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KajoPicks: 5 webtoons that are in dying need of K-drama adaptations

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Every year, we have seen many webtoons that have been adapted into K-dramas.

And we have also watched many Korean dramas that we did not know actually were adapted from webtoons.

For those who read the webtoons first, we can’t help but make comparisons between the artwork and the real-life adaptation.

The first and most important question we always ask is: “Did they cast the right actor and actress for the webtoon characters?”

While we appreciate that K-dramas these days are constantly bringing our favourite webtoons to life, there are still some really good ones out there that are in dying need of TV adaptations:

So here five webtoons that need to be adapted into K-dramas and KajoMag’s dream cast for every series:

1.The Wolf & Red Riding Hood

The Wolf & Red Riding Hood is a comedy webtoon original created by Xuann.

It follows high school student Anna who wakes up one day to find that she is super hairy and has an unnatural appetite for meat.

Later, Anna realises that she is slowly turning into a werewolf.

Since Anna is a high school student, we really want a young actress to play this role.

One actress that pops up in our mind is Kim Hyun-soo who is known for her role Bae Ro-na from the Penthouse: War in Life.

We would love to see her taking up a comedic role.

While So Ju-yeon’s appearance as Han So-mang in Seasons of Blossom (2022) kinda reminds us of the webtoon character with the short haircut, she is a bit too old to play Anna at the age of 28.

But then again if 32-year-old Kim Tae-ri pulled off playing a high school student in Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022), maybe So Ju-yeon could also do the same.

Webtoo Drama Adaptation 1
What do you think? Anna (left) and So Ju-yeon

Check out the webtoon here

2.Devil Number 4

Since there are many romantic love stories between human and non-human beings such as in Goblin (2016), Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020), K-drama fans would definitely love this adaptation.

Devil Number 4 follows the story of Hanna Yoon. She is a poor college student who struggles to get by.

One day, she is approached by Number 4, a devil who promises to give her a wish in exchange for a soul.

Hanna, on the other hand, is not ready to part with her soul. Number 4, being a high-ranked official in Satan’s corporate ladder, is not willing to give up.

He goes as far as offering Hanna a job at his coffee shop in order to convince her to give up her soul.

Readers who have read Devil Number 4 must have cried and laughed through the series and we expect to do the same if there is a drama adaptation.

When the webtoon first came out in 2018, it had already garnered a lot of attention. Fans also came up with their imaginary cast for a fantasy drama adaptation.

For Number 4, they wanted Joo Ji-hoon who is known for his work in Princess Hours (2006), Along with the Gods and Kingdom.

As for the role of Hanna Yoon, the actress chosen by the fans is Kim So-hyun. The former child actress has a steady acting career and has starred in many hit series such as Who Are You: School (2015), Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight (2016), Radio Romance (2018) and Tale of Nokdu (2019).

As much as we love Joo, the 17 year age gap between him and Kim would just be too much for us.

To fit our vision of the perfect Number 4, we have Yoon Si-Yoon in mind.

He is versatile in his acting and we are sure he can pull off a supernatural character like the devil.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 1
Number 4 (left) and Yoon Si-yoon.
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 2
Hanna (left) and Kim So-hyun.

Check out the first episode of Devil Number 4 on Webtoon here.

3.My Dear Cold-Blooded King

This webtoon is one of the best action, romantic and historical publications on the app.

It follows the story of Kihara Mei who has a strong-willed personality.

She is born a simple farm girl who grew up working as a merchant while her family sold fruit for survival.

One thing leads to another and Mei finds herself working in the Blood King’s palace.

Mei has two love interests Asukai Katsu and Ryusaki Hayate. Both carry secrets and it is interesting to know how their relationships with our female lead character grow as she slowly learns about the secrets that the Blood King’s palace hides.

For the role Kihara Mei, we would love to see a Korean actress who is trained in martial arts.

On the top of our heads are of course are Ha Ji-won and Park Shin-hye. Ha for instance, has learned kendo while Park is known for her boxing skill.

Another one actress who might be perfect as Mei is Han So-hee. She has proven that she is talented in action roles through My Name (2021).

Webtoon Korean Drama Adaptation 5
Kihara Mei (left) and Ha Ji-won (right).

Meanwhile, Ryusaki Hayate is a handsome, young man with long black hair.

He has a flirtatious and cheeky personality which also works as a mask to hide his true motive sometimes.

We imagine Lee Joon-gi and Ji Chang-wook to be the perfect Ryusaki.

Apart for the reason that they are undeniably talented for the role, both actors have the look too.

We have seen Lee rocking Ryusaki-type of hairstyle in Iljimae (2008) and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016).

Ji’s portrayal of Baek Dong-soo in the historical action drama Warrior Baek Dong-soo (2011) also reminds of Ryusaki.

Asukai Katsu on the other hand has a long straight silver-white hair and green eyes. His appearance reminds us of Choi Siwon and Jung Ill-woo.

Both actors have that historical royalty vibe and both have taken up action roles before.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 3
Ryusaki Hayate (left) and Lee Joon-ki
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 4
Asukai Katsu (left) and Jung Il-woo (right)

Check out the webcomic here.

4.Age Matters

Created by Enjelicious for Webtoon, the series ran on the app from Aug 20, 2018 till Sept 7, 2021.

It follows the story of 29-year-old Rose Choi as she tries to pick up her life after being dumped by her ex-boyfriend.

While looking for a job, she takes over her best friend’s job to cook and deliver meals to a mysterious boss.

As it turns out, the mysterious boss is a young, handsome CEO named Daniel Yoon.

Rose is subsequently hired to be Daniel’s personal assistant despite the fact they do not get along in the first place.

The story explores the themes that we are familiar with in K-dramas such as ‘noona’ romance, office romantic relationship and family conflict.

There are many young Korean actors that would fit perfectly to the role of Daniel Yoon but here at KajoMag, we want to see Kim Min-kyu as our Daniel.

After playing the chief secretary Cha Sung-hoon in Business Proposal (2022), we would love to see a promotion to his fictional career and finally become a CEO in a drama.

As for the mature, strong-willed character of Rose, Choi Soo-young can be our female leading role.

We have seen Choi’s constant growth in her career from being a K-pop idol in Girls’ Generation to taking up more prominent roles in her acting.

For that, we would love to see what she could bring as Rose Choi.

Webtoon Drama Adaptation 6
Daniel Yoon (left) and Kim Min-kyu (right)
Webtoon Drama Adaptation 7
Rose Choi (left) and Choi Soo-young

Check out the webtoon here

5.Scorching Romance

Here is another high school webtoon that is worthy of a K-drama adaptation.

It follows the story of high-schooler Ember who is constantly hot, as in having a high body temperature.

Ember also has a hot temper that comes along with her hot bodily temperature.

What happens when she encounters a fellow schoolmate who is the opposite of her?

Instead of feeling hot all the time, Aspen is constantly shivering with cold.

Overall, the webtoon is fun to read especially watching the development of relationship between the two polar opposite people, Ember and Aspen.

For our imaginary cast, we want fresh blood for the drama adaptation of Scorching Romance.

Well, these actors are not exactly fresh but they still need more work to gain more recognition that they deserve.

So far we have seen Kim Min-ki in supporting roles such as True Beauty (2020) and Under The Queen’s Umbrella (2022).

It is about time to have his first leading role, so how about the role of Aspen?

As for the feisty role of Ember, Yoon Seo-A left deep impression in her role as Seo Ji-wan in Nevertheless (2021). Thus, we would love to see her exploring different types of roles.

Webtoon Korean Adapation 9
Aspen (left) and Kim Min-ki
Webtoon Korean Drama Adaptation 8
Ember (left) and Yoon Seo-A

Check out the webcomic here.

What do you think of our imaginary cast for these imaginary drama adaptations of webtoons?

Let us know in the comment box which webtoons you would like to see to come to life?

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KajoPicks: 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch

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Girls’ Generation or better known as SNSD just celebrated their 15th anniversary this year.

The group is one of the best-selling artists in South Korea as well as one of most popular K-pop group worldwide.

Apart from being K-pop idols, all of the eight members have participated in other line of works such as TV hosts, solo singers, variety show entertainers, musical artists and of course actresses.

Out of four SNSD members (Yoona, Yuri, Sooyoung and Seohyun) who ventured into acting, you have to admit Yoona has the most impressive track record of filmography.

Yoona, whose real name is Im Yoon-ah has been hailed as a top idol-actress in South Korea.

Here are 10 dramas and films starring SNSD Yoona you should watch:

1.You are My Destiny (2008)

For her first leading role in a drama, Yoona plays the role of Jang Sae-byuk. She is a cheerful young orphan who dreams to become an interior designer.

Due to an accident three years ago, Sae-byuk losses her sight and undergoes corneal transplant surgery.

After operation, she tracks down her donor’s family and slowly becomese close with them.

The family in return, slowly is slowly accepting her as part of them.

Overall, the series was a success with viewer rating of up to 41.5%.

Behind this successful drama, Yoona revealed the hardship she went through filming during an episode of talkshow Strong Heart aired on Feb 2, 2013.

She said, “On the first day of filming, I made a mistake with my line, and the director yelled at me angrily. He came up to me and said, ‘I don’t think you are ready for this role.’ He then told to me go home even though we were not done filming that day.”

Yoona shared that she was so upset that she could not help but cry all the way home.

In the show, she stated, “There still were nine months left until the end of drama, and I didn’t know what to do. I lost all confidence. On some days, they had to stop the filming because I couldn’t stop crying.”

Yoona then added, “However, I later learned that he was harsh with me to teach me a valuable lesson. He meant me, a rookie actress, to never lose my focus. After that incident, I received a lot of praises and I was able to grow and learn a lot. ”

The scolding and tears were definitely worth it as Yoona won two ‘Best New Actress’ awards at the 2008 KBS Drama Awards and 45th Baeksang Arts Awards for this drama.

2.Love Rain (2012)

If you are into those melodrama with aesthetic filming style, this is the drama for you.

Directed by Yoon Seok-ho, it tells a love story over two generations with Jang Keun-suk and Yoona playing dual roles.

When Seo In-ha (Jang) and Kim Yoon-hee (Yoona) met as university students in the seventies, it was definitely a love at first sight.

After some times, they finally confessed their feelings toward each other.

Unfortunately, circumstances led both of them to break up and wind up in different paths of life.

Fast forward to 2012, In-ha (Jung Jin-young) is now unhappily married to Baek Hye-jung, one of Yoon-hee’s former best friends.

Secretly, he has never gotten over his first love. Hence when he runs into Yoon-hee (Lee Mi-sook) after so many years, the two reconcile.

On the other hand, In-ha’s son Seo Joon (Jang) is a photographer. One day, he bumps into Yoon-hee’s daughter Jung Ha-na (Yoona) by chance.

They start to bicker at first but eventually starting to fall in love with each other. Unaware that their children are dating each other, In-ha and Yoon-hee announce that they are getting married, which will make Joon and Ha-na step-siblings.

Joon and Ha-na struggle with sacrificing their love for their parents’ long-aborted happiness.

Love Rain was the most expensive Korean drama presold to Japan in 2012.

3.Prime Minister & I (2013)

At the age of 42 years old, Kwon Yul (Lee Beom-soo) is South Korea’s youngest prime minister ever.

He is known for his reputation as an honest man of the utmost integrity.

Apart from that, he is also a widower as his wife died in a car accident seven years ago and raises his three children alone.

Behind closed doors, Yul is actually a struggling father devoid of even the most basic of parenting skills.

