Who doesn’t love that tension between the characters who are always fighting yet on the verge of realising they love each other? Nothing screams romance like a good enemies-to-lovers story, especially in K-dramas. We asked Nigerians what their favourite ones are, and here’s what they had to say.
Praise Edrah
I love Wang So and Hae Soo from Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. They had such a wonderful love story, and I loved witnessing their growth. I particularly enjoyed how they helped each other become the best version of themselves.
I don’t think I’ve watched a lot of K-dramas with the enemies-to-lovers trope. Maybe I’m just too focused on the part where they fall in love to remember. But, my favourite would be Hometown Cha Cha Cha, which also happens to be my favourite K-drama of all time. Hye-jin and Du-sik weren’t exactly enemies at the beginning, but they didn’t really get along because they had very different outlooks on life. But as they spent more time with each other, they became genuine friends. There was so much depth in their conversations, all the tiny gestures of love were present. both Kim Seon Ho and Shin Min Ah did a stellar job with their roles. And it wasn’t just focused on them as the main leads, it was a story about everyone in the town, the side characters gave the series so much depth. Really, I could talk about why Hometown Cha Cha Cha is the best k-drama ever made, all day.
Also Gaus Electronics, which I just finished watching. It’s a workplace drama and these characters were actually proper enemies oh. I started watching it because I saw a tweet that said it was really funny, and truly it is. I’m yet to watch the last two episodes, but it’s already one of my favourite k-dramas. I love Kwak Dong Yeon. If you saw him in Vincenzo, you do too. It’s very typical enemies-to-lovers stuff — fake girlfriend, fake relationship, and before you know, it all becomes real. The part where Baek Ma Tan got up from his father’s house just to go and experience poverty is something else.
Rane
My favourites are Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Her Private Life, Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Touch Your Heart. Hometown leads went from always fighting to “I’ve lived 34 years without you, but each day seems to last forever since I’ve met you”. Every single character had depth, and they all loved each other, weirdly. I liked Her Private Life because it was giving office romance. She fell in love with the boss she hated, and everything else was just funny and lightweight. Scarlet Heart was great. Historical dramas always have umph.
Kokai
In no particular order: Alchemy of Souls — Mu Deok-i and Jang Uk were using each other when they fell in love; Shooting Stars — the superstar male lead picked on the female lead who accidentally sent a PR letter about his dick size. I love a great “funny with a nice ending” enemies-to-lovers story.
Zaynab
My favourite enemies-to-lovers K-drama is Our Beloved Summer. In most K-dramas the male lead always bullies the female lead until they end up liking each other, but that’s not the case here. Choi Ung was kind and gentle to Yeon Su even after she broke up with him in a horrible manner. The cinematography was beautiful, and the female lead was a strong character.
Athena
I’m a sucker for comedy and rom-coms, but good ones only occur when the actors have chemistry. I want to see the hate, jealousy, sadness or misunderstanding in your eyes, and I want to see it slowly change to love. My favourite of them all is Semantic Error. Chu Sangwoo and Jang Jaeyoung’s height difference? It was too cute. They made me wish I was one of the characters.
They were so sweet and fluffy that I almost had diabetes.
My dad is a typical Nigerian dad; he loves being in control and seeing things go his way. When he walks into the living room, we all walk out because we’ve already read the news on Citizen? It’s a habit my siblings and I formed as kids, not out of fear, but because we generally hated his taste in movies.
He’s a tough guy, but underneath the hard demeanour is a heart of marshmallows. Younger me would be surprised because this guy flogged me endlessly, and I truly thought he was besties with the devil. The older I get, the more I sort of excuse all the messed up shit my parents did to me as a kid — even though it’s not enough to forgive them.
But he must not be much of a hard guy these day’s seeing as I turned my dad into a K-drama lover. I’m claiming this as proof that with enough manipulation skills, you can get even the toughest people to change. This does not mean I successfully have him wrapped around my fingers, but it’s something.
A cautionary tale of who will bell the cat
When I was eight years old — and Indomie was still ₦30 — my dad told me a story about a cat eating all the mice in a little mouse village. Like all stories with a moral lesson, one day, a bold mouse looped a bell around the cat’s neck while it was asleep. Why? So that its fellow mice would be warned when the cat was coming to the village.
