K-dramas are not just mushy romances set in the modern era, they also weave in Korea’s history and folklore in telling stories of timeless love. We pick four K-dramas on love and longing, streaming on Netflix, for you to binge-watch on Valentine’s Day.
My Demon
The 16-episode My Demon is the love story of a woman and a demon that started under unlikely circumstances. Do Do Hee (Kim Yoo-Jung) is the heiress of a business conglomerate with an aggressive personality. Jeong Gu-Won (Song Kang), a forbidding demon whose life revolves around granting the wishes of mortals in exchange for their souls, finds himself in a situation where he loses his powers. The only way he can regain his powers is by getting into a contractual marriage with Do Do Hee. What begins as just a transaction slowly turns into intimacy through stealing glances, risking their lives for one another and finding comfort in each other after being deprived by the world.
Destined With You
Starring Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah, Destined With You is a riveting watch that explores how two lovers are reunited even after being separated by a curse for three centuries. Directed by Nam Ki-hoon, this 16-episode K-drama begins with a forbidden book that had been sealed for 300 years and then falls into the hands of Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah). Hong-jo tries out a spell from the book on Jang Shin-yu (Rowoon), who is ailing from a rare disease, and helps him to heal. Blending humour and romance, Destined With You follows how two people doomed by tragedy rid themselves of a curse.
Welcome to Samdal-ri
This is the heartwarming story of a famous Korean photographer, Jo Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun), and her childhood friend Jo Yong-pil (Ji Chang-Wook). After a scandal forces her to leave Seoul, Sam-dal returns to her hometown Samdal-ri for a change of environment and runs into her childhood friend Jo Yong-pil (Ji Chang-Wook), who works as a weather forecaster for a group of women divers. Sam-dal starts accompanying Yong-pil to work and her fondness for him is rekindled. Sam-dal and Yong-pil put behind the incident that had caused a rift between them in the past and let their friendship blossom. Welcome to Samdal-ri looks at how we often forget the comforts of home and the joys of friendship while chasing a career.
King the Land
Often, the people we dislike intensely at our first interaction are the ones we fall in love with, and King the Land is one such bittersweet love story. Directed by Im Hyun-Wook, this K-drama follows Gu Won (Lee Jun-ho), heir to the hotel conglomerate The King Group who is dragged into an inheritance war, and Cheon Sarang (Im Yoon-ah), a concierge in one of their hotels who does her best to serve the guests and always wears a smile.
Won and Sarang get off on the wrong foot but slowly the sparks begin to fly and they warm up to each other. Gu Won, who grew up without his mother under the strict supervision of his father and the nerve-wracking presence of his sister, finds himself smiling and feeling happy in Sarang’s company. From cycling together on a remote island to dining out, Gu Won and Sarang become each other’s biggest pillar of support.
