Ah, February, the month of love. And it’s mostly all about today: Valentine’s Day. In honour of all the love, our ongoing Kdrama article series (now with a nifty title) continues with 5 great noona romances to check out.

Noona, you say? By now in your exploration of Korean dramas, you’ve probably come across a few honorifics – special terms of address, like calling a teacher “Sensei” in Japan. If you’re watching Kdramas, in terms of kinship honorifics, you’ve probably encountered “oppa,” which is reserved for an older brother/older male relatives and is used by women – and, most often in Kdramas, is adopted by the female love interest to refer to the male love interest. It’s very cis, I know, but we have to remember Korea, like many other Asian nations, have traditional hierarchical and gendered structures.

Then there’s the term “hyung,” also for older brother/older male relatives/older male friend, but used by men. Which brings us to “noona,” which is an honorific used by men for literal older sibling/older female relatives/older female friend or friend’s sibling. So you can probably guess how noona romances are set up. Think older woman and younger man.

For the record, “noona” is how it’s spelt in terms of accuracy to pronunciation, and “nuna” is correct for romanization rules. I’ve seen “noona” used far more often and tend to go with that. For a deeper dive into the term, its cultural significance and more on other honorifics, click here.

Now on to my top 5 noona series to check out, all of which are conveniently watchable on Netflix.

Romance is a Bonus Book

There are many, many reasons why I love this drama and have rewatched it more times than I should. The least of which is Lee Jong Suk (all the heart eyes!).  Lee Jong Suk is ridiculously talented and not a stranger to noona romance either.

In Romance is a Bonus Book, Kang Dan Yi (Lee Na Young) is trying to get back into the job market post her divorce, but with a pause in her employment history due to parenthood, she’s just not getting anywhere. Watch out for a powerful and painful phone conversation Dan Li has with her daughter on the topic.

Needless to say, our heroine could do with a break. And it comes in the form of an internship at the successful publishing company her childhood friend Eun Ho (Lee Jong Suk) helped found. Which brings us to the other reasons I love this drama: Books. The way that the relationship between Dan Yi and Eun Ho shifts from friends to more. Some laugh-out-loud scenes thanks to the second lead. The wonderful smaller story moments involving the other folk at the publishing house. Oh, and the coats Lee Jong Suk wears.

Playing up the cosy, slice-of-life element, Romance is a Bonus Book is just wonderful and heart-warming.

When the Camellia Blooms

The second drama on this list is When the Camellia Blooms. Like Romance is a Bonus Book, it centres on a single mom, and has an incredibly talented cast.

The performer to follow here is Gong Hyo Jin, playing main character Oh Dong Baek. Dong Baek moves to a small town with her son and runs a bar. To say that she’s gossiped about would be an understatement. Her life gets shaken up when a friend’s son, Hwang Yong Shik (played by Kang Ha Neul) returns home and becomes a local cop. He falls hopelessly, and openly, in love with Dong Baek, but there’s a lot complicating their romance. The town has a serial killer, the biological father of Dong Baek’s son reappears, and she has to keep her struggling business afloat. The supporting cast and their engaging individual stories help to stop things sinking into melodrama.

Then, of course, there’s Gong Hyo Jin. In all her dramas, she seems to play well-considered characters who are nuanced and complex, with moments where you don’t always like them – but later have to admit you do. It speaks to a great script and actor when that happens, and When the Camellia Blooms is no exception.

One Spring Night

The complications of family and the ties that bind aren’t just present in When the Camellia Blooms; they also feature heavily in One Spring Night.

In this excellent and memorable Kdrama, we have a single father, who, along with his child, are just the most delightful must-protect-them-from-everyone characters ever. Yoo Ji Ho (Jung Hae In) is a pharmacist who ends up befriending Lee Jung In (Han Ji Min) when she enters his store looking for something to relieve her hangover, but has forgotten her wallet. Their moments together give them both something they need while evolving into more. Notably, Jung In is in a long-term relationship, and her family assumes marriage is on the cards, but she’s not sure.

This drama speaks a lot to the expectations of Korean society, so cultural outsider audiences may not always understand why some topics are issues, but they are. It’s the quiet steadiness of the story and characters that make this an exceptional drama.

As a sidenote, don’t watch Something in the Rain after this. You’ll be tempted because of the presence of Jung Hae In, but don’t. Something in the Rain, aka Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, is also a noona drama from the same writer, but it’s rougher than the far superior One Spring Night.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung

If you’re looking for a historical setting for your noona drama binge, then 19th Century set Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung might be the show for you. Full disclosure folks, I watched this drama for Cha Eun Woo, who plays Prince Yi Rim. The story is cute and fluffy, but Eun Woo is cuter.

Goo Hae Ryung (Shin Se Kyung) doesn’t want to get married and manages to avoid it by becoming a rookie palace historian. It’s not easy, with sexism being a primary obstacle, but she ends up assigned to Prince Yi Rim. Yi Rim, like Hae Ryung, is not typical for the era they’re living in, but he has far more latitude being male and royalty.

The development of the couple’s relationship serves as a lighter foil to the palace intrigue, misogyny, and other heavier moments in the show. The costumes are beautiful, and the ending is a great fit for the characters and generally lighter tone of this likeable drama.

Hotel del Luna

While not all light and fluffy, beautiful costumes are certainly the name of the game in Hotel del Luna. In this fantasy drama, which deftly mixes horror and comedy, actress IU plays Jang Man Wol, the very glamorous, but not particularly pleasant, manager of a millennia-old Seoul hotel for ghosts.

Enter Goo Chan Sung (Yeo Jin Goo), an ordinary guy brought in to resolve the hotel’s financial issues. A lot of the drama’s initial humour, and horror, comes from Chan Sung adapting to this very strange world he’s now part of, while trying to get his malicious boss – who could cause all types of chaos to befall him – to maybe not spend all the hotel’s money.

Along the way, we learn more about Chan Sung‘s co-workers, ghosts with their own stories which will break your heart, and the true story of Man Wol. At the end of this drama, butterflies will never again look the same to you.