I took that story to heart; whenever I wanted to do anything risky, it felt like I was belling a cat. Making my father fall in love with K-drama the way I did was one of those situations that took a lot of risks but I love a challenge. It took nearly eight years. If there was an award for best in patience, I would win it, to be honest, but let me explain how it happened.
I fell in love with K-drama in 2013 when I was in SS1. I spent all my hard-earned pocket money buying CDs from the friend who introduced me to the addiction. I was in boarding school, so that meant I had to start eating food from the dining hall or my provisions, instead of food from the tuckshop.
After the first few series I watched, enjoying K-drama alone wasn’t enough, I wanted to share it with the closest people to me, my family members. For as long as I’ve been alive, my biggest love language has been sharing the media I love. If I care about you, I will “You should try this movie/song/series” you to death. I started with my two siblings, and they were sold. Next was my mum; it was hard shifting her attention from Indian and Mexican series, but I succeeded.
With my dad, there was a lot of push back. I couldn’t understand how he could sit through anime, cartoons, superhero and adventure movies and the occasional romantic drama, but he could not stand us watching K-drama. The language annoyed him. This man is from Akwa-Ibom; he knows first hand how annoying it is to hear that. It especially hurt that he was unwilling to try because a big part of my family bonding for as long as I’ve been alive happened while we sat around a television.
I eventually got out of boarding school in 2015 and realised my dad and I barely spoke anymore, so I tried once again to share K-drama with him. He resisted again. I’d make him sit through two or three episodes of an action K-drama, or adventure type like Jumong, The Fugitives Plan B, and he would complain but jump with excitement when they had those badass fight scenes. That was about it.
I learnt how to be a fanboy from my dad because he is a big DC comic fan, so I could tell he wasn’t enjoying it. I gave up… for a while because I moved out and lived in school for five years.
I must admit everything about slowly turning him into a fan was selfish. I actually didn’t care if he liked the show I liked anymore; that was a 12 to 16-year-old me’s problem. Now, I just wanted to know that if I needed to see my K-drama on a bigger screen, everyone would be willing to watch it with me. I wanted everybody to watch what I wanted just because I was there first.
Yes, it’s me. I’m the problem.
He was playing chess. I bought the company
I moved back home in February [2022] and noticed no one used the TV in the living room anymore. I liked staying in the living room since everyone avoided it. It was great, except when he wanted to watch the news or play church sermons in the middle of the night unprovoked.
I had to fix that and the solution was introducing him to Netflix.
He’d ask to watch action movies, but it was my wi-fi and account, so I’d tell him those movies weren’t available.
I made him sit through dramas like All of Us Are Dead, Juvenile Justice, Tomorrow, PachinKo, Our Blues, Cafe Minnamdang, Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Alchemy of Souls to get to him. Alchemy of Souls should’ve been the icing on the cake because he loves fantasy movies, but then one day, my mum wanted to see an older drama titled Vincenzo, and that was it. He was hooked.
This man disturbed me whenever he was back from work to play him episode after episode. He’s an architect, so besides the fantastic storyline, he loved seeing the inside of their houses, criticising and admiring it.
If you have an architect for a father, there’s a lot about his job you learn. I’m constantly criticising buildings too, even though I don’t have the degree for that. Who will check me?
He especially loved how the Korean society reflected all the morals of our sometimes complex society. And as a part-time assistant pastor, he loved that all the bad guys were brought to justice. I’ve been watching K-dramas for years, and not once did the series product placement for Kopiko make me consider buying it. But as soon as he was done with Vincenzo, he bought two packs.
Sometimes, I’d sit beside him, and he’d just randomly say “Vincenzo Cassano” like the other characters did in the drama.
He’s currently watching Crash Landing on You because I mentioned I wanted to rewatch it after the announcement that the actors were having a baby together.
His opinion on how that drama will end is killing me because, sir, your heart is about to be broken. I can’t wait to tell him the main characters are now married in real life. For now, let him find out the way the rest of us did, shedding tears months after the drama ended.
Everything. No, seriously, this man has been after my peace of mind.
He wants to watch all the old dramas, and I don’t know how he keeps finding them. He sends me screenshots and would be like, “Find this one for me”. Maybe he thinks I work closely with Netflix or something because half of them aren’t even on the app.
