8 Types Of Korean Drama

8 Types Of Korean Drama

Korean drama is often seen as a broad isolated category, especially to people who have not experienced the joy of a great Korean drama. In this post, we want to talk about the different Korean dramas we think exist and we have put our own list of 8 different styles of Korean drama based on our own original research.

Action KDramas.

These are some of our favorite and are a great gateway into Korean drama for any male fans out there. Some of the popular action KDramas include City Hunter, Iris, Healer, Signal, Tunnel and of course the newest one to appear - Vagabond.

Their main strengths come from strong plots, clear distinctions between the good and bad guys and top class choreography when it comes to the fight scenes. Most of these dramas will involve some romance to help drive the story, but it is mostly secondary to plot and overall character development.

Romance Dramas

These are usually the polar opposite of action dramas - but this is not always the case. The story line is much more focused on romances between the two main characters and usually there is some kind of love triangle, rectangle or pentagon between leading characters.

Examples of these include The Heirs, Boys Over Flowers, Love Rain and even Noona romances such as Something In The Rain and Romance Is A Bonus Book. 

Probably the most famous romance drama is Goblin, however, there is also action, particularly in the first episode when the story is just getting started.

Gender Reversal Dramas

These are the third style of Korean dramas we identified, and there seems to be  a surprising number of this type of drama. Usually the drama is about a woman trying to pass herself off as a man.

These dramas include You're Beautiful, Coffee Prince, Secret Garden, Kill Me Heal Me and Sung Kyun Kwan Scandal. Kill Me Heal Me is different because it features a man who sometimes thinks he is a teenage school girl.

Historical Dramas

These seem to be very popular with fans and Korean drama writers and producers especially seem to have a love affair with the Joseon period of Korean history. No doubt, this was an era where kings could easily have a brutal reign, however it is often presented as a Korean version of Camelot.

Examples of Korean historical dramas would include Hwarang, Sun Kyun Kwan Scandal, Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Bureau, Moon Lovers, Faith and of course Jewel In The Palace.

Time Travel KDramas

The next style of drama are the Korean time travel dramas. Some of the modern time travel dramas include Signal and Tunnel with just a short time difference of about 30 years.

However most of this style of drama involve time travel to or from the Joseon period. Here we have dramas such as Rooftop Prince, My Love From The Star and Queen In Hyun's Man. Sometimes the travel is just one way, but it can involve traveling to and from two particular periods as well.

Horror Comedy KDramas

The most popular writers for this style of KDrama are the Hong Sisters. They have written Korean Odyssey, Master's Sun and the most recent drama - Hotel Del Luna. 

Other dramas in this genre include Oh My Ghostess and Blood.

Medical / Legal KDramas

Otherwise known as professional dramas, these often involve people who are prepared to take risks or to follow an unpopular path because they think it's the right course of action. In some dramas such as Romantic Doctor Kim, the lead character finds himself transferring to a small city because of disagreements with past employers. 

Other medical KDramas are Doctors, Good Doctor and Faith.

Some of the many legal KDramas are Legal High, Lawless Lawyer and I Can Hear Your Voice.

School Based Dramas

Korea has a lot of school based dramas. The dramas can be fully school based such as Angry Mom, The Heirs, Class Of Lies and even Seonam Girls High School Detectives.

Or they can be a major part of the plot in such dramas as SKY Castle and Goblin.

Other Korean Dramas

We could also add a number of other drama styles including Korean Sporting dramas such as Fight My Own Way and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Soon. (They even have a drama about curling called The Unstoppable Curling Team).

There are dramas about news departments and some popular cooking dramas as well.

So if someone does ask you about Korean dramas, it can help to ask what kind of drama they like and then just tell them some of the dramas that fit into their favorite category.