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Top 10 gateway dramas to hook your friends on

javabeans: Happy New Year, happy tenth anniversary, happy 2017, happy everything-that-will-be-better-than-2016!

girlfriday: Yay, I’ve never been happier for a new year to start! I still can’t believe Dramabeans is old enough to be a tween!

javabeans: Oh god, is it time for braces, backtalk, and bad attitudes? I’m still the boss of you!

girlfriday: You tell it!

javabeans: In keeping with the whole 10 motif, we thought we’d dust off our trusty ol’ Top 10 series, and honor our tenth birthday by shoving everything into categories of ten.

girlfriday: Because we like symmetry, and themes, and simple math.

javabeans: One of those things is a lie. But surely if a list is good, then a list with a vaguely conceptualized theme is better!

girlfriday: One of the reasons we wanted to do more of the Dramabeans Top 10 series is that it’s a good way to induct new drama addicts, and give new watchers a good place to start. What good is it being a drama addict if you can’t help others start their addiction?

javabeans: And what more apt topic for the first one than dramas that actually did hook new addicts? In the time we’ve been following dramaland and running this site, we’ve come to see certain patterns emerge, and surges of interest that are often driven by specific projects, which act as the gateway to the rabbit hole. Does that metaphor make sense?

girlfriday: It does to me. Are we all rabbits in this metaphor?

javabeans: I think we’re all Alice, only we get used to Wonderland, probably because we drank the Kool-Aid and things started seeming normal there. I’m not really selling dramaland, am I?

girlfriday: Thankfully, we don’t really need to sell dramaland, since if people watch a good, properly cracky gateway drama, it’ll sell itself and then they’ll never know what hit ‘em.

javabeans: With that said, here’s our list of Top 10 Gateway Dramas to Hook Your Friends On. Maybe these selections seem pretty basic to longtime drama fans and Dramabeans readers, but this list is more for the uninitiated.

girlfriday: Yes, these are the dramas you want to recommend to that friend who’s never seen a Korean drama and wants to know why you always have panda eyes after a long weekend.

javabeans: Or any weekend, really. It was tough narrowing selections down to just 10, since any proper drama addict has to have at least dozens of dramas on the favorites list, but we created the rules, so I guess now we have to suffer by them.

girlfriday: Stupid rules.

 

1. Boys Before Flowers (2009)

javabeans: There’s a reason this drama pops up with particular frequency in our Spill the Beans posts, where fans dish about how they initially got drawn into the world of K-dramas: It’s crazy addictive. It isn’t the only show to ever feature high school romance, or craft ultra-luxe wish-fulfillment fantasies, or make alpha heroes fall to their knees for penniless spunky heroines. Nor does it stand out for having an unusually beautiful cast; don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful, but so is basically everybody else in dramas these days. And yet… it had something crazy special to it, a special ingredient that made it incredibly gratifying to watch, which was probably in large part a madly entertaining dose of WTF-ery. And man, was it effective.

The term “guilty pleasure” gets thrown around a lot when talking about Boys Before Flowers, probably because the drama is flawed a million ways to Tuesday; even those of us who love the show recognize the ways in which it’s sometimes sloppy, frequently cheesy, and completely over-the-top. Yet there’s an undeniable lightning-in-a-bottle quality to this show, a magical addictiveness that defies logic, like MSG for the brain: This is junk, I shouldn’t be eating this, I may feel guilty in the morning but right now it’s maybe my favorite thing ever and I can’t stop. I say we never stop.

You May Also Like: Heirs, Dream High

 

2. Coffee Prince (2007)

girlfriday: I get asked a lot by friends and random strangers what drama they should watch first, and without fail I say: Coffee Prince. It’s just one of the best starter dramas I know and a safe bet, because everybody—even ajusshis, as my dad can attest—likes Gong Yoo. Despite now being ten(!) years old, Coffee Prince is one of those dramaland classic romances that ages like a fine wine, and still remains relevant and addictive and squee-worthy, long after copycats have come and gone.

One of the reasons I recommend Coffee Prince so often is because it has such an addictive one-line premise: A tomboy girl gets a job at a coffee shop that only hires pretty boys, and the boss starts to fall for her despite not knowing that she’s a girl. Right away it asks, What does it mean if he loves her anyway?—and one of the reasons this drama stands the test of time is that it doesn’t cop out in addressing that central conflict and does it in an emotionally gripping, heart-wrenchingly satisfying way. Any drama fan can tell you that crossdressing rom-coms are a peculiarly popular sub-genre of Korean dramas, and it’s really Coffee Prince that made that phenomenon happen. I happen to like all crossdressing dramas, but you know what they say about first loves in dramaland—nothing can replace it.

