#itaewon class gif

[lurkingshan]

A Brief History of Queer Representation in Modern Kdrama

Earlier this week, totally unrelated to Heesu in Class 2, @twig-tea and I were making a list of kdramas with proper queer representation, because Twig loves to track queer things and I love to make highly specific lists. In light of all the discussion around Heesu and its appeal to a mainstream kdrama audience, we thought it would be helpful to share as context for what Heesu’s creators set out to do, how it compares to Love in the Big City and its goals, and why both shows are so significant for those who are not as familiar with this media landscape. We wrote the below together (strap in, folks, it's a long one).

As always, let us be clear what we are talking about with this list. We’re only looking at modern mainstream kdrama, so this list is not inclusive of Korean queer cinema or QL dramas, both of which have a rich history of their own. And when we say queer representation, we mean canonically queer characters that are acknowledged as such in the text of the show, if not by saying the words, at least by openly acknowledging same sex attraction. If there’s anything we know about queer people on the internet, it’s that our community can read gay subtext into anything, but that’s not what we’re doing here. For this list we are only interested in depictions of LGBTQ+ people that are clear and spelled out for anyone watching a show.  In addition, for the purposes of this list we are talking about intentional inclusion of queer characters with a proper role in the story, not nominal nods to queer people existing (like every Hong Seok Cheon cameo in a drama), comedic gender bending without real reckoning with sexuality (ala The King’s Affection), use of queer people as the butt of a joke (glaring at you Vincenzo), queerness in psychosexual dreams to titillate and generate buzz (hiiiii Friendly Rivalry), or subtextual gay tension between two same sex actors who happen to have chemistry (waves hello to The Devil Judge). The point of this exercise is to chart the evolution of significant queer representation in kdrama—both good and bad—not to document every gay character that ever appeared for two seconds on screen. That said, while Shan has watched several hundred kdramas and Twig has tried to watch everything gay on the planet, it’s possible we missed something that should be here, so let us know if you think we did (though please do mind the criteria and don’t send us an impassioned essay about why Beyond Evil should count). 

With that, let’s begin our walk through of the last two decades of queer characters in kdrama. 

Coffee Prince (2007) 

Among the most famous dramas on this list, Coffee Prince kicked off queer rep in modern kdrama with a classic gender bender in which Go Eun Chan, a girl, pretends to be a boy for Reasons. But what made it stand out is that her love interest falls for her while he still thinks she’s a man and has a whole sexual identity crisis and bisexual coming out process. Choi Han Gyul (and Gong Yoo), you will always be famous! This show was sincerely groundbreaking, not only for depicting a male romance lead struggling with his sexuality, but also including lots of gender fuckery for the female lead. It’s still one of the most significant queer kdramas ever made.

Life is Beautiful (2010) 

This show is notable for how high it set the bar and how nothing has reached it since. Yang Tae Sub is our central character in this 63-hour ensemble family drama, and his arcs struggling with the closet, falling in love, coming out, commitment, and marriage (yes: marriage! In 2010!), are surprisingly realistic and touching without being too cliche. Kyung Soo and Tae Sub start as a casual hookup, and they have to recalibrate as their feelings change (and yes, they kiss on screen and the show is clear that they have sex throughout the series). They fight, they make up, and as their relationship deepens they have other problems in their lives they support one another through—their gayness is not the only or even the most interesting thing about them. It’s also notable that both of these actors (Song Chang Eui and Lee Sang Woo) were established kdrama stars before taking these roles. 

Secret Garden (2010)

This het romance features a side character (played by our beloved Lee Jong Suk) who is a young musical prodigy pursued for his talents by the second lead, a senior musician. Over the course of the story we learn that he’s gay and harboring feelings for his would-be mentor. His plot is minor, but he ends the story happy and successful in his career, if not in a relationship. It’s small scale representation in the grand scheme of things, but one of only a handful of decent depictions of a gay person in kdrama at that point.

Reply 1997 (2012) 

This wildly popular drama (at the time, it was one of the highest rated cable dramas in history) that spawned two follow-up iterations features a gay character, Joon Hee, who is in love with his long time best friend, Yoon Jae, and confides his feelings to their other best friend, Shi Won. Of course, this show is ultimately Yoon Jae and Shi Won’s love story, so Joon Hee does not get his happy romance ending, but his friends and the show treat him with kindness and compassion, and his character was well received by audiences. 

Reply 1994 (2013)

Similar to its predecessor, this drama featured a side character with a gay subplot, but this time it was more about questioning his identity. Bingguere is a character whose arc is all about his confusion and indecision, and that extended to his sexuality when he struggled to understand his attraction to the male lead. Ultimately, he moves past those feelings and we learn his partner in the future is a woman, and the drama doesn’t really clarify where his sexuality landed. It’s kind of weak in terms of explicit queer rep, but showing a man grappling with his sexuality in a very popular family drama still feels significant.

Seonam Girls High School Investigations (2014) 

While most of their content is limited to two episodes of this 14-episode high school drama, Eun Bin and Soo Yeon have, to our knowledge, the first lesbian kiss on Korean television, which earns them a place on this list. They are an established couple struggling with how their relationship is a risk for them (because it can be and is used against them). Their relationship doesn’t survive to the end of the series, but they are treated with compassion and their humanity is underscored by the narrative. They also spark an important conversation among the main characters about whether they should be helped because they’re gay, which was a little better intentioned than it was executed, but the show had the spirit. 

