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While niche at first, Korean dramas have gained popularity in recent years. One thing fans expect from the genre is romance. And nobody does romance better than a good K-drama.
One such popular trope is the rivals-to-lovers storyline featured in many popular K-Dramas, such as Boys Over Flowers, I’m Not a Robot, and Emergency Couple. After all, what’s not to love about a couple bantering and bickering with one another until romance sparks?
10 ‘Crash Landing on You’ (2019)
Crash Landing on You first starts off following self-made CEO Se-Ri (Son Ye-Jin) who left her father’s home to pursue her own company. After receiving the good news that she is the heir to his company, she decides to go paragliding to liberate her mind, though a tornado has other plans. Then on the opposite side of the border, a North Korean soldier, Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun Bin) is patrolling the area. He then finds Se-Ri and tries bringing her back to the station.
Almost immediately, there is a humorous rivalry between the two leads, with Se-Ri trying to escape and Jeong-Hyeok trying to arrest her and then, eventually, protecting her despite their differences. Throughout it all, their love is tested, but viewers will be pleased by the chemistry which seems to translate into real life as well.
9 ‘Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Moon Lovers’ (2016)
Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Moon Lovers is a historical K-Drama that follows Go Ha-Jin (IU), who is transported to the Goryeo period after saving a child’s life. In this time period, she is living the life of a woman named Hae-Soo, and she has to learn to live in a time period she does not belong in, making enemies along the way.
Although it’s partly a love triangle, Scarlet Heart’s romance between Ha-Jin and Wang So (Lee Joon-gi) starts off bitter, with him being cold-hearted and cruel towards her. Their love blossoms after showing empathy and kindness to one another, establishing a strong connection between the two.
8 ‘I’m Not a Robot’ (2017)
Kim Min Kyu (Yoo Seung-ho) is seemingly allergic to humans. He then receives a robot which is actually a human, named Jo Ji Ah (Chae Soo-bin), though he is not aware of this fact. Meanwhile, Ji Ah’s reason for pretending to be a robot is to make money to pay off her debts.
The two, like in many K-Dramas, start off with a rivalry. But for Ji Ah, the buildup to romance leads to agony as she lies to Min Kyu. I Am Not a Robot does exceptionally well at building up the drama for the ending of the show, and many viewers who love a slow burn with high stakes will enjoy this one a lot.
7 ‘Boys Over Flowers’ (2009)
In Boys Over Flowers, transfer student Geum Jan-di (Koo Hye-sun) has to learn to get along with rich kids from well-known and prestigious families. However, it’s only that much harder when F4 leader, Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho), makes her life difficult through bullying and sabotaging.
Although they began on unfriendly terms, Jun-pyo grows as a character and learns what it means to truly love someone. Even though he still has a pretentious attitude at times, he learns to have more empathy for people as Jan-di softens his cold heart.
6 ‘Full House’ (2004)
When Han Ji-eun’s (Song Hye-kyo) house is sold to a famous actor by her friends, she makes a deal with Lee Young-jae (Rain) to buy the house back, though it comes with its own disadvantages as that means Ji-eun has to do the chores around the home.
Ji-eun and Young-jae start off on the wrong foot almost immediately. They’re constantly bickering and arguing with one another about each other’s personalities, and it almost feels like the two will never get along. However, the two begin to fall in love, and it almost becomes frustrating when they have a hard time acknowledging their true feelings for one another.
5 ‘Suspicious Partner’ (2017)
Eu Bong-hee (Nam Ji-hyun) is accused of murder after finding her ex-boyfriend’s dead body in her apartment. Ji-wook (Ji Chang-wook), having met her previously, is the prosecutor on her case. After dismissing the charges against her, Ji-Wook is fired from his job. Then, they meet two years later, sparking a romance between the two in a romantic comedy featuring crime solving.
Suspicious Partner does not by any means do anything different in terms of romantic storytelling, as it follows a lot of common K-Drama tropes (rejection by one party) and conventions. However, the chemistry between Bong-hee and Ji-wook is so strong and well-done that it’s hard not to love them as a couple. Also, their bickering and rivalry in the first few minutes of the show proves that this is a relationship viewers will love.
4 ‘You’re Beautiful’ (2009)
You’re Beautiful follows Ko Mi-nyeo (Park Shin-hye) as she disguises herself as her brother, Ko Mi-nam, to cover for him in his band while he’s in the U.S. For Mi-nyeo, hiding her identity becomes difficult as she grows closer to her bandmates.
Mi-nyeo and Hwang Tae-kyung’s (Jang Keun-suk) romance is one to love, as Tae-kyung finds her to be more of a nuisance than anything else, though he is under the impression she is Mi-nam initially. Eventually, Tae-kyung grows protective of Mi-nam, which is a common trope in rival-to-lovers K-Dramas (and one that is especially loved by viewers). Those who love cheesy romances will definitely love this one.
3 ‘Touch Your Heart’ (2019)
Touch Your Heart follows scandal-ridden actress Oh Yoon-seo (Yoon In-ah) and her attempts to rise back into stardom. In order to star in a drama again, she has to spend her time in a lawyer’s office to prepare herself for the role, which Lawyer Kwon Jung-rok (Lee Dong-wook) is not particularly happy about.
This K-Drama includes a lot of bickering between the two leads, and reserved Lawyer Kwon eventually softens up around Yoon-seo as he learns more about her and the scandal that follows. For those who love when male love interests save the female lead, Touch Your Heart is definitely for you.
2 ‘Emergency Couple’ (2014)
Divorced couple Oh Chang-min (Choi Jin-hyuk) and Oh Jin-hee (Song Ji-hyo) reunite at a hospital as emergency room interns six years after their divorce. They must learn to work together after their nasty split.
Emergency Couple is a K-Drama where the lead couple ends up divorced right off the bat. It’s a reunion of love, and although their divorce was nasty, their rekindled love for one another after growing apart makes them a very loving couple. This K-Drama features a ton of jealousy, and it’s definitely one of the more lighthearted K-Dramas.
1 ‘Cheese in the Trap’ (2016)
Although she grew up in poverty, Hong Seol (Kim Go-eun) is determined to overcome her poor upbringing by maintaining a hardworking lifestyle. She then meets rich boy Yoo Jung (Park Hae-jin), an heir to his family’s corporation. Though Yoo Jung initially showed a negative disposition toward her, when they met again two years later, things seemed to have changed.
Despite Hong Seol being mistreated by Yoo Jung initially, she grew to understand him and see him for who he was as opposed to how others saw him. Her character, overall, showed empathy for him and understood him. Meanwhile, Yoo Jung’s growing fondness for Hong Seol and desire to love her make this couple lovable. This show focuses on the imperfections of love. Fans of these romantic conventions will undoubtedly love watching Cheese in the Trap.
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