Five Classic K-Dramas To Catch Up On

Tags
Lee Min Ho
Boys over Flowers
My Lovely Kim Sam Soon
Kim Sun Ah
Secret Garden
Hyun Bin
Coffee Prince
Gong Yoo
Princess Hours
Yoon Eun Hye

Holiday weekends and spring break can be a great time to study the classics, the k-drama classics that is. If you're new to k-drama you may have missed a few of the popular dramas that are now dubbed classics. They're classics because they are so enjoyable, so you may want to add them to your list.

Here are five lighthearted dramas we recommend:

1.     "Boys Over Flowers": Often described as the "gateway drama" because it has started so many viewers on their k-drama obsession, this drama has a quirky fun story, a feisty heroine and some favorite k-drama actors before they were so famous. The drama stars Lee Min Ho, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun Joong and Kim Joon as four rich boys who rule a private school. Bully Lee Min Ho meets his match in the student Geum Jan Di played by Gu Hye Sun and the rest is k-drama history.

2.     "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon": If you enjoyed Hyun Bin in "Jekyll, Hyde and I" or even if you didn't, this drama is worth a watch. In this Korean spin on "Bridget Jones Diary," Kim Sun Ah plays a pudgy (by k-drama standards) pastry chef with boyfriend troubles who goes to work for a restaurant owner played by Hyun Bin. It also stars Korean-American actor Daniel Henney.

3.     "Secret Garden": This drama also stars Hyun Bin, only this time as an arrogant entertainment company owner who falls for a poor stuntwomen, played by Ha Ji Won. The usual k-drama problems complicate their relationship, including the disapproval of his deliciously despicable k-drama mom. But then there's also a paranormal complication. The characters played by Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won keep switching bodies and literally get a chance to walk in each other's shoes.

4.     "Coffee Prince": Yoon Eun Hye plays a girl who must disguise herself as a boy to get a job. She is hired by a coffee shop owner, played by Gong Yoo, and begins to spend time with him. He finds himself falling in love and wonders if that means something about his own sexual orientation. Give it a few episodes and you might fall in love with the drama as deeply as Gong Yoo falls for Yoon Eun Hye.

5.     "Princess Hours": In this drama, the writers imagined what it would be like if Korea still had a royal family. And they also wondered what would happen if the Crown Prince, played by Joo Ji Hoon, married a commoner. As the princess, Yoon Eun Hye breathes some fresh air into the stuffy palace but her impulsive nature also creates some protocol problems.

Are there are any classic k-dramas you would recommend to fans who are just discovering dramaland? Have you seen these dramas? Let us know.

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