Not only do I have to find these old series for him, I have to listen to him talk about something interesting from them I already heard about four times because he forgot he’d already told me. He constantly attacks me when I can’t run away, like when I’m eating or cleaning. He’d appear like a ghost and be like, “Yesterday, this character did this”, and I have to reply, “You don’t mean it? Tell me more”, because as parents get older, they’re suddenly the ones looking for your attention.
I should add I spend an amusing amount of time shooing him out of the living room or begging him to go to bed. Sir, you are in your late 50s, I’m not ready to be a breadwinner, please.
I also fund his Kopiko habit. The Kopiko company should sign him as a brand ambassador at this point. If I see that sweet wrapper one more time, I might actually lose it.
I love that he likes my second love — K-drama, and sometimes, I even enjoy talking about theories with him, even if it’s about an old drama I’ve already seen. Do what I did at your own risk. Maybe we can form a support group for kids with parents who love K-drama soon.
For some of these shows, female friendships may not have been their primary themes, but they completely stole the spotlights. Here are my favourite female friendships for the 2022 K-dramas.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Besides the fact that Twenty-Five Twenty-One broke all our hearts when the leads didn’t end up together, Na Hee-Doo, Ko Yu-rim and Ji Seung-wan’s friendship completely stole the show. These girls selflessly supported one another even though they had a rocky start. The scene where He-doo and Yu-rim were tired after practising in the gym for a long time and kept turning the fan towards the other person will always be cute because how can you not think of yourself first?
Imagine loving a friend enough to help her stalk a boy she likes, falling in love with him and still being willing to give him up for your friend’s happiness? Not going to lie, it could never be me, but that’s the kind of love Bo-ra and Yeon-do have for each other is too precious. The way they cried when they saw each other again after Yeon-do’s surgery will forever be etched in my mind.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
The titular character struggled a lot navigating courtrooms as an autistic person, but her amazing friends are always there by her side. She has the best friends for real: Dong Geurami with their cute special greeting and “Spring Sunshine” Choi Soo-yeon, her work bestie who doesn’t let anyone bully her.
39
39 managed to handle a complex subject like death through the lens of the beautiful friendship between three women. This show explored dealing with love, work, and loss and struggles with close friends by your side. I especially enjoy the friendship dynamics between older women and I loved seeing them banter and tease each other so much I forgave the show for all the tears it made me shed.
Business Proposal
Ha-ri and Young-seo’s friendship shouldn’t work because of how different their backgrounds are, but it does. They argued like sisters and made bad decisions together. They were always there for each other. In that one scene where Young-Seo has a stalker and felt unsafe, Ha-ri came to be with her. I lived for every shared moment with them on screen.
Our Blues
I loved how this show handled jealousy in friendships. Eun-hui and Mi-ran may not have had a picture-perfect friendship, but they cared for each other, even after hurting each other multiple times. All that mattered was the effort to fix their relationship and work through that pain. Then there was Yeong-ok, a fiercely independent girl trying to make money for her disabled sister, who found friendship with the Haenyeons, ocean divers, who’d initially given her a hard time.
Little Women
While the characters in Little Women are sisters, it took a special type of bond to be friends. In Joo, In Kyung, and In Hye may have disagreed a number of times, but ultimately all they wanted for each other was a life of happiness. I’m so glad they each got the break they deserved.
Korean writers are very popular for their romantic movies, but their horror dramas are so criminally underrated — and to be honest, I get why. The writers wrap them up like nice, funny, bright films And until you find yourself paralysed on your seat, your brain won’t register that you’ve been watching horror. Watch all seven of these at your own risk oh.
All of Us Are Dead (2022)
All of Us Are Dead is not a conventional zombie movie. It is unusually bright for a show with that many gory scenes and multiple jumpscares. It follows a group of secondary school students stuck in school which becomes ground zero for a violent zombie apocalypse.
Every time these kids fight for their lives against the super strong and constantly mutating zombies, your heart will be stuck in your mouth. But that’s what you like, right? Enjoy.
The Cursed revolves around a successful IT company called Forest. Usually, rich companies like these in K-drama just means someone is killing all the owners’ enemies like ants. But the chairman of Forest, Jin Jong-Hyun decided to take it up a notch by using diabolical means. Since it’s one day for the thief and another for the owner, naturally, Forest gets involved in a huge case and a reporter, Im Jin-Hee risks her life to unravel the mystery behind the case.
Goedam (2020)
Goedam is a Netflix horror anthology series comprising a collection of short dramas, with eight episodes in total.
