Hey everyone!

I am not doing a Taking the World of Words this week as I haven’t been reading much (Curse you Memories of the Alhambra!). I have been in the mood to just fill the void of watching Korean Dramas and I thought I would do a Top Ten Favourite Korean Dramas that I have Loved.

I have been watching Korean Dramas for Seven years. My mum was the one who introduced me to them and I haven’t stopped since then. I can’t remember how many Dramas I have watched but I do have a growing collection of Korean Drama Soundtracks (The Soundtracks are amazing). I have been seeing a lot of Korean Dramas posted on Netflix, there is a good collection of them on there if you are interested in looking.

What do I like about Korean Dramas? I like them because of the amazingly talented actors that I have seen, there are a lot who are incredibly talented and the escapism of the dramas are of a fantasy romantic life. Sure there are a lot of romance in many of the Korean Dramas, I feel that it is one of the reasons that people love it the most but the storylines are fantastic and when your done with one episode they leave off at a very important moment and you have to wait until the next week to find out what happens.

So here are 10 dramas that I love the most. (Know that these are my personal preference, in case you don’t like the ones listed)

The First Shop of Coffee Prince (2007)

This was the first Korean Drama that I watched. This drama follows Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye), she is a poor girl trying to provide for her mother and sister ever since her father died and she has been mistaken of a man because of the way she dresses. She meets Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo), he is the grandson of a coffee business. His grandmother is tired of her grandson not finding a woman, so she schedules dates in order for him to get his act together only to hire Go Eun Chan to pretend to be his gay lover (He believes Go Eun Chan is a man). His grandmother then gives him a coffee shop and tries to get the business to prove that he is capable and opens “Coffee Prince”

This is an excellent drama, this tackles the topic of homosexuality which is a topic that doesn’t explore a lot in dramas. I loved the growing friendship between Go Eun Chan and Choi Han Kyul, the two actors chemistry was lovely to see whether it was happiness, sadness and even frustration. I also liked the supporting cast as well, it gives you the family feels. But also lots and lots of coffee.

Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

It’s been a long time since I have seen this drama, but I still go back to my favourite scenes and watch them over and over again.

This drama follows Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung), he has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) after a traumatic event that happened at a very young age. Cha Do Hyun was able to create six different personalities that can come out whenever Cha Do Hyun wants to hide. He enlists the help of Oh Ri Jin (Hwang Jeoung Eum) who is a first-year psychiatrist, she has a certain connection with one of his personalities that has a strong love for her.

This was a reunion for the two main leads as they had worked previously in the melodrama called Secret (Which you should watch). But I have to give a round of applause to Ji Sung because he had to play seven different characters and even got sick towards the end of the drama because of the different voices he made for each of his characters. My favourite would obviously be Shin Se Gi, the first personality created and his relationship with Oh Ri Jin is hilarious and sad as well when all he wants is the girl.

Also, the soundtrack is amazing.

A Gentleman’s Dignity (2012)

This one is just hilarious, I can’t remember what drew me to the drama but I think it was because it was described as a male version of Sex in the City (Which is nothing like Sex in the City).

This drama follows four men in their forties, who have known each other since high school, as they go through love, success, break-up and failure. Kim Do Jin (Jang Dong Gun) is an architect, he is a confident playboy and falls in love with a woman named Seo Yi Seul (Kim Ha Neul), but Yi-Seul has had a secret crush on Kim Tae San (Kim Su Ro) for three years. While Tae San is in a relationship with Hong Se Ra (Yoon Se Ah) who is roommates with Seo Yi Seul. Choi Yoon (Kim Min Jong) lost his wife five years before the drama starts and avoids Tae San little sister’s Im Me Ah Ri (Yoon Jin Yi) growing crush on him. And Lee Jung Rok (Lee Jong Hyuk) who continuously flirts with women that aren’t his wife.

This is a hilarious drama that follows these four friends, I bet the actors had a lot of fun playing around on set. Also, Yi Seul’s phone looked soo big I remember my mum asking me if you could get it in the UK, I don’t even know what company it was.

Dating Agency Cyrano (2013)

This drama is actually based off a movie called Cyrano Agency. This drama follows a secret dating agency that creates romantic scenarios for clients in an effort to rebuild a theatre.

I watched this drama mainly because of Soo Young (Member of Girls Generation), I didn’t know that she had acted before so this was something that I was excited to see. I really liked the concept of this drama, following a man who ambitiously helps people fall in love with their clients and making feel and look like it is something from a movie. If you don’t know the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, this drama and the movie is based on that play.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

I don’t really watch a lot of Historical Korean dramas, mostly it is because I am not familiar with Korean History.

This drama follows Go Ha Jin (Lee Ji Eun or IU) while during a solar eclipse, she is transported back to Goryeo Dynasty and wakes up in the body of Hae Soo. This drama follows her intertwining with the Wang family, how she adjusts to this life not knowing when she is going to return to the present.

I really liked the story of this drama, it’s actually an adaption from a Chinese book that China also did a drama as well. Ji Eun really excels in this role, before she has done the cutesy roles nothing to the dramatic extreme, she really was impressive in this role. While it does follow Hae Soo and the Wang brothers, it really shows that you can never rely on your family. My favourite character would have to be Woo Hee (Seohyun from Girls Generation), her character development with Baek Ah (Nam Joo Hyuk) the 13th Prince was enjoyable to watch and I looked forward to seeing their scenes together.

