6 Romantic Asian Dramas for Beginners
By: Sera Wright
Are you a fan of yearning and green flags in achingly sweet romances that make you think dangerous thoughts like, “Maybe there are good men in this world?” Welcome to the world of Asian dramas where the forests are as green as a lima bean, the yearning is yearnier (?), and the heartbreaks hurt more because of it. In this list you’ll find shows for lovers of second chance romance, star-crossed lovers, love that transcends death, and more! Get your pen and paper and cancel your plans for the foreseeable future, because you’re about to dive into a new hyperfixation.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
A woman born with superhuman strength is hired by the CEO of a gaming company to be his bodyguard.
Workplace romance lovers! Come to the front!! This show gives you all the feels– it’s a perfect blend of humor, yearning, mystery, family issues, and more. If you walk into a Kdrama convention and scream “Min Min,” I swear you’ll have a riot on your hands. The effect this couple has on the fandom is IMMENSE. Min Min and Bong Soon’s chemistry was through the roof.
Rumor has it, Park Hyung-Sik (Min Min) and Park Bo-Young (Bong Soon) had crushes on each other during filming and the rumor seems like the truth when you watch the show cause zoo wee mama! I don’t wanna spoil anything for you, but they do embody Die With A Smile by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo
A coming-of-age story about a group of college athletes who are fighting for their dreams, experiencing and finding love in the process.
This show is in the dictionary next to the Hyper GF + Hyper BF trope. THIS is how friends-to-lovers is done. Kim Bok-Joo is a student athlete on the weightlifting team at her college and she is the old classmate of Jung Joon-Hyung, a student athlete on the swim team. They reconnect when Bok-Joo develops a crush on Joon-Hyung’s older brother and he helps her keep it a secret from everyone else (while harboring a growing crush of his own). As you watch them grow from friends to lovers to SOULMATES, their chemistry is actually insane because Lee Sung-Kyung (Bok Joo) and Nam Joo-Hyuk (Joon-Hyung) were DATING IN REAL LIFE. So you’re basically just watching a home movie of them being in love. It pains me to say that they did break up in real-life, which hurts more than my parents' divorce (not gonna lie).
You don’t just get a “may this love find me IMMEDIATELY” love story, but it also touches on topics like pressures of being a student athlete, depression, body image issues, femininity and self-esteem issues, family abandonment, and so much more.
Alchemy of Souls
A powerful sorceress in a blind woman's body encounters a man from a prestigious family who wants her help to change his destiny.
Fantasy romance lovers who are sat for the tension, the love that transcends death, the ones who believe in soulmates and root for an over-powered couple, I’d like to introduce you to Mu-deok and Jang Uk! Mother and Father, really. In a world of mages, one son of the four most powerful families is considered the weakest among them because his powers have been locked away. Enter the assassin who is killed trying to eliminate the four families in revenge for the death of her father. Her soul is transferred into the body of a servant, which leads them to meet and strike up a deal: He won’t tell anyone who she really is and will keep her safe if she teaches him magic and helps him unlock his powers.
Forced proximity for the WIN. They do in fact fall in love. WOO!
Most dramas are one season, but this masterpiece blessed us with two. I can’t say anymore without potentially spoiling, so you’re just gonna have to take my word and the bombass TikTok edits for confirmation that this one is a banger.
The First Frost
Wen Yifan, a reporter, meets Sang Yan, her former high school crush, at a bar. Initially pretending not to recognize each other, circumstances lead them to become housemates.
I’m actually sick to my stomach, tears in my eyes, feel god in this Chilli’s tonight while writing about this drama cause THIS IS THE ONE. If you love “love,” like the concept of it, the soul deep connection that it could be, “if he wanted to he would” type of love; you need to watch this show. Pardon my French, but this is the most romantic shit I’ve ever consumed, across all media. The chemistry between Sang Yan and Wen Yifan is that Shonda Rhimes-type energy, where you literally have to look up if they are in relationships outside the show because I could NEVER be their significant other while they were filming this. They took yearning to a whole other level.
The long gazes about did me in. I think the soundtrack is also to blame, because their recurring song when something romantic was happening was tickling my soul (the melodies were immaculate). Sang Yan, the MMC, is the greenest flag I’ve ever seen. He is the definition of “written by a woman.” Like it was actually pissing me off how perfect he was.
TO. BE. LOVED. LIKE. THIS.
Now, this is a Chinese drama and they are known for their SLOOOOOOOWWWWWW burn (emphasis on the slow). You go into these for the tension. But I will say, I think this one is perfect to start with, because the crumbs they give you while the slow is burning feel like full meals. Grab your tissues, this one is an emotional wrecking ball in all the best ways. TW/CW: Attempted SA
My Demon
A fateful encounter between Do Do-Hee, a haughty but organised heiress of a conglomerate, and Jeong Gu-won, a demon who is cold and carefree that temporarily loses his powers. The couple embark on a contract marriage, agreeing to help each other.
Fake marriage/Bodyguard/Demon-lover hybrid-trope has entered the villa. If your favorite color is morally grey, you may wanna couple up with Gu-won, although I don’t foresee you being able to steal him from his one true love, Do Do-Hee. It hits every time when you see the big bad demon go soft for the sad girl who feels like she isn’t worthy of love. It takes a minute for him to understand and accept that the extra thump in his heart isn’t a medical emergency, it’s LOOOOVVVEE.
But once Gu-won embraces the affliction, he is downright obsessed with Do Do-Hee and ready to protect her from anything and anyone, including God herself. Don’t even get me started on their matching outfits. They are the most star-studded, fashionable, runway-ready couple I have ever seen on a show. They ate it up every single episode. They are so hot. I’m obsessed.
There is also a murder mystery thriller sub-trope in this one because someone in Do Do-Hee’s family is trying really hard to kill her. It’s actually kinda scary, and they built the complexity of the villain in this really well. Romantasy readers, this one is for you!
Twinkling Watermelon
Eun-gyeol, a high school student and guitarist whose parents are hearing-impaired, travels back in time and meets his teenage father.
Yeah, this one is gonna have you laughing out loud one minute and bawling your eyes out the next. There’s something about a witty group of high school friends trying to figure out life and love and sacrifice. Bonus points if they are also in a band. It’s giving Lemonade Mouth and I ate it up. Most Asian dramas have two couples that they focus on—the main leads and the second leads. This is one of the only ones I’ve seen where the second leads are so integral to the story. It’s such a unique storyline that you are sat for every single second of it.
Time travel stories are interesting because you already know what happens in the future, but you can’t help but hope for a different outcome.
Which makes it hurt all the more as you watch history play itself out. I can’t say too much about this one without spoiling it, so I’ll leave you with this quote that you’ll only understand if you watch the show: Viva La Vida!!
Sorry, Not Sorry
This list is going to send you into a hyperfixation hole so deep that you won’t see light for days. And honestly… You're welcome. Nothing has taught me more about life and love and sacrifice and friendship more than reading books and watching Asian dramas. There is something in the core of Asian dramas that hits parts of you that I feel like Western media can’t touch. So enjoy the world of Asian dramas where the forests are as green as a lima bean, the yearning is yearnier (?), and the heartbreaks hurt more because of it.