Each episode follows a new plot with different characters, and they’ll all make you do the sign the cross if you watch them late at night. Careful though, episodes one, two and six may give you heart attacks.
Sweet Home (2020)
Sweet Home is a sublime balance of horror and thriller. It’s also one of the most popular Korean horror dramas on Netflix. The main character Cha Hyun-soo is a secondary school student who becomes an orphan overnight after his family dies in a car accident. Naturally, he wants to commit suicide and moves to an odd building where he can do that undisturbed, but then strange things start happening among the residents. He somehow finds himself fighting for his life amongst other residents battling humans who have been turned into monsters. It’s survival of the fittest in these streets and a gripping take on the monster genre.
Strangers From Hell (2019)
The moment a TV series starts in a cheap-ass residential area, you know to expect the worst.
Desperate for a job, Yoon Jong-woo moves to Seoul from the comfort of his home in the countryside. He soon realises that he can’t afford to live in Seoul, so he moves to Goshiwon. The amenities and living conditions of the building he chooses are horrible, but he tries to endure till he gets a job.
Even worse than the building are his neighbours, each with their own secrets and eccentric behaviours. Across the 10 episodes, we learn exactly what those secrets are. Strangers From Hell isn’t scary, but the psychological thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat. Stay alert while watching this; nothing will prepare you for the end.
Kingdom (2019)
For fans of dramas set in the Joseon era, you’d be amused to see how Kingdom weaves historical drama elements with a zombie apocalypse.
This drama follows Lee Chang, the crown prince, who discovers the outbreak of a mysterious disease. He goes on a mission to find the royal physician who might know something about the outbreak. But instead, he finds someone who worked alongside the royal physician.
The tension in this drama comes from watching people fight for their lives in an era with medieval weaponry.
Nightmare High (2016)
Set in a private high school in Korea, Nightmare High revolves around several unexplained incidents that occur after Han Bong-goo, the new homeroom teacher, shows up.
Usually, a teacher is a nightmare because they’re giving too many assignments, but this man chooses a different way to terrorise his students, bringing all their nightmares to life, and kids begin to go missing. But no one notices until the class president points it out. The most unsettling experience for me was seeing a group of high school students obediently listen to a teacher. In what world is it possible to have such control over teenagers?
Lee Min Ho is a world-famous A-list Korean actor who rose to stardom for his role as Gu Jun Pyo in Boys over Flowers. He’s also incredibly handsome, funny and down-to-earth (based on his interviews). But here’s the thing. He’s not a great actor. He actually kind of sucks. There, I said it.
Everyone and their mums had a crush on Lee Min Ho that year. You know, when Boys over Flowers was the most incredible love story and The Heirs was like a richer sequel? When the side swoop of his hair in City Hunter acted more than him the entire show? Yeah, that year, because we watched them all at once, even though these series had been out years before, but welcome to pre-Netflix Nigeria.
Lee Min Ho is a pretty big deal In the Nigerian K-drama scene. It’s impossible not to know this man even if you live under a rock. And now, you’re wondering, so what’s the problem? Why shouldn’t I be watching him, then?
Here’s the thing. To be an actor, you need to be able to ACT. Lee Min Ho is not very famous for his acting. Over half of the awards he’s received throughout his career are popularity or fan-voted awards, not acting awards.
For as long as I’ve watched K-dramas, this man has played the rich, stylish and charming boy perfectly, and before you say, “But what about Gangnam Blues? He was poor there,” I’m sorry, he looked like he was just cosplaying poverty. It’s like Patience Ozokwor playing a nice person in a movie. It’s suspicious.
This man looked like he hadn’t eaten in years , but I could still see the “rich” in his eyes. Sometimes, when you’re big, you’re big, and there’s nothing you can do about that.
Unfortunately for him, you can’t have range as an actor when you constantly look like you’re playing the same role. If I take a screenshot of every drama he’s been in side by side, he has only three expressions:
Too rich for peasants
More handsomely annoyed than humanly possible
In love but the “hard guy” version
Funny enough, all these things you think I’m complaining about are precisely why I love him. Do you know how powerful you have to be for people not to know what you look like yet still know your name? Lord knows how many relationships he’s scattered just because one babe posted him more than her man.
You too, look at the material. How do you compete with this?
Back then, if your babe only watched K-dramas he starred in, sorry to inform you, but you were in that relationship alone.
