Pyo Na Ri, a weather forecaster, aspires to one day become a news anchor. Furthermore, she has harbored romantic affection for her colleague, Reporter Lee Hwa Shin, for the last three years.
The abrasive Hwa Shin doesn’t develop romantic emotions for Na Ri until he meets his best friend, Go Jung Won, the chaebol heir of a high-end fashion company.
Na Ri is the recipient of nothing but compassionate treatment from Jung Won, in stark contrast to Hwa Shin, and he finally develops feelings for her. Soon after, Na Ri is sent to Thailand to assist with a promotional shoot starring Hwa Shin.
The show seeks to persuade the audience that the news network is being frugal by sending a freelancing weather reporter rather than hiring a full-time one. The drama’s narrative is compelling and has the potential to keep viewers enthralled. Both Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Seok demonstrated their acting prowess. The audio and visuals are spot on as well.
1. Birth of a Beauty (2014)
Tae Hee, the privileged heir of a Korean conglomerate, has the task of making Geum Ran seem like a beautiful lady. Sara is the end outcome. Sara goes through a transformation in order to get back at her ex-husband.
It had been seven years since Geum Ran had seen her husband, Kang Joon. She had been under the impression for a long time that her spouse was occupying himself with work in the States.
Kang Joon has remained back in Korea for some time with a new career and a new girlfriend. Kang Joon has just started dating the newscaster Chae Yeon.
The dramatic events focus on transformations rather than adjustments. Geum Ran suffers excruciating pain in order to transform into Sara.
Sara is finally able to attract the “positive” attention she’s craved for so long. Everyone, at some moment or another, longs to be the center of attention. Sara finds it entertaining to be the center of attention when she strolls down the street or browses a shop.
Sara’s newfound attractiveness is indicative of her conformity to the conventionally accepted Korean ideal of beauty: thin, with long hair and a fair complexion. However, Sara’s discontent persists. As Geum Ran, she centered her life on her spouse and children.
She put everyone else’s needs before her own. She first supported Kang Joon while he finished his homework by feeding and motivating him. Geum Ran cared for Kang Joon’s demented grandma.
Sara is struggling to adjust to her newfound freedom and a second chance at life. The play illustrates how a woman may easily lose her bearings in the midst of providing for her family. Geum Ran believed that the key to a happy life was being there for her kids and husband.
2. Suspicious Partner (2017)
A fortuitous meeting on a train leads to misunderstandings and hatred between No Ji Wook and Eun Bong Hee when the former is wrongly accused by the latter of attempting to feel the latter’s bottom.
Bong Hee’s unorthodox, frank, and humorously spiteful manner likely caused Prosecutor No embarrassment, despite the fact that the true culprit was someone else Bong Hee met at the prosecutor’s office with the same violation.
They break up after the train incident, but things only get worse for Bong Hee from there on out when she learns that her lover, Hee Jun, has been cheating on her and even catches him at a hotel with another woman.
They argue about it, and Hee Jun, the fool that he is, admits his mistakes without remorse, insisting instead that Bong Hee is his true love. Naturally, Bong Hee informs him that she will get right with him shortly by sleeping with the first man she meets.
The investigation of trauma and its effects on the psyche also sticks with me, such as how it caused Ji Wook to forget the truth about what went on with his parents and who was actually responsible. Or how Hyun Soo reportedly suffered from dissociative amnesia since he was there and among his pals as they molested So Young, but he remembers nothing about it.
He now feels too guilty to be associated with the crime, so he goes on a murdering rampage, causing harm to many more people than he originally planned. This concept has added richness to the plot and helped the characters mature as a result of their trials.
3. True Beauty (2020)
Ju Kyung has changed her appearance using makeup and attended a different high school to escape more bullying. Her secret is discovered, however, by the school’s iciest heartthrob, Su Ho, who blackmails her into quiet in return for service.
The relationship is also charming, with some touching exchanges between the characters and believable chemistry overall. The revelation in the last episodes, however, was too dated and tacky to keep viewers interested.
In addition, it was mishandled, leading to hurried and disorganized progress. While the love triangle’s secondary protagonist was intriguing, he was seldom on screen with the film’s female protagonist.
He was the one individual who actively sought to further the connection, and he ultimately made many poor decisions. Since it was always clear that she had a serious crush on Su Ho, the love triangle wasn’t that interesting.
The primary plot was good, but it lacked drive and fizzled out quickly. The controversies that were supposed to advance the story were tedious and underwhelming since they went on for far too long and accomplished nothing.
When the main plot started to drag, it was the secondary characters that saved the day. Those individuals added just the right amount of charm and humor to the situation. Ju Kyung is the social outcast of her family and has been bullied as a result.
She gets a fresh start when she moves to a different school, where she rapidly becomes well-liked after perfecting her cosmetics skills and transforming into a stunning young woman. But now she has to cover up the fact that she’s a total horror fiction nerd at heart.
Moon Ga Young pulls off convincingly playing a high school kid, and she brings the necessary cuteness and humor to the character without worrying about damaging her reputation. Her attractiveness reminds me of her Exo Next Door persona.
