by Hilary Leung

A little late but you still have some time! Grab your popcorn, a blanket, and while you’re at it, a box of tissues, and park yourself on that couch to watch some K-dramas because Nov. 29 is International K-Drama day.- at least it is on Rakutan Viki!

With their heart-thumping romances, compelling storylines, and heart-pounding action scenes, K-dramas have quickly risen in popularity and have made enormous numbers on various viewing platforms including Rakuten Viki and Netflix. It’s no wonder, then, that there is now officially a date to celebrate these television shows from South Korea.

What better way to celebrate International K-Drama Day than to spend all day watching all of your favorite series? Rakuten Viki, the largest streaming platform Asian content, will host the first-ever worldwide celebration of K-Dramas and they have made four popular K-dramas available to stream for free until Nov. 30, including: 

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
Original airing date: December 2016 – January 2017
Episodes: 16 with 3 special episodes
Starring: Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook, Yoo In-na

 

Betrayed by the king he faithfully served, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), a decorated military general from the Goryeo Dynasty, is forced to watch his family die before being transformed into a goblin by the higher powers. Cursed with the lonely burden of immortality, Kim Shin dedicates the rest of his long life to saving people with his supernatural abilites. Still, he wanders through his days searching for the prophesied Goblin bride, who is the only one able to pull out the sword piercing his body, which will finally set his soul free to rest in peace in the afterlife. 

 

19 years ago, Kim Shin saved a woman from a life-threatening accident. From then on, the woman’s daughter Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) gained the ability to communicate with beings from the other side. Despite this, she grows up well and remainsn an optimistic high schooler who works a part0time job at a chicken restaurant. The restaurant’s owner, Sunny (Yoo In Na), findsherself falling in love with a grim reaper (Lee Dong Wook), who is also the goblin’s roommate. 

 

Unknowingly, the lives of these four individuals intertwine to reveal a fated story more complex than any character could have imagined. Will Kim Shin’s bride finally release him from his eternal misery?

What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim
Original airing date: June – July 2018
Episodes: 16
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Park Min young, Lee Tae Hwan

Lee Young Joon (Park Seo Joon) might be the vice-president of his family’s massively successful company, but that doesn’t mean he has what it takes to do a good job. Accompanied by his incredibly talented secretary, Kim Mi So (Park Min Young) for nine years, she has made him look like the shining star that Young Joon believes he is.

 But after Mi So suddenly decides to quit, her arrogant boss comes to realize that he can’t live without her. Having unknowingly shared a traumatic childhood experience, the pair come to understand that maybe they do belong together after all.

 With jealousy forming over Young Joon’s older brother, Lee Sung Yeon (Lee Tae Hwan), and his growing relationship with Kim Mi So, the boastful executive decides he has to win back his secretary no matter what.

 

Twinkling Watermelon
Original airing date: September – November 2023
Episodes: 16
Starring: Ryeoun, Choi Hyun Wook, Seol In Ah, Shin Eun Soo

In 2023, Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) is a high schooler with a passion for music. During the day, he is a studious model pupil…but at night, he rocks out as a guitarist in a band. But when he stumbles across a strange yet alluring music store, he goes hurtling back in time to 1995. Here, he comes face to face with his father Ha Yi Chan (Choi Hyun Wook) – as a high schooler! Yi Chan takes Eun Gyeol for a lunatic when the latter calls him “dad.” Worse still, it looks like Yi Chan has a crush on an icy cellist named Se Kyeong (Seol In Ah)– not his future mother Cheong Ah (Shin Eun Soo)! In a bid to put things “right,” Eun Gyeol joins a band fronted by his future father. But will this be enough to help Eun Gyeol bring his future parents together…and will he ever get back to the 2020s?

 

The Deal
Original airing date: October 2023
Episodes: 8
Starring: Yoo Seung Ho, Kim Dong Hwi, Yoo Su Bin, Lee Joo Young

When former high school friends Lee Jun Seong (Yoo Seung Ho) and Song Jae Hyo (Kim Dong Hwi) meet their former classmate Park Min Woo (Yoo Su Bin) for drinks one night, the booze flows and flows until the latter passes out drunk. Jun Seong and Jae Hyo are both mired in financial difficulties. The former has had to turn his back on a promising sports career, and is now being swallowed up by a mountain of debt. Jae Hyo, meanwhile, is struggling to make ends meet as he tries to make his way through medical school.

