Browse Tag

drama series - Page 4

10 things you might not know about Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

Published on

One of the highest rated Korean series in cable television history, Memories of the Alhambra (2018) is also Korea’s first augmented reality-gaming drama.

Set in Spain and South Korea, the story follows a CEO and a hostel owner who get entangled in a series of mysterious incidents surrounding an augmented reality (AR) game.

The CEO, Yoo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin) travels to Granada, Spain to meet the creator of a groundbreaking AR game about medieval battles, Jung Se-joo (Park Chan-yeol).

However, he discovered Se-joo is missing and meets his sister Jung Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye), owner of an almost run down Hostel Bonita instead.

Things get complicated around Jin-woo as he finds the border between the game and his reality starts to blur.

In the meantime, romance begins to blossom between Jin-woo and Hee-joo.

With its unique storyline, impressive computer graphics and beautiful cinematography, it is no surprise how Memories of the Alhambra can keep the audience captivated up to its last episode.

Here are at least 10 things you might not know about South Korean drama Memories of the Alhambra (2018):

1.Memories of the Alhambra was inspired by Pokemon Go

In an interview, the writer Song Jae-jung revealed the story started about a man from the future, Yoo Jin-woo. She was playing with the idea of Yoo Jin-woo staying in a hotel room and opening the door to a stranger who would shoot him with a gun.

However, there was one problem. The idea was not motivated enough for her to carry on with the idea.

When she was searching for ideas to write about, Pokemon Go was the in thing at that time.

Song stated in the 2019 interview, “I didn’t think of doing a video game theme because it didn’t seem possible to create a virtual reality like the movie Avatar. But if it were to involve augmented reality with items on the screen like Pokemon Go, it seemed doable. That was when I dropped the time travel idea and decided to only keep the character Yoo Jin-woo.”

In another interview with The Korea Times, Song revealed that she was really impressed by Korean digital special effects technicians’ skills.

She further stated, “I was afraid of taking on the challenge of AR gaming genre. Since there was no prior drama to take reference, people I’ve talked with painted different pictures in their heads. But when I first saw the first episode, it was really beyond my expectations how realistically those technicians embodied the AR world in the drama. Memories of the Alhambra introduced the AR genre to viewers, applying only basic gaming concepts like doing missions, level-ups and alliances. I think maybe I can tell another gaming story in my next project applying more advanced gaming rules.”

2.Another source of inspiration is Elon Musk

In the same interview, Song revealed that the male lead Yoo Jin-woo is inspired by CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk.

She admitted that she seldom read books like novels, preferring books and magazines focused on the humanities.

When Song was reading Musk’s autobiography, she was inspired to write a character similar to him.

3.Hyun Bin’s character is also inspired by Odysseus from Greek Mythology

As you watch Memories of the Alhambra, you cannot help but notice the episodes of hardship after hardship that Jin-woo experiences throughout the drama.

This is because Song drew a similarity between Jin-woo and Odysseus from Greek mythology.

“Although Odysseus was a great king, he suffered serious repercussions from war and also experienced inexplicable situations. Jin-woo also faces troubles and strange incidents. What mattered to me was how Jin-woo becomes a hero in the end, after bearing all the consequences of his previous decisions.”

4.The relationship initially draws inspiration from Mathilda and Leon

What makes Jin-woo different from typical Korean drama male leads is that he has gone through not one but two divorces.

At first, Song imagined a Mathilda and Leon in Leon: The Professional (1994) kind of relationship. It is one that stands somewhere between love and friendship with the woman being the saviour of Jin-woo.

The 1994 film is an English-language French action-thriller film that follows a professional hitman named Leon. He reluctantly takes in 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman’s first film) after her family is brutally murdered.

After the cast was finally decided, Song decided that the relationship would be on the romantic side.

10 things you might not know about Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

5.The scriptwriter is known for her fantasy dramas circling about different dimensions and time travels.

The reason why the initial idea behind Memories of the Alhambra was a time-travel story is because Song is known for this kind of story line.

Her drama Nine: 9 Times Time Travel (2013) is about an anchorman who obtains nine incense items which allow him to travel 20 years back in time.

Another drama Queen In-Hyun (2012) by Song is about a noble man from the Joseon Dynasty who winds up in present-day Seoul.

Memories of the Alhambra is not Song’s first drama in which she plays around with the idea of a different dimension.

W: Two Worlds Apart (2016) is about the romance between a webtoon character and a real-life surgeon.

