Categorizing Parent-related Trauma for male and female leads in Kdramas:
Orphans:
Lee Hong-jo (Destined With You)
Moon Gang-tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay)
Moon Sang-tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay)
Ha-ru (Extraordinary You)
Naksu/Cho Yeong (Alchemy of Souls)
Tak Dong-kyung (Doom at Your Service)
Nam Ji-ah* (Tale of the Nine Tailed)
Cheon Sa-Rang (King the Land)
Jang Man-wol (Hotel del Luna)
Yoon Yi-seo (100 Days My Price)
Kang Young-hwa (Moon in the Day)
Kim Do-ha (Moon in the Day)
So Mun (The Uncanny Counter)
Do Ha-na (The Uncanny Counter)
Kang Tae-moo (Business Proposal)
Kang Tae-ha (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, present version)
Lee Heon (The Forbidden Marriage)
Do Do-hee (My Demon)
Ji Eun-tak (Guardian: The Great and Lonely God)
Na Bong-seon (Oh My Ghost)
Kang Cheol (W: Two Worlds)
Do Da-hae (The Atypical Family)
Yeom Hae-sang (Revenant)
Jeong Ji-an (A Shop for Killers)
Shin Jae-rim (Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale)
Half Orphans with loving remaining parent:
Eun Dan-oh (Extraordinary You)
Koo Chan-sung (Hotel del Luna)
Ye So-ran (The Forbidden Marriage)
Nam Ha-neul (Doctor Slump)
Yu Ji-hyck (Marry My Husband)
Kang Hee-soo (Captivating the King)
Choi Yi-jae (Death's Game)
Im Sol (Lovely Runner)
Ryu Sun-jae (Lovely Runner)
Lee Chang (Kingdom)
Lee Geum, Prince Yeoning (Haechi)
Gu San-yeong (Revenant)
Half Orphan + Remaining Parent is THE WORST:
Jang Uk (Alchemy of Souls)
Kim Do-ha (My Lovely Liar)
Lee Yul (100 Days My Price)
Ahn Min-hyuk (Strong Woman Bong-Soon)
Seo Mok-ha (Castaway Diva)
Gong Tae-seong (Sh**ting Stars)
Kang Tae-ha (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, past version)
Yi In (Captivating the King)
Kang Ji-won (Marry My Husband)
Kang Sun-woo (Oh My Ghost)
Parents (at least one) are THE WORST but Both Are Still Alive:
Jang Shin-yu (Destined With You)
Han Yi-joo (Perfect Marriage Revenge)
Ko Mun-young** (It's Okay to Not be Okay)
Mok Sol-hee (My Lovely Liar)
Gu Won (King the Land)
Crown Prince Lee Hwi/Dam-yi/Yeon-seon (The King's Affection)
Do Bong-soon (Strong Woman Bong-Soon)
Woo Young-woo (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)***
Jung Ji-woon (The King's Affection)
Kang Bo-geol/Lee Ki-ho (Castaway Diva)
Yeo Jeong-woo (Doctor Slump)
Hong Hae-in (Queen of Tears)
On Eun-yoo (Twinkling Watermelon)
Oh Yeon-joo (W: Two Worlds)
Yoon Ji-ho (Because This Is My First Life)
Nam Se-hee (Because This Is My First Life)
Bok Gwi-ju (The Atypical Family)
Moon Cha-min (Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale)
Immortal Being that Still Somehow has Parent Issues:
Myul Mang/Doom (Doom at your Service)
Lee Yeon & Lee Rang (Tale of the Nine Tailed)
Jeong Gu-won (My Demon)
Added trauma flavour:
Parent was murdered in front of them (**Still counts if they survived the murder
Parent tried to murder them
Dying from seemingly incurable disease which makes their parents/guardian sad (If your parents are alive, you must pay for it by dying yourself)
Adoptive parent/stepparent is THE WORST
Somehow has normal, alive parents:
Lee Jun-ho (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Has no backstory at all. We only meet his older sister and hear nothing about his childhood.)