You May Also Like: You’re Beautiful

 

3. My Name Is Kim Sam-soon (2005)

javabeans: Sometimes you just need to feel like there’s a heroine who gets you—and a drama that appreciates you for who you are, and not who you feel, on your worst days, you aren’t living up to be—and no show does that better than My Name Is Kim Sam-soon, which was so much more than just another workplace romance or modern-careerwoman success story: It was downright empowering. It was a transformative show when it first aired, offering up a much-needed new kind of heroine; dramas till that point had featured primarily sweet doormats or plucky Candys, the more waif-like the better. And then Sam-soon charged in with her loud mouth and saucy attitude and refused to take guff from others; she took pride in her work as a patissier, didn’t let her boss push her around, and somehow balanced backbone with compassion. She stood up for herself in ways that were inspiring, heartwarming, and often hilarious.

Powered by Sam-soon’s endearing personality and smart writing that still holds up over a decade later, My Name Is Kim Sam-soon is the kind of show that strikes a chord emotionally at the same time that it’s tickling your funny bone, and has the added benefit of providing vicarious satisfaction for anybody who’s ever had to deal with an unreasonable boss or a pushy mom or a society that tells you you still need work to be lovable. (Spoiler alert: You don’t.)

You May Also Like: Dal Ja’s Spring, The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry, Oh Hae-young Again

 

4. Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

HeadsNo2: What makes Sungkyunkwan Scandal an appealing choice in recruiting potential converts is its knack for combining some of dramaland’s favorite (read: most addictive) tropes—crossdressing, reverse harem hijinks, fusionized history, and a hot rising cast—in a fun, adventurous story of youth friendship and romance that was breezy fun then, and still holds up today.

The fact that it’s set in the Joseon era is just icing on the cake, since there’s nothing all that historical about this fusion sageuk other than the setting, which paints a picture of the history and times surrounding our characters without getting too mired in the details. Sungkyunkwan took the crossdressing rom-com and found a way to raise the stakes by setting it in Joseon, where gender rules were stricter and the consequences were naturally higher. Being a scholar at that time was a calling strictly reserved for men, and a young woman who was determined to get the same opportunities as the boys had to actually become one of the boys. Cue: male garb, borrowed name, and new residence in the shared dormitories, leading to roomie hijinks aplenty, especially when she bested the boys at their own game. Buoyed by youthful effervescence and good-natured wit, this is just one of those dramas that makes it impossible for us not to smile along with it, and once the hook gets you, it doesn’t let go.

You May Also Like: Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, Arang and the Magistrate

 

5. Answer Me 1997 (2012)

girlfriday: This is an easy one for me to recommend to my friends, because it’s a story about my generation. Anyone who’s ever faithfully recorded their favorite TV shows on VHS and spent hours making mixtapes will watch this drama with a special kind of nostalgia in their hearts. But really, Answer Me 1997 made waves because it’s a universal story about anyone’s youth—what it’s like to be a teenager and not have things figured out, what it means when friendships falter, or turn to love. It tells small, relatable stories about regular kids growing up in regular families, but with sharp wit and a fanatical level of detail for the era it portrays.

On paper it’s just the story of six friends who live in one neighborhood in Busan in the 1990s, but the key to this drama’s success (which spawned an entire franchise) was the perspective of the characters in the present day, looking back on their youth fondly and withholding information about how the romantic pairings ended up. It’s the rosy-tinted perspective that makes the whole drama feel like a love letter to youth, and family, and friendship, and a simpler time. If you know anyone who loved Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called Life and The Wonder Years, this is the show for them.

You May Also Like: Answer Me 1994, Answer Me 1988

 

6. City Hunter (2011)

javabeans: City Hunter is my go-to drama recommendation when someone asks for a show to watch with a boyfriend/husband/partner, not because I like making gender-based generalizations about taste, but because when meeting other drama fans in person, this has been by far the most popular gateway drama named by the husbands and boyfriends in attendance. Its strength as a gateway show is that it has a little something for everyone: superhero vigilante capers, heartfelt revenge backstory, hero with a secret identity, youthful romance, high stakes, creative fight scenes, guns, blood, and intrigue. For an action drama it’s funny, for a political drama it’s fast-paced and exciting, and for a romance it’s not overly done.

