Balancing a mix of growing pains and triumphs,the best coming-of-ageK-dramashave relatable narrativesthat depict a crucial moment in life for young adults. Leaving behind their childhood and gearing up to enter the real world, the protagonists in coming-of-age K-dramas experience a range of highs and lows. Many of the genre’s best set itsK-dramas in high school or college, with academic competition and the pressure to succeed setting up an ideal obstacle for the series' characters to push through.
In addition to finding oneself, heavily featured in theseK-dramas are subplots about romanceand friendship. Many coming-of-age series see protagonists in new relationships that bloom and old ones that are tested. Though many series in the genre are lighthearted, they are not without their more poignant storylines.Thebalance of heartbreak and happiness within these K-dramasis deftly managed, and they create narratives that are honest and ultimately relatable to audiences.
Dear. M
Cast
Dear. M is a web drama centered around the search for the mysterious “M,” who is mentioned in an anonymous post on a university forum. The narrative explores the lives and relationships of four students at Seoyeon University as they navigate friendship, romance, and personal growth while unraveling the identity of “M.”
Acting asa spin-off to the popular web seriesLove Playlist,Dear. Mis set in college and follows a group of students working to solve a unique mystery. On the student forum at Seoyeon University, the titular writer posts an anonymous confession. During their time uncovering the real identity of the writer, four of the university’s students experience heartbreak, create friendships, and work hard in their respective majors.
Each character keeps a part of themselves hidden from their peers as they strive to be perceived as perfect and put together. The characterization of the four college studentsfeels realistic and true to real college experiences.Dear. Mran the risk of being another formulaic K-drama set in college with the easy possibility of slipping into obscurity. Instead, the mystery surrounding “M” not only differentiates the K-drama from other coming-of-age series but also fits well within the academic setting.
Doona!
Doona! follows a college student as he navigates his academic and personal life while sharing his living space with a former K-pop sensation. Released in 2023, the series delves into the dynamics of unexpected cohabitation and the challenges associated with balancing school and a unique living arrangement.
ManyK-pop idols appear in K-dramas, showing a new side of them that is both unexpected and appreciated. Bae Suzy, a former member of Miss A, began acting in the 2011 seriesDream High, and more recently ledDoona!alongside Yang Se-jong. Based onThe Girl Downstairs, a popular webtoon,Doona!sees collegestudent Lee Won-jun (Yang) become roommates with retired K-pop idol Lee Doo-na(Bae). A normal individual interacting with a celebrity is amongthe most common K-drama tropes.
Doona!has an 83% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
Yet, the execution of the trope inDoona!, while at times producing a predictable story, rarely feels cheesy. Frequently throughout the show,Doona!gets deep by addressing the mental health struggles impacting its lead. While the conditions of Doo-na’s situation are unique, it’s not hard for audiences to empathize with her. The relationship between Doo-na and Won-jun, while romantic on the surface, is helpful for the former in her struggle to move past her time in the entertainment industry.
Age Of Youth
Age Of Youth (2016) is a South Korean television series that centers on five young women who share a house and navigate the trials and tribulations of their early adult lives. Through their individual stories, the series explores themes of friendship, love, and personal growth while they each strive to overcome their unique challenges.
One of the best ways for coming-of-age K-dramas to connect with audiences is by depicting the transformative years of its protagonist’s life as messy and complicated.Age of Youth, also known asHello, My Twenties!, is one of the better series to do this. For two seasons,Age of Youthfollowsthe lives of five girls living under one roof during their 20s. Though the girls differ in their personalities, they find commonality in their experiences with growing pains.
Throughout its run,Age of Youth’s main characters experience triumphs and heartbreak in almost every aspect of life.
Throughout its run,Age of Youth’s main characters experience triumphs and heartbreak in almost every aspect of life. There is inevitable conflict and tension between the roommates at times, but the writing in the K-drama allows for arealistic and heartfeltmending every time. Like many of the best coming-of-age K-dramas, younger audiences, especially in South Korea, have been particularly drawn to the series and have easily connected with the journeys of its lead characters.
My First First Love
My First First Love follows Yun Tae-o and his friends who move into his house for personal reasons. Together, they navigate a journey through love, friendship, and the complexities of young adulthood. Released in 2019, this series explores the dynamics of relationships and self-discovery among its characters.
Blending tropes found in romance and coming-of-age stories isMy First First Love. The series is an essential coming-of-age watch as it depicts the lives of Yun Tae-o (Ji Soo) and three of his friends. The group lives under one roof and life quickly becomes more complicated and fun. Though lighthearted chaos ensues when Tae-o’s friends first arrive at his door, the company of one another proves to be useful during this transition period in the housemates' lives.
The friends are there for one another in both the successful and trying timesassociated with the first years of college — some of the latter moments coming from conflict with one another. Additionally,My First First Loveis about a college romance. Romantic feelings begin to blossom between the housemates, putting into motion the dramatic and gushing storylines tied to romance tropes like friends-to-lovers and love triangles.
At Eighteen
Moment at Eighteen is a coming-of-age South Korean television series that follows the story of eighteen-year-old high school student Choi Joon-woo, who moves to a new school in his final year. As he navigates a new environment, he faces challenges, forms friendships, and learns to come to terms with his own identity.
The final years of adolescence can be tricky to navigate as one isn’t a child anymore, but they’re not quite an adult yet either. This dilemma is what eighteen-year-old Choi Joon-woo (Ong Seong-wu) is facing as he transfers to a new school due to an act of disruption he did not partake in at his previous school. In his new environment, Joon-woo is teased for being a new kid and not having any friends.
