Commonly referred to as Kdramas, Korean television shows boast unique plots and characters, all-around amazing writing, and great themes; some also feature main characters with disabilities or mental illnesses, something that is near impossible to find in America. Although the term "Kdrama" often makes newcomers think of soap operas, they are simply TV shows, each limited to a single season, with the genres we know so well--suspense, romance, comedy, action, fantasy, etc. There are multiple sites dedicated to making English subtitles for the dramas, making them readily available to viewers--even dramas that are currently airing in South Korea. I've agonized over a list of my favorites to recommend to Kdrama newcomers and veterans alike.

1. I Remember You (aka Hello Monster)

This is a crime drama that follows Lee Hyun, a genius criminal profiler who specializes in serial killers, as he attempts to catch the serial killer who murdered his father (and perhaps his younger brother, who vanished the same night) when Hyun was ten. The serial killers that Hyun attempts to catch, however, are not devoid of motivation or reason, but are humanized bit by bit throughout the drama; by the end, viewers simultaneously understand how they became the "monsters" that they are while realizing that they have still done wrong and need to be caught. Hyun helps a team of detectives (including a female detective--yay strong female leads who can defend themselves!) with multiple cases along the way, meaning that there is no shortage of excitement in this drama. "I Remember You" discusses heavy themes, including the complicated nature of people, redemption and how far redemption extends (is there a certain line which, once crossed, makes someone unredeemable?), how the labels we enforce upon people often trap them into becoming what we've called them, and more. In short, it's amazing. Watch it here.

2. She Was Pretty

Kim Hye Jin had everything as a child: the promise of beauty, popularity, good grades, a wealthy family, and even kindness. As a child, she befriends an overweight boy in her class, Ji Sung Joon, when she notices other kids picking on him. They become best friends and they develop crushes on each other. Sung Joon's family moves to America, however, and when puberty hits Hye Jin suddenly loses her good looks; her cheeks become red, flushed, and covered in freckles, and her father's business fails, leaving them too poor to pay for the hair treatments that kept her naturally curly and frizzy hair straight and smooth. Her popularity vanishes with her looks, and Hye Jin grows into an intelligent yet awkward and completely jobless woman. She is elated when Sung Joon returns to the country and asks to meet, but when she sees him from afar she realizes that he has also endured a transformation...into an incredibly hot man. Terrified that she will disappoint her childhood crush, she calls her roommate and best friend, who just so happens to be a model, and asks her to pretend to be her for "just one day." She thinks all is over, and even lands a dream job at a magazine, only to discover that the new editor is none other than Sung Joon. The result is a hilariously adorable romantic comedy that I couldn't stop watching--it's one of my favorites on this list. Watch it here.

3. Gu Family Book

"Gu Family Book" is a fantasy drama set during the Joseon Era that surrounds Kang Chi, a young man who realizes, after being raised as a nobleman's adoptive son, that he's not fully human--he's half gumiho (a mythical shapeshifting nine tailed fox). Kang Chi attempts to master his abilities in order to protect those close to him and meets Yeo Wool, a woman swordmaster (again, female leads who can fight for themselves!) and falls in love. Despite his growing control of himself, Kang Chi considers himself a monster and wishes to find a way to live as a human. This drama asks very complicated questions: What is the definition of humanity? Must someone be a human being to be human, and can a human being be a monster? Watch it here.

4. Marriage, Not Dating

Gi Tae is perfectly content being a bachelor, but his family won't stop harassing him about getting married, pushing him to take the only logical next step: he brings home Jang Mi, a woman he knows his family would never accept, and introduces her as his fiancé. The two move in together to maintain appearances and Gi Tae commences his ultimate plan to make sure that his parents hate Jang Mi so much that they'll never complain about his perpetual bachelor lifestyle ever again. The only snag? They fall in love along the way...but the damage is already done. the result is a light, hilarious romantic comedy that you can watch over and over again without getting bored. Watch it here.

