A Beginner's Guide to Great South Korean Dramas on the Internet

You may have lately come upon a couple of South Korean romantic shows on Netflix and given them little thought. However, a global tsunami of appreciation for South Korean entertainment and culture is sweeping the globe, and American viewers are catching up. Find new Korean movie and drama list here in this website KissAsian.

When you enter the unpredictable realm of K-drama, as the dramas are known, you'll have to throw your TV rule book out the window. In this seemingly lawless universe, plot lines ricochet from tragedy to comedy, spending much too much time in the theater of the absurd. Expect thrilling chase scenes, unexpected dance routines, Cinderella-like endings, and meaningful views into South Korean culture. With hilarious shenanigans giving way to tragic loss, it's also ten-tissue material. In terms of catharsis, a good K-drama binge can rival any late-night karaoke and tambourine session.

K-drama is enormous business, with production houses vying for big-network exposure and consumers prepared to buy everything K-drama related or supported. It's no surprise that Netflix and Hulu flooded their domestic libraries with K-drama last year: Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America have long had significant fan bases, and providers are betting that American audiences will follow suit.

Other streaming services that focus on Asian entertainment and offer a far broader collection of videos, including features, are available. With Viki and Kocowa close behind, DramaFever boasts the most interesting selection of recent episodes. All three provide free month-long trials of premium memberships as well as ad-supported content. DramaFever's ad-free plan costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, Viki's standard subscription is $4.17 per month or $49.99 per year, and Kocowa's ad-free experience costs $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

No matter how you view it, there's a lot of great K-drama to be found. Here are some of our personal favorites.

Nostalgia for the 1980s has also taken root in South Korea. "Answer Me 1988," a popular 2015 coming-of-age drama, following five high school buddies in Northern Seoul, their basement hangout, and the back alley where their mothers shuck vegetables.

For the first time, this K-drama focuses on friends, family, and the sweet closeness of childhood. The young actors have a laid-back chemistry, and the writers and set designers deserve praise for crafting a realistic depiction of Korea in the 1980s, complete with references, slang, and real locales. Fans in South Korea praised the attention to detail, with over 20% of the nation tuned in to watch the finish.

Unlike other shows depicting shootouts in the Demilitarized Zone, "Descendants of the Sun" focuses on a less glamorous and more tragic side of the South Korean military. The show revolves around a young surgeon who falls in love with a South Korean army commander who is as adorable as a boy band. However, their opposing views on life and death become irreconcilable (he murders; she saves), and when the soldier and surgeon end up in Iraq, crisis after crisis forces them to reunite. Military life, on the other hand, throws a lot of barriers in their way. Watch new movie trailer here https://kissasian.cx/.

The show reveals a far wider schism in modern South Korean culture: the post-Korean War generation's passionate militarism colliding with the declining nationalism of Korean millennials, whose beliefs can incline toward mutual understanding and reconciliation. Season 1's 16 episodes are available to stream in the United States; however, a three-part special that aired in South Korea the week after the season finale is not currently available to stream. Nearly 40% of all Korean viewers tuned in to watch the finale of this intimate tale of love on the battlefield, and the show exposes a much deeper fault line in contemporary South Korean culture: the fierce militarism of the post-Korean War era.