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KajoPicks: 8 Korean dramas about second chance romance to watch

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One commonly seen theme in South Korean dramas is second chance romance. It is when a divorced couple gives their relationship a second chance and finding themselves falling in love all over again.

While in reality, most divorced couples do not rekindle their relationship. These South Korean dramas offers hope in second chance romance.

Here are our picks for 8 South Korean dramas about second chance romance you need to watch:

1.Alone in Love (2006)

Kicking off the list is a Korean series that won critically acclaim for its subtle and realistic portrayal of love, marriage and divorce.

Eun-ho (Son Ye-jin) and Dong-jin (Kam Woo-sung) meet one day at the bookstore where Dong-jin works.

Sparks fly between them and they immediately fall in love after a series of dates.

They eventually married but two years later are divorced.

Even so, the divorced couple still meet up for breakfast and have dinner on their wedding anniversary.

This makes them wonder if the fingering feelings they have are love. They both are too afraid to start over and even more afraid to get their hearts broken for the second time.

2.Go Back Couple (2017)

To all married couples out there, if you had the chance to go back in time, would you marry the same person all over again?

Go Back Couple or also known asConfession Couple explores the possibility of this question in which the two main characters have the opportunity to go back in time when they first met after their nasty divorce.

Based on the Naver Webtoon called Do it One More Time, the drama stars Son Ho-jun and Jang Na-ra.

Choi Ban-do (Ho-jun) and Ma Jin-joo (Jang Na-ra) are both 38 years old, married with a young son.

Their daily lives leave them both unhappy and exhausted. After a series of fights and argument, the couple decides to get a divorce.

On the day after their official divorce, they wake up to find themselves as 20 year old university students.

They then decide to make different choices than they did the first time around by firstly trying not to fall in love with each other.

While it has a tiny dose of fantasy in it, the drama successfully portrays the reality of some marriages.

The couple were head over heels with each other in the beginning of their marriage. They began to drift apart as they slowly not communicate with each other and taking each other for granted.

Anyway, how much changes could they make in their pasts that could impact on their futures? Or everything was meant to be in the first place?

Watch the trailer here.

3.Cunning Single Lady (2014)

Na Ae-ra (Lee Min-jung) grew up believing she was born to be only pretty and not smart.

While working at her family’s restaurant, she falls in love with Cha Jung-woo (Joo Sang-wook).
After her marriage to Jung-woo, she thought she finally achieved her dreams of becoming a housewife.

Suddenly Jung-woo announced that he wanted to quit his job and start his own company.

Although she disagrees with her husband’s decision, she still supports him with by taking odd jobs.

After suffering from the stress of being the sole breadwinner, Ae-ra divorces Jung-woo four years into their marriage.

Three years after their divorce, Jung-woo is now a wealthy CEO while Aera is still paying for the debt she took during their marriage.

Ae-ra takes up an intern job at her ex-husband’s company. Jung-woo believes that Ae-ra wants him back for his money but all she wants from his a belated apology.

Beside the classic old flame being fanned all over again, the drama also touches on the stigma a woman has to go through after a divorce. In one scene, Ae-ra is harassed and referred as ‘used good’ just because she is a divorcee.

4.Emergency Couple (2014)

This medical drama circles about divorced couple who rekindled their love when they become reunited years later as interns at the same hospital.

Oh Jin-hee (Song Ji-hyo), a dietitian falls in love and marries Oh Chang-min (Choi Jin-hyuk) despite his family’s opposition.

This results to Chang-min being cut off financially by his family after his marriage.

He also gives up his dream of becoming a doctor and becomes a pharmaceutical salesman instead.

The couple begins to fight constantly and eventually get a divorce.

Six years later, they both find themselves as interns at the same hospital where they will have to work in the emergency room together for three months.

Although it was initially set for 20 episodes, it was extended by one episode due to its popularity.

Watch the trailer here.

5.18 vs 29 (2005)

What happen if you ended up losing 11 years of your memories inconveniently on the day you supposed to file for divorce?

Park Sun-young plays Yoo Hye-chan a 29-year-old housewife who is unhappily married to a famous actor Kang Sang-young (Ryu Soo-young).

While on her way to court to file for divorce, a car accident drastically changes her life. It causes her to mentally revert to her 18-year-old self.

Sang-young wants to reconcile and tries to help her recover her memory. Meanwhile, Hye-chan finds herself falling in love with her husband all over again.

6.Can’t Lose (2011)

This Korean second chance romance drama is a remake of the 2008 Japanese drama The Sasaki Couple’s Merciless Battle.

It is circles around two bickering, married divorce lawyers who lash out on each other in and out of the courtroom.

The drama stars Choi Ji-woo, Yoon Sang-hyun and Kim Jung-tae.

7.Single Wife (2017)

When Ra-hee (Uhm Hyun-kyung) is about to marry Jae-min (Kwak Hee-sung), she finds out that her divorce with her ex-husband Min-hong (Sung Hyuk) has not been finalised by law.

Ra-hee tries to fix the hiccup so that she can marry again.

‘Conveniently’, Min-hong gets into an accident and develops amnesia, forgetting that he and Ra-hee are already divorced.

What would Ra-hee do now?

KajoPicks: 8 Korean dramas about second chance romance to watch

8.My Secret Hotel (2005)

Nam Sang-hyo (Yoo In-na) is the head of the wedding planning division of The Secret Hotel.

Everything seems go smoothly until she finds out her next client is Gu Hae-young (Jin Yi-han), her ex-husband.

Meanwhile, Sang-hyo has caught the eye of her boss Jo Sung-gyeom (Min Nam-koong Min), the hotel managing director who has all the female employees swooning.

To make things interesting between the former couple, a murder takes place in the hotel.

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KajoPicks: 10 South Korean mystery movies you need to watch

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If you need a dose of whodunit or what-on-earth-is-going-on type of entertainment, here are 10 South Korean mystery movies to watch:

1.Helpless (2012)

Imagine David Fincher’s Gone Girl (2014) but with an even darker approach.

Based on the bestselling novel All She Was Worth by Japanese writer Miyabe Miyuki, this South Korean mystery/psychological thriller is written and directed by Byun Young-joo.

One month before their wedding, Moon-ho (Lee Sun-kyun) and Sun-young (Kim Min-hee) decides to take a road trip to Andong.

Moon-ho plans to formally introduce his fiancee to his parents.

On their way to Andong, they pull over at a highway rest stop.

While Moon-ho goes inside the rest stop to get coffee, Sun-young stays in the car.

But when Moon-ho returns, he is shocked to discover that his fiancée is missing.

After looking all over the rest stop, Moon-ho file a police report. One thing after one another, Moon-ho begins to realise that his fiancée is not the person he thinks she is.

For starters, her name is not even Sun-young.

Helpless (2012) was the twelfth most-watched Korean film in 2012.

Watch the trailer here.

2.Moss (2010)

A remote village with villagers acting all suspicious always makes a good background story for a mystery movie.

Ryu Hae-kook (Park Hae-il) arrives at a village to attend his father’s funeral.

After the funeral, Hae-kook decides to stay to investigate as he suspects his father is a murder victim.

From there, Hae-kook finds himself entangled in murder attempt, arson, real estate fraud and corruption.

Can he discover the truth behind his father’s death?

This Korean mystery movie is based on the popular webtoon of the same title by Yoon Tae-ho.

Watch the trailer here.

3.The Wailing (2016)

Speaking of remote villages, here is a Korean horror film centering around mysterious killings and illnesses.

In the small village of Goksung, police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) investigates a series of bizarre murders allegedly caused by a mysterious disease.

Rumour has it that a Japanese stranger, who lives in a secluded house in the mountains, is responsible for the illness.

Additionally, the stranger is reportedly to be a spirit.

Jong-goo decides to visit the stranger along with his partner and a young priest who speaks Japanese.

There, they find an altar with a goat head, pictures on the walls of the infected people that died.

Among the items, Jong-goo finds his daughter Hyo-jin’s shoe. Soon after that, she becomes sick.

Is the stranger really responsible for the illness falls upon Gokseong?

The film was both a commercial and critical success.

Watch the trailer here.

4.The Silenced (2015)

Set in Gyeongseong in 1938 during the Japanese occupation, the film centers on Ju-ran/Shizuko (Park Bo-young).

She is a sickly young girl who gets transferred to a sanatorium to recover her health.

Her physical condition improves thanks to her new friend Yeon-deok (Park So-dam) and the headmistress (Uhm Ji-won)’s special treatment program.

However, she soon notices that students are disappearing one by one.

Adding on the weird thing around her, her own body is undergoing abnormal changes.

Determined to uncover the truth, Ju-ran starts to investigate the mysterious happenings around her.

Where do her schoolmates go? Who is behind it? Additonally, what is happening to her body?

5.M (2007)

After the success of his first novel, the pressure is high on young author Min-woo (Kang Dong-won) to write another best-selling book.

He is struggle with writer’s block, nightmares and hallucinations. Hence, all of these end up affecting his career and personal life.

Slowly, Min-woo finds himself unable to differentiate between fantasy and reality.

In the meantime, a charming young woman named Mimi (Lee Yeon-hee) shows up. He seems to have a history with her, but what?