With action that’s more fun-spirited than hardcore, City Hunter takes on a sort of Batman-lite feel: Our hero adopts a cavalier Bruce Wayne-esque persona by day, then takes down corrupt politicians as the mysterious “City Hunter” by night. Undercover capers and fighting for the greater good make this a feel-good watch, while the father-son conflict and relationship development give it that extra pinch of heart. Which it then might rip out a little. But in a good way!

You May Also Like: Two Weeks, Healer

 

7. Nice Guy (2012)

HeadsNo2: There’s nothing like a good melodrama to get you hook, line, and sinker, and Nice Guy stands as a shining example of the genre. Featuring Song Joong-ki (who turns everything he touches into instant crack, enough to be featured three times on this list) as a good man turned bad, then arguably turned good again, this drama was driven by the intriguingly ambiguous hero (or was he an anti-hero?) and his role-reversed relationship with the heiress who hated him, then forgot him, then loved him. Corporate takeovers, deranged family dynamics, and noble imprisonment don’t usually sound exciting, but they were mostly set dressing for some massively screwed-up relationships, like the nice guy who sets his sights on a rich heiress and then ends up becoming her protector, after taking the fall for a woman who then becomes the heiress’s enemy, and therefore his own. The initial ploy grows into a twisted mess of feelings and true intentions, with amnesia and betrayal thrown in for good measure. If it sounds convoluted, it’s because it is, but deliciously so—his motivations always seemed tantalizingly within reach but maddeningly opaque, which kept us on the hook till the end. It’s one of those dramas you pick up and just can’t put down, so use this on your friends who like their shows with just a little bite.

You May Also Like: Secret, Kill Me, Heal Me

 

8. I Hear Your Voice (2013)

girlfriday: Supernatural romances are a huge trend in dramaland right now, but I don’t normally suggest aliens and vampires right off the bat (unless I’m trying to convert a diehard Buffy fan), and I Hear Your Voice is what I like to think of as supernatural-lite. It’s mostly a funny rom-com that happens to feature a hero who can hear other people’s thoughts, structured like a legal procedural drama, and made addictive by setting a serial killer loose on our protagonists. It’s definitely a mashup, but it works because the story is gripping and the suspense keeps you coming back for more.

Minus the mind-reading, it’s basically an earnest human drama: A teenage girl saves a young boy’s life when she witnesses his father’s brutal murder, and bravely testifies in court to put the killer away. The little boy vows to protect her with his life, and makes good on his promise when they meet again ten years later. Oh, and it’s also an adorable noona romance with cohabitation hijinks—should I have led with that? More than anything, this drama just has great characters, and I’d especially recommend it to anyone who loves a strong heroine. Lee Bo-young’s sassy public defender still remains one of the toughest, funniest, and most endearing leading ladies I’ve encountered in dramaland, and she’s not even the one with superpowers.

You May Also Like: You From Another Star

 

9. Nine (Nine Time Travels) (2013)

javabeans: A lot of the dramas on this list are romance-driven, and that’s partly because Korean dramas do tend to favor romantic storylines, and also because romance is often the thread that gives a drama its addictive factor. But if you’re looking to hook someone with a drama that isn’t all about the lovelines, Nine makes for a great example of addicting with twisty-turny, intriguing, cerebral plot: A hero stumbles upon incense sticks that, when burned, transport him back twenty years in time (stay with me). What starts out as an exercise in curiosity quickly turns into both a revenge mission to right an injustice in his family’s past and a desperate fight against the ensuing butterfly effect. Moreover, because the time-travel is limited to exactly twenty years in the past, the hero cannot undo what he does in prior trips, and as the plot builds and problems start cropping up, the stakes rise in an ever-building crescendo that makes for a thrilling ride. The time-traveling segments get particularly mind-bendy when we see both past and present unfolding concurrently, on parallel tracks, though nifty directing keeps everything comprehensible. Nine is the kind of drama that keeps the brain engaged and buzzing with speculation, so it’s a great choice for the drama geek who loves crafting theories, analyzing storytelling rules, and mining a drama for clues.

You May Also Like: Signal, Queen In-hyun’s Man

 

10. Descended From the Sun (2016)

girlfriday: It’s funny, I wouldn’t personally put Descended From the Sun on my list of all-time favorites, but I would absolutely recommend it as a first-time drama to literally everyone and their mother, because it just has that mass appeal. For one, it’s not an old drama that forces you to add caveats like Ignore the weird fashions and ugly hairdos, and the slick production value just speaks for itself. It’s also a drama that needs no setup, since you have a soldier who meets a doctor, and they fall in love in a (beautifully picturesque) war zone.

