Due to the diverse selection of Korean dramas that are available in the U.S. and their rising popularity, K-drama fans find uplifting series and share their favorite recommendations.
Senior Anita Josiah is drawn to K-dramas because she loves discovering more about the Korean language, foods and style through them. Two of her favorite K-dramas, which involve action, romance and comedy, are “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” and “Rugal.”
While watching K-dramas, sophomore Selia Grimes looks forward to the “overall drama” and the cliches that are in each one.
“I hate drama in real life, but I live for the drama in the shows,” Grimes said.
According to Grimes, these aspects are what make K-dramas fun and “addicting” to watch.
Some of Grimes’ favorite K-dramas are “True Beauty,” “All of Us are Dead,” and “20th-Century Girl” because of the “suspense, mystery, action and thrill” that they offer.
“I live for the cliches, everything’s dramaticized a bit. Even if it’s just simple words or simple actions,” Grimes said.
Penn State freshman Caia Vega started watching K-dramas around 2020 when she wanted to find something new to watch during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Vega’s favorite K-drama at the moment is “Queen of Tears.” She enjoys that many dramas are “bright and light” and bring up her mood.
“The romances have such cute moments, it’s so wholesome,” Vega said.
Grimes thinks that over the last few years, K-dramas have become more popular partially because Korean pop (K-Pop) has been getting more popular.
“I feel like they kind of go hand in hand sometimes because obviously some actors are singers as well,” Grimes said.
Senior Zoe Tobias, who has been a K-drama fan for five years now, began watching them to support a K-pop idol from her favorite group, SHINee.
“I started watching them because of Choi Minho and he’s in my ult group,” Tobias said.
According to sophomore Azalea Gonzales, who has been a K-drama fan for about three years, K-dramas have “many diverse categories” to watch so “anyone” can watch them.
Though she loves the various genres, Gonzales mainly sticks to romance dramas. Two of her favorites are “Goblin” and “Secret Garden. ” The reason that “Secret Garden” is her favorite is because of the elements of mystery, magic and comedy within it, as well as its “perfect” ending.
Gonzales would also describe “Goblin” as a perfect drama.
“It’s a beautiful storyline. Also, the filming in it is perfect. It has perfect views, perfect soundtracks. Everything to that show, to ‘Goblin,’ is beautiful,” Gonzales said.
For people who haven’t watched K-dramas before, Tobias recommends that they watch “Business Proposal.”
For people that do watch dramas, she recommends “My Holo Love” because she thinks it is a cute show and different from a lot of others that she has seen.
Tobias suggests that people who do not currently watch K-dramas should try them, as well as other international dramas.
“A lot of people watch American shows and I feel like they should give international ones a chance because they express love in a different way,” Tobias said.