Meanwhile, Nam Da-jung (Yoona) is a journalist from Scandal News who resorts to writing for a trashy tabloid to support her ailing father.

When she chases Prime Minister Kwon for a lucrative exposé, she ends up scooping a whole lot more than she bargained for.

The unlikely duo ended up in a contract marriage and later on fell in love with each other.

For this role, Yoona bagged the Excellence Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries at the KBS Drama Awards 2013 and Best Young Actress at Seoul International Youth Film Festival.

4.The K2 (2016)

Yoona’s role in the The K2 (2016) is completely different from her previous works.

Here her role as Go Anna is the illegitimate daughter of presidential candidate Jang Se-joon (Jo Sung-ha).

Due to her illegitimate status, nobody knows Anna’s existence. In order to protect her father’s career, she is exiled to Spain at a convent under the constant surveillance of her stepmother Choi Yoo-jin (Song Yoon-ah).

Anna is also suffering from social phobia and experiences panic attacks from flashing lights.

She eventually becomes a pawn in her stepmom’s plan to control Se-joon’s political career.

Yoo-jin hires Kim Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook) as Anna’s bodyguard who later becomes her love interest.

Overall, The K2 is a thrilling political drama combined with impressive action scenes.

5.The King in Love (2017)

This historical drama is loosely based on Chungseon of Goryeo who was the 26th ruler of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea.

He was Korea’s first royalty of mixed heritage whose mother was the daughter of Kublai Khan, a Mongolian emperor and the founder of Yuan dynasty in China.

The main character in The King in Love (2017) Wang Won (Im Si-wan) is loosely based on this mixed-race king.

Won has two friends whom he knows since childhood; Wang Rin (Hong Jong-hyun) and San (Yoona).

These three become the closest of friends eventually romantic feelings arise between these three.

Won falls in love with San and would do anything for her.

On the other hand, his childhood friend Wang Rin who also fell in love with San at first sight.

Even though Wang Rin loves San so much, he still hid his affection for her because of his duty to his Crown Prince and because he doesn’t want to hurt his best friend’s feelings.

The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Yi-ryung.

During the press conference to promote the drama, Yoona revealed that she wanted to feel and experience new things with this character which is different from her character in The K2.

“She is brave and bright in the beginning. Later on, her emotions and choices become very deep,” she said.

6.Hush (2020)

One of the reasons Yoona picked up the script for Hush (2020) is the opportunity to act alongside Hwang Jung-min.

In an interview with Forbes, Yoona said that she has done a lot of bright and cheerful acting but never got to play a serious, heavy-toned character like this before.

She added, “The drama itself is also different from what I’ve done in the past, so it was a new challenge for me to showcase a different sides as an actress.”

Based on the 2018 novel Silence Warning by Jung Jin-young, Hush centers around a group of journalists in a newsroom.

Yoona plays the role of Lee Ji-soo, a spirited and bold intern reporter.

Hwang takes the role of Han Joon-hyuk, a senior reporter who has lost his passion for journalism.

7.Confidential Assignment (2017)

Yoona made her film debut in the movie Confidential Assignment (2017).

The story follows a North Korean Officer (Hyun Bin) and a Seoul detective (Yoo Hae-jin) team up to track down a dangerous fugitive.

In the movie, Yoona plays the role of Yoo’s sister in-law Park Min-young.

Confidential Assignment was a hit and one of the most viewed Korean movies in 2017.

Through her first movie, Yoona once again proved that she is more than just K-pop star.

Her role in this action film, the SNSD member was nominated for many awards and eventually brought home the Most Popular Actress at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, Best New Actress at Korean Film Shining Star Awards and more.

In 2022, Yoona reprises her role as Park Min Young in Confidential Assignment 2: International.

As of October 2022, the sequel is the third highest-grossing Korean film of the year.

Watch the trailer here.

Yoona 1
Im Yoon-ah in the official still photo of Confidential Assignment 2: International (2022)

8.Exit (2019)

What makes Exit (2019) special for Yoona’s career is the fact that it is her first leading role in a film.

It is a disaster action comedy film written and directed by Lee Sang-geun.

The story follows Yong-nam (Jo Jung-suk), an unemployed man who once one of the best rock climbers in his college years.

He meets his old crush Eui-joo (Yoona) at the Cloud Garden during his mother’s 70th birthday festivities.

Eui-joo who is also a former rock climber is working there.

In order to impress Eui-joo, Yong-nam lies to her claiming that he is now very successful.

Meanwhile, a terrorist group releases a toxic white gas and spreads to its immediate surrounding. This causes pandemonium throughout the city.

During the chaos, Yong-nam and Eui-joo are left on their own to seek higher ground and avoid the rising toxic gas.

They use their rock climbing skills to survive.

Overall, the film was a box office success and South Korea’s third highest-grossing domestic film for 2019.

Again, Yoona won numerous awards for Exit including Popular Star Award at 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Actress in Movie at the 4th Asia Artist Awards.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Miracle: Letters to the President (2021)

This fictionalised film is based on a true story that took place in a remote area of North Gyeongsang Province in the 1980s.

Tae-yoon (Lee Sung-min) who is an engineer has always dream to set up a train station in his village.

His village has railway tracks but there is no station.

Tae-yoon has a son named Joon-kyeong (Park Jeong-min) who is a high school math prodigy.

Together with his girlfriend Ra-hee (Yoona), his older sister Bo-gyeong (Lee Soo-kyung) and the villagers, Joon-kyeong work to establish the first privately owned small train station.

The movie was selected at the 24th Far East Film Festival where it won the Golden Mulberry Award.

Through this film, Yoona earned her a second Blue Dragon Best Actress nomination as well as her Baeksang Best Actress nomination.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Big Mouth (2022)

Yoona 2
Yoona in an official still photo of Big Mouth 2022.

This is one of the most talked about K-drama in 2022. Big Mouth (2022) follows the story of Park Chang-ho (Lee Jong-suk), a third-rate lawyer with a ten percent success rate.

Among his legal colleagues, he is known as ‘Big Mouth’ because he likes to talk big before doing something.

When people started to mistaken him as a ‘Big Mouse’ who is a genius conman, his life is suddenly in danger and gets caught up in a murder case.

Yoona takes up the role of Chang-ho’s wife, Ko Miho who works as a nurse.

She tries to clear up her husband’s name and finds herself get entangled in the conspiracy among the wealthy and powerful people.

Although this is Yoona’s first hard-boiled noir drama, she does not fail to deliver her best performance.

Audience can easily find themselves getting caught up with Mi-ho’s emotions throughout suspenseful plot and her relationship with Chang-ho.

Upcoming Projects

Fans can look forward to two upcoming projects from this idol-actress.

We will see Yoona as a hotelier in a television series that is scheduled to premiere on JTBC in the first half of 2023.

King the Land tells the story of Goo Won (Lee Jun-ho) who is the heir of a luxury hotel conglomerate The King Group.

Her second upcoming project is a rom-com directed by Lee Sang-geun.

Starring alongside Ahn Bo-hyun, the 2 O’Clock Date tells the story of two people who lived in the same building having a date at 2am while everyone else in the block is sleeping.

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KajoPicks: 10 Korean dramas and movies you should watch if you are a fan of Park Seo-joon

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If you are a big fan of second generation K-pop music, then you must have seen Bang Yong-guk’s music video for ‘I Remember’.

Some of us may have laid our eyes on Park Seo-joon for the very first time, thanks to this music video.

Who would have thought the rookie performer who passionately kissed and intensely kicked some ass in the MV is now one of South Korea’s biggest actors?

Park made his entertainment debut through the MV and later went on to star in both film and television series.

Here are 10 Korean dramas and movies you should watch if you are a fan of Park Seo-joon:

1.The Chronicles of Evil (2015)

For his role in this movie, Park was nominated for numerous awards such as Best New Actor and Popular Star Award at the 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards as well as the Best New Actor at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards.

The film follows the story of a decorated detective who got himself entangled in a taxi driver’s death.

Just days before his promotion, Choi Chang-sik dozes off on his way home after a celebratory drink with his colleagues.

He wakes up to find that his taxi driver has taken him to remote mountain trail and has pulled a knife on him.

As the two struggle for the knife, Choi accidentally kills the taxi driver in self-defence.

Worried about how the incident would impact his career, he covers up the body and flees.

The next day, the taxi driver’s dead body has been strung up on a crane in front of the police station gaining a widespread media attention.

Choi is assigned to the case and he tries to misdirect the investigation as well as the media evidence.

Then a man claiming to be the killer turns himself in and threatens Choi to reveal the truth unless he reopens an old case.

Park plays the role of a rookie policeman named Cha Dong-jae who grows suspicious of Choi and begins to investigate him.

2.Midnight Runners (2017)

Directed by Jason Kim, this action comedy film is Kim’s first mainstream film.

It circles around two students of Korean National Police University; Park Ki-joon (Park Seo-jeon) and Kang Hee-yeol (Kang Ha-neul).

After coming back from a club one night, they witness a kidnapping.

When the duo report the case to the police, the investigators is busy with the kidnapping of a son of a business mogul.

Hence, Ki-joon and Hee-yeol embark on journey of amateur investigation filled with action and humour to catch the kidnappers.

The movie became the seventh highest-grossing South Korean film in 2017.

Park, in the meantime, won several awards including Best New Actor at the 37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards, 54th Grand Bell Awards and 9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA).

3.The Divine Fury (2019)

In this action horror film, Park reunites with director Jason Kim who also wrote the script for the movie.

This time, Park plays the role of Yong-hoo, a martial arts champion who gains divine powers to fight against a powerful evil force.

He has a tragic childhood in which he lost his parents. Since then, he hates the idea of deity.

Channeling his anger through martial arts, Yong-hoo becomes a successful MMA fighter.

However, one incident changes his life completely. Yong-hoo suddenly develops stigmata which forces him to seek the help of Father Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki).

The priest sees Yong-hoo’s ability to defeat and the two becomes partner to fight against demonic activity.

John DeFore from The Hollywood Reporter called Park’s performance ‘expressionless’ in The Divine Fury.

He stated, “Director Kim and his star Park had something of a local hit in 2017 with the action comedy Midnight Runners, but any charisma the actor might’ve shown there is hard to see here. Good looking but generally expressionless, Park finds neither brooding anger nor engaging bewilderment in Yong-hoo as the character grapples with what’s happening to him.”

Perhaps a serious, emotional role is not Park’s forte, you will be the judge.

4.A Witch’s Love (2014)

What do Park Seo-joon, Park Bo-gum, Lee Jong-suk, Jang Ki-yong, Rowoon, Kang Ha-neul and Jung Hae-in have in common besides being young, hot and talented actors?

They have all acted in ‘noona’ romance dramas. A ‘noona’ is what a male call an older sister.

A Witch’s Love (2014) is not only Park’s first noona romance drama but also his first leading role in televisions series.

He plays the role of a 25-year-old Yoon Dong-ha who runs a small errand center with his friend. His leading woman is played by Uhm Jung-hwa.

Uhm in the drama is a 39-year-old investigative news reporter named Ban Ji-yeon whose colleagues call her a ‘witch’ behind her back.

In real life, Park and Uhm have 19-year age gap. Despite this, their chemistry in the drama is obvious as one of their kiss scenes is definitely in the K-drama kissing scenes’ Hall of Fame.

Viewers have called it ‘The Beer Kiss’. Much like the pasta scene in ‘Lady and The Tramp’, when a can of beer overflows, Ji-yeon and Dong-ha immediately stop the foam from spilling over by slurping it at the same time.

