Here’s a list of dramas that capture the lively moments of youth!

Forever Young

Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) is devastated by the sudden and tragic death of her favorite star, Ryu Sun Jae (Byun Woo Seok), a former swimmer turned K-pop idol. But in the midst of her anguish, she magically time slips back to 2008 – when Sun Jae is still only 19 years old! Delighted that she has a chance to help him avert his unhappy future fate, Sol makes it her mission to change the future... and maybe find love along the way. Will her efforts to divert the course of the past prove successful – or could they have unexpected consequences? This 2024 South Korean drama was adapted from a web novel named “The Best of Tomorrow” by Kim Bbang and was directed by Kim Tae Yeop and Yoon Jong Ho.

Lovely Runner

✨ The Marvellous ✨ team

MGTV

With graduation looming, university student Cheng Xin (Zhong Chu Xi) is convinced her graduation ceremony would be the perfect time to propose to her boyfriend, Zheng Qian (Hu Yi Tian). Mustering up the courage to do just that, Cheng Xin proposes but in an unexpected move, Zheng Qian rejects her. Feeling that he hasn’t made any real accomplishments in his life or career, Zheng Qian doesn’t think the time is right to even consider marriage. Understanding where Zheng Qian is coming from, Cheng Xin offers to help him get a job at her family’s company, but Zheng Qian’s pride refuses to allow him to accept.

Rejected a second time, Cheng Xin has no choice but to sit back and watch as Zheng Qian struggles to find a job. Just another face, lost in the overwhelming swarm of new graduates clamoring for a job, Zheng Qin can’t seem to catch a break. Hating to see her love suffer, Cheng Xin works behind the scenes, setting up an opportunity that’s guaranteed to land Zheng Qin an ideal job. Soon a new hire of the Tengda Group, Zheng Qin believes he’s finally caught a break, but when the truth behind his sudden bout of success is revealed, his world comes crashing down.

Forced to resign, his professional reputation destroyed, and his heart in tatters, Zheng Qin feels as if he has been utterly defeated. Will he be able to find the strength to pick himself up and start again or will the disappointment prove to be too much?

Based on the novel of the same name by Li Xing Jian, “Youth Should Be Early” is a 2020 romantic drama directed by Zhang He Yang.

Youth Should Be Early

The Seasons of Life Team

Kakao TV, SERIES ON

Gong Ju Young (Park Ji Hoon) is a 17-year-old high school student who thinks he has found love at school when he falls in for Wang Ja Rim (Lee Ruby) at first sight.

But winning her heart won’t be easy. Wang Ja Rim has earned a reputation for being cold and aloof – and, at first, seems totally unimpressed by Gong Ju Young’s garish displays of affection.

But Gong Ju Young won’t be deterred so easily. Persistence is the key, he thinks – and, over time, Wang Ja Rim starts to open up to her classmate.

Gong Ju Young’s best buddy since elementary school is Lee Kyung Woo (Young Hoon of The Boyz). Will he prove to be a help to Gong Ju Young in his quest for Wang Ja Rim’s heart – or a hindrance?

And could Wang Ja Rim’s closest friends, including the popular Oh Ah Ram (Dayoung of WJSN), also play a role in bringing the duo together?

This drama series was based on a long-running web-hosted cartoon (webtoon) series written by Lee Yong Ka. The webtoon began its run in 2013.

“Love Revolution” is a 2020 South Korean Viki Original drama series.

Love Revolution

Teenage Love Team

The handsome son of a wealthy family, Yeo Joon (Park Ji Hoon) had what most people could only dream of having. A first-year economics student at a prestigious university, Yeo Joon seems to be perfectly at ease, living up to everyone’s expectations of him. But what his charming exterior portrays is far different from what he keeps hidden on the inside. Hurting beyond belief, what Yeo Joon needed more than anything is a friend. Unfortunately, finding a true friend is a lot easier said than done.

Assigned to work together on a class project, Yeo Joon inexplicably finds himself drawn to his partner, Nam Soo Hyun (Bae In Hyuk). A third-year student in the same program, Soo Hyun is a straight A student who has no time for spoiled little rich kids. Despite their rocky beginning, Yeo Joon and Soo Hyun eventually begin to accept each other for who they are, and very slowly, a bond of friendship begins to grow between them. Polar opposites in every way, Yeo Joon and Soo Hyun have little in common but their friendship is real, providing them each the strength they need to take on the challenges they both face in life.

