The found family trope is easily one of the most beloved tropes in media, and for good reason.K-dramasfeaturing found families whose bond transcends blood relations are guaranteed to be filled with heartwarming moments and beautiful platonic relationships.Found family K-dramas create compelling and engaging narrativesthat explore what makes a family.
Witnessing a group of strangers come together to form a friendship strong enough to turn into a familial bond is always an emotional and heartening experience.K-dramas centered around friendshipsand found families celebrate the variety of intricate bonds between people who choose their family and support system. Ranging from warm and uplifting coming-of-age stories following a close-knit group of friends to hilarious workplace dramas, found familyK-dramas are guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
10Racket Boys (2021)
A Middle School Badminton Club
Thesports comedy showRacket Boystells the uplifting and hilarious tale of an underfunded middle school badminton club and its players. With only three players, the badminton club is on the verge of disbanding until a badminton coach, Yoon Hyun Jong (Kim Sang-kyung), joins the school and turns things around.The three original badminton club members begin to bond with the new members of the teamand work together to win competitions.
Set in a small rural town,Racket Boysfeatures several close-knit friendships and communities that support each other through countless hardships and challenges. Hyun Jong’s serves as a coach and supportive figure for the team, helping the badminton team to create a strong and unbreakable familial bond that transcends blood and DNA.
9Vincenzo (2021)
The Geumga Plaza Residents
Thethrilling crime drama K-dramaVincenzofollows the titular character, Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki), a lawyer and consigliere for the mafia who flees from Italy to Seoul and finds himself battling the corrupt and evil pharmaceutical corporation Babel Group. Vincenzo joins hands with the quirky yet kindhearted tenants of Geumga Plaza to take down the Babel Group.
Vincenzo
Cast
During a visit to his homeland, a Korean-Italian mafia lawyer gives an unrivaled conglomerate a taste of its own medicine with a side of justice.
While Vincenzo only offers to help the tenants at Geumga Plaza for his selfish reasons, as he hopes to reclaim the gold he hid under the building, he forms a genuine bond with the residents. The found family inVincenzogives audiences a much-needed break from the dark thriller elements of the K-drama, asthe scenes with the residents of Geumga Plaza are an entertaining and lighthearted contrastto the violence of the show.
8Crash Landing On You (2019)
Se-ri Finds An Unexpected Family In North Korea
Crash Landing on Youis aromantic comedy K-dramathat revolves around the romance between a South Korean chaebol heiress and businesswoman and a North Korean army captain. The unlikely romance begins after the businesswoman Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) is knocked off-course while paragliding, crash-lands in North Korea, and is found by Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin), a captain of the Korean People’s Army.
Crash Landing On You
Crash Landing on You is a romantic drama series that follows a South Korean heiress who accidentally lands in North Korea after a paragliding incident. She encounters an army officer who, despite the political tensions, aids her in concealment, forging an unexpected connection amidst their contrasting worlds.
While Se-ri is trapped in North Korea, she is helped and supported by Jeong-hyeok. The sweet and compelling romance between Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok may be central to the K-drama, but the highlight ofCrash Landing on Youisthe unexpected family that Se-ri finds when she’s in North Korea. Se-ri’s temporary refuge turns into a strong community that protects and supports her.
7Reply 1988 (2015)
Five Neighbors Who Are Best Friends
Thecoming-of-age K-dramaReply 1988is the highly rated third and final installment of the anthology seriesReply.The K-drama series revolves arounda group of five close-knit friends and their familiesresiding in the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood.
Reply 1988is one of the best found family K-dramas, featuring heartwarming small acts of kindness and moments of human connection.
The K-drama effortlessly taps into the nostalgia of the 1980s and the joys of living in the same neighborhood as your closest friends.Reply 1988shines in its portrayal of the loving bond between the five friends, along with its portrayal of the bond that forms between the parents of the friends.
Reply 1988
In 1988 Seoul, five childhood friends navigate adolescence in their tight-knit neighborhood. Deok Sun struggles as the middle child, Jung Hwan fixates on soccer despite newfound wealth, Sun Woo excels academically, Dong Ryong, a lovable geek, faces academic challenges, and Taek, a baduk prodigy, leaves school to go professional.
The K-dramabeautifully depicts the love and support between neighborswho become a found family through years of proximity and friendship.Reply 1988is one of the best found family K-dramas, featuring heartwarming small acts of kindness and moments of human connection.
6Itaewon Class (2020)
The Employees Of DanBam In Itaewon
Itaewon Classis arevenge K-dramathat follows an ex-convict, Park Sae-ro-yi (Park Seo-joon), who embarks on a mission to get revenge by opening up a popular bar and restaurant, DanBam. Sae-ro-yi plans on turning DanBam into a massive franchise that overtakes the food company Jangga Group, which is run by the family that ruined his and his family’s lives.
Itaewon Class
Itaewon Class is a South Korean television series that premiered in 2020. The show revolves around Park Sae-ro-yi, a young entrepreneur who seeks revenge against the corrupt businessman who wronged him and his family. Alongside a group of misfits, Sae-ro-yi establishes a bar in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, and together they navigate love, friendship, and ambition.
The employees of DanBam in Itaewon become a family, and go through countless ups and downsas they help Sae-ro-yi turn his restaurant and bar into a huge success. Despite betrayals and tensions between the staff members of DanBam, they ultimately learn to support each other and work together. InItaewon Class, the underdogs unite, work together, and take down their powerful enemy while growing as individuals and as a team.
5Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)
The Residents Of A Seaside Village
Hometown Cha-Cha-Chais a romantic comedyslice-of-life K-dramathat follows Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a),a dentist from Seoul who impulsively decides to move to a gorgeous seaside villageand open a dental clinic. While the initial days following her move to the village of Gongjin are difficult, Hye-jin is supported by Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho), the resident handyman.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a South Korean television series starring Shin Min-a as a pragmatic dentist and Kim Seon-ho as her free-spirited counterpart. The narrative unfolds in the seaside village of Gongjin, where personal and professional lives intersect in heartwarming and often humorous ways. Directed by Yu Je-won, the series explores themes of community, love, and personal growth amidst picturesque coastal scenery.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Chadoesn’t just feature a found family,it features an entire community. The small and idyllic village invites Hye-jin into their kindhearted and helpful community, where the residents of Gongjin continue to love and support each other. The entire village of Gongjin becomes a found family, from the elderly grandmothers who are always willing to lend an ear and some good advice to the young and adventurous adults figuring out their lives.
4Hospital Playlist (2020-2021)
Five Doctors Who Have Been Best Friends Since Medical School
Hospital Playlistis a medical workplace K-drama series that followsthe lives of five doctors working togetherat a medical center. The doctors Lee Ik-jun (Jo Jung-suk), Ahn Jeong-won (Yoo Yeon-seok), Kim Jun-wan (Jung Kyung-ho), Yang Seok-hyeong (Kim Dae-myung), and Chae Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do) initially became friends while they were students at medical school and maintained their friendship through the years.
Hospital Playlist
Hospital Playlist is a South Korean television series that follows the lives of five doctors working at a hospital. It explores their personal and professional struggles as they navigate the challenges of their jobs and personal relationships. The series delves into themes of friendship, love, and growth as the characters face various medical cases and personal struggles.
Theincredible medical K-dramarevolves around the personal and professional lives of the group of doctors and follows the friends as they stay connected and navigate the hardships of working in the medical field. Their regular band practices and their endless support of each other makeHospital Playlistan entertaining and heartwarming K-drama seriesthat shines in its moments of friendship and camaraderie.
3Move To Heaven (2021)
An Intelligent Young Man And His Estranged Ex-Convict Uncle Form A Bond
Move to Heavenis a touching andheart-wrenching K-dramathat explores life, death, and grief as two trauma cleaners deal with their loss while packing up and cleaning the belongings of the deceased. The K-drama revolves around Han Geu-ru (Tang Jun-sang),an intelligent young man, and his estranged ex-convict uncle, Cho Sang-gu (Lee Je-hoon), as they begin working as trauma cleaners after the death of Geu-ru’s father.
Move to Heaven
Move to Heaven follows a meticulous trauma cleaner and his estranged uncle as they unravel the unsung stories of the deceased through their belongings. The series portrays their emotional journey to connect with loved ones left behind, highlighting themes of loss and reconciliation.
Geu-ru and Sang-gu form a strong bond as they heal from their family’s past and build a strong and loving support system. In each episode ofMove to Heaven,the trauma cleaners learn about the lives of the recently deceased and pass on their beloved belongings to their loved ones. The moving K-dramafocuses on the bond between Geu-ru and Sang-gu, and the bonds the deceased shared with their friends and family.
2Mother (2018)
An Abandoned Girl And Her Loving Teacher
The K-dramaMotheris a remake of the Japanese TV series with the same name and revolves around a temporary teacher who learns that one of her students is being abused and goes to drastic lengths to protect her. The teacher, Kang Soo-jin (Lee Bo-young), forms a bond with her student Kim Hye-na (Heo Yool), andafter finding the young girl abandoned out on the street, decides to take the childand attempts to flee the country.
Mother
Mother is a South Korean television series that aired in 2018. It stars Lee Bo-young as a substitute teacher who discovers that one of her students is experiencing abuse at home. She makes a life-changing decision to protect the child by abducting her, setting off a chain of dramatic events. The series is a suspenseful and touching exploration of maternal love and the moral complexities of doing what is right.
Soo-jin and Hye-na form a beautifulmother-daughter bondas they go on the run and avoid the authorities and Hye-na’s abusive family.Motherproves that blood and DNA don’t make a familyand that respect, love, and support are far more important than biology in making a loving family.
1Prison Playbook (2017)
Friendships In Prison
The dark comedy K-drama seriesPrison Playbookis a surprisingly heartwarming exploration of prison life and unlikely friendships. The K-drama follows Kim Je-hyuk (Park Hae-soo), a popular baseball player whose life is turned upside down after he’s convicted of assault and sentenced to a year in jail.
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Je-hyuk is forced to adjust to prison life and is helped by his best friend, the prison guard, Lee Joon-ho (Jung Kyung-ho), and his fellow inmates. Thethought-provoking K-dramahighlights the importance of found family during difficult times.
Prison Playbook
Baseball star Kim Je-hyeok is about to make his Major League Baseball debut. However, due to some misfortune, he ends up in prison and must learn to survive in this new world full of life and death challenges.
The close bonds and strong network that Je-hyuk forms in the prison are the highlights ofPrison Playbook.The unexpected found family of the prison inmates is a source of genuine moments of human connection and a source of hilarity and amusement in theK-drama.
