Top 5 Entertainment Industry Romances

Top 5 

Entertainment Industry Romances

One of K-Drama’s favourite scenarios has to be the entertainment industry. Most often set as a rom-com, dramas that take place in the entertainment industry are usually full of sharp wit and tongue-in-cheek humour. As the writers themselves are pretty deeply ingrained in the entertainment world, these dramas can be pretty rich in detail, and give us outsiders a bit of a peek into the world of glitz and glamour and scandals. Of course, they can also be completely unlike reality, but that’s almost the point- anything could be going on behind the scenes.

5: Dream High

‘Dream High’ is more like Entertainment High School rather than straight up Entertainment Industry, but it’s along a similar vein. Rather than focusing on characters that have already made it big in the entertainment world, this drama follows the lives of a bunch of young kids working to get there- much like an origins story. It depicts the cut-throat world of those trying to become stars, and just how many hoops you have to jump through until you can start choosing your own hoops. Each of the kids has a different struggle, and each story is filled with heart and laced with humour. The cast are all brilliant, most of them being successful idols themselves, and deliver endearing characters. The romance is admittedly rather light, but it's there in a sweet, high school, first-love kind of way. The love-triangle is super convincing, and it’s hard to pick which guy will win the girl’s heart. In the meantime, IU and Wooyoung have an adorable secondary love-line that will keep you satisfied until the main love-line kicks in.

4: My Love from the Stars

There’s so much else going on in this drama that it can often be easy to overlook that one half of our killer romance is actually a super famous top actress. While creepy murderers and alien shenanigans are definitely more in-your-face than the entertainment industry, our heroine being a top actress is actually what drives much of the plot. Our heroine is an actress that has fallen out of favour due to scandals and has to claw her way back to the top- of course she also has the help of her mystical alien Do Manager. The romance is absolutely on fire, and having one of the leads as a famous actress gives the romance the usual hiccups- can’t be seen being romantic in public, hero gets to swoop in and save the day when anti-fans try and spoil everything etcetera, etcetera. 

3: The Producers

When you think ‘entertainment industry’ you usually go straight to actor and idols, but ‘Producers’ takes a nice little look in on those that work behind the scenes and the different stories they have to tell. The drama is shot in a deeply funny mocumentary style, and is enhanced with tasteful cameos of famous actors and singers portraying themselves. Again, this is one of the dramas with better crossed love-lines as it’s never clear who’s going to end up with who. Our main characters are mostly PDs, and show us what kind of work goes in behind the scenes of our favourite music and variety shows. The drama has the typical entertainment hierarchy with the entertainment companies on top, PDs and behind the scenes workers down the bottom, and the ever-changing fanbase holding a hell of a lot of power. 

2: You’re Beautiful

Everything about this drama is entertainment industry. The main characters are a bunch of boys (and one cross-dressing girl) that are part of a hit boy-band. Of course, scandals are the big issue in this drama with most of the tension coming from the fear of the members being found out (both because one's cross-dressing and also because they are maybe sort of dating each other). Our hero is absolutely delightful as a completely stuck-up star, and it’s endlessly fun to see his softer side start to show once he started to actually feel things. The soundtrack is particularly good, and the whole show is totally caught up in the magic and mayhem of Korea’s entertainment world.

1: The Greatest Love

Of all the K-Dramas I’ve seen, ‘Greatest Love’ probably explores the entertainment industry in the most depth. It goes a step further than a drama that simply shows the hierarchy, and shows the hierarchy within the hierarchy. Not all actors are the same level, and ‘Greatest Love’ depicts this by having each half of the romance come from completely different levels. Our hero is an A-Grade actor at the peak of his career and our heroine is a has-been idol who hasn’t done anything decent in years. While work flows naturally to the hero, the heroine has to fight hard for every appearance and every shred of work. The drama focuses heavily on the opinion of the public and how it can either make or break someone’s career, regardless of what the truth behind the scandal actually is. The romance is extremely addictive, and hits most of the entertainment-industry-romance-complication bumps in a fresh, funny, and heart-tugging way.

What are your favourite Entertainment Industry romances?

