5. Plenty Of Twists

Photo by TV Chosun, Courtesy of Netflix

Lunar new year is coming soon! Whether you’re spending time with your family or celebrating it alone, there are some great family K-dramas you can enjoy. Since family dramas depict characters of various ages and circumstances, the stories are definitely relatable and engaging. Check out some shows you can enjoy with the whole family below.

My Father Is Strange also centers around a family of four siblings, but they aren’t married. Patriarch Byun Han-soo (Kim Young-cheol) is a devoted husband and father, so everyone is shocked when idol singer turned actor An Jung-hui (Lee Joon) claims to be Han-soo’s son. It sounds like a lot of drama, but it’s actually a funny and heartwarming series. Also, family weekend dramas often help rising actors become more popular. You can spot Abyss and Dr. Romantic S2 star Ahn Hyo-seop in My Father Is Strange as well.

What Happens to My Family centers around a sacrificial single father (Yoo Dong-kun) who is fed up with his selfish children and sues them in order to teach them a lesson on how they can be a true family. As the three siblings work on fulfilling their father’s conditions, they learn how to appreciate their father and their family. There’s also a lot of cuteness to enjoy with young actors Yoon Bak, Park Hyung-sik, Nam Ji-hyun, and Seo Kang-jun. 

My Golden Life shows the consequences of a mother’s misguided love for her daughter (Shin Hye-sun) as she seizes an opportunity for her daughter to experience a golden life amongst the upper class. The heroine, believing herself to be Haesong Group family’s long-lost daughter, gets to live a glamorous life. However, the families have to deal with the fallout once the truth is revealed. While birth secrets are a common trope, My Golden Life avoids being cliche by highlighting relevant social issues and focusing on personal happiness. 

Marriage Contract focuses on a poor, widowed young mother (U-ie) who desperately needs to take care of her 7-year-old daughter and repay loan sharks. She meets a wealthy business executive (Lee Seo-jin) with a sick mother who needs a liver transplant. The pair decide to sign a marriage contract so that his mother can get a liver transplant and she can have her substantial debt paid off. While they carry out their fake marriage, they fall in love. Marriage Contract is a good watch if you’re looking for a family drama with fewer episodes! 

My Contracted Husband Mr. Oh also features U-ie in a contract marriage, but with very different circumstances. Han Seung-ju (U-ie) is perfectly happy being single at 35 and married to her job as a producer. However, a traumatic event makes her reevaluate her marital status and she ends up in a contract marriage with Oh Jak-doo (Kim Kang-woo) so they can help each other out. This drama also highlights the differences between city life and life in the countryside, of which the latter tends to be underrepresented in dramas. 

If you haven’t noticed by now, U-ie has acted in many popular family dramas. In her most recent one, My Only One, U-ie portrays Kim Do-ran whose life turns upside down when her biological father (Choi Su-jong) appears after 28 years. The characters go through a lot of difficult circumstances, but the family-oriented drama relays a message of rediscovering hope in life and having assurance that you have someone on your side. The theme of people making sacrifices for their beloved family members is also very relatable and heartwarming.

Multi-platinum recording artist MAX has released the latest remix of his hit single “Blueberry Eyes” feat. SUGA of BTS with Lil Mosey and Olivia O’Brien. 

Listen here: orcd.co/blueberryeyesmax 

Since its release four months ago, “Blueberry Eyes” has garnered more than 130 million global streams and 30 million views on YouTube. It’s currently on Top 40 radio and trended on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 and Viral 50 charts. On the day of its release, MAX and Suga were featured on the cover of Apple Music’s New Music Daily playlist and the song went No.1 on iTunes in 66 countries as well as trended No. 1 worldwide on Twitter and No.1 on YouTube’s Video Hot List. “Blueberry Eyes” has also been featured on several of Spotify’s coveted playlists including Today’s Top Hits, Pop Rising and Mood Booster, to name but a few. 

The song follows the release of MAX’s “Blueberry Eyes” feat. SUGA of BTS [Steve Aoki Remix], which has more than 5 million global streams and 2 million views on YouTube. 

MAX has been labelled a “Young Pop God” by  GQ  and named a “top popstar to watch” by Billboard.  Since the breakout success of his debut album 'Hell’s Kitchen Angel', he has garnered more than 1.2 billion streams and toured the world multiple times over. He yielded an inescapable smash with his  3x platinum hit “Lights Down Low,” which generated over  half a billion streams globally, soared on the  Billboard  Hot 100, reached No. 7 at Top 40 radio and earned him an  iHeartRadio Music Awards nomination for “Best New Pop Artist.” Most recently, MAX released his sophomore album 'Colour Vision' featuring his current single “Blueberry Eyes” feat. SUGA of BTS.

Watch the latest remix of 'Blueberry Eyes':

Global teen favourites TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s latest EP minisode1 : Blue Hour achieved sales of over 470,000 copies last year. This set a new self-record and achieved No.1 on the iTunes Top Album Chart across 30 countries/regions around the world. Following the group’s 2nd EP The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY released last May, the album achieved 1st place on the Oricon weekly album ranking. They also achieved No.25 on the Billboard 200 chart,” a new self record, and placed 7th on the US Billboard year-end chart “Social 50 Artists”. Soon to celebrate their third anniversary as a group, TOMORROW X TOGETHER continues to grow at an unstoppable momentum.

Listen to the full length album: https://UMM.lnk.to/StillDreaming

The new Netflix series centers around three successful women who work on a radio show: Sa Pi-young (Park Joo-mi), Lee Si-eun (Jeon Soo-kyeong), and Boo Hye-ryung(Lee Ga-ryoung). These women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s have seemingly happy marriages until they begin to face many troubles that affect their marital bliss. 

In the trailer, we get a glimpse of the three couples and some difficulties they face. Pan Sa-hyeon (Sung Hoon) and Boo Hye-ryung are the youngest and most recently married couple of the bunch. However, the honeymoon period might be over as we see Sa-hyeon experiencing difficulty sleeping and talking about a conception dream. 

We also see some drama unfold at their radio show workplace as someone is accused of being a homewrecker and breaking up their family. Speaking of, Lee Si-eun is devastated when her husband Park Hae-ryun (Jeon No-min) suggests separation. It appears as though another lady in his life could be tied to this decision. Lastly, we see Sa Pi-young strongly warning, “Leave and never interfere with my family and marriage again.” 

It looks like there’ll be many scandalous stories to enjoy soon. Watch the trailer and don’t forget to check out Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) on January 23 at 10PM with new episodes every Saturday and Sunday, only on Netflix!