Why we love Kdrama

There are a number of undercover Kdrama lovers in this school who occasionally gather in surreptitious groups to compare and recommend their favourite shows (it’s undercover as the anime weeaboo crowd are very aggressive in their preferences).

Kdrama, aka Korean Drama, are one season shows with complete storylines. They span a number of genres but, roughly, can be divided into contemporary and Sageuk (historical) dramas. However, there are some key features you can always expect:

1. A complete plot line (no dribbling on for 7 seasons here, thank you)

2. A wrist grab (key to any romance)

3. Idealised characters

4. A really impossibly kind second lead

5. Lots of music

According to a researcher at the University of Vienna, the popularity of Kdramas are because of the Confucian values they transmit: Respect for elders, filial piety, family-orientedness and food all play an important role in Kdrama. Korean series follow their own formula, are innovative and don't conform to Western television productions. Stephan Lee from Entertainment Weekly called Korean dramas "fascinating and weirdly comforting". I have to agree!

To introduce them to a wider audience here in Budapest, I polled some other Kdrama lovers for their top five favourites – try one and see if you enjoy them too:

Elsie (Year 12)

1. Reply 1988

2. Sky castle (N)

3. Player

4. My ID is Gangnam beauty (N)

5. Beauty Inside (N)

Samzok (Year 12)

1. Heirs (N)

2. Weight-lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (N)

3. Boys over Flowers (N)

4. MY ID is Gangnam Beauty (N)

5. You are Beautiful (N)

Julia (Year 11)

1. W Two Worlds Apart (N)

2. Oh My Venus (N)

3. Hwarang (N)

4. To the Beautiful You (N)

5. Doctor Stranger (N)

Roberto (Year 10)

1. Touch Your Heart

2. My Strange Hero

3. W- Two Worlds (N)

4. Heirs (N)

5. Doctor Stranger (N)

Sarah (Year 11)

1. W Two Worlds (N)

2. My Love from Another Star (N)

3. What’s wrong with Secretary Kim (N)

4. Sky Castle (N)

5. My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (N)

Ms. Scaramella

1. Weight-lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (N)

2. Fight for My Way

3. Just Between Lovers

4. Reply 1988

5. Moonlight drawn by clouds (N - ‘Love in the Moonlight’)

N – available on Netflix

Otherwise available on Viki