10 K-dramas Like Playful Kiss You Need To Watch

Nothing compares to those K-dramas with an old-school feel. Y2K tragedies hold a special place in our hearts, from flip phones to the dubiousest hairstyles. If you’re a fan of them like I am, you’ve probably seen the all-time great Playful Kiss, with Kim Hyun-joong and Jung So-min playing the key characters. If you haven’t already, I suggest watching it on Viki.

Based on Tada Kaoru’s Itazura Na Kiss, a popular Japanese manga, Playful Kiss is a typical high school K-drama. The narrative, which debuted in 2010, centers on Baek Seung-jo, the school’s most charming, astute, and stoic student—your standard tsundere who makes all the girls swoon. Seung-jo’s status as Oh Ha-ni’s sort of campus crush is therefore not surprising. Here we have updated the 10 K-dramas Like Playful Kiss You Need To Watch.

Oh, and Ha-ni, a student at the same school, is a bit of a clutz and not very smart, but it doesn’t stop her from having an endearing personality. After harboring this obnoxious crush for three years, Ha-ni makes the brave decision to confess to Seung-jo. However, nothing about this turns out as expected.

Seung-jo rejects Ha-ni and unnecessarily humiliates her in front of the entire school. Ha-ni swears she will never speak to him again when he disparages her and claims to detest foolish girls. But as we all know, things don’t work out like that.

After shocking circumstances, Seung-jo and his family invited Ha-ni and her family to live in their home. The two of them start to act out towards each other because of the comically terrible predicament they find themselves in. The two eventually realize that the tension is not what they initially believed it to be, and things gradually move toward romance. Ha-ni is unsure of her ability to forgive Seung-jo because he has before made her feel degraded.

If you enjoyed the way the plot developed in this program, allow me to present you to 10 Korean dramas that are similar to Playful Kiss. These 11 k-dramas like Playful Kiss will definitely leave you with a nice feeling inside and something to ponder about, with some full of banter and coming-of-age difficulties and others a touch more serious and real-life.

10. School 2017

Even while being young is sometimes seen as the best time of one’s life, most young people, especially those in high school, face many challenges. This theme is highlighted in the narrative of School 2017, which centers on a friend group that is about to graduate.

The lead character in this seventh episode of KBS2’s “School” series is Ra Eunho, who is portrayed by Kim Sejeong. Eunho enjoys painting and hopes to become a webtoon artist, but she quickly learns that the educational system does not help students like her. Her buddies Hyun Taewoon and Song Daehwi are engaged in conflict.

Despite being the son of the school’s director, Kim Junghyun’s character in the former is a disobedient youngster who doesn’t take school seriously. Instead, he pulls practical pranks on the faculty and staff, which leads to his being called Student X even though no one is aware that he is the one behind it all.

Something from their history still seems to be plaguing Junghyun and Daehwi, giving the impression that their relationship is problematic. Daehwi is the top student in his school, but his family is not financially stable, thus by far he cannot afford college.

When Eunho is accused of being Student X, her emotional turmoil is further made worse, and her prospects for attending college are more than dim.

• Director: Park Jin-suk, Song Min-year
• Screenwriter: Jung Chan-mi, Kim Seung-won
• Starring: Kim Jung-Hyun, Kim Se-Jeong, Jang Dong-Yoon, Han Sun-hwa, Han Joo-wan and others
• Total Number of Episodes: 16
• Where to Watch: Viki, Netflix

9. Live On

Social networking is one aspect of school life that has recently become more prevalent than ever. The plot of “Live On” is based entirely on this. Everyone at Seoyeon High, where lookism is at its worst, makes judgments about other people based on their appearance, clothing, and popularity.

Baek Horang, who is at the pinnacle of this system due to her great social media popularity, is the school’s go-to girl. Horang may appear attractive and well-groomed on the outside, but her arrogant and distant demeanor prevents her from making friends.

Everything is good until one day when Horang’s life changes when a note delivered anonymously is read out on the school broadcast. She is completely shocked by it because the message alluded to a tragic event from her past that nobody should be aware of.

