DRAMA KOREA POPULAR

#10 DRAMA KOREA POPULAR


1. FULL HOUSE(2004)

Synopsis Full House

Ji-eun, an aspiring scriptwriter, lives in a house called "Full House" built by her late father. One day, her two best friends trick her into believing that she has won a free vacation. While she is away, they sell her house. On the plane, she meets a famous actor named Young-jae. Through comedic events, they get acquainted during her vacation and when she returns, she discovers that her house has been sold to him.

Though they do not get along with each other due to their contrasting habits, they agreed to live with each other. At first, Ji-eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back. However later, they enter into a contract marriage as Young-jae wanted to make his crush, Kang Hye-won jealous. complications arise as Ji-eun and Young-jae become attracted to each other.

2. DESCENDANTS OF THE SUN(2016)

Synopsis Descendants of the Sun

Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) is the captain of a South Korean Special Forces unit. He and his friend Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo) are off-duty when they witness a young man, Kim Ki-bum (Kim Min-seok), steal a motorcycle and apprehend him. The thief is injured during his capture and therefore sent to the hospital. Dae-young realizes his cellphone was stolen by the thief and goes to the hospital along with Si-jin to retrieve his cellphone.

In the emergency room, Si-jin meets Dr. Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) for the first time, and is instantly attracted to her. Mo-yeon mistakenly assumes Si-jin is part of the thief's criminal gang, due to his nickname "Big Boss", which is actually his call sign. He proves his identity with the help of army surgeon Yoon Myung-ju (Kim Ji-won).

Si-jin and Mo-yeon begin to date, but due to their jobs, their dates are often interrupted halfway. Si-jin receives his orders to be deployed on a peacekeeping mission in the fictional country of Uruk. Meanwhile, Mo-yeon is upset because she had been passed over for professorship in favor of a colleague who had familial connections to the hospital management. When Si-jin returns and meets Mo-yeon again, they talk about their views on life and realize how different they are. Si-jin, as a soldier, kills to protect lives while Mo-yeon, as a doctor, honors the Hippocratic Oath and tries to save lives. Due to this difference in viewpoints on life, they agree to part ways. Dae-young, on the other hand, faces a dilemma on whether to continue his relationship with Myung-ju or risk being forced out of the army by Myung-ju's father for breaking fraternization rules.

Eight months later, Mo-yeon rebuffs the sexual advances of the hospital director and as a result is assigned to lead a medical team to Uruk. There, Si-jin and Mo-yeon reunite. Through their encounters in Uruk,an earthquake and an epidemic,their love for each other grows stronger. Mo-yeon gains an insight into Si-jin's job and is forced to confront the stark reality that she may never have full disclosure of his whereabouts due to the highly classified nature of his work and the possibility of him being killed in action. While in Uruk, Mo-yeon accidentally confesses her feelings (much to the amusement of their respective teams) and the two officially start dating.

Si-jin and Mo-yeon continue their relationship after returning to Korea, until Si-jin and Dae-young are sent on a classified operation in which they disappear and are assumed to be dead. Months pass, and Mo-yeon mourns si-jin`s death, deciding to commemorate his passing with a volunteer trip to Albania. This is where Si-jin eventually finds her after he and Dae-young are rescued from captivity by "a friend from afar", a soldier from North Korea whom Si-jin had helped earlier. Si-jin and Mo-yeon along with Myung-ju and Dae-young are all happily reunited with each other.

3. MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO(2010)

Synopsis My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

Cha Dae-woong (Lee Seung-gi) is a normal college student, with ambitions of becoming an action star. Until one day, he accidentally releases a gumiho (Shin Min-ah), a legendary fox with nine tails who was sealed inside a painting by Samshin Grandmother (三神). Fleeing the scene, Dae-woong suffers a life-threatening fall and is only saved by the gumiho giving him her "fox bead" (여우 구슬). When Dae-woong awakes and meets a mysterious pretty girl, he initially treats her as eccentric or mentally ill, before finally understanding that she is a gumiho in human form. According to myth, gumihos eat men's livers, so Dae-woong is scared out of his wits, and the gumiho takes advantage of his fear by sticking by his side. He names her "Mi-ho," and keeps her happy by buying her beef and hiding her true identity. Mi-ho wants nothing more than to become human, so they strike a deal: she'll lend him her mystical fox bead so that with his increased speed and strength, he'll be able to do difficult stunts, and in exchange he'll help her become human. As time passes, they get to know each other better and Dae-woong is charmed by how Mi-ho looks at the world with childlike wonder.