4. The Best Hit (2017)
Hyun Jae and Youngjae are the most successful Korean pop duo of the early 1990s. Hyun Jae, on the other hand, has both skill and intelligence, whereas Youngjae lucked out. Hyun Jae takes the money and runs after getting into a fight with the management over their recent profits.
As things stand, just two women are keeping their firm afloat after it almost went bankrupt. Meanwhile, Youngjae marries an older, wealthy coworker and starts a successful business adjacent to theirs.
Bo Hee, who was dating Hyun Jae at the time prior to his disappearance, stopped singing following the controversy and now owns a bakery close to where the agency used to be.
After Hyun Jae vanished, his friends and family were thrown into chaos, and they eventually found refuge in a house together in the alley behind the bakery. Ji Hoon is Boo Hee’s kid, although he is legally the son of Gwang Hee, the manager of J2. Gwang Hee has had a love for Boo Hee for a long time but has never disclosed it.
Soon, Tae and Gwang Hee operate a bankrupt entertainment agency. Soon, Tae lost his only child, a daughter named Mal Sook, and he is now responsible for her upbringing. One of Ji Hoon’s closest friends, MC Drill, also lives on the highest point where he does, despite the fact that he is a trainee at Youngjae’s firm.
Ji Hoon enrolls in MC Drill’s idol training program while pretending to prepare for the government employment test. Choi Woo Seung, his other closest buddy, enrolls at the school despite having to work many jobs simply to make ends meet.
5. Devilish Joy (2018)
Ki Beum, a famous idol singer, meets Ma Sung, a rich medical doctor, on a business trip. They instantly connected on a romantic level, but Ma Sung’s life was tragically cut short. Since then, every night at midnight, he forgets everything that happened that day.
Sometimes, they may refer to the condition as “Cinderella.” Ki Beum, however, was not so lucky. A rich young man was drugged and kept in her chamber, and she was suspected of murdering him. Because of this, she needs to work hard to support her family while simultaneously seeking a return in the entertainment business.
While receiving treatment at Ma Sung’s hospital, Ki Beum runs into him again. However, he seems to have forgotten her. Because of this, she becomes enraged and lashes out at him, certain that he has exploited her.
Later, they continue to hang out until Ma Sung finds that he never fails to remember the next day. There are no unexpected developments in the story. Everything that occurs is cheesily romantic and full of clichés. Kitsch is personified in the first episode.
To provide just one scenario, the girl is forced into the pool and then freezes to death. Then, after she is rescued, she begins muttering her terrible backstory immediately as she is evacuated from the water.
You can’t help but warm to Ki Beum’s charming personality. She’s adorable, yet she comes from a sad past. Despite her struggles, she remains kind and optimistic.
Thus, Ki Beum is the stereotypical impoverished girl who refuses to give up her dreams and loves everyone, although Song Ha Yoon gives her a unique shine. She appears to have developed as an actor, and her moments in the spotlight weren’t hammered home despite the script’s potential for that.
6. She Was Pretty (2015)
She Was Pretty tells the story of Kim Hye Jin and Ji Sung Joon, two childhood friends who fall in love. Unfortunately, their relationship suffers whenever one of them moves away. Once a beautiful young woman, Kim Hye Jin has changed drastically, as has Ji Sung Joon.
She Was Pretty is a story about love, friendship, self-doubt, and understanding. In her adult form, Kim Hye Jin is a hard-working, strong woman who, unfortunately, does not obtain the opportunities she needs due to the way she appears.
Initially, you may feel bad for her, but as you meet her closest friend, Min Ha Rin, you’ll see that the two of them are quite formidable. These two buddies manage to keep in touch despite the increasing demands on their time.
It would be awesome to see them remain close friends while developing romantic feelings for one another. Sung Joon has gone from being a cute, chubby kid to a successful, handsome adult by the time we meet him.
To see Park Seo Joon act out the role of a ruthless, spiteful individual with a target on Hye Jin’s back. They were reminiscing about their beautiful upbringing.
Sung Joon is expected in the city since he works for the New York branch of the fashion magazine The Most. Leading lady Kim Hye Jin is portrayed by Hwang Jung Eum.
She’s a fantastic performer, but I think she may benefit from reducing the amount of shouting and screaming she does. It’s hard to think that Jung Eum is really ugly, but I can understand how she may feel uncomfortable about telling him the truth, considering how important he was to her before things started going downhill for her.
7. Oh My Venus (2015)
The main couple has fantastic chemistry, and the drama is adorable overall. They have a mutual understanding of what they want out of life, and they go for it with admirable zeal. Even better, they don’t allow this to keep them from being really decent human beings.
You want them together because ambition is admirable, but they don’t seem to believe in stepping on other people to achieve their goals. They complement each other well.
An attractive private trainer with chaebol relations and a working-class lady who worked her way up to a law firm on her own merit are sold to us in the first few episodes, and we’re hooked on their slow-burn romance.
They complement one another so effectively because they are such contrasting case stories. What’s more, they get off to a shaky and unintentional beginning.
