SUMMARY
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Gone are the days when K-drama fans would buy CDs or wait for several days for a proper English-subbed video just to watch their favorite K-dramas. Through digital platforms like Netflix, fans can binge watch their desired series at any given time – even as soon as a new episode is released.
May it be a romantic drama, crime thriller, or heavy drama, a good K-drama binge has become one of the best ways to relax after a stressful day, especially that Netflix has never run out of Korean content for its growing audience.
The streaming platform collaborates with content providers and distributors to acquire license streaming rights on shows and movies, even shelling out $500 million to produce movies and series from South Korea for 2021.
However, like how our beloved K-dramas have to end, licensing agreements do, too. Netflix said that when a series or movie is “expiring” or leaving the platform, they consider its popularity, cost, and the availability of streaming rights.
And while we’re heartbroken to see some of our favorites to go, we’ve rounded up a list to help you decide which of them to binge watch first before they exit Netflix by September 30.
Reply 1997
Cast: Jung Eun-ji, Seo In-guk, Shin So-yul, Eun Ji-won, Lee Ho-won, Lee Si-eon, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa, Song Jong-ho
Reply 1997 follows six friends having a reunion in 2012 as they recall their high school life in 1997. The coming-of-age drama focuses primarily on the simple leisures of a young adult – going to concerts, hanging out, and playing basketball as their means to cope as they make decisions for their future.
Released in 2013, Reply 1997 was also one of the first K-drama series that featured same-sex attraction in the plot.
Reply 1994
Cast: Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Sung-kyun, Son Ho-jun, Baro, Min Do-hee, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa
Reply 1994 tells the story of six university students, coming from different provincial areas of South Korea, who live together in a boarding house in Seoul. The timeline moves back and forth between the past in 1994 and the present in 2013, making viewers guess who the characters will end up with.
Reply 1988
Cast: Lee Hye-ri, Park Bo-gum, Ryu Jun-yeol, Ko Kung-pyo, Lee Dong-hwi, Ryu Hye-young, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa
Reply 1988, the last installment in the Reply series, is arguably the most popular one. It stars the Ssangmundong squad, a group of childhood friends that grew up in the same neighborhood, and deal with their challenges in family, first loves, and friendships together.
With Reply 1997 focusing on romance, Reply 1994 on friendships, and Reply 1988 on relationships among families and communities – the Reply series have become one of the well-loved recent K-drama series to date.
It’s Okay, That’s Love
Cast: Jo In-sung, Gong Hyo-jin, Sung Dong-il, Lee Kwang-soo, Do Kyung-soo
It’s Okay, That’s Love follows the love story between novelist Jang Jae-yeol and psychiatrist Ji Hae-soo, who both have mental illnesses. More than the lead’s undeniable chemistry, the series captures the audience on how it tackles mental illnesses like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, and Tourette Syndrome properly.
Chicago Typewriter
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Im Soo-jung, Go Kyung-po
Chicago Typewriter follows a veterinarian and two writers who find themselves connected to three resistance fighters that lived in the 1930s. The period drama sees the three leads racing against time as they try to find out how they were connected in the past, how they were seemingly brought back to life by a magical typewriter, and how they should help each other in the present.
Tunnel
Cast: Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min, Lee Yoo-young
Unlike most crime thrillers, Tunnel involves time travel. The series follows a detective from 1986 who is trying to solve a murder case and ends up in 2017 after going through a tunnel. In 2017, the detective attempts to catch the serial killer who started killing 30 years ago.
Cheese in the Trap
Cast: Park Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, Seo Kang-jun, Lee Sung-kyung
Based on a popular webtoon, Cheese in the Trap revolves around a struggling but hardworking scholarship student who meets a manipulative college senior who destroys those who irritate him. The series highlights the struggles in terms of studies, relationships, and career that most university students go through.
Oh My Ghost
Cast: Park Bo-young, Jo Jung-suk, Lim Ju-hwan, Kim Seul-gi
A romcom thriller, Oh My Ghost follows a timid woman who serves as an assistant chef at a known restaurant. She is then possessed by a virgin ghost who wants to use her body to seduce as many men as possible before the ghost moves on to the afterlife.
The Liar and His Lover
Cast: Lee Hyun-woo, Joy, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Seo-won, Hong Seo-young
Based on a popular manga, The Liar and his Lover tells the story of a heartbroken genius music composer who desperately hides his true identity from a high school student who happens to be a talented singer. Even when he starts falling in love with her, the composer keeps on lying to his lover.
– Rappler.com
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