12 Kdramas With Lgbt Characters To Watch

The platform of Korean Dramas is a wide source of entertainment throughout the globe. South Korean series has pretty much taken over the globe—and they’ve brought with them more than just entertainment.

Using their massive platform, these stories have shared a lot about Korean culture—widely regarded as being very conservative—and they’ve even spotlighted LGBTQ stories.

These flaws stem from the fact that Korean society is comparatively conservative. According to “Society at Glance 2019: A Spotlight on LGBT People”, a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Korea lags behind progressive countries which are more supportive and accepting of the LGBTQ+ community.

However, things are only likely to improve as South Korea becomes more open, and K-dramas have a pivotal role to play in shaping values and changing the conversation.

1. Life Is Beautiful

This 2010 series definitely fits the type of sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes feel-good series we all consumed back then—only it featured one of the first realistic and sensitive portrayals of an openly gay couple in a primetime Korean drama.

Life Is Beautiful centers around the many generations of the Yang family in Jeju, including the relationship between eldest son Tae Sub (Song Chang Eui), and divorced professor Kyung Soo (Lee Sang Woo) included.

2. Secret Garden

One of the earliest K-Dramas to even touch on the LGBTQ experience was the 2010 series Secret Garden.

Lee Jong Suk took on the supporting role of Han Tae Sun, a musical prodigy who struggles to understand his sexuality.

He develops a close bond with his mentor Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun), a Hallyu star whose popularity is fading and who is dealing with his own inner fears.

3. The Lover

Four different couples, one apartment complex: a recipe for instant chaos. Up in Room 709 lives Lee Joon Jae (Lee Jae Joon), a homebody and loner who rents out a room for extra cash.

He purposely advertises for a foreigner to minimize the chances of having to talk to the potential roommate—only he ends up with Takuya, an extroverted Japanese guy who becomes bent on drawing Joon Jae out of his shell.

4. Reply 1997

The first in this cult-fave trilogy of series has six friends reminiscing about the year 1997 during their high school reunion in 2012.

And one of those friends was Kang Joon Hee (HoYa), a closeted gay guy who was in love with his best friend, Yoon Jae (Seo In Guk).

Cue a nostalgia-filled look at the difficulty of not just being in love with a best friend, but one who doesn’t even know you’re gay.

This was arguably one of the first gay relationships seen in a mainstream South Korean drama.

5. Schoolgirl Detectives

Literally translated to Seonam Girls High School Detectives, this series made waves when it featured South Korea’s first-ever on-air lesbian kiss.

Talk about breaking boundaries. Don’t be fooled by the cutesy premise of five high schoolers forming a detective club!

This series tackled the same-sex relationship between the two girls in all seriousness, along with shining the spotlight on many real-life issues such as bullying, suicide, and more through their cases.

6. Love With Flaws

The late Cha In Ha took on the role of the dashing Won Suk, the openly gay brother of the series’ main female lead, Seo Yeon (Oh Yeon Seo).

While Seo Yeon, who despises stereotypical pretty boys, ends up falling for the overtly narcissistic Lee Kang Woo (Ahn Jae Hyun), in this Pride and Prejudice-type of the tale, we also get to see Won Suk’s backstory and his struggle to come out to his family.

Plus, he even gets his own sweet romantic storyline that might even be more interesting than the main leads.

7. Be Melodramatic  

While the gay character is usually relegated to the background TV shows across the globe, Be Melodramatic gave us a more refreshingly realistic take on the token queer dude.

The female-centric series revolved around three best friends who are in their thirties as they go through changes in their careers and their personal lives.

The slice-of-life angle allows us a glimpse as well into the experiences of the openly gay brother of one of them, Hyo Bong (Yoon Ji On).

Hyo Bong’s character is as honest a mirror as can be and the show even gave a straight look into the discrimination members of the LGBTQ face.

8. Where Your Eyes Linger

In need of a feel-good escape? This BL series is right up your alley.

Two teenagers—Han Tae Joo (Han Gi Chan), the heir of a multi-million-dollar business, and Kang Gook (Jang Eui Soo), his bodyguard—have pretty much grown up together.

Kang Gook is pretty much resigned to his fate of loving Han Tae Joo from a distance, that is until a new girl shows up at their high school and throws off the precarious balance.

9. Hello Dracula

Hello Dracula may have been a short two-episode miniseries but its topic definitely made an impact.

The pensive drama focuses on the story of three people overcoming their inner monsters.

At its lead is Anna (Seohyun), an elementary school teacher who has just broken up with her girlfriend of eight years.

Now she must deal with her depression—and a mother whom she has emotionally disconnected from since the day she came out as a lesbian.

10. Itaewon Class

This popular series about a group of young folks fighting for their dreams is arguably the first mainstream one to have a transgender main character.

And since the series is about a bunch of misfits finding a place where they do fit, it was a very apt storyline for the first time a transition like this was celebrated on screen.

Lee Joo Young plays trans woman Ma Hyun Hi, who is hired as a chef despite her lack of cooking skills.

Her journey to accepting and being proud of herself, along with some real chef skills, is a definite must-watch.

11. Nevertheless

One of the most realistic K-dramas released this year.

The story revolves around an uncertain romance that begins between a heartbroken woman who no longer believes in love and a flirtatious man who does not want to commit to a relationship.

Despite the fact, Sol and Jiwan were not the main characters of the show they really gained all the attention.

They both never really confessed their feelings at first but the night in Yu Na-Bi's hometown changed everything.

They eventually decide to pursue a relationship with one another, despite Jiwan's fear that she will lose Sol if they ever break up.

Sol reassures Jiwan that her feelings will never change, and from then on, the two are official.

It's a beautiful, euphoric moment, and another one of the show's strongest.

12. Hometown Cha Cha Cha

The LGBT character in Hometown Cha Cha Cha is a woman named Cho-Hui who re-enters the life of a divorced couple.

While the man still harbours a crush on this woman, it turns out she has always been in love with his ex-wife.

Cho-Hui was never accepted by her own parents and it was even mentioned that his brother abused her physically for being a lesbian.

Though the drama didn't highlight her that much it was nice to see Hwa-Jeong being comfortable with her even after she confessed her feelings.

Hwa Jeong knew from the first that Cho hui liked her.

After all loving someone is not a crime. Love is Love. It is not bound by things like gender, religion, race, or caste. Love who you want.

Thanks For Reading!!