Get Excited About: All Things Kdrama
South Korea's TV industry is globally recognized for its masterful, addictive storytelling, punching way above its weight.
I did not come early to kdramas, but my friend Becca did. I’ve been watching her watch and review Korean TV for years — since 2009, it turns out. “That was the year after I graduated college,” she told me. “I was living alone and no longer had homework and was feeling Disillusioned by US Television after the debacles of Heroes & Lost &cetera. Suddenly, I started seeing these write-ups of shows that looked charming and, crucially, had endings instead of dragging on for disappointing season after season.”
At the time, titles like Capital Scandal and Sungkyunkwan Scandal were just something I filed under “stuff my rad friend enjoys.” Then came 2020: amid lockdown and my newfound fervor for cdramas, I found myself paying for Viki, the streaming service that bundles shows and movies from all over East and Southeast Asia.
I’ve heard good things about kdramas, I thought one night that fall. Let’s see what all the fuss is about.
You’ve got lots of options when it comes to Korean shows, many of them hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedies. I went with Tale of the Nine-Tailed first, which is a ruthless, glorious bit of dark urban fantasy, the likes of which Neil Gaiman wishes he could spin. It stars Lee Dong-wook, a man so beautiful that I don’t know how to process his face sometimes, as a nine-tailed fox searching for his reincarnated first love (the marvelously creepy-fierce Jo Bo-ah), who has grown up to become Fox Mulder.1 Color me enthralled!
Now everybody knows about Korean soft power: Squid Game, BTS, Parasite, skincare. Netflix has poured approximately a zillion dollars into the Korean TV industry. Foodies can’t get enough kimchi and gochujang. And frankly, if any improv team decides to offer an improvised kdrama, in the vein of takes on Shakespeare, the Real Housewives and space operas, I’d travel to see it.
Annyeonghaseyo!
Here’s my pitch for kdramas to someone who’s never seen one: the most beautiful, charismatic people you’ve ever seen have clawing-your-face–amazing chemistry set against the most bonkers plot you can conjure, and they just treat it seriously and go from there. A few real kdrama throughlines, for your consideration:
Local veterinarian becomes telepathic by touching butts, both animal and human (Behind Your Touch)
One of these three idiots cramming for the state exam is actually the rightful king (Secret Romantic Guesthouse)
Slave boy flees the Kingdom of Joseon in 1870, returns as a major in the U.S. Marines at Teddy Roosevelt’s urging (Mr. Sunshine)
Street-fighting beauty falls for harried, hangdog burnout while they both toil at a 24-hour corner store (Backstreet Rookie)
Heiress accidentally paraglides over the DMZ, falls in love with hunky, principled North Korean army captain (Crash Landing on You)
Newbies may look askance, but I guarantee you at least one of your friends is screaming over your shoulder, “Did you know they got married in real life?”
Compared to Chinese dramas, Korean shows may seem more familiar to Anglophone audiences. The camera work tends to be more dynamic, for instance, and the production values are generally higher. The stories are also much more condensed — while a cdrama can be anywhere from 24 to 60 episodes, averaging around 40, a kdrama is much more likely to be 16, 12 or eight episodes. That said, kdramas can also be an endurance sport. Those episodes are usually an hour or more; sometimes it’s helpful to think of them as serial short movies, if you find yourself flagging.
The Korean film and TV industry also doesn’t face the same official censorship constraints as their Chinese counterparts. Shows can be a lot darker, a lot more suggestive and a lot more socially or politically combative. Despite that, you’re not going to see many kdramas endorsing, say, drug use, or otherwise get super edgy. (Although kdramas do love a series that’s all Very Special Episodes. Shows about mental health, bullying, suicide prevention, single motherhood, class, life-ruining scams, body image and other big issues often don’t suffer from the conceit, which is a credit to the writing.) Structurally, lots of kdramas are conservative in the ways Western media usually is — again, every main character is beautiful in much the same way; the family and upholding it take precedence over nearly everything else; individuals in the state may be corrupt, but the institutions matter and patriotism usually triumphs.
The real problems, actually
If we actually want to get down into the weeds (and who doesn’t?), right now, kdramas are buckling under their own success. Netflix has brought Korean TV into the home of every subscriber the world over, which only makes the company voracious for more Content. This might not be such an issue if Netflix weren’t trying to get away with it on the cheap.
