Till a few years back, there are few staple subplots in Kdramas. Either there will be good and supportive male second lead but a vicious female counterpart, unfailing friendships, a rich guy and poor girl, a no-nonsense guy and an overly perky heroine, so on and so forth. Yes, we definitely are talking about romantic comedies. There’s just some minor tweaks to these templates when they are served. One other ingredient of this spectacular array of Korean drama staples is bromance. Nearly every show try to use this trope in some way or the other but not everyone manage to leave an impact. Snowdrop, Sweet Home, Happiness – 5 Korean-Dramas That Fooled Us With Misleading Titles
But those who do, you just can’t get over that feeling. Most of it rest on good writing material. Korean show makers and writers pay a lot of attention to character growth and attention to detail. In fact, many a times, they manage to show a strong bonding between two people you will expect to be friends. So today we decided to talk about those bromances which left us wanting for more.
Goblin The Lonely And Great God
This list just can’t begin without this show. This is a must for even those who abhor the idea of watching Korean dramas just to know what the fuss is about. What makes this show great apart from good writing, amazing twists, the reincarnation plotline and superb performances, is the bond between Goblin Kim Shin (Gong-yoo) and The King Wang Yeo (Lee Dong Wook). Be it comedy or emotional scenes, these two compliment each other perfectly. Check it out on Netflix.
School 2013
Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jung Suk play two boys of Seungri High School who become thick friends and then have a massive fallout. Later, they together piece by piece repair the damaged bits of their friendship. This isn’t a free-wheeling school romance or buddy comedy. School 2013 addresses some of the pressing issues prevailing in SK then – school bullying, student suicides and others. While the friendship unveiled, destroyed and got made again, you feel these emotions. Woo Bin and Jung Suk’s camaraderie is life-like. You would be compelled to believe they are thick friends for real.
Good Manager
This is probably as hilarious a pair as the one in Goblin. Namkoong Min and Lee Jun-ho are more frenemies here who reluctantly work together. But their equation is just fantastic. Be it the way one pranks on the other or when they band together, these two actors are just superb in every scene. No wonder they ever received the best couple award at 2017 KBS drama awards. Watch it on Netflix.
Welcome To Wakiki
Welcome To Wakiki, the first season, will crack up even the most serious person. It’s relatable and extremely funny. The three guys revel in their shortcomings and limited talent and do so with so much fun that you would like to binge watch the entire show. Yes, it will remind you of a Three Men and a Baby but it doesn’t take the same course as the movie. Watch it on Netflix, you won’t regret it.
Korean Odyssey
The bromance between Lee Seung-gi and Cha Seung-won is not even the main plot point of the series and yet that will stay with you longer than the entire storyline. Their lines are fantastically written and having worked together before as well in You’re All Surrounded, they seem really comfortable with each other. Netflix got you covered here!
Descendants Of the Sun
Well, the bond between Song Joong-ki and Jin-goo is the stuff that novels are made of. They are army men and one of them is a senior. Everytime they are together in the series, they are house on fire. One is fire the other is ice and together they are oh-so-nice. Watch it on Netflix. Crash Landing On You, Hotel Del Luna, Vincenzo – 5 Kdramas To Get An American Remake Soon.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
We don’t about anything else but this series should get an award for just the bromance bit. It’s a historical fact that the second lead always feels resentment towards the guy who gets the girl in Korean dramas. But in this show Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sang-yi’s characters admit they like spending time with each other as friends. This show is a gamechanger! Check it out on Netflix.
Korean drama writers and directors have this great quality or rather a gift, to spin a different and unique tale using a template. Bromance has thus evolved tremendously over the years here.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jan 18, 2022 07:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).