We all have days when we feel the need to watch dramas that will motivate us. I’ve seen a lot of dramas and I never thought that there are numerous gems out there trying to help me cope with the real-life challenges I am facing. Isn’t it fascinating how dramas actually become medicine at some point in your life?

If you are currently experiencing setbacks or you just want to give a huge favor of motivating yourself, here are some of my most suggested Kdramas to watch that helped me before and hoping to cheer you up too:

For students:

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo might be a comedy-student drama but it showcased how people struggle to survive in their university years. The main characters Kim Bok Joo and Jung Joon Hyung are trying to find out how they can manage to rise in their careers while still enjoying the university life they deserve. 

It also showcased how the pressure given by society affects the mindset of athletes and normal people who are working hard on their own respective careers. This is the best drama to watch if you are currently struggling in making career decisions and having trouble dealing with school life.

Twenty Five Twenty One

I haven’t seen characters who turned tragedy into comedy until I met the Na Hee Do. Twenty Five Twenty One is set during the 1998 IMF crisis wherein the dreams of the characters are mostly affected by the crisis. Na Hee Do’s dream crashed after her fencing team got disbanded due to a lack of funds.

At the same time, she meets Baek Yi Jin, a rich young man who lost his dreams of working at NASA when his luxurious life was swiped away when his family went bankrupt. He needed to support himself while doing two part-time jobs. As they often meet around their neighborhood, they decided to pursue happiness together.

Our Beloved Summer

A school documentary leads Kook Yeon Su and Choi Ung from being mortal enemies to each others’ first love. After years of dating, they broke up and pursued their own careers. Fate still played on both of them that they had to meet for work.

Once again, they both decided to do another documentary together. This time, it showcases their lives being Choi Ung as an artist and Kook Yeon Soo as a marketing head. As they try to avoid and annoy each other, they started to learn how to patch things up between them. Finally, 

Racket Boys

Among the ones on our students’ list, this is probably the most underrated one. In fact, when the drama airs, I seldom see spoilers. But then, taking a look at the brighter side, the best part about the drama is that it contains a lot of healing scenes and it tackles a lot of life issues. It’s not just about the friendship of the racket boys, you’ll get to see the fun and funny neighbors, cute interactions between families, and the not-so-puppy love of teen athletes.

It’s cool to watch a drama that gives so much laughter and tears in a single episode. Even if I am already done with school, it still reminds me of the days that I used to be an athlete and I meet a lot of student-athletes sharing the same struggles and issues that I had.

For those who are struggling with their careers and life decisions:

Because This Is My First Life

A drama that defines the fine line between marrying because of love and contract marriage, Because This Is My First Life is all about pursuing one’s dreams, while actually making both ends meet. Yoon Ji Ho and Nam Se Hee are the kind of characters we often meet in our daily life. 

This drama showcased the lives of eight-to-five middle-class workers slaved by their own expenses trying to juggle their time and energy to pay house mortgage and bills throughout their life and marrying just so they can lessen the bills they pay at home.

Run On

Among the ones on this list, this is the drama that gave me a lot of encouragement. Oh Mi Joo and Gi Seon Gyeom are some of the characters that are normally not portrayed in Korean dramas. Oh Mi Joo is a translator while  Gi Seon Gyeom is a former sprinter who decided to retire after getting involved with an issue involving his colleagues. 

What made this drama so special is that the writer nailed the script so well and the conversations here are strong enough to motivate you to keep ‘Running On.’ 

Monthly Magazine Home

A part of the top-tier kdramas that simply talk about life, Monthly Magazine Home is an underrated ‘adulting drama’ where you see successful and struggling people under one roof working together. 

Na Young Won with her 10-year experience as a magazine feature editor needed to restart her life as a writer as she moves to a new company. Despite that, her positive personality and her hard work is pointed towards her goal of building her own dream house.

Hospital Playlist

We’ve seen a lot of kdramas with doctors as the main character but Hospital Playlist focused on the lives of young professionals and those in their late 30s and early 40s, the drama is about pursuing a career as a priority over anything else. 

The five main characters gave us slice-of-life stories of doctors inside the hospital as they save lives. Also, in contrast to their white gown life, they also have lives that they enjoy beyond working hours. The drama also highlighted friendship and love which made it more special than other medical dramas.

Romance is a Bonus Book

A story of a long-time housewife who just recently get divorced decided to pursue her career back as a marketing specialist. However, since she had a long time of setbacks in her career, Kang Dani finds it difficult to land a job so she erased her background and started to apply for the lowest position just so she can still make money to provide for her child.

Itaewon Class

Park Sae Royi has been jailed due to false accusations but still managed to rise up thanks to his hard work, perseverance, and the help of people surrounding him. His goal is to get revenge on the people who made him suffer throughout his life.

The drama will let you realize how important it is to properly use your time and energy if you really wish to achieve your goal no matter how difficult challenges can be. It’s not just Park Sae Royi’s story that made this drama worth watching, it is all about the Danbam squad who are special in their own little ways. The drama is based on a webtoon of the same title.

Pinocchio

Trying to move on from losing his family, Choi Dal Po lived a new life with a different family. He meets Choi In Ha who he treats as his nephew. Choi In Ha has Pinocchio syndrome wherein she hiccups whenever she lies. She wanted to become a broadcaster as well.

Choi Dal Po, later on, worked with In Ha at the broadcasting station as he tries to search for the truth behind the accident that involves his father. The search for truth showed numerous clues involving their families.

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

A famous but distant fairy tale writer Ko Moon Young meets a psychiatric ward caregiver Moon Kang Tae. As the story progresses, the two needs to face their own fears and their haunting past that’s totally creeping into their lives in the present. This drama also gave a bird’s eye view of how families of people with disorders handle their family member who needs special care.

Soul Mechanic (Fix You)

Han Woo Joo is a passionate musical actress. Her passion for her profession is extreme. She would spend most of her time practicing but it seems like it was never enough because she is not making it to the top. 

Because of that, she suffered emotionally. She doesn’t admit that she needs psychological help but later on, she met Lee Shi Joon, a psychiatrist who tried to help her. Shi Hoon has a different kind of approach when he treats his patients. However, Shi Joon too has a painful past which caused him trauma.

Fight for my way

A fight between dreams and current life status, Fight For My Way proved that giving up is not an option if you want to achieve something in life. Ko Dong Man and Choi Aera are long-time friends and both wish to pursue their goals as an anchor and martial arts practitioners. To give a bit bonus, their bickering and friendship is something that you’d also wish to have in real life.

When the weather is fine

Hye Won lives in Seoul and plays the cello. Her good ability lands her a job in an institute but her life in Seoul was never easy that she felt hurt by numerous people and gets sick of her life in the city. Thus, she decided to go back to her hometown, the small Bookhyun Village where he meets her childhood friend Eun Seop. Eun Seop owns a bookstore and runs a blog.

Start-Up

If you are in doubt if you can make it, the drama Start-Up is for you. The drama is set in Sandbox, where the young entrepreneurs brace themselves to become successful in their own start-up companies. The competition gets fierce as the characters strive hard to win new investors.