Sad Korean Drama Childhood Friends Then Meet Again Later 12 Years Later

133 October thirty, 2015 October iv, 2017

Dramabeans Top 10: Korean dramas almost friends-to-lovers romances

by javabeans

javabeans: Did everyone like the first Elevation ten feature? I tin say I thoroughly enjoyed it… in that capping my workload to only ten entries (…ish) is actually working for me.

girlfriday: Being express is really liberating. It likewise means we accept the energy to think up new lists on new topics, which keeps information technology fun for united states.

javabeans: Yes, I'm already looking forrad to the next several Top ten lists, which we've already got planned out. Though I won't ruin information technology by blurting out the topics just still. For now, it's all about friends!

girlfriday: Well, friends who secretly lurrrrve each other and spend decades angsting virtually how they're supposed to only be friends.

javabeans: Orrrrr friends who don't secretly dear each other until xx years afterward, and then all all of a sudden are hit with the love issues. I like those too, because when they aren't in honey at the start, the dynamic is totally different. I like when the girl tin can just slum effectually and exist totally normal around the guy, who'll fall in love with her in spite of the bedhead and messy pajamas.

girlfriday: Yeah the comfortable ideal closeness is what I beloved about these kinds of romances. Un-romances? They get to have all the benefits of a all-time friend without the romantic complications, leading to a kind of intimacy you don't commonly get. Of class, then comes the feelings and the angst, but at that place's fun in that too.

javabeans: We did argue back and forth about what "qualified" as a friends-to-lovers romance, because at that place'southward a tricky gray surface area in the middle. Usually when the leads were childhood first loves who may not accept even kissed or confessed their feelings, which makes them seem more than similar friends, but if those feelings were there at the offset, we opted not to count them. (Examples: Will Information technology Snow For Christmas, 49 Days, I Miss You, that kind of affair.)

girlfriday: By and large, we were thinking of dramas where you actually spend a good chunk of the drama with the two leads being friends, and either being blind to their feelings or not seeing each other romantically yet.

javabeans: It wasn't until we compiled the list that we realized, with some surprise, how many friends-to-lovers dramas came from this year. Stealth tendency!

girlfriday: This is one trend that I'll never tire of, so it can just stay forever and ever! FRIENDS 4EVA!

javabeans: Also, if you detect some funny counting in the Top 10 list, shhhh! Just get with information technology. Math was never our forte.

girlfriday: It'south not that we can't count… information technology's jut that we couldn't cutting any more than. And we figured drama content was more important than numbers.

javabeans: Amen.

ane. Jealousy (1992)

javabeans: Ah, Jealousy, the i that started it all. Not only was it the showtime trendy Korean drama to grace the airwaves, it was besides the first straight-upward rom-com, a ratings blockbuster (56.1% ratings!), and a prime number example of this trope, centering around longtime friends who gradually awaken to their feelings and have a miniseries to effigy out how to make it work. Buddies throughout school and entering the existent world together, these two leads were so comfortable with each other that it didn't occur for the heroine to experience any differently until the day the hero announced that he had a girlfriend he wanted to introduce her to. Cue jealousy, angst, tears, and hilarity as they spent 16 episodes trying to adjust to the new dynamics in their relationships—growing apart, growing upwardly, and finally, growing closer once more.

2. Propose (1997)

girlfriday: This is one of dramaland'south archetype friends-to-lovers rom-coms, starring Kim Hee-dominicus and Ryu Shi-won back when they were the bright young Information technology-stars of the tardily '90s. They were two best friends who lived downwardly the street from each other, who had been together for every moment of their lives, big or small-scale. It wasn't until they grew up that feelings started to creep into their once-comfortable dynamic, and suddenly sleepovers began to feel bad-mannered and romantic suitors sparked newfound jealousy. The blurring of lines and romantic confusion led to some heady angst for both of them, but he was always her shoulder to cry on, fifty-fifty when her heart was broken over another man. Theirs was the kind of love that had always been in that location from the start; they but took the long way around to put a proper noun to it. And a ring on it.