The movie had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and Pusan International Film Festival.

6.White Night (2009)

When a pawnbroker is found dead in a remote town in a derelict building, the police are divided on whether it was a murder or a suicide.

Detective Han Dong-su (Han Suk-kyu) investigates the case and it leads him to a homicide case that took place 14 years ago.

The prime suspect of that case, is a woman who suspected to be the dead man’s lover. Soon afterwards, the woman is also found dead leaving behind her daughter Lee Ji-ah (Son Ye-jin).

After the death of her mother, Lee Ji-ah changes her name to Yoo Mi-ho.

Now, fourteen years later, Mi-ho is set to marry a rich CEO. Is there any connection between Mi-ho and these deaths?

White Night (2009) is based on the Japanese novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino, who is mainly known for his mystery novels.

Watch the trailer here.

7.Forgotten (2017)

Jin-seok (Kang Ha-neul) moves into a new home with his older brother Yoo-seok (Kim Moo-yul), mother (Na Young-hee) and father (Moon Sung-geun).

One rainy evening, Jin-seok sees Yoo-seok being thrown into a van by a group of men.

After 19 days, Yoo-seok returns home but he doesn’t remember anything from his disappearance.

Jin-seok though notices enough changes in his older brother’s personality and behavior that he begins to suspect that the person who has returned is not Yoo-seok.

What if the one who lost his memories is Jin-seok and not Yoo-seok? And that even his memory fools him of what happened.

The director Jang Hang-jun said he is inspired from a story told to him by a friend whose cousin left home for about a month and returned with a drastic changes in personality.

8.Perfect Number (2012)

Here is another Korean film based on the work of mystery writer Keigo Higashino’s 2005 novel Yogisha X no Kenshin.

Kim Seok-go (Ryoo Seung-bum) is an ordinary high school math teacher who was a brilliant mathematician as a child.

He lives a normal, introverted life which includes a morning exchange with Baek Hwa-sun (Lee Yo-won).

She is a cafe employee with whom he buys lunch from.

When Hwa-sun’s ex-husband mercilessly beats Hwa-sun and her niece, Hwa-sun kills him.

Meanwhile, Seok-go overhears the fight from his house next door and decides to cover up the killing and protect her from the police.

He uses his genius in meticulously planning the perfect alibi for her, and thanks to his efforts, Hwa-sun is cleared in the case.

But is she completely cleared from the murder?

Watch the trailer here.

9.Blood Rain (2005)

This Korean mystery movie is set in 1808, touching on historical discrimination against the Roman Catholics during the Joseon dynasty.

On Donghwa Island, there is technologically advanced paper mill allowing its townspeople a certain degree of wealth.

Suddenly, this peaceful and isolated island is shaken by a string of gruesome murders.

Even more, the victims were killed the most sadistic way.

With the killer still on the loose, the government sends in special investigator Wonkyu (Cha Seung-won) to crack the case.

His investigation leads him to an incident that takes place seven years earlier, in which the former owner of the paper mill was executed for practicing Catholicism.

In the meantime, the residents are convinced that the dead man’s is back for revenge.

Can the ghost of a dead man bring so much trouble into the land of the living?

10.Intruder (2020)

After the lost of his wife in a hit and run accident, architect Kang Seo-jin (Kim Mu-yeol) is a mess.

He is struggles to manage his work and taking care of his daughter as well as finding the driver who kills his wife.

One day, he receives a call from an orphanage claiming that his long lost sister was found.

Kang Yoo-jin (Song Ji-hyo) was abducted 25 years ago and now she finally comes home.

Soon, Yoo-jin gets close to the whole family including with Seo-jin’s daughter who follows everything her aunt tells her to do.

After a series on incident, Seo-jin begins to realise that Yoo-jin might not be his sister but an intruder.

Although the film was originally scheduled for a release in March 2020, its premiere was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After its premiere on June 5, it breaks the records of highest number of first-day moviegoers achieved by any film in South Korea since the pandemic.

Watch the trailer here.

KajoPicks: 10 South Korean mystery movies you need to watch
Watch Song Ji-hyo’s unbelievable acting in this Korean mystery movie called Intruder (2020). Credit: Youtube.

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KajoPicks: 10 juicy Korean dramas about adultery to watch

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Do you know that committing adultery was a crime up until a few years ago in South Korea?

This law was overturned in 2015 by South Korea’s Constitutional Court.

The court ruled that one’s sex life was private and it was the right of an individual ‘to pursue happiness’.

Before that, anyone who cheated on their spouse could be charged and if convicted, could spend up to two years in prison.

In Korean drama-land, having the main characters as cheaters or being cheated on is a juicy, salacious plot idea.

And viewers actually enjoy these blood-boiling dramas circling around adultery.

So here are KajoMag’s favourite Korean dramas about adultery that you should watch:

1.World of the Married (2020)

KajoPicks: 10 juicy Korean dramas about adultery to watch
Would you kill your spouse for committing adultery? Credits: Youtube

This list of dramas about adultery can never be complete without World of the Married (2020).

It created so much hype and invoked so much hatred that the actress who played as the mistress in the drama received hateful comments on her Instagram.

Some viewers could not even differentiate between reality and fantasy in this drama because that is how good the acting was.

Based on BBC One’s drama series Doctor Foster, it tells the story of a married couple whose betrayal leads to a back-and-forth revenge.

To date, it is the highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history.

The story focuses on Ji Sun-woo (Kim Hee-ae), a respected doctor and the associate director of a hospital.

She has been married to Lee Tae-oh (Park Hae-joon) for more than a decade.

Tae-oh works as a struggling film director who is feeling insecure and inferior for having a successful wife.

So what does an insecure man do? They got into affairs with much younger women who think highly of them.

Tae-oh’s mistress Han So-hee (Yeo Da-kyung) is the only child of rich parents and used to getting what she wants.

And of all the things she could have, she wants another woman’s husband.

While most viewers are drawn to the juicy revenge and scandalous plots of this drama, the story’s actual message the impact of divorce on children.

Watch the trailer here.

2.Secret Affair (2014)

Oh yes, you can tell this drama is about adultery and infidelity based on the title itself.

While Kim Hee-ae gets cheated on in World of the Married (2020), here is Secret Affair (2014) where she does all the cheating as Oh Hye-won.

At the age 40, she seems like a woman who is living a fulfilling life. She carries herself elegantly and full of sophistication as the director of planning for the Seohan Arts Foundation.

One day, she comes across Lee Sun-jae (Yoo Ah-in). A genius pianist, Sun-jae is 20 years Hye-won’s junior.

They begin a scandalous, passionate affair together which they have to keep as a secret no matter what.

3.VIP (2019)

Jung-sun (Jang Na-ra) comes from an affluent family and graduated from a prestigious university. She lands a high-level job at Sung Un Department Store without much difficulty.

Her work as the department store’s VIP management team is to serve their top one percent of customers who are special VIPs and VVIPs.

Her husband Park Seong-joon (Lee Sang-yoon) is her team leader at work.

One day, she receives an anonymous text telling her about Seong-joon’s adultery.

Jeong-soon begins to dig up the truth about her husband and ends up finding out more than she can bargain for.

Watch the trailer here.

4.Temptation of Wife (2008)

In this revenge thriller drama, the husband Jung Kyo-bin (Byeon Woo-min) is a world-class jackass.

He cheats on his wife Goo Eun-jae (Jang Seo-hee), divorces her, forces her to abort their baby and leaves her to die.

Eun-jae then suddenly makes a surprise comeback from the dead showing up with a complete different attitude, a mole and brand new identity as So-hee.

Due to this, the drama gained much criticism when nobody seemed to recognise Eun-jae just by virtue of a single mole on her cheek.

Ridiculous? Maybe. The drama, however, remains one of the most viewed dramas of all time. It even had two remakes in China and the Philippines.

5.I Have a Lover (2015)

Speaking of two people who look alike, I Have a Lover (2015) is about a pair of twins Hae-kang and Yong-ki (Kim Hyun-joo) who were separated 30 years ago.

Hae-kang is living her life as an ambitious and successful lawyer with her husband Choi Jin-eon (Ji Jin-hee).

After they lose their daughter, their marriage is pretty much loveless and dysfunctional.

Jin-eon goes on to start an affair with a younger girl Seol-ri (Park Han-byul). Later on, the couple divorces.

Hae-kang gets into a mysterious car accident and loses her memory. Baek-seok (Lee Kyu-han) mistaking Hae-kang as Yong-gi and saves her life.

From there, Hae-kang continues her life believing herself to be Yong-gi and falls in love with Bae-seok.

But what happen when her adulterous former husband shows up? Will she falls for him all over again?

6.My Wife’s Having An Affair This Week (2016)

Also known as Listen to Love, this Korean drama is based on the 2007 Japanese series by the same title.

What if you find you find out your wife is having an affair? Who do you turn to?

Hyun-woo (Lee Sun-kyun) fell in love with Soo-yeon (Song Ji-hyo) when they were in college.

After eight years of marriage, he thought he had the perfect family. His wife is beautiful and devoted to their son.

His world comes crashing down on him when he sees a hotel reservation message sent by a male stranger on Soo-yeon’s phone.