Perseverance Goo Hae Ra (2015)

In a show about aspiring musicians forming a group to take a second shot at stardom, Jang Goon (portrayed by solo idol Park Kwang Seon) is one of the core group members with a heartwarming arc about acceptance. His story is about his father coming to terms with him being an idol and being gay. He has a one-sided confession scene that is decently done, and the scene where his father accepts him knowing the truth (after having been outed against his will) is genuinely moving. It was also touching to see the girl who originally crushed on him support him once she found out about his sexuality. 

Hogu’s Love (2015) 

This drama was considered progressive for its time, as its core plot is about Hogu, a man who decides to support his first love when he finds out she is pregnant with someone else’s child. In addition to that, side character Kang Chul has an arc where he experiences attraction to Hogu and tries to sort out his feelings, considering whether he identifies as gay before ultimately deciding he does not. It’s not the best rep we’ve ever seen, but it was part of an interesting attempt by a drama to explore complicated social and identity issues.

The Lover (2015)

Lee Jun Jae and Takuya (played by Lee Jae Joon who was also in the gay film Night Flight (2014) and Takuya of jpop group CROSS GENE) are roommates in this series about four couples in an apartment building. Their story starts as a comedy, in which Jun Jae and Takuya end up in ship moments that are played off by the narrative as jokes and misunderstandings, but then they catch feelings for real. We see one of the characters struggle with his queer awakening and there is a happy ending. Using the actors’ real names was a choice, and led to some seriously disruptive RPF shipping; but it was refreshing to have an active idol not only play gay but in a romance with a happy ending. 

Prison Playbook (2017)

Another ensemble show with a queer side character; Loony, one of the main character Je Hyuk’s cell mates, is notable for his queerness not being used as a joke and not being the core of the character’s arc. Instead, this character struggles with addiction and how that affects his relationship, which is only incidentally gay. His story is moving and well developed, especially considering the size of this cast, but it doesn’t get a ton of screen time.

Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)

The queer rep in this drama is minor but overall positive, as we learn that the male lead Eun Ho’s ex-girlfriend, who he is still friendly with, ended their relationship because she fell in love with a woman. The show presents her as a lovely person who helps the female lead several times and is happy in her lesbian relationship, and we even get to see her with her partner briefly. A small win for sapphic representation in a very popular Netflix drama.

Moment at Eighteen (2019)

Jung Oh Je (RIP Moonbin) is a side character friend of the main lead. His sexuality becomes part of the plot when he is confessed to by a friend of the female lead, and he admits that he has a crush on the second male lead (Ma Hwi Young). While the characters in the show are mixed in their response, it’s clear the story is on the side of treating Oh Je with compassion. 

Be Melodramatic (2019) 

This is an ensemble show centered on a group of friends who move in together to support a grieving young woman, Lee Eun Jung, and one of the housemates is her younger brother Lee Hyo Bong, a gay musician with a long-term partner. He is a side character and his most significant plot is about supporting his sister, with his sexuality and relationship part of his characterization rather than an active story thread. It’s a positive depiction and the way his sexuality is presented as just part of who he is felt significant at the time. 

Love with Flaws (2019) 

Joo Won Suk (RIP Cha in Ha) is one of the FL’s older brothers, and while not the focus of the drama he gets his own fully developed arc, including the mentorship of queer side character Choi Ho Dol. The queer rep in this show covers suicidality, the loneliness of the closet, bullying, solidarity, and fear of parental shame. That makes it sound depressing, but it’s a hopeful story about the character moving out of depression and into self-acceptance, has one of the best scenes depicting gay acceptance from a father in any show, and both Won Suk and Ho Dol have a happy ending (including for their romance). 

Itaewon Class (2020)

The first drama on this list to feature a transgender character, Itaewon Class is about a group of social misfits trying to launch a restaurant on a trendy street in Itaewon. Ma Hyun Yi, a transgender woman saving money for her gender affirming surgery, is among the gang. Her story is not a big focus for the drama, but she gets a nice arc about coming into herself and gaining recognition for her talents as a chef, and the other characters always respect her identity. It’s pretty solid representation for a side character.

Sweet Munchies (2020)

This drama tries to tackle the problems of homophobia and appropriating queerness but misses the mark on both. The queer character in this show, Kang Tae Wan, is here to function as a driving force and conscience for the main male lead and female lead; he’s essentially the second lead but never had a chance (though he didn’t know it, since the main lead is pretending to be gay for clout). Tae Wan is a good character, but the narrative doesn’t care much about him or about queer people in general, it’s focused on how heterosexuals experience queerness. Not exactly amazing queer representation, whatever its intentions.

Run On (2020) 

This drama features both a gay character and an asexual character, both of whom are written respectfully and get proper coming out scenes. There is also some messiness around one of the main characters appropriating queer identity as a way to avoid the pressures of her patriarchy, and the drama knows she’s wrong for that. This was one of the first instances of a kdrama acknowledging queer people as a regular part of the world around us and not singular oddities, and it was nice to see multiple facets of queer representation in one show.