Horang decides to join the broadcasting club in order to find the truth because she is now a girl on a mission. She runs into Hwang Minhyun, the club’s manager, at this point. They frequently disagree with each other, and their personalities seem to be very different from one another.

In contrast, other Seoyeon students—including erstwhile buddy of Horang Yang Hyeji and student council member Noh Junghyun—seem to begin becoming involved one by one. As things become more complicated, Horang begins to think that solving this riddle is becoming increasingly difficult.

• Director: Kim Sang-woo
• Screenwriter: Bang Yoo-Jung
• Starring: Jung Da-bin, Hwang Min-Hyun, Noh Jong-hyun, Yang Hye-ji, Yeonwoo, Choi Byung-chan and others
• Total Number of Episodes: 8
• Where to Watch: Viki, Netflix

8. Extraordinary You

Viewers loved this fantastic drama, and its original idea helped to make it so exceptional. Extraordinary You, a collection of amusing discussions and accidents, has it all, from breaching the fourth wall to rewriting your fate.

The main character Eun Danoh (played by Kim Hyeyoon) discovers that she and all of her friends are characters in the manga series “Secret” after seeing strange things happening around her. Danoh already has a lot going on in her life—in addition to having a chronic illness that may shorten her life expectancy, her longtime love interest, Baek Kyung, despises her. Oh, and she and he are engaged.

Given all of this, it seems sense that Danoh is desperate to alter the course of events in order to become the main character of her manga instead of a supporting character who has been dealt a particularly bad fate. She finds some solace in the weird but fantasy world of comics. This manifests as the enigmatic, unnamed Student No. 13 (played by the charming Rowoon), who Danoh refers to as Haru in her mind.

Danoh is intrigued by the number of times he has saved her in various predicaments. Danoh deduces the plans of the omniscient and omnipresent Writer by using glimmers of the storyboard that only she can see. ‘Neungsohwa,’ a period romance set in the Goryeo period, featured her as the main character in a previous manga.

As luck (or the plot) would have it, Kyung’s haughty self also served as her fiancé in this comic. Danho notices additional personalities emerging from Neungsohwa as she pays closer attention, including pupils Yeo Joo-da, Lee Do-hwa, and even the cafeteria cook.

• Director: Kim Sang-hyeop
• Screenwriter: In Ji-hye, Song Ha-young
• Starring: Kim Hye-yoon, Rowoon, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Na-eun and others
• Total Number of Episodes: 32
• Where to Watch: Viki, Netflix, WeTV

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7. Sassy Go-Go

This drama (also known as Cheer Up!) is based on a high school, Sevit High, where there is a factor that forms a hierarchy among the pupils, just like Live On. A pedestal is put in front of the smartest and, ironically, wealthiest students in this case of academic elitism.

A group of youngsters known as “Baek Ho” is located opposite this group of children and consistently receives the lowest grades. They establish Kang Yeon-doo (Apink’s Jung Eunji) as their head and call themselves the “Real King” street dancing club.

The two groups are compelled to combine into one cheering squad after a specific turn of events in order to preserve their own school cliques. However, Yeondoo and Kim Yeol (Lee Won-Keun), the President of Baek Ho, quickly come to the realization that there is no other option.

The unimaginable occurs when the two groups collaborate—they establish irrevocable relationships, some new and some old. In the face of outside forces attempting to undermine them, these new alliances prove to be incredibly powerful.

It’s never simple to deal with the burden of academics, societal demands, abusive parents, and a crooked system, especially not for these kids. Sassy Go-Go has the ability to be both a heartbreaking drama and a delightful comedy of errors. If you want something that will genuinely touch your heart, watch this drama.

• Director: Hwang Eui-kyung (KBS)
• Screenwriter: Yoon Soo-Jung
• Starring: Jung Eun-ji, Lee Won-Keun, Chae Soo-bin, Cha Hak-Yeon, Ji Soo and others
• Total Number of Episodes: 12
• Where to Watch: Viki, Amazon Prime