In the past decade and a half or so, the Korean entertainment new wave has seen a major crossover between music, film, and television. Korean Pop (K-Pop) has proliferated to become one of the most popular forms of music around the world, which has in turn been appropriated for some of the most popular scripted dramas to hit the tube.
Shows like The Musical and Dream High have given way to even more comprehensive and celebrated K-dramas that offer unique glimpses of the music industry. Some even star some of the biggest K-Pop icons in recent memory.
K-Pop – The Ultimate Audition – Stream On Tubi
For a Korean pop music-inspired tale of finding oneself and having the confidence to embrace who one truly is, K-Pop – The Ultimate Audition is a fun and entertaining place to start. Also known as K-POP Extreme Survival, the 2012 K-drama follows Ji Seung Yeon (Go Eun Ah), an aspiring musician who fails during her English music audition and returns to South Korea a disgrace. The remedy? Dressing up like a man and auditioning for the K-pop boy band, M2 Junior.
With excellent K-pop music featured on the show as Ji enters a fierce competition as a member of M2 Junior, the show celebrates the notion of expressing oneself through music while highlighting the pitfalls of maintaining a public identity.
So I Married My Anti-Fan – Stream On IQiyi
So I Married My Anti-Fan is an uproarious K-drama centered on Lee (real-life K-pop star Sooyoung Choi), a mega-popular K-pop star who returns to Korea and starts a contentious fling with a local reporter named Hoo (Choi Tae-Joon), who does not enjoy her music.
Light, breezy, and delightful as can be, the show challenges the notion of what brings couples together and ultimately tears them apart. With sweet and tender moments that explore the cost-benefit of favoring fame over love and vise versa, the show also features real-life K-pop stars like Choi and Song Ji-Eun.
Hit The Top – Stream On Netflix
Also known as The Best Hit, Hit the Top is a beloved K-drama that fuses fantasy with reality when two singers at wildly different stages in their career cross paths. On one hand, the story concerns Yoo (Yoon Shi-Yoon), a K-pop superstar who has a penchant for scandals. On the other, it focuses on Lee (Min-Jae Kim), an aspiring singer without a path toward success.
At its core, Hit the Top is an uplifting reminder to follow one’s dreams despite the monumental obstacles that appear impossible to overcome. The music is catchy and upbeat, and the friendship forged between Yoo and Lee is both funny and tender at once.
You Are Beautiful – Stream On Netflix
One of the best K-dramas on Netflix, You Are Beautiful is a prescient and highly amusing K-drama about embracing one’s inner-self despite the perception of outward appearances. Challenging notions of gender and sexuality, the story follows Go (Park Shin-Hye), an aspiring nun who must take her brother’s place as a budding K-pop idol for the band A.N.Jell.
With dramatic emotional moments balanced by engrossing doses of levity, You Are Beautiful has been praised for having some of the best K-pop music in recent k-drama memory. The show also has cool cameos from such real-life K-pop stars as Lee Jooyeon and Yoo So-Young, members of the beloved After School.
Top Management
Released in the fall of 2018, Top Management follows Eun-sung (Eun-Su Seo), a former K-pop idol in training who suddenly develops magical powers to see the future. As such, she manages the boy band S.O.U.L., caught in the midst of a scandal, and uses her prophetic gifts to mount their big comeback.
Of course, unforeseen consequences end up undermining Eun-sung’s ability to truly know what’s best for S.O.U.L., underscoring the notion that the best-laid plans often backfire gloriously. With appearances of Chungha and other real K-pop stars, the show is insightful and entertaining at once.
Shut Up Flower Boy Band
With 16 episodes released in 2012, Shut Up Flower Boy Band has reached cult-favorite status among K-pop and drama fans. The show follows the K-pop boy band Eye Candy, a high school rock band who have their world upended upon transferring to an elite new school and face stiff musical competition.
Part fish out of water story, part coming of age tale, and part musical celebration of K-pop infused with gritty punk rock, the show honors the process of finding one’s musical expression while underscoring the importance of friendship above material success.
Imitation – Stream On IQiyi
Adapted from the popular webtoon of the same name, Imitation is a brand new K-drama that has been garnering buzz since premiering in May. Featuring tons of real-life K-pop stars and band members, the show concerns Lee Ma (Ji-So Jung), a former idol who gets a shot at redemption by imitating another famous singer.
With her true identity hidden, Lee Ma strikes up a mysterious romance with Ryok (Lee Jun-Young), the hottest member of the popular boy band SHAX, forcing her to balance professional success with personal romance. K-pop fans will be stunned by the number of real-life stars who appear, from Ateez to SF9 and many more.
Part-Time Idol – Stream On Netflix
Released in 2017, Part-Time Idol is a 10-part miniseries that offers a fascinating look at the star-making process and the manufacturing of talent for widespread entertainment purposes. The plot centers on Jung (Min Kyo), a once-prominent producer desperate to make a comeback years after retiring.
To do so, Jung recruits low-level idol trainees and whips them into shape to become ultra-popular K-pop band members. In addition to the intriguing process of what it takes to make and maintain a star, the show underscores teamwork, mentorship, and realizing one’s dreams against tall odds.
The Liar And His Lover – Stream On Netflix
Starring real-life K-pop superstars Lee Hyun Woo (The Technicians) and Joy (Red Velvet), The Liar and His Lover is an enchanting adaptation of the hit Japanese manga She Loves Lies Too Much. Celebrating love at first sound, the story follows a composer with a concealed identity who hears a woman’s beautiful singing voice and falls head over heels.
Hailed for its happy vibes and uplifting tone, excellent music, and rich characterizations, the show offers trenchant glimpses into the fickle nature of the music industry in both funny and eye-opening ways.
Dream High – Stream On Netflix
A fun K-drama set in Kirin Art High School, Dream High is one of the most well-received fusions of K-pop and K-drama to be produced in the last decade. While the story follows six students striving to become professional musicians in Korea, the real drama concerns Go Hye (Bae Suzy of Miss-A fame), a classical musician who can only join the art school if she gets two others to enroll as well. Whether Go Gye sells her soul to become a famous pop star or maintain her integrity becomes the main dramatic conflict.
In a tonal combination of Fame and Glee studded with high-caliber Korean pop music, Dream High was so successful and critically praised that a sequel, Dream High 2, was produced.