Our heroine is in a vulnerable position at the beginning of the story, but with Young-Ho’s guidance, she eventually regains her former self-assurance and outspokenness.
Therefore, rather than being altered, she is only improved by him. In return, she assists him in overcoming his personal trauma, which is something none of his relatives are able to accomplish for him despite their best efforts. They really want to help, yet their assistance is awkward.
Kim Young-Ho takes the initiative in the relationship when he feels something with Joo-Eun, but he isn’t pushy about it. They engage in a charming little dance of back-and-forth taunting. There are a lot of steamy scenes and sizzling chemistry.
The actor So Ji-Sub is suddenly on my radar; he completely won me over as the stern but kind personal trainer, and we can’t get over the passion and vulnerability he gave to a part that might have been a one-dimensional caricature.
8. My Secret Romance (2017)
Yoo mi declines her mother’s invitation to her wedding since she has other plans. She ultimately caved in and agreed to attend the wedding. She went to her mother’s wedding, not thinking how much it would change her life over the following 12 months.
Jin-wook, on the other hand, has the personality of a spoiled heir to a chaebol family who spends his time partying and sleeping with as many women as possible while paying less attention to the family company, which he will eventually have to oversee.
After his father’s attempts to teach him about the family company fail, he is sent to work as a dishwasher at a resort in Gangwon-do. When he gets to the resort, he expects to resume his previous routine, but he has no idea how drastically his life is going to shift.
Jin-Wook and Yoo Mi had an impromptu beach date, complete with alcohol and makeout sessions in the vehicle. When Jin-wook awoke the next day, he discovered that Yoo Mi had vanished.
He looked for her everywhere, including the resort, but to no avail. From that point on, he resolved to give his whole attention to the tasks at hand.
Three years later, she decides to take up the company’s offer of employment as a nutritionist despite the fact that she has no idea that Jin-Wook is a director there.
She was shocked to see Jin-wook when she was requested to accompany him, but she pretended not to recognize him while doing so. At this point, Jin-wook recalls her and tries desperately to get her to recognize him, but to no avail.
Jin-wook was persistent, and Yoo Mi finally admitted that they had met. When asked why she hid the affair for so long, she said it was simply a one-night encounter, and she preferred to forget about it.
9. Her Private Life (2019)
Duk Mi now works in the art world. She takes her profession very seriously and enjoys doing it. However, she’s hiding a huge secret. She says that in her leisure time, she is a huge Shi An fan.
She spends her spare time being a devoted fangirl for her favorite artist, going to every concert and fan gathering she can in order to write about it on her website.
Her house might easily double as a gallery in Shi An. Things were going swimmingly until the famous artist Ryan Gold was appointed to run the gallery.
Duk Mi and Ryan, two individuals who despise one another, pose as a couple so that Shi An may avoid Cindy, the new intern at the gallery who is obsessed with her because she is certain Duk Mi is dating Shi An.
Duk Mi, however, is finding this sham connection to be more genuine than she or they anticipated.
The novel gets off to a roaring start by introducing the heroine and the reader to her fangirl lifestyle, her love of the arts, and her unusual relationships with her new boss, Ryan Gold. It seemed like instant chemistry at their first meeting.
Everything in the relationship progressed at a great, steady pace that never became boring. The romance, on balance, was a pleasant read. Even if the number of “fangirl moments” decreased as the tale went on, they were still fun and easy to identify with if you’re a fan.
However, as the performance went on, the tone became more ominous. Unfortunately, the mystery of the couple’s history has become rather a cliche due to its frequent usage in kdramas as a means of solidifying the couple’s bond. The tale was fascinating, even though the mystery was explained quickly. Furthermore, the love triangle didn’t really amount to anything.
10. SKY Castle (2018)
The plot, written by Yoo Hyun Mi, is a major factor in the drama’s popularity. The plot centers on four families who all share the ‘SKY Castle’ apartment building. The plot primarily focuses on the struggles of many families as they attempt to enroll their children in the nation’s top institutions.
The documentary tracks the lengths to which families will go, including the employment of coaches to aid their efforts, and investigates the results on the children involved. The sarcastic, dark humor is something I had never seen before in a Korean drama, and it works quite well here.
The narrative is dense, well-developed, dramatic, and emotionally impacting. At first, we learn about the family’s affluence and educational fixation, but then misfortune strikes, and their idyllic world is shattered.
Secrets are revealed, puzzles are solved, and crimes are committed, all of which keep viewers riveted from episode to episode. In a nutshell, the drama deals with taboo themes in Korean culture, such as despair, suicide, murder, and, of course, the overbearing parenting style of pushing one’s kid toward one’s own ideals.
Even though there are some intense moments, the drama is well-structured and simple to follow. You get immersed in the plot because you care about the characters and whatever happens to them during the story. The cliffhangers at the conclusion of each episode were also well done, in my opinion.
SKY Castle strikes the ideal mix of serious and humorous moments, making you chuckle and then pushing you to sweat. Nonetheless, by the time you reach the last episode, you will undoubtedly be left with chills due to this drama’s lasting message.