3. Bottom of the ninth with 2 Outs (2007)

awcoconuts: This 2007 drama remains in my eye as one of the friends-to-lovers shows to beat. While it deceptively didn't accept much to do with baseball game, in that location were plenty of brawl-game metaphors thrown in that helped fix the stage for the two thirty-year-old leads. She's an aspiring writer who decides to move out when her mother keeps nagging her to make something of herself, while he'due south a successful marketing executive who hasn't had more than the casual fling since the departure of his kickoff love. Unexpectedly, the two besties are forced to alive together, and while initially they drive each other crazy, the sparks begin to fly.

The duo were comfortable in a style that only ii contemporaries who've known each other since birth could be—not only did they know each other's romantic histories, but they supported one another through breakups, and began to yearn to fill the hole in the other's heart. It wasn't just the ambrosial chemistry; the evidence was pitch perfect in depicting the postal service-college, young-professional stage of life, in which you are acutely aware of your carefree youth slipping away, and every determination is that much more weighted. When they finally got together, it wasn't merely a blithe affair, but the issue of two adults last, subsequently serious consideration, that their relationship was more than meaningful than any other.

4. The Fourth dimension I've Loved You (2015)

HeadsNo2: Setting out with a star-studded cast and based off a hitting Taiwanese drama, The Time I've Loved You had all the makings of a sweet slice-of-life drama based on ii longtime friends who would eventually realize that they were each other'due south soulmates. No surprises in this sort of straightforward premise, and surprises aren't what you lot sign up for—information technology's the interpersonal relationships, the love, laughter, tears, and the ability to see something special flower between ii people who know each other better than they know themselves.

We saw the beginnings of what this drama really could've showcased, though unfortunately, the evidence went in a different direction later a terminal-infinitesimal writer switch. Even so, there was an indelible quality to certain moments that made them as memorable every bit they were fluffy, whether it was our best friends' hush-hush hideout, our heroine's metaphorical option of scene-stealing shoes, and that ambrosial fourth dimension the hero did the heroine'southward makeup. It all sounds like minor stuff, and in the end, it'southward always the modest stuff that comes together to make a cohesive whole with genres similar this. In this case, it was a compendium of the little things that led these 2 best buddies of seventeen years to observe out that their perfect match was right there all along.

v. Xx Again (2015)

girlfriday: What's great nigh the relationship in Twenty Over again is that it focused on developing the heartwarming friendship first and foremost, namely because of the misunderstanding set into the premise: He secretly loved her for twenty years just thought she was happily married to the love of her life, while she was actually in the center of a divorce. The two old friends reunited and immediately reverted to petty immature teenagers every fourth dimension they were nigh each other, making for some truly memorable acts of childishness from ii adults who had yet to grow upward.

The heroine's journeying of self-discovery began when she went back to college late in life, but it was actually the reunion with her old friend that spurred her to modify, considering he remembered her exactly every bit she was—the crawly, spunky girl she used to exist before she became a female parent at 18—and was determined to remind her of it. Behind the scenes he was as selfless equally a friend could be, secretly arranging it and so that she could cross off the items on her bucket list when he (mistakenly) thought she was dying, or trying to save her marriage when he thought that's what she wanted. Okay, and so he may take been a pigtail-pulling grumpypants course-schooler to her face, but nobody's perfect.

6. Answer Me 1997 (2012)

gummimochi: Y'all can't think of lifelong friends-turned-lovers without thinking of Answer Me 1997, the nostalgia-filled serial that brought us back to simpler times of in-person social networks and bodily phone calls, and all the exciting feelings of that unforgettable teenage offset dearest. The series was centered around a tightly knit group of high schoolers, who stuck together through thick and sparse during life'due south most turbulent fourth dimension, otherwise known as high school. At the middle of the group was a feisty everygirl and the boy next door who was always showing how much he cared, while being deathly afraid that she might catch on. He knew every lovable quirk and abrasive habit about her, and there were no secrets betwixt them… autonomously from the tiny i where he was totally smitten with her.

