Korean Dramas That Are Surprisingly Educational

Both seasons of Hospital Playlist were surprisingly educative on medical issues and how fiendishly complicated surgery is. Every episode had patient cases and I got to learn a ton about various illnesses, including how to perform CPR/emergency aid, what to look out for symptoms of different diseases etc.  - u/surreal_strawberry 

multiple seasons

Reply 1988 is set during the 1988 Seoul Olympics which was a hugely important time in Korean history. The country had just overthrown their military dictatorship in 1987, there were massive student protests taking place, people were migrating from rural areas to cities by the millions. I ended up reading about Korean history because of this drama and it was hugely eye opening. For example, I learned that eating meat was not a daily occurrence as recently as the 1980s and that being able to buy and eat meat is a sign of the country's economic miracle which is why you see so many Kdramas with scenes where people are buying each other meat as a sign of regard and respect.  - u/Borinquena  

Move to Heaven is about people who clean death scenes (known as trauma cleaners) and each episode is based on a real life tragedy. I learned about elder poverty, the treatment of Korean adoptees and the Sampoong Department Store collapse, among other things. - u/Borinquena  

Another Miss Oh has a ML who works as a foley artist so it was interesting to see the BTS of how sound effects are created for dramas and films.  - u/Borinquena  

Just Between Lovers - Lee Gang-Doo & Ha Moon-Soo are survivors of a mall collapse and it's a story of how fate brings them together after so many years as they heal each other's wounds. This drama was based on the Sampoong Department Store collapse and was surprisingly educational to me as I went and read more on it. It's a very heart touching drama, the romance was great, and Lee Jun-Ho stole the show with his mind blowing performance and well written character.  - u/Fatooz

Kill Me, Heal Me - Cha Do-Hyun has multiple personality disorder and a chance meeting with Oh Ri-Jin who is a first year psychiatric resident ends becoming life changing for him and her. The whole multiple personality disorder thing was intriguing and informative in the drama which made me read into it more as I was watching this drama. Ji Sung is phenomenal in his role as he plays different personalities/characters.  - u/Fatooz

The Red Sleeve - Based on the true story of King Jeongjo (Yi San) and Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong (Sung Deok-Im), this is a drama that showcases the hardships and barriers in their love story. I was unaware that this drama was based on a true story and so went and did some reading on it. It was surprisingly informative as I went onto read more on King Jeongjo, his achievements and how he was one of the loved kings. Lee Jun-Ho and Lee Se-Young add a very different layer to their characters and touches your heart with their performances.  - u/Fatooz

Twenty-Five Twenty-One - Na Hee-Do is a high school student who wants to become a popular fencer and her idol is Ko Yu-Rim. She ends up meeting Baek Yi-Jin through a chance encounter and he becomes a person who is rooting for her no matter what. Baek Yi-Jin's story has to do something with the IMF crisis in South Korea which was an important event for the country as many people lost their money. Due to this drama I did some reading for this event and it was quite informative.  - u/Fatooz

Youth of May - Hwang Hee-Tae is a brilliant medical student who has not yet graduated because of a past trauma, Myeong-Hee is a nurse working hard to survive for the day. Both meet under unfavorable situations and end up falling for each other. This drama is based on the Gwangju uprising and was informative as I did more reading on this event. It's a short and sweet drama.  - u/Fatooz