MyDramaList MDLv6.6
Home→ General Asia→ Recommendation Forum→

Shows like W and While You Were Sleeping...?

Zoey
 anushkaxsarkar:

Descendants of the sun 

Chicago typewriter

Oh my ghostess

Masters sun 

Witch’s court 

Suspicious partner 

Let’s fight ghost 

Thank you! Witch's Court and Let's Fight Ghost both look really good (!) - so I just added them to the list. And the rest are also frequently recommended, so thank you ^__^

Quote
Zoey
 anushkaxsarkar:

Goblin

Bride of the water god (I didn’t really like it but lots of people do) 

Goblin is my next drama to watch, definitely (:
Added Bride of the Water God, too.
Thanks for all the recommendations - they're all great and I can't wait to try them out :D 

Quote
sserenity
 Zoey:

Hi everyone (:

I'm new here - both on the website and with watching Korean dramas.
I recently got into the Kdrama world and I'm *obsessed*.

Both W and While You Were Sleeping left such strong impressions on me that I can't seem to enjoy other dramas now <_<
So, in a desperate plea, I would love if you could recommend me shows like W and While You Were Sleeping.
When I say similar, I especially mean in terms of:

1) Romance - that doesn't feel too slow but also isn't insta-love. The kind of romance where is chemistry, comedy, and beautiful heartwarming moments (:
2) Plot - that doesn't feel dragged-out and is actually fast-paced.
3) Fantasy and/or action aspect. 

Those two shows made me cry, made me laugh, and made me fall in love with them.
I'm looking for shows that would make me feel that, too (:

Quote
sserenity

Hey, these are a few dramas that i recommend you give a try :)

1) Goblin

2) Descendants of the sun

3) Legend of the blue sea 

4)Pinnochio 

5) Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Quote
JoanneSmith

1. Oh My Venus

Descendants Under the Sun  < nevermind, i missed that u didn't like this

2.  Legends of the Blue Sea

These are good to start with immediately IMO!

edited Quote
usablefiber
 Zoey:

You don't like Descendants of the Sun?
I actually tried it out and just... couldn't really get into it '^^ Dropped it at episode 3.
It's not that it was bad or anything, but nothing really captured me about it - romance, plot, pace related. It just ended up not being my thing.
But thank you for taking the time to recommend me! ^__^ 

I agree. It just didn't quite pop for me. I didn't fall in love with the lead couple like so many others did, and so much of the war plot stuff felt a bit cheesy to me. 

Quote
usablefiber

OP, have you tried "Legend of the Blue Sea"? I think you might really like that one too. It's worth a try. 

Also, make sure not to miss "Goblin" and "My Love from the star", 

edited Quote
AH

I definitely agree with: 

  • Healer
  • I Hear Your Voice
  • Live Up to Your Name and
  • Descendants of the Sun

Also agree with:

  • Pinocchio, although it spends a bit more time focusing on non-romantic aspects of the plot, which is fine if that also holds your interest
  • Goblin, although I personally found the age difference made it hard to enjoy the romance, lot's of people love it, and I still found that it had other enjoyable elements (great music / aesthetics / bromance / second couple)
  • Another Miss Oh, although there is a point in the middle where the angst drags a bit - you can skip through it if it's too slow
  • Let's Fight Ghost, although it's a bit lighter than most of the other dramas listed in this thread
  • My Love from the Stars, although it's sci-fi rather than fantasy, but that's knit-picking; the dynamic (human and ancient non-human) is somewhat similar to Goblin
  • Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, although the romance doesn't involve much comedy / many light, heartwarming moments; it's pretty heavy on the angst

I'll add:

  • Hello Monster - criminal profilers trying to catch serial killers with a side portion of romance (a bit like Pinocchio, the romance is not always front-and-center)
  • The K2 - great action scenes, gorgeous cast, some cute moments (if you're not fond of quiet / shy FLs this might not be for you, it was a detractor for me)
  • Kill Me, Heal Me - ML has multiple personalities, one is more action-prone than the others
  • Queen In Hyun's Man - time travel romance
  • Splash Splash LOVE - time travel, very short and light, great for getting out of a slump
  • Bromance - a gender bender with some action and loads of cute heartwarming moments (they go through almost every trope you can imagine, and it's glorious - a bit like a lighter version of W but a gender bender instead of sci-fi / fantasy, and more time spent focusing on the cute moments and less on the villains) 

Warning about Princess Agents: I enjoyed parts of it and it meets your criteria, but be aware it ends with a cruel cliffhanger and they most likely will not be making a second season. 

Quote
usablefiber

Also wanted to add. 


Zoey, I agree with you about preferring more interesting/ higher concept dramas. One of the problems is the sheer volume of dramas being released in recent years t feels like 50 or so K-dramas come out each year... Especially the rom com's. So many of them feel like they are just... decent, but not substantial enough to hold me for 16-20 hours worth of episodes. So often I find myself liking a cute cast or a cute otp, but the show will just crawl along in the middle and I tune out. 