Now it’s 2022, and there’s no reason anyone should watch K-dramas because of this man. Don’t get me wrong, he has his moments; in a drama with 20 episodes, there’s always that one episode he gives his all. But he’s like if RMD doesn’t physically age and has no acting skill. He’s so much older now and deserves more mature roles.
I’m not saying he doesn’t have good older works. He starred in some of my favourite comfort dramas: City Hunter, which also solidified Park Min Young’s role as the romance drama IT girl for me; Mackerel Run, which is old but pure high school drama gold; The Heirs because, come on, he acted for his last 2k with that series; and The Legend of the Blue Sea because a funny, stupid, rich Lee Min Ho character? Inject it.
All I’m saying is when you leave grapes for a while, you get fantastic wine. Just look at what he did with Pachinko after taking a break from acting for a while. It might not be the best 2022 drama, but it was something. Something different.
Now, I’m not the type to take away your drug of choice without offering sustainable solutions, so here are five actors you can replace him with until his next great drama.
This man has the whole “sad, rich boy that melts your heart” look going for him. He recently had his first lead role as an alcoholic who falls in love with a woman and tries to change in My Liberation Notes. You don’t want to be late to his stan train, so take my word on this.
Nam Joo Hyuk
If you sawTwenty Five, Twenty One, do I even need to defend this? All that crying, longing and that smile, and you’re still not sold? Something about the way he delivers his lines makes you wonder if he knows he’s supposed to be acting. That’s a little too real for me, and now, I have to plan our wedding.
Kim Young Dae
It’s one thing to be funny and another to look good while being funny. Kim Young Dae has mastered both. Especially in his role as a hotshot actor in Shooting. There aren’t that many movies in which he wasn’t playing himself or a guest actor, but after this role, the only way is up, please.
Before we talk about how his suit was a paid actor in the fantasy series “Tomorrow,” seeing him try to save people others thought were irredeemable was emotional, and no one else could’ve done it. Why? Because I said so. Plus, the man can sing. It doesn’t get more charming than this.
Lee Jong Suk
If you’ve watched K-dramas long enough, you should know him from Romance Is a Bonus Book, While You Were Sleeping, I Hear Your Voice and Pinocchio. All he does is pick good roles and execute them flawlessly, so if you like your actors a little old but still young, watch Big Mouth to see why he made the list.
I picked these five because they each have qualities I like in Lee Min Ho, on and off screen. They’re charming but not rude, look good in a suit, and have range, unlike Lee Min Ho.
At this point, he’s a K-drama deity who’s done a great job of pushing the K-drama agenda. What’s a popular K-drama list without at least two of his movies? His audience is growing and changing, and so many younger and stronger actors are coming up every day. I’d hate to see him left behind.
I want to see him be a bad guy, the type who makes you want to drag your hair out. I want to see him play a dad too. I’m not even asking for too much. I just want to be able to have arguments other than “All he plays is a rich boy”. What do you think?
In the end, this is a twisted love letter to an actor who’ll forever be one of my favourites and the dramas that made me fall in love with K-dramas.
Are you in a K-drama slump because Alchemy of Souls ended, and you don’t know what to watch next? Well, here are seven K-drama shows you should catch up on this September.
The Law Cafe
First of all, it’s a Lee Seung-gi drama. Come on; it’s going to be good. The story follows Jeong Ho, a former genius prosecutor and current owner of the building where Yu Ri, a lawyer who recently quit her job, now runs a cafe. Of course, she just had to be a former friend of his. I’m expecting meddlesome behavior and plenty romanz.
Forget every other story you know about the famous Little Women storyThis show is already shaping up to be the next best thing with a storyline completely different from the original Little Women. It’s about three sisters who have formed a close bond while growing up in poverty. No, because these girls from the trenchiest trenches stumble into an incident involving the wealthiest family in the country. Expect drama overdose.
Once Upon a Small Town
I just know this K-drama will give an Our Blues vibe but happier abeg. It’s a simple story about a man who moves from Seoul to Heedong Village and meets a countryside policewoman. The show will depict the happiness and sorrows of the people of the Village. If you’re a K-pop fan, you might enjoy seeing Joy from Red Velvet in leading roles.