At first, he does not think much about it. However, Hyun-woo slowly start to realise that his wife is having an affair.

He starts to question everything in his life including how he is like as a husband and father. To seek advice, he begins to talk to strangers online to figure out how to save his marriage.

7.My Husband’s Woman (2007)

Before Kim Hee-ae played the dutiful wife in World of the Married (2020), she was the mistress Hwa-young in My Husband’s Woman (2007).

After graduating from college, she meets a Korean-American man whom she later marries. She then moved to the US to live with her husband.

Years of marriage, Hwa-young and her husband are unable to conceive. Later due to a failed business, her husband falls into deep depression and commits suicide.

After the loss of her husband Hwa-young returns to South Korea.

There, her best friend Ji-soo (Bae Chong-ok) helps her build a new life.

She also meets Joon-pyo (Kim Sang-joong), Ji-soo’s husband.

So how does Hwa-young repay her best-friend’s kindness after all she has done? She falls in love with Joon-pyo and starts an affair with him.

In the meantime, Ji-soo eventually finds out and the psychological warfare begins.

8.Misty (2018)

Twisted, intense and a very intriguing whodunnit storyline; Misty (2018) marks Kim Nam-joo’s return to the small screen after six years.

She plays the role of Go Hye-ran, an ambitious anchorwoman for the popular news show News 9.

One day, she needs to interview a famous golfer named Kevin. As it turns out, the man is her former lover.

The sexual tension between them is high and both of them have various rendezvous together. It should not been a problem if they both were not married.

Hye-ran’s husband is Kang Tae-wook (Ji Jin-hee), a public defender whom she married for his powerful family background.

Kevin is married to Hye-ran’s friend from school Eun-joo (Jeon Hye-jin). The affair turns deadly as Kevin is found dead and Hye-ran is the prime suspect.

For some unknown reason, Hye-ran’s estranged husband steps in to be her lawyer. Is it out of love and their marriage or is there something else going on?

The first four episodes are rated 19 by the Korea Communications Commission due to violence and sexual content so you know things are steamy in the beginning.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Woman of Dignity (2017)

What is worse than a woman who is proud of ruining someone else’s marriage? A mother who encourages her daughter to do so.

Woo Ah-jin (Kim Hee-sun) is an elegant and charismatic woman who marries into a rich family.

Thanks to her character and wisdom, she gains the favour of her father-in-law and a president of a multi-millionaire company.

Ah-jin is entrusted to find a caregiver for her father-in-law. She find Bok-ja (Kim Sun-ah) whom she thought was a simple woman from the village.

Things turn upside down in that household when Bok-ja manages to convince the president to transfer his money and company to her.

Making it worse for Ah-jin, she finds out her husband is cheating on her.

The story continues with Ah-jin trying to gain back her father-in-law’s wealth as well as making the unapologetic mistress and husband pay for their betrayals.

10.The Hymn of Death (2018)

Here is a Korean drama based on a real-life adultery.

Yun Sim-deok (1897-1926) is Korea’s first professional soprano. In 1921, she met Kim U-jin, an English literature student.

They both fell in love with each other but there are two problems, U-jin is married and divorce is out of the question.

Starring Lee Jong-suk and Shin Hye-sun, the drama is based on the real-life romance of U-jin and Sim-deok.

Since it is based on true story, viewers who know the story beforehand can already predict the ending.

Watch the trailer here.

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KajoPicks: 10 Korean thriller dramas from OCN you should watch

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Orion Cinema Network (OCN) is a movie channel on basic cable in South Korea. It is one of the cable channels in the country besides Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (jTBC), Channel A and Total Variety Network (TvN).

Among Korean drama fans, OCN channel is known to air the best thriller dramas.

If you are looking for thriller dramas, here are 10 of them you should watch from OCN:

1.Voice (2017)

After his wife is murdered while he is at work, Moo Jin-hyuk (Jang Hyuk) is crippled with guilt. The successful detective’s life spirals out of control after her death.

In the meantime, Kang Kwon-joo (Lee Ha-na) is a driven rookie officer working at the emergency 112 call center.

While working there, a brutal murder takes place and her police father was the first to arrive. Unfortunately, her father is killed by the killer and Kwon-joo hears everything over the phone.

After the incident, she goes to the US to further her studies and returns to Korea as a voice profiler.

Together with Jin-hyuk, the duo go on a hunt for the serial killer who is responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.

All thanks to its popularity, OCN renewed the series for the second season in 2018 and the third season in 2019.

Watch the trailer here.

2.Tunnel (2017)

We listed this drama as one of our favourite Korean time-travel series as well as series inspired by the Hwaseong serial murders.

Starring Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min and Lee Yoo-young, the drama first sets in 1986.

Park Gwang-ho is a successful detective assigned to a series of killings. One day, something mysterious happens when he passes through a tunnel while pursuing a suspect. He finds himself time-travelling 30 years into the future.

There he meet Kim Seon-jae, an elite but eccentric detective. As it turns out, the serial murders in the 80s continue to happen in the present.

The duo works with psychology professor Shin Jae-yi to solve these unsolved murders.

Watch the trailer here.

3.Missing Noir M (2015)

In this police procedural-thriller drama, Missing Noir M circles around the special missing persons task force.

This task force only takes 1 per cent of the toughest unsolved cases. Its leader Gil Soo-hyun (Kim Kang-woo) is a genius who worked for the FBI.

His partner is Oh Dae-young (Park Hee-soon), a senior detective with a strong sense of justice.

Soo-hyun goes by the book and is very analytical while Dae-young is the I-have-a-hunch kind of detective.

Can they put aside their different working styles and solve cases together?

Watch the trailer here.

4.Save Me (2017)

Based on the webtoon Out of the World by Jo Geum-san, this drama airs on OCN from Aug 5 to Sept 24 in 2017.

After her father’s business fails, Sang-mi and her family move from Seoul to the suburb of Muji County.

On the surface, there is peaceful church in the county. Behind closed doors, the church is the religious cult Goseonwon.

In their new school, Sang-mi’s brother Sang-jin is being bullied. Due to this, he commits suicide, leaving his family falling apart.

The cult leader then takes this chance to lure Sang-mi’s parents into Goseonwon.

Trapped by the cult, Sang-mi has nowhere to go and her parents are completely brainwashed.

Three years later, her classmate Han Sang-hwan, the son of the county chief who is now a law student, and his two friends Jung-hoon and Man-hee have a chance encounter with Sang-mi.

She whispers to them, “Save me.”

Watch the trailer here.

5.Trap (2019)

Kang Woo-hyun (Lee Seo-jin) is a respected anchor at a broadcasting station. He has a lovely family and his life seems perfect.

One day, he goes on a trip with his family and a tragic situation occurs.

Meanwhile, Ko Dong-kook (Sung Dong-il) is a veteran detective with uncanny instinct.

He takes Kang Woo-hyun’s case and starts to investigate about his family.

Watch the trailer here.

6.Hell is Other People (2019)

Yoon Jong-woo is a handsome writer who comes from the countryside. After landing a new job in a new city, he moves in room 303 at Eden Dormitory.

His next door neighbour in room 304 is Seo Moon-jo, a mysterious dentist.

At first, Jong-woo is willing to cope with the almost rundown place until he saves enough money to move out.

Then mysterious things start to happen around the dormitory, making him wanting to stay in order to investigate these occurrences.

Watch the trailer here.

7.Watcher (2019)

Fifteen years ago, a murder took place which turned the lives of three people upside down. Perhaps by fate (or Korean drama logic), these three people were brought together to search for answers.

Do Chi-Gwang (Han Suk-kyu) is an elite detective. But after awhile working in the force, he realises that all the important tasks are handed to the corrupt police. Hence, he decides to join the internal affairs investigation team.

In the meantime, Kim Young-koon (Seo Kang-joon) is another police officer who is affected by the murder case 15 years ago. At first glance, he seems to be uncaring and have a cold personality .

Actually, it is just a facade to hide himself and his struggle with the past. He too, joins Chi-gwang and his internal affairs investigation team.

The final member of the group is Han Tae-joo (Kim Hyun-joo). She used to be a prosecutor before quitting to become a lawyer. Together, they slowly begin to unravel what actually happened 15 years ago.

With 16 episodes, the drama manages to keep the suspense throughout the series. Many viewers praised it for being able to keep them in its grips until the very end.

Watcher (2019) is directed by Ahn Gil-ho who is known for his works Stranger (2017) and Memories of the Alhambra (2018).

Watch the trailer here.

8.The Lies Within (2019)

Dead body? Check. Missing person? Check. A conspiracy theory? Check. The Lies Within (2019) has all the above components which make the basics of a thriller drama.

It circles around Jo Tae-sik (Lee Min-ki), a detective who moved to a police station in a small country village.

Thinking that he could get away from the nasty crimes of big city, a dead body shows up in his area.

It belongs to Lawmaker Kim Seung-cheol. At first, his death looks like a car accident but his hunch tells Tae-sik there is more than meets the eye.

His suspicion grows when he finds out that Seung-cheol’s son in-law goes missing.

In the mean time Kim Seo-hui (Lee Yoo-young) is the youngest daughter of Seung-cheol. Together with Tae-sik, she aims to find out what happen to her father and missing husband.