Mr. Queen (2020)

This gender bender retains its place on the list because the main character (a man who awakens in the body of a Queen during the Joseon dynasty) openly struggles with his gender dysphoria as well as what it means that he’s attracted to a man, and these struggles are present for the bulk of the show. The character also has sex with both men and women while in that body. It’s one of the better representations of gender swap and feels queer, even when the relationship on screen has the guise of heterosexuality. 

Mine (2021)

In this drama about ambitious women married to powerful men who struggle to break free from their constraints, one of the main characters reunites with her first love—another woman. The drama follows Jung Seo Hyun as she struggles to acquire the power she needs to live as she wants, and she ultimately achieves her goal, reuniting with her lover at the story’s end. It’s the first kdrama with a lesbian character in a major role who gets her happy romance ending. 

Move to Heaven (2021)

Despite only being featured in episode 5, this was a good story that garnered a lot of attention in a popular Netflix drama, so for cultural impact reasons alone it belongs on this list. We start the episode with Jung Soo Hyun’s death, but this is a show about finding closure after death, so for once this death doesn’t feel like bury your gays. This is a compassionate tragedy in which we see how fear held Soo Hyun back from his relationship with Ian Park while he was alive, but his belongings at death indicate he was getting ready to face his fear and move to the US to marry Ian after all. Through the main characters of the show, Ian gets the closure of knowing Soo Hyun loved him. 

Nevertheless (2021) 

Yoon Sol and Seo Ji Wan have a typical plot for side characters (they’re in the female lead’s friend group) with a friends-to-lovers arc that depicts the fear and frustration when both friends are closeted and uncertain about risking the friendship but reach the point where they can’t pretend anymore. Since they’re both women, this felt pretty radical. They got a good romantic arc and a happy ending, if not a lot of screen time.

Under the Queen’s Umbrella (2022)

In this sageuk, the fourth prince is living a double life, hiding away makeup and women’s clothing that they wear in secret. The character is depicted as trans, but given the setting, explicit language and modern terminology (including altered pronouns) are not used in this side plot. When the prince’s mother finds out, she supports her child to have an artist paint a portrait of their true self, and ultimately, the prince leaves the royal family to go live a more authentic life in isolation in a bittersweet resolution. 

A Time Called You (2023)

The queer rep in this drama comes in the form of a brief backstory montage for two gay characters, one of whom (Yeon Jun) is in a coma. We learn that he ended up in this state after getting into a car accident while in the process of confessing to the guy he mutually liked (Tae Ha), who was killed in the accident. From there, Yeon Jun’s body is taken over by a heterosexual character (it’s a whole time loop thing). This entry is mostly notable for featuring a high profile cameo from Rowoon playing Tae Ha, and unfortunately, for being a fairly textbook example of the bury your gays trope. In 2023!

Wedding Impossible (2024) 

This disaster of a drama purported to finally feature a gay character in a prominent role that drove the narrative—in a story about Do Han pretending to marry his longtime friend to avoid being forced to marry another woman—but Do Han ended up a minor side character in his own story when the show chose to focus nearly all its attention on his brother’s het romance. Worse, the other characters treated him terribly and the story blamed every problem on his sexuality. This show was straight up homophobic and it was a significant regression for queer depictions in mainstream Korean media. 

Bitter Sweet Hell (2024)

image credit @respectthepetty

Choi Doi Hyun (played by Park Jae Chan of Semantic Error) is the closeted son of the main character, struggling with how hiding his secret affects his school life and his relationship with his family. His story ends happily with Jun Ho in the US, which felt like a win after the above history with kdrama, but because his secret being his queerness is hidden for most of the story, we don’t get to see it inform the narrative much except in retrospect. 

Squid Game 2 (2024)

The most recent entry on our list features Park Sung Hoon as Hyeon Ju, a transgender woman who enters the life or death game at the center of this drama to earn money to move to Thailand and get gender affirming surgery. While her inclusion wasn't entirely groundbreaking, Hyeon Ju was a well-developed character with a sympathetic backstory who quickly became a fan favorite, notable given Squid Game's popularity and broad international audience. 

Bringing Better Queer Stories to Mainstream Drama Audiences

With all that context established, we have been contemplating how queer creators in Korea can reach a wider audience with their stories and ensure queer representation in kdrama is both more common and more authentic. We look to Love in the Big City and Heesu in Class 2 as a start, as we would argue that both shows exist in the gray space between mainstream kdrama and kbl. They both leverage kdrama style and structure to tell queer stories that include, but are not limited to, gay romances. They both had unusual distribution and battled to even get released and in front of an audience, with LITBC rushing its episodes out amidst public protests and Heesu sitting on the shelf for two years before being quietly released on a streaming platform. And they both had goals to reach an audience beyond the usual BL viewers, albeit with wildly different tones and themes in their stories. The BL audience is too niche to effect the social change that queer creators are seeking, and the limited runtime, genre tropes, and laser-focus on romance means it is harder to make wider social and cultural points in a BL story (it doesn’t hit the same when gay characters are treated as human in a story that takes place in the no homophobia BL bubble). And as we’ve seen from this walk through the past, there are real limits to queer representation that is not created by queer people or informed by their lived experiences.