Blind
After seeing Ok Taec-yeon in Vincenzo act as a highly psychopathic wealthy heir to a pharmaceutical company, I know it’ll be nice to see him play a good detective this time. Taec-Yeon plays detective Ryu Sung Joon. With his judge brother Ryu Sung Hoon and Jo Eun Ki, a social worker, he becomes involved in a serial murder case involving jury members as the victims. The three work hard to uncover the truth behind the deaths when it seems like the world is willing to turn a blind eye. Set your reminder cause Blind drops on September 16th.
Love in Contract
Where are all my romance lovers? This one is for you. Our rom-com queen Park Min Young has done it again. Love in Contract is set to release on September 21st and follows the life of Choi Sang-eun, who helps people by pretending to be their fake wives at social events. What could possibly go wrong?
One Dollar Lawyer
Don’t overthink which show you’ll have to drop to watch this one, just look at the title. K-dramas keep giving us back-to-back legal dramas, and I can’t even complain. Cheon Ji Hun is a lawyer who charges only 1,000 won ( approximately $1) — for his services which involve helping people fight against rich and powerful people and their expensive lawyers. It can’t get more badass than this.
The Golden Spoon
If you were born poor and found a magic golden spoon which could exchange your wretched background with a friend born into a wealthy family, would you use it? That’s what happened to Seung Cheon, a child born into a low-income family. He switches lives with his rich friend and gets a taste of wealth. But will he go back? You’ll have to wait till September 23rd to find out.
Now that Alchemy of Souls is over, I’m terrified of what I’ll do with myself during the weekend. I also want to fight the Hong sisters for whatever that ending was. How could they have done this to us? In the spirit of choosing peace and hoping for a better finish to season two, here’s everything I’m going to miss from the show.
Mu-deok and Jang Uk’s banter
I’ll miss all their stupid fights and arguments where Jang Uk almost always wins. I’ll miss them pretending that Jang Uk is the boss when we all know Mu-deok has more power in the relationship. I’ll miss Mu-deok talking about how she wants to kill everybody but ends up saving their lives. I’ll also miss watching Jang Uk and Mu-deok win every single time! My ultimate faves, I believe so much in their love that I choose not to remember the ending because what was that?
Something I didn’t expect was to enjoy seeing older people fall in love. You’d think since I watch a lot of K-drama, I’d be used to things like this by now. But I loved seeing them flirt, even though it was painful to witness. Maidservant Kim confessed her feelings, and Park Jin was still oblivious somehow. It was adorable.
Watching the crown prince be a weirdo
This man was just unintentionally funny. He’s usually a character people would hate, but in Alchemy of Souls, there’s absolutely no reason to hate him. He cheated on a test for Mu-deok, was willing to find out the truth about the queen being a soul shifter at all costs and saved Mu-deok’s life on multiple occasions. Sad for him, he fell in love with the one person not even all his money could buy. I was still rooting for him, though.
Lady Jin’s eye makeup
Half the time I watched this show, whenever she came up, I’d just whisper “bad bitch” under my breath because, wow. Using a graphic liner in the age of magic and keeping that makeup flawless is a trick only she could body. I mean, I saw this woman crying about her daughter, and all I could think about was how her makeup didn’t get smudged. A queen.
look at her!
Master Lee musing
Let’s not even talk about how he’s the most unserious character in this show low-key. This man always figures out everything before other people do. Maybe because he’s always thinking? Or maybe it’s because he is over 200 years old? He’s sha my fave because every supporter of Mu-deok’s antics is my fave.
Jin Mu breathing like he swallowed hot eba
When you’re too busy doing evil things, of course your breathing would be laboured. Okay, that’s not a thing, but I’m glad it was Jin Mu’s thing. Wherever a new scene comes up and Jin Mu huffs and puffs, I always expected the worst. The way this man manipulated every single person around him is just legendary.
Dang-gu’s earrings
The way I hated his guts in All of Us Are Dead. They dressed everybody like they were in the Joseon era, but not quite, and Dang-gu came from nowhere with his K-pop idol earrings. I’m going to miss Yoo In-soo playing the role of Dang-gu. Do you know how good an actor you must be to get so many people to like you after killing their faves in an earlier movie?
Hearing Jipsu, Ryusu, and Chisu
Now that Alchemy of Souls has ended, where else will I hear people mention this? What if I also want to open up my gate of energy and master all three? While that might never happen, let’s just sit with that beautiful memory of Jang Uk using Chisu and Mu-deok’s blood to fight as we wait for season two.