Developed and produced by Studio Dragon for OCN, this thriller drama is based on a novel by Joo Won-gyu.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Bad Guys (2014)

This answers the question, what if the Suicide Squad was made up of a bunch of South Korean inmates.

Detective Oh Gu-tak (Kim Sang-joong) comes up with a brilliant plan; to use criminals to investigates and hunt down other criminals. Who know the minds of criminals than the criminals themselves right?

So he releases three convicts from jail to form his team.

Lee Jung-moon (Park Hae-jin) is a psychopath serial killer. Putting that aside, he is the youngest member of Mensa with an IQ of 165 and doctorate degrees in Math and Philosophy. (Of course.)

The second convict is a mob boss, Park Un-cheol (Ma Dong-seok).

Lastly, Jung Tae-soo (Jo Dong-hyuk) a professional killer who never been caught but suddenly turned himself in one day.

10.Tell Me What You Saw (2020)

KajoPicks: 10 Korean thriller dramas from OCN you should watch

Oh Hyun-jae (Jang Hyuk) was once a top criminal profiler. Everything crumbles around him when he loses his fiance in an explosion caused by a serial killer. The serial killer is never caught.

Since then, he gave up his career and live in seclusion.

Five years later, a new murder case happens using the same method as that serial killer.

This prompts Hyun-jae to return to his field in order to catch the killer. He is joined by Cha Soo-young (Soo-young), a rookie detective who has a photographic memory.

Produced by Studio Dragon, this drama is one of the high-rated series from OCN in 2020.

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KajoPicks: 10 South Korean dramas about reincarnation to watch

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Korean dramas love playing with the ideas ‘I will love you even in my next life’. With Buddhists accounting for 46 per cent of the South Korean population, the idea of reincarnation is not a foreign concept for the viewers there.

The idea of reincarnation in a Korean drama usually offers one common question, who was the character in their past life?

Here are 10 South Korean dramas about reincarnation you should watch:

1.Goblin (2016)

Kicking off the list is Goblin, a high-rated Korean drama written by Kim Eun-sook.

Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), is a decorated military general from the Goryeo Dynasty.

After all he has done for the country, he is framed as a traitor and killed by the young king.

Years after his death, he is cursed to be the immortal goblin as punishment for the kills he committed in the wars to protect his country.

The only way to put an end to his immortality is the Goblin’s bride. She is the only one who can see the sword in his body and pull it out to end his painful immortality.

In the meantime, Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun) is a bubbly high school student who summons the goblin by chance.

Their story starts to unfold after the Goblin’s nephew Yoo Deok-hwa (Yook Sung-jae) leaves the Goblin’s house to a Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-wook) and the two end up living under the same roof.

Meanwhile, Eun-tak works as a part-timer for Sunny (Yoo In-na) who runs a chicken shop.

What are the connections among the four of them and how do their fates overlap?

The drama is entertaining to watch for those who want to escape from a reality for awhile.

2.Chicago Typewriter (2017)

Han Se-joo (Yoo Ah-in) is a famous writer who is in a slump struggling with writer’s block.

As he continues to struggle, he comes across a fan of his work, Jeon Seol (Im Soo-jung) and Yoo Jin-oh (Go Kyung-pyo), a mysterious ghost writer.

What the trio do not know is that they all have connections which date backs during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea.

Are there any reasons why they meet up again in this present life?

Watch the trailer here.

3.Black Knight: The Man Who Guards Me (2017)

If a love story transcends 200 years in a Korean drama, there must be reincarnations in it. How about an obsession that lasts for two centuries? Must it take 200 years to accept the fact that your love is not accepted?

Jung Hae-ra (Shin Se-kyung) works for a travel agency but never travelled abroad herself. Her life was turned upside down, after the death of her parents and her family went bankrupt.

After reaching a breaking point of her life, she tries to kill herself. Then she remembers she ordered a wine-coloured coat she had ordered at Sharon’s Boutique as a child.

Due to her family’s sudden bankrupt, she never had the chance to pick the coat.

After picking up the coat from the mysterious owner, good things start to happen to her. Why?

Besides the love and immortality themes, the story touches on gentrification happening in Seoul.

Like any other big cities in the world, Seoul is struggling on embracing the new development and keeping the old in the same time.

Black Knight manages to highlight some of the problems and ways to work around gentrification.

Watch the trailer here.

4.Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)

This Korean drama about reincarnation is inspired by Korean folklore written by Joseon scholar Yu Mong-in. It tells the story about country magistrate Kim Dam-ryung who released mermaids into the ocean after they were caught by the fishermen.

The drama first sets sometime at 1598. A newly appointed governor Dam-ryung (Lee Min-ho) stays for a night at an inn run by Yang (Sung Dong-il).

That evening, Yang shows Dam-ryung a captured mermaid named Se-hwa (Gianna Jun). The mermaid is actually his childhood friend who saved him from drowning when he was a child.

Later that night, Dam-ryung releases her into the ocean.

In the same time, Dam-ryung has premonition that in the far future dangers will afflict on himself and Se-hwa.

Thus, he commissions a time capsule containing a portrait of himself with a message to his future reincarnation.

Fast forward in the present day, Joon-jae (also played by Lee Min-ho) is a smooth talking conman who swindles money from rich women.

Using the money from his scams, he escapes to Spain for a vacation. There, he meets a mysterious woman.

However, when he returns to Seoul, Joon-jae realises there are gaps in his memories.

What happen to him and who is the mysterious woman? Plus, will Dam-ryung get the message across to his future self?

5.Abyss (2019)

If you are reincarnated into someone else’s body immediately after being murdered, it is natural to find the murderer of your past body.

Go Se-yeon is a beautiful prosecutor and his friend Cha Min is an unattractive but a rich heir.

After their deaths in separate incidents, they are both revived into different bodies by an unknown being using an ‘Abyss’.

While Se-yeon takes on a plainer look than before, Cha Min is reincarnated into a very attractive looking person.

Together, they work to find out why did they reincarnated and the nature of their deaths.

Watch the trailer here.

6.49 Days (2011)

The concept behind this drama is inspired by Korean shamanism ‘bardo’ in which a soul usually wanders the earth for 49 days before moving on to the next life.

The drama focuses on Ji-hyun (Nam Gyu-ri), a pampered yet kind bride-to-be. She seems to have everything in life, parents who adore her, friends who admire her and fiance who loves her.

One day, she is caught in an accident. When she wakes up, she sees her own body being carted into an ambulance and nobody notices her existence except for a man on a bike.

He is the Scheduler (Jung Il-woo), a death reaper of sorts who takes souls to their final destinations.

The Scheduler tells Ji-hyun that if there are three people (besides her own family) who genuinely shed tears over her comatose condition, she can wake up from her coma.

She is so confident, thinking that her two best friends and fiance would definitely cry for her.

Little does she know that not everything seems like she thought it would be.

7.My Love from the Star (2014)

This is a love story between an alien and a celebrity. When an alien arrives in Korea during the Josean period, he falls for a young girl named Yi-hwa.

She dies while saving him, and the alien Do Min-joon (Kim Soo-hyun) waits for his time to return to his home planet.

During his 400 years of a lonely and isolated life, he meets a celebrity named Cheon Song-yi who looks exactly like Yi-hwa when she was younger.

Soon, Do Min-joon’s quiet, private world is shaken by Song-yi’s chaotic celebrity life as they slowly fall for each other.

Overall, the series turned out to be one of the most famous and influential Korean dramas of all time.

All of clothes, accessories and make-up products worn by Jun Ji-hyun were a craze among fashionista.

As Kim So-hyun’s character keeps on quoting from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, the book became top of the bestseller lists in Korean bookstores that year.

8.Mystic Pop Up Bar (2020)

Based on popular webtoon Twin Tops Bar by Bae Hye-soo, the drama stars Hwang Jung-eum, Yook Sung-jae and Choi Won-young.

It tells the story of Weol-ju who is the hot-tempered owner of Mystic Pop-up Bar. Her customers do not know that she is in fact of 500 years-old, cursed to settle the grudges of 100,000 souls in atonement for her sins.

One day, she meets Han Kang-bae who has the ability to make people confess the truth by making physical contact with them.

In order to get rid of this unique ability, he is willing to work for Weol-ju.

Who is Kang-bae in his past life and why his fate with Weol-ju is intertwined again in this present day?

Watch the trailer here.

9.Hotel Del Luna (2019)

KajoPicks: 10 South Korean dramas about reincarnation to watch

Speaking of an ill-tempered immortal woman in K-drama-land, one cannot not mention Jang Man-wol in Hotel Del Luna (2019).

Starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo as the owner and manager of a hotel respectively, the drama is one of the highest rated Korean drama in cable television history.

It follows the story of a supernatural hotel which caters only to ghosts who have unfinished business in their past lives.

Moreover, the hotel serves as a stopover before they move on to the afterlife and get ready for reincarnation.

The owner, Jang Man-wol has been stuck to serve the hotel for the past 1000 years due to her past sins.

Hence, what happen when she comes across with the reincarnations of people she knew centuries ago?