As you can see from reviewing this list, these two shows were the first kdramas in well over a decade (after the only other example, Life Is Beautiful) to center on a gay main character whose journey drove the story, and they were doing this in the context of a media landscape that rarely elevates queer people beyond minor side plots, still regularly fumbles on respectful representation, and in which representation seems to be getting worse. Love in the Big City set out to show a young queer man’s life in all its glorious messiness. Go Young was not an easy character, and the show did not hold back on his flaws or shy away from either the joy or the struggle he found in his sexuality. Heesu is about a younger character and so his struggles are centered around coming of age and first love, but it similarly depicts a beautifully flawed young gay man coming to terms with himself and asks the audience to empathize with and care about him as his loved ones in the story do. Where LITBC uses a unique storytelling structure to draw in the viewer and highlight what makes Young’s life feel different, Heesu roots itself in familiar drama beats and queer-coded side plots in the hopes that the audience will see and be comforted by the familiar in Heesu’s world. 

Both of these stories, in their own way, speak to a mainstream audience and ask for queer existence and queer humanity to be acknowledged. And this does not make them problematic as queer works, because they accomplish their goals of speaking to a wider audience while still being true to queer experiences. Given how scant decent queer representation has been in kdramas over the last twenty years (consider the size of the list above against the fact that there are well over 1500 modern kdramas, and so few of the above listed characters are mains or even significant sides in these dramas), more shows like LITBC and Heesu are needed to bridge this gap. We sincerely hope they find the support they need to get made.

[asiancentral]

KIM DA-MI as Jo Yi-Seo in ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon

[wolha]

ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-Gu, Kim Seong-Yoon

[everythingsouthasian]

ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) • Episode 3

dir. Kang Min-Gu, Kim Seong-Yoon

[fyeahtv]

KIM DA-MI as Jo Yi-seo in ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon

- We all grow old and die. But we have to study and do other things fully knowing that, until the day we die. Life is really tiring, isn't it? - So, are you here to die? - No. I’m too good for that.

[writingonesdreams]

Itaewon class - sortighatchats

This kdrama is just too good not to sort. See @sortinghatchats and @wisteria-lodge for explanation of the sorting system. Beware of spoilers.

Itaweon class is a revenge story at its core about an underdog who does what feels right, steps up for his morals—and loses everything as a consequence. But it's also very heart-warming, idealistic, with power of friendship and lots of comfort scenes.

Seroy Pak is such a shining little lion. The whole story is basically built around him being so stubborn about his morals that he defies the big bad - the chairman of the ruling food company, his father's boss, the guy everyone bows down to. Instead of doing the smart thing, the survival thing, Seroy does the feel right thing—he fights back. At every. Damn. Step. Of. The. Way.

Many many characters note how stupid that is. How much his life would have been easier if he just bowed down, knelt, begged, apologised. Played by the rules. But Seroy never does, his morals and convictions always unscathed, even if the rest of his life gets freaking wrecked for it.

Seroy beats up the school bully even the teachers are afraid of, gets himself kicked out of high school, loses his father his job. And his dad says: I'm proud of you. That's a burned and broken lion right there. "I just want you to hold your head high and live confidently how I never managed." Geez, thanks for the advice.

The first two episodes are this inspiring backstory of this socially clumsy but very firmly set lion, who loses everything including his dad and dream job and nerves, gets imprisoned....by all means should be broken down. Except he comes out 2 years later with a 15 year plan how to get revenge on the impossibly powerful guy who did it to him. Cause he shouldn't be played with. Because he, Seroy, won't bow down to this monster, he should bow to him.

The way he can calmly and confidently go spew such unrealistic idealism makes people think he is mad...or scared or insanely inspired and loyal. Seroy's roaring lion gets people around him, loyal people who breathe for his dream, who do everything in his footsteps. His employees love and admire him. His arch enemy doesn't have a reason to fear him, yet can't stop getting pissed off by his mere existence.

That's the power Seroy has.

At the same time his method is a subtle, kind hard work. That's Seroy in a nutshell. When he currently isn't saving someone from injustice and refusing to bow down, he is...at work. Slow and steady. It's all in the people and trust. He can make it, be it 5, 10 or 15 years. His goals will be fulfilled and he will get enough money, people, right the wrongs. He will get his way through steady effort and honest work. Cheating never comes into question. Protection or using contacts...don't either. Seroy will suffer to abide the law just to not get any unfair cheats from anyone. He will rather take responsibility than the easy way out.

This is both, heartwarming and awe-inspiring and incredibly frustrating to watch. Especially if you are his slightly sociopathic double snake manager Ji-so. This girl is a genius and as egotistical and self-seving as it gets. She talks with people cause they are rich or have something she wants. But she is also incredibly bored by the inevitable predictability of everyone around her...except Seroy. Seroy, whose crazy morals and kindness principles don't make sense. Seroy, who is walking around all proud lion when he has nothing, no advantages, no talent, no capable employees or strategies.

From that point on, everything and everyone in Ji-so's life turns around her boss Seroy. He is the one she works for, protects, makes rich and famous. He is everything. Even when his logic and principles clash with practicality, even when Ji-so with her ruthless playful sneaky tactics would get his goal faster, she listens to him. She completely readjust her moral compass and methods so they align with his. She is his snake through and through.