6.Some of the scenes were actually not shot in Granada, Spain

While the drama supposedly set in both Spain and South Korea, there are plenty of scenes which were not shot in either of these two countries.

When Hee-jo and Jin-woo meet up in a restaurant to discuss Jin-woo buying the hostel, the eatery is actually a steak restaurant located in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

And when Jin-woo accidentally ends up in a small town train station which is supposed to be in Spain? The rustic train station is actually Kisterenye Railway Station in Hungary that dates back at least to the 1870s.

Again, the Granada train station in the drama is not even in Spain but in Hungary. Opened in 1858. the Mezotur Railway Station is about 2.5 hours away from Budapest by car.

7.The story behind Recuerdos de la Alhambra

The title of the drama actually alludes to Spanish guitarist Francisco Tarrega’s classical guitar piece Recuerdos de la Alhambra.

The piece also serve as the drama’s original soundtrack.

Tarrega wrote and dedicated it to his patron Concepcion Gomez de Jacoby, commemorating their visit to the Alhambra palace.

The melody supposedly represents the water of the fountains inside of the Alhambra.

8.Park Shin-hye learns how to speak Spanish for her role in the Memories of the Alhambra

If you have been following the works of Korean actress Park Shin-hye, she is known to take up the role of a poor girl who cries a lot.

In this drama she still plays a poor girl who cries a lot but knows how to speak Spanish and play the classical guitar.

She reportedly took up Spanish and classical guitar lessons for her role in the drama.

When filming in Spain, Shin-hye put some effort to create an authentic pronunciation by learning from the native speakers there.

9.And yes, Alhambra is a real palace and fortress

Alhambra was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications.

Then, the fortress was neglected until the mid-13th century by the Arab Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada.

The name Alhambra has its origin in an Arabic word meaning ‘red castle’. This is perhaps due to the colour of the towers and walls.

Today, Alhambra is known to be the only surviving palatine city (a royal territorial center) of the Islamic Golden age.

Additionally, the palace became a remnant of the Nasrid dynasty, the last Islamic kingdom in Western Europe.

10.Will there be a second season of Memories of the Alhambra?

While the fans are rooting for the second season of this Korean series, there is no confirmation yet.

Watch the trailer here.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 serial killers from Korean dramas who terrify us

Published on

There is one thing you should know about serial killers in Korean dramas; they do not usually appear in thrillers or crime dramas.

Sometimes, they appear in romance or even comedy dramas.

Regardless of which genre they appear in, some of these serial killers from Korean dramas are terrifying to watch.

Here are 10 serial killers from Korean dramas who terrify us:

1. The Painter Killer in Born Again (2020)

The main theme of this drama is reincarnation; about three people who remain entangled in a love triangle and murder even after being reincarnated.

In the 1980s, Gong Ji-chul (Jang Ki-young) was a lone wolf living under a controlling father.

Meanwhile, Jung Ha-eun (Jin Se-yeon) and Cha Hyung-bin (Lee Soo-hyuk) are a couple very much in love with each other.

Ha-eun is the owner of a secondhand bookstore called ‘Old Future’ and Hyung-bin works as a detective.

While chasing the true perpetrator behind a string of murders, the three of them get caught in between the cases and eventually died.

30 years later, the three of them are reincarnated. Gong Ji-chul becomes Cheon Jong-bum, a medical student. Hae-eun is reborn as an archaeologist named Jung Sa-bin while Hyung-bin is a prosecutor named Kim Soo-hyuk.

What happens when the string of murders that took place in the 80s repeat themselves? Did the original killer die, get reincarnated and start murdering again? Was the real killer never caught in the first place? Or did the murderer find a protege to carry on the murderous torch?

As for the terrifying serial killer in this drama, the culprit kills in the name of ‘art’. He paints his victims after laying them down in their graves the way he wants.

While this serial killer is terrifying, what is more disgusting are his cult followers who love his ‘works’. They even have secret chat group to talk about their ‘fandom’.

This reminds of us serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer and Aileen Wuornos who have secret online groups for fans on social media platforms such as Facebook.

Watch the trailer here.

2. The Genius Killer in Gap-dong (2014)

Speaking of real-life serial killers, here is a drama inspired by one.

Set in 1986 in fictional Iltan city, a young girl is found brutally murdered. Since then, a series of murders has been found committed in the area.