Min Woo, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family and has no financial worries. As he slumps over the table in his drunken stupor, his former classmates hatch a plan. They decide to fake a kidnapping in a bid to raise the money they both need. But things quickly take an unexpected turn – and little do they know, a witness has seen key events that could spring their rouse…and land them all in very hot water!

 

Other Popular K-Dramas to Stream

While these four K-dramas are the only ones that are free to stream, Rakuten Viki has made it a little affordable to watch the other K-dramas they have to offer. For one day only, fans can enjoy a fabulous 29% discount off of all Viki Pass subscriptions. This deal ends on Nov. 29 at 11:59 PM PST. With this discount, fans can also watch their other favorite dramas, including:

 

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Original airing date: February – April 2017

Episodes: 16 with 1 special episode

Starring: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik, Ji Soo

 

Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young) is no ordinary woman. She is the latest in a long line of women who possess monumental strength. However, Bong Soon’s incredible powers can only be used for good. If she happens to use her abilities for selfish reasons or to harm others, she’ll end up like her mother, Hwang Jin Yi (Shim Hye Jin), who lost her powers forever.

 

Although Do Bong Soon uses her bloodline’s remarkable force for good, her one true desire is to create a video game where she appears as the main character. While she struggles to find employment as a developer, Bong Soon’s abilities help her secure a position as the bodyguard for Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the chaebol heir and the CEO of the gaming company, Ainsoft.

 

As Bong Soon helps her new boss track down someone making dangerous threats against him, she also strives to capture attention from her childhood friend and rookie police detective Guk Doo (Ji Soo), who’s searching for an insidious kidnapper. Between helping to solve both cases, Bong Soon finds great romance and humor along the way.

A Good Day to be a Dog

Original airing date: Currently airing

Episodes: 8 as of Nov. 29, 2023

Starring: Cha Eun Woo, Park Gyu Young, Lee Hyun Woo

 

High school Korean literature teacher Han Hae Na (Park Gyu Young) suffers from an extremely unusual curse: If she kisses a man, she is doomed to turn into a dog every night, although she returns to human form in the morning. There is only one way to break the curse – and that involves receiving a kiss from the same man who kissed her…while in dog form!

She has a crush on Lee Bo Kyum (Lee Hyun Woo), a colleague who teaches history at the same school. She is smitten with him, even claiming that he is the sole reason she wants to keep coming to work every morning. But she forgets herself one night, and drunkenly kisses him – only to discover that it wasn’t Lee Bo Kyum after all…but actually Jin Seo Won (Cha Eun Woo), another male colleague. Unfortunately, although Jin Seo Won is extremely handsome, he is also terrified of dogs due to a traumatic event in his past. He also has a natural aversion to her. Now Han Hae Na must find a way to win his heart – and get him to kiss her – or spend the rest of her life as a pooch!

 

The Matchmakers

Original airing date: Currently airing

Episodes: 9 as of Nov. 29, 2023

Starring: Rowoon, Cho Yi Hyun

 

In the Joseon era (1392-1910), the young widow Jung Soon Deok (Cho Yi Hyun) has lived an eventful life. She married into a powerful family, but has since lost her husband. She lives a double life, going under an alias when she acts as a matchmaker, pairing up eligible bachelors with suitable brides. Shim Jung Woo (Rowoon), meanwhile, is the King’s unhappy son-in-law. His chagrin derives from the fact that his bride, the princess, died just moments after he tied the knot with her.

 

But while Shim Jung Woo is a very grumpy individual, he is also one of the smartest men in the land – and became the youngest person ever to pass the Civil Service Exam. This unlikely duo must team up to find husbands for a handful of important Joseon women whose age is starting to creep up. Their outlooks on life are very different, but they have no choice but to work together. Could playing Cupid for others put them back on the path to love?