Most K-drama characters have good relationships with their mums, and while that’s cute, I find that the dramas with present dads hit harder.
If you don’t have a great relationship with your dad, let’s gather together and cry at how nice these girls have it.
Sung Dong-il from Reply 1988
In the Reply 1988 series, Sung Dong-il might have been the poorest dad who couldn’t buy his girls nice things, but he loved Bo-ra and Dek-Sun. This man cheered for and encouraged his girls, and was proud of them for their small and big wins. He wasn’t perfect; he drank a lot and his kindness got his family into debt, but there’s no better mix of gruff and sweet like him. I will never get over the scene where he wears an oversized shoe his daughter bought him — painful as it was — just because she gifted it to him.
Kim Chang-gul from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo
As a former weightlifter, Kim bok joo’s dad made it his personal mission to ensure his daughter was well fed. Her mum died as a child, and her father did his best to care for her. Whether it was getting her lipstick to tell her that even though she’s not the conventional size for women her age or personally bringing food to her sports university to help her bulk up, he’d be there. A stand-up guy, we stan.
Woo Gwang-Oh from Extraordinary Attorney Woo
This show came from nowhere and stole everyone’s heart. The most beautiful thing about it was Woo-Young-We’s easy relationship with her dad. He understood how much more she had to struggle to get people to see her for her brilliance, and 100 per cent believed in her. He loved her even before she was born, and his affection never waned. He just wanted her to live a fulfilled and happy life. Where do people even find dads like this?
The dads from Our Blues
This drama will break you with how honest the relationship these men had with their daughters was. Cho Han-Soo was fighting hard and getting in debt to ensure his daughter kept playing golf abroad because it was her dream. Then, there’s Ho-sik dealing with his teenage daughter getting pregnant in high school and choosing to keep the baby. Her decision killed his dreams of becoming a fisherman as soon as she graduates. These men aren’t the best because they are perfect. They’re the best because they always prioritised their kids’ happiness.
Gang Hwa in Hi Bye, Mama!
There’s no sweeter girl dad story like that of a young dad and his toddler. Gang Hwa struggled like anyone would, juggling a medical career and taking care of a newborn after losing his wife. But, every decision he made — including trying to remarry — was to give his girl a happy home. The sweetest of them all.
Honestly, what’s more wholesome than a good K-drama? Exactly, nothing. Instead of fretting about how old your parents are or complaining about which one was absent, take some time to make good memories with them by sharing the joy of a good family movie. Here are my top recommendations.
The Handmaiden
You don’t want to over-excite them as they grow older, so start on an easy note with the Handmaiden. It’s a simple movie about a wealthy heiress, Lady Hideko, who reads books to old, totally not-insane men, her fiance, Count Fujiwara, who is totally not a con artist and her trusty maid who may or may not be working with the con artists. I mean, what could go wrong? The Handmaiden is the perfect parent-child bonding movie. But if any sex scene magically appears, you can pretend to look away while your parent(s) pick up calls from nowhere.
Watch this one, especially with your mum, so that when she prays for you to find love, she can come correct with reference. Nevertheless is about sweetheart Park Jae-Eon, an art major who usually doesn’t do relationships but falls for the female lead Yoo Na-Bi in seconds. Everyone loves romance, and when you sigh during all the 100 cuddling scenes, your mum will find it cute and not start a whole lecture about how you need to find your partner.
Eve
Your parents will eat this one up with all the Nollywood movies about badass female characters. Who doesn’t like to see a powerful woman fight the men who destroyed her family,has a side-fling with a married man, is cold-hearted for fun and an all-around badass? Nigerian parents love these types of movies.
The World of the Married
A drama about unearthing family secrets? That’s every Nigerian parent’s favourite genre. You get to have a great bonding experience with your parents. Your parents also get to talk about how not all perfect-looking families are perfect inside, just like the main character Ji Seon-u’s family. And how you should be grateful that you have an ideal family inside and outside. Wow, who wouldn’t love this?
Her Private Life
This drama is about Sung Deok-Mi, a good girl with a job as a curator with a dark secret. She’s a huge fan of Shi-An, a K-pop idol, a secret that almost leaks until her boss pities her and pretends to date her, and they eventually fall in love. You can use this drama to explain to your parents that your obsession with K-drama and K-pop will also help you find love like it did with Sung Deok-Mi. You’re welcome.