The police nicknamed the suspect “Gap-dong”. The authorities also mistakenly identify the killer, causing the wrong suspect to commit suicide to prove his innocence. His death inspires his son Moo-yeom to become a police officer to clear his father’s name.

Seventeen years later, a new victim shows up sharing a similar pattern with the victims of Gap-dong. Are they the works of Gap-dong or a copycat killer?

These cases were evoked by the Hwaseong serial murders, a series of rapes and murders that occurred in the rural city of Hwaseong in Geonggi Province between Sept 15, 1986 and Apr 3, 1991.

The victims – all women – were found bound, gagged raped, and strangled to death with their own clothes.

The cases remained unsolved for 30 years until Lee Choon-jae was identified as the suspect in 2019.

Watch the trailer here.

KajoPicks: 10 serial killers from Korean dramas who terrify us
Lee Joon in Gap-dong (2014)

3. The Psychopath Killer in Hello Monster (2015)

The drama circles around genius profiler Lee Hyun (Seo In-guk) who returns home to South Korea after receiving an anonymous email.

The email comes from a serial killer who purposely sends him clues about a series of murders targeting women with similar appearances.

Apparently, it is somehow related to Lee Hyun as his father was murdered and his brother disappeared.

The culprit behind the past is a teenage serial killer named Lee Joon-young, perfectly played by Do Kyung-so.

Working with him on these cases is Cha Ji-an (Jang Na-ra), a police officer whose father mysteriously disappeared together with Lee Joon-young.

This drama gained wide praise for its performance particularly Park Bo-gum’s performance.

4. The sexy CEO Killer in Voice Season 1 (2017)

While Kim Jae-wook’s portrayal in this drama is sexy and dangerous, it also took a toll on the actor’s mental and physical health.

He plays the role of Mo Tae-goo, a CEO by day, and a serial killer by night. Tae-goo not only enjoys killing people, but also flaunting the bodies of his victims.

In an interview, Jae-wook revealed “After shooting the gory scenes in which I had to torture and murder a person, I had breathing problems and I couldn’t stop shaking.” He also couldn’t bear to look himself in the mirror after shooting this drama.

This police procedural series centers around Kang Kwon-jo (Lee Ha-na) who works at an emergency 112 call center. Together with police detective Moo Jin-Hyuk (Jang Hyuk), the duo try to catch Tae-goo.

“Merciless” is the perfect word to describe Jae-wook’s portrayals of Tae-goo in the drama. Imagine a killer who treats his victim like a cat playing with a barely alive rat – that is how Tae-goo kills his victims.  

Watch the trailer here.

5. The manipulative killer in Voice Season 2 (2018)

Voice was so good that it was renewed for a second season. In the second season, Kwon Yul appears as Bang Je-soo who is a serial killer that goes around collecting body parts of his dead victims.

Using his intelligence, Je-soo manipulated others to kill too.

Overall, the drama sets record for the highest premiere rating of an OCN drama.

It also surpassed the first season’s ratings.

The drama has Lee Ha-na reprise her role as Kang Kwon-jo while Lee Jin-woo plays the role of a new team leader Do Kang-woo.

Watch the trailer here.

6. The Don’t-Act-Up Killer in When The Camellia Blooms (2019)

The main focus of this drama is Oh Dong-baek (Gong Hyo-jin), a single mother who moves to the fictional town of Ongsan and opens a bar named Camellia.

She captured the heart of a young, playful detective named Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul).

In the same time, Kang Jong-ryul (Kim Ji-seok) who is the father of Dong-baek’s son is trying to win her back.

This seems to be a normal love triangle until it is interrupted by a serial killer targeting Dong-baek.

His signature move? Writing the word ‘Don’t Act Up’ on a wall to scare his victim.

Putting aside the dead bodies lying around in the drama, When the Camellia Blooms is one of funniest and highest rated dramas in 2019.

Watch the trailer here.

7. The bar code killer in A Girl Who Can See Smells (2015)

Adapted from the webtoon of the same title, this drama stars Park Yoo-chun, Shin Se-kyung, Min Nam-goong and Yoon Jin-seo.

When Choi Eun-seol (Shin Se-kyung) arrives home, she finds her parents murdered.

They are found with a bar code carved into their skin, all indicative of the work of the ‘bar code’ serial killer.

On the same night, Choi Moo-gak (Park Yoo-chun) is at the hospital visiting his younger sister. To his horror, he finds her dead with her throat slit.

How are these murders connected?