5. Hong Gil Dong

This is a bit of an older drama (released in 2008) and is vastly underrated in my opinion--much like a South Korean version of Robin Hood. It takes place in the Joseon Era and starts out very lighthearted and silly, with the purposeful overuse of wires to make actors jump to very unrealistic heights for equally unrealistic lengths of time, but about halfway through it takes a sudden, dark turn and unleashes a supernova of feels and themes on viewers. The main character, Hong Gil Dong, is the illegitimate child of a nobleman; this makes him a slave, meaning that he can't be educated and his father could have him killed at the drop of a hat without consequences. He's a genius, but is bitter about his status and the murder of his mother after she tried to escape with him as an infant, so he purposefully lives a meaningless life of debauchery. He meets the female lead, Yu Ri, who is silly and carefree despite her life of poverty, and he begins to change (seriously, they're the most adorable couple). Eventually he can no longer sit still and watch the corruption of Joseon's government, which is ruled by an insane king, and begins robbing the rich of their stolen wealth and giving it to the poor. Before long, he aligns himself with a newcomer, the ousted Crown Prince, and attempts to help him gain the throne. It has great themes, focusing on corruption but questioning the lengths we should go to rid ourselves of that corruption--at what point do we become the thing that we despise? Watch it here.

Heart to Heart

Cha Hong Do has anthropophobia, or fear of people, so badly that she only leaves her house when absolutely necessary. Even then, she must either use a motorcycle helmet to shield her from the world or makeup and clothes to disguise herself as her deceased grandmother. When she meets a famous psychiatrist (who is currently suffering from a fear of his patients), she blackmails him into helping her get over her fear of people. It's a really touching and oftentimes hilarious drama that's incredibly easy to relate to for me, since I suffer from really bad social anxiety. I really appreciate the creation of a female main character who is not outgoing but is rather filled with anxiety and fear--and I love seeing the psychiatrist, Yi Suk, learn from Hong Do about how to better help her. There's a lot of character growth on both sides of this drama; it isn't simply Yi Suk "fixing" Hong Do's fear and anxiety--they help each other get through their respective anxieties and gain confidence in themselves. Watch it here.

7. Secret Garden

This romantic comedy is a Kdrama classic; Kim Joo Won is an arrogant and eccentric businessman who is drawn to Gil Ra Im, a stunt woman (again, strong female leads!). Unfortunately for Joo Won, Ra Im has absolutely zero interest in him...until a spell is put on them that switches their bodies and forces them to live each other's lives. While the body switch doesn't last the entire drama (it's intermittent), they have to stick close to each other just in case. The writers handle the body switch incredibly well, using it to create a lot of hilarious scenes, and the chemistry between Joo Won and Ra Im is amazing. It's an all-around great drama, making it no mystery that it rose to become a Kdrama classic in just a few years. Watch it here.

8. Descendants of the Sun

Special Forces Captain Yoo Shi Jin is drawn to Moo Yeon, a sassy, beautiful doctor who treats his wounds after one of his missions. Although she is attracted to him as well, their busy schedules and completely opposite jobs--Shi Jin must take lives in order to protect his country, while Mo Yeon fights to save lives in the operating room regardless of a person's crimes--drive them apart. Months later, though, they are thrown together in Uruk, a fictional and war-torn country, where Shi Jin has been stationed and Mo Yeon is currently volunteering with Doctors Without Borders. The resulting action-packed romance was so popular across Asia that China issued warning about the drama, and one Chinese woman almost went blind because she ignored eye symptoms in order to binge-watch her way through the entire drama. It explores really well the life of an active soldier, showing the things that they must do for their country and acknowledging that the lives that they must take often, in the end, save countless others. The drama isn't perfect as far as writing goes (or realistic military protocol, for that matter), but it is definitely good enough to make the list. Watch it here.

9. My Love From Another Star

This romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist follows Do Min Joon, an alien with enhanced vision, hearing, agility, and teleportation and time stopping abilities who has been stranded on earth for 400 years. He's become cynical and pessimistic during his time observing humans, and no longer attempts to help those in need. Until, at least, he meets Cheon Song Yi, Korea's top actress, who reminds him of someone he met 400 years ago when he first came to earth. He begins having visions about Song Yi's life being in danger, and he must make a choice: break his rule and help her, or sit back and let her die without finding out who she is. This is another drama that took China by storm, prompting plans for a Chinese version immediately. The fuss over this drama is understandable, as it's hilarious yet intense, the actors have amazing chemistry, and it features a sociopathic villain you love you hate (I'm not going to lie, I've seen this one about four or five times). Watch it here.