Then after what the Japanese would call a ‘moe’ moment, Dong-ha grabs Ji-yeon for an intense kiss.

Well, that is a scene makes the whole series worth watching.

5.Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

Speaking of chemistry, Park shares so much sparks with a fellow actor in this drama that they won the Best Couple Award at the MBC Drama Awards 2015.

Kill Me, Heal Me (2015) follows the story of Cha Do-hyun (Ji Sung), a business heir who is suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

He tries to gain control over his life with the help of psychiatric resident Oh Ri-jin (Hwang Jung-eum).

Meanwhile, Ri-jin’s twin brother Oh Ri-on (Park Seo-joon) is following Do-hyun as he seeks for inspiration as a novelist.

Even though Park is acting alongside with two more experienced actors such as Ji and Hwang, he shines in his own way through this drama.

Besides winning the Best Couple Award with Ji Sung, Park also won the Excellence Award Actor in a Miniseries during the same award show.

6.She Was Pretty (2015)

In the same year, Park reunites with his former co-star Hwang Jung-eum in She was Pretty (2015). Instead of as his sister, Hwang this time plays as Park’s love interest.

The former fictional siblings becomes two childhood friends who have harbour feeling for each other in this romantic comedy.

Set in the backdrop of a fashion magazine’s publishing office, Hwang is Kim Hye-jin while Park takes the role of Ji Sung-joon.

Hye-jin grew up as a beautiful, wealthy and smart girl but lost everything when her family went bankrupt.

She is now becomes embarrassed at her life and insecure with her look. So when her childhood friend Sung-joon asks them to reunite again as adults, Hye-jin refuses.

Instead, she asks her best friend Min Ha-ri (Go Joon-hee) to pretend to be her.

She was Pretty was a hit in China, pushing Park’s popularity in that country.

7.Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2017)

For BTS fans aka ARMY, this drama is known for being the series in which V made his acting debut under his real name Kim Tae-hyung.

To this day, it remains his only acting gig.

V, however, still remains friends with two of his co-stars from Hwarang namely Park Seo-joon and Park Hyung-sik.

Park Seo-joon acts as Moo-myung, a young man of low birth and becomes a legendary Hwarang warrior while Park Hyung-sik is Sammaekjong, a young King who joins the Hwarang under a hidden identity.

Despite the star-studded cast, the plot is messy and not attractive enough to keep viewers glued to the screen.

But then why is the drama on this list? Just because of its star-studded cast.

Where else are you going to watch Park Seo-joon along with K-pop idols Park Hyung-sik from ZE:A, Minho from SHINEE and of course V from BTS sharing the same screen?

8.Fight for My Way (2017)

While Hwarang is a miss for Park, Fight for My Way is a definite hit for him in his career.

It was raved for its realistic plot and great performances from its cast including Park.

In the series, Park plays the role of a former glorified taekwondo player who is now a nameless MMA fighter named Ko Dong-man.

His long time best friend Choi Ae-ra (Kim Ji-won) is a department store employee who dreams of becoming an announcer.

Along with their two other friends Kim Joo-man (Ahn Jae-hong) and Baek Seol-hee (Song Ha-yoon), the group is like any other young adults in this world who are trying to find their places in this society.

The series was a hit in South Korea, topping ratings in its time slot.

During the KBS Drama Awards 2017, Park bagged the awards for Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries and Netizen Award for Actor category.

9.What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)

No matter how much Park tries to diversify his acting roles, we have to accept that rom-com is his home ground.

Based on the novel of the same title by Jung Kyung-yoon which was first published in 2013, the story was also adapted into webtoon comic by KakaoPage in 2015.

After almost ten years working together, Kim Mi-so (Park Min-young) announces that she will resign from her post as a secretary.

Her boss Lee Young-joon (Park Seo-joon) is not having it.

While trying to ways to convince Mi-so to stay as his secretary, Young-joon unknowingly finds himself falling in love with her.

As they spend more time at a personal level, Young-joon and Mi-so find out they share a traumatic past together like 90 per cent of fictional couples in K-dramas.

Again, the series was a hit and the Korean press called him the ‘master of romantic comedy’.

His performance also earned him the Top Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries during the APAN Star Awards 2018.

10.Itaewon Class (2020)

Park Seo joon

Unlike any of his television roles in previous project, Itaewon Class (2020) shows the darker side of Park.

Here, Park takes up the role of Park Sae-ro-yi who founded a bar-restaurant in Itaewon called DanBam.

He was expelled from high school for punching CEO’s son named Geun-won who was at that time bullying a classmate.

Sae-ro-yi’s anger toward Geun-won escalated when his father was killed by Geun-won’s reckless driving.

Due to this, he attacks Geun-won which later caused him three-year imprisonment.

Seven years after his release from jail, Sae-ro-yi opens DanBam with the goal to expanding it into a franchise and defeating Geun-won’s chaebol company.

Based on the webtoon of the same name, the series won Best Drama Series at the 25th Asian Television Awards.

As for Park, he was nominated for Best Actor in Television at the prestigious 56th Baeksang Arts Awards.

Park Seo-joon’s upcoming projects

Park has two films from his home country that are coming to us. Concrete Utopia is an upcoming disaster-thriller film directed by Um Tae-hwa. We expect to see him starring alongside Lee Byung-hun and Park Bo-young.

His second upcoming film is Dream which was recently wrapped on Apr 13, 2022 in Hungary.

Park will put on a hat as a football coach for a special national soccer team. The team consists of homeless people who never played a ball before but will compete in the Homeless World Cup.

In addition to this. Park will make his comeback to the small screen in a historical drama sets in 1945.

Gyeongseong Creature is set to depict Gyeongseong (the old name for Seoul) in its darkest era.

The filming is currently in progress but the series is scheduled to premiere on tvN in 2023.

Of all Park’s upcoming projects, the most talked about is none other than The Marvels. He is reported has been cast in an undisclosed role in the sequel to Captain Marvel (2019).

The film is scheduled to be released in the US on July 28, 2023 as part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Whatever his role is, we hope that he will make us proud.

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KajoPicks: 12 K-dramas to watch if you are a fan of Park Min-young

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While most popular South Korean actresses that we know divide their works between television dramas and films, Park Min-young is one of those who devoted almost only on TV series.

The only movie she acted in is a horror flick The Cat back in 2011.

As for her works on television, here are twelve K-dramas to watch starring Park Min-young:

1.Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

Based on Jung Eun-gwol’s bestselling 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars, this historical drama stars Park Min-young alongside Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki.

Park plays the role of Kim Yoon-hee who disguises herself as her brother Kim Yoon-shik in order to make ends meet.

The drama is set during an era when society does not allow females to be educated nor employed.

Ultimately, the series became a breakthrough in Park’s career and she was nominated for several awards.

These Include Best Actress (TV) in 47th Baeksang Arts Awards, Outstanding Korean Actress in 6th Seoul International Drama Awards and Best Actress in 4th Korea Drama Awards.

Although she did not bring home any of these awards, her performance in Sungkyunkwan Scandal was a proof that she is here to stay in the acting industry.

2.City Hunter (2011)

Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo, this drama stars Park alongside Lee Min-ho, Lee Joon-hyuk, Kim Sang-joong and Kim Sang-ho.

In the drama, Park plays the role of Kim Na-na who was forced to take care of herself at young age after her mother was killed in a drunk driving accident and her father became comatose.

Her exceptional skills in martial arts as well as her independent character earns her a job as a bodyguard with the Presidential Security Service.

In a later interview, Park revealed that she was not satisfied with her acting in City Hunter only giving her own performance 40 or 50 points.

Regardless, the series garnered positive reviews from critics as well as became a commercial success.

3.Glory Jane (2011)

2011 was a busy year for Park as she starred in her second drama of the year Glory Jane.

It is a melodrama romance series following the life Yoon Jae-in (Park), a hardworking nurse who does not remember her past.

As she turns out, she is the daughter of the president of a trading company.

Her father Yoon Ill-goo was killed in a car accident orchestrated by his friend Seo Jae-myung (Son Chang-min) because he was to take control over the company.

While fleeing from Jae-myung’s goons, Jae-in got into a car accident and lost her memories.

Jae-myung took this opportunity to get rid of Jae-in by sending her to an orphanage.

Park’s role in Glory Jane (2011) earned her the Excellence Award for Actress in a Mid-length Drama during the KBS Drama Awards.

4.Dr. Jin (2012)

Based on the Japanese manga series Jin written by Motoka Murakami, Dr. Jin (2012) is a historical time-travel drama.

This is the second drama Park starring in which is based on Japanese manga after City Hunter.

The Korean remake of the manga adaptation made some alterations from the original.

For example, the original’s Edo period is changed to the Joseon Dynasty. Meanwhile, the real-life Japanese historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma was replaced with Joseon political figure Lee Haeung.

In the drama, Park played dual roles as the protagonist’s girlfriend in the present modern-day and he doppelganger in the Joseon era.

Her character in the modern day is comatose after a car accident while Park in the Joseon era is a sheltered noblewoman.

On the casting of Park for the role in Dr. Jin, the drama director had this to say in an interview, “I believe that Park Min-young is the perfect fit for the heroine role of Dr. Jin because she’s been in period pieces such as Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Princess Ja Myung Go, and modern places like City Hunter and Man of Honour. She was recognised for her acting skills through a steady career, so I expect her to be great in both modern and period pieces.”

5.A New Leaf (2014)

After taking a break for year, Park returned to the small screen to star in a legal drama.

In the series, Park plays the role of Lee Ji-yoon. She comes from a poor background and worked hard to put herself through a third-rate law school.

Somehow, she still manages to earn an internship at a prestigious law firm after graduating.

Her biggest problem is that she is too idealistic and unwavering when comes to her belief in justice.

In the same time, Ji-yoon’s character is bright allowing Park to act out in a cheery character for the first time.

6.Healer (2014)

“I chose ‘Healer’ because I loved the character of Chae Young-shin”, Park said in an interview about her drama Healer (2014).

Chae Young-shin is a strong-willed and quirky Internet news reporter who dreams of becoming a legendary reporter.

She is also suffering from childhood trauma causing her to have panic attack every time she sees violence.

While the series had moderate ratings in its home country, Healer was popular in China. This earned Park increased recognition in that particular country.

Moreover, Park’s chemistry with her co-star Ji Chang-wook made the series more popular.

They even won the Best Couple Awards at the KBS Drama Awards 2014 and 4th Annual DramaFever Awards.

7.Remember (2015)

This is a story which follows Seo Jin-woo (Yoo Seung-hoo) who has a special condition hyperthymesia which allows him to remember almost everyday in perfect detail.

Meanwhile, his father Seo Jae-hyuk has Alzheimer’s disease and losing his memories.

When Jae-hyuk is wrongfully convicted of murder, Jin-woo vows to prove his father’s innocence.

Four years later, Jin-woo finally becomes a lawyer to find the truth behind his father’s case.

During this time, one person who believes that Jae-hyuk is innocent is Lee In-ah (Park Min-young).

She becomes a prosecutor in order to fight for Jin-woo’s father.

With bribery and corruption going on in the justice system, Jin-woo and In-ah’s journey to free Jae-hyuk is definitely not easy.

Unfortunately for Park, her co-stars completely outshone her in this drama.

Yoo Seung-ho’s performance in the series earned him an Excellence Award for Actor in a Genre Drama at the 2016 SBS Drama Awards.

