korean dramas that have broken my heart

After enduring tragedy and struggles as a child, Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won) made a successful career for herself as a stuntwoman, although she has little patience for nonsense. When she meets narcissistic and arrogant CEO Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), she despises his attitude, but he feels strangely drawn to her in a way he can’t explain. Joo Won tries to win Ra Im over, but she rebuffs his advances, uninterested in the showy things he has to offer her. Their adversarial relationship takes an absurd turn when their souls swap, and they’re forced to act in each other’s lives while they try to find a cure for their conundrum – but neither of them could've expected that their body-switching would lead to falling in love.

Secret Garden

SG Team

Lee Shin (Jung Yong Hwa), a rock band vocalist, and Lee Gyoo Won (Park Shin Hye), a traditional gayageum player, meet at a performing arts college where their contrasting musical worlds collide. Shin, initially interested in dance professor Jung Yoon Soo (So Yi Hyun), becomes intrigued by the feisty Gyoo Won, who comes from a prestigious traditional music background. Both passionate about their distinct musical styles, they struggle to find common ground. As they navigate their differences, they begin to explore the potential harmony between rock and traditional Korean folk music.

Heartstrings

KBS2

Working-class highschooler Jan Di (Ku Hye Sun) secures a scholarship at the prestigious Shin Hwa High School. Shin Hwa is attended by elites, most infamously the F4 — the four richest boys in school. Not one to stir up trouble, Jan Di keeps to herself... until her best friend accidentally drops ice cream on F4 leader Goo Joon Pyo (Lee Min Ho). After Jan Di stands up for her friend, her anonymity goes out the window and the F4 won't leave her alone. However, as Jan Di learns more about the F4, she realizes that there's more than meets the eye... and it seems Joon Pyo feels the same way. Will this unlikely duo find romance? Released in 2009 and based on the Japanese manga of the same name, this drama is a worldwide phenomenon and a fan-favorite classic.

Boys Over Flowers

🌸The Fabulous Four Team🌸

Sung Shi Won (Jung Eun Ji) and her five high school friends – Yoon Yoon Jae (Seo In Guk), Mo Yoo Jung (Shin So Yul), Kang Joon Hee (Hoya), Do Hak Chan (Eun Ji Won), and Bang Sung Jae (Lee Shi Un) – were obsessed with K-pop idols in 1997. For 18-year-old Shi Won, her world revolved around Tony An of H.O.T., with dreams of becoming his wife. Fifteen years later, at 33, the friends reunite for a mini-reunion where two of them announce their engagement. As they reminisce about their teenage years, the story challenges viewers to guess which two friends' passionate idol worship transformed into genuine love. This nostalgic journey explores friendship, first loves, and the transformative power of youth. "Answer Me 1997" is a 2012 South Korean drama series directed by Shin Won Ho that captures the essence of teenage dreams and lasting connections.

Reply 1997

 The Super Busan Team

Oh Ha Ni (Jung So Min) is head-over-heels for Baek Seung Jo (Kim Hyun Joong), the school's most popular boy, but there's just one problem: he doesn't even know she exists! Determined to win his heart, Ha Ni concocts countless schemes to get his attention, but nothing seems to work. But when all hope seems lost, fate steps in when an earthquake destroys Ha Ni’s house, forcing her and her father to move in with a family friend – who just happens to be Seung Jo’s father! Now living under the same roof, Ha Ni’s dreams of catching Seung Jo’s eye seem closer than ever. Will she finally melt his icy exterior, or is she doomed to be stuck in the friend zone forever ? This 2010 South Korean drama was adapted from Kaoru Tada’s manga of the same name.

Playful Kiss

the PKer team

Gu Seo Jin (Hyun Bin), the director of theme park Wonder Land, is also a third-generation member of the family that owns Wonder Group, making him one of the contenders to be the next CEO. However, for the past 15 years, Seo Jin has privately dealt with dissociative identity disorder, avoiding any activities that might trigger the appearance of his alter, Robin, whose kind and gentle personality contrasts with Seo Jin’s cynical, ruthless ways. This grows increasingly difficult when Jang Ha Na (Han Ji Min), the next-generation director of the circus show at Wonder Land, returns with plans to revamp the failing show. Seo Jin had planned to cancel the show due to poor margins, but Ha Na refuses to back down, leading to Robin’s personality emerging more frequently. As the stakes grow higher, Seo Jin, Ha Na, and Robin’s relationship to each other continues to evolve in ways none of them expected.