 

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Original airing date: Currently airing

Episodes: 10 as of Nov. 29, 2023

Starring: Sung  Hoon, Jung Yoo Min

 

As the eldest daughter of a wealthy family, Han Yi Joo (Jung Yoo Min) should have grown up wanting for nothing. Unfortunately for Yi Joo, that simply wasn’t the case. Raised with the knowledge that she was never loved by either her parents or her younger sister, Han Yoo Ra (Jin Ji Hee), Yi Joo spent her formative years isolated from her family.

Now an adult, Yi Joo finds joy in her work as a painter, but in all other aspects, her life is much the same as it’s always been. Married to a man who does not love her, Yi Joo has simply moved from one house without love into another. Even so, she is devastated when she learns that her husband is desperately in love with her younger sister. Willing to give just about anything to change her fate, Yi Joo might have taken action but a tragic accident cuts all her hopes for a better future short. Or does it?

Waking from that fatal accident, Yi Joo finds herself transported back in time. Seeing this strange occurrence as a chance to change her fate and take revenge on her family, Yi Joo immediately gets to work. Teaming up with Seo Do Guk (Sung Hoon), the heir to a vast fortune, will Yi Joo find a way to make for herself the life she’s always wanted?

 

My Dearest

Original airing date: August – November 2023

Episodes: 21

Starring: Namgoong Min, Ahn Eun Jin, LeeChung Ah, Lee Hak Joo, Lee Da In, Kim Yoon Woo

 

Jang Hyun is living without purpose or desire. He’s a cold-hearted man who loves no one until he gets introduced to love after meeting Gil Chae. She is charming and admired by all, but her first love, Yeon Jun, is already engaged to her best friend, Eun Ae. Yeon Jun, a Sungkyunkwan student, struggles with his feelings for Gil Chae but cannot break off his engagement due to tradition. Eun Ae does not doubt nor hate the two. As Jang Hyun becomes entangled in this unusual love triangle, Gil Chae, who has only loved Yeon Jun, is confused about her own feelings. The relationship between these four gets put into an even bigger twist at the breakout of war. Will they survive the challenges of war and find their love amidst the chaos?

 

Rakuten Viki’s Special Giveaways and Events

 

Since more and more K-dramas are adapted from existing webtoons, fans can also read the original works through an in-app reading event hosted on WEBTOON. US-based fans can unlock one month of Viki Pass Plus if they read six episodes of either A Good Day to be a Dog (Lee Hey), Perfect Marriage Revenge (Yibambe, Jerryball), True Beauty (Yaongyi), Sweet Home (Carnby Kim, Youngchan Hwang), The Girl Downstairs (Doona!) (MIN SONGA), or Vigilante (CRG, kim kyusam). This deal is available only until supplies last and ends on Dec. 3.

 

For fans who are practically K-drama veterans and probably have picked up a fair amount of Korean through their binge-watching, they can test out their knowledge by participating in a quiz on Duolingo. Fans will have a chance to win one-month subscriptions for Super Duolingo or Viki.

 

And, of course, the drink of choice to have when you watch K-dramas is boba. Fans in the Los Angeles area can head to their nearest Bopomofo Cafe to try the limited-edition Viki Blue Boba lychee-flavored tea. To make things extra sweet, fans will also receive a 1 month Viki Pass Plus code while supplies last.

 

In addition, Rakuten Viki is also hosting a special giveaway where one grand prize fan will have the chance to travel to South Korea for an unforgettable “all-inclusive K-drama-themed tour.” The lucky fan will visit iconic places as shown in popular K-dramas such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin, Boys Over Flowers, Hotel del Luna, Twinkling Luna, and more. Not only that, the fan will also win one annual Viki Pass Standard subscription, one annual Super Duolingo subscription, and some Viki merchandise. 125 other fans will have the chance to enter to win one of 50 Viki Pass subscriptions, 10 giant boba plushes, 5 Roku streaming devices, 10 treat boxes from Weee!, and 50 glass skin refining serums from Peach & Lily. The giveaway ends on Dec. 3.

 

Tell us what K-dramas you’ll be watching today in the comments below!