The childhood connection is a favorite K-drama trope which has undergone its own evolution over time. They have either been bosom buddies as kids, who naturally transitioned to being lovers, and there are also those who were sworn rivals in the classroom, going their separate ways, hoping to never cross paths again. As adulthood throws its own curve balls, dodging and navigating the arduous world of grown-ups, they realize they are better together.
The recent crop of K-dramas have brought out stories of self-introspection and healing, as fate makes them find their way back to each other and for some brings alive long-forgotten connections. Here are five such K-dramas which bring life lessons along with a touch of romance.
“Love Next Door”
Bae Seok Ryu (Jung So Min) and Choi Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In) have been joined at the hip since they were tiny tots. However, Seok Ryu later left for the States to study and work. She has not been home in a while and is all set to be married. Seung Hyo is an award-winning architect, who has now established his own firm. He has had feelings for Seok Ryu for as long as he can remember, but never mustered the courage to confess. When Seok Ryu is back, bag and baggage, not only has she quit her job, but she has even cancelled her wedding. Her return does not go down too well with her mother, who feels she is going through a rebellious phase in her thirties. Seung Hyo sees that there is indeed more to her return than she lets on. Seok Ryu wants to start afresh and do what brings her happiness, but is also guarding a secret that she has kept away from her family and Seung Hyo. As these two friends traverse the complicated situations of their adult life, it opens up a sea of unfamiliar emotions. What remains constant is the unbreakable bond they share with each other.
“Love Next Door” goes beyond the story of friendship and first love, as it highlights how one’s childhood shapes the way we grow up to be as adults. Seok Ryu, who has a strong streak of independence, is an achiever but wants her mother to cut her some slack and not impose her own failed dreams onto her. On the other hand, Seung Hyo, having grown up a single child of two busy parents, has always been embraced by Seok Ryu and her family. His feelings for Seok Ryu are strong and he dotes on her, but can she regard him as anything more than her best friend for life? As one awaits where “Love Next Door” takes us next, there is no denying that Jung So Min and Jung Hae In are remarkable actors with an arresting chemistry.
“Our Beloved Summer”
Choi Woong (Choi Woo Shik) and Guk Yeon Soo (Kim Da Mi) were high school class mates. While Yeon Soo was the star student, Choi Woong was her polar opposite, and this makes the two the ideal subject of a school documentary. Through the course of filming, the two start dating and part ways soon after. It has been years, and Choi Woong is now a reclusive artist who cannot bear the mention of his ex’s name. Yeon Soo is a public relations specialist in a firm, a workaholic who has little time for anything else. Not only does Yeon Soo need to reach out to her former boyfriend for a work project, but the documentary they had once shot has gone viral, with viewers wanting a sequel.
As these two face each other once again after years of animosity, past hurts and misunderstandings come to the surface. Choi Woong, who is a lazy and laid-back person, tends to take life as it comes. However, his breakup has left him scarred, and he is battling insomnia and unable to find closure. On the other hand, Yeon Soo, who has always been highly opinionated, has a strong sense of self, being self-reliant since childhood. She hates being dependent on anyone, which she regards as a sign of weakness, and she is a bit of a loner. As these two reconnect, Yeon Soo realizes that she was never a burden for Woong and that it is okay to fall back on people for help. Woong, on the other hand, understands the importance of communication in a relationship. As these two rekindle a long but never forgotten romance, they also find a new meaning in their relationship.
“Our Beloved Summer” has a languid, unhurried pace to it and scores for its performances and poignant narrative. And Choi Woo Sik and Kim Dam Mi make their characters feel real and lived in.
“Serendipity’s Embrace “
Kang Hoo Young (Chae Jong Hyeop) is back home in Korea from the States to take care of business matters. He is a brusque, strait jacket kind of person and is in a hurry to wrap up work to get back home to the States. One evening, he runs into Lee Hong Joo (Kim So Hyun), a former classmate of his at the bus stop. Though he acts nonchalant and feigns ignorance, the meeting has shaken him up. Kang Hoo Young and Lee Hong Joo’s connection goes back to school, when he was the serious student and she was the class slacker. Even though she was trying to match make him with her best friend, what she doesn’t know is that Hoo Young had feelings for her.
Now, Hong Joo is an animation producer who is weary of love after a failed relationship, and she is being ghosted by the man she once loved. As these two find themselves thrown together once again, finding their way around each other is quite challenging. The free-spirited Hong Joo has always been a scared little girl at heart, grappling with abandonment issues. Hoo Young, who has always done what was expected of him by his overbearing mother, finds a reason to rebel for once. The two realize the solution to the problems in the present lies in healing the pain of the past.
“Serendipity’s Embrace” is an easy watch, clocking in at just eight episodes. And Kim So Hyun and Chae Jong Hyeop give cute couple vibes.
Start watching “Serendipity’s Embrace”:
“Welcome to Samdalri”
Jo Sam Dal (Shin Hye Sun) is back home in Samdalri, a town in Jeju. She has been involved in a scandal in Seoul after having been accused of bullying an assistant. Her career as a hotshot fashion photographer having fallen apart, Sam Dal is trying to put up a brave front. However, being back home also means to finally face her one-time best friend and former boyfriend, Jo Yong Pil (Ji Chang Wook), whose heart she had once broken. Yong Pil is a weather forecaster and the town’s most loved person. As these two come face to face after a decade of avoiding the other, past hurts, heartbreaks, guilt, and grudges come to the surface. Sam Dal’s reasons for breaking up with Yong Pil go beyond just pursuing her career and becoming a success story in Seoul. And Yong Pil, who has never moved away from the sleepy seaside town, has always nurtured and supported Sam Dal even when they had been apart.
“Welcome to Samdalri” is a heartwarming tale of friendship and love. It highlights the many aspects of relationships from that of family to friends as well as between lovers, each with its own complexes and challenges. From Ji Chang Wook’s impeccable knack for comedy and romance, and Shin Hye Sun’s natural acting, to the awesome ensemble cast, “Welcome to Samdalri” is a must watch.
“Doctor Slump”
Yeo Jung Woo (Park Hyung Sik) and Nam Ha Neul (Park Shin Hye) were on top of their class while in school. Both driven to succeed and fiercely competitive with the other, the two always had their guard up around the other. Years have passed, and Jung Woo is a celebrity plastic surgeon while Ha Neul is an anesthesiologist, and the two have never crossed paths with each other. But, when they do, their situations are more or less similar. Jung Woo has been wrongly implicated in a surgery gone wrong and is facing legal troubles. Ha Neul, facing burnout and depression, has quit her job. When Jung Woo becomes a tenant at Ha Neul’s home, the two finally understand and see each other as people and not as two overachieving individuals with an obsession to succeed.
“Doctor Slump” addresses issues of toxic workplaces, mental health issues, and how it’s sometimes okay to not be okay. Though the narrative does meander a bit, it succeeds in driving home the message. Park Hyung Sik has an innate ease with which he gets into character, and Park Shin Hye slips well into her character as well.
Hey Soompiers, which one of these is your favorite couple and drama? Let us know all about it in the comments below!
Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yang Yang and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.
Currently watching: “Cinderella at 2AM“