Hyde, Jekyll, Me

Don't Hyde From Me Team

Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho)’s wealthy parents have been grooming him to take over the lucrative family business, the Empire Group, since he was just a young boy. His jealous older half-brother Kim Won (Choi Jin Hyuk) – already a successful executive at the firm – is a constant thorn in Tan’s side. Tan, meanwhile, is engaged to an heiress, Rachel Ryu (Kim Ji Won), the scion of a powerful, hotel-owning family. But while he is studying in the United States, Tan meets and falls for Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), unaware that she is the daughter of his family’s housekeeper. As super-rich families hatch plans for their children’s future, could love put an end to their ambitious schemes? This 2013 South Korean drama series was directed by Kang Shin Hyo and Boo Sung Chul.

Heirs

The Heirs Team

Furniture designer Park Gae In (Son Ye Jin) lives in a spectacular historic home. She has been scarred by past events, and now craves stability and calm. She decides that she needs a housemate, but is very fussy about the kind of person she wants to live with. She thinks she has found the perfect housemate when she meets architect Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho), a man she mistakenly believes is gay – and will thus have no interest in her. He gladly agrees to live with her, thinking that living in her stunning home will help him land a dream architectural project. But things get complicated when Jin Ho finds himself falling for Gae In. Can he keep his feelings secret – or will she learn the truth about her new housemate?

Personal Taste

Time has not been kind to Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum). Once a beautiful girl from a wealthy family, she has now lost both her looks and her wealth. Currently living rent-free with a friend and working part-time as a clerk, Hye Jin is shocked when her first love, Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon), contacts her out of the blue. Sung Joon, who was once unattractive, is now a handsome and successful editor. To preserve his perfect image of her, Hye Jin asks her pretty best friend Min Ha Ri (Go Jun Hee) to meet him in her place. This plan backfires when Hye Jin lands a full-time job and discovers that Sung Joon is her boss. Adding to the chaos, her co-worker Kim Shin Hyeok (Choi Si Won) develops feelings for her. Can a lasting romance emerge from this tangled mess?

She Was Pretty

The Ugly Ducklings

JTBC

Go Hye Rim (Han Ye Seul), a sharp-witted cafe owner, works as an adviser to psychotherapist Choi Soo Hyun (Sung Joon), unaware that he is conducting a secret experiment about the "ideal type of man" with help from his half-brother Choi Seung Chan (Jung Jin Woon) and clinic employee Won Ji Ho (Lee Joo Hyung). Simultaneously, Hye Rim is being paid by a mysterious client to obtain Soo Hyun's valuable experiment files. As their complex game of cat and mouse unfolds, the boundaries between professional research and personal manipulation become increasingly blurred. The tension rises as both Hye Rim and Soo Hyun try to outmaneuver each other, each harboring hidden agendas and motivations. This is a 2016 South Korean drama series directed by Kim Yoon Cheol.

Madame Antoine

The Fortunetellers

KBS02

Park Ji Sang (Ahn Jae Hyun) works as a hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeon in one of Korea’s best cancer research hospitals. He’s also a vampire, born from parents infected with a virus known as VBT-01 that causes vampirism. Despite this, Ji Sang is a firm believer in the sanctity of human life, and suppresses his blood-drinking instincts to save patients’ lives. He reunites with highly competent surgeon Yoo Ri Ta (Ku Hye Sun), the hospital owner’s niece whom he once saved from a dangerous situation, and begins to fall for her, but she doesn’t seem to remember him. However, when diabolical vampire doctor Lee Jae Wook (Ji Jin Hee) takes over as the new chief, Ji Sang will need to keep his wits about him to prevent danger to himself, his patients, and Ri Ta from harm.

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