One of the reasons Descended From the Sun makes for a good gateway drama is that it’s a straight-up romance with all the fat trimmed off—no romantic interlopers to interfere with the love story, no corporate takeovers to slog through. It’s pretty much all romance all the time, multiplied by secondary couples who are also cute, and sufficient life-and-death stakes to keep us on the hook. The real appeal of Descended is the fast-talking banter, where everyone always has the perfect comeback for every line; there’s just a synergy between the witty dialogue and the crackling romantic chemistry that works here, and it makes the drama a breeze to watch, and good bait to lure everyone you know down the rabbit hole.

 
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Congratulations , dear beanies for being around and assisting drama lovers to enjoy and reflect on many things ( drama-related and real-life- related).My doorway to drama-heaven was Oh, my lady - noona melodrama with cute and inexperienced Siwon. The show doesn't stand out compared to the list we are discussing but it' s the first unforgettable experience that counted and was enough to explore further.

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I only watched that drama while constantly while drooling over that apartment of his. damn.

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My first was Lie to Me, followed in quick succession by Coffee Prince and Boys Over Flowers. I loved the contrast to the reality shows which had taken over American TV at the time. It was refreshing to see quirky characters and a plot that didn't revolve around sex. And the music--wow! Suffice it to say I haven't watched TV without subtitles in years, lol.

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I really like this list for the most part, but it's doubtful to me that most of them would have encouraged me to keep watching kdramas, particularly Descendents of the Sun.

My first were BOF and Coffee Prince so they are definitely gateway dramas in my opinion.

But Descended from the Sun - I found it dragged quite a bit and it would not have impressed me as something special and apart from North American tv. I'd go with something like Jealousy Incarnate for the zany, bizarre banter and great plot instead.

Same for City Hunter - it was good but would never have drawn me into watching kdramas, whereas Healer would have, so I'd replace CH with Healer.

I did like I Hear Your Voice a lot but that's another one I'm not sure would have drawn me into kdramaland, whereas Master's Sun with a similar otherworldly vibe would have. These would be gateway dramas for someone like me, heavy on the kind of rom-com you don't get much in the North American world - at least since the 1950's.

BOF
Coffee Prince
Sungkyungkwan Scandal
Healer
Master's Sun
Emergency Couple
Greatest Love
Jealousy Incarnate
Cheese in the Trap (despite the ending)

I think if I had watched any one of these, I would have wanted to go on to explore more kdramas. Weirdly, three of these have the same actress in them- she seems to pick the dramas I'm going to like!

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Happy 10th Anniversary. While searching for a new British tv show to marathon on Hulu back in either 2011 or 2012, I came across IRIS starring Lee Byung-Hun and Kim Tae-Hee. It was the first kdrama I ever watched and as the saying goes the rest is history - some 250 plus kdrams later.

From your list these are the 10 kdramas I would recommend to a newbie:

Boys Over Flowers
Dal Ja's Spring
I Hear Your Voice
You From Another Star
Queen In-hyun’s Man
City Hunter
Two Weeks
Arang and the Magistrate
Signal
Kill Me, Heal Me

In no particular order, here is my top 10 list to recommend to the friend who’s never seen a Korean drama:

My Girl
The Master's Sun
Secret Garden
Faith
Sassy Go, Go
Princess Hours (Goong)
Cruel City (aka Heartless City)
IRIS (1)
Flower Boy Next Door
Monstar

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There's no way to have a list of gateway dramas that will appeal to everyone.

If my impression of K-dramas were just shows like BoF and DotS (which are basically cheesy, superficial night-time soaps) - I would have written off watching K-dramas (of course, there are those who love that kind of stuff).

To me, a necessity is a quality script/dialogue.

My list would be broken into romcoms and non-romcoms (other genres).

Non-romcoms

1. Joseon X-Files (what I still consider to be the most mind-blowing K-drama - just beautifully written and acted and the cinematography is gorgeous as well).

2. Police Unit 38 - very good script/dialogue, acting and cast

3. Bad Guys - same

4. Age of Youth - same

5. Liar Game - same

5. The Answer Me/Reply Series (tho, could maybe fit these into the romcom category even if they are more "slice of life" - as is AoY; for being slice of life shows, they were way funnier than most so-called romcoms, including many highly viewed romcoms).

