Introducing friend to kdrama... recommendations?

Mar 11, 2018 05:43 pm

I got a golden opportunity to finally show my best friend a drama and I want to start good to keep that interest. So far what I know is that she really isn't a fan of romance so the less of it the better and also, I remember a while back I showed her "W" and while it was a bit appealing to her it was a bit hard to follow with their quick way of speaking, many names and faces so it got confusing fast (and well the plot was kinda confusing as well) and well, I messed up with a recommendation since it has a lot of romance...so...

What I was thinking was "Chief Kim" (good plot, great actors, many laughs, little to no romance)...
What do you guys think, is it a good show to start or should I go with something else?

naccu

Mar 11, 2018 06:06 pm

If she reaaally doesn't like romance I'd recommend Save Me.

But if she's just not that fond of it but would still watch something with romance in it I say Healer. That's what got some of my friends to this world ;)

Patricia

Mar 11, 2018 06:30 pm

I think she'd like Prison Playbook or Witch Court. Chief Kim would be good too! There's barely any romance in there and it's funny too. :)

nia

Mar 11, 2018 06:31 pm

I suggest Laughter in Waikiki if she likes comedy because if think i have laughed like 55 minutes of 1 hour of drama. There is romance but like 10 minutes for episode, it is all focused on laughing :)

I showed W also to my dear friends but the first episode was so confusing that they didn't want to continue it ahahah!

WendyAms

Mar 11, 2018 06:36 pm

Chief Kim is a good choice I think. No romance, not difficult to keep up with names and faces and quite hilarious.

While Healer was my second watch and what got me addicted to the drama world, I did find the names and faces a little confusing at the beginning and specially when the flashbacks happened. Its not a bad choice as well.

A good starting point might be what kind of shows she already likes to watch and is watching currently. Maybe a genre she prefers?

The Gaurdian has no romance, in the revenge/crime genre and is very angsty with a strong female lead.

Two Weeks has Lee Joon Gi and is mostly about the father-daughter bond and being on the run.

MinaVIP

Mar 11, 2018 07:25 pm

Two Weeks is a good one!

God's Gift 14 Days, I bet your friend will be hooked after the end of ep 1. That plottwist ....xD

Eudrya

Mar 11, 2018 08:19 pm

Laughter in Waikiki is a good one if your friend likes comedy and an amazing cast. The story focuses mainly on 5-6 characters so there won't be too many other names to remember. There's a slight bit of romance in it, but it's not the focus of the show. I highly recommend it since it's hilarious, sort of like Chief Kim but more satirical.

Emma

Mar 11, 2018 08:26 pm

WendyAms:
While Healer was my second watch and what got me addicted to the drama world, I did find the names and faces a little confusing at the beginning and specially when the flashbacks happened. Its not a bad choice as well.

I feel you. I had the same troubles when watching Healer. Although I love it, I had hard time connecting people from the picture to present characters and was a bit harder to keep up for the same reason. (thankfully after that I watched a good amount of drama and it's no problem anymore) but for this occasion I think there's still quite a bit of romance, so maybe later when she's already hooked up :D

Prison Playbook & Laughter in Waikiki I heard only good thing from both shows although I still haven't seen either of them so I'm a bit reluctant, but I'll definitely think about it. (although the prison one seem to have lot's of characters)

Save Me, I also heard good things but that it's really dark, maybe that's exactly something she'd be into hahah (although, I'm not sure how I'll handle it haha)

Ramoku:
I showed W also to my dear friends but the first episode was so confusing that they didn't want to continue it ahahah!

yup, it's definitely not a good idea for starters... proven multiple times hahah I hope people will learn from our mistakes >.<

God's Gift - 14 Days also sounds interesting, though I haven't watched it.

I was also doing some thinking and remembered that 'Signal' and 'Bad guys' were pretty good actually. I guess after some days I'll take the 3 best imo and let her choose based on summary.

kura2ninja

Mar 12, 2018 12:29 am

I second Signal. I'm tempted to recommend Incomplete Life (slice of life, business), The End of the World (zombie apocalypse x medical drama, only 12 episodes), and Argon (journalism, 8 episodes)--all are very good, IMO, but I don't know if they're ideal for drama newbie? Just check out the synopsis, I guess, to decide if it's the kind of thing your friend would like?

girrlit

Mar 12, 2018 12:46 am

I got my father hooked with Good Doctor. As he is someone all about the story.

Myself got hooked via man to man, as the mix of comedy, action and general silliness is right up my alley.

So I guess it probably best to target your friends fave tropes/genres.

Pilansb

Mar 12, 2018 12:57 am

Do you want a series or a movie? If series go for broke and start Moon Lovers or Goblin or

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon for something a bit more funny.

. For movies i think there was one movie about a man that built a water dam to control the water flow. It was real entertaining but just forgot what the name was.

Good luck

Stevie70

Mar 12, 2018 10:41 am

* Mystery Queen.... Crime, comedy

* Accidental Detective ( movie).... Comexy, crime and hilarious bromance

* Sungkyunkwan Scandal....historical, comedy, action, girl disguised as boy and the best bromance ever .... It has some romance but I preferred the bromance of Song Joon Ki and Yoo Ah In

* Short... 4 episode web drama about speed skaters.... The 2 lead males are gorgeous and have a funny bromance.... Tiny romance but mostly about friendships and speed skating

* Shopping King Louis... Comedy, drama, bromances... It does have romance but it is hilarious and he has 3 great bromances