During the strikes in Hollywood last summer, South Korean industry professionals tried to leverage global audience demand into better pay and conditions for their peers. Netflix productions take longer and are more expensive than regular shows, which messes up the availability of everyone from stars to extras to writers to crew to work on and earn a living from other projects. It doesn’t seem like Netflix is playing ball: in 2023, the number of scripted shows in South Korea actually contracted by 7.4 percent, as ad revenue tanked and competing fees ate into broadcaster profits.
Okay, but what to watch?
I have so much to say about so many other aspects of kdramas (and I will), but let’s get down to business: you want to start your journey now. Despite my shit-talking Netflix, you can stream all of these but the last one on your account. If you like…
Plucky journalists: Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
She’s a strong-willed, free-sprited noblewoman who’s deeply curious about modern science and the outside world. He’s a secondary prince who’s officially confined to the palace but secretly writes the capital’s most sought-after bodice-rippers. It turns out they can help each other! Once they stop hating each other, of course. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung is not about journalism per se, but it does center the first cohort of official court historians who are women. In the process of fighting to literally keep the record straight, amid censorship, repression, nativism and gender inequality, our heroines (and heroes, let’s give it to them too) see their world expand in shocking and life-saving ways.
For an idea of how real-life historians recorded the royal day-to-day, enjoy this account from 1404 capturing the day the king fell off his horse and asked the historian not to write that down.
Small-town gothic noir: Beyond Evil
We all love a good murder mystery, but our shows rarely stick around to see how a murder can absolutely destroy a community for years after. Enter Beyond Evil, which could teach the Southern Gothic genre a thing or two about extremely messed-up characters just doing The Most at every possible turn. Lee Dong-sik was accused of killing his twin sister when they were teenagers, but there was never enough evidence to really nail him down. Now he’s a demoted detective in his hometown, trying on his own to solve his case. He’s not the only one: Seoul big-shot Han Ju-won has wrangled an assignment in this rural small town, just to bring Lee Dong-sik to justice once and for all.
Do they become partners? Of course they do! The dark heart of Manyang is full of corruption, and the path to the real villains is full of twists, turns, false starts and endless moments that make you sit up and scream What?!!!!
Career switchers made good: Touch Your Heart
Kdramas are hyperaware of how fan culture and entertainment media chew up Korea’s idols. To be falsely accused or even perceived in the public opinion can mean social death on a whole other level. Oh Yoon-seo was never a good actress, but a drug scandal put a stop to any hope of furthering her career, despite her innocence in the whole affair. Now she’s got an opportunity for a comeback, but the writer of this new drama isn’t convinced she’s a fit for the lead role. Thus we get the story engine: Oh Yoon-seo will work at a law firm for three months in order to prove that she can convincingly play a lawyer. She’s secretly placed as a legal secretary for one firm’s star attorney: the dour, overly literal (but shockingly handsome) Kwon Jung-rok.
Touch Your Heart draws obvious Legally Blonde comparisons; it’s not a groundbreaking story, but watching our leads fall in love and become secure in their own worth is deeply satisfying. The show also benefits from a fantastic supporting ensemble, and if you’ve seen Goblin (keep reading), the whole thing works on a delightful meta level.2
World-hopping doppelgängers: The King: Eternal Monarch
Did you like Fringe? Me too; such a shame it ended after Season 3. The King: Eternal Monarch owes a lot to my favorite flawed sci-fi show. We start in a parallel universe with Lee Gon, the charismatic polymath ruler of the unified Kingdom of Corea. His uncle murdered his father in a failed coup, then vanished without a trace. As Lee Gon searches for the person who saved him on that terrible night, he finds himself in a strange new world — ours, at the mercy of Jeong Tae-eul, a no-nonsense detective who has no time for his charm or his ramblings. Of course, Lee Gon’s power-hungry uncle has been biding his time in the Republic of Korea, and it’s only a matter of time before he figures out how to come home.
I love identity problems as the core of a story. The way this show navigates the problem of alternate selves is stunning, both in plot and execution. Woo Do-hwan as the upright Unbreakable Sword Jo Yeong and the hilariously carefree Jo Eun-seop is a particular standout.
Weirdest ego death: Ghost Doctor
Hospital dramas! We can’t get enough of them and the egos that inevitably clash. Cha Young-min exemplifies the star doctor: arrogant, brilliant, insufferable — and totally disdainful of the equally brilliant resident Go Seung-tak, who has perfect theoretical knowledge but chokes when putting it into practice. Unfortunately, events propel Dr. Cha out of his own body, becoming one of many “coma ghosts” that have always inhabited his hospital. What’s worse: only Go Seung-tak can see and hear him.