10.Born Again (2020)

By the title of this drama, you already have a clue that it is a drama about reincarnation.

Honestly, the reincarnation method and concept in this drama is ridiculous. There is no head or tail on how it happened and why. Lovers are simply reincarnated and remember their past lives.

Putting these aside, the drama is entertaining to watch as it is full of suspense and thriller.

It is the 1980s and Detective Cha Hyung-bin (Lee Soo-hyuk) is in love with Ha-eun (Jin Se-yun), a bookshop owner suffering from heart disease.

At the same time, serial killer Gong Ji-chul (Jang Ki-yong) has also fallen in love with her.

One thing after another, their paths collide and three of them die. In the present time, the three of them are reincarnated.

And the murders commited in the 80s are happening all over again. Is it because Gong Ji-chul is reincarnated or was he not the real killer in the first place?

Watch the trailer here.

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KajoPicks: 10 South Korean revenge dramas you need to watch

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On KajoMag.com, we have covered Korean revenge movies so here are our favourite Korean revenge dramas you need to watch:

1.Doctor Prisoner (2019)

KajoPicks: 10 South Korean revenge dramas you need to watch

What would you do if you were fired unfairly from your job? Normal people would file a complaint with the labour department, but in this Korean revenge drama, the main character goes as far as applying for a job at the prison.

Doctor Prisoner (2019) centers around an ace doctor named Na Yi-je (Min Nam-gung) who works at a university hospital’s emergency care center.

However, his medical license gets suspended as a result of a medical malpractice incident which he did not cause.

He then gets his certificate as a medical internist and applies to work at a prison.

His plot is to cozy up to all the big-shots in the prison such as business tycoons, celebrities, sports stars to win allies.

Using his connections, he is planning to get revenge against the hospital that ousted him.

2.The Innocent Man (2012)

Song Joong-ki as Kang Ma-ru, is a smart but poor medical student who has to singlehandedly look after his little sister.

He was in love with Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon) who left him for a rich CEO, as she always dreamt of being rich. (Cuz, who doesn’t?)

Six years after Jae-hee leaves, he becomes an arrogant playboy who works as a bartender. Now, he is no longer the ‘innocent man’.

He then meets Seo Eun-gi (Moon Chae-won) as part of his revenge plan against Jae-hee.

Slowly, Ma-ru starts to care for her and eventually falls in love with her. In the end, can he really see through with his revenge onJae-hee?

3.Secret Love (2013)

How much do you love someone? Are you willing to sacrifice your future by going to prison for your boyfriend?

When Do-hoon (Bae Soo-bin) kills a woman in a hit-and-run accident, he asks his girlfriend Kang Yoo-jung (Hwang Jung-eum) to admit she was the one who drove.

Yoo-jung agrees and ends up in prison. Then Do-hoon dumps her when she is in prison.

In the meantime, Jo Min-hyuk (Ji Sung) is burning with revenge after the death of his girlfriend who was killed in the hit-and-run accident.

After realising the truth that Yoo-jung was not the one behind the wheel, Min-hyuk begins to help her making a fresh start in life.

4.Monster (2016)

When you lose all your family wealth, causing you to fall from being a rich, spoilt heir to blind beggar, it is natural for you to seek for revenge.

Born Lee Guk-cheol (Kang Ji-hwan), he was the heir to Sudo Hospital, until the deaths of his parents and aunt.

While he survived several murder attempts against him, he lost everything and became a beggar.

Blinded by the car accident that killed his parents, Guk-cheol’s sense of hearing is heightened to superhuman level, an ability he would continue to possess as an adult.

Years later, he undergoes surgery to cure his blindness and change his appearance.

He obtains a new identity – Kang Ki-tan, using it to take revenge on those responsible for his misfortune.

5.I Hear You Voice (2013)

KajoMag picked this drama as one of our favourite ‘noona’ drama since the main characters are in love with each other and six years apart.

Revenge-wise, it offers viewers a slice of thriller and suspense with a murderer running around trying to kill the main characters.

Lawyer Jang Hye-sung (Lee Bo-young) is a public defender who doesn’t care about her clients and only does her job for the salary.

When she was a teenager, she testified on the witness stand causing the murderer of Park Soo-ha’s father to be convicted and imprisoned.

Meanwhile, Soo-ha has the supernatural ability to read people’s minds by looking into their eyes. He gains it after witnessing his father killed.

Ten years later, the murderer has been released from prison. Now, he is getting revenge on Hye-sung and Soo-ha as well as their loved ones.

6.City Hunter (2011)

Dive South Korean officials plan a covert operation, codenamed “Operation Cleansweep”, to enter North Korea and kill several top members of the North’s high command.

Lee Jin-pyo (Kim Sang-joong) and Park Moo-yeol (Park Sang-min), two Presidential Security Service bodyguards and best friends organised a 21-man team for the mission.

The operation is successful, but as the troops swim out to return, the Navy submarine assigned for their extraction, snipers aboard the submarine open fire on them.

An already injured Moo-yeol sacrifices his life to save Jin-pyo. Jin-pyo then swims back to shore and returns to South Korea.

There he finds out that the assault team’s service and personal records have been erased.

Promising to avenge his fallen comrades, Jin-pyo kidnaps Mu-yeol’s infant son, and names him Lee Yoon-sung (Lee Min-ho).

He flees to the Golden Triangle to raise the child as his own and trains the boy intensively in combat.

Yoon-sung returns to South Korea to avenge his father’s killers.

7.Iris (2009)

Two elite National Security System (NSS) agents and best friends, Hyeong-jun (Lee Byung-hun) and Sa-woo (Jeong Jun-ho) both are in love with fellow agent Seung-hee (Kim Tae-hee).

However for the sake of his friend, Sa-Woo suppresses his feelings for Seung-Hee.

Hyeon-Jun is then sent off on a solo mission to Hungary.

In Hungary, Hyeon-jun accomplishes his mission but wounded while making his escape.

Shortly after that, he finds out that he was betrayed by his friend Sa-woo.

At that time, Seung-hee steps in to help Hyeon-jun escape, but a car explosion separates the two and both are misled to believe that the other person are dead.

Hyeon-jun is then saved by an unknown organisation and learns of the secret society “IRIS”.

One year later, Hyeon-jun returns to Korea to seek revenge. During this time, the two Koreas are set to reunify, while the group “IRIS” are intent on stopping the reunification.

Full of action and suspense, Iris (2009) is one of the most expensive Korean series ever make.

8.Golden Cross (2014)

Speaking of secret societies here is a drama about a secret society known as ‘Golden Cross’.

It secretly controls the Korean economy and marketplace using its deep connections and financial power.

In the midst of it, prosecutor Kang Do-yoon (Kim Kang-woo) gets entangled in the society when his sister is murdered and his father gets framed for it.

Due to this, Do-yoon is set to get his revenge against the powerful man behind the organisation, Seo Dong-ha (Jeong Bo-seok).

Things gets complicated when Seo happens to be the father of the woman he loves. So do you seek vengeance on your potential father in-law?

Watch the trailer here.

9.Defendant (2017)

How do you prove your innocence when you have amnesia? Park Jung-woo (Ji Sung) is a renowned prosecutor at the Seoul Central Prosecution Office.

One day, he wakes up in a prison cell and is told that he has killed his wife and that his daughter is currently missing.

To make things worse, he suffers from temporary amnesia not remembering what happened.

Can Jung-woo proves his innocence as well as find the real culprit behind it?

The drama also stars Um Ki-joon, Kwon Yu-ri, Oh Chang-seok and Uhm Hyun-kyung.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Pinocchio (2014)

This Korean revenge drama showcases how irresponsible media organisations could ruin families and affect public perception.

It also shows how the rich and powerful could control the media by deverting the public’s attention to juicy, but ultimately unimportant news.

After a misleading news report destroys his family, Ha-myung (Lee Jong-suk) begins to live a new life as Dal-po.

He hides his intelligence and past memories behind a facade.

After years of being a taxi driver, he decides to become a reporter to prove his family’s innocence.

However, not everybody is like him who takes the high ground in taking revenge. Some people who just take the violent and bloody way to seek vengeance.

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KajoPicks: 10 Chinese detective dramas you need to watch

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If you are interested in Chinese detective dramas, here are KajoMag’s suggestions:

1.Love Me if You Dare (2015)

Impressive acting, diverse character and intriguing storyline; these are just some of the phrases to describe Love Me if You Dare (2015).

The lead of the drama is Bo Jinyan or Simon (Wallace Huo), a brilliant criminal psychologist. He works as an analyst and adviser of the police department.

Meanwhile, his assistant Jenny or Jian Yao (Sandra Ma) is an observant and analytical whose eyes on details always comes in handy in solving cases.

Together, they are hunting a serial killer who eventually turns his target on the duo.

The drama is full of suspense, especially in hunting down the real criminal mastermind behind all the cases they encountered.

Love Me if You Dare (2015) won the Innovative Themed Drama of the Year award in the first China Quality Television Drama Ceremony.

If you love the male lead as a genius detective but slightly quirky and eccentric, this is the drama for you.

It is originally adapted from Ding Mo’s novel of the same name published in July 2014.