Top 5 K-Dramas to Start With

Top 5 

K-Dramas to Start With

K-Dramas sure do have a lot of variety, and can be a messy area to navigate for new viewers. There’s so many to choose from- and popularity doesn’t always necessarily equal quality. Some K-Dramas also require a basic knowledge of Korean culture to understand the relationships and the plots- so some shows that can be absolutely fantastic can become confusing and unenjoyable if you watch them right off the bat. But on the other hand, there are also dramas that are pretty universal and easy to enjoy and understand regardless of your knowledge on Korean culture and customs- and are a great way to slowly introduce you to the world of K-Drama, and expand your understanding so you can appreciate a larger verity of the shows that K-Drama has to offer. Surely one of the saddest things is people being turned off something because they didn’t get introduced correctly. I mean, while historical dramas can be interesting and all, I definitely wouldn’t recommend any until you have some lighter, easier to follow K-Dramas under your belt first. So, from 5 to 1, here are my picks on the best dramas to get you (or your friends and family) hopelessly hooked. 

5: Reply 1997

The ‘Reply’ franchise has made a name for itself for creating beautiful, brilliant dramas that every man and his dog can relate to. ‘Reply 1997’ has shorter episodes than most K-Dramas, and is my personal favourite of the ‘Reply’ series. While there are a lot of cameos and hidden jokes that you’ll miss if you’re not Korean or an avid viewer of Korean dramas, there’s so much humour and heart in the show that is universally relatable. Pretty much any person who has been a teenager can understand our characters, as the story mostly takes place in their teenage years- a time of soaring highs and unbelievable angst no matter what country you live in. The tale is really about growing up and relationships with friends and family, and is told with a tone of wistful nostalgia. The humour is hilarious, the relationships endearing, and the characters are just so, so loveable.

4: You’re Beautiful

Cross-dressing is a pretty popular premise in K-Dramas, so much so that two of them have made it on this list. ‘You’re Beautiful’ is a drama that you’ll frequently find on favourite lists. It’s cute and fun, and while it’s probably the most juvenile of the shows on this list, sometimes you just want to watch something that’s deeply entertaining without requiring too much brain power. It’s an enjoyable little look in at Korea’s music industry, and despite it’s lack of deadly serious, life-or-death plot it remains entertaining through the continually developing characters and relationships. It’s a fun little piece that will introduce you to a lot of ideas that are common among many K-Dramas- Candy heroines, almost too nice to exist second male leads, boybands. 

3: City Hunter

A lot of K-Dramas tend to focus quite a lot on the romance, and can be viewed as a bit ‘girly’. While I argue that anyone can enjoy a good romance regardless of gender, ‘City Hunter’ is probably the best drama to snag the interests of boys. Westerners in particular are used to pretty high budget TV shows and Hollywood movies, and ‘City Hunter’ has a bit of a ‘Batman’ vibe about it, with its vigilante hero and despicable villains. It’s action packed with a slight mystery element to it, and even has a slight dose of romance on the side. The drama also does a great job at introducing a concept that rears its head in many K-Dramas- corrupt politicians. The drama goes into the corruption that exists there, but focuses on the journey of our titular hero. There’s never a dull moment, and the drama is just plain awesome.

2: Coffee Prince

There is a very good reason the this drama has remained on the top of peoples’ favourite lists for so long. Despite being a 2007 release, the drama doesn’t feel dated at all. It’s deeply hilarious, but also hits a few good emotional notes along the way. I would have to say that this is one of the rom-com K-Dramas that is more boy-friendly, as our heroine is a giant tom-boy and is actually confused as a boy for most of the series. It’s hard to really put your finger on the magic of ‘Coffee Prince’, but it’s got something in it that everyone can enjoy. Again, it’s a drama that doesn’t focus too heavily on Korean culture, but it does give you a taste. It’s a good drama to start wrapping your head around some of the age-related names that Koreans call each other that don’t exist in some cultures, like ‘hyung’ or ‘dongsaeng’. It also features one of the kings of Korean acting- Gong Yoo.

1: My Love from the Stars

This is the drama that hooked me into K-Drama- and I’m sure a whole bunch of other people were snagged by this one too. It really is a hit sensation- with Hollywood even wanting to remake it into an American TV show. It’s pretty, it’s fabulous, it’s pure gold. Celebrity status is something that everyone understands, but ‘My Love’ goes a little bit further in introducing it’s viewers into specifically Korean celebrities and how scandals work. Being a fantasy drama, there’s a lot of information presented that’s new to even Korean viewers, as one of our main leads isn’t even from Earth- so everything is spelled out pretty clearly. It’s a great drama to start on, as it also has some small historical segments in there as well- without being a dry, historical drama. It’s a wonderful, easy look-in on the beauty of the Joseon era that is easily understandable. It’s funny, witty and a phenomenal story with an array of brilliant characters and actors.

What were the K-Dramas that got you hooked?