Shin Ha-ri (Business Proposal, her family is refreshingly normal, right down to her brother being sent out to find her when she's drunk)
Oh Han-byeol (Sh**ting Stars, Again, we know almost nothing about her family, only that she has twin sisters. But she doesn't appear to have childhood trauma.)
Park Yeon-woo (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, her mom being annoyed at her for something that is a crime doesn't count as bad parenting)
Lee Young-joon/Sung-hyun (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, his trauma comes from a kidnapper, his parents faced a pretty impossible situation and did their best. They clearly love their kids)
Baek Hyun-woo (Queen of Tears, nothing wrong with them out of the ordinary and they are in the drama a significant amount.)
Ha Eun-gyeol (Twinkling Watermelon, very loving parents and the deafness and their reliance on him is not anyone's fault)
*Counting her as an orphan even though she gets her parents back after 20 years, she spent her childhood orphaned.
***This character is tricky because I understand why her mother wanted nothing to do with her, but her trying to manipulate the dad and also saying he didn't raise her properly made me so angry.
Uncatagorized due to lack of clarity on parents: Soundtrack #1, Hospital Playlist, Happiness
hotel del luna was just what i needed after doom at your service. iu as an amazing hotel owner with kickass fashion sense and yeo jin gu as a goofy cutie pie.
i. perfect example of started this show for the guy and continued for the girl. as much as i loved ku chan seong, jang man weol was an all rounder package, truly. she was sparkly, beautiful, vulnerable, soldier, warrior, fighter, lover all in one. ku chan seong, an amazing character which allowed man weol to shine so much while keeping her in check? definition of man written by women.
ii. our little hotel del luna family, beginning from mr. noh, ji hyun joon, ms. choi, mr. kim, chan seong, yu na and man weol, gave me so many feels. loved how truly deep man weol's bond with each of them went. she's not truly heartless, after all.
iii. loved how each individual character, from sanchez to every hotel staff was explored so in depth and beautifully, in a way that never felt forced. it all flowed in a very natural way that never makes you want to fast forward to the main characters.
iv. what was up with ma go. genuinely did not understand the sisters. also, faced an important question - does the interior of the hotel change with the current trend, man weol's financial status or the blooming of the flowers? because we saw the interior being the same when they shifted, despite the house being cheaper.
v. the friendship between each character. like the time when the staff finally involved chan seong in their "hwaiting!" thing, or when man weol was the only one who could convince hyun joon to meet his enemy. the end scene between ms. choi and man weol was so wholesome and made me cry more than man weol and chan seong. even man weol and mr. kim love-hate relationship was so cute. sanchez and his kindheartedness, my heart broke for the guy with veronica.
overall, this drama was a perfect fantasy show, enough to keep you intrigued. the main leads have everything, from chemistry, banter, fights, jokes and sharing power dynamic.
6 best fantasy K-dramas to watch after Alchemy of Souls
Our Daeho residents' tale eventually ended, leaving an immense void in our hearts that we kept looking forward to watching every week.
What can we do, though, to fill that void? Watching another epic fantasy tale is the best recipe for moving on from such an epic tale.
Here I am with some of my favorite fantasy K-dramas like Alchemy of Souls that will fill a part of that void.
Hotel Del Luna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3_1v8sB48
When talking about fantasy dramas, we can only pass by mentioning Hotel del Luna, a fantasy drama about a 1000-year-old woman, Jang Man-Wol, who is tied to a tree for eternity as a punishment for her evil deeds.
To end that punishment, she has to help the hotel guests go to the afterlife.
Our heroine has got looks to die for, but she also has a hot temper that only our hero, Go Chan-Soong, the hotel manager, who is also a Harvard University graduate, can deal with.
Along with the rest of the hotel staff, who are ghosts with unfulfilled wishes, Man-Wol and Chan-Soong do their best to provide their guests with a comfortable stay.
ALSO READ: Recap on Kdrama Brain Works Episode 1: investigative drama, high on comedy
Sell your haunted house
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwkn_elMC3c
Ordinary real estate could be more fun. Thus, our female lead, Hong Ji-a, specializes in selling only haunted houses.