Amid the constant bickering and swapping of inside jokes, we got a refreshingly grounded couple who could be honest with each other about practically everything, as they grew up next. From that get-go confirmation kiss to the I-don't-care-if-you've-got-a-cold make-out session, Answer Me 1997 reminded u.s.a. that at that place's always a chance to escape that dreaded Friend Zone.

vii. Ex-Girlfriend Club (2015)

javabeans: Mayhap these two weren't 100 percent platonic friends initially, but they did stick themselves firmly in the friend zone when they reunited years after globe-trotting apart. Working together to accommodate his hit webtoon—all about his exes—into her motion picture gave them a chance to reconnect over late-nighttime planning sessions and team bonding trips, reminding them why they'd been and so good every bit friends before and making u.s.a. all wonder why that went awry. With three ex-girlfriends hovering around, beingness adorably pesky and meddling, romance wouldn't go much of a chance to rear its head… but that's the matter about dearest—in one case information technology's taken root, no amount of hilarious interference and outlandishly elaborate schemes can prevent it from continuing its course. Our heroine may have been the 5th wheel at the start, but examining his by loves and why they ended also gave her the opportunity to understand exactly where they'd gone wrong earlier, and find a way out of the friend zone the 2d time effectually.

viii. Plus Nine Boys (2014)

LollyPip: In that location were several lovelines in tvN'south coming-of-age serial about a family unit of men, all in their cursed "plus nine" year, all trying to overcome their terrible, terrible luck in the romance section. But the main dear story was undoubtedly the i at age 29, between two old friends who had known each other since higher and now worked together. The problem was that she knew better than anyone that he was a notorious ladies' man, and when he plant himself falling in honey with her, she was fiercely adamant to guard her heart from him.

No longer happy being friends, the hero had to bound through hoops to convince his friend that his feelings were genuine, which became the heart of the show, as he spent his days pining and going to not bad lengths to prove his dearest. No guy was ever so distressing, or so ambrosial. The biggest problem for these two friends was knowing each other besides well, and your ain internal obstacles can often be the hardest to overcome. But trust can be earned, history doesn't have to repeat itself, and curses can be broken. All hail the power of love.

9. Personal Taste (2010)

gummimochi: After being taken for granted past a longtime swain, who tin can blame a girl for welcoming a kind, considerate, handsome and attentive roommate who'd get her gay best friend? If merely she knew that her new BFF had a hidden motive for wanting to live under the same roof.

Personal Taste opened its doors to ii strangers whose human relationship was built an innocent misunderstanding that led to identity confusion and some hilarious roommate hijinks, like shower mishaps and chainsaw shenanigans. Things were bound to get complicated when that gay best friend (who's actually straight) started developing genuine feelings for her. Come up clean and lose a meaningful friendship, or say nothing and go on those building emotions (and sexual frustration) bottled upward? But if y'all made me choose… but really, there is no choice—I'd be all over him in a heartbeat. Game Over.

10. Persevere, Gu Hae-ra (2015)

LollyPip: This drama gave us a sweet, heartwarming story about a ragtag group of kids who just wanted to sing, and all the heartbreak, professional and personal, that goes along with that dream. Add in a central lifelong friendship that was torn apart early on by mutual tragedy and misunderstanding, and you lot had a friends-to-lovers story prime for malaise.

The 2 leads had felt a connection the moment they met as children, and grew upwardly knowing every heartfelt desire, embarrassing phobia, and dream for the future nearly each other. The fact that they were so close, and had and then nearly confessed their mutual feelings, but fabricated the sting of separation worse when he bore the burden of a noble sacrifice that looked similar expose. However, he quietly helped her whenever he could, even when she would never know, showing his love to us but never to her. It may have been a long and painful road back to romance, simply ultimately, a bond this tight was too potent for evil presidents, guilty consciences, and crazy fangirls to go along apart forever.