2.When a Snail Falls in Love (2016)

Do not be fooled by the title of this Chinese detective drama, it is barely a romantic story. It is based on the novel of the same title written by the same author of Love Me if You Dare, Ding Mo.

Just like Love Me if You Dare, this drama offers amazing storytelling, plot twists and full of suspense along the way.

It circles around Ji Bai (Wang Kai), the leader of the Violent Crime Unit and the new intern Xu Xu (Wang Ziwen) who specialises in criminal profiling.

As a hobby, Xu Xu draws comic panels of the life of their department, portraying herself as a snail and Jin as a lion.

They have plenty of clashes between them in the beginning but eventually they overcome their difference and work well together as a team.

Watch this drama here on Youtube.

3.Medical Examiner Dr. Qin

If you love watching CSI, then you will love this Chinese detective drama.

It is one of those police procedural dramas focuses on the forensic aspect of a criminal investigation.

The drama follows an investigation team consisting of medical examiner Qin Ming (Zhang Ruoyun), his assistant Li Dabao (Jiao Junyan) and police officer Lin Tao (Li Xian).

The criminal cases featured in this drama are unpredictable, intriguing and full of suspense.

However, save yourself from disappointment and do not watch the second season of Medical Examiner Dr. Qin.

4.Detective L (2019)

KajoPicks: 10 Chinese detective dramas you need to watch

Set in 1930s Shanghai, this Chinese detective drama definitely worth watching. It has fascinating cinematography, unpredictable story line and impressive acting.

This story centers around detective Luo Fei (Johnny Bai) and a new recruit Qin Xiao Man (Una You).

Unlike other Chinese detective dramas, Detective L focuses on crimes that could happen in 1930s Shanghai and how detectives would solve them using whatever they had in those days.

And that usually involved a lot of observation and analytical skills.

If you loved Sherlock Holmes, you might enjoy this drama too.

5.Young Blood Agency (2019)

KajoPicks: 10 Chinese detective dramas you need to watch

Here is another Chinese detective drama set during the Republican era of Shanghai.

Young Blood Agency is an investigative agency dedicated to solving mysterious cases. The crimes are mostly unpredictable and intriguing enough to keep viewers watching.

Starring Jerry Yu, Tonny Liou, Li Xing and Zhang Wei Hang, this drama is also another youth drama.

If you are into handsome young men as the lead actors and old school kungfu scenes, this drama is for you.

You can watch this drama on YoYo English Channel on Youtube here.

6.Visible Lie (2018)

This Chinese detective drama is almost similar to American crime drama Lie to Me starring Tim Roth.

It centers around a genius student Xu Lang (Juck Zhang) who graduated in Criminal Psychology.

He joins the public security bureau after his graduation. While solving a cases, he got severely injured and ended up losing his younger brother.

The drama continues seven years later with Xu Lang now working as a professor.

Then, his friend Tang Sen invites him to join the newly established “Criminal Psychology Team X”.

Together with two other, the team focuses on solving unsolved cases using criminal psychology.

7.Cold Case (2019)

Speaking of unsolved cases, here is a Chinese detective drama which centers around them.

The best part is this drama is all about girl power as it the story focuses on four female detectives in reopening cold cases.

The team is made of Luo Ying Wei, Cai Wen Xin, Xia Luo Yang and Feng Yi.

Each of them has her own quirk and gift to bring to the table.

As they continue to solve cases, little that they know that they are up against a massive drug syndicate.

Watch this drama legally here for free.

8.Guardian (2018)

Based on web novel of the same name, here is a Chinese detective drama with a dose of fantasy.

It is set on the Earth-like planet of Haixing, populated by a native human population and two alien races.

The Yashou who are able to shape-shift into plants and animals and Dixing, super-powered beings who live deep underground.

Bai Yu plays Zhao Yunlan who leads the Special Investigation Department (SID).

Unlike other investigation team, it is a secret group that works with crimes committed by the Dixing people.

Zhao Yunlan works together with Shen Wei (Zhu Yilong), a university professor to investigate supernatural cases around them.

While the novel depicts the pair has a romantic relationship, the drama depicts their relationship to be just friends because it is prohibited to depict same-sex relationships on television.

9.Burning Ice (2017)

Based on the novel The Untouched Crime by Chen Zijin, Burning Ice (2017) circles around Detective Liang Yan (Hao Qin).

After being demoted due to his aggressive behaviour, he tries to redeem himself.

That is when he comes across a cold case which he believed caused by a killer he has been chasing.

The killer, known as The Snowman, becomes the centre of investigation throughout the series.

10.Memory Lost (2016)

Memory Lost (2016) is another Chinese detective drama starred by Bai Yu. In this drama, he plays Han Chen the vice-chief of the civic police team.

He loses his memory but is haunted by mysterious memories of his fiancee. Han Chen gets confused because everyone denies her existence.

Meanwhile, another member of the civic police team Bai Jingxi (Yang Rong) also lose her memory. Is there something happened in their pasts?

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KajoPicks: 10 Korean series to watch if you love ‘chaebol’ dramas

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If you are not familiar with the term chaebol, in South Korea, it means a large industrial conglomerate which is run by a family.

In some cases, they have been criticised for itheir monopolistic behaviour such as favour controlling shareholders and government corruption.

Outside their high-rise offices, their antics have often made headlines around the world. The perfect example is the ‘nut rage’ incident.

It took place on Dec 5, 2014 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York city.

The daughter of Cho Yang-ho, the Korean Air chairman, Cho Hyun-ah was so unhappy that the flight attendant served nuts on a plate that she ordered the aircraft to return to the gate before takeoff.

Hyun-ah was also the airline’s vice president. In 2018, Hyun-ah’s younger sister Cho Hyun-min allegedly did a classic K-drama move by hurling a cup of water at the face of a manager of an advertising agency during a business meeting.

Meanwhile their brother, Cho Won-tae made headlines in 2005 for assaulting a 77-year-old woman in the street. She was reportedly scolding him over his reckless driving.

In another case of chaebol tantrum, there was a case of then 10-year-old daughter of Bang Jung-oh who is the president of the cable channel TV Chosun in 2018.

She was caught on camera verbally abusing her driver. Some of the things she said included, “You are crippled. You are crippled without arms, face, legs, ears and mouth”.

Another time, the daughter said, “Your parents raised you wrong. Your parents taught all of your family members wrong. Because they were too poor, they didn’t even take you to hospital or dental clinic.”

No wonder the Korean entertainment scene loves to depict lives of chaebol families in their dramas.

If you are into Korean series depiction of chaebol dramas; from sibling rivalry, inheritance dispute to good-old water-splashing scenes, here are ten series you should watch:

1.Elegant/Graceful Family (2019)

How rich is the chaebol family in this drama? They are so rich that they even have a funeral for their pet fish. If you don’t think that is not wild and juicy enough for you? There is a scene where a violinist is hired to play while standing barefoot in the ice so that she could “express her music better”.

Overall, this drama has it all when it comes to chaebol dramas. Secret love child? Mysterious murder case? Fighting over company shares? Check, check and check. Manipulation over the media, loveless marriage and embezzlement? It has them all.

The storyline circles around Mo Seok-hee (Im Soo-hyang), the only daughter of the MC Group.

After her mother was mysteriously murdered, she was forced to go to the US.

15 years later, she returns to South Korea vowing to find her mother’s killer.

Besides her own family, another thing that stands in her way is the TOP Team of MC Group. It is a team which manages the Mo family affair. Their job includes covering up illegal activities committed by the family.

It is fun to watch especially because the protagonist, Seok-hee is feisty and definitely not a damsel in distress.

2.Secret Garden (2010)

What happens when Cinderella and Prince Charming switch bodies? Written by Kim Eun-sook, in this modern-day Cinderella story, Gil Ra-im (Ha Ji-won) is a poor stuntwoman. Through a misunderstanding, she comes across Kim Joo-won (Hyun Bin), a high-end department store CEO.

As their fates continuously collide, they find themselves in a mysterious secret garden where they are offered mysterious drinks. (I guess they never heard about Snow White and what happens to her after accepting an apple from a stranger in the woods.)

Anyhoo, they take the drinks and wake up in each other’s bodies the next morning.

It is amusing and interesting to watch as they navigate their lives after the body swaps.

As expected when a rich boy falls in love with a poor girl, the boy’s family is not entirely happy with it. So expect scenes like “I’ll pay you to leave my son alone!” kind of thing.

This drama was so famous when it first came out it created ‘Hyun Bin Syndrome’. After recorded its highest viewership ratings of 35 per cent, Hyun Bin was seen everywhere through advertisement, from newspaper to television.

3.Boys over Flowers (2009)

This drama is based on manga series “Hana Yori Dango” by Yoko Kamio. Most people do not know that the original Japanese title “Hana Yori Dango” (Boys over flowers) is actually a pun on the Japanese old saying ‘Dumplings over flowers’.

It refers to people who attend Hanami (flower festival) who focus on the materialistic side of the event such as buying food instead of enjoying the flowers.

As for the drama, it is set at a school for the super famous, centering on a poor girl and the richest boy in campus.

Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho) is the leader of a group called F4, the most popular gang in school of four good looking, who also happen to be the richest, boys in school.