Seroy doesn't fight for himself, he has high goals, revenge plans in the making, helps people around and works all honestly. It doesn't make sense to young Ji-so and she gets completely obsessed. Then fascinated. And then falls head over heels in love with him.

Funnily enough, O-Soo, Seroy's childhood friend and long term love interest is a snake too. She is only in it for herself. As an orphan, she learned to look out for her survival with all means necessary. If surviving means being quiet and submissive, so be it. If surviving and prospering means working for the guy who killed her father-figure and the dad of her best friend...so be it. There are many heart-breaking moments between her and Seroy, when she apologises to him that she has to do this. That she has to choose herself above him and everyone else's good, cause that's just how it is. She can't do it any other way. And she feels guilty for it because Seroy is her person. And in a very very round about logic, she is doing it for him, for her own secret 20 year old plan of revenge. But by doing the best for him she effectively kicks herself from her own group. She betrays him, spies on him, warns him about it, but he always reassures her it's fine, those are your morals, your convictions, I can understand this.

But she is doing it for him and for the group, except she can't be with them while she does it and ends up alone. That's why she spends the show absolutely miserable, hoping for attention and love she saboteges to pay back the debt nobody asked her to pay to the one person who had treated her right.

The biggest foil to Seroy's efforts and actions is his main enemy. The impossible to defeat the Chairman who ruins Seroy's life, because the little lion refuses to bow down. In a way this makes the chairman a lion as well. His goal, purpose and feel is the company. And his pride and conviction that he is the strongest and therefore should always be winning.

In the flashbacks it seems like he did it for his family, like he build the empire for them and cares about them, but in the end the Chairman cares about the image and about his pride and ego, not about the actual people he is protecting.

Even if Seroy and the Chairman show many parallels, from starting their companies with little to big goals and inspiring roaring lion cores, they differ mainly in the methods. Chairman is a sneaky underhanded snake where Seroy is a kind hard worker. Seroy can never forgive the intimidation, contacts, masks and everything the Chairman is willing to do to get his wins and wants. Where the Chairman corrupts, lies and blackmails, whatever works best for the situation, does Seroy choose to be honest, slow, do things through his own hands.

Yet Seroy gets fuled and inspired by the Chairman despite and maybe because of the hatedred. He only and finally loses his pride, when he realizes how much he cares about Ji-so (her showing her love through helping Seroy achieve his goals is the best way to get to a lion primary) that he is willing to kneel for her. That the Chairman would go as low as to threaten her life is the last drop for him. Seroy loses all his respect for him for this and never turns back. Even when he finally gets the Chairman on his knees in turn does he care half as much as he thought.

I'm not all that sure about the rest of the side-characters. The transgender cook is mainly a badger secondary through her hard work ways and fellow younger ex-gangster's loyalty and inspiration through Seroy makes me guess me think snake primary. Maybe they are all snake primaries really, cause they make big stands for each other, driven by dreams, ambitions, self-gain in a very natural, unapologetic way.

Very curious case is Kun-so, who stars out so shy and beat down. Everyone kept convicing him that as illegitimate second son of the Chairman, he had no right to want anything for himself that he just seemed like such a kind, shy, polite boy. When he fell in love with Jin-So and realized he was losing her to Seroy who he admired, he quit and tried to take over the Chairman's company by being his son and turning to his image.

It didn't work out, and not because it didn't feel right. That is not a factor for him. It just didn't prove effective. Seroy wins the fight against his father, so he is obviously the one in the right. Kun-so is lost in how much he wanted, in the unstoppable greed of desiring things for himself. Did he explode as a snake? Somehow he still stays sympathetic and likeable through all his moral switches and betrayals.

Maybe it's because of his badger secondary. The kid just needs to set a goal and an idol and then he succeed through doing the hard work. Doing his best to do what's asked of him, whatever that may be. You want me caring? Okay. You want me heartless? Okay too. Huh. The switching around of morals and personalities depending on what he decides now makes me think he might be a Bird primary. He is the one who doesn't know what he wants and feels lost, except knowing he won't be like his father. He is the one who sets his goal on taking over the company once Jin-so says that will win her over. And he simply accepts Seroy's reasons and explanations for everything, simply adapting them into his code. When Seroy says he is a kid and can forgive himself, then it must be true and Kun-so accepts it as part of his new truth.

O-Soo's methods seem super sneaky. She spies and and she stabs in the back...but she doesn't enjoy it and she isn't sneaky about it. She doesn't hide it, she even apologies and warns before doing it again. Her whole 15 years old plan worked even better than Seroy's and she did it with less people, from the inside, despite how incredibly deplorable it made her feel. Doesn't that make her a good candidate for Bird secondary? She made her plan and went with it. Preparations through all her positions, through all the years, from the inside the lion's den. Meticulous and detailed, to bring down the Chairman. Great bird. Snake Bird also fits her villainous vibes until the last episode.

Seroy - Lion / Badger

O-Soo - Snake / Bird

Jin So - Snake / Snake

Chairman - exploded Lion / Snake

Kun-so - Bird / Badger

[kdramasource]

- I’m jealous. - Jealous of what? - You seem to care about [your people] a lot.

ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon ⚜ Episode 8

[figr0llmouse]

Nearly 3 years later, these damn k-dramas are still ruining my life.

It is official. K-dramas have ruined my life!

[g1rlsp1ckins]

𝒯HE 𝒮HIFTING ✶ 𝒜RCHIVES

    ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀    ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝖕𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖓'𝖙 𝖌𝖊𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊𝖊𝖙 ⭑.ᐟ

these are some of my drs and dr selves for you to get to know!!

˗ˏˋ shows/movies ⭑.ᐟ

‧ house of the dragon : (1) myrielle baratheon, 19 yrs, women of the storm, s/o - aemond targaryen, trope: enemies to lovers - slowburn | (2) alysanne hightower, 33 yrs, alicent's younger sister, s/o - rhaenyra targaryen, trope: best friend's sister

little life ask game (1)

‧ arcane : sage, 20 yrs, jinx's guardian, s/o - vi, trope: childhood friends to lovers - slowburn

baked good ask game

dr introduction

‧ teenwolf : olympia lennox, 17 yrs, new girl/witch, s/o - stiles stilinski, trope: enemies to lovers - forced proximity

‧ modern marauders : florence lupin, 19 yrs, the younger sister of remus lupin, slytherin, s/o - regulus black, trope: friends to lovers

s/o ask game

dr introduction

s/o ask game

valentine's day

s/o ask game

the slytherin dorms

‧ percy jackson : aurora ward, 19 yrs, cabin 7's big sister, s/o - luke castellan, trope: childhood friends to lovers to enemies

‧ xo kitty : delilah kavinsky, 17 yrs, the better kavinsky, s/o - minho moon + kitty song covey, trope: enemies to lovers - opposites attract

‧ tsitp : juliet holloway, 16 yrs, cousins' princess, s/o - belly conklin, trope: slowburn - forbidden

‧ gen v : juno elise dunlap, 20 yrs, godolkin's top student, s/o - jordan li, trope: academic rivals - friends to lovers

baked goods ask game

scream : emerson stryker, 18 yrs, woodsboro's favourite final girl, s/o - chad meeks-martin, trope: frenemies to lovers

‧ twisters : darcy carter, 20 yrs, storm photographer, s/o - tyler owens, trope: he fell first

‧ the maze runner : wren, 18 yrs, the first girl runner, s/o - thomas, trope: friends to enemies to lovers

‧ wednesday : eris wraith, 16 yrs, siren of your dreams, s/o - tyler galpin, trope: grumpy x sunshine

‧ spiderverse : maeve parker, 16 yrs, everyone's favourite spider, s/o - miles morales, trope: friends to lovers

‧ mcu : demetria alexander, 20 yrs, the mystery avenger, s/o - tba

˗ˏˋ anime ⭑.ᐟ

‧ mha (college) : emerson walker, 19 yrs, women of the thunder, s/o - bakugou katsuki + midoriya izuku, trope: love triangle - slowburn

‧ one piece : vaelora calendine, 18 yrs, surge surge fruit user, s/o - monkey d. luffy/usopp, trope: found family - slow burn

‧ naruto : seraphina senju, 18 yrs, the heart of the leaf village, s/o - naruto uzumaki, trope: friends to lovers

‧ haikyuu (college) : jamie lynn oikawa, 19 yrs, the better oikawa, s/o - tba

‧ jjk : delphine magdelena, 18 yrs, sunshine of jujutsu tech, s/o - suguru geto + satoru gojo, trope: friends to lovers/friends to enemies to lovers

˗ˏˋ lifestyle ⭑.ᐟ

‧ fame : (1) cameron walker, 24 yrs, popstar princess, s/o - mike faist, trope: coworkers to lovers | (2) juliet bishop, 24 yrs, the chameleon, s/o - timothée chalamet, trope: he fell first

‧ songwriter/producer : avery page, 22 yrs, lyricist of the century, s/o - daniel seavy, trope: childhood friends to lovers

‧ sam & colby : josephine sinclair, 21 yrs, empath, s/o - sam goldbach, trope: invisible string theory

‧ one direction : scarlett rose evans, 18 yrs, the missing piece, s/o - zayn malik, trope: black cat + orange cat - extreme slow burn

‧ farmer's daughter : charlotte campbell, 21 yrs, the town's jewel, s/o - beckett dawson, trope: strangers to lovers

dr introduction

˗ˏˋ kpop/kdrama ⭑.ᐟ

‧ true beauty : sofia reed, 18 yrs, saebom's favourite, s/o - han seojun, trope: frenemies to lovers

‧ itaewon class : elliot dunn, 20 yrs, itaewon's biggest party girl, s/o - park saeroyi, trope: mentor + mentee - slowburn

‧ le sserafim : emerson walker, 21 yrs, nation's sweetheart, s/o - stephen yoon, trope: childhood friends to lovers

‧ txt : devon hill, 21 yrs, korea's it girl, s/o - byeon wooseok, trope: coworkers to lovers

‧ katseye : sloane holden, 19 yrs, original katseye member, s/o - daniela avanzini, trope: childhood friends to lovers

