Korean Drama RomCom Recommendations

I’ve become addicted to watching Korean dramas since watching CRASH LANDING ON YOU, so here are 6 Korean Drama RomCom recommendations. I am also slowly getting in shape via my workout regime of watching a Korean drama while biking. The cliffhangers get me on the bike every day.

WEIGHTLIFTING FAIRY KIM BOK-JOO

I love this Korean drama. This is about a woman, Kim Bok-joo, chasing her dream of becoming a professional weight-lifter, inspired by the real-life story of Olympic gold-medalist Jang Mi-ran. (So on point for this summer with the Olympics). Kim Bok-joo (played by Lee Sung-kyung) is pursued by a swimmer (played by Nam Joo-hyuk) training at the same elite college. Their relationship is so happy and adorable. And she also has a great group of girlfriends.

This one is available on Viki. Yang Hee-seung is the writer.

MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR

Given how much I loved CRASH LANDING ON YOU, I wanted to watch the writer’s previous dramas. Park Ji-eun also wrote MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR and it does not disappoint.

A Hallyu star falls in love with the alien next door who has to return to his planet in three months or die. So, there are similar high stakes, similar character growth (successful, isolated, self-centered woman and lonely, emotionally-withdrawn man) and a smart antagonist who is trying to kill the Hallyu star.

Gianna Jun plays the Hallyu star and Kim Soo-hyun plays the alien. Gianna Jun is a brilliant comedic actress. One of my favorite scenes is when she is plastered like a starfish against their shared wall trying to listen into the conversation next door between Kim Soo-hyun (whom she likes) and a woman she no longer trusts.

I also wanted to watch this after reading Dramabeans commentary recommending it while in the middle of CRASH LANDING ON YOU. Like many, the commentator was concerned about whether this couple from North Korea and South Korea were going to have a Happy Ever After, and she wrote, “this writer allowed an alien and a human to live happily together. What does it say about the state of our world if this couple from North Korea and South Korea can’t live together?”

I highly recommend reading Dramabeans recaps and commentary for any Korean dramas you are watching as the recaps can explain some points lost in translation and it’s illuminating to see other viewer’s reactions.

This one is available on Viki.

LEGEND OF THE BLUE SEA

Legend of the Blue Sea is about a mermaid (Gianna Jun) who falls for a con man (Lee Min-ho). The con man schemes are fun capers. Park Ji-eun (writer of CRASH LANDING ON YOU) also wrote this one. My third book has caper elements so it was fun to watch this and be inspired. And again, we have high stakes–it’s not clear how long mermaids can survive on land. This is available on Viki.

TOUCH YOUR HEART

I highly recommend this one. It’s about an actress (Yoo In-na) who wants to play a lawyer in a film so she gets a job as a lawyer’s assistant to prepare for her audition for that role. She’s assigned to work for Lee Dong-wook who is a gruff and reserved, but extremely brilliant lawyer.

She seems initially to be very sheltered and flighty (and very into pink–think LEGALLY BLONDE), but she is actually quite smart underneath, and she gradually thaws his heart. As a former lawyer, I love how they interwove the legal work. And I love that she has all these skills (like cooking and checking out crime scenes) from learning certain trades to play various roles (like a chef and a detective).

It’s available on Netflix. It is written by Lee Myung-suk and Choi Bo-rim.

ROMANCE IS A BONUS BOOK

ROMANCE IS A BONUS BOOK is about an unemployed woman (played by Lee Na-young) who used to be a successful ad copywriter, but then left the workforce to take care of her aging mother and her daughter. After getting divorced from her cheating husband, she has no income and can’t seem to get a job because of her age. She applies to work for her best friend’s publishing company as support staff, deleting her qualifications from her resume.

This one is great for movie club discussions as it deals with the realities of an older woman trying to return to the workforce after she left to spend time being a stay-at-home mother. Her best friend (played by Lee Jong-suk) has always been in love with her and it’s about their navigating their personal and professional lives.

Jung Hyun-jung is the writer. It is based on YOUNGER (they acquired the rights to produce a Korean drama based on it). I still have to watch YOUNGER.

It is available on Netflix.

PLAYFUL KISS

This one has the trope of the persistent, but less academically-inclined high school girl (played by Jung So-min) who has a crush on the mean, aloof, brilliant boy (played by Kim Hyun-joong), but I think that it’s well done. It works particularly well in showing how they both complement each other and make each other better. It also has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. And there are even bonus episodes on Youtube. Go Eun-nim is the writer.

Available on Amazon.

Let’s Talk Korean Drama RomCom Recommendations

Have you watched any of these Korean dramas? Do you have any Korean drama RomCom recommendations? I would love to hear them! I am about to watch IT’s OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY.