There aren’t any two individuals who have the very same highschool expertise. Some have posters of their favourite boy band caught of their locker, some are working in a comfort retailer to save lots of up for faculty, some spend an excessive amount of time learning to get good grades however overlook to exit with their pals, whereas others hang around with their pals a lot that their grades… properly, let’s change the topic!
Nevertheless, regardless of all these variations, one factor nearly everybody experiences in highschool is falling in love for the primary time or no less than having a crush on a brilliant engaging individual from their college. So, whether or not you’re nonetheless in highschool or have graduated already, listed below are eight Okay-drama romcoms set in highschool to look at. You’ll get a toothache from the candy, candy teenage romance.
“Boys Over Flowers”
Based mostly on a Japanese manga of the identical title, “Boys Over Flowers” is a Okay-drama that wants no introduction for OG drama fanatics and is a good addition to the watchlist of those that have simply began having fun with Korean exhibits.
The story of “Boys Over Flowers” revolves round an atypical lady named Jan Di (Ku Hye Solar). She comes from a middle-class background, and her household owns a small dry-cleaning enterprise. Someday, whereas visiting the distinguished Shinhwa Excessive Faculty, she saves a scholar’s life when he tries to die by suicide on account of fixed bullying. As a token of appreciation for Jan Di’s heroic act, the varsity awards her with a swimming scholarship.
Whereas she is grateful for this chance, issues take a flip for the more severe when she crosses paths with the infamous F4 boys of Shinhwa Excessive Faculty: Gu Jun Pyo (Lee Min Ho), the chief of F4 and inheritor to the Shinhwa Group; Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong), the grandson of a former South Korean president; So Yi Jung (Kim Bum), whose household owns the most important artwork museum in South Korea; and Music Woo Bin (Kim Joon), whose household runs the nation’s largest development firm. She quickly discovers the true nature behind their bad-boy facades and begins to fall in love with one of many F4 boys. Nevertheless, on the similar time, Jun Pyo struggles to withstand falling in love along with her.
When “Boys Over Flowers” by means of the lens of 2024 Okay-dramas, this story might sound cliché and overdone. The manufacturing worth of the present additionally doesn’t examine to latest Okay-drama hits. But, when you begin watching, you possibly can’t assist however binge-watch all 25 episodes in just some days. It’s humorous and it’s romantic however most significantly, this can be very addictive.
Watch “Boys Over Flowers”:
“Reply 1997”
“Reply 1997” is the primary installment of Shin Gained Ho’s legendary, nostalgia-evoking anthology sequence the place every season tells the story of a unique group of pals set in a unique time interval. The primary season, “Reply 1997,” revolves round Sung Shi Gained (Jung Eun Ji) and her 5 pals: Yoon Yoon Jae (Website positioning In Guk), Mo Yoo Jung (Shin So Yul), Kang Joon Hee (Hoya), Do Hak Chan (Eun Ji Gained), and Bang Sung Jae (Lee Si Eon), who had been highschool pals in 1997. 15 years later, on the age of 33, the good friend group reunites and reminisces about their teenage years.
Although the drama does present the good friend group of their 30s, many of the story is centered round their teenage years in ’97 when Okay-pop idols had been gaining nationwide reputation. The 18-year-old feminine lead, Shi Gained, was an enormous fan of Tony Ahn of H.O.T. and dreamed of marrying him when she grew up. In the meantime, her greatest good friend, Yoo Jung, would fall in love with a brand new idol each different day.
“Reply 1997” is greater than only a highschool romcom; it’s a husband-mystery, much like the U.S. sitcom “How I Met Your Mom.” Throughout this reunion, two of the buddies announce their marriage ceremony, so it’s as much as the viewer to determine which one of many pals the feminine lead falls in love with. So, should you determine to look at this Okay-drama, keep away from googling something about it to maintain the ending a shock!
Watch “Reply 1997”:
“Be My Boyfriend”
A spin-off of the 2019 hit Okay-drama “Greatest Mistake,” “Be My Boyfriend” is a fake-dating highschool romance centered round Oh Ji Na (Lee Shi Woo) and Lee Seung Min (Shin Hyun Seung). Ji Na is the most well-liked lady at her college — she’s gifted, modern, and even a Okay-pop trainee set to debut in a “lady crush”-themed group. However to advance her profession, she wants Seung Min’s assist, a junior at her college who’s charming and candy however slightly forgettable. His process is straightforward: faux to be her boyfriend.
“Be My Boyfriend” is the proper Okay-drama for followers of basic rom-com tropes who don’t thoughts indulging in a particularly sugary plot. This drama doesn’t faux to deal with bigger points; as a substitute, it permits the viewers to take pleasure in what they got here for — a lighthearted highschool romance.
Watch “Be My Boyfriend”:
“Heirs”
From the surface, Kim Tan’s (Lee Min Ho) life seems precisely like what everybody goals of. He’s the inheritor to the Empire Group, a household conglomerate. Nevertheless, in actuality, he always lives within the shadow of his older brother, who even sends him off to the States to safe the enterprise for himself. However Kim Tan’s transfer to the U.S. isn’t all that dangerous — there, he meets Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), who has come to the States seeking her sister. Their preliminary bickering quickly turns into skipped heartbeats, and Kim Tan realizes he’s falling in love, with out even figuring out that she is the daughter of his household’s housekeeper in South Korea. However when Kim Tan’s fiancée lastly arrives from Korea to deliver him again, he’s torn between pursuing his love or returning to the life he is aware of.
Is “Heirs” an ideal Okay-drama with a tight-knit plot and Oscar-worthy appearing? No, it’s not. However similar to “Boys Over Flowers,” each episode is laced with the identical extremely addictive substance, making it inconceivable to drop halfway.
Begin watching “Heirs”:
“Extraordinary You”
Eun Dan Oh (Kim Hye Yoon) is a 17-year-old highschool scholar from a rich household, however she suffers from a congenital coronary heart illness. Her life appears as regular as it may be till someday, she begins to note gaps in her reminiscence. Whereas this may sometimes point out reminiscence loss, the reality is much extra stunning — Dan Oh is nothing however a personality in a webtoon!
After this realization hits her, she loses curiosity in her pre-determined life and love curiosity, performed by Lee Jae Wook. As an alternative, she focuses on studying extra in regards to the world she lives in. She begins spending extra time with a background character who doesn’t actually have a title and is just known as Pupil Quantity 13 (Rowoon). Collectively, they go on a mission to create a life that they need, not what the author supposed, however alongside the best way they fall in love.
“Extraordinary You” incorporates a distinctive setting, utilizing widespread tropes for Dan Oh and her webtoon love curiosity to focus on the absurdity of those clichés. Nevertheless, what actually makes this Okay-drama outstanding is the distinctive appearing of not solely the primary leads but in addition the supporting characters, as all of them attempt to reside life on their very own phrases.
Begin watching “Extraordinary You”:
“Pop Out Boy!”
Tailored from the comedian “Comedian Guide Boy Woman,” “Pop Out Boy!” is a simple, breezy, and tacky romcom with simply 10 episodes which can be 15-minutes lengthy that may be binge-watched in a single night.
The story follows Han Solar Nyeo (Kim Do Yeon), a typical teenage lady whose each day routine contains going to highschool, hanging out with pals, and studying comics. The one factor that units her other than different women is her putting resemblance to the feminine protagonist of an outdated comedian. She by no means paid a lot consideration to this coincidence till the male protagonist of that actual comedian, Chun Nam Wook (Kim Min Kyu), abruptly pops out of the comedian ebook pages proper in entrance of her eyes!
Whereas Solar Nyeo tries to determine how he escaped from the comedian and ship him again to his world, Nam Wook has just one purpose —making Solar Nyeo fall in love with him.
Watch “Pop Out Boy!”:
“True Magnificence”
Based mostly on the viral 2018 webtoon of the identical title, “True Magnificence” is a type of Okay-dramas that just about everybody has heard of.
The story revolves round Lim Ju Gyeong (Moon Ga Younger), a highschool scholar who has been bullied for years for being conventionally unattractive. When she transfers to a brand new college, she sees a possibility to show her life round and finish the fixed bullying. Her plan? Apply make-up to hide her blemished pores and skin and chapped lips. Her make-up turns into a defend that not solely protects her from bullying but in addition boosts her confidence, resulting in friendships and even romantic consideration from Lee Su Ho (Cha Eun Woo), the most well-liked boy in school, and his close-friend-turned-rival, Han Website positioning Jun (Hwang In Youp). However as the whole lot appears to be going nice, the query stays: Will her secret be uncovered and switch her life right into a dwelling hell?
Regardless of being a colourful romcom, “True Magnificence” isn’t afraid to point out the darker aspect of bullying. Whereas it might not be an mental piece of media, it serves as a window into the cruel actuality of being bullied for issues one can not change – their face. The one draw back of “True Magnificence” is that it offers you the worst case of second lead syndrome.
Begin watching “True Magnificence”:
“Twinkling Watermelon”
The yr is 2023, and Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) is a mannequin scholar working arduous to grow to be a physician by day and play his electrical guitar within the streets, aka busking, at night time. An attention-grabbing reality about him? He’s a CODA (Baby of Deaf Adults). Though Eun Gyeol believes he can hold each side of his life separate, issues change when his father discovers his nighttime routine, resulting in an enormous argument.
In search of some house, Eun Gyeol goes for a stroll and results in entrance of an odd music retailer that transports him again to 1995. There, he meets his teenage father (Choi Hyun Wook), who’s in highschool and has an enormous crush on an exquisite cellist… however it’s not Eun Gyeol’s mom, Cheong Ah (Shin Eun Soo). Eun Gyeol’s father is attempting his greatest to make the cellist fall in love with him, and it form of works. However meaning he won’t ever marry Eun Gyeol’s mom, and Eun Gyeol will cease current. So, to stop himself from by no means being born, Eun Gyeol takes on the mission of constructing his dad and mom fall in love and one way or the other finally ends up beginning a preferred highschool music band together with his father!
Calling “Twinkling Watermelon” only a romantic comedy is an understatement as a result of it’s a lot greater than that. It feels just like the final summer season of your youth – hopeful and twinkling. Whereas the story focuses totally on love and household, this Okay-drama additionally makes a honest effort to focus on the challenges non-hearing people face and the prejudices they encounter.
Begin watching “Twinkling Watermelon”:
Hey Soompiers! Are there any highschool Okay-drama romcoms that you just want to add to this record? Publish it within the feedback part under!
Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring whole Okay-dramas in a single sitting. Good screenwriting, stunning cinematography, and an absence of cliches are the best way to her coronary heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to a number of artists throughout totally different genres however believes nobody can high the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You may discuss to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.
Presently watching: “I Hear the Sunspot,” “Our Beloved Summer season,” and “Love Subsequent Door”
Trying ahead to: “Squid Sport Season 2,” “Good Boy,” and “Expensive Haeri.”
