Classic Korean dramas that Malaysians must know
Long before Korean dramas were dominated with stories of bully victims plotting revenge against tormentors in The Glory, or the forbidden love between a North Korean soldier and a South Korean heiress in Crash Landing On You, there were tragic love stories. Think plots where amnesia abounds, marriage contracts entangling the lives of pop stars and princes, and hordes of pretty boys dominating high school.
Giddy to catch the evening episodes on 8TV, sitting through the squeaky-dubbed voices, and squealing about it with your friends at school the next day – these are true signs of an OG K-drama fan.
So if you’re feeling it, here are 10 OG K-dramas, the trailblazers of the Hallyu wave that has burgeoned to what it is today.
Table of Contents
1. Autumn in my Heart (2000)
Image credit: IMDb
Baby fans may know Song Hye Kyo as the vengeful victim of school violence in Netflix’s hit drama The Glory. But OG fans would know the actress as the gorgeous Eun Suh who stole the hearts of two of South Korea’s most dashing actors – Shin Seung Hun and Won Bin – in the melodrama Autumn In My Heart.
A poignant tale of love, loss, and identity, this drama is the pioneer that catapulted the angsty phase of K-dramas, where tears and heart-wrenching conflicts were what compelled audiences.
Image credit: Viki OG K-dramas
The story centres around a supposed pair of siblings – Yoon Joon Suh and Yoon Eun Suh – who were affectionately close as kids, but were forced to be separated when an accident revealed that Eun Suh was not the biological child of the household. Fate brings the two together again years later, and things get complicated when their rekindled “sibling” relationship blossoms into a full-blown romance.
Nothing gets us into a swoony mess more than the iconic window-wiping-finger-touching scene when the main couple finally realises their true feelings for each other
Image credit: Korea.net
Sort-of incestuous romance aside, the cast was remarkable in portraying their characters – Song Hye Kyo played the pure and dainty Eun Suh amazingly, Song Seung Hun the caring and loyal lead, and Won Bin as the bad-boy-turn-devoted-man pining hard for the girl he loves.
This heartrending melodrama is undeniably a cultural phenomenon, leaving an enduring legacy in the world of Korean television as well as in many of our hearts.
2. Winter Sonata (2002)
Image credit: The Movie Database
Out of the plethora of K-dramas that has penetrated the global stage, Winter Sonata stands proud on top of them all. This drama is the hallmark and the early bearer of Hallyu Wave that got all grandmothers, mothers and aunties head-over-heels obsessed.
Quiet and reserved new student Kang Jun Sang befriends a bubbly Jung Yu Jin from high school, and the pair develops a deep and heartfelt bond with each other. A tragic accident strikes Jun Sang and everyone believes him to be dead, including a devastated Yu Jin.
Image adapted from: BetaSeries OG K-dramas
Yu Jin moves on with her life and gets engaged years later, but is put in a bind when she meets someone who bears a striking resemblance to Jun Sang, her lost love. The doppelganger of Jun Sang introduces himself as Min Hyung however, who seems to have no recollection of his past.
Winter Sonata has got every trope that’s prevalent in all K-dramas to come – amnesia, complicated past, meddling second leads, insufferable parents, noble idiocy – and you can bet that we lapped them all up happily.
It isn’t just the undeniable chemistry between the leads that got us hooked. The drama’s cinematography is exceedingly stunning, celebrating the evocative portrayal of the winter landscape and changing seasons of love.
OG fans will also remember the timeless OST that got us searching up the romanised lyrics just so that we could sing our hearts out along to the beautifully heartrending soundtrack.
3. Stairway To Heaven (2003)
Image credit: Ahjummamshies OG K-dramas
Back when amnesia was a fresh narrative device and fatal diseases were not yet an overused trope, we relished in dramas that were chock-full of these – and Stairway To Heaven ticks all the right boxes of a classic K-drama angst.
The drama starts off with an unsurprising Cinderella-esque plot where our main girl Han Jung Seo, finds herself with a new family when her father remarries after her mother passed.
Image credit: GMA Network
Fueled by jealousy, both her stepmother and stepsister enjoy abusing Jung Seo, who is forced to endure it all. They even meddled with Jung Seo’s plans to study abroad with her childhood sweetheart, Cha Song Joo. To complicate things further, her stepbrother Han Tae Hwa, starts falling in love with her.