Entertainer (2016)

Another drama with Ji Sung in.

This drama follows Shin Suk Ho (Ji Sung), he is a successful manager at a Kpop Entertainment Company. He has had a desire to open his own company and receives backlash which results in him going to prison. After being released from prison, one day he overhears a very talented High School Student, Jo Ha Neul (Kang Min Hyuk from CNBlue) and wants to turn him into a star. But Ha Neul has a troubling life after being accused of sexually assaulting his friend. They then form a band called Entertainer Band with Ha Neul’s big sister Jung Geu Rin (Lee Hyori from Girls Day).

I really enjoyed watching this drama, the soundtrack is fantastic and the dynamic with the bandmates and Shin Suk Ho are enjoyable to watch. I really recommend it because it’s nothing like a typical music comedy-drama there are some serious storylines for each of the characters and Kang Min Hyuk really surprised me in this role, he did a brilliant job.

Come Back Mister (2016)

If you want a laugh out load drama, then this one is perfect for you.

This drama follows two men who are on the train to the afterlife. While they are on the train to Heaven one of the men, Kim Young Soo (Kim In Kwon) decides that he wants to get off the train and officially say goodbye to his family, the other man Han Gi Tak (Kim Su Roo) follows along with him. They were given two months and return in new bodies Kim Young Soo as Lee Hae Joon (Rain) and Han Gi Tak as Han Hong Nan (Oh Yeon Seo), a woman as I should mention. They are given three rules that they must abide, if they don’t they will be erased from everyone they know. 1. They cannot reveal their identities. 2. Revenge is forbidden. 3. They cannot engage in human affairs.

This is a hilarious drama, Rain and Oh Yeon Seo have brilliant chemistry together even though there was no romantic relationship between the two of them, they were just so much fun to watch. Yeon Seo must have had a lot of fun while playing a man inside a woman’s body. Yeon Seo even had brilliant chemistry with Le Ha Nui who played Han Gi Tak’s love interest, Song Yi Yeon. This drama does tug your heartstrings a bit.

Goblin (2016 – 2017)

Oh my god, the memories. When you decide to watch this drama, make sure you have a box of tissues because you will not stop crying over this drama😭😭😭.

So, this drama follows a man named Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), he is a Goblin and protector of souls. He was killed by his King in the Goryeo era and was granted a second life. But in order for him to carry on into the afterlife, he has to find his bride who can pull the sword out of his chest. Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) has grown up being able to see ghosts, her mother almost died in an accident when she was saved by Kim Shin while being pregnant with Eun Tak. She has grown up with her Auntie and cousins who are more greedy in money than they are for caring about her. Eun Tak is able to summon Kim Shin by blowing on a candle, they get to know each other and soon start to fall in love.

I remember getting very excited about this drama, mostly because it had been a long time since I had seen Gong Yoo in a drama. And I remember Kim Go Eun from seeing Cheese in the Trap at the beginning of 2016 and loving the drama so much. This drama became a huge hit and it is absolutely amazing. The casting was perfect, the storyline was beautiful and emotional, and it was a drama that exceeded many people expectations. I loved the relationship between the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong Wook) and Kim Shin you should watch the special episodes afterwards and see the number of adlibs these two boys made was hilarious, I would love to see them work together again.

38 Task Force (2016)

This drama follows a Tax Collector Baek Sung Il (Ma Dong Seok) who is sick and tired of rich people trying to avoid taxes and teams up with a professional swindler Yang Jeong Do (Seo In Guk) to help each other steal money to help those who need it more.

This was a great ensemble cast and I really like dramas that involve a collection of characters and not just the standard of four main actors, as most dramas do follow a similar formula. But also, while there is a romantic connection between Seo In Guk’s character and Soo Young’s, the drama mainly focuses on the convicts and the main storyline. While the relationship between Baek Sung Il and Yang Jeong Do really steal the show with their hilarious friendship.

Memories of the Alhambra (2018 – 2019)

I had to…I just had to. I want to talk about this drama so bad.

If you haven’t seen my book review of Runemarks, I gave a brief synopsis of the drama over there but I will do the same thing here.

This drama follows Yoo Jin Woo (Hyun Bin), who receives an email about an AR game on medieval battles on the streets of Granada, Spain. He goes to Granada to meet a young man who created the game, Jung Se Joo (Park Chanyeol from EXO), only to discover that he has gone missing. Jin Woo meets Se Joo’s older sister, Jung Hee Joo (Park Shin Hye) and soon they are both entangled between the game and reality. This is a huge genre-bending drama with suspense, fantasy, romance and even comedy.

I love this drama, I think it is so imaginative and completely new to the scope of television. No other TV show has done this concept before. This is also coming from the woman who made W Two Worlds about two years ago and that was fantastic. The special effects are completely incredible, whoever designed it should get an award. While I will have to admit the drama was unable to fill in any of the plot holes, they did a fantastic job of making this drama very unique. This drama is on Netflix, I highly recommend you to watch it. I mean who can not deny the beautiful dimples from Hyun Bin, no one can.

And that concludes this list. I hope you got to the end alright. When I was writing down this list I had no idea I would pick dramas that came out 2016, there are at least five dramas that came out that year. Wow, 2016 must have been a good year.

I wouldn’t mind doing another one if anyone is interested, I had a lot of fun writing it.

Enjoy your week and see you next week 😉