In the same time, the drama’s antagonist played by Namkoong Min won the Excellence Award for Actor in a Miniseries at the 5th APAN Star Awards.

8.Queen for Seven Days (2017)

For Park’s next work, she returned to historical drama in Queen for Seven Days (2017).

This time, she plays the real-life Queen Dangyeong who was Queen consort of Joseon for seven days in September 1506.

While she was on the throne, she was forcibly expelled from the palace by her political rivals.

The fictionalised version of this history focuses on the love and struggle of a woman who was unwillingly drawn into the political world.

Through this drama, Park reunited with director Lee Jung-sub who previously worked with her on Glory Jane (2011) and Healer (2014).

9.What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)

Whats Wrong With Secretary Kim

This is Park’s first romantic comedy drama in which she stars opposite Park Seo-joon.

In the series, Park is Kim Mi-so who is a highly skilled secretary.

She has worked with Lee Young-joon (Park Seo-joo), the vice-chairman of Yumyung Group for nine years.

After paying off her family debt, she decides to quit her job to focus on herself.

Meanwhile, Lee Young-joon slowly realises his feelings towards his secretary after she tells him she is quitting.

Overall, the drama was a rating success and Park won the K-Star Award at the 6th APAN Star Awards and the Best Actress of the Year Award at the 14th Annual Soompi Awards.

10.Her Private Life (2019)

Korean fashion park min young

Based on a Korean novel called Noona Fan Dot Com, this drama is her second romantic comedy.

She plays the role of Seong Deok-mi who works as a curator at an art museum but spends her time outside of work as a passionate fangirl of idol group member Cha Shi-an (Jung Jae-won).

Meanwhile, Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-wok) is a standoffish artist who develops Stendhal syndrome. He later becomes Deok-mi’s new boss as he takes up the post of the new art director.

The duo both form a fake romantic relationship due to some circumstance but later fall in love with each other for real.

11.When the Weather is Fine (2020)

Korean drama about books

Here is another Park’s drama which is based on a novel.

When the Weather is Fine (2020) is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Lee Do-woo.

It is a homecoming romance story of cellist Mok Hae-won (Park Min-young) who quits her job in Seoul and goes back to Bookhyun Village in Gangwon Province where she briefly lived when she was in high school.

There, she meets again her former classmate Im Eun-seon (Seo Kang-joon ) who now owns a bookstore.

Overall, it is a heartwarming story about two old friends finding about their pasts and their feelings towards each other.

12.Forecasting Love and Weather (2022)

From finding romance in the rural area in the previous drama, Park now finds love in the office of Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

In the series, she is 35 year-old Jin Ha-kyung who works the general forecaster of the second division of KMA.

Jin is a perfectionist who passed the civil service exam on the first try. However, she makes herself an outcast as she doesn’t like to socialize with her co-workers.

The drama is directed Cha Yeong-hoon who directed When the Camellia Blooms (2019) and written by Keang Eun-kyung, the writer behind Dr Romantic (2016).

The series was on the Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched international Netflix TV shows for six weeks in a row from February 21 to April 3.

In May 2022, Park confirmed her role in an upcoming rom-com ‘MonWedFriThuesThursSat’.

The new series is about a helper service that provides wives to single people needing partners to take to gatherings for married couples and school reunions.

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KajoPicks: 10 Korean dramas you must watch if you love Lee Dong-wook

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Are you a fan of South Korean actor Lee Dong-wook? His most recent drama Bad and Crazy is soaring in high ratings thanks to its fresh and original story about ‘bad and crazy’ detectives who fight against police corruption.

Most people may not know that he is actually one of the many successful actors who came out of the School anthology series.

He joins other popular actors such as Lee Jong-suk, Kim Woo-bin, Nam Jo-hyuk and Yook Sung-jae, all of whom were the products of this series.

The School series is a Korean drama series showcasing the struggles of high school students in South Korea.

Dong-wook took up the role as Lee Kang-san in both School 2 (1999-2000) and School 3 (2000-2001).

Here are 10 South Korean dramas you need to watch if you love Lee Dong-wook:

1.My Girl (2005)

This Korean series might not be Lee’s first drama but it was the drama that catapulted him to Korean Wave stardom.

He plays the role of Seol Gong-chan. He is the only heir of the owner of L’Avenuel Hotel which is one of the top hotels in Korea.

His grandfather put him in charge of finding his long lost granddaughter who is also Gong-chan’s cousin.

Instead of looking for his cousin, Gong-chan hires a tour guide Joo Yoo-rin (Lee Da-hae) to pose as the missing granddaughter.

Desperate for money due to her father’s gambling debts, Yoo-rin agrees to play the role.

The series was so successful in Asian countries that there have been four remakes of My Girl; Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

2.Scent of a Woman (2011)

Scent of a Woman marked Dong-wook’s first drama appearance after completing Korean military service.

It follows the story of a single woman who quit her job after being diagnosed with gallbladder cancer with approximately six months left to live.

She then embarked on a journey to Okinawa Island, Japan for her first vacation alone. There, she runs into Dong-wook’s character Ji-wook, a rich and cynical man. After a series of misadventures together, the duo falls in love with each other as the girl completes her bucket list.

One of their romantic scenes in the drama is when Dong-wook and his co-star Kim Sun-ah danced the tango.

In an interview with One TV Asia, Dong-wook revealed that he had never danced tango before and he practiced for a month before the shoot.

He stated, “On TV, the dance scenes looked very romantic and sexy but in reality, my brain was busy thinking of the next move and my feet were busy coordinating the dance.

“It was not easy to remember the moves and at the same time work well with my partner.”

3.Wild Romance (2012)

Here is another rom-com drama starring Lee Dong-wook that is worth watching.

This time, he plays the role of an obnoxious celebrity professional baseball player Park Mu-yeol.

He is in a love-hate relationship with his bodyguard Yoo Eun-jae (Lee Si-young).

Inspired by Si-young’s determination of not using a stunt double for her action scenes, Dong-wook too decided to perform all of his own stunts in the drama.

So all the fight and bickering scenes you see in the series? The two actors did it all by themselves.

4.The Fugitive of Joseon (2013)

In this drama, we get to see Dong-wook switched it up a bit by starring in a period drama.

It is set during the reign of King Injong, the 12th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.

He plays Choi Won, a royal physician who is desperate to cure his sick daughter.

When he gets entangled in an assassination plot to poison the crown prince, Choi Won becomes a fugitive.

The story intensifies as he fights to save both his daughter’s life and his own.

5.Hotel King (2014)

This series reunites Lee Dong-wook with former co-star in My Girl (2005), Lee Da-hae.

Circling around the drama about inheriting and managing a hotel, Dong-wook plays the role of a hotel manager named Cha Jae-wan who hides a secret past.

It is basically a revenge drama in which Jae-wan vows to take revenge on his rich father who abandons him and his mother who died in poverty.

To prepare for his role as a hotelier, Dong-wook along with the cast members of Hotel King attended a training session to learn the basic rules and manners of hoteliers.

The hard work really paid off as the series became one of the most popular dramas, especially in China.

6.Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016-2017)

Unfortunately after Hotel King (2014), many of Lee Dong-wook’s dramas were not that memorable or impressive.

Then came the year 2016 when he starred in a drama that relaunched his popularity.

Instead of taking the main role like he usually did, Dong-wook took up the supporting role in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016).

He plays the role of a Grim Reaper whose job is to guide souls to their afterlives.

These Grim Reapers do not have memories of their pasts but they do possess some supernatural powers.

Apart from his brilliant acting, his chemistry with his co-stars (especially with Gong Yoo who plays the Goblin) really impresses the viewers.

Watch the trailer here.

7.Life (2018)

“The grim reaper takes dead people, but this time I am saving the lives of people who are on the verge of death,” Dong-wook stated during the press conference for the medical drama Life (2018).

As the role of Dr Ye Jin-woo, he plays the role of an emergency medicine specialist.

The story takes viewers to behind the scenes of the hospital when the fight to save lives becomes less important than the fight of profit making.

Dong-wook also revealed that the fact his previous work was fantasy but this time is a realistic one which drew him to take up the role.

Who doesn’t love a versatile actor, especially a good-looking one like Dong-wook?

8.Touch Your Heart (2019)

After watching Goblin, who can deny the chemistry between Dong-wook and Yo In-na who play love interests in the story?

In this series, the two actors reunite taking up the main roles instead of supporting roles in their previous drama.

Dong-wook turns himself into a workaholic lawyer named Kwon Jung-rok in this series while Yoo In-na becomes the scandalous actress Oh Jin-shim.

In order to clear her name and become famous again after a drug scandal, Jin-shim takes up a job as Jung-rok’s secretary.

The unlikely duo slowly fall in love with each other as they spend more time together.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Stranger from Hell (2019)

Once again proving his amazing acting skill, Dong-wook turns serious and creepy in his next drama Stranger from Hell (2019).

Also known as Hell is Other People, the drama is a psychological thriller based on a webtoon of the same name.

Dong-wook plays the role of Seo Moon-jo, a dentist who comes across as a friendly and compassionate.

However, things are not always what they seem.

Dong-wook received the “Dangerously Attractive Character” Award for his role in this drama… and we totally agree.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Tales of Nine-tailed (2020)

Lee Dong wook 2

Lee Dong-wook returns as a supernatural being in the Tales of Nine-tailed (2020) and this time he becomes a gumiho named Lee Yeon.

He is a mountain spirit and guardian of Baekdudagan.

His job is to carry out missions from the Afterlife Immigration Office while searching for the reincarnation of his lover Ah-eum.

In this story, Dong-wook portrays Lee Yeon as this cynical character who looks like a bad boy who is ruthless to his enemies but only sweet to his girlfriend.

Watch the trailer here.

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KajoPicks: 10 South Korean dramas to watch if you are a fan of Lee Joon-gi

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When we talk about the role that introduced us to South Korean actor Lee Joon-gi, we have to talk about his role in The King and the Clown (2005).

In the movie, he plays the role of historical figure Gong-gil. It is an adaptation of a stage play, ‘Yi’ about a Joseon dynasty king named Yeonsangun and the court clown who mocks him.

Thanks for his performance in the film, Lee won a number of awards including the Best Newcomer at the Korean Film Awards. He was only 24 years old when he was cast for this role that led him to fame.

The film also led the Korean public to know him as the icon for all pretty boys.

However, Lee has proven over and over again since ‘The King and the Clown’ that he is more than just a ‘pretty boy’.

From historical to modern dramas, Lee is one of the top South Korean actors that K-drama fans always watch out for.

Here are 10 South Korean dramas to watch if you are a fan of Lee Joon-gi:

1.Time Between Dog and Wolf (2007)

This series played a significant role in Lee’s career as it was his first leading role in a drama.

He plays the role of Lee Soo-hyun, an NIS agent with a violent temper.

He infiltrates an organised crime syndicate as an undercover agent where he assumes the name Kay.

As a gangster, he goes on rampages to gain the trust of his fellow gang members.

In an interview, Lee revealed how he tried to break away from the image he received from acting in The King and the Clown (2005).

He said, “It’s an urgent matter for an actor to break away from a lingering image formed by a previous role. You don’t want to be typecast into specific roles. That’s probably the most difficult part about being an actor. After appearing in a great role in King and the Clown, I’ve been deliberately taking on different roles to reshape my image. And that has somehow been holding me back in my career and creating a mental barrier. In this miniseries, I’m just going to concentrate on playing my character like I did in the King and the Clown and try to block out all the extraneous stuff.”