Enter Park Dong-joo (No Min-woo), a half-human, half-supernatural being, whose cover identity is as a working veterinarian. Dong-joo tells Mi-ho that she'll be able to turn human if she follows these instructions: She must drink Dong-joo's blood then place her fox bead inside a human's body for 100 days. Once she does this, her supernatural self will start to die, gradually. Her gumiho energy will slowly empty away while her bead will live in the human for 100 days and take in his energy. And when she reclaims her bead, she will become human. Mi-ho happily complies, and Dae-woong accepts her bead.

However, Dong-joo deliberately withheld the information that this process will result in the human's death. Mi-ho and Dae-woong thus fall in love without knowing the consequences of fulfilling her goal: in 100 days, Dae-woong will die if Mi-ho becomes fully human, but Mi-ho will die if the bead isn't returned.

4. CITY HUNTER(2011)

Synopsis City Hunter

Lee Yoon-Sung (Lee Min-Ho) works at the Blue House for the National Communication Network Team. He graduated from M.I.T. in the U.S. and possesses elite skills as an I.T. engineer. At the Blue House, Yoon-Sung meets Kim Na-Na (Park Min-Young), who works as a bodyguard there. The two people fall for each other even though Yoon-Sung was warned not to fall in love. An elaborate plan for revenge is his ultimate mission ....

Lee Jin-Pyo (Kim Sang-Jung) and Park Moo-Yul (Park Sang-Min) worked as bodyguards at the South Korean President's home the Blue House. While the president and other high ranking public officials were visiting Myanmar an explosion occurs there set off by North Korean agents. The explosion did not harm the South Korean President, but other South Korean officials were killed. To retaliate for the killing, five high ranking South Korean officials plan a covert operation to go into North Korea and kill North Korean agents. Without the president's knowledge, bodyguards Lee Jin-Pyo and Park Moo-Yul gather men who will take part in the dangerous mission. The men will be dropped near the North Korean coastline and then enter North Korea to carryout their assassinations. For their return, Choi Eung-Chan (Cheon Ho-Jin) promises to have a submarine waiting for them to carry them back to South Korea.

Meanwhile, the five high ranking South Korean public officers, who initiated the covert operation, changes their minds while the operation is taking place. The officials decide to give up on the 21 special force members taking part in the covert operation.

The special forces members complete their tasks and swim into the ocean looking for the submarine to take them back to South Korea. They spot the submarine waiting for them and attempt to board the submarine. A sniper on the submarine kills all of the special forces members except Lee Jin-Pyo - who survives and swims back to South Korea.

Lee Jin-Pyo, carrying out a promise to his fallen comrade and good friend Park Moo-Yul, goes to Park Moo-Yul's home and snatches away Moo-Yul's baby, while Moo-Yul's wife hangs clothes outside. Lee Jin-Pyo then moves to Thailand with the baby. Lee Jin-Pyo sets up a camp in the jungles of Thailand, while growing and trafficking illegal narcotics. Jin-Pyo also raises the baby Lee Yun-Seong and eventually trains him into an elite soldier.

Lee Yun-Seong, now a young adult, enters a village in Thailand and spots a Korean man, Bae Sik-Joong (Kim Sang-Ho), being shaken down by Thai gang members. On a whim, Lee Yun-Seong comes to his aide and helps Bae Sik-Joong escape. Lee Yun-Seong takes the Korean man back their camp. It turns out Bae Sik-Joong is quite a cook and he prepares dishes for Lee Yun-Seung and Lee Jin-Pyo. Lee Yun-Seong also spots a photo of a young woman named Kim Na-Na that Bae Sik-Joong carries with him. Lee Yun-Seong takes the photo and places it next to his bed. He becomes emotionally attached to the woman in the photo even though he has never met her.

A few days later, Lee Jin-Pyo loses a foot while saving Lee Yun-Seung from a landmine. While Lee Jin-Pyo is recovering, he finally tells Lee Yun-Seung about his birth father and how he was killed by his own government. Lee Jin-Pyo then vows to exact revenge upon the five government officials responsible for his father's death.