As for the title, it refers to Choi Eun-seol who wake up with the ability to see smells as visible colours and shapes after the deaths of her parents.

Using her unique ability, Eun-seol tries to find the bar code killer.

8. The serial killer who still kills after his death in Possessed (2019)

How committed are you to your job? Would you possess someone just to continue your ‘life’s work’ even after death?

The serial killer in Possessed (2019) is so committed to killing people that he even possessed others to kill after he died.

The story focuses on Kang Pil-sung (Song Sae-byeok), a police officer who was abandoned by his family.

Just like Pil-sung, Hong Seo-jung (Go Joon-hee) was also abandoned by her mother at a young age.

Besides their sad past, the duo also shares a supernatural ability. Seo-jung is able to read people’s minds and see ghosts while Pil-sung can see ghosts too.

Using their supernatural traits, they try to catch the serial killer who possessed others to kill.

9. The Evil Twin Killer in Innocent Defendant (2017)

First of all, all applause to Uhm Ki-joon who plays two complete characters in this legal drama. He takes up the role as Cha Sun-ho and Cha Min-ho, identical twins who are heads to a major company.

Min-ho is the evil one who suffered from abuse as a child and constantly being compared to his twin.

The end result is he becomes a psychopathic maniac who kills people without mercy.

Overall, the drama is about a prosecutor who is wrongly convicted for murder and now is on death row.

Despite his knowledge in laws and prosecution, Park Jung-woo (Ji Sung) is having a hard time proving his innocence because he is inconveniently suffering from amnesia.

The story continues as he struggles to clear his name and catch the real killer.

Watch the trailer here.

10. The Masked Kidnapper in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)

Althoufh this drama is not about a serial killer per se, the villain in this series is just pure creepy.

Strong Woman is inspired by a French folktale about Bluebeard and his seven wives, a wealthy man who has the habit of murdering his wives and the attempts of one wife to avoid the fate of her predecessors.

In this drama, Kim Jang-hyun (Jang Mi-kwan) is the psychotic kidnapper who keeps on targeting young women.

Mi-kwan revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Christian Bale in the movie American Psycho for his role as Jang-hyun.

After capturing a number of helpless women, Jang-hyun finally meets his match in Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) who was born with superhuman strength.  

Watch the trailer here.

You might be interested in

What is an Imoogi, the villain in K-drama Tale of Nine Tailed (2020)?

Published on

Are you watching Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020) right now?

What is an Imoogi, the villain in K-drama Tale of Nine Tailed (2020)?
Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020)

The drama focuses on 100-year-old gumiho (nine-tailed fox) named Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-wook) who abdicated his position as the mountain spirit of Baekdudaegan for the reincarnation of his first love Ah-eum (Jo Bo-ah).

She was killed by Imoogi, a serpent beast in human form and Lee Yeon’s arch-nemesis.

This romance fantasy series is interesting to watch, especially if you love folklore and urban legends. It stars Lee Dong-wook, Jo Bo-ah and Kim Bum.

But first, what is an Imoogi? Is it as evil as it is depicted in Tale of Nine Tailed?

Imoogi, a Korean lesser dragon

According to Korean folk mythology, most dragons were originally imoogi or lesser dragons.

While other dragons are related to fire and destruction, the Korean dragon is associated with water and agriculture and can bring on rain and clouds.

It is said that imoogis resemble gigantic serpents. In some depictions, imoogi is depicted carrying a yeouijui in one of its claws.

Remember the Philosopher’s Stone in the Harry Potter series? A yeouiju is sort of like that.

Essentially, Korean mythology describes these imoogis as dragons in training. It will take them over a thousand years to become a true dragon. If (or when) they do catch a yeouijui falling from the sky, then they will become a full-fledged dragon.

Some legends say that the Korean Sun Goddess created imoogi from human girls. When they are born, the girl is marked on her shoulder with a dragon symbol. When the girl turns 17, she turns into an imoogi.

Legend of Kim Si-min and imoogi

While the battle is between a nine-tailed fox and imoogi in the drama, the fight is in fact between a soldier and the creature according to legend.

Kim Si-min was a soldier who fought during Imjin War or the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592-1598).

When he was nine, his village was terrorised by a large imoogi that lived in a nearby cave. It often came out to frighten people and harm their livestock.

One day, Si-min decided to kill the imoogi. After reading a book about how a snake was caught using a mulberry bow and a sprouting arrow, Si-min had an idea.

At once, he gathered the local children and ran to the stream near the cave where the imoogi hid. They also placed a large stone to cover the entrance to the village.