6. Tree With Deep Roots - Han Seok-kyu absolutely was a force in this.

7. Girl K (short, but worth it).

Shows I haven't watched and/or finished, but have heard good things - Signal, Nine, Healer and Misaeng,

Romcoms

1. Coffee Prince - the most complete romcom, great story and dialogue and actually has well-written supporting characters who aren't 1-dimensional and/or bad caricatures.

2. The Man/He Who Can't Marry - great cast and greatly under-appreciated.

3. The Greatest Love/Best Love - the best and most complete Hong sisters romcom (the character of Dokko Jin is memorable and love his relationship w/ "Ding Dong").

4. Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs

5. Let's Eat 1&2 (1 had the better supporting characters - who were a hoot, but 2 had the better story btwn the leads)

6. I Need Romance 2012 - some didn't like it due to the lead female character (who had flaws - which I think is better and more believable than a Miss "Perfect"), but had one of the best portrayals of female friends and maybe the best portrayal of the 2nd male lead (whichn entirely changed my opinion of Kim Ji-seok, who btw, was wasted in OHYA).

7. Master's Sun - Gong Hyo-jin and So Ji-sub - need there be anything more? Like many Hong sisters dramas, a lot of the story-lines and supporting characters weren't fleshed out, but they got the most important aspect of a romcom down - the relationship btwn the 2 leads.

8. Miss Korea - Lee Yeon-hee really did a great job here and like, He Who Can't Marry, is a horribly under-appreciated romcom.

9. My Princess - had its flaws w/ the central story, but going to include this b/c the writers got so much right w/ the relationship btwn the 2 leads (really fun scenes and dialogue), as well as w/ the supporting characters, esp. the competition btwn the male lead and his rival.

10. Oh My Ghostess

11. A mini-drama, but Splish Splash Love was better done most other romcoms.

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Have heard good things about the Woman Who Still Wants to Marry and Biscuit Teacher Star Candy, but haven't seen them.

And no - Secret Garden, Rooftop Prince, OHYA - despite their ratings are not good/well written romcoms (and instead, suffer the worst of the excesses of bad K-drama writing).

Would also have another category for sageuks.

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Being one of the (much) older fans around here, my starter list is quite different from most others. School shenanigans and pretty youngsters in their 20s don't do it for me.

So my list of 10 shows to introduce Kdrama to my friends would be:

1. Secret Love Affair
2. Jealousy Incarnate
3. Queen In-Hyun's Man
4. The Princess' Man
5. Two Weeks
6. Nine
7. Misaeng
8. Marriage Contract
9. Signal
10. Coffee Prince (although I'd recommend to ff the second leads' story)

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My mother's gateway to korean drama is Full House and Goong that's why she loves every YEH series while my younger sister is Autumn in My Heart. For me it's SOMETHING HAPPENED IN BALI....... I fell in love with Ha ji won, So ji sub and Jo in sung with this drama. But after that I never watch korean melodrama but then came Nice Guy the only 2 korean melodrama I watched.

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I converted a lot of my friends to KDrama-ism with Healer.

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I got into kdramas with Stairway to Heaven, however I wasn't really new to asian dramas because I used to really be into jdramas at the time.

The ones I used to attract my friends were My girl and You are beautiful. I sort of recommended BOF to another girl and I know she liked it a lot but personally I've never watched it cause the jdrama Hana Yori Dango is the only version of the story that I loved.

Signal is my favourite drama but I'd never use it to hook someone into kdramas otherwise they're just gonna be disappointed by every drama they watch after it lol

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My Love From The Star, Queen In Hyun's Man, Oh Hae Young Again, The K2 & Queen Seon Deok are some of my recommendations. There's just something about these dramas that make them so interesting to watch.

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I always recommend I Hear Your Voice to every person I know who watches kdrama. Love the plot and characters so I'm sure it won't disappoint them. W - Two Worlds would have replaced my most recommended drama but the second half.... I don't want to discourage them! hahahaha

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My first drama was A Love to Kill because I was a Rain fan.
After that I decided to watch a popular drama so I saw
Boys Before Flowers.
I watched several popular dramas but it took 2 years before I started watching currently airing dramas.