10. Kill Me Heal Me

Cha Do Hyun, a rich heir to a family company, suffers from multiple personality disorder. After the most violent of his personalities develops a sudden attraction to Ri Jin, a first year medical resident, Do Hyun hires her to help him overcome his seven uncontrollable personalities in secret, determined that not even his family will discover his illness. I don't know how accurate this drama is on the medical side of things, but the actor who plays Cha Do Hyun does an amazing job playing his multiple personalities, making each unique characters that somehow manage to blend seamlessly into the same man. In one drama, he plays everything from a sixteen-year-old girl obsessed with pop stars to a violent gangster--his acting alone makes this drama well worth the time it takes to watch it. It has a lot more going for it, though, from an interesting plot and hilarious dialogue to a talented female lead who acts as his rock instead of the other way around. It's the woman who saves the man in this drama, and the reversal is incredibly refreshing, not to mention well-done. Watch it here.

11. Reply 1997 (aka Answer Me 1997)

Reply 1997 is a hilarious coming-of-age story that follows its main characters from middle school to their adult lives. Shi Won is a fangirl, to put it simply, following boy bands around and skipping school to attend concerts. She doesn't do well in school and takes a long time to fully mature and discover her dream, while her best friend, Yoon Je, and his older brother Tae Woong make sure she doesn't get in too much trouble. The two brothers have their own style of "looking out" for Shi Won, however--the younger Yoon Je settles for lecturing her while Tae Woong simply comforts her when she needs it. The result is a hilarious mix of mishaps, including an instance where Shi Won's father chases her around the house and cuts off her hair after she skips school and stays out an entire night to stand outside a singer's house. The majority of the drama is made up of flashbacks with occasional blips of the main characters as adults--the writers taunt viewers with bits of their lives and leave them to guess who Shi Won, the drama's main female lead, ends up with. Rumor has it that even the actors and actresses didn't know until the final reveal who the writers had selected. The drama was so successful that it has spawned two spin-offs (which doesn't usually happen even with the most successful of kdramas), although neither was as good as the original. Watch it here.

12. Good Doctor

Park Shi On is an autistic man with savant syndrome who dreams of becoming a pediatric surgeon. His savant syndrome makes him an incredibly skilled doctor and he enters his residency without a problem, but unfortunately this also means that he enters the real world, where people are often cruel to him because of his disability. Shi On faces a number of issues because of his disability, getting overstimulated in the ER and having meltdowns, having parents refuse to let him treat their kids, and facing cruelty and discrimination from his coworkers. Even well-meaning and kindhearted people such as Cha Yoon Seo sometimes treat him like he is a child, forgetting that, although he is limited in many ways, he is still a man. This is an amazing drama that follows Shi On as he learns to rely on the strengths that his disability gives him, navigate its downfalls, stands strong against the discrimination he faces on a daily basis, and get closer to his coworkers. The actor does an amazing job portraying Shi On--so well that, since this was the first drama I ever saw the actor in, I was shocked when I saw him in something else and he wasn't autistic (even though, in theory, I knew he wasn't). It's refreshing to see a show that takes on issues such as autism directly, by having a main character with the disability who achieves great things--in large part because of his disability. It's a massive task and carries the potential to backfire massively, but the writers and actors alike nail it. Watch it here.