Love and Leashes
You can tell from the title that this will be a fun watch. Nigerian parents love keeping their kids on a leash, so watching it happen on TV should be fun. So what if the male lead likes to bark to please his Dom? If your dad asks you why they are tying someone’s child with rope, yet he doesn’t cry when they beat him. Tell him that the character is possessed, that’s why.
Warning: if they remove you from their will, please don’t disturb us. Plus, they traumatised you first, so think of this as payback.
K-drama fans will never admit it, but sometimes these dramas are too long. So, imagine loving one enough to watch it more than once, just because it makes you feel good? We spoke to six Nigerian K-drama fans about their comfort K-dramas and here’s what they had to say.
Jazz (21) — Reply 1988
Reply 1988 is a really beautiful show about five different families living on the same street, that mainly focuses on the relationship between the children from each of the families.
As someone who’s always found solace in friendship more than family, It’s so comforting watching their friendship blossom from childhood to adulthood. It reassures me that friendship can be enough. It touches on so much: loneliness, love, friends from different social classes and how they support each other. Also, the OST is so good, I listen to it all the time. Everyone needs to watch it. Even though the episodes are long AF — each episode is about 90mins — they’re totally worth it.
I’ve watched it about four =times and I can’t count how many times I’ve rewatched some of the episodes. It’s soft and emotional, so keep your tissue nearby ‘cause you’ll definitely cry a lot.
I have different comfort Kdramas for different phases of my life. My comfort K-drama as a teen was Jang Bo Ri. I must have watched it like 400 times.
Currently, it’s Dali and Cocky prince. It’s my comfort K-drama because it has all the elements I love. It’s romantic with a strong female lead who stands up for herself and everything she loves. Also, it’s a love story between an artsy girl and an abrasive guy from the food industry beating their enemies together. It was just very refreshing, had a lot of surprises, and had a cuteness overload.
I fall in love with Dali every time I see her cute face and those two curly strands she always leaves out when she styles her hair. Not to mention, it’s also funny. It’s one of the most enjoyable K-drama series I’ve seen in a while and this is me picking it over Alchemy of Souls and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Milola (25) — Goblin and Tale of the Nine Tailed
Goblin is a tragic story, but there’s something very warm and comforting about it.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed, on the other hand, is hilarious and has two of my favourite Korean actors. I’m guaranteed a laugh every time I rewatch it.
If I had to recommend them to someone, I’d describe Goblin as one of the most satisfying takes on a story that has been told over and over again. It’s an emotional rollercoaster everyone should experience at least twice in their lives.
Seki (20) — The Heirs
The Heirs is from a simpler time when popular K-dramas were all about rich guy-poor girl relationships. Except it’s different because both main characters had really complex feelings. And even though both characters were young they articulated them well. All the side characters were also well developed. I’ve seen this series about five times now. Who wouldn’t enjoy a romantic drama about a boy finding himself and trying to fix and maintain relationships with everyone around him?
Nnenna (22) — Search WWW, Be Melodramatic, Age of Youth and Thirty Nine
All four of them are girls’ type of K-drama. The genre is female relationships and figuring out life, both personal and professional, with other women. I like it because it shows how very different women can love each other through everything. They also show how all women don’t have to be friends without villainising the characters.
In these series, there’s no “evil woman out for your life” trope, just women with other interests figuring themselves out. Sometimes you don’t click but you can still respect each other. They also show women navigating misogyny and rape culture. But even beyond that, they show joy and strong friendships because sometimes you just need your babes in your corner.
I’ve seen all four shows multiple times. And if I had to describe them to someone, I would say, imagine a video edit of Jonathan and David from the bible with Best Friend by Saweetie and Doja Cat as the background music.
Vicky (53) — Vincenzo
I’ve seen a lot of K-dramas because of my kids, so picking one is difficult. I used to love The King’s Heart but that’s old now. The most comforting drama I’ve seen in a while is Vincenzo. The situations these characters found themselves in felt real. The show was equal parts hilarious and intense when necessary. I loved that it emphasized the need for community with how all the tenants bonded and fought for what they believed in. Vincenzo is also a handsome guy, he looked harmless but could be capable of great evil, but that’s what makes him who he is.
He never pretended to be anything other than he was. I loved all the twists and was happy to see the good people win in the end. I usually prefer romantic K-dramas but I’m going to be watching Vincenzo for a long time.