He is also the spoilt heir to a wealthy conglomerate Shinhwa who owns the school.

Meanwhile, Gu Hye-seon (Guem Jan-di) is the daughter of a dry cleaner who attend the Shinhwa High School on a scholarship.

Is it fun to watch? Yes. Is it realistic? Of course not! There is no way that your rich teenage boyfriend will whisk you away to a tropical island on a private jet along with your best friend and brand new wardrobe of outfits right? Commoners like us will never know.

4.Cheongdam-dong Alice (2012)

Don’t you hate it when you work hard so in life but in the end the day you get surpassed by someone who has less talent and does nothing but using their money and connections?

This drama follows Han Se-kyung (Moon Geun-young) who at first believes she can achieve anything in life with the belief that ‘hard work is my strength’.

After numerous job interviews, she finally gets hired by an apparel company. Although she is a talented designer, she is hired as an errand girl for the president’s wife. The wife turns out to be Se-kyung’s her high school classmate and rival Seo Yoon-joo (So Yi-hyun).

Believing that the only way for her to succeed is to marry rich, she embarks on a quest to become a “Cheongdam-dong daughter in-law”.

It is a term referring to young married women who live in that wealthy neighbourhood. Cheongdam-dong refers to Cheongdam neighbourhood in Gangnam, Seoul which is famous for its high-end fashion shops.

5.The Heirs (2013)

After starring as the heir of Korean conglomerate Shinhwa in Boys Over Flowers, Lee Min-ho becomes the wealthy heir of another chaebol called Jeguk Group in The Heirs.

Similarly, The Heirs is set in a high school populated by the privileged and rich. Then comes another poor girl Cha Eun-sang (Park Shin-hye) who is on scholarship to the school.

Choi Young-do (Kim Woo-bin), Kim Tan’s former best friend turned enemy begins bullying Eun-Sang just to irritate Tan. Thing gets hotter when Young-do also falls in love with Eun-sang.

Underneath the rich boy-poor girl romance storyline, the drama also addresses important issues such mental health among high school students, the impact of parents’ divorce on children and pressure from parents to achieve excellency in school.

6.Monster (2016)

What would a greedy person do to the only heir to a chaebol cooperation who happens to be blind? In a classic story of a Korean drama-land, you would try to kill him and take away his inheritance.

In Monster (2016) Lee Guk-cheol (Kang Ji-hwan) lost his wealth and inheritance to his greedy uncle.

From being a spoilt rich heir with an army of maids serving him, he become a poor, blind beggar overnight.

One day, he is given an opportunity to use a new identity, Kang Ki-tan. Using his new connection and identity, Guk-cheol slowly plans for his revenge and trying to earn back what is truly his in the first place.

With 50 episodes, brace yourself for a lot of corporate drama with buying and selling stock company just to gain control.

7.Crash Landing on You (2019)

KajoPicks: 10 Korean series to watch if you love 'chaebol' dramas

Not all chaebol heirs or heiress are incompetent, some (unfairly) beautiful, successful and intelligent like Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) in Crash Landing On You (2019).

While she is a chaebol heiress, she is also an illegitimate daughter to her wealthy father. Despite being the target of resentment from her stepmother, half-brothers and their wives, Se-ri run her own successful fashion company, Seri’s Choice.

She is also known for her publicity stunts that she pulled just to publicise her brand. During one of her stunt, she accidentally crash-landing in North Korea when paragliding.

With her family and company all assuming her to be dead, the most satisfying part is to watch their reactions when Se-ri returns to South Korea.

To date, it is the highest rate tvN drama and the third highest-rated South Korean TV drama in cable television history.

The drama also features Hyun Bin who charms viewers in his North Korean accent portraying a captain in the Korean People’s Army.

Watch the trailer here.

8.High Society (2015)

Jang Yoon-ha (Uee) is the youngest daughter of a chaebol family. Instead of living the life of a typical upper class, she takes part-time job in a supermarket to run away from her family problem.

It is also a chance for her to live a normal, ordinary life. While hiding her identity, she makes friends with poor girl Lee Ji-yi (Lim Ji-yeon) and dates Choi Joon-ki (Sung Joon).

Things change when her brother dies in a flight crash and friend as well as boyfriend find out her true identity. She finds herself joining the family business handling the cosmetic department. Meanwhile, Yoon-ha’s sister her sister who wanted to kick her out from the company.

When rich siblings fight, they don’t fight over the last piece of pizza or what to watch on TV, they fight over who owns the company.

9.My Fair Lady (2009)

Kang Hye-na (Yoon Eun-hye) is a rich heiress who lost her parents in a plane crash.

Due to her lonely upbringing while living under her strict grandfather, Hye-na becomes a self-centred and indifferent as an adult.

She finally meets her match when she comes across Seo Dang-chan (Yoon Sang-hyun), a former gigolo.

Ultimately, Hye-na’s life turns upside down when Dang-chan shows up at her home as her new household manager.

10.Secret Love (2013)

When a second-generation chaebol heir Jo Min-hyuk (Ji Sung) lost his girlfriend in a hit and run accident, he vows for revenge.

He believed that Kang Yoo-jung (Hwang Jung-eum) who was responsible for her girlfriend’s death.

Little does she know that Yoo-jung sacrifices her future by going to prison in place of her then-boyfriend Ahn Do-hoon (Bae Soo-bin).

Do-hoon is the jerk in the story, a prosecutor who is hungry for power.

The story circles around revenge, family dramas, and toxic relationships.

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KajoPicks: 5 variety shows you must watch on KBS World

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KBS World is a South Korean channel operated by Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) aimed at international audiences.

It is available in 117 countries including US, European countries and most Asian countries such as China, Japan as well as Malaysia.

Viewers can also watch KBS World through its Youtube channel.

Every Korean broadcasting company has its own distinct style when it comes to their drama production. For example, OCN is known for its thriller and crime drama.

Meanwhile, viewers can expect heartwarming stories circling on family and love from KBS World.

Even their variety shows manage to combine both humour and life lessons while entertaining the audience.

Here are KajoMag’s top five favourite variety shows you must watch on KBS World:

1.Boss in the Mirror

KajoPicks: 5 variety shows you must watch on KBS World
Watch how Boss Yang Chi-seung coping with his business due to Covid-19 here.

This variety show focuses on Korean celebrity bosses going through self-examinations to create better working environment for their employees.

Every episode features inspiring bosses, all of whom have their own flaws.

Meanwhile, each company featured on this show has different kinds of working environments. Moreover, it is interesting to watch the interaction between the bosses and their employees

During this digital age, for instance, business owners should know how to re-strategise their business in order to survive.

Born in 1956, Korean designer and hanbok store owner Park Sul-nyeo is a strong believer in the power of social media.

She even teaches one of her younger employees how to write an Instagram caption and use hashtags to promote her business.

Another inspiring boss on the show is Jini, a Korean Youtuber who has at least 2.35 million subscribers on her channel.

She runs a startup company to handle her Youtube channels.

2.Battle Trip

KajoPicks: 5 variety shows you must watch on KBS World
Watch this episode of Battle Trip at Kota Kinabalu here.

Even if you are not able to travel, it is always fun to watch a travel show.

Battle Trip is known to be helpful for travellers, giving useful tips on food to eat and things to do.

Viewers can easily get a rough idea of what to plan for their itinerary as well as budget.

Apart from that, viewers can take note of what to watch out for if you are planning to go to the same destinations.

If you are watching KBS World on Youtube, the channel now features snippets of Battle Trip’s episode focusing only on their eating sessions.

3.Star’s Top Fun-Staurant

KajoPicks: 5 variety shows you must watch on KBS World
This is the moment when dalgona coffee was made famous

If you have ever heard or tried the internet-famous dalgona coffee, you have to thank this show called Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant.

In one of the episodes, actor Jung Il-woo went to Macau and had its local coffee. He gave it the nickname dalgona for its resemblance to the traditional Korean sponge candy of the same name. Since then, the internet has gone wild, making it the most famous beverage in 2020.

The outline of this show is to have celebrities competing to make new products for the convenience stores.

In South Korea, the convenience stores are more than just a place for you to grab things. It is also a place to have a proper meal.

Patrons can buy these frozen meals and pop them in the microwave oven then enjoy their meal right there at the convenience store.

The aim of this show is to promote Korean agricultural produce such as wheat, pork or chicken.

In every round of the competition, the celebrities have to create a recipe using the designated agricultural produce.

Before that, these celebrities will go on food hunts not only around South Korea but sometimes other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Macau where Il-woo had his dalgona coffee.

One of the celebrities Lee Kyung-kyu had a bowl of Sarawak laksa in Taiwan and did not like it.

If the celebrity won, his or her recipe will be produced into a frozen or instant food made available in all the convenience stores in South Korea.

The best part is that the profits are given to help undernourished children.

Besides watching these celebrities having ups and down in creating their recipes, it is also helpful to take note of the places they eat at in the shows.

4.The Return of The Superman

What happens when fathers are left to care for their kids alone for 48 hours without any help while wives get to have some time off?

This show showcases multiple celebrity dads spending alone time with their children when their mothers are not around.

As you can expect, the first part of the show usually shows the wife leaving home before the 48 hours begin and ends at the 48-hour mark.

