Hello, we are Super, and we’re addicts—K-drama addicts.
Romance, comedy, melodrama, action, fantasy and suspense, South Korean scripted television series, or K-dramas for the uninitiated, got it all and more.
Add a hunky oppa or two or five (we won’t judge), a charming yet feisty heroine, lovable sidekicks, great soundtrack and cinematography, and some of the most compelling stories on the small screen—and we are hooked, hopelessly, hand to God, completely obsessed!
But what do we watch after seeing our ships sail to their happily-ever-afters? (We’ll miss you, Kim Shin!) How do we find our next K-drama obsession? We simply cannot wait for local TV networks to dub the latest slew of daebak Korean series.
As your self-appointed enablers, we at Super have come up with a list of must-see K-dramas of 2016-2017 from every genre imaginable and for every type of K-drama addict.
Go-to romantic-comedies? Obviously. Addicting crime and medical procedurals? Check and check! Mind-boggling experimental thrillers? Heck yeah!
And did we mention all these can be streamed legally? For free?
Just look them up on the Viu app and website (www.viu.com). What’s more, if you got a hankering for older dramas—like the Gong Yoo classic “Coffee Prince”—check out Viu’s extensive and ever-expanding roster of Korean series.
(Repeat after us: Stream legally! And free!)
What are you waiting for, binge-watchers? K-dramaland awaits!
GATEWAY ROMANTIC-COMEDIES: Heavy on romance, generous with comedy, pure good vibes all around
“Lovely Love Lie”
Theme: Music, secret identities, workplace issues
Elevator pitch: Talented high school girl falls for a mysterious twentysomething composer and becomes entangled in his web of lies.
“Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo”
Theme: College, sports, friends to lovers
Elevator pitch: Amateur weightlifter and swimmer fall in love as they train their butts off to achieve their goals.
“Shopaholic Louis”
Theme: Amnesia, Cinderella romance, cohabitation
Elevator pitch: Charmingly naive little rich boy gets amnesia and meets a poor but hardworking young woman who teaches him about life, love and the true measure of happiness.
BEYOND ROSE-COLORED GLASSES: Romance-centric but relationship dynamics is more mature, comedic elements are balanced by a heavy dose of real-life issues
“Fight for My Way”
Theme: Friends to lovers, friendship, quarter-life crisis
Elevator pitch: Longtime childhood friends start seeing each other in a different light as they struggle to achieve their lifelong dreams.
“Jealousy Incarnate”
Theme: Love triangle, bromance, career struggles, health issues
Elevator pitch: Wannabe news anchor fights for the job she wants and gets caught up in a love triangle with an arrogant TV host and his chaebol (rich heir) best friend.
“Oh Hae Young, Again”
Theme: Rebound romance, revenge, mistaken identities
Elevator pitch: Fate plays matchmaker between a movie sound director who sees visions of his future and a jilted bride whose name has been the bane of her existence.
A LITTLE LESS INFATUATION, A LITTLE MORE ACTION: Plot is more complex than a straightforward love story. Intrigue and external conflict add another layer to the narrative
“Dr. Romantic”
Theme: Medical drama, workplace issues
Elevator pitch: City doctors transfer to a rundown provincial hospital and work for a genius surgeon who teaches them not only complex medical procedures but the true meaning of the medical profession.
“The K2”
Theme: Action, political intrigue
Elevator pitch: Super soldier gets embroiled in a political tug of war between a corrupt politician and a power-hungry ambitious woman.
“The Guardians”
Theme: Crime, corruption, suspense, secret identities
Elevator pitch: Social misfits band together to take the law into their own hands after seeing how the justice system can be corrupted by the powerful few.
GENRE-DEFYING MIND-BENDER: Complicated plotlines and timelines, romance may be present but not guaranteed, suspension of disbelief is mandatory
“W: Two Worlds”
Theme: Comics, fantasy, suspense, parallel worlds
Elevator pitch: Doctor is transported into the pages of a popular webtoon while the book’s hero and villain become sentient and start taking control the story.
“Signal”
Theme: Crime, psychological thriller, time manipulation
Elevator pitch: Brash young police officer teams up with feisty detective to solve some of the most controversial cold cases through the help of an unexpected source.
“Chicago Typewriter”
Theme: Fantasy, friendship, supernatural, political intrigue
Elevator pitch: Cocky best-selling author, his overly zealous super fan and an enigmatic ghostwriter share a mysterious connection that began way back in the past.