And just as Song Joo returns home to reunite with Jung Seo after completing his studies, tragedy hits. Jung Seo gets into an accident and of course, loses her memory.
Sure, we can roll our eyes at the severely overused narrative now, but the earnest acting and the emotional intensity of the drama makes it a top-notch K-drama classic.
This OST is immensely popular and is still widely covered and performed by famous Korean artists today
4. Jewel In The Palace (2003)
Image credit: Vidio
Jewel in the Palace is an epic sageuk or historical drama that’s truly a jewel in its own right. With a mammoth running time of 54 episodes, the fond classic encapsulates almost everything under the sun of a K-drama world.
There are good lords and honourable leaders, as well as grouchy bearded government officials plotting to gain political power, there are beautifully drawn friendships, and star-crossed love stories. Besides the rich historical narrative of the Joseon Dynasty, there are moments of joys and tears so immersive and wonderful, you’ll find it hard to tear your eyes away from the screen.
Image adapted from: Amazon via website & Korea.net
While sageuks tend to focus on males at the core of its storytelling – understandably so, considering the era – this drama is refreshingly female-centric, with the centre of the show being Dae Jang Geum, a young orphaned girl who works in the Korean royal court cuisine.
Image credit: Vidio
Her journey is one of perseverance and resilience as she faces challenges and prejudice in a male-dominated environment of the palace. Much like a workplace drama from 500 years ago, Jang Geum – armed with her extraordinary culinary and medical skills – pushes through political wranglings and plot twists to eventually become the first female royal physician.
The opening theme song of the drama is definitely one that most mothers and aunties would be familiar with.
5. Full House (2004)
Image credit: Pxfuel OG K-dramas
Song Hye Kyo has been slaying the K-drama game since the beginning of her career with hits after hits under her belt, and Full House is definitely a huge one that has to be mentioned.
A gold standard for the enemies-to-lovers and contract marriage plots in K-dramas, the drama tells of the spunky aspiring novelist Han Ji Eun who lives in a huge house named “Full House” which had been built by her late father. After being betrayed by her friends, Ji Eun was dismayed to find that her house had been sold, to none other than the hot superstar Lee Young Jae.
Happy faces of a newly-wed couple
Image credit: KBS2
One thing led to another – petty arguments, party gatecrashing, and a surprise love declaration in front of thousands of cameras -, and Ji Eun ends up contract-marrying Young Jae, each with their own advantages coming out of the contract. After months of petty antics and daily bickerings that are massively entertaining to watch, they fall in love gradually.
Song Hye Kyo’s iconic Bear dance
Image adapted from: Kocowa via Youtube
While the romcom took a whole 16 episodes for the leads to finally communicate their hearts, their blossoming relationship and endearing chemistry were such a blast to watch, it didn’t feel like a tormentous wait for their very first real kiss.
6. Love Story in Harvard (2004)
Image credit: Sehseh’s Blog OG K-dramas
Trust K-dramas to make something romantic out of even an Ivy League university.
Inspired by the American tearjerker titled Love Story that’s also set at Harvard University, Love Story in Harvard showcases the love story between rival law students Kim Hyun Woo and Hong Jung Min, who are also fighting for the affections of a beautiful medical student, Kim Soo In.
While the plot of the drama isn’t anything mind-blowing, the characters are extremely charming, with values and principles that are so admirable, and – in case of Kim Tae Hee who plays the female protagonist – with smiles so dazzling, watching them navigate through relationships and ambitions are more than enough to engage you.
7. My Lovely Sam Soon (2005)
Image credit: DramaWiki
Some may argue that the sky-high ratings of My Lovely Kim Sam Soon may be largely due to the fact that it starred two swoony hunks – Kim Hyun Bin and Daniel Henney – as the two main male leads. But most will agree that Kim Sun Ah as the brazen and hilarious Kim Sam Soon, was the main catalyst for the show’s popularity.
Kim Sam Soon is a talented pastry chef who gets hired by the young and rich Hyun Jin Hun, to work at his restaurant called ‘Bon Appetit’. Though their relationship started off as a testy one and filled with loads of squabbling, Sam Soon slowly falls for Jin Hun, who isn’t able to move on from his ex-girlfriend.