‧ ru next : devon moore, 21 yrs, rubymoon's lovergirl, s/o - chanelle moon, trope: soulmates

‧ own gg : evelyn grey, 22 yrs, 4th gen trend setter, s/o - park wonbin, trope: moon and sun

‧ own co-ed group : devon sinclair, 21 yrs, 4th gens ace, s/o - lee seokmin, trope: soul-tied

‧ own survival group : rhiannon graham, 21 yrs, the mesmerizing aura, s/o seo changbin, trope: he fell first

˗ˏˋ other ⭑.ᐟ

‧ the naturals : lorelai montgomery, 19 yrs, the mind reader, s/o - dean redding, trope: slowburn

feel free to ask me questions! i am going to do longer intros so if anyone is interested in any of these or wants to talk about just lmk!!! <3

────────────────୨ৎ───────────────

[asiancentral]

Hyung was right. We’re kids who can’t even take responsibility for what we did. He didn’t even get angry when he was handed the suspension. How could he be like that? He’s just a fogey who’s full of himself.

ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon ✤ Episode 3

[nonglukest]

I WILL JUMP INTO THIS TV SCREEN AND STRANGLE HIM.

If Guen Soo is about to out Hyun Yi to the entire country I’m going to LOSE IT. 😭😡

[wolha]

KIM DA-MI as JO YI-SEO ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-Gu, Kim Seong-Yoon

[everythingsouthasian]

Despite her angelic face, Yi-seo is quite evil.

ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon

[factorygirlsstuff]

Currently watching: Love Scout, When the Stars Gossip & Motel California

I started watching kdramas in May 2023 (updated 4/17/24)

My personal top 10:

It’s Okay to not be Okay (top fav) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A road to emotional healing opens up for an antisocial children's book author and an employee in a psychiatric hospital. (amazing chemistry & found family)

Crash Landing on You ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea - and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide. (lots of crying but worth it)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

At a crossroads, a dentist moves to a seaside village where she meets a handyman intent on helping his neighbours. (my most rewatched)

Her Private Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dedicated art gallery curator Sung Deok Mi is a fanatic fan girl of White Ocean's Cha Shi-an, a dark secret she hides from everyone. (really supportive relationship, weird last couple of eps)

Business Proposal ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In disguise as her friend, Ha-ri shows up on a blind date to scare away her friend's prospective suitor. However, plans go awry when he turns out to be Ha-ri's CEO and he makes a proposal. (my first kdrama! Super cute & funny)

Touch Your Heart ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A famous actress, gets caught in a scandal with a son of a rich family; with her career declining quickly, she looks for one last hope to get back on the screen. She lands a role playing a secretary in a drama & then becomes a real secretary in order to play the part. (Healthy relationship, office romance)

Welcome to Samdalri ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After suffering a fall from grace, a photographer returns to her hometown and bumps into her childhood friend, rekindling an unfinished romance. (childhood friends to lovers & slice of life/healing)

Happiness ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. (I think I really love friends to lovers)

Something in the Rain ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When a single career woman reunites with her best friend's younger brother after he returns from three years of working abroad, their efforts to reconnect grow into romance. (they just felt so real to me, the romance was 🤌🏼, worst mom)

Cheer Up ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A working-class girl joins her college's down-and-out cheerleading team, where she finds friendship, love, and an old-school campus mystery. (idk they felt real too, worst SML though)

Other kdramas I finished:

Healer ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (love PMY)

Love to Hate You ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Maybe I binged it too fast, but I don’t remember it lol)

Our Beloved Summer ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (too slow for me & I usually don’t mind slow)

True To Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (main leads romance was everything)

Forecasting Love & Weather ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (something was off/missing)

Vincenzo ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (🫰🏼)

When the Weather is Fine ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (kinda slow but I binged it fast lol)

Squid Game ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

All of Us are Dead ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I like zombie shows)

Alchemy of Souls ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Alchemy of Souls: Light & Shadow ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the romance 🫰🏼)

Suspicious Partner ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (dragged in the middle but loved this couple)

Save Me ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (so good, just hard subject matter)

Shooting Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved the main couple so much & so many other cute couples!)

Doona! ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (omg her visual, binged so fast)

Itaewon Class ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged so fast)

Descendants of the Sun ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

Castaway Diva ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (first kdrama to watch while airing)

The Matchmakers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (first sageuk, thought they were adorable)

Crazy Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was good, but didn’t do it for me 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Moving ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I didn’t like all the flashbacks, but it was good overall)

Backstreet Rookie ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (for some reason I loved this couple so much, problematic SML & annoying SFL)

School 2017 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (just perfect)

Dalie and the Cocky Prince ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the pet names 🥰)

Soundtrack #1 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (another friends to lovers)

Behind Your Touch ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (idk why but I loved it, it was so funny to me lol)

Thirty But Seventeen ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (great romance & cutest found family)

Kiss Sixth Sense ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, last 20 minutes idk 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I Am Not A Robot ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (loved this, dragged a little in the middle)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (SML annoyed me, the cutest ending 🥰)

Gyensong Creature ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I liked it, but it didn’t end I guess. So I’m waiting for season 2)

Cafe Minamdang ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much! It made me laugh & loved the FL!)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was cute)

Marry My Husband ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (it was a lot of fun & loved watching it weekly with everyone)

My Holo Love ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was fine, only 12 eps so it was quick & slow burn romance.)