Then, one of the children climbed a tree right next to the stream and the shadow of the child was reflected in the stream.

When the imoogi saw the reflection of the child in the stream, it came out from the cave. The moment its head popped out, Si-min shot it using the mulberry bow and a sprouting arrow that he brought.

The imoogi was killed and its blood turned the colour of the stream to red for days.

Imoogi’s power

It was believed that if a lake, pond or river had more than 2,500 fish, an imoogi would appear to become the king of all living creatures in that fresh water.

While a dragon was believed to have power to bring rain, typhoon and thunders, an imoogi, being the lesser dragon, could only bring clouds.

The good thing is that the spring water would not dry out if there was an imoogi living nearby.

Additionally, this mythical creature tended to be territorial. There were many cases of imoogis fighting each other over the rights of a lake.

Naturally, the stronger imoogis dominated the larger lakes with more fish while the weaker imoogis had to live in small ponds and rivers.

According to Lisa Graves in her book Mythical Beasts and Beings, there are theories that the imoogi could have actually been a titanoboa, a giant and thankfully, extinct snake that lived 58 million years ago.

Titanoboa was the longest and heaviest snake to ever exist.

However, the titanoboa was native to areas around South America and not Korea.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 classic Korean dramas you should watch

Published on

If you are new to Korean dramas and you have no idea which drama to start with, we highly suggest watching the classics.

The obsession for Korean dramas would not be here today, if it were not for these series which introduce K-dramas to audience outside of South Korea.

You can say, these classic Korean dramas are responsible for the start of Korean wave which is the increase in global popularity of South Korean culture.

Here are 10 classic Korean dramas that somehow never gets old:

1.Full House (2004)

This classic Korean series is considered the romantic comedy genre in Korean drama.

Ji-eun, an aspiring scriptwriter, lives in a house called “Full House” built by her late father.

One day, her two best friends trick her into believing that she has won a free vacation.

While she is away, they sell her house. On the plane, she meets a famous actor named Young-jae.

They get acquainted during her vacation and when she returns, she discovers that her house has been sold to him.

Although they do not get along with each other due to their contrasting habits, they agree to live with each other.

At first, Ji-eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back.

However, they enter into a contract marriage as Young-jae wanted to make his crush, Kang Hye-won, jealous.

Rain, who plays the role of Young-jae, won the Best Actor Award at the KBS Drama Awards for this drama.

The main filming site of this drama, the Full House, was especially built for the series.

It cost approximately USD1 million to build. The house was a tourist attraction until it was torn down in April 2013 due to irreparable damage from a typhoon.

2.Coffee Prince (2007)

Who knew Gong Yoo in his pre-Goblin days? The current generation was introduced to Gong Yoo through Goblin or Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016) or Train to Busan (2016).

The older Korean drama fans still remember him and his 2000s hairstyle from Coffee Prince (2007).

He plays the role of Choi Han-kyul, who is the grandson of chairwoman Bang (Kim Young-ok) of Dong-in Foods. It is a company that has a thriving coffee business.

Acting like a stuck-up chaebol, he has never had a job and does not care for responsibility.

In the meantime, Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy.

Her father died when she was 16 years old and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family.

When Han-kyul and Eun-chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother.

Wanting to prove himself, Han-kyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop, later renamed “Coffee Prince”.

To attract more female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees.

Eun-chan, desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.

Soon, Han-kyul starts to develop feelings for Eun-chan. Believing that Eun-chan is a man, Han-kyul starts to question his sexuality.

This series was remade in different countries including Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.

In 2020, the cast of Coffee Prince returns to the cafe of their drama for a documentary called “My Dear Youth – Coffee Prince”.

3.Secret Garden (2010)

Taking a typical Cinderella story to a different twist, Secret Garden (2010) follows the love story between stuntwoman Gil Ra-im and CEO Kim Joo-won.

The pair are from two different worlds. One is a poor orphan and the other is a rich man with a secret phobia. As their worlds collide, Ra-im and Joo-won begin to understand each other’s lives.

And what better way to do that other than magically swapping with each other’s bodies?

The drama was purchased by numerous countries after its release including Peru and United States, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

4.Autumn in My Heart (2000)

If Full House is the pioneer of romantic comedy in Korean dramas, Autumn in My Heart is the pioneer of Korean melodramatic series.

It follows the story of two girls who share the same birthday, are raised in the same village and going to the same class.

