Enchanting take on a body swap fantasy. He, an arrogant appartment store CEO with a celebrity singer feckless brother. She, an aspiring stunt woman who is a fan of the singer but catches the CEO's eye.

Starring: Ha Ji-Won

A father sets out to seek justice after his son is killed in a mysterious plane crash.

Starring: Bae Suzy

A slowly unfolding tale of a chef trying to make a living and a doctor whose family background creates professional conflicts. Working together at an end of life care home which is earmarked for closure, K romance provides an inevitable undertow.

Starring: Ha Ji-Won

A desperately sad (and very slow moving) love story reflecting the deep cultural expectations of Korean society.

Starring: Son Yi-Jin; Jung Hae-In

Family rifts amid an inspiring tech startup backdrop. Love triangles and a mix of loveable, laughable and plain unpleasant characters make for a great storyline.

Starring: Nam Joo-Hyuk, Bae Suzy

Most definitely a high octane vigilante theme. Worthy causes are identified via a video game which invites people to seek the group's help. Vengeance, friendship, organ harvesting, kick ass martial arts ............ it's quite a taxi ride.

Two friends join the newly formed king's guard, only to find themselves fighting with opposing factions as internal conflict rages to bring about the Joseon period of Korean history.

Track Example: Remember

Two children, one a princess and the other the son of a General, escape a massacre but are tossed into a chaos of competing kingdoms. A story of destiny and desire.

Starring: Kim So-Hyun

A crown prince swaps with his previously unknown twin sister, who is tragically forced to take on an impossible role.    

Starring:

Park Eun-Bin

Rich meets poor in a tale of smouldering revenge and bitterness, injustice and courage. Love triangles,  family loyalties and social justice compete in a gripping expose of wealth v fairness.

After Squid Game's random popularity, this delightful story received an 'if you like SG, you might like...'.  I'd already seen this and found it brilliantly heartwarming. North Korean soldier falls for a South Korean business woman blown off course whilst testing her new sportswear line.

Starring: Hyun Bin and Son Yi-Jin (PS whose on screen romance resulted in them getting married in real life. Ahhh.)

Con artists attempt to engage with an unscrupulous and exploitative eccentric, with surprising outcome. Contains images of a sexual nature.

An aspiring computer game artist with a hidden strength catches the eye and the heart of a CEO.

A young woman, seeking to escape an arranged marrriage, instead applies to become a palace historian, whose role was to record and archive the dynastic history of the Korean kingdoms, without interference!

Inside the South Korean harsh reality of national service and the pressures that brings.

A beautiful period piece, interlacing the complex lives of five people at the end of the 19th century. Their early childhood paths had crossed, only to manifest years later in dramatic and tragic events.

Review 1 

Hollywood lessons 

A secretive Korean unit supposedly exists for national security reasons. Two friends are recruited and find themselves being driven apart by opposing beliefs.

Highlights the ethical dilemmas facing web platforms along with the usual rivalries, cultural expectations, redemptions and so on!

A structural engineer with a couple of layabout brothers and a moody temp worker with care and finance worries provide a dark backdrop to a drama that's almost a metaphor for life. Fast paced it's not, but a page turner nonetheless.

Not a remake of the original saga, but three very different young women with very different outlooks on life, battle for their existence in an unforgiving world of corruption, greed and a search for truth and justice.

Starring: Kim Go-Eun

Three unmarried women, besties since schooldays, navigate the norms of korean social culture whilst also coping with one of their number's terminal illness. Heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Starring: Son Yi-Jin

Set in a hospital's neurosurgical department, this follows a wayward teenager's path to justice. Medical malpractice, staff hierarchies, administration versus clinical care, as well as the normal philosophy rich romance, not to mention all kinds of insight into brain surgery.

Starring: Lee-Song-Kyoung, 

Two Koreans meet in Cuba, one a hugely successful hotelier but under enormous in law family pressure and control, the other a gap year enjoying young man before he starts his proper career which, you've probably guessed, happens to be as an intern in the hotel business. Tense, intense, romantic and tragic.

Starring: Song Hye-Kyo; Park Bo-Gum

A fabulous fantasy adventure with soul swapping, competing magician clans, and sumptuous acting and settings. A kind of Harry Potter for a martial arts appreciating older generation. 

Starring: 

This is a slow burn revenge story with some truly unsettling school bullying scenes. Smouldering focus from a seriously damaged but intelligent mind make for a gripping but harrowing drama.

Starring: Song Hy-Kyo; Jung Ji So

Cold as Steel chief exec who specialises in turning round failing companies turns his hand to a gaming company.  The normal storylines prevail with tribulations and dastardly behaviours overcome, with plenty of humour via the sub titles.

Starring: 

A feisty member of the royal family must guide her adolescent children through the challenges of court intrigue, whilst her own liberal views confront tradition and hostility.

In an unlikely but traditional tale, a young man escapes death by hiding in a womens refuge camp. Protecting his identity, he becomes invaluable to the camp whilst seeking to right the wrongs that led to him being there.

Starring: Jang Dong-Yoon; Kim So-Hyun

The challenges of growing up: friendships, relationships, bullying, harrasment, carer responsibilities, parental pressures. A young man who rebelled against the system and lives alone in a run down fairground brings charm and vulnerability with a musical soundtrack that deserves, one day to be on stage.

Starring: Ji Chang-Wook; Choi Sung-Eun

Two talented boxers find common ground, having served in the Marines, teaming up to take on loan sharks and corruption. Explosive fight sequences, male bonding, and high integrity make for a thrilling 8 episodes.

Bad behaviour in an earlier life leads to a punishment for a young woman as a hotel manager for the dead. The hotel changes from era to era, catering to a clientele who are not quite ready to move on. This strange storyline embraces the many enchanting facets that my choice in K dramas so often yields.

Starring: IU; Yeo jin-Goo

Another charming period drama with character twists and romance and tragedy and redemption. A total absence of dating apps but a millenial / gen z feel. 

A story of friendship amongst the busy and stressful life of a large hospital. The expertise of the lead roles spans multiple medical disciplines with associated storylines. The five friends also make up an amateur band, as a way that both binds and supports them together. 

This is a super slow 20 episodes with really only one thread: the lengths ambitious people will go to gain and retain their position in society, even if it means total destruction. With a very 1980s feel to the directing style (and pace), a young, ambitious woman finds her role between two civil but utterly ruthless protagonists. The moral tale is clear, if you can make it to the end.

A rare individual able to recall her previous lives, dies young. In her next life she sets out to check on how her friends from that era have fared, bringing twists and tangles and more great storytelling.

Starring: Shin Hye-Sun

A strange tale set amongst lower level mystical beings who need to redeem themselves on earth due to bad behaviours. A modern woman becomes both prey and provider, whilst a slowly rotting Zombie brings charm and wistfulness. It's weird; better than it sounds, but needs commitment.

Starring: Im Yoon-Ah

A slow paced look at a rural/small town dynamic ridden by past encounters and experiences. Like snow, it drifts along. Starring  Park min-young, the star of the show is the street wise love interest's sassy younger sister.

A rich cast of young actors front a great zombie film which oozes class. Largely set in a school, it generates humour and empathy as the story develops, whilst heroism, sacrifice determination and purpose abound. 

Twin sisters, separated early in life, find their teenage lives become entangled through traumatic circumstances. Once again the richness of the characters and a gripping storyline make this very watchable.

A suicide victim is given the chance, by Death, to make amends for ending his life early. Can this be achieved within his new life allocations? The groundwork is set in the first half of the series, after which there is good depth to the story, along with more gore than perhaps necessary.