This was also the drama that became Lee’s turning point in his career as viewers began to see him as an action star.

2.Iljimae (2008)

From Time Between Dog and Wolf (2007), Lee moved on to play a masked Robin Hood-esque character in this period action drama.

He plays the title role of Iljimae. The series is loosely based on the comic strip of the same name published in the newspaper the Daily Sports between 1975 and 1977.

The comic is written by Ko Woo-young who based it on a Chinese folklore from the Ming dynasty.

Lee’s character is a lazy gangster by day and a masked thief who protects the citizens at night.

Lee’s acting in the drama earned him the Top Excellence Award at the 2008 SBS Drama Awards.

3.Arang and the Magistrate (2012)

The first acting project they participate in after being discharged from mandatory military service is a huge deal for any famous South Korean actors.

Since their fans are not able to see them in any projects for at least 18 months, many anticipate their favourite actors’ first acting gig.

For Lee, his first project after being discharged was Arang and the Magistrate (2012).

In this series, he is a nobleman named Kim Eun-oh who has the special ability to hear, see and touch spirits but chooses to ignore them.

He comes across A-rang (Shin Min-ah) who lost all her memories, including how she died.

She begs for Eun-oh, the new magistrate to help her in finding the truth about her death.

The series was not only successful but it became the most expensive drama to be sold to Japan by MBC.

Moreover, Lee won the Outstanding Korean Drama Actor award at the Seoul International Drama Awards for his role in the drama.

4.Two Weeks (2013)

After he finished playing a magistrate in a historical drama, Lee moved on to a series set during the modern day.

Here, he plays the role of Jang Tae-san. He is abandoned by his father at a young age and his mother took her own life.

To survive, he becomes a small-time gangster.

Tae-san meets and falls in love with a college student Seo In-hye.

When Tae-san finds out that In-hye is pregnant with his child, Tae-san decides to leave the gangster organisation.

However, Tae-san’s gang boss threatens to kill In-hye if he does not become his fall guy for an assault charge and go to prison in his place.

In order to protect In-hye, Tae-san breaks up with her, asks her to get an abortion and then goes off to prison.

Eight years later, In-hye comes to him telling him that she had the baby after all.

But now their daughter Soo-jin has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.

She asks Tae-san to go a test to see if he is a matching donor because she herself is not.

As it turns out, he is a match and the surgery is scheduled to take place in two weeks.

Unfortunately for Tae-san, a lot of things can happen in two weeks such as getting caught in a political conspiracy and falsely being accused of murder.

It was the first time Lee played the role of a father in dramas and the viewers were happy with his performance.

In an interview Lee revealed his response to that, “On the day when the first episode was aired, I was at the top of a mountain for outdoor filming and sometimes checked the news. When I read a review ‘Lee Joon-gi’s fatherhood acting is perfect.’ I was so happy and my heart was about to burst.”

5.Gunman in Joseon (2014)

Don’t we love watching Lee Joon-gi playing a bad boy? In this series, Lee is a highly skilled swordsman named Park Yoon-kang.

However, he has no ambition and likes to waste his life drinking and flirting at the gisaeng house.

Things change for him when his estranged father Park Jin-han is killed in a conspiracy and falsely branded a traitor.

Subsequently, all of his children, including Yoon-kang, are also punished.

With the help of the girl he loves, Soo-in, Yoon-kang manages to escape on a boat.

Unfortunately, he is shot and falls into the water.

Everyone presumes he is dead. Little do they know Yoon-kang is rescued by a group of men heading to Japan.

Three years later, Yoon-kang returns to Joseon to avenge the death of his family under the assumed name Hasegawa Hanjo.

This time, he has traded his sword for a rifle.

Thanks for his role in Gunman in Joseon (2014), Lee won the Outstanding Korean Drama Actor for a second time at the Seoul International Drama Awards.

The series gained a lot of viewership internationally especially in China where it reached 200 million views in a month on Tencent QQ’s video streaming platform.

6.The Scholar Who Walks the Night (2015)

This series is based on the manhwa of the same name written by Jo Joo-hee and illustrated by Han Seung-hee.

It stars Lee Joon-gi, Lee Yu-bo, Shim Chang-min, Lee Soo-hyuk and Kim So-eun.

The drama is a historical-fantasy story in which Lee takes up the role of Kim Sung-yeol.

He is a loyal and courageous scholar who is close friend of Crown Prince Jonghyun.

Following the deaths of his family and friend, Sung-yeol turns into a vengeful vampire.

He has spent 120 years as a guardian vampire who is responsible for getting rid of any vampire who breaks the rule.

His special role allows him to go out in sunlight as long as he wears his special black robe.

Sung-yeol is hunting Gwi (Lee Soo-hyuk), the vampire who is responsible for killing his family and lover.

In order to do that, he needs to find the memorandum of his best friend, the late Crown Prince Jonghyun.

Inside the document, there is the secret to killing Gwi.

Through this acting project, Lee won the Top 10 Stars Award at the 34th MBC Drama Awards.

7.Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

How about a Korean historical drama with a dose of time-travel?

As if Lee was not popular enough before this drama, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo actually brought more fame to him as his name consistently topped the real-time and weekly portal sites search ranking.

In the drama, he plays the role of the fourth prince Wang So.

He is initially known as the black sheep of his family, constantly feared and misunderstood by the people around him.

His character begins to change when he make acquaintance with Hae Soo.

Meanwhile, Hae Soo is a 25-year-old woman named Go Ha-jin from the 21st century.

She is accidentally transported back in time during a total solar eclipse to the Goryeo Dynasty.

The drama is one of the most expensive Korean dramas ever sold pricing at $400,000 per episode.

If you feel the storyline sounds familiar, that is because it is based on the Chinese novel Bu Bu Jing Xin.

Before this K-drama adaptation, there was a Chinese TV adaptation that went on air in 2011.

However, the Chinese drama version has a sequel in which the time traveling protagonist returns to her own time.

Although the original author never wrote a sequel, the fact there is a second season in the Chinese drama adaptation let K-drama fans hope that there will be a continuation of Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016).

8.Criminal Minds (2017)

This police procedural action drama is based on the American television series Criminal Minds.

It follows a group of highly trained profilers in the National Criminal Investigation (NCI) team on their job of solving cases.

Lee is Kim Hyun-joon in this series, the equivalent of Derek Morgan portrayed by Shemar Moore.

No, we don’t get to see Lee saying ‘Baby girl’ in this drama but we do get to see him in action chasing after criminals.

In the Korean version of the drama, Hyun-joon is a second-generation police officer.

He is initially a SWAT officer specialising in EOD.

However after watching one of his subordinates die when a bomb their team was defusing, exploded, he was transferred to the Violent Crimes Unit as an investigator.

At the recommendation of Kang Ki-hyung who is the the leader of NCI team, Hyun-joon becomes a profiler.

9.Lawless Lawyer (2018)

After playing a profiler, Lee returns to the small screen as a lawyer in the Lawless Lawyer (2018).

It is Lee’s first time acting in a legal drama.

Still, it is not a role for Lee if it doesn’t involve some action and fight scenes.

In the drama, he plays the role of Bong Sang-pil. He is a former gangster turned lawyer who takes advantage of loopholes in the law and his fist to earn an excellent win rate.

The story sets in the fictional city of Kisung where corruption and crime rate is high.

Even though he is a lawyer, he is not afraid to use his old gang connection and his fighting skills to solve a case.

His goal in life is to avenge the death of his mother and to fight against the corrupt judge Cha Moon-sok and her associates.

To date, the drama is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history.

10.Flower of Evil (2020)

Lee Joon gi

In this series, Lee reunites with his former co-star from Criminal Minds Moon Chae-won.

The story revolves around a couple in which the husband has a dark past while the wife is the police officer who is tracking down his past identity.

Cha Ji-won (Moon) is a detective and married with a daughter with Baek Hee-sung (Lee).

On the outside, Hee-sung is the ideal husband and devoted father.

He has a metal working studio where he works as a craftsman.

After taking on one particular cruel case, Ji-won begins to hunt down a psychopath criminal.

Her hunt leads her to the man who has been building a family with her all along.

Again, Lee’s portrayal of a double-faced character in the drama impressed viewers.

Plus, his chemistry with Moon as married couple has also gathered a lot of buzz.

We expect to see in the first half of 2022 in SBS drama Again My Life. It is based on a web novel of the same title published on KaKao Page which was also released as a webtoon.

What is your favourite K-drama starring Lee Joon-gi? Let us know in the comment.

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10 popular K-dramas that turn 10 years old in 2022

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Can you believe that it has been 10 years since 2012?

A decade has passed since the media reported that the world has supposed to be destroyed on Dec 21, 2012 as per ancient Maya prophecy.

Yet, here we are 10 years later. We are not the only ones turning 10 years older. Our favourite songs and films that came out in 2012 are also turning 10 years old this year.

Here are 10 popular South Korean dramas that are turning 10 years old in 2022:

1.Moon Embracing the Sun

One of the biggest hit K-dramas in 2012 is none other than Moon Embracing the Sun (2012).

The series recorded a peak rating of 42.2%. It even won multiple awards including Best Drama and Best Actor awards in the television category at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards as well as Drama of the Year at 2012 MBC Drama Awards.

The historical-fantasy drama is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Jung Eun-gwol.

It tells of a love story between a fictional king of the Joseon Dynasty and a female shaman.

Kim Soo-hyun plays King Lee Hwon while Han Ga-in acts as Shaman Wol.

Basically, the king falls in love with a girl as a young boy and about to marry her. When they about to marry, she mysteriously dies.

However in reality, the girl loses her memory and becomes a shaman.

What is the latest news on the cast?

After the drama ended, Han took a six-year break from acting. She returned to the small screen in 2018 in a series called Mistress. It is based on a UK series of the same name.

Meanwhile, the Kim’s career really took off thanks to the drama. His popularity skyrocketed and after the drama, he set a new record in product endorsements for being the face of 17 products simultaneously.

He continued to act in successful films like The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013) as well as hit dramas such as My Love from the Star (2013), It’s Okay to Not be Okay (2020).

2.Bridal Mask

Based on the popular Korean manhwa by Huh Young-man, the story follows a man named Lee Kang-to (Joo Won).

As the story is set in Seoul during the 1930s Japanese colonial era, Lee is a Korean police commissioned by the Japanese to betray his own people.

Due to this, Lee is hated by his fellow countrymen including the patriotic Korean woman Oh Mok-dan.

Oh loves Gaksital (The Bridal Mask), a masked vigilante who fights for Korean independence.

What Oh does not know is that Lee and Gaksital are in fact the same person.

The series won the Drama of the Year award at the 13th Republic of Korea National Assembly Awards.

What is the latest news on the cast?

In March 2021, Netflix announced that Joo Won would be starring in Netflix original film ‘Carter’.

Joo will be playing the lead role, a secret agent who wakes up to find that he has lost all of his memories.

His last appearance in a television series is in Alice (2020), a sci-fi drama about time-travel.

Jin’s last job on TV drama was also in 2020 when she appeared in a romantic series about reincarnation, Born Again.

She recently also confirmed her role in an upcoming drama called ‘Bad Memory Eraser’.

3.The Rooftop Prince

Tell me that you didn’t cry watching the final episode of this drama. The Rooftop Prince is a rom-com drama and one of the reasons we laughed and cried in 2012.

It follows the story of Crown Prince Lee Gak (Park Yoochun) who finds himself time-travelling from Joseon dynasty to the 21st century.