But their friendship is put to the test when Kim So Bin (Kang Min Ah) enters the scene. Will Yeo Joo and Soo Hyun’s unlikely friendship crumble when love begins to bloom?

Adapted from the webtoon of the same name by Ji Nyoong, “At a Distance, Spring is Green” is a Viki Original 2021 slice of life drama directed by Kim Jung Hyun.

At a Distance, Spring is Green

🌿  Spring is Green Team 🍃

Growing up poor, Li Xia (Zheng Shuang) was no stranger to hardship. Forced to deal with life’s infinite struggles from a young age, Li Xia’s unfortunate circumstances only inspired her to work harder than most as she strove to achieve her dreams.&nbsp;

Li Xia’s hard work paid off when she was granted a scholarship to a prestigious high school. Elated to accept the position, Li Xia happily settled into her new school and soon befriended Fu Xiao Si (Cheney Chen) and Lu Zhi Ang (Bai Jing Ting), two of the school’s most popular students. The best of friends throughout high school, Li Xia, Xiao Si, and Zhi Ang were practically inseparable but as is often the case, after graduation, the trio went their separate ways as they began to pursue their dreams.&nbsp;

Ten years later, the trio of high school friends have come to realize that making their way through life is a lot harder than any of them expected. Forced to deal with life’s harsh realities, Li Xia and her friends begin to understand that no matter how hard they try to cling to the sweet memories of the past, nothing lasts forever. Struggling to make sense of life, will Li Xia and her friends come to find that the lessons life has taught them have only served to help them grow?

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Guo Jing Ming, “Rush to the Dead Summer” is a 2017 youth romance drama directed by Han Yang.

Rush to the Dead Summer

Make Memories Together Team

Fuji TV

As a standup paddleboard instructor, summer is unquestionably Natsumi Aoi’s (Nana Mori) busiest season. Living and working at a popular seaside destination, it’s only natural for Natsumi to meet people from all walks of life. Little did she know that this summer, those people would ultimately change her life forever.

As Natsumi’s childhood friend, Takumi Makino (Fuju Kamio) has always been by her side. Never leaving his seaside home, Takumi is now a carpenter who still has a knack for being around anytime Natsumi needs him. Kento Mizushima (Shotaro Mamiya), on the other hand, is an out-of-towner who also works in construction. But his major company ties and degree from a prestigious university set him miles apart from Takumi. Joining him on this seaside adventure is Osamu Sasaki (Riku Hagiwara), a second-year clinical resident and Kento’s high school best friend. Enjoying a little seaside escape of their own are Airi Takigawa (Ai Yoshikawa), Mamoru Yamauchi (Alan Shirahama), Lisa Ogura (Sawa Nimura), and Sosuke Hayakawa (Koji Mizukami).

Coming from all walks of life, this group of young people finds their fates slowly entwining during their seaside adventures. Eventually forced to confront their complex feelings and bottled-up emotions, will any of them find the one thing they’re all so desperately searching for?

Everything a seaside summer romance should be, “Cinderellas of Midsummer” is a 2023 Japanese romance drama directed by Ryo Tanaka.

Cinderellas of Midsummer

⛱️ Summer Guys Team🌞

Youku

Lin Xiao Chun (He Lan Dou), Chen Chen Chen (Esther Yu), Han Yi Tong (Wang Yan Zhi), Ni Jin (Yang Zhi Ying), and Zhang Sheng Nan (Vian Wang) have a lot in common. They’re all university students in their twenties who call the same dormitory home. But just because they have a lot in common doesn’t mean they’re living the same life.

Growing up in the heavy shadow of her perfect older sister, Chen Chen often struggles with her own self-confidence. Painfully shy and a bit of a coward, Xiao Chun has always struggled to fit in with her peers. Raised by her single mother, Yi Tong has always tried to keep an optimistic attitude, despite the fact that she has spent her entire life simply trying to gain the attention of her mother. Choosing to ignore the realities of life, Ni Jin lives her life entirely dependent on her current sugar daddy while Sheng Nan’s life is exactly the opposite. The sole supporter of her, Sheng Nan works a number of part-time jobs to support her ailing brother and debt-ridden mother.&nbsp;

As each young woman struggles with their own personal issues, they come to find that having each other around makes life more bearable. Will the friendship that blossoms between them give each of them the strength to overcome the trials they each face?