13. Rooftop Prince

In this time-bending romantic comedy, Crown Prince Lee Gak recruits three men to help him solve the murder of his wife, the Crown Princess. In the middle of their investigation, however, they are mysteriously sent from the Joseon Era into the present--landing smack in the middle of Park Ha's apartment. Hilarity ensues, since Park Ha, armed with a frying pan, becomes convinced that the four men have escaped from an insane asylum; after all, they speak strangely, are scared by seemingly everything, carry swords, and are dressed in historic clothing. She ends up taking care of them while they search for the Crown Princess' killer, as they have realized that they have been transported to a time in the future when everyone from their lives have been reborn...and history is repeating itself. They begin a race against time to simultaneously prevent the future murder before it happens and discover who murdered the past Crown Princess, and Lee Gak begins to discover that the people he trusted were not what they claimed to be. Meanwhile, Lee Gak and Park Ha begin to fall in love. Although the topic seems serious (and certainly is in parts) the majority of the drama is simply hilarious--at one point the confused men begin changing in an elevator, only to have the doors open to a horde of middle school girls. So just don't watch this one in the library or on the sly in class--you won't be able to control your laughter. Watch it here.

14. High School King of Savvy

Lee Min Suk is a carefree high school student and a rising hokey star who likes to keep his life as simple as possible, until he gets a mysterious call from his older brother in the middle of the night, asking Min Suk to impersonate him at his new job as a powerful executive. While it's a strange request, it's not impossible--despite a nine year age gap and completely opposite personalities, the brothers look almost exactly alike. Min Suk, comforted by the promise that his brother only needs a week or so, begins juggling two completely different lives--one as a high school student and the other as a powerful executive in one of Korea's biggest companies. He quickly falls for a quirky, awkward temp worker, Soo Young, who is much older than him. The result is hilarious and surprisingly adorable--despite such a large age gap between the two main characters, the writers effortlessly manage to have viewers shipping it without question. The writers also never attempt to give Soo Young, who has no sense of fashion on top of her awkwardness, a makeover as many Kdramas do--it's made clear that Min Suk loves her in part for her quirkiness and shy personality, and he doesn't need her to change that. Watch it here.

15. Fool's Love

Ho Goo is a laid-back, happy-go-lucky guy who is seemingly cursed with horrible luck--it's as if his parents doomed him when they named him Ho Goo (which is a pun since it translates to "fool"). He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, and has failed his civil service exam seven years in a row, forcing him to work at his father's comic book shop; his life seems to be going absolutely nowhere, until he meets Do Hee, the most popular girl at his old high school and a national swimming champion. Do Hee has always seemed to have it all even when she hasn't, but that is on route to change--she's just figured out that she's pregnant, and when Ho Goo meets her she's on the way to the countryside to have an abortion where no one will know. This is an incredibly drama that has a perfect balance--it deals with incredibly heavy issues like rape, abortion, and the stigma that Korean culture has against both single mothers and adoption while managing to be light and hilarious. Watch it here.

Bonus: Lucky Romance

I didn't add this to the main list because it's currently airing in Korea, so I haven't finished watching the whole thing. It's great so far, so I couldn't help adding it. When Bo Nui is 16, her parents die in a car crash, leaving her to raise her younger sister, Bo Ra. Years later, when Bo Nui is at an interview for a coding position at Zeze, Korea's leading game developer, her sister is hit by a car and slips into a coma. Desperate, Bo Nui goes to a fortune teller who tells her that both the accidents were her fault because she was born with luck so terrible that everyone around her loses everything--including their lives. The fortune teller gives her a few rituals to fulfill, claiming that Bo Ra will live if Bo Nui follows his directions. Bo Nui does as he says and her sister lives but remains in a coma, causing Bo Nui to hang on the fortune teller's every word. After two years, the fortune teller claims that Bo Ra will die unless Bo Nui, who has never dated in her life, sleeps with a man born in the year of the tiger within a month. Bo Nui is shocked but, when she learns that Soo Ho,the genius CEO of Zeze, under whom she has just landed a job as a temporary worker, was born in the year of the tiger, she pursues him. The problem? Soo Ho, obsessed with coding, has never been interested in women, and he rejects anything that reeks of superstition. Meanwhile, Bo Nui's childhood friend, Geon Uk, who has become a world-famous tennis player, has returned to Korea, moved next door again, and begun to pursue her romantically. This drama is hilarious and completely adorable, but since I haven't finished it I can't make any promises about the rest of it; I'm completely addicted so far. Watch it here.