10. (+1) Let'south Eat 2 (2015)

javabeans: For being a drama centered around food indulgences and the electric current "meokbang" trend of eating onscreen, Let's Swallow 2 was surprisingly sweet and graphic symbol-driven. These 2 leads weren't exactly longtime friends, but having been classmates in grade school gave them a refreshing familiarity when they reconnected equally adults and new neighbors. Because their initial dynamic was more driven by aversion (hers, subsequently he'd unwittingly inflicted hurtful scars equally a child) than attraction, they skipped the pleasantries and cut correct to the directly talk with each other. The heroine could merely exist uptight and nervous around the object of her crush, but the hero inspired no awe, and thus got the full force of her energetic, emotional, sometimes abrasive whirlwind of a personality. One of the best things about these friends-to-lovers relationships is how the characters often find love when they aren't looking for information technology; it only comes along and slaps them in the face one day, and the lucky ones know to grab on when they have the chance. And if that comes with a heaping portion (or 16) of delicious food-porn goodness, then count 'em extra lucky. Serve me upward.

10. (+2) The Producers (2015)

girlfriday: The Producers highlighted some of the best and the worst of the friends-to-lovers trope by giving usa a pair of all-time friends who were already a couple in every way… except the one that matters. Being best friends of twenty years meant that these two had no qualms well-nigh living together, relying on each other for the little things, and being a shoulder to cry on during their toughest moments as battle-weary tv producers.

Simply it was self-awareness that they lacked, which was all the more than ironic because they were the bailiwick of a false documentary within the show, in which their innermost feelings were defenseless on photographic camera. Sometimes they were frustratingly blind to the fact that they were already in beloved, and other times they were the sweetest embodiment of showing their love in deportment, not in words. But… sometimes you demand SAY THE WORDS though, okay? Orrrrrrrrr yous could only light all the streetlamps from now to the stop of days and follow her from the broadcast station to the retirement home and hope she figures it out someday. Your call.

+4 Honorable Mentions:

13. I Need Romance 2012: These two grew upward together equally neighbors in attached houses, knew everything near each other, and were the oldest of friends who even salvaged their friendship after dating. Only these friends besides kept their benefits, which knocks them off the official Tiptop 10 (+2) list.

14. Bubblegum (2015): This couple volition probably work their way upward to the Top x (+2), if they go on upward the cute devotion of the hero who dotes on the girl he grew up with, making sure she eats right, dresses warmly, and doesn't get her heart broken past bad men. I'm pretty sure nosotros can think of 1 fashion to ensure that. It might take sixteen episodes to go there though.

15. Because It's the First Time (2015): This drama is some other 1 that just started, merely information technology features a sugariness lifelong friendship that in do feels a lot similar a romance. She'southward his starting time beloved, simply he's decided that it's fourth dimension to grow upward and date lots of girls, though it doesn't finish him from acting like her boyfriend when the demand arises. We'll look forward to seeing how he gets her onboard the romance.

sixteen. She Was Pretty (2015): This one'due south not in the Pinnacle 10 proper because technically these two were showtime loves, not merely friends… but with a friendship and then heartfelt and poignant, we couldn't exit them off entirely. The drama establish a way to preserve their pure-hearted childhood sweet as they transitioned to adult romance, and given how feel-good and gratifying the development was, we figured nobody would heed the states sneaking them on the list. Information technology's non adulterous if everyone wins, right?

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Tags: 1 testify to rule them all, Answer Me 1997, Bubblegum, Dramabeans Tiptop 10, Ex-Girlfriend Society, featured, I Need Romance 2012, Jealousy, Let's Eat ii, lists, Persevere Gu Hae-ra, Personal Taste, Plus Ix Boys, Propose, She Was Pretty, The Producers, The Time I've Loved You, Twenty Again

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