Did you ever see the 1993 Robert Downey Jr. vehicle Heart and Souls? I think it prepared me from a young age to love a possession comedy. Yet again, a fantastic cast (including Tale of the Nine-Tailed standout Kim Beom and multi-hyphenate performer Rain, who you’ve seen in Western movies) makes what could be a cringey gimmick into a beautiful look at what makes us stick around.
Gender anarchy: The King’s Affection
When I recommend this series, I warn people first that it is emotional terrorism. The King’s Affection will feature the world’s most charming bisexual coming through a brief crisis with his heart on his sleeve one minute and then absolutely devastate you with child murder or old friends-as-sworn enemies the next. At the heart of it all is Lee Hwi, the girl of a pair of fraternal twins (unlucky, forbidden to the royal family) who was supposed to be disposed of at birth. When she is forced to conceal her identity and replace the crown prince, she shields herself by terrorizing the whole palace. Enter Jung Ji-woon, an idealist who provides medical care to commoners — and who is forced to become (and remain) the crown prince’s personal tutor.
I’ve got a lot to say about Rowoon, the 6'4" boy band leader who is one of the most interesting young actors on the kdrama scene; watch this space. Park Eun-bin, who you might know from the megahit Extraordinary Attorney Woo, stuns as the laundry girl turned king, an absolute tour de force.
Genre-savvy romcom perfection: Business Proposal
Let’s say you’re a researcher at Korea’s biggest frozen food corporation. Let’s also say you’ve helped out your wealthy best friend, who doesn’t believe in arranged marriage, wriggle out of blind dates by pretending to be her — and absolutely deranged. Let’s finally say that you agree to help her one last time… and the blind date is your brand-new CEO, a brilliant workaholic whose delightful grandfather will ruin his life if he doesn’t get married.
I’ve watched Business Proposal like four times. It is sheer greatness. It plays with genre conventions with absolute confidence, and both the leads and the secondary couple are flawlessly hilarious, heartfelt and worth cheering for. The show is also only 12 episodes, so if you’re looking for an introductory kdrama of all of these, this might be your one.
Even more gender anarchy: Mr. Queen
It’s a lovely morning in the palace, and you are a horrible goose. Fuckboy celebrity chef Jang Bong-hwan wakes up in the body of 19th-century Queen Cheorin, who was, in real life, the consort to one of Joseon’s absolute worst, weakest rulers. The royal family is a hive of backstabbing, plotting, power plays and villainy, but all Bong-hwan wants is to get back to the modern era and not have to sleep with King Cheoljong. There are no easy answers, though — not until Bong-hwan/Kim So-yong begins to confront and understand more about the nature of bodies, love and identity.
I am obsessed with this show. I am convinced that Shin Hye-sun, who plays the titular role, is the only person who could nail my vibe in a biopic (and yes, I know it Doesn’t Make Sense). Her comedy, raunchiness, self-discovery and vulnerability are a masterclass in performance. Kim Jung-hyun (Cheoljong) is a heavyweight comedian with serious action and drama chops, as we also saw in Crash Landing on You. The whole cast is perfection, and lucky for us, they’ve stuck together through ensuing projects (Kokdu: Season of Deity, See You in My 19th Life).
Finally, in the interest of highlighting awesome theme songs, the closing credit track is a total banger.
I can’t talk about it yet: Goblin
This is it, the show that fully rewired my brain. If you don’t like Goblin, I can’t talk with you about it, even though I recognize its many flaws. It’s the most emotionally gorgeous show I’ve ever seen, and yes: it’s about a 900-year-old immortal who wants to die, and a grim reaper with no memory of his past life, and a luminous high school senior who can see ghosts, and a glamorous fried chicken shop owner. It’s about enemies to roommates to soulmates. It’s about how to appreciate the love you’ve been given from people who are gone. Here, listen to the opening track for an hour. I’ll have more to say on this one too. ✶
Important boilerplate for the people
Thanks for reading Excited Mark! I’d love to hear from you about this essay and this project overall. If you’d like to support my work, please share, toss a few bucks at my Ko-Fi or become a paid subscriber. I’m also available for hire as a fact-checker, editor and journalist — visit my RealName.com for clips, services and more. Most appreciated!
I’m just now realizing the irony! Oh, kdramas. <3
Yes, the two leads are Reaper and Sunny. Yes, Lawyer Dan is the Virgin Ghost. Yes, if you know the ending of Goblin, something about this Really Works.
Woot! Thank you for this, I want to dive into KDramas but was like so much choice, and this helps me pick out things relevant to my intrests!