Image credit: Drama Corner
The drama broke the typical K-drama heroine stereotypes by spotlighting certain societal issues and beauty standards imposed on women – such as the heroine’s chubby appearance, as well as her frank yet lovable personality – and these resonated with many women in their thirties.
Pro tip – make sure you have a bunch of pastries ready to munch on before you watch the drama, or suffer through the torment of staring at enticing desserts through the screen.
8. Princess Hours (2006)
Image credit: Allkpop OG K-dramas
Princess Hours was the drama that all of us high-school girls wanted to live in. Now, we all look back at this drama – that had once made us all squeal and cry in unison – with fond memories.
Adapted from a manhwa, it has a super cute premise that tells of an arranged marriage between a common but eccentric high school girl Shin Chae Kyung, and the aloof Crown Prince Lee Shin who apparently attends the same high school as hers.
Image credit: Rolling Stone India
Mind you, this drama isn’t some shallow Cinderella story. The romance between the leads blooms steadily – Lee Shin was initially all brusque towards his “oddball” bubbly new wife as she tries to adapt to her royal duties of palace life, and their bickering and hilarious antiques are a blast to watch. Eventually, the prince warms up to his princess, then starts falling head over heels for her, and their eventual reunion feels cuter than a basket of cute puppies.
9. Coffee Prince (2007)
Image credit: Christ and Pop Culture
Baby fans may have adored Gong Yoo in Goblin, but K-drama masters fell for him in the romcom classic Coffee Prince.
Think She’s The Man, but in an endearing cafe setting – an androgynous woman named Go Eun Chan who often gets mistaken as a man due to her tomboy-ish looks and nature, gets hired by a chaebol heir Han Kyul, to work at his family cafe.
Image credit: Forbes
Their dynamic starts out a little testy with their contrasting personalities, but comes together to form an agreement that would benefit them both – Han Kyul hires her to act as his homosexual partner to put an end to his grandfather’s penchant for setting up blind dates for him, and Eun Chan gets some extra pocket money.
Han Kyul starts feeling unsettled with his growing attraction towards Eun Chan the more time they spend together, as he’s oblivious to the fact that she is, in fact, not a man.
The drama was way ahead of its time back then, by touching on sensitive subjects surrounding homosexuality and gender issues, as well as female independence.
10. Boys Over Flowers (2009)
Image credit: Ahjummamshies OG K-dramas
Fun, fluffy, and full-on bingeable – you can bet that the iconic K-drama Boys Over Flowers were what got us millennials looking forward to school just to swoon about every episode with our classmates.
Based on manga series Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio and the famous Taiwanese TV adaptation Meteor Garden, this series was as popular as its predecessors, catapulting the entire cast – including Lee Min Ho’s outrageously curly hair – to fame.
The plot of this series is as over-the-top as the visuals of the cast. Geum Jan Di, a poor but bright girl, transfers to an exclusive high school meant only for the elites. Here, she crosses paths with F4, a group of wealthy and influential boys, who made her life at the school a living hell initially. As she gets increasingly entangled with the boys, the charismatic leader of F4 Gu Jun Pyo begins developing feelings for her despite his initial disdain – and he isn’t the only member falling for her.
Image credit: Soompi
The drama is deliciously ridiculous, with countless over-the-top scenes and all sorts of love triangles and squares. Its OST is equally as fantastic – T-Max’s Almost Paradise is enough to cause a visceral reaction in anyone who has seen the drama.
Famous OG K-dramas in Malaysia
Korean dramas have definitely come a long way since the early 2000s with storylines that are less absurd, production quality and cinematography that are more refined, and a broadened range of genres that’ll cater to more audiences. Nevertheless, many things stayed the same including having the most captivating soundtracks, and the fact that all these K-dramas – then and now – are worth cancelling our plans for.
So if you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the plethora of new K-drama choices that are cropping up endlessly on streaming platforms, go back to the classics and indulge in timeless K-dramas that will never run out of glory. And if this is your umpteenth time rewatching any of these, no harm in another round of enjoyment – or tears.
For more articles about classic TV series, here are 10 nostalgic Taiwanese TV dramas and 10 Hong Kong shows Malaysians used to watch.
Cover image adapted from: Allkpop, MyDramaList, Ahjummamshies