Our K-Drama Journey

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Finding a show that suits everyone in our family has always been a challenge. Intense action/stress is too much for our youngest daughter, and we prefer to keep things PG-13.

We’ve finally found a great solution: Korean-dramas. We’ve been watching them back to back recently, and they’ve been a hit across all ages.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)  This was our gateway into K-dramas. Since it’s dubbed in English, it was easy to start. Set in a small seaside town, it’s a wholesome, family-friendly show with both comedic moments and touching scenes. It also gave us a glimpse into everyday Korean life. It's a solid feel-good watch.

Queen of Tears (2024)  We picked this next because it was also dubbed. This one was a commitment (16 episodes, each 1.5 hours long) but it was worth it. It had more romance, more drama, better cinematography, and a stellar cast. The intense drama in some scenes made our youngest bawling. We got so hooked that we ended up binge-watching the last six episodes over a weekend.

Start-Up (2020)  This is our first subtitled K-drama, so now we’re listening to the original Korean audio. Another love triangle with a childhood connection, a decent plot, and comedic moments. Again sixteen 1.5 hours episodes. One of the main actors was also in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, so we’re starting to recognize actors.


Observations on K-Dramas

Recurring Themes: Early love, childhood connections, and fated relationships. The main couple is always "meant to be."

Female Leads Have Erratic Behavior: Is it just me, or do Korean female leads suddenly become very clingy and irrational in romance? They expect grand gestures and act capriciously. Is this cultural, or just a K-drama trope?

Male Leads Are Idealized: The male protagonists are always near-perfect—handsome, successful, and incredibly capable. Doesn't this set unrealistic expectations for real-life relationships?

Drinking Culture: Drinking seems to be a big part of Korean life in these shows. Whenever characters are stressed or sad, they get completely wasted. And this is portrayed as funny, rather than problematic. 

Seoul National University: The two (maybe all three) had the male lead character finish Seoul National University. Must be a big thing.

Hard Work and Cow Dung: For some reason these get featured back to back in K-dramas, the latter as comedic relief I guess.  

Quirky eating: The more dramatically the male lead slurps his noodles, the more the female lead seems drawn to him. Is this an actual thing?

The Korean Language & Culture: Korean sounds familiar at times, possibly due to its distant connection to Turkish. Korean also sounds like the ideal language for ranting. Finally, the honorifics system is fascinating.

Better Than Turkish Dramas: We never clicked with Turkish dramas: too many long stares, very strained plots, and huge plot holes. K-dramas have better pacing and more engaging storylines.


Coda

Watching K-dramas has been a great experience. They spark discussions, keep us engaged in predicting plot twists, and help the kids develop storytelling and observational skills. Watching these shows also makes us want to visit Korea.

Got any recommendations for what we should watch next? Of course, my son and I watched Squid Game together, but that’s definitely not family-friendly. These more traditional K-dramas have been a much better fit.

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