Let me ask you a question. Has your ‘Netflix and chill’ time been restricted to English and Hindi movies/ shows? If your answer to this was along the lines of ‘umm, I guess’, I’m here to welcome you to a whole new world of TV shows – the world of K-Dramas. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, the ‘K’ stands for ‘Korean’. Korean TV shows and movies are somewhat of a worldwide sensation, just like K-pop was a few years back.
You watch one, and you’re hooked for life: a confession I sincerely make as a Korean TV show addict. It’s been 2 months and I’m currently on my 8th show. Considering I work full time and drive myself to and from work every single day, 60 days is not a lot of time. However, a little detail I left out – you don’t have to wait a year for the next season to come out. Yaaas, almost ALL Korean TV shows are only 1 season, with each episode almost as long as a Hollywood movie: 1 hr 10 min.
What is so addictive about these shows, you wonder? I honestly don’t know if I can narrow it down to just one thing. But what I do know is that all the shows I’ve watched up till now have a certain ‘masala’ mix to their credit. This mix consists of, not necessarily in equal parts, the following:
Now, if that doesn’t have you on the edge of your seat, I don’t know what will. I’ve got something to get you started, though. Scroll on to find a list of 20 Korean addictive online TV shows that will change the meaning of ‘binge-watch’ for you (even if it is in subtitles – haha).
1. My Love From Another Star
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GHDAsG6yhus
Do Min-Joon is an alien who came to Earth on a mission 400 years ago, but his homies left without him. Oops! He lives life on planet Earth distancing himself from humans, keeping his identity secret. That is until he meets Chun Song-Yi, a famous actress and somewhat of an airhead.
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
2. The Heirs (2013)
Kim Tan, the heir to a huge Korean conglomerate, is exiled to the U.S., where he bumps into a helpless Cha Eun-Sang. A few days later, he comes to back to Korea, he finds out that Cha Eun-Sang is actually the daughter of the house help. What now?
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
3. The Legend Of The Blue Sea (2017)
This is the story of a beautiful mermaid- yes, a mermaid – and a gorgeous conman who’re in love. It’s not as simple as that, though. If you’re a fan of fantasy and the idea of reincarnation, this one is right up your alley. This K-drama will surprise you with how funny AND fashionable it is, trust me. Definitely a must-watch!
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
4. Hello, My Twenties/ Age Of Youth (2016)
Not your typical K-drama series, this show is about the relatable but hilarious journey that is your twenties. The goings on in Belle Epoch, a house which 5 college girls from different walks of life share, will make you cry, swoon and crack up laughing like never before.
Watch it Online on Netflix
5. Descendants Of The Sun (2016)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZBGgNOmIYsQ
What happens when an extraordinarily good-looking Special Forces officer (uniforms *swoon*) falls in love with a doctor? Of course, there’s something hating on their romance. Guess what? Their own respective professions. Oh, and war.
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
6. The 1st Shop Of Coffee Prince (2007)
Reminds me of ‘She’s The Man’, this show. A tomboy, mistaken for a lad, maintains the deception for the sake of employment at a coffee shop. The situation becomes complicated when her male boss begins to develop feelings for this “boy.”
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
7. Something In The Rain (2018)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=P4DyYz4ZPNY
A feel-good romance, this one’s about an unconventional romance. Yoo Jin-Ah gets dumped by her boyfriend because he doesn’t feel like she excites him anymore. Then she bumps into her BFF’s younger brother who’d been in the U.S for 3 years and has always had a thing for her. Having known him as an annoying kid earlier, she now starts seeing him differently… Will she take a chance or play it safe?
Watch it Online on Netflix
8. My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho (2010)
Chae Dae Wong, an aspiring actor, unwillingly releases a Gumiho, a legendary nine-tailed fox, from her centuries-old prison. He runs away terrified and ends up injuring himself badly, but she saves his life and asks to stay by his side. Will things get foxy? I think so *wink*.
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
9. It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014)
This rom-com is a refreshing K-drama that sheds a spotlight on mental health. A novelist and a psychiatrist clash with each other on a talk show but end up becoming roommates soon after. I wonder what happens next… *claps hands*
Watch it Online on Netflix
10. Pinocchio (2014)
This show is the kind that you need to watch with a big bucket of buttered popcorn, it’s that engrossing. It’s about a young boy whose family is destroyed by the doings of a journalist. He grows up and becomes one himself, alongside the girl he loves (whose mother is the journalist who destroyed the man’s family) to avenge his family.
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
11. Personal Taste (2010)
Thank me later for this one, guys. This TV show revolves around a passionate aspiring architect who moves into a furniture designer’s house pretending to be gay. But he ends up falling in love with her!
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
12. Reply 1994 (2013)
If you love coming-of-age dramas, this K-drama will have you hooked. This TV show is about a bunch of young adults who live in a boarding house in 90’s Seoul. The plot revolves around the passion and vigour of being a young adult – the challenges of moving to a new environment; of getting along with each other and growing up.
Watch it Online on Netflix
13. Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2016)
This melancholic K-drama is not your everyday soap. The story of a goblin, the grim reaper and their respective romances with humans. Although it sounds disturbing, it’s not. With a beautiful script, brilliant actors and some incredible cinematography, it’s no wonder this TV show has record-breaking viewership.
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
14. City Hunter (2011)
Romance, action, serious eye candy… The Koreans stick to a format, but they make each show different and more interesting from the other. One of the most popular TV shows (thanks to forever crush Lee Min Ho *heart eyes*), it’s about how a man’s father’s best friend trains him to take revenge on the government for killing his father.
Watch it Online on MyAsianTV
15. Strong Girl Bong-Soon (2017)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xKkpYhF2r5M
At first glance, Bong-Soon is a regular young woman. She has a dream of a career in gaming but is hopelessly unemployed and pining after her childhood crush. But the girl has a family secret… super strength. She’s hired by a gaming company’s CEO as his bodyguard and becomes his love interest. Watch it for the comical fighting scenes, please!
Watch it Online on Netflix
16. You’re Beautiful (2009)
Imagine this –a girl named has to pretend to be her twin brother who’s in a popular boy band. Why? He needs time to recover from a botched eye surgery, of course. The girl is the image of innocence, so the whole thing is a hilarious challenge for her. A lot of cliches, but perfectly executed.
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
17. Oh My Ghost (2015)
A timid woman with zero self-confidence has a crush on a famous but conceited chef who doesn’t know she exists. But then, gets possessed by the ghost of a lustful virgin (I know, right?!) and starts acting differently – which the chef notices, and now he can’t get her off his mind. You will love this show, and you already know it, doncha?
Watch it Online on Netflix
18. Healer (2014)
A mainstream media reporter, Kim Moon Hoon, teams up with an unknown internet journalist (Healer) and a woman who’s a tabloid reporter to uncover a long forgotten 10-year-old mystery. Drag this TV show onto your watch-list ‘coz it’s as exciting as it sounds.
Watch it Online on WatchAsian
19. One More Time (2016)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=X-gTowvw3e8
Another fantasy Korean drama! The Koreans really love their supernatural shows, don’t they? This drama follows an indie band singer who repeatedly undergoes unwanted time slips and the girlfriend he must save from an unlucky fate.
Watch it Online on Netflix
20. Secret Garden (2010)
Love fantasy-romance shows? Get this: An arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and a poor and humble stunts-woman (whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses) have an accidental first meeting. An intense bickering relationship forms, but eventually they start developing feelings for each other (duh). Predictable but in the best way possible!
