in isolation.
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim
Vice chairman of a major corporation, Lee Young-joon’s life takes a major turn when his highly capable secretary, Kim Mi-so, hands him her resignation after having worked for him for nine years. Kim practically runs not just his office calendar, but also makes sure her boss has his home in order too. Being a narcissist that he is, and in order to not let his secretary go, Lee proposes marriage to Kim. And life actually changes for both when they really fall for each other. Things take a turn when Lee’s brother comes home and things from their childhood are brought to the fore. Funny, cute and lovely with an able supporting cast, Lee and Kim’s story will be irresistible till the end.
Something in the Rain
The story revolves around still single 30-something Jin-ah and Joon-hee (who is in his mid-20s). Jin-ah works as a district manager for a major coffee/cafe chain, while Joon-hee works as an animator for a company which makes video games. After having worked abroad for three years, Joon-he returns home and reconnects with Jim-ah who is his older sister’s childhood friend. Their daily meets soon turns their relationship into ‘more than friendship’. But there’s a catch: An older woman can’t date a younger man. It’s still considered a taboo in many societies. Their struggle to come to terms with their feelings for each other and making their relationship formal forms the crux of the story. Though funny in parts, this one’s not a frivolous as some other K-dramas about love and relationships. With less characters and cast, it becomes easier to keep a tab of sub plots and secondary characters. The series also gives a peek of casual sexism and sexual harassment that’s rampant in (and is an open secret) in several South Korean companies. It is this that makes it almost impossible for women to climb up the corporate ladder. This is shown through Jin-ah and her female colleague’s encounters with their boss.
Romance is a Bonus Book
Cha Eun-ho and Kang Dan-I have been friends ever since Kang saved Cha from an accident when they kids. In the present world, Cha is a bestselling author and the youngest editor at a publishing house, Kang (now divorced) used to be copy writer at an advertising firm but had to give up her successful career when she falls
Pregnant. Wanting to get back on her feet, but being unable to find a job, she lies about her background and starts working under Cha and when he finds about her situation, he gets more entangled in her life. Navigating through professional and personal hurdles while accepting the ever-increasing feelings for each other, Cha and Kang’s story becomes a book worth publishing.
Crash Landing on You
A paragliding mishap lands South Korean heiress, Yoon Se-ri in the DMZ forest in North Korea, which is a forbidden land for South Koreans. There she meets (rather falls on him from the tree her parachute was stuck in) an army officer Ri Jeong-hyuk. After listening to her story, Jeong-hyuk agrees to give her shelter at his place and also devices a secret plan to take her back to South Korea. Meanwhile, back in South Korea, Yoon’s family has managed to supress the news of their missing daughter for the fear of losing their stock prices and also because her father doesn’t want his two sons to find about her—before Yoon goes missing, their father had planned of handing over his inheritance to her and not her brothers, something that the brothers hadn’t expected and don’t accept. When one brother finds out she is in North Korea, he send assassins after her. As Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyuk try to make their way to South Korea while escaping several attempts on their lives, cupid strikes and the two fall in love. The chemistry between the lead pair (even as you drool over the hot Jeong-hyuk) and their acting are impeccable.
The K2
Kim Je-ha (also known as K2), a mercenary soldier serving in Iraq, is framed for the murder of his girlfriend. Having no way to prove his innocence, he is forced to run away and become a fugitive. He somehow manages to escape to South Korea and soon gets a job as a bodyguard by Choi Yoo-jin who happens to be the owner of JSS Security, whose husband, Jang Se-joon is running for the Presidency. This job comes as an opportunity in disguise for K2, who actually is planning to take down another Presidential candidate, Park Kwan-so, who had actually ordered the murder of his girlfriend. But the job soon turns into a challenge when K2 is sent to protect Jang Se-joon’s illegitimate daughter Go An-na, with whome he soon falls in love. K2’s loyalty is tested when he comes across the person who actually wants An-na murdered. Murder, suspense and romance—this series has it all!