He is accompanied by scholar Song Man-bo (Lee Tae-ri), personal bodyguard Woo Yong-sool (Jung Suk-won) and palace eunuch Do Chi-san (Choi Woo-shik).

They find themselves on the rooftop of Park-ha’s (Han Ji-min) apartment. Due to his exact same appearance, a wealthy president of a large company mistakes Lee Gak for her grandson Yong Tae-yong.

At the same time, Lee Gak realises that the events that are going on in the 21st century correlate with what had happened 300 years earlier.

What is the latest news on the cast?

After a series of scandals from drug use allegations to sexual assault accusations by four different women, Park’s career took a plunge.

His last performance on a TV drama was in 2015’s A Girl Who Sees Smells.

A true disappointment for a talented actor who had achieved a so-called ‘Grand Slam’ for having won trophies from each of South Korea’s three major television channels, SBS, MBC and KBS.

As for Han, she remains active in the acting industry since The Rooftop Prince (2012) by appearing in at least one project every year.

Some of her prominent roles in TV dramas include Hyde Jekyll, Me (2015), Familiar Wife (2018) and One Spring Night (2019).

She also acted in some successful films such as The Fatal Encounter (2014), The Age of Shadows (2016) and Miss Baek (2018).

What happened to our favourite trio in Lee Gak’s entourage?

Jung Suk-won continues to take up supporting roles in dramas, the most famous one being Netflix’s zombie apocalypse drama Kingdom (2019-2021).

The same thing goes to Lee Tae-ri who later became known for his supporting roles in The Beauty Inside (2018), Extraordinary You (2019), True Beauty (2020) and as Imoogi in Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020).

As for the youngest of the group Choi Woo-shik who plays Do Chi-san in the drama, he turned out to have a successful career.

He starred in critically acclaimed films such as Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019) with the latter winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Awards for Best Picture.

4.Faith

Speaking of an inter-period romance, here is another one coming out from 2012.

Faith (2012) tells the story about the modern-day plastic surgeon who is kidnapped and brought back in time to the Goryeo period, 700 years in the past.

Yoo Eun-soo (Kim Hee-sun) is a 33-year-old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. One day, she is kidnapped by a strange man who takes her back to the Goryeo period.

There, she is believed to be the apprentice of the famous Chinese surgeon Hwata sent from heaven.

The man who kidnaps her is General Choi Young played by Lee Min-ho.

He is a bodyguard to King Gongmin who is instructed to find someone to save the queen’s life.

The general promises the doctor that he will return her to her world once she saves the queen.

However, the doctor is caught in a political struggle in the royal court.

The drama was a highly anticipated because it is Kim’s first comeback after she took a break from the entertainment industry to concentrate on her family.

Meanwhile, it is the first time Lee acted in a historical drama.

Although the drama was highly rated, it turned out to be a commercial failure due to its high budget.

What is the latest news on the cast?

Both Kim and Lee continue to act in a series of successful project respectively.

Lee in particular participated in dramas such as The Heirs (2013), Legend of the Blue Sea (2016) and The King: Eternal Monarch (2020).

He is set to appear in an upcoming TV drama Pachinko which we expect to air on Apple TV+ in 2022.

In the same time, Kim has acted in Angry Mom (2015), The Lady in Dignity (2017) and Room No.9 (2018).

As for Kim, expect her to return on screen as a grim reaper in the fantasy drama Tomorrow. It is scheduled to air in the first half of 2022.

5.The Innocent Man

This melodrama is about a man who is no longer the ‘innocent’ man. Kang Ma-ru (Song Joong-ki) is a promising medical student who is in love with his neighbour Han Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon).

Unfortunately, she breaks his heart by becoming the mistress of a rich CEO in order to escape from poverty.

Six years later, Ma-ru is now an arrogant playboy who works as bartender/gigolo.

He approaches Seo Eun-gi, a rich heiress in a scheme to take revenge on his ex Jae-hee.

What is the latest news on the cast?

Song once described 2012 as a phenomenal year of his career. The Innocent Man (2012) was his first leading drama role in television.

It is also the year he played the titular character in fantasy romance film A Werewolf Boy which was premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

From there on, he has landed leading roles in Descendants of the Sun (2016), Arthdal Chronicles (2019) and Vincenzo (2021).

In 2022, we expect to see Song in the criminal thriller film Bogota alongside Lee Hee-joon and Kwon Hae-hyo as well as a drama adaptation of the web novel The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate.

Moon too continued to enjoy a smooth acting career since The Innocent Man (2012).

The TV drama that she took on a role includes Good Doctor (2013), Criminal Minds (2017) and Flower of Evil (2020) were all successful.

As for Park who played the ex Jae-hee in the drama, she got herself into some legal trouble.

In 2013, she was sentenced to eight months in prison for illegal use of propofol. Then in early 2021, Park was booked for driving under influence.

Her last TV drama appearance was a cameo in 2020’s series Birthcare Center.

6.Arang and the Magistrate

Starring Lee Joon-gi, Shin Min-ah and Yeon Woo-jin, this period horror-romance drama is based on the folklore of Arang.

According to legend, Arang was the beautiful daughter of the magistrate of Miryang who was raped and killed by her stalker.

Since this incident, each newly appointed magistrate died on their first night on the job in Miryang.

Then came a young, brave magistrate who made contact with Arang on his first night in Miryang.

The magistrate found out that his predecessors all died of shock upon seeing the ghost of Arang.

Arang sought justice from him and on the next day, the magistrate punished the man who was responsible for Arang’s death.

Thanks to this, Arang could finally rest in peace.

The series put a lot more twist on this original folklore. The magistrate in the series is a nobleman named Kim Eun-oh (Lee Joon-gi).

Arang (Shin Min-ah), in the meantime, is a ghost who lost all her memories.

At first when Arang ask for Eun-oh’s help to find her memories, he rejects her request.

However, he changes his mind after seeing that Arang has the hairpin that he gave his mother before she goes missing.

Eun-oh believes that by helping Arang he could find his mother.

The drama marked Lee’s first comeback acting project after being discharged from military service in February 2012.

The rights to the drama was sold to Japan for a record-breaking 200 million won per episode which amounts to 4 billion won for the 20-episode series.

What is the latest news on the cast?

Both Lee and Shin won the Best Couple Award at the MBC Drama Awards 2012.

Thankfully, the fictional couple is still active in the entertainment industry.

Shin’s last acting gig in a drama is in Hometown-Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) where she played the role of a dentist who moved from the city to open a clinic in the seaside village.

The series went on to become one of the highest rated television series on Korean cable television history.

She is also set to appear in an upcoming Netflix drama Our Blues that is set to premiere sometime this year.

Meanwhile, Lee has been appearing on the TV screen almost every year since 2012.

He has starred in Gunman in Joseon (2014), The Scholar Who Walks the Night (2015), Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016), Criminal Minds (2017), Lawless Lawyer (2018), Flower of Evil (2020) and an upcoming drama Again My Life (2022).

7. A Gentleman’s Dignity

The story told through this particular drama is unlike your usual K-drama.

It tells the story of four men in their forties who have been friends since they were eighteen.

Kim Do-jin (Jang Dong-gun) is an architect who is suffering from memory loss problem when in stress.

So he records everything in his daily life with a voice recorder pen.

Im Tae-san (Kim Soo-ro) is Do-jin’s partner at his architectural firm while Choi Yoon (Kim Min-jong) is a lawyer who is still mourning from his wife death.

The last member of the group is Lee Jung-rok (Lee Jong-hyuk) is the cafe owner. Despite being married to a rich woman, he still constantly flirts with other women.

The drama follows these four men and their love lives as they still preserving their friendships while they are in 40s.

What is the latest news on the cast?

All of these four senior actors are still in the industry.

However, Lee Jong-hyun who plays Kim Do-jin’s son in the series, might never be in the limelight again.

He was involved in the Burning Sun Scandal in which he took part in a one-to-one chatroom with Jung Joon-young.

Jung was convicted of secretly filming and sharing the videos of himself having sex with women to his friends.

One of his friends was Lee and he reportedly responded to the video with “inappropriate sexual conversations and making disparaging remarks about the women filmed”.

8.Queen In-hyun’s Man

2012 took long distance relationship in a whole new level as we saw many time-travel romance going on in K-dramas.
Here is another romantic drama which transcends different centuries.

It follows the story of obscure actress named Choi Hee-jin (Yoo In-na) who falls in love with Kim Bung-do (Ji Hyun-woo), a time-travelling scholar from the Joseon Dynasty.

Back in his time, he is a scholar who supports the reinstatement of Queen In-hyun who was deposed due to scheming by royal concubine Lady Jang.

When he time travels to 2012, he comes across Hee-jin who is cast as Queen In-hyun in a TV drama and falls in love with her.

What is the latest news on the cast?

At the press conference for the last episode of Queen and I on June 7, 2012, Ji made the public shocked by announcing his love for Yoo.

Yoo then confirmed their relationship on her radio show a week later.

Unfortunately, their romantic relationship did not last long as in 2014 they announced they had broken up.

As for their careers, Ji has starred in drama series such as Angry Mom (2015), Wanted (2016), Bad Thief, Good Thief (2017) and Young Lady and Gentleman (2021).

And we all know Yoo from Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016), Touch Your Heart (2019) and Snowdrop (2022).

9.To the Beautiful You

Here is the teen drama that rocked our year in 2012.

Based on the popular manga series Hanazakari no Kimitachi e written by Hisaya Nakajo, this Korean series is the fourth television adaptation of the manga.

It follows the story of Goo Jae-hee (Sulli), a Korean girl who lives in the US. She is attracted to high jump athlete Kang Tae-joon (Choi Min-ho) and idolises him.

Her fascination over Tae-joon even leads her to disguises herself as a boy in order to enter the same all-boys high school with him.

What is the latest news on the cast?

Sadly, Sulli was found dead in her house on Oct 14, 2019. To the Beautiful You (2012) is her last leading role in a television drama.

In the meantime, Min-ho is still active taking roles in series such as Medical Top Team (2013), My First Time (2015) and Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016).

He also remains active in his singing career as part of K-pop group Shinee.

On the other hand, some of the supporting actors in the drama have been landing leading roles over the years.

Kang Ha-neul, Kim Ji-won, Nam Ji-hyun and Kim Woo-bin are now no longer taking supporting roles in dramas but playing the main characters instead.

10.Love Rain

2022 dramas ten years 2

Love Rain (2012) was the most expensive Korean drama presold to Japan in 2012.

It tells the story over a two generations with Jang Geun-suk and Im Yoon-ah playing dual roles.

When Seo In-ha (Jang) and Kim Yoon-hee (Im) meet for the first time in university during the 70s, it is love at first sight for In-ha.

It takes time for the pair to be together but in the end circumstances push them to take different paths in life.

Moving on in 2012, In-ha is now happily married to one of Yoon-hee’s former best friends.

He has never forgotten Yoon-hee after all this time. When he runs into her after so many years, the two reconcile and try to make up for the lost time.

Well, this is not a K-drama if it does not come with a dramatic plot twist.

In the meantime, In-ha’s son Seo Joon (also played by Jang) bumps into Yoon-hee’s daughter Jung Ha-na (also played by Im) by chance.

Unlike their parents, it is hate at first sight for the duo.

The more they argue, the more they find themselves falling in love with each other.

Unaware that their children are dating each other, In-ha and Yoon-hee announce that they are getting married.

What is the latest news on the cast?

Some of Jang’s works after Love Rain (2012) are Pretty Man (2013), The Royal Gambler (2016) and Switch (2018).

