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By Jae-Ha Kim Substack May 28, 2025 ☆☆☆ (out of ☆☆☆☆) Lee Hae-sook (played by Kim Hye-ja) Ko Nak-joon (played by Son Suk-ku) ↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name. tl;dr Capsule review: […]
No one tops South Korean creatives when it comes to telling high school-centered bullying stories. In the sequel to 2022’s “Weak Hero Class 1,” our protagonist Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) wants nothing more than to be left alone and study.
Korean scriptwriters excel at presenting the childhood friends-to-lovers trope. Based on the webtoon of the same Korean title (He’s the Black Dragon), this K-drama centers on a pair of teenage gamers who reunite as adults who, coincidentally, work for the same company.
Each of us has our own favorite K-dramas that are informed by our own personal experiences (and access). For instance, I was never able to get my hands on South Korea’s early dramas like “Death Row Prisoner,” which premiered in 1956. Therefore, my picks are influenced by what I’ve seen, which are primarily shows from 2000 onward.
This emotionally-engaging show is less of a rom-com than it is a slice-of-life K-drama that explores how familial loss greatly impacts who we are today.
“Squid Game” season 2 introduces a whole new set of compelling characters. Will they make us forget fan favorites like North Korean defector Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) and Pakistani immigrant Ali (Anupam Tripathi)? No, but the star power of veteran K-drama stars, including Park Sung-hoon (“The Glory”), Park Hee-soon (“Moving”) and Im Si-wan (“Misaeng: Incomplete Life”), is a nice concession to killing off nearly all of last season’s characters.
It was an excellent year for Korean dramas — and with Squid Game season 2 on the horizon, there’s more to come.
Adding a twist to the contract marriage trope, “The Trunk” tackles the plot device from a film noir perspective.
If there’s one thing this K-drama gets across, it’s that keeping secrets from children about their own history is never the way to go.
“Love Next Door” is written as a love story between two childhood neighbors. And it is. But it’s also about loving yourself enough to follow your convictions, despite objections from those you love.
“Officer Black Belt” is an action-packed thriller starring Kim Woo-bin. Is it predictable? Yes? But is it a fun watch? Absolutely!
The Nth Room targeted Korean women in a lower socio-economic class who needed money. They also set their marks on underage girls, who were too young to handle what they had been tricked into. These crimes are continuing, but now with with teenage boys at the helm.
A mystery thriller as much as it is a wrestling saga, Like Flowers in Sand is set in a small town where everyone is obsessed with ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling.
These Korean shows (including “W,” “All of Us Are Dead,” “Prison Playbook”) deftly utilize sports in their storylines to demonstrate the characters’ unrelenting perseverance and will to survive. My latest reviews for Teen Vogue.
Like “Under the Queen’s Umbrella,” “Lovely Runner” uses the 우산 to represent how our protagonists fight to protect themselves from countless obstacles — including a messy serial killer subplot that I found redundant and not particularly compelling.
“Flex X Cop” takes the chaebol trope, mixes it up with a cops-and-robbers theme, and adds a dash of comedic elements to keep things interesting.
Former high school rivals Jeong-woo (Park Hyung-sik) and Ha-neul (Park Shin-hye) form a truce as adults after both face slumps in their medical careers.
Equal parts comedy and revenge, “Queen of Divorce” tackles the dirty deeds that occur during divorce proceedings. Sa-ra (Lee Ji-ah) is a brilliant attorney, whose husband and monster-in-law set her up for a crime she never committed.
There is a lot going on in this K-drama that could’ve been resolved if the protagonists had a long conversation to discuss misunderstandings.
Though Ji-won’s physical transformation is showcased with each new outfit change and makeup application, it’s really her inner self that was liberated from the shackles of the pathetic life she thought was the best she could ever have.