Wherever there is a ghost messing around with the residents, Ji-a steps in and sends that ghost away.
Despite nailing her exorcisms, Ji-a faces a minor problem, though. Whenever she deals with a ghost, Ji-a's body gets extremely cold, and she can't handle it anymore.
Luckily, she soon runs into our male lead, Oh In-boom, a powerful psychic who has yet to discover that ability.
Strangely enough, whenever In-beom is around, Ji-a doesn't feel cold at all.
Although she is reluctant to seek help, Ji-a suggests they start working on exorcisms together, giving us a powerful partnership that remains on top of my favorites.
ALSO READ: 12 Korean Drama OSTs That Every Kdrama Enthusiasts Know By Heart (2023)
Gu Family Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itROM2-fy6Q
A nine-tailed fox, Gu Wul-ryung, falls in love with a woman, who has no clue about his true identity, hoping he will soon become a human when the Gu family book, his family's heirloom, appears before him.
However, things don't go as planned, and Wul-ryung gets killed. Unbeknownst to him, his wife gets pregnant with a child who grows up to be a half-fox and half-human, our hero, Choi Kang-chi.
The only way for Kang-chi to live as a human is to use his supernatural powers once he becomes an adult.
That way, those powers will eventually disappear, which sure doesn't happen, and Kang-chi has now to make peace with his fate with the help of our heroine, Dam Yeo-wool.
ALSO READ: 6 best inspirational K-Dramas to keep us motivated in 2023
Goblin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94ukM8C17A
A former Goryeo general, Kim Shin, gets killed as soon as he reaches the capital after his recent victory.
However, he is given a second chance at life thanks to the earnest prayers of the people he helped throughout his life.
However, our former general has to pay the price for taking many people's lives on the battlefield. He is now an immortal goblin with an invisible sword stuck through his chest.
Sending off his beloved ones one after another makes life seem meaningless to our goblin, who keeps waiting for his bride, the only one who can take out that sword and end his immortality.
However, when that so-called bride, Ji Eun-Tak, actually shows up, our goblin has a change of mind. Instead of dying, he now wishes to live happily by Eun-tak's side.
ALSO READ: 8 gorgeous outfits IU (Jang Man Wol) wore in Hotel Del Luna
Tomorrow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhmxDgBxGRk
Our cute and soft-hearted teddy bear of a hero, Choi Joon-woong, falls accidentally into the Han river while trying to stop someone from committing suicide.
Now, Joon-young lies in a coma and has only two choices: work for an afterlife company for six months or stay in a coma for three years, during which his family will take a severe blow.
Although reluctant, Joon-woong goes with the former, so he joins grim reapers Goo Ryeon and Lim Ryung-gu in their mission to save suicidal people before they take their own lives in despair.
That mission is for sure not a walk in the park. However, with determination and earnestness, our trio manages to save people and help them get a new chance at life.
ALSO READ: Extraordinary Attorney Woo and 22 K-Dramas About Disability and Mental Illness
Mystic Pop-up bar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqaOkAyo0pI
In the Joseon era, our heroine, Weol-ju, used to be famous for her dream reading skills, but that unique talent turned out to be a double-edged weapon.
Soon after Weol-ju helps the crown prince get rid of the nightmares plaguing his sleep, a despicable rumor spreads about Weol-ju seducing the crown prince to gain money and power.
That rumor costs the life of Weol-ju's mother, which leaves Weol-ju devastated, and she then commits suicide.
As a punishment for taking her own life, Weol-ju has to help as many as 10000 people settle their grudges.
Even with managing to help 9990, Weol-ju is stuck on the last 10 cases, so she enlists the help of Han Kang-bae, a young man with a strange ability where people can only help but tell the truth whenever he touches them.
With lots of impressive fantasy dramas out there, it will take us ages to list every single one of them.
I picked out some of my favorite ones that I hope you find enjoyable and if you have other recommendations, tell me about them in the comments, and I will gladly add them to my watchlist.
ALSO READ: 10 Korean Dramas With No Romance To Kickstart Your K-drama Journey
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