By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
October 7, 2019
You can always watch plenty of K-Dramas for free on KOCOWA, but one of the perks of a subscription is getting to watch your shows straight through without annoying ads. KOCOWA also offers premium content that’s uploaded quicker and more accurately than on other legal streaming services.
Here are a few of our favorite K-Dramas that are exclusively available to subscribers:
One of my favorite K-Dramas, “Go Back Couple” tackles a lot of serious issues in a very watchable way. A late-30’s couple has gotten into a rut in their marriage. They don’t talk often, but when they do, it’s to argue over misunderstandings they don’t want to delve into. After they divorce, the husband and wife wake up in their respective childhood bedrooms. They are now college-age versions of themselves. It all seems wonderful to be young and vibrant again, without having to worry about paying bills or dealing with a nagging spouse. But she’s torn. Her life as a college student means she’s reunited with her hunky crush (played by a dashing Jang Ki-Yong) and, more importantly, her mother (played by the brilliant Kim Mi-Kyung — Ajumma from “Healer“) who is still alive. But it also means she will not get to see the baby she left behind in the future. Jang Na-Ra is spectacular as the wife and mom, who mourns the loss of her baby. And it’s her mother’s selfless love that convinces her where she belongs. Son Ho-Jun is wonderful as the husband, who is painted as a selfish workaholic early on, but gives a very real performance as a man struggling to get his priorities straight.
I’m a huge Lee Jong-Suk fan and can vouch that “While You Were Sleeping” is one of his best K-Dramas. I’m a sucker for dramas where the protagonists knew each other as children. I really enjoyed watching his chemistry with Suzy and learning about their shared past that each had forgotten. Throw in Jung Hae-In as the second male lead and you know this series is perfection. There’s humor, pathos and everything in between. Note: The concept of this drama isn’t to be confused with Sandra Bullock’s film of the same name. The storyline here is more clever, with various characters having dreams about each other seemingly randomly. When they start forseeing the future, it seems like a dream come true. However, with those dreams — and nightmares — there is the burden of whether it’s best to let destiny take its place, or whether they should get involved and try to change the course of their lives.
Lee Je-Hoon is the lead in this series, which takes place at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. He’s a bright, ordinary man who graduated from the extraordinarily prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Everyone thought that with his brains, his future was guaranteed. But as he works at the airport, he thinks of what could’ve been had he realized his dreams of becoming an airline pilot. It’s obvious to the viewers that he yearns for more in life than what he has. He gives himself half a year to figure out his plans. Meanwhile, he meets a new employee played by Chae Soo-Bin, whose facade is different from her real self. Will they fall for each other? Erm … Is this a K-Drama? BONUS: SF9 fans will recognize Kim Ro-Woon — currently starring in the new series “Extra-ordinary You” — who has a co-starring role here.
“Still 17”
This K-Drama centers on a pair of high school students whose romance ends before it can really being. Shin Hae-Sun is involved in an accident that leaves her in a coma for 13 years. When she wakes up, she’s in the body of a 30-something woman, but her mind and personality is still that of a teenager. She is reunited with a set designer (played by Yang Se-Jong), whose heart was broken after her accident. The series is sweet, as it tackles first love from the perspective of adults whose emotional growth was stunted by trauma.
Other SVOD favorites include “The Miracle We Met,” “Girls’ Generation 1979” and “The Emperor: Owner of the Mask,” which stars K-Drama It Girl Kim So-Hyun!
Also … Here’s a heads up: KOCOWA has a new feature to unveil. On October 11, it will be servicing K-pop LIVE. What does this mean? It means that you can watch “Music Bank K-Chart,” “Show! Music Core” and “SBS Inkigayo” at the exact same time that it’s airing in Korea. This is available for both the app and on the web, but it’s an exclusive feature that’s only available to subscribers. Be sure to bookmark the LIVE page to keep tabs on the 24-hour countdown to each new show. We’ll give you more details about this in an upcoming blog post!
Be sure to follow @GoAwayWithJae, where I tweet about all things Korean.🇰🇷
