Our Kdrama article series continues.
Life is a lot right now… and everyone at some point just needs a good cathartic cry. If you’re like me, who shoves the tears down hard, these Korean dramas will help you get them out in a good way – because you’re not crying for yourself; you’re crying for the characters in these tearjerkers.
Goblin
First up, the modern Kdrama classic – that nearly every Kdrama fan will tell you to watch – Goblin (AKA Guardian: The Lonely and Great God). This drama, which you can find on Netflix, stars Gong Yoo as Goblin, Lee Dong Wook as a Grim Reaper, Yoo In Na, in her best role ever, and the same for Kim Go Eun. And boy does Goblin deliver on the tears – 4 rewatches and I still sob.
Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) is one of the unluckiest folk around – she lost her mom at young age, stays with an abusive aunt and her family, and can see ghosts who keep telling her she’s the Goblin’s bride. One day she actually meets the Goblin (who wants to end his painful immortality), and what should be a simple enough transaction – she solves his problem, he hers – becomes very emotionally complex as, you guessed it, they fall in love. After watching Goblin, I recommend you watch Touch Your Heart. It’s poignant, but the pain is balanced out with cuteness.
Hi Bye, Mama!
Talking about ghosts, there’s Hi Bye, Mama! Here we have Kim Tae Hee as Cha Yu Ri, who, for the past four years has been a ghost lingering around her young child and husband. While life has moved on, and her obviously still heart-broken husband Jo Kang Hwa (Lee Kyu Hyung, in hands down one of his best roles) has remarried, she needs to be there for daughter Jo Seo Woo. Then Yu Ri is suddenly given the chance to be human again for 49 days.
There is a lot that happens in Hi Bye, Mama! but at the heart of the drama, and what really gets the tears flowing, is how we see Yu Ri’s loved ones deal with losing her, her sudden reappearance, and the knowledge that she will soon be gone again. The series is about love, friendship and saying goodbye. You can find Hi Bye, Mama! on Netflix.
Move to Heaven
The next Kdrama pick, Move to Heaven, is also about saying goodbye. However, it’s more along the lines of ‘listening’ to what those who have left are saying. In Move to Heaven, we meet Han Geu Roo (Tang Jun Sang in a stellar performance) and his dad, who operate a company that handles the belongings of deceased people. When Life happens, Geu Roo suddenly finds himself under the guardianship of his uncle Cho Sang Gu (Lee Je Hoon).
Each episode, Geu Roo and his uncle meet new people, with the interactions changing the pair’s relationship. While each installment of the 10-episode series feels well, episodic, it develops a lot of empathy (and ALL THE FEELS). This emotional response applies not only to Geu Roo and those in his world, but also the stories we briefly encounter in the process of ‘listening’ to those who have departed this life. Find this drama on Netflix.
Uncontrollably Fond
Also exploring themes of death and listening is our next recommendation, Uncontrollably Fond, which is available on Netflix. When we first meet Shin Joon Yeong (played by Kim Woo Bin), he is an unlikeable star trying to find his way back to a former love, documentary producer Noh Eul (Bae Suzy). Of course, nothing is as it appears, and both Joon Yeong and Noh Eul have been hit by curveballs, during and post their time together.
A minor spoiler: I know that one of the reasons this drama hits as hard as it does is because not long after airing, news of Kim Woo Bin’s cancer diagnosis was released. That knowledge without a doubt heavily influenced the way I experienced his character. Don’t worry, Woo Bin is making a return to the small screen in Our Blues, which starts on 9 April.
Honorable mentions: Moon Lovers and Go Ahead
Pick number 5 is a tied spot I’m calling honourable mentions. Honourable mentions – AKA spin up your VPN to find these.
First up you need to know that Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (which is available on Netflix in select regions) is a Korean take on a Chinese drama. While the Chinese series has two seasons to tell its story, that will sadly never happen for the Korean remake. Secondly, the series has amazing ideas, but not the best execution; in part due to cramming a 35-episode drama into 20 episodes. Thirdly, you will cry and cry. Some have theorised that they called the show Scarlet Heart because it stabs you in the chest with every episode. Anyway…
It has been years since I watched it, and I still have very strong feelings about some of the characters in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. The series has our lead Go Hae Jin (IU) transported back in time to the start of the Goryeo Dynasty. Our girl is dropped into the body of Hae Soo, cousin to the 8th prince’s wife. She then proceeds to get caught up with all the princes, and it’s a wild, feelings-drenched ride. The cast and talent in display in this drama remind you just why there’s a something special about Kdramas.
My second honourable mention goes to the Chinese drama Go Ahead, which you can find on YouTube (legally, we promise!) and Viki. Go Ahead has some wonderfully sweet moments, and a good ending… but getting to them is hard. At the heart of this ‘found family’ drama, staring Zhang Xin Cheng as He Zi Qiu, and Tu Song Yan as Li Hai Chao, we have 5 people broken in very different ways. It’s tough but they’re just trying their best to be honourable, decent human beings. The actors who play the parents of the 3 kids are excellent at showing the ways that hardship reshapes everything.
Finally, a special shout out to Thirty-Nine, a drama coming to an end this week on Netflix. A trio of friends on the edge of 40 are struggling to make sense of their friendship, life, love and family as one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
My feelings on this drama are very mixed, largely because there are some great actors in it who are underutilised. That said, there are still 2 episodes to go, so my opinion may change.