During this time, the fathers and their children sometimes caery out a task left by their wives.

Sometimes, they just explore new activities with their kids.

What makes this show amazing is how well-behaved these children can be. Professional football player Park Joo-ho’s five-year-old daughter Na-eun for instance knows how to take care of her younger brother three-year-old son Geon-hoo. She even knows how to prepare a simple breakfast for her brother.

The Park family is currently on hiatus from the show right now due to the birth of Na-eun and Geon-hoo’s younger sibling. We will miss watching Nae-eun speaking fluently in four languages (Korean, English, German and Spanish) on the show.

Nonetheless, other children especially Gary’s son Haoh and Moon Hee-jun’s daughter JamJam are so cute to watch.

5.2 Days 1 Night

The Burning Sun Scandal really marred the Korean entertainment industry like never before.

The 2019 entertainment and sex scandal which involved K-pop idols and even police officials started with a prominent nightclub in Seoul, Burning Sun. It was later investigated for prostitution, drug trafficking and police corruption.

From there, the scandal erupted to allegations of rape and spy cam. Singer and entertainer Jung Joon-young confessed to secretly filming having sex with women and sharing the videos in a chatroom.

Following the scandal, Joon-young announced his resignation from the entertainment industry, quitting all the shows which he starred in.

The production team of 2 Days & 1 Night also announced that Joon-young was permanently removed from the show.

This move resulted in KBS halting all production and broadcast of 2 Days & 1 Night. The chatroom also exposed another two members of the show Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Jun-ho’s involvement in illegal gambling. With this, the third season of 2 Days & 1 Night ended abruptly.

Thankfully, the fourth season of the show returned in December 8, 2019 with only one original cast member, Kim Jong-min.

Together with Yeon Jung-hoon, Moon Se-yeon, Kim Seon-ho, DinDin and Ravi, the new members give a breath of fresh air to the show.

Most of them are relatively new in variety shows. It is fun to see these actors Kim Seon-ho and Yeon Jung-hoon as well as K-pop idol Ravi shedding their public images and let loose on the show.

The concept of the show is to recommend various places of interest that viewers can visit in South Korea. Along this trip, the members of the show would play games and compete against each other.

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KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch

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Usually, it is not a big deal when a man dates a younger woman. However when a woman dates a younger man, it is suddenly a big deal.

In South Korea, ‘noona’ (elder sister) is term used by a younger man to address an older woman.

Recently, there has been a rise of dramas depicting relationships between an older woman with a younger man. K-drama fans call it noona romance.

Some of these dramas portray the real prejudice and stereotypes against women who are in May-December relationships with younger men. At the same time, it also depicts the struggle of men who are in love with older women.

If you are into noona romance, here are 8 South Korean drama you should watch:

1.Encounter (2018)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch the trailer here.

In most Korean dramas, it is okay when a male CEO dates his employee but when a female CEO dates a younger male employee, suddenly the world goes crazy in Encounter (2018).

The drama follows Cha Soo-hyun (Song Hye-kyo) the daughter of a politician and the CEO of a hotel.

She married the son of a conglomerate family out of convenience for her father’s political career.

Her marriage is breaking apart because her husband is cheating on her.

During a trip to Cuba, she comes across Kim Jin-hyeok (Park Bo-gum), an ordinary young man looking for adventure in life.

They have a brief encounter in the foreign country and make memories together.

When he returns to South Korea, he finds out he is hired for a job in a hotel and Soo-hyun is his boss.

This couple has so many ups and downs, from dealing with Soo-hyun’s former in-laws to office gossips and paparazzi.

It ranks at 17th spot of the highest rated dramas in Korean cable television history.

2.A Witch’s Love (2014)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch the trailer here.

When a man is aggressive with his career, people mostly would say he is just being passionate. But when a women is aggressive with her job, some might say she is being a ‘b*tch’.

In this drama, Ban Ji-yeon (Uhm Jung-hwa) is so passionate about her job as an investigative news reporter that her colleagues call her a ‘witch’ behind her back.

After her last boyfriend disappeared right before their wedding day, Ji-yeon focuses all her attention on her career.

Meanwhile, Yoon Dong-ha (Park Seo-joon) is a 25-year-old guy who runs an errand center with his friends.

Despite looking happy, he is actually still mourning after losing his girlfriend to a fatal heart problem.

At first glance, Ji-yeon and Dong-ha seem like has nothing in common. They even have 14 years difference in age.

As they spend time with each other, they realise they have a lot in common with each other, including their grief over lost loves.

3.I Can Hear Your Voice (2013)

Rather than focusing on the noona romance, this drama centers around a couple trying to catch a killer.

The ‘noona’ here is public defender Jang Hye-sung (Lee Bo-young) who does not care about her clients.

Meanwhile, the younger man is Park Soo-ha (Lee Jong-suk) who after witnessing his father being killed, , gains the supernatural ability of reading people’s minds by looking into their eyes.

When they were younger, 15-year-old Hye-sung testified during Soo-ha’s father murder trial. This caused the murderer to be convicted and imprisoned.

Since then, the 9-year-old Soo-ha has harboured a crush on her.

When he meets her again 10 years later, she turns out nothing like he expects to be as the murder has affected them both one way or another.

4.When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch the trailer here.

Here is another drama which combines ‘noona’ romance and thriller perfectly.

The story starts with Oh Dong-baek, a single mother who opens a bar named Camellia in the fictional town of Ongsan.

Six years later, a younger man working as a policeman Yong-sik falls in love with her.

She rejects him but he persists despite his mother’s opposition.

Then, Dong-baek’s former lover and the father of her child comes to town trying to win her back.

It is all love and romance until a serial killer shows up in town aiming at Dong-baek as his next victim.

The drama stars Gong Hyo-jin, Kang Ha-neul, Kim Ji-seok, Son Dam-bi and Kim Kang-hoon.

5.Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch the trailer here.

“Noona, can I sleep here?” is perhaps one memorable lines of Cha Eun-ho (Lee Jong-suk) in this drama.

Eun-ho is a successful writer and the youngest editor-in-chief of a publishing company.

He has romantic feelings for his long-time friend Kang Dan-i. Meanwhile, Dan-I (Lee Na-young) is an unemployed divorcee who later joins the publishing company as a temporary task support team member.

As they begin to work together in the same company, they become more involved in each others’ lives.

Romance is a Bonus Book is Lee Jong-suk’s first romantic comedy drama since his breakout role in School 2013 (2012).

6.High School King of Savvy (2014)

Lee Min-suk (Seo In-guk) is a high school student and varsity ice hockey player.

He and his older brother Hyung-suk look very much alike, despite their nine-year age gap.

When he gets a mysterious phone call from Hyung-suk telling him to impersonate his brother at the latter’s new job, Min-suk is forced to pretend to be a high-ranking executive at an IT conglomerate.

Living a double life, Min-suk learns how to navigate his way in the world of adults while balancing his high school life

With the help of Jung Soo-young (Lee Ha-na), a temp with an odd personality whom he eventually falls in love with, he manages to pull out even from the stickiest situation.

In terms of romance, the drama highlights a stereotypical mindset that man has to pay for everything especially on dates. Since Min-suk is still a student, what happen when he goes out for a sudden double dates Soo-young and is expected to pay for dinner?

7.Secret Love Affair (2014)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch snippet of the drama here.

Before Kim Hee-ae got cheated on in World of the Married (2020), she was the cheater in Secret Love Affair (2014).

Here, she plays Oh Hye-won, a 40-year-old married woman working as the director of planning for the Seohan Arts Foundation.

She is composed, elegant and seems like leading a fulfilling life. Her scandalous rendezvous starts when she meets Lee Sun-jae (Yoo Ah-in), a poor genius pianist.

Can they keep their scandalous romance a secret?

This romance melodrama explores the struggle between attraction and the expectations from people around you.

8.Something in the Rain (2018)

KajoPicks: 8 Korean ‘noona’ romance drama you should watch
Watch the teaser for the first episode here.

There are so many underlying themes in this drama which resonate to women especially those who are living in a conservative Asian society.

Also known as Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, the drama highlights more than just the stigma surrounding a woman dating a younger man.

The love story circles around Jin-ah (Son Ye-jin), a 30-something district supervisor at a cafe franchise and Joon-hee (Jung Hae-in), a 20-something animator for video games.

Joon-hee is the younger brother of Jin-ah’s best friend, Jang So-yeon. Moreover, Jin-ah’s younger brother is best friend with Joon-hee.

Perhaps the most infuriating character in the drama is none other than Jin-ah’s mother Kim Mi-yeon (Gil Hae-yeon).

She blames her daughter when her ex-boyfriend cheated on her during their relationship. Besides that, she asks her son to not hang out with Joon-hee because he grows up without his parents and not of a wealthy status. She even pushes her daughter to marriage just because she is already in her 30s.

Additionally, the drama follows the struggles of female employees in the company who usually have to suffer through sexual harassment from male superiors in order to climb the corporate ladder.

As the drama touches so many raw nerves in Asian society, no wonder Something in the Rain is one of the most highest-rated Korean dramas in 2018.

You can watch Something in the Rain on Netflix.

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