Meanwhile, Im has landed many leading roles such as in Prime Minister and I (2013), The K2 (2016) and The King in Love (2017).

Im is set to appear in a legal drama titled Big Mouse alongside Lee Jong-suk in the first half of 2022.

Some of the supporting actors in Love Rain also seen their careers improved after the drama.

Seo In-guk, for instance, who had his acting debut through Love Rain is now a leading actor in K-dramas.

In-guk landed his leading role later in 2012, in hit drama Reply 1987 as a teenage boy in unrequited love with his childhood best friend.

The role catapulted his career into mainstream popularity and he continued to take part in dramas like Hello Monster (2015), The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (2018) and Doom at Your Service (2021).

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KajoPicks: 8 K-dramas based on Korean novels to watch

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These days, there are so many Korean dramas that are inspired by manhwa and webtoon.

Even though the number is not as huge as K-dramas based on webtoons, there is still a handful of television series which have gained their inspiration from Korean novels.

So here are eight K-dramas based on South Korean novels to watch:

1.Painter of the Wind (2008)

Based on the bestselling historical fiction novel of the same name by Lee Jung-myung, this series stars Moon Geun-young and Park Shin-yang.

It circles around the idea of ‘what if’ real-life Joseon painter Shin Yun-bok had really been a woman.

Shin Yun-bok was known for his realistic depictions of daily life in his time.

In the drama, Yun-bok is a talented young painter who disguises herself as a man to search for her father’s murderer.

She meets Kim Hong-do, a master painter who later becomes her mentor.

The novel also inspired 2008 Korean film Portrait of a Beauty starring Kim Min-sun.

2.The King in Love (2017)

This Korean series is one of the few youth historical dramas out there.

It is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Yi-ryung.

Starring Im Si-wan, Im Yoon-ah and Hong Jong-hyun, it is a story of a love triangle set in the Goryeo dynasty.

Won is a young and ambitious crown prince who falls in love with a young woman named San.

At the same time, his best friend Wang Rin is also in love with San.

But who does San love between the two?

Watch the trailer here.

3.Top Management (2018)

Top Management (2018) is a YouTube original production based on a novel by Jang Woo-san.

It is a romance-fantasy story which centers around Eun-sung.

She is a former idol trainee and has special power that allows her to see the future.

The storyline focuses on her life as the manager of the aspiring but struggling male idol group ‘S.O.U.L’.

Watch the trailer here.

4.Ms Hammurabi (2018)

What makes this drama different from other K-dramas adapted from Korean novels is that the novelist wrote the script himself.

Judge Moon Yoo-seok wrote the novel The Hankyoreh which was first serialised in a local newspaper back in 2015.

To bring his work to the TV screen, he wrote the script of the drama series Ms Hammurabi which was based on his book.

It was the first time Moon tried his hand at script writing.

In an interview, he revealed that he was surprised that the production company suggested to go with his script without the help of a co-writer or a sub-writer.

It turned out to be an excellent decision as the series was well-received by viewers for its fresh perspective on judges.

This Korean legal drama tells the story of the life of judges and the various challenges that they have to face.

It stars Go Ara, Kim Myung-soo, Sung Dong-il and Ryu Deok-hwan.

Watch the trailer here.

5.Girl’s Generation 1979 (2017)

Based on the novel Lingerie Girls’ Generation by Kim Yong-hee, the series is set during the 1970s in Daegu city.

It circles around Lee Jung-hee whose father owns a lingerie factory. Jung-hee like other girls at her age, loves to listen to pop music.

Instead of concentrating on schoolwork, she focuses more on boys.

Besides the teenage drama, there is a dark mystery going on in the story.

There is an increasing number of sexual assaults in the city and one by one, the female workers in the factory go missing.

Watch the trailer here.

6.Kingmaker: The Change of Destiny (2020)

This historical romance drama is based on Lee Byung-joo’s novel Wind, Clouds and Tombstone.

It stars Park Si-hoo, Ko Sung-hee, Sung Hyuk and Jun Kwang-ryul.

The story follows the fierce struggle for the throne during Joseon dynasty.

Choi Chun-joong is the best face reader in the country who eventually becomes the most powerful person of the era.

Meanwhile, Lee Bong-ryeon is a royal princess who has a special ability to see the fate of people.

Together with Chun-joong, the duo tries to change the fate of their country for the better.

Watch the trailer here.

7.Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

Most people do not know that this famous historical drama is based on Jung Eun-gwol’s bestselling 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars.

Starring Park Min-young, Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki, the story follows a girl who disguises herself as a man to make ends meet.

When Kim Yoon-hee enrolls in the prestigious Sungkyunkwan, the Josean Dynasty’s university, she becomes close with three men.

The first man is Lee Sun-joon, who known for his upright and cold demeanour.

Then the mischievous Gu Yong-ha (Song Joong-ki) and the moody Moon Jae-shin (Yoo Ah-in).

The four of them called their little group the ‘Jalgeum Quartet’.

8.Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)

Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) is not the only Jung Eun-gwol’s novel that materialised into a television series.

Her 2005 novel The Moon that Embraces the Sun is adapted into drama in 2012.

It is a love story between a king during Joseon Dynasty and a female shaman.

In the same time, it shows the power struggles and conflicts that take place in the royal court.

The highly-rated drama stars Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo and Kim Min-seo.

Special mention
Lovers of the Red Sky (2021)

Korean novels

Proving that she is the queen of Korean historical romance novels, Lovers of the Red Sky (2021) is Jung Eun-gwol’s third book to be adapted into a television drama.

With a dose of fantasy, the story sets during the Dan dynasty when Ghost, Demons and God are heavily involved in human lives.

This ongoing drama follows the story of a genius female painter who was born blind due to the curse of the Demon King.

However, she miraculously can see, thanks to God’s blessing.

Meanwhile, Ha-ram is a red-eyed man who lost his sight as child. Despite being blind, he can still read the future by tracing the movement of the sky at night.

It stars Kim Yoo-jung, Ahn Hyo-seop, Gong Myung and Kwak Si-yang.

Watch the trailer here.

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KajoPicks: 8 Korean sci-fi dramas you need to watch

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The genre that has been gaining momentum in Korean television industry in recent years is none other than scientific fiction or sci-fi.

With bigger budgets as well as huge support from giant companies such as Netflix, advanced computer-generated imagery is no longer only be found in Hollywood.

These Korean sci-fi television series proved that everything is possible in TV production as long as fans are continuing to watch and money is continuing to be pumped in.

Here are eight South Korean sci-fi dramas you cannot miss out:

1.Circle: Two Worlds Connected (2017)

While sci-fi is already a rare genre in Korean dramas, this K-drama is even rare since it is a dystopian fiction story.

Circle: Two Worlds Connected (2017) is a Korean sci-fi television series starring Yeo Jin-goo, Kim Kang-woo, Gong Seung-yeon and Lee Gi-kwang.

It follows the story of two parallel plots set in the years 2017 and 2037.

The drama begins in 2007 when two fraternal twin brothers Kim Woo-jin and Kim Bum-gyun along with their neuroscientist father Dr Kim Kyu-chul (Kim Joong-ki) witness the arrival of a humanoid alien (Gong Seung-yeon).

The family brings the alien to live with them and the twins become attached to her, calling her ‘Byul’.

In the meantime, Dr Kim is secretly working on Byul, calling it the Beta Project.

One day, Dr Kim and Byul go missing, Bum-gyun believes Byul has taken their father captive while Woo-jin thinks their father has abandoned them.

In 2017, Woo-jin (Yeo Jin-goo) is a college student studying in neuroscience.

When a series of suicides takes place in his campus, Woo-jin believes it somehow linked to his twin Bum-gyun (An Woo-yeon).

As he investigates the case, Woo-jin comes across Han Jung-yeon who looks exactly like Byul.

Jung-yeon, who is a computer science student, is also investigating the multiple suicides.

In 2037, South Korea is now divided into Normal Earth and Smart Earth.

Normal Earth is where crimes are rampant and heavily polluted while Smart Earth is where the city is clean and free of crimes.

A crime detective in Normal Earth Kim Joon-hyuk (Kim Kang-woo) is investigating a pair of twin brothers who went missing in 2017.

Watch the trailer here.

2.My Holo Love (2020)

Go Nan-do (Yoon Hyun-min) is a genius inventor and the owner of an IT research company.

However, nobody knows that he is the real owner and all the projects were created by him except for his stepsister and the official CEO.

Meanwhile, Han So-yeon (Ko Sung-hee) is an assistant manager at a glasses company.

Due to her face blindness disorder, she decides to live a reclusive life.

Her lonesome life starts to get exciting when she starts to form a connection with a human-like hologram who looks exactly like his prickly creator Go Nan-do.

As many fiction stories are inspired by real-life events, the scriptwriter Ryu Yong-jae was inspired to write the script after watching the Google DeepMind Challenge Match in 2016.

It was a five-game Go match between 18-time world champion Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo, a computer Go program developed by Google DeepMind played in Seoul, South Korea.

In the historical match, AlphaGo won all but the fourth game.

Watch the trailer here.

3.Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

Speaking of gaining inspiration from real-life events, here is a Korean sci-fi drama that is inspired by Pokemon Go and tech mogul Elon Musk.

Memories of the Alhambra (2018) centers around on a company CEO Yoo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin) who get entangled in a series of mysterious incidents surrounding a new and intricate augmented reality game inspired by the stories of the real-life Alhambra Palace.

Together with Jung Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye) the sister of the creator of the game, the border between the real world and the AR world of the game becomes blur.

Today, it is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history known gaining praises for its creative plot and its unexpected twists.

Moreover, this Korean sci-fi series is the first drama based on AR gaming.

Read more about Memories of the Alhambra here.

4.Are you Human? (2018)

Laura Oh (Kim Sung-ryung) is a scientist who is one of South Korea’s leading names in robotic and artificial intelligence.

She is also married into one of the richest families and her son Nam Shin (Seo Kang-joon) is expected to inherit the family business.

Things take a different turn when Nam Shin gets into accident and slips into coma.

To secure his position as the heir, Laura sends one of her creations Nam Shin III pose as Nam Shin.

The family also hires former mixed martial arts fighter Kang So-bong (Gong Seung-yeon) as his bodyguard.

So-bong, unknowingly falls in love with the lifelike robot.

Like many Korean sci-fi dramas that circle around artificial intelligence, the series highlights the main question, ‘Can an AI replaces human intelligence?’

Watch the trailer here.

5.Alice (2020)

In 2050, the organisation Alice is formed to send clients back through time to see deceased loved ones to find peace and closure.

In the same time, they also work as police time incursions.

Alice agents Yoon Tae-yi (Kim Hee-sun) and Yoo Min-hyuk (Kwak Si-yang) travelled to the year 1992 Seoul to search for The Book of Prophecy.

It is a book that predicts the fates of certain people and end of time travel.

However, a rogue group called Teacher that manipulates time found young Tae-yi and murdered her father for the book.

Right before he passed away, the father gives the final page to young Tae-yi before her adult counterpart arrived.

Later, Tae-yi find out that she is pregnant with Min-hyuk’s child. Min-hyuk asks her to abort the baby because the radiation caused by time traveling can cause serious defects to the child.

Tae-yi then disappears with her child. Under a new identity as Park Sun-young, she raises her son Park Jin-gyeom (Joo Won) as a single mother.

In 2010, the young Jin-gyeom find his mother murdered and vows to find her killer.

