My Top Ten Kdrama Recommendations

Over the past few weeks, I have been receiving messages asking me for kdrama recs based on how into it I seem at the moment. So, here are the top ten dramas that came to my head when I sat down to write. They are in no particular order and I am sure I am missing a lot of the fan favorites.

Because This Is My First Life: The first kdrama that stuck in my head for weeks after because of how intellectual it was. I loved the writing, the leads, the slow burn and the setting of it all.

Romance Is A Bonus Book: A drama that will go down in my books for its gorgeous writing, use of tropes and metaphors. Loved everything about it.

Twenty Five Twenty One: This one has it all if like me you love sepia tinted photos. This show packs a punch when it comes to melodrama. The coming of age story, the unbridled passion the leads bring and a commentary on love and relationships that run out of time all make for compulsive viewing. The acting is spectacular as is the writing.

Search WWW: I loved this one for the solid women relationships it explores. This is a social commentary on how internet algorithms dictate what we consume and why. Again, great acting and well written.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung: This was my first brush with genre of historical dramas and it packed a punch. Solid casting, great story and a brilliant commentary on who writes History as we know it. What is the relationship between perpetrator and the observer. What is neutrality? A timeless exploration of themes that are so relevant today.

Record Of Youth: A delightful coming of age story featuring good actors and solid writing. I loved how this show explores family dynamics lingering long enough on trivial everyday interactions that drive home a bigger point.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: This show features an autistic lawyer and how she navigates the world of being a functional adult. The casting, acting and story all lingered with me long after I was done watching the show.

Our Beloved Summer: This is magic on celluloid. Poetry on screen as it explores love that is seeded as young adults growing to fruition as adults. I loved the story, the camera, the production values and the music.

Business Proposal: Absolute fluff. The kind I will rewatch when I need a dopamine hit. This show defines rom-coms for me.

Descendants Of The Sun: Most people start their kdrama odyssey with Crash Landing On You. Descendants is on the same vein but fast paced and featuring a great cast. I loved all the secondary characters and their stories. I loved the pacing of this show.

So, tell me about the shows that you liked.

Since I made this list, I have reviewed more shows in full: What Comes After Love, Lovely Runner, Crash Course in Romance, The Red Sleeve, Under the Queen’s Umbrella, Love Scout, Piece of Your Mind, My Lovely Sam Soon, Eighteen Again, Mr. Queen, The Trunk, Alchemy of Souls, and Mr. Plankton.

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