I recommend searching the shows list with the genres tags with "fantasy",  "supernatural", "horror", or "historical",  Scroll through the results and read some of the reviews to see if something strikes your interest. . These types of shows often have more interesting stories to keep your attention for a full 20 episodes. 

Quote
Zoey
 precious adeoba:

Hey, these are a few dramas that i recommend you give a try :)

1) Goblin

2) Descendants of the sun

3) Legend of the blue sea 

4)Pinnochio 

5) Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Hi, thank you for the recommendations ^__^
All of those are on my 'to watch' list - since everyone recommends them so frequently (: 

Quote
Zoey
 joannesmith:

1. Oh My Venus

Descendants Under the Sun  < nevermind, i missed that u didn't like this

2.  Legends of the Blue Sea

These are good to start with immediately IMO!

Just added Oh My Venus to the list - thank you! (:
And yes, sorry, but I didn't really like Descendants Under the Sun I'm afraid '^^ 

Quote
Zoey
 usablefiber:

I agree. It just didn't quite pop for me. I didn't fall in love with the lead couple like so many others did, and so much of the war plot stuff felt a bit cheesy to me. 

I felt the same!
I just... did not connect to it. Even though the war plot wasn't my thing, I thought that I could at least love the main couple, but... they just didn't click with me. I didn't feel it from them :/

Quote
Zoey
 usablefiber:

OP, have you tried "Legend of the Blue Sea"? I think you might really like that one too. It's worth a try. 

Also, make sure not to miss "Goblin" and "My Love from the star", 

Goblin is probably my next show to watch (:
My Love From the Star also looks awesome - it's on my list.
And I just added Legend of the Blue sea, too. A lot of people seem to recommend it so I'm looking forward to it ^^
Thanks!

Quote
Zoey
 AH:
I'll add:

Hello Monster - criminal profilers trying to catch serial killers with a side portion of romance (a bit like Pinocchio, the romance is not always front-and-center)
The K2 - great action scenes, gorgeous cast, some cute moments (if you're not fond of quiet / shy FLs this might not be for you, it was a detractor for me)
Kill Me, Heal Me - ML has multiple personalities, one is more action-prone than the others
Queen In Hyun's Man - time travel romance
Splash Splash LOVE - time travel, very short and light, great for getting out of a slump
Bromance - a gender bender with some action and loads of cute heartwarming moments (they go through almost every trope you can imagine, and it's glorious - a bit like a lighter version of W but a gender bender instead of sci-fi / fantasy, and more time spent focusing on the cute moments and less on the villains)
Warning about Princess Agents: I enjoyed parts of it and it meets your criteria, but be aware it ends with a cruel cliffhanger and they most likely will not be making a second season. 

Oh WOW, thank you so much!
This is so very informative - I love it :D
Really, thank you! And for explaining a bit about each drama, too ^__^
Oh, and thank you for warning me about Princess Agents : I do not do well with tragedy - and after what you said I checked it out and was sad to hear it ended that way... I wouldn't be able to watch it. So thanks for warning me!

Moon Lovers also doesn't seem to be much for me - so thank you for telling me about it (:

I just added all the shows you mentioned (!). Bromance, The K2, Hello monster... all of those seem so great!
So, again, thank you so much! I always love having lots and lots of shows to watch ^__^ <3

Quote
Zoey
 usablefiber:

Also wanted to add. 


Zoey, I agree with you about preferring more interesting/ higher concept dramas. One of the problems is the sheer volume of dramas being released in recent years t feels like 50 or so K-dramas come out each year... Especially the rom com's. So many of them feel like they are just... decent, but not substantial enough to hold me for 16-20 hours worth of episodes. So often I find myself liking a cute cast or a cute otp, but the show will just crawl along in the middle and I tune out. 

I recommend searching the shows list with the genres tags with "fantasy",  "supernatural", "horror", or "historical",  Scroll through the results and read some of the reviews to see if something strikes your interest. . These types of shows often have more interesting stories to keep your attention for a full 20 episodes. 

I totally agree.
Luckily, I randomly started with the show W when I first started watching Korean dramas, and quickly moved on to While You Were Sleeping.
I had a slump in the middle because I attempted to watch a few rom-com that just did not hold my interest at all.
So then I reached the conclusion: the most interesting dramas (or the most interesting to me, at least) seem to be those who have a fantasy/action/supernatural twist to them.
They're usually more fast-paced, interesting, intense, and the romance is also usually good in them - because the plot doesn't tend to give them time to be annoying, evasive, and secretive. I don't say *always* but it does seem to be mostly the case from what I've seen.
So yes, I totally agree with what you wrote (:
And thank you - from now on I'm definitely on the look-out for fantasy/supernatural/action dramas with romance ;) 

Quote

Recent Discussions

Hottest Discussions