Full of life’s ups and downs, “Youth” is a 2018 Chinese slice-of-life drama directed by Ding Zi Guang.&nbsp;

Youth

Dearest You

Standards have been slipping at the elite Eitoku Academy. A student group named Correct 5 decides to act, with Haruto Kaguragi (Hirano Sho) taking the helm. The group’s aim: Identify deadbeat students and force them out of school! This rings the alarm bells for Oto Edogawa (Sugisaki Hana), a student who’s trying to hide the fact that her family is in dire financial straits. She is also trying to hide her engagement to her fiancé Tenma Hase (Taishi Nakagawa), a boy from a rival school. But problems begin to emerge for all involved when Oto Edogawa discovers an embarrassing secret about the Correct 5 kingpin! This drama is the sequel to the hit series “Boys Over Flowers.” This 2018 Japanese drama series was based on a manga series by Yoko Kamio and directed by Yasuharu Ishii.

BOYS OVER FLOWERS Season 2 (2018)

From F4 to C5 It's a Snap 💕

In 2023, Ha Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) is a high schooler and a budding rock musician. He stumbles upon a magical music store that sends him back in time to 1995… where he comes face-to-face with his father Ha Lee Chan (Choi Hyun Wook), who is still in high school! Things get even weirder when he discovers that Lee Chan has a crush on the icy cellist Se Kyeong (Seol In Ah) – not Eun Gyeol's mother, Cheong Ah (Shin Eun Soo)! To try and make things right, Eun Gyeol must join a band fronted by his father. Can Eun Gyeol bring his future parents together? And will he ever get back to his “modern” life? This 2023 South Korean drama series was directed by Son Jong Hyun.

Twinkling Watermelon

🍉Viva la Watermelon🍉Team

KBS, KOCOWA

Ji Hyun aspires to be a fashion designer and works toward that goal, but something that betrays her effort happens. She works in a vineyard to help her father's cousin, Byung Dal, for a year as her parents force her to. She expects to take it easy as the price of the land near the vineyard goes up, but working on the vineyard gives her trouble. Meanwhile, Taek Ki, who helps Byung Dal with farming, works in the vineyard. He finished his studies with Byung Dal's help, so he is helping with Byung Dal's work to pay for his kindness. He is not on friendly terms with Ji Hyun and often quarrels with her. How will Ji Hyun's country life with trials and errors end? And how will her romance with Taek Ki and Kyung Min end?

The Man of the Vineyard

TOKYO MX

Mizuki (Kawazu Asuka) is a former marathon runner who has to come to the end of her athletic career. She has to hang up her running shoes and find a job in the “real world.” She has been laser-focused on running her whole life, has developed very little in the way of social skills – and has totally neglected any thoughts of developing a love life. Her love for sweet food is the only thing that brings her joy...

She takes a job at a high-end hotel – and turns out to be hopeless at her new job. With no experience or natural talent for customer service, she makes gaffe after gaffe. One day, she crosses paths with Kaji (Nagatsuma Reo), a handsome dessert chef who works at the hotel – and has a reputation as a womanizer. Infuriated at how badly her post-running life is turning out, Mizuki vents at Kaji. But instead of angering him, this tirade inspires Kaji, who appoints her as his new taste taster. Is a honey-sweet romance on the cards – or is this duo about to run into trouble?

“Sugar Sugar Honey” is a 2024 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kato Ayaka.

Sugar Sugar Honey

🍭Sweet Lovers💞

Shinichi Chiaki (Hiroshi Tamaki) and Megumi “Nodame” Noda (Juri Ueno), first met at university. Chiaki was an arrogant and condescending – but genial – musician with secret dreams of becoming one of the world’s leading classical music conductors. Nodame, meanwhile, was a scatterbrained pianist with little regard for musical theory. Over time, the duo eventually found love, despite their many differences.

Now, years later, Chiaki finds himself on the verge of his dream. After winning a highly prestigious music competition, he is appointed as the conductor of a French orchestra – ahead of a major performance. But when he arrives to check on the orchestra’s condition, he is shocked to find the entire outfit in disarray. Nodame, who fears that Chiaki’s new project will tear him away from her, vows to help him. The orchestra’s first performance is disastrous, and now Chiaki and Nodame must find a way to turn its fate around. Will they succeed – or will Chiaki’s big moment end in disappointment?

This film was based on a hit 2001 manga series named “Nodame Cantabile” that also spawned a popular live-action series of the same name in 2006. It is the precursor to 2010’s “Nodame Cantabile: The Movie 2.”

“Nodame Cantabile: The Movie 1” is a 2009 Japanese movie that was directed by Hideki Takeuchi.

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