One leads a happy life with loving parents and a brother. Her name is Eun-suh (Song Hye-Kyo).

Meanwhile, the other girl named Shin-ae (Han Chae-young) is raised by a single parent and is living in poverty.

One day, Eun-suh has a car accident and a blood test finds hat Eun-suh and Shin-ae were swapped at birth.

The girls are then returned to their biological families. Eun-suh’s brother Jun-suh (Song Seung-Heon) is especially saddened by this.

The two girls meet years later by twist of fate. What happens when Jun-suh sees his long lost ‘sister’ again?

The series has been broadcast in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and many more.

5.Winter Sonata (2002)

We cannot talk about classic Korean drama without mentioning Winter Sonata (2002).

The story begins with Joon-sang (Bae Yong-joon), who moves to a small town. There, he meets Yoo-Jin (Choi Ji-woo) in the local high school.

They fall in love, but Jun-Sang gets killed in a car accident.

Ten years later, Yoo-Jin meets a guy who looks just like her Jun-Sang.

Yoo-Jin has to choose between her current boyfriend and a person who reminds her of her dead sweetheart.

Winter Sonata is credited for improving the image of South Korea among the Japanese. It also sets fashion trends throughout East Asia.

6.Princess Hours (2006)

This classic Korean drama is also known for contributing to the Korean Wave.

In an alternate reality of 21st century South Korea, the country is ruled by a monarchy.

The crown prince, Lee Shin (Ju Ji-hoon) is a smug and insensitive high school kid.

After getting rejected by his girlfriend Min Hyo-rin (Song Ji-hyo), he decides to proceed with his arranged marriage to Shin Chae-kyeong (Yoon Eun-hye).

Though he was initially annoyed by her naivete and enthusiasm, he gradually begins to open his heart to her.

First of all, can you believe how young Running Man’s Song Ji-hyo in this drama? And Ju Ji-hoon’s acting definitely improves since this drama. His later performances in Along With the God series and Kingdom are just amazing.

7.Temptation of Wife (2008)

In this revenge drama, Jang Seo-hee plays Ku Eun-jae, a lady that was nearly killed by her husband Jung Kyo-bin (Byeon Woo-min).

Kyo-bin believes that Goo Eun-Jae did indeed die. However, he is astonished to meet this woman who looks identical to his former wife but with a completely different personality.

Despite the many controversies concerning the questionable plot, the series is one of the most viewed dramas to date.

The series eventually had two remakes by China and Philippines.

8.Stairway to Heaven (2003)

Han Jung-suh (Choi Ji-woo) and Cha Song-joo (Kwon Sang-woo) grew up together. They were always there for each other.

One day, Jung-suh’s father (Ha Jae-young) marries an actress named Tae Mi-ra (Lee Hui-hyang).

Mi-ra takes in her two children from a previous marriage, Tae-hwa (Lee Wan) and Yoo-ri (Kim Tae-hee).

Yoo-ri is envious of the life that Jung-suh leads and is determined to take everything away from her, including Song-joo.

Meanwhile, Tae-hwa (disturbingly) begins to develop feelings for his stepsister.

Five years later, Jung-suh gets into a car accident causing her to lose her memory. Song-joo is led to believe that she is dead.

Stairway to Heaven was so famous that some of its filming sites are now tourist attractions. This include the carousel where Song-joo and Jung-suh rode as children at Lotte World.

Like many of the classic Korean dramas on this list, Stairway to Heaven was remake in Philippine, Indonesia, Cambodia and Russia.

9.Lovers in Paris (2004)

Today, South Korean screenwriter Kim Eun-sook is known to be her works such as Descendants of the Sun (2016), Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2017) and The King: Eternal Monarch (2020).

Her work which catapulted her into a household name is actually Lovers in Paris (2004).

It follows the story of the chairman of GD Motors, Han Gi-ju (Park Shin-yang) who is a divorced man working in Paris.

He has a housekeeper named Kang Tae-young (Kim Jung-eun), who is a poor international student.

In the meantime, Han Gi-ju’s nephew, Yu Soo-hyeok (Lee Dong-geon) meets Tae-young by chance, and falls for her.

Tae-young ends up returning to Seoul, soon after, Gi-ju and Soo-hyeok also return to Seoul separately.

When they return, Tae-young asks Gi-ju for a job and in time, the two fall in love.

As the family secret involving Gi-ju and Soo-hyeok is disclosed, the relationship between Tae-young and Gi-ju is in crisis.