5. BOYS OVER FLOWERS(2009)

Synopsis Boys Over Flowers

Hardworking Geum Jan Di (Ku Hye-sun) attends the exclusive Shinhwa High School through a scholarship she obtains. She finds her shallow, privileged classmates unbearable, especially the notorious F4, consisting of four rich and handsome men: the arrogant Gu Jun Pyo (Lee Min-ho), the quiet Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun-Joong), the charming So Yi Jung (Kim Bum), and the flirtatious Song Woo Bin (Kim Joon). They are considered to be the kings of Shinhwa High School. After Jan Di manages to withstand all of Jun Pyo's pranks, he begins falling in love with Jan Di but she only has feelings for Ji Hoo and Jun Pyo knows it.

6. COFFEE PRINCE(2007)

Synopsis Coffee Prince

Choi Han-kyul (Gong Yoo) is the grandson of chairwoman Bang (Kim Young-ok) of Dongin Foods, a company that has a thriving coffee business. He has never had a job and does not care for responsibility. Han-kyul is hung up on his first love, Han Yoo-joo (Chae Jung-an), who only sees him as a friend. Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye) is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy. Her father died when she was 16 years old and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family. When Han-kyul and Eun-chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother.

After getting an ultimatum from his grandmother, Han-kyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop, later renamed "Coffee Prince," to prove that he's capable, both to his grandmother and to Yoo-joo. In order to attract female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees. Eun-chan, desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.

Soon, feelings start to develop between Eun-chan and Han-kyul. As Han-kyul was unaware that Eun-chan is a woman, he starts to question his sexuality and is thrown into turmoil. When he discovers her secret, he feels hurt and betrayed. However, he eventually forgives her and they begin to date. They face strong opposition from his family due to her family’s lower status, but when Han-kyul's grandmother meets Eun-chan, she is impressed by her independence and ambition. She helps pay for Eun-chan to study in Italy to become a barista. After two years of a long-distance relationship, a more stylish Eun-chan returns to Korea and meets up with Han-kyul.

7. WEDDING(2005)

Synopsis Wedding

Lee Se-na (Jang Nara) is a single child raised in a wealthy family and pampered by her protective parents. She has never been hurt and naively believes that love can overcome all obstacles. Although she has a big heart, she is selfish, not trusting, and cares mostly only about her own feelings. One day, she meets Han Seung-woo (Ryu Si-won) through an arranged date and instantly falls in love with him. Seung-woo is from a poor family and likes a simple and frugal life. Although he is very honest and righteous, he has difficulty sensing other people's feelings and expressing his own. After a short period of time, Se-na and Seung-woo decide to get married, before they have truly gotten to know one another. We also meet Shin Yoon-soo (Myung Se-bin) and Seo Jin-hee (Lee Hyun-woo), both childhood friends of Seung-woo and each with their strengths, shortcomings, and past relationships with the main duo. As they learn more about one another and what it means to be married, Se-na and Seung-woo soon begin to argue and fight due to their differences, past relationships, mistrust, and their insecurities about the relationship. Their relationship deteriorates to the brink of divorce, not knowing whether they can overcome the obstacles that face them.

8. IRIS( 2009)

Synopsis Iris

Best friends who are like brothers Kim Hyun-jun (Lee Byung-hun) and Jin Sa-woo (Jung Joon-ho), were training under the South Korean army's 707th Special Mission Battalion until they were scouted by NSS (National Security Service). The duo was independently scouted by the beautiful NSS agent, Choi Seung-hee (Kim Tae-hee). Unaware they have been scouted, the two were secretly captured and subjected through a simulated torture test, and both passed their test to be worthy NSS agents. In the process, they also fell in love with Seung-hee, who has kept the scouting process a secret from them.

After completing the test, Hyun-jun and Sa-woo were introduced to the director of the NSS, Baek San (Kim Yeong-cheol). Baek San explained to them that the NSS is a secret organization tasked with preempting foreign threats and protecting the country's interests through wetwork operations, including assassination of anyone who could be a threat to South Korean (SK) national security. Since its founding in 1976, during the rule of Park Chung-hee, the agency's very existence has remained a state secret from everyone, including the President.