As an adult, he becomes a detective and slowly learns about time travelling, Alice, Teacher and the truth about his mother’s death.

Watch the trailer here.

6.Rugal (2020)

This drama follows the story of Kang Gi-beom (Choi Jin-hyuk).

He is an elite police officer who is trying to bring down one of South Korea’s largest criminal organisations, Argos.

Argos, instead sends a hitman to kill Gi-beom’s wife, blinds him and even frames him for the murder.

Later, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) recruit Gi-beom to join a special task force called Rugal.

This special team consists of members who are equipped with biotechnology which give them superhuman abilities.

Gi-beom for instance, receives two artificial eyeballs to regain and enhance his sight.

Using his new identity, Gi-beom is set to clear his name and gains his revenge.

Watch the trailer here.

7.L.U.C.A The Beginning (2021)

Here is another Korean sci-fi drama circles around biotechnology.

Ji-oh (Kim Rae-won) has a secret. He has extraordinary power and fighting skills but he does not know who he really is and how he got his power.

While looking for answers about his identity, he is chased by mysterious figures.

He later learns about a mysterious group of scientists at an institution named Human Tech.

The group conducts a secretive genetics and biotech project codenamed L.U.C.A.

Ji-oh’s only ally is Ha Neul-ae-goo-reum. She is a police detective who is searching for her missing parents.

Watch the trailer here.

8.Sisyphus: The Myth (2021)

This time travel story centers around a genius engineer Han Tae-sul (Cho Seung-woo) and his saviour from the future Gang Seo-Hae (Park Shin-hye).

Tae-sul is the CEO of Quantum and Time Company. After his older brother dies, he tries to uncover the truth behind his death.

His journey leads him to come across a time-traveler Seo-hae.

Seo-hae, in the mean time is an elite warrior and skillful sharpshooter from the future.

Her mission to travel back to the past is to save Tae-sul and prevent him from inventing the Uploader, a time machine which is capable of sending both human and objects including a nuclear weapon to the past.

Watch the trailer here.

Korean Sci fi drama
Special Mention
The Silent Sea (2021)

Here is an upcoming Korean sci-fi mystery thriller series that you need to watch out for.

It stars Gong Yoo, Bae Doona and Lee Joon.

It is an adaptation from the 2014 short film The Sea of Tranquility.

The story follows a special team sent to secure a mysterious sample from an abandoned research facility called Balhae Base which located on the moon.

Gong Yoo plays the role of Han Yoon-jae, the exploration team leader.

Bae Doona takes up the role of Dr Song Ji-an. She is an astrobiologist who wants to uncover the truth behind the accident that caused Balhae Base to be abandoned.

With only eight episodes, the series will air on Netflix in 2021.

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KajoPicks: 10 South Korean dramas that suffer from Second Lead Syndrome

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Second Lead Syndrome in Korean dramas are real guys.

It is a phrase coined by K-drama fans when the viewers like the second male lead character to end up with the female lead rather than the main male character.

In most cases, the first male character is always being portrayed as cold and very domineering.

Meanwhile, the second lead male character is the one we know who does everything for the girl but in the end will never have her heart.

Here are ten dramas, we believe that are suffering from a serious case of Second Lead Syndrome:

1.Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

This historical drama follows the story of Kim Yoon-hee (Park Min Young) who disguises as her brother Kim Yoon-shik to earn money for the family.

It is set time during a period when females are not allowed to earn education or employment.

One day, she is offered a chance to make money by taking an entrance examination to Sungkyunkwan, a Joseon dynasty university.

Since her action is illegal, she gets caught by Lee Sun-joon (Park Yoo-chun).

After acknowledging Yoon-hee’s intelligence, Sun-joon encourages her to enroll in the university.

There, she gets to know her schoolmate including Gu Yong-ha (Song Joong-ki), Moon Jae-shin (Yoo Ah-in) and Ha In-soo (Jun Tae-soo).

Even though she is surrounded by these men, her heart still sets itself upon Sun-joon.

However, viewers are rooting for Yoon-hee to choose Jae-shin.

Unlike Sun-joon who is cold and arrogant, Jae-shin is Yoon-hee’s silent protector who hides his gentle heart behinds his gruffness and constant mood swings.

2.You’re Beautiful (2009)

The series You’re Beautiful (2009) in a lot of ways are similar to Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010).

We have a female lead character who disguises as a boy, a cold, arrogant male lead character and lastly a warm-hearted, protective second male lead.

Ko Mi-nyeo (Park Shin-hye) wants to be a nun while her twin brother Ko Mi-nam wants to be a singer.

One day, Mi-nam must leave for the US to correct his botched plastic surgery.

Hence, Mi-nam’s manager Ma Hoon-yi (Kim In-kwon) approaches Mi-nyeo and asks her to disguise as Mi-nam for a month.

After much consideration, Mi-nyeo agrees and joins the band A.N.Jell whihc include Hwang Tae-kyung (Jang Keun-suk, Kang Shin-woo (Jung Yong-hwa) and Jeremy (Lee Hong-gi).

Shin-woo is the first to discover Mi-nyeo is actually a girl but he does not reveal it to anyone, including Mi-nyeo.

In fact, he continues to care for her while secretly protecting her.

Honestly, a normal woman would definitely go for Shin-woo instead Tae-kyung after watching this drama.

3.She Was Pretty (2015)

This drama will remind you of Selena Gomez’s song ‘The Heart Wants What it Wants’.

Kim Hye-jin (Hwang Jung-eum) has been in love with her childhood friend Ji Sung-joon (Park Seo-jeon) since they were children.

When they reunite as adults, Sung-joon does not recognise her and treats her coldly.

In the meantime, Hye-jin’s colleague/senior feature editor Kim Shin-hyuk (Choi Si-won) is the opposite of Sung-joon.

He helps Hye-jin in her work and likes the way her unique way of dressing up.

Sung-joon on the other hand, only starts to pay attention toward Hye-jin after she had a make-over and treats her differently after knowing she is her childhood friend.

Despite having a serious case of Second Lead Syndrome, the series was both a hit domestically and internationally especially in China.

Watch the trailer here.

4.Boys over Flower (2009)

First of all, why would you go for a guy who bullies you publicly in school? It is just wrong on so many levels.

Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) is the daughter of dry cleaner who is studying at the prestigious Shinhwa High School on a scholarship.

Unfortunately, she gets on the bad side of Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho) who is the richest kid in school known for his hot-temper.

Unlike others, Jan-di has the courage to fight back against Jun-pyo.

Even though Jun-pyo torments her at first, he eventually falls for her.

While Jun-pyo is busy tormenting Jan-di, the one who treats Jan-di well is Yoon Ji-hu (Kim Hyun-joong).

He is calm and gentle which is the opposite of Jun-pyo’s volatile and hot-tempered behaviour.

5.School 2015: Who Are You (2015)

Go Eun-byul and Lee Eun-bi (both played by Kim So-hyun) are identical twins who are separated when they were children.

Eun-bi lives in an orphanage while her twin is adopted and studying in a private school.

Due to intense bullying at school, Eun-bi decides to commit suicide but she is saved at the last moment by Eun-byul.

After the incident, Eun-bi loses her memory. Eun-byul goes missing while her adoptive mother takes Eun-bi in thinking she is Eun-byul.

When she is living as Eun-byul, Eun-bi gets to know Han Yi-an (Nam Joo-hyuk) Gong Tae-kwang (Yook Sung-jae).

Yi-an is the star swimmer while Tae-kwang is the troublemaker in school.

Behind his naughtiness, Tae-kwang is caring and thoughtful especially toward Eun-bi.

Throughout the series, Eun-bi seems to spend more times with Tae-kwang more than Yi-an making you wonder who is the main male character actually.

Watch the trailer here.

6.Love in the Moonlight (2016)

Based on the novel Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, this coming-of-age story is set during 19th century Joseon Dynasty.

It follows the story of Lee Yeong (Park Bo-gum), the only son of the king and heir to the throne.

He has a eunuch named Hong Sam-nom (Kim Yoo-jung) who is in fact a girl named Hong Ra-on.

Ra-on has to disguise herself as a male to make a living.

Meanwhile, Kim Yoon-sung (Jinyoung) is Lee Yeong’s childhood friend and a charismatic scholar.

Your heart cannot help but be softened watching Yoon-sung continue to love Ra-on from a distance throughout the story.

Watch the trailer here.

7.True Beauty (2020)

Second Lead Syndrome

This high school drama gives viewers major heartache thanks to its Second Lead Syndrome.

It centers around Lim Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young), a girl who is constantly being bullied by her peers due to her appearance.

After learning how to use makeup, she transforms herself and becomes the ‘goddess’ in her new school.

However, her natural face is discovered by the school popular kid Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo).

He couldn’t care less about how Ju-kyung looks with or without makeup.

Just like Su-ho, Han Seo-jun (Hwang In-youp) never shunned Ju-kyung regardless of her look.

Yes, Ju-kyung is in love with Su-ho from the beginning.

However, our hearts are stirred looking how much Seo-jun cares for Ju-kyung while being friend-zoned especially when Su-ho is not there for her.

Watch the trailer here.

8.Reply 1988 (2015)

Kim Jung-hwan (Ryu Jun-yeol) has been harbouring feelings for his childhood friend Sung Deok-seon (Lee Hye-ri) since they were kids.

He is reluctant to admit his feelings to Deok-sun. When he finds out that his best friend Choi Taek (Park Bo-gum), Jung-hwan takes a step back for the two.

The drama sets in the year 1988, revolving around five friends and their families living in the same neighbourhood of Ssangmun-dong, Dobong District, Northern Seoul.

However, the plot focuses mainly on the love in the families rather than the romance between the characters.

Watch the trailer here.

9.Cheese in The Trap (2016)

When the male lead character is problematic from the beginning of the story, the drama naturally will fall into Second Lead Syndrome.

The story follows Yoo Jung (Park Hae-jin), a handsome, intelligent and heir to a conglomerate company the Taerang Group.

Most people see him as this nice guy who is kind toward everyone. Little that they know, he is manipulative with tendency of destroying those who irritate him.

Hong Seol (Kim Go-eun) sees this dark side of Yoo Jung and her life starts to become miserable up to the point that she decides to take a break from school.

When she returns, Yoo Jung unexpectedly nice to her and even asks her on a date.

Even though she is confused with Yoo Jung, Hong Seol agrees and the two start an awkward relationship.

Then, Baek In-ho (Seo Kang-joon) comes into the picture and falls for Hong Seol too. He is Jung’s former childhood friend.

Unlike Yoo Jung’s manipulative and fake character, In-ho is sincere and earnest man who deserved Hong Seol’s attention.

Watch the trailer here.

10.Start-Up (2020)

Perhaps one of the most severe cases of Second Lead Syndrome is this drama Start-Up (2020).

It revolves around a woman who dreams to become South Korea’s Steve Jobs and her love triangle between a man who is secretly her first love and another man who is pretending to be her first love.

Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy) takes various part-time jobs while building her dream to become an IT entrepreneur.

Meanwhile, Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk) is a math genius who founded the Samsan Tech.

Dal-mi mistakes Do-san for her first love from her childhood who used to write her love letters.

In reality, the one who wrote the letters all this while was Han Ji-pyeong (Kim Seon-ho).

While writing all those letters, Ji-pyeong slowly falls for Dal-mi and even forming sweet relationship with Dal-mi’s grandmother.

Although viewers know who Dal-mi would choose in the end, it doesn’t mean this love triangle story is less painful to watch.

Watch the trailer here.

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