Looking to get your K-drama fix while flying on Singapore Airlines? You’re in luck — we’ve got fantastic shows to keep you entertained.
K-dramas had a bad rep in the ’00s. Often dismissed as soapy trash back then, they were frequently the stuff of parody. But they’ve come a long way since then and are now firmly entrenched in global pop culture. K-dramas are no longer consigned to the romance genre; now, they span everything from thrillers and melodramas to good ol’ rom-coms.
For those who are swept up in the hallyu craze, catch these K-dramas on KrisWorld — they will draw you in with their unique blend of compelling characters and intricate settings. (P.S. We’ve also got a K-pop awards show thrown into the mix!)
Love Scout
A CEO falls in love with his secretary on a TV show? Yeah, we’ve all seen this specific kind of office romance. However, Love Scout flips the script and swaps the genders of the familiar formula: Han Ji-min stars as CEO Kang Ji-yun and Lee Jun-hyuk plays her secretary, Yu Eun-ho.
Ji-yun is a strong-headed workaholic whose life only revolves around the headhunting agency she runs, while the well-mannered, easy-going Eun-ho is her complete opposite. After Eun-ho gets tasked with preventing a candidate from being scouted away by Ji-yun’s company, he ends up getting wrongfully dismissed at his workplace and subsequently becomes her assistant.
If you enjoy sweet romances and portrayals of healthy, mutually supportive relationships, Love Scout might give you butterflies in your stomach from the very first episode.
Family by Choice
Yoon Ju-won (Jung Chae-yeon) has always dreamt of having an older brother and somehow ends up with two. Family by Choice tells the story of Ju-won and the two older boys she ‘adopts’ as brothers: Kim San-ha (Hwang In-youp), whose mother left after blaming him for his sister’s death, and Kang Hae-jun (Bae Hyun-sung), a boy who’s also waiting for his mother to return. The three may not be related by blood, but their shared troubles allow them to bond.
Full of heart and garnished with a little romance, Family by Choice shows that unbreakable ties can be forged as long as you truly care for each other like family.
Mother and Mom
What does it mean to be part of Korea’s ultra-competitive education system? Mother and Mom delves into this question through the story of Lee Jung-eun (Jeon Hye-jin), a dedicated marketing professional striving to secure a prestigious future for her 7-year-old daughter, Seo-yoon (Kim Sa-rang).
Even before elementary school, Jung-eun is determined to prepare Seo-yoon for the ‘7-year-old exam’, a critical step toward admission into elite English-language academies in Seoul’s Daechi-dong district. To navigate this high-pressure environment, she enlists the help of her mother, Yoon Ji-ah (Jo Min-su), a paediatric art therapist. Toggling between three generations of females juggling their roles and expectations, the series explores the complexities of familial bonds, societal pressures, and the sacrifices made in the name of love and ambition. With a blend of humour and heartfelt moments, Mother and Mom offers a poignant look at the challenges and triumphs of motherhood.
2024 MAMA Awards Japan
Held across LA and Osaka, the 2024 MAMA Awards brought both stadium-sized spectacle and rare, intimate moments to life. BIGBANG’s surprise reunion after nine years was a standout — G-Dragon, Taeyang, Daesung, and the gang gathered once more to light up the stage with hits like “Bang Bang Bang” and “Fantastic Baby”. Rosé and Bruno Mars performed a surprisingly intimate rendition of their viral hit “APT”.
Other highlights include aespa’s commanding set and SEVENTEEN’s high-energy performance, as well as (G)I-DLE name-dropping a former member during Soyeon’s rap. More than an awards show, MAMA 2024 was a celebration of K-pop’s past and future. If you missed it live, don’t worry. You can still catch the magic on board.
The Auditors
What do you do when a corporation is corrupt and rotten from the inside? Get audit teams to come in and clean things up — assuming they do their jobs well. And the ones in The Auditors certainly do.
JU Construction has been rocked by widespread embezzlement scandals, causing employee morale to sink to an all-time low. Wanting to turn things around, the company’s president brings in Shin Cha-Il (Shin Ha-kyun), whose mission in life is to bring the unscrupulous to justice, to lead the jaded auditing team at JU Construction.
He comes in swinging and quickly confirms his suspicions that there’s fraud going on. Meanwhile, his team learns to warm up to their new leader, take ownership of their work, and weed out the leeches from the inside.
Sure, the show does make some egregious leaps in logic (e.g. the auditors investigate murders even though they don’t have jurisdiction to do so) and throws out wild plot twists, but if you’re able to suspend disbelief, The Auditors will make for a captivating watch.
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