After entering NSS, the pair learned that Seung-hee was their undercover scout agent. While the duo was surprised and somewhat hurt, Hyun-jun was angered the most as he felt his heart was toyed with. During a team celebration dinner, Hyun-jun confronted her alone and the two embraced the passion they have for one another. Afterward, the two maintained a secret romantic relationship without the knowledge of anyone.

Hyun-jun is then sent off on a solo mission to Hungary. In Hungary, Hyun-jun accomplishes his mission and while escaping, becomes wounded. Shortly later, Hyun-jun finds out that he was betrayed by fellow agent Sa-woo. Seung-hee attempts to help Hyun-jun escape, but a car explosion separates the two and both are misled to believe that the other person are dead. Hyun-jun is then saved by an unknown voice and learns of the secret society "IRIS".

One year later, Hyun-jun returns to Korea to seek revenge. During this time, North and South Korea are set to reunify. However, the members of IRIS are intent on stopping the reunification. They attacked a local mall for hostages to blackmail both sides of the Korean government to threaten SK's president into announcing their political stand to not unite with NK. Hyun-jun became the negotiator for the president Cho Myung-ho (Lee Jung-gil) and for the hostages' release. Eventually, Sa-woo was killed. With all things hindering the reunification process gone, the peace talks resumed.

At the reunification summit, the president personally requested Hyun-jun to be at his side. Concurrently, NSS agents realized they've been duped: the presumed dead IRIS agents at the mall crisis was actually the hostages. The true IRIS agents escaped and infiltrated the summit to kill all delegates. IRIS agents killed and replaced various security agents for a massacre. Unfortunately, it failed with Seung-hee's interference. She pretended to be an IRIS agent and used the confusion to stop them. This created mass panic as IRIS agents make their stand against all security forces. Ultimately, the SK president and NK forces survived the assault and Hyun-jun saved the day again.

In the aftermath, Hyun-jun and Seung-hee left NSS for a normal life. While Seung-hee waited at a lighthouse for Hyun-jun, he was driving up to meet her and propose. However, during the drive, Hyun-jun was shot in the head by a sniper. He dies while looking at her a distance away at the lighthouse, unbeknownst to her.

9. CINDERELLA'S  STEPSISTER(2010)

Synopsis Cinderella's Stepsister

Ever since she was young, Eun-jo (Moon Geun-young) has learned to trust no one and live strong on her own. Used to being dragged from one broken home to another by her manipulative, money-grubbing mother (Lee Mi-sook), Eun-jo doesn't know what to make of her mother's latest catch Dae-sung (Kim Kap-soo), the solemn head of a traditional rice wine brewery. Both Dae-sung and his daughter, bubbly spoiled princess Hyo-sun (Seo Woo), warmly welcome wary young Eun-jo into their sprawling home, and treat her with a kindness that she simply can't stomach. Instead, she forms a bond with brewery staff Ki-hoon (Chun Jung-myung), the first person to see past her tough act, and it is his betrayal that will hurt the most. However, Dae-sung's genuine kindness to her eventually melts Eun-jo's defenses, and she learns to trust and love her stepfather. Naive Hyo-sun, meanwhile, stubbornly seeks affection at every turn, only to slowly realize she's losing Ki-hoon and everything else in her life to her cold stepsister. Eight years later, Jung-woo (Ok Taecyeon) reappears in Eun-jo's life, a boy she used to treat as her little brother who is now a young man determined to win her heart. Reluctant sisters Eun-jo and Hyo-sun both experience angst and rivalry, as their polar-opposite personalities and love-hate relationship bring them through many ups and downs from adolescence to adulthood.

10. MOON LOVERS : SCARLET HEART RYEO(2016)

Synopsis Scarlet Heart Ryeo

During a total solar eclipse, a 25-year-old 21st-century woman, Go Ha-jin (Lee Ji-eun), is transported back in time to Goryeo Dynasty. She wakes up in the year 941, in the body of Hae Soo and there, she encounters the many royal princes of the ruling Wang family. She initially falls in love with the gentle and warm 8th Prince Wang Wook (Kang Ha-neul), and later Wang So (Lee Joon-gi), the fearsome 4th Prince who hides his face behind a mask and is given the derogatory label "wolf dog." Meanwhile, rivalry and politics ensue among the princes, in a fight for the throne, as Hae Soo finds herself unwittingly caught between it all.