KDramas & Idols

This week, I wanted to talk about some of the different Korean Dramas that have K-Pop idols in them. I will also get to some of the soundtracks of the dramas as well, but look for that in my second post!

 

So, it isn't very unusual to find a member of your favorite K-Pop group starring in an upcoming KDrama. It is the same way here in the U.S. One thing I have to say about KDramas are that they all AREN'T just dramas. It is more of a term than anything because you can watch action shows, romantic comedies, sitcoms, etc. I tend to watch more of the action/romantic comedies shows because those are what are interesting to me. There is something about KDramas that feels different than some shows here. It's really hard to describe. If I find a better way to express this later, I will. Anyways, a nice thing about these different dramas is that they are only usually one season long and have about an average of 14 episodes that run about an hour long. I think the longest show I've watched was 25 episodes long and then it was over. That show was called "Boys Over Flowers", which is actually the first show I'm going to talk about!

"Boys Over Flowers" (Romantic Comedy)

So, in "Boys Over Flowers", we have an actor named Kim Hyun-joong who is one of the F4 boys in the show. I'll explain that in a bit. Hyun-joong is actually a member of the K-Pop group SS501, which have a few songs on the show's soundtrack. So in "Boys Over Flowers", a girl named Jandi attends the exclusive Shinhwa High School, and she finds all of the privileged and rude students to be quite annoying. No one is as bad as F4 though. F4 runs the school. It is made up of the 4 most popular, handsome, and powerful boys in the school. If you don't follow their commands, then you get the cut. (And by that, I mean all sorts of different punishments and humiliation.) Newcomer Jandi stands up to them and then becomes #1 on their hit list. I don't want to give much away here, so check it out if you want to find out what happens! This is definitely one of the most KDramas out there and many people start out with this one. I do believe you can find this one on Netflix!

 

"City Hunter" (Romantic Action Thriller)

 

The latest KDrama I've watched is called "City Hunter" and has a ton of action packed scenes. This one runs on two seasons, with 10 episodes each. It is a completed series as well, so you can finish it when you check it out! In this drama, the President's daughter is played by Goo Hara who is a singer in the girl group KARA.  I absolutely loved the change of pace with this drama because I became used to the girly, romantic comedies and this one is in no shape or form "girly". But it definitely has a romantic story behind the main one. So, this drama is hard to give a quick introduction to without giving away parts of the story or making it confusing. To keep things simple: a secret revenge mission against North Korea backfires and kills the main character's father right after he was born. The boy's father's best friend was also part of this mission and was the only one to make it out alive. He comes back to steal the baby boy from his mother unseen to raise as his own and begins his revenge for all of his friends' deaths. He trains the boy to be a killing machine to get his revenge against those that he thought was on his side back when the mission failed. (You'll have to watch it to find out more about the situation.) So basically, once the boy is trained and old enough, he goes out and seeks revenge for his "father" and begins to kill the 5 traitors. He goes undercover with the President's company to get close to all of these important people (aka the traitors) and soon finds out it is making matters worse by killing these people. He tries to change his ways but his "father" disagrees with his actions. Will he fulfill the revenge plot or stand up to his "father"? I STRONGLY urge you guys to check this one out. It is all on Netflix for you to watch, so check it out! You won't regret it. It has become my favorite KDrama to date.

 

 

"Heartstrings" (Romantic Comedy)

 

The final drama I'll lightly discuss is called "Heartstrings". This is the next KDrama I will be starting to watch. I've tried watching it once before and got busy with school. So, the main male character in this show is actually the leader singer of the band called CNBLUE. His name is Jung Yong Hwa and has been in a previous show called "You're Beautiful" with the female lead of this show too. (That's another good one, check it out too.) A smaller character is in the show, who is not only the drummer in the fictional band in the show, but also the drummer for the band CNBLUE! His name is Kang Min Hyuk. Anyways, show focuses on the two leads pictured above who both are majoring in music. The boy (who is majoring in Western music) is in a band called The Stupid and slowly falls in love with the female lead who is majoring in Traditional Korean Music. The two characters are total opposites, the boy who doesn't have a care in the world or his future and the girl who only focuses on her studies and is humble. Will their relationship grow? You can also check this one out on Netflix! (That's what I'll be doing tonight.)

 

 

Let me know if you guys happen to check these out and want to discuss things! Feel free to comment if you want other suggestions from different genres, etc. Thanks again!