To this day, Lovers in Paris is one of the most highly rated Korean dramas of all time.

10.Dae Jang Geum (2003)

This is the only historical drama on this list and its based on a true story of Jang-geum.

She is the first female royal physician of the Josean Dynasty.

Despite her poor background in the male-dominated society, Jang-geum overcomes social and gender discrimination and becomes a royal cook.
From there, she works her way to become the physician in charge of the king.

Thanks to this drama, the Korean public renewed their interest in traditional Korean culture especially royal court cuisine and traditional medicine.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 8 Chinese coming-of-age dramas you need to watch

Published on

A coming-of-age story is a genre of film and literature which focuses on the growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood.

In Chinese dramas, a typical coming-of-age story starts when the characters are in their secondary school, then during university, and ends when they become working adults.

While in real-life it is rare to have the same body size from your teenage years into adulthood, some of these Chinese drama characters even have the same hairstyles throughout the years.

Nonetheless, most Chinese coming-of-age dramas manage to capture the real essence of growing up from their teenage years to adulthood in an Asian country.

Although these dramas are set in China, some of the conflicts and inner struggles that these characters experience are relatable, especially if you are from a typical conservative Asian household.

One example is how some of the characters are advised to get “real jobs” like becoming a doctor or lawyer.

While the main storyline is typically about the love story between two main characters, these Chinese coming-of-age dramas also showcase how good friendships can grow over the years.

In real life, some of us still do keep in touch with our high school friends.

If you are looking for heartwarming Chinese coming-of-age dramas, here are eight of them that made it to our list:

1.A Love So Beautiful (2017)

Based on the novel To Our Pure Little Beauty by Zhao Qianqian, this Chinese coming-of-age drama stars Hu Yitian and Shen Yue.

It circles around Chen Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen who are classmates in high school and neighbours since they were in kindergarten.

Their characters are polar opposites. Chen Xiaoxi has a cheerful personality but does not study much, while Jiang Chen is the popular kid known for his good looks and high grades.

After losing his father at an early age, Jiang Chen becomes very distant towards people.

Despite this, Xiaoxi still expresses her crush towards Jiang Chen.

The story also follows their friends, a swimmer Wu Bosong, a tomboy Lin Jingxiao and Lu Yang, who has heart disease.

Even until when they are in university, Xiaoxi still crushes on Jiang Chen. Will Jiang Chen’s heart finally soften?

What happen to them when they finally made it into adulthood?

Like many other coming-of-age, A Love is So Beautiful focuses about these characters discovering themselves and their places in the world.

2.Rush to The Dead Summer (2017)

Starring Chen Xuedong, Zheng Shuang and Bai Jingting, the drama is based on Guo Jingming’s novel of the same name.

After winning a scholarship, Li Xia earns her place at Qian Chuan secondary school. There, she meets the two popular boys Fu Xiaosi and Lu Zhiang.

She also befriends a boyish girl named Yu Jian and the rich girl in school, Cheng Qiqi.

After they graduate, things seem to go fine, at least for some of them. Li Xia starts to date Xiaosi who is now a famous artist. Meanwhile, Qiqi becomes a celebrity after winning a singing competition.

Then, comes death, and betrayal after betrayal. Can their friendships survive all these hardships?

This Chinese coming-of-age drama was praised for its realistic life of youth and on campus as well as beautiful cinematography. Hence, it is definitely worth watching.

Watch the trailer here.

You can watch this drama on Youtube here.

3.With You (2016)

Speaking of realistic portrayal of youth, here is another Chinese coming-of-age drama that received high reviews.

Hailed as ‘best youth drama’ by critics in recent years, the drama tackles issues relatable to viewers such as family problems, school struggles as well as the ups and downs of friendships.

One of the most realistic scenes in the drama is when the students draw lots to answer objective questions during the exam. (Raise your hand if you did that in your high school years.)

It follows the story of Geng Geng (Seven Tan) who just move into Zhen Hua High School and is seated next to top student Yu Huai (Liu Haoran).

Unlike her who struggles in her studies, Yu Huai is the smart kid in class.

At first, the duo fights a lot but soon become friends. They also become close friends with the rest of their classmates, each of whom has their own interesting background stories.

However, things start to change after graduation when Yu Huai ghosts everyone in the group.

This drama gives a great reminder that even though high school memories might be sweet to look back on but there is not much to it other than memories. Sometimes, you just need to let go of your past in order to enjoy the present.