Queen of Divorce ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it started off really interesting, but some things were never explained & I wanted more romance between the leads)

Doom at Your Service ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I really liked it, the romance was SO good, but I was a little confused about how the contract worked.)

Doctor Slump ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it SO much! Everything was so cute & loved the romance)

Flex x Cop ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (really loved it, gave me Castle vibes. #1 drama I was looking forward to every week. No romance, although we are getting a 2nd season so fingers crossed.)

Chicken Nugget ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was definitely weird, but I laughed a lot)

Wedding Impossible ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, cute romcom)

Fight For My Way ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much, binged it in a day! I could not stop watching, friends to lovers really is the best.)

Rookie Cops ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (really liked it at first, put on hold for a month, then the last few episodes were good again.)

Parasyte: The Grey ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was really good)

Mad for Each Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (so good! Loved everything about it, especially the couple)

Dropped: (I might try again 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Run On

Goblin

Hotel De Luna

Weight Lifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo

King the Land

My Demon

True Beauty

The K2

Destined With You

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Moon in the Day

A Good Day to be a Dog

Open to recommendations!

[daz-zey]

This is a list that I’ve been keeping track of. Kind of fell off because life. But I’m going back into it. 🫶🏼

If some of you want to explore more of kdramas after squid game or something.

K-dramas I’ve watched

1. Beating again

2. (A) Beautiful mind

3. Tell me what you saw

4. Voice (kinda graphic)

5. Hospital playlist

6. When the devil calls your name

7. Oh my Venus

8. Hyde jekll me

9. The K2

10. Tunnel

11. Man to man

12. Stranger (secret forest)

13. Because this is my first life

14. Abyss

15. Vagabond

16. Designated survivor: 60 days

17. Life (k-drama)

18. Are you human too?

19. Mr. sunshine

20. Korean odyssey

21. Goblin (type in k-drama after)

22. Dramaworld

23. Itaewon class

24. Crash landing on you

25. Memories of Alhambra

26. Cinderella and the four knights

27. 365: repeat the year

28. The item

29. Kingdom (season 1,2)

30. Strong girl bong soon

31. Naked fireman

32. The lies within

33. W: two worlds

34. Bad Papa

35. Oh my ghost

36. Money flower

37. Rugal

38. Busted (variety show..?)

39. The king eternal monarch

40. Mystic pop up bar

41. My mister

42. My girl (Chinese drama)

43. Flipped (Chinese drama)

44. Perfect and casual (Chinese drama)

45. Please love me (Chinese drama)

46. The Uncanny Counter

47. Awaken

48. Doctor Prisoner

49. Life on Mars (k-drama)

50. Sweet Home

51. The Fiery Priest

52. Hot Stove League

53. Kairos

54. About Time

55. L.U.C.A: the beginning

56. Black

57. Accidentally in love (Chinese drama)

58. Sisyphus: The Myth

59. Beyond Evil

60. Wait, My Youth (Chinese drama)

61. Navillera

62. Vincenzo

63. Mouse

64. Move to Heaven

65. Taxi Driver

66. Here’s my plan

67. Dark Hole

68. Youth of May

69. Law School

70. Undercover

71. The Battle of Jangsari (movie)

72. Doom at your Service

73. Entertainer

74. Doctor John

75. Fix you

76. Find me in your memory

77. Voice 2

78. Voice 3

79. Voice 4

80. The devil judge

81. D.P

82. Squid Game

83. Police University

84. The veil

85. Dr. Brain

86. The Silent sea

87. Cupid kitchen (Chinese drama)

88. Switch on (Thai drama)

89. Reset (Chinese drama)

90. Ghost doctor

91. The gifted (Thai drama)

92. Jirisan

93. Juvenile Justice

94. Through the darkness

95. F4 Thailand

96. Lucky club (Chinese drama)

97. Falling into your smile (Chinese drama)

98. The sound of magic

99. Tomorrow

100. My liberation notes

101. Our blues

102. Money heist Korea (unfinished)

103. Extraordinary attorney woo

104. Adamas

105. Little women (unfinished)

106. One dollar lawyer (unfinished)

107. Island

108. Crash course in romance

109. Payback: money and power

110. Divorce attorney shin (unfinished)

111. Taxi driver 2 (unfinished)

112. Tell me that you love me (unfinished)

113. Vigilante

114. Evilive

115. Blood free

116. Numbers

117. Zombie detective

118. Devilish Joy

119. Connection

120. High school return of a gangster (unfinished)

121. Miss night and day

122. The first responders 1 & 2

123. The whirlwind

124. The Auditors

125. 19th floor (Chinese drama) (unfinished)

126. Snowfall (Chinese drama)

127. Miss S (Chinese drama) (unfinished)

128. Romance in the house

129. Dongjae the good or the bastard

130. Love scout (ongoing)

131. Light Shop

(Includes some Chinese and Thai dramas)

[kdramasource]

KIM HYE-EUN as Kang Min-jung in ITAEWON CLASS 이태원 클라쓰 (2020) dir. Kang Min-gu & Kim Seong-yoon