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There are so many.... I started with Autumn Tale (dropped it), then started Stairway to Heaven (couldn't finish it due to the fact the subbed versions were hard to obtain then, YES, IT WAS THAT LONG AGO, I WATCHED IT AS IT WAS SUBBED). But the true initiation was Full House, though I watched it a GOOD year after it came out, bc I didn't know how to operate the box thing, similar to torrent. Sighs, how much time flies.

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I remember you was my first kdrama. I was instantly hooked to the gritty psychological nature vs nurture issue, mystery and narration. I'll always have a special loyalty and place in my heart for Seo In Guk.

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A Love To Kill and Fugitive Plan B were my gateway dramas back in 2011!

They were the first K-dramas I ever watched after I fell in love with Rain in Ninja Assassins. I truly owe my love of K-drama and K-pop to Rain. I never knew anything like this existed until I discovered him.

Those two dramas were followed by Boys Over Flowers, Playful Kiss, and The Legend, Four Gods. Memories like the corners of my mind...LOL!

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FAITH and Lee Min Ho led me by hand into the wonderful world of K-Dramas. Now I have watched many many wonderful ones, can recognize many top actors and rattle off my own fave list.

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I must be the unconventional one... of the 10 listed above, I have only watched 'I hear your voice' and 'DOTS'.
I can't seem to get past the first eps of the other dramas mentioned. I much prefer the Taiwan version of 'Boys over Flowers' and not much of a fan of remakes.

My first ever k drama was the classic 'winter sonata'.
But my all time fav is probably Dae Jang Geum.. I can totally rewatch this several times and not find it boring or cringey.

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Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the palace (2003-2004). My first Kdrama. Found cus i watched 3 indie winner movies from South Korea and was blown away by the quality productions and awesome stories. So i searched for "Best korean movie" and Jewel in the palace showed up. Was really really worried thru the shamen stuff in the beginning.. worried they would start flying thru tree tops etc.. but what ended up happening is i was exposed to a whole world i never knew existed. Hundreds of Kdrama's later i'm still here. To me Kdrama's are 16-90 hour movies. to be watched on a binge. I watch till i drop.. then when i wake up i resume.

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I used "couple or trouble" to hook my sister. Most people have seen the goldie hawn american version, i bought both versions on dvd and gave them to sister. Now she's as addicted as I am. Tried to hook my kids, but failed. almost got my daughter with dae jang geum, but as i would not watch it slow enough (she had school etc) she fell behind and got discouraged.

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I am so glad you included Nine Nine Times travel. I still think that is one of the most clever and entertaining dramas. The evil guy was great, it had suspense, humor, romance, a great story, just about everything. I loved the way the room tilted during each time switch.

And Healer ranks right up there. Just a great clever story and great acting.

My gateway was Thank-you. I still love it but now see the usual tropes that I wasn't aware of at the time. Gong Hyo-jin is still one of my favorite actresses and I still love all the crazy characters on that small island. and the mother, daughter, grandfather interactions still make me laugh and cry

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Why do we get addicted? I mean seriously a majority of us used to have lives before we tumbled into the rabbit hole known as K-Drama's. It draws us in and then pulls us under. Now all that said, I wouldn't change it for the world. After all we could be addicted to things far worse than Lee Min Ho and Song Joong Ki, am I right?
My gateway drama was Playful Kiss. Love never looked so pretty and and completely unfazed. (lol)

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FINALLY YOU GOT MY TASTE!!... BUT NOT EXACTLY, HAHAHAHA...

You forgot FULL HOUSE!!... Yes, I was really addicted to Sungkyungkwan Scandal & Moonlight Drawn by Clouds..
You may "Sweet Stranger & Me" too---> so cute & romantic..

But how I wish Healer was here too...-- highly addicting like marijuana, hahaha..

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These are my 10 gateways to K drama
1.Full House
2.My Girl
3.Winter Sonata
4.My Name is Kim Sam Soon
5.Boys Over Flowers
6.Goong or Princess Hours
7.Save The Last Dance For Me
8.Sungkyunkwan Scandal
9.You're Beautiful
10.Brilliant Legacy

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Healer needs to be in this count, I now it's a new one but still it will hook future kdrama lovers

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My top ten and the order is random: Healer, City Hunter, You're beautiful, I hear your voice, Pinocchio, Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo, Fated to love you, Can't lose, Personal taste, School 2013.

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I honestly can't get enough of Healer yikes <3

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My initiation drama was Pinocchio. It was beautifully poignant. <3

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100% this list is on the ball, I've watched about half of these dramas and love them to death.

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