With You (2016) is based on the novel The Best of Us by Ba Yue Chang An.

Watch the trailer here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTThM21J4Y

4.My Huckleberry Friends (2017)

Here is another Chinese coming-of-age drama based on a novel by Ba Yue Chang An entitled Hello, Old Times.

The story starts when Yu Zhou Zhou starts her first day of primary school and becomes friend with a boy named Lin Yang.

Something happens and the two start to drift apart.

They meet up again during high school. At first there is an obvious awkwardness between them but soon they begin to reconcile.

It starts Li Landi and Zhang Xincheng as Zhou Zhou and Lin Yang respectively.

Watch the trailer here.

5.When We Were Young (2018)

If you spent your high school days in the 90s, you might enjoy this drama.

It is a story that revolves around high school students in the year 1996.

While chasing down a bike thief during the summer break, Yang Xi gets injured after a nearby lab explosion. This caused her unable to compete in a long-distance run.

When her school opens, she finds out that the culprit behind the lab explosion has transferred to her class. His name is Hua Biao and he even takes Yang Xi’s position as the class president.

Hua Biao is also known to be a hot-blooded genius.

Since the drama is set in the 90s, expect a lot of retro vibes in it from the hairstyle to 90s furniture and appliances.

Watch the trailer here.

6.Just An Encore (2019)

Yan Ze and Xi Ye are two best friends. Yan Ze does not see herself as beautiful and her grades are just okay. Meanwhile, Xi Ye is known in school for her beauty and grades.

Yan Ze has a secret crush on Ji Xiao who is the top student in school and unfairly handsome too.

She grows jealous of Xi Ye when she discovers that Ji Xiao might like Xi Ye. Then, another person comes into the love triangle, He Xin Liang.

He is the transfer student who always appears by Yan Ze’s side whenever she needs help.

Xi Ye, however, has a crush on Xin Liang.

Little that Yan Ze knows that her best friend Xi Ye is secretly jealous of her for her friendliness and how easy she gets along with everyone.

Remember those days when you do not have to worry about work or bill but only crushes and fights with your best friend?

Watch the trailer here.

7.All I want For Love is You (2019)

Gu Xiao Man is nothing like your average high school girl. She is a sanda (Chinese kickboxing) fighter. While she excels in sports, Xiao Man struggles with her grades.

Lucky for her, her crush, who also happens to be the school’s top student Zuo An (Liu Yu Han), is willing to tutor her.

To impress her crush (and improve her grades), Xiao Man is willing to study hard.

Thanks to Zuo An’s help, Xiao Man not only manage to graduate but she gets into the same university as Zuo An.

Their story continues in university as the duo adjusts to campus life together.

Watch the trailer here.

8.Le Coup De Foudre (2019)

This Chinese coming-of-age drama is based on the novel I Don’t Like This World, I Only Like You by Qiao Yi.

It has uplifting life lessons and a heartwarming storyline. In 35 episodes, it manages to cover various themes such as the impact of divorce on the children, the preference for sons in China, domestic violence, and the real struggles of startups.

Do not expect perfect main characters who could never go wrong in this drama as they rise and fall throughout this story.

It follows the story of Zhao Qiaoyi, a kind-hearted but timid girl and Yan Mo, a quiet and extremely disciplined boy who excels in his studies.

Qiaoyi has a twin brother, Zhao Guanchao who is an easygoing person but hides a secret pain from his past. Their circle of friends is joined by Hao Wuyi, a tomboyish girl who loves to write and Fei Dachuan, a tough-looking but kind guy.

There are plenty of realistic and relatable moments in the drama. Wuyi, for instance, is told off by her class teacher, Teacher Gao to let go of writing and focus to find ‘a real job that actually pays the bills’. As it turns out, Teacher Gao himself let go of his dream to become a musician and chose to become a teacher instead.

If we were to pick our must-watch drama from this list, it has to be Le Coup de Foudre (2019).

Watch the trailer here.

KajoPicks: 8 Chinese coming-of-age dramas you need to watch

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 8 Korean dramas about second chance romance to watch

Published on

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.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 juicy Korean dramas about adultery to watch

Published on

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.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 Korean thriller dramas from OCN you should watch

Published on

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.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 South Korean dramas about reincarnation to watch

Published on

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.

You might be interested in

KajoPicks: 10 Chinese detective dramas you need to watch

Published on

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?

You might be interested in

1 2 3 4 5 6