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At Eighteentellsa relatable story about finding oneself during one’s adolescent years. The series' plot highlights the hardships teenagers face during this time, including the pressure felt from family members to be the best in their class. Joon-woo, and in turn, the audience, is reminded to live in the moment and cherish the present, resulting in a comforting coming-of-age series that almost anyone can find themselves relating to.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
Inspired by the life of an Olympic weightlifting champion, this series follows the coming-of-age story of Kim Bok-joo, a young athlete discovering her path in weightlifting and love. As she pursues her dreams, she struggles with the everyday trials of sports training and young love.
Unlike a few other K-dramas mentioned,Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joowasn’t an immediate hit with audiences. The series had lower ratings during its run but quickly accumulated a cult following, particularly with younger viewers who connected with the K-drama’s titular protagonist and her peers. In the show,Kim Bok joo (Lee Sung-Kyung) is a young college athletehoping to achieve her dreamsof weightlifting for her school.
Throughout the series, Bok joo and the other athletes on campus do all they can to achieve their goals. Bok joo, in particular, is determined to achieve greatness, but her tough exterior isn’t all there is to her. Insecurities and anxiety live within Bok joo, and they come out during vulnerable scenes that audiences relating to her can appreciate.Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-jooalso features a sweet romance plotinvolving Bok joo and an endearing swimmer at her school, Jung Joon-hyung (Nam Joo-hyuk).
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Twenty-Five Twenty-One is a South Korean television series directed by Jung Ji-hyun. Set amidst the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the series follows the lives of a fencer and a reporter as they navigate love and ambition. Starring Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk, the show delves into themes of resilience and growth as the characters strive to achieve their dreams in a time of uncertainty.
Most coming-of-age K-dramas don’t see their protagonists past their early 20s, as the transitional phase of life associated with the genre has passed. However,a series that follows its main characters well into adulthoodisTwenty-Five Twenty-One. The series switches between the past and the present, the latter timeline following Na Hee-do’s (Kim Tae-ri) daughter looking through her mother’s old diaries. These diaries take audiences to the past, where Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk) met in high school.
Throughout the series' 16 episodes, audiences watch Hee-do and Yi-jin’s love story unfold. The pair experiencethe typical ups and downs that come with young love, but they are also made to work through obstacles involving their dream careers due to the IMF crisis. The late ’90s setting is accurate and nostalgic, whichhelps the K-drama be seen as a masterpieceby audiences. The story andending ofTwenty-Five Twenty-Onemay not be ideal for everyone, but it’s realistic and relatable, as many of the best coming-of-age series are.
The pressure to succeed academically is one felt by young audiences. Whether such pressure comes from peers or parents, it’s one that is easily relatable and is at the center ofCheer Up!, orSassy, Go Go. The K-drama isset in a high school where academic achievements are valued above all else. The difference in test scoring and academic performance has the chance to break up friendships and create a hierarchy within Sevit High School, and it does.
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Two groups within the school are frequently at odds with one another: a dance team led by Kang Yeon-doo (Jung Eun-ji) and an elite group led by Kim Yeol (Lee Won-keun). Under unique circumstances, these groups, made up of opposing types of students, are forced to work together.Cheer Up!sees the students bond over their shared pressure to succeed, and the series puts forth a considerate effort to examinetopics like heartbreak, friendship breakups, love, and suicide, all against the backdrop of academic rivalry.
Autumn in My Heart
Autumn in My Heart: This melodrama explores themes of identity and love as two girls, switched at birth, face the consequences of their true origins. The series follows their intertwined lives and the emotional turmoil experienced by Eunseo and Joonseo, whose bond challenges societal norms and family ties.
K-dramas in the ‘90sand early 2000s were part of the “Korean Wave,” which saw South Korean pop culture gain great traction in other parts of the world. One of the K-dramas at the center of the movement wasAutumn in My Heart. Airing in 2000,the K-drama was the first installment in a series of four, known by audiences as theEndless Loveseries.Autumn in My Heart’s story is melodramatic and is sure to bring audiences to tears.
The show primarily revolves around Eun-suh (Moon Geun-young) and Joon-suh (Choi Woo-hyuk), who believe they are siblings for much of their lives. That is until a teenage Eun-suh needs a blood transfusion, and it’s revealed she and her nemesis at school, Choi Shin-ae (Lee Ae-jung), were accidentally switched at birth. Eun-suh and Joon-suh’s reunion years after this discovery leads to a complicated yet emotional connection between the two. Despite its complexities,it’s easy to be moved by their relationship, resulting in every poignant moment hitting ten times harder.
Reply 1988
In 1988 Seoul, five childhood friends navigate adolescence in their tight-knit neighborhood. Deok Sun struggles as the middle child, Jung Hwan fixates on soccer despite newfound wealth, Sun Woo excels academically, Dong Ryong, a lovable geek, faces academic challenges, and Taek, a baduk prodigy, leaves school to go professional.
The third installment in the acclaimedReplyseries,Reply 1988includes a bit of everything. The series is set in the titular year in a neighborhood in Northern Seoul wherethe day-to-day lives of five friends and their families are depicted. During the series’ run, the younger characters find themselves managing the academic pressure addressed in many coming-of-age K-dramas. Though these scenes are often presented in a lighthearted and comedic way, the pressure to succeed is still understood to be relatively heavy.
Reply 1988does a great job of presenting storylines involving both the younger characters and their older relatives.
Reply 1988is also not without a love plot, withtheK-dramacontaining one of the best love trianglesof all time between the characters Sung Deok-sun, Choi Taek, and Kim Jung-hwan. Additionally,Reply 1988does a great job of presenting storylines involving both the younger characters and their older relatives. This not only produces a well-balanced family drama but also ensures there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
