Drama recommendations for learning Korean 2012

It’s almost coming to the end of the year and it’s time to review some of the best dramas (in my opinion) in 2012! Despite being hangukdrama, this site is not a drama review site! So we’ll be looking at dramas in terms of learning Korean.

1. Rooftop Prince

2012 has been a year of time-leap dramas. I never understand why things always have to come in BULK in k-dramaland, but Rooftop Prince definitely ranks high on the list for me. Followed by Queen In-Hyun’s Man.

Content wise, it hit all the right notes for me. It’s funny, poignant, creative and most importantly, it keeps us wondering right till the end. Which is always a good thing, in the midst of all the predictable dramas. It’s a good drama to watch for intermediate learners, because it uses both sageuk speak and also loads of modern Seoul speak. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the Crown Prince from the ancient dynasty time-warped to modern day Seoul and what ensures is a whole bunch of hijinks and trying to get used to Seoul, which naturally involves a lot of language mistakes and jokes.

It’s a fun way to learn about the nuances in the Korean language and great for people new to sageuk speak! 😀 One example of language jokes is THIS, where the crown prince had no idea what’s 헐 (a common slang nowadays)

Gold mine of language jokes! Watch Rooftop Prince here. 😀

2. Reply 1997 / Answer me 1997

Seriously, if you haven’t heard of this drama, you can’t call yourself a k-drama fan. Definitely one of the gems in 2012. Reply 1997 was actually kinda under the radar at first, seeing how the cast are mostly fresh faces and that it was a cable TV drama. However, it started to gain a cult following and now it’s one of the most talked about drama in 2012.

Heart warming, and chockfull of 90s popular pop culture references, this drama follows the lives of 6 high school best friends in Busan in the 90s and their class reunion in 2012. As someone who is not from that generation, and much less know about the pop culture in Korea during that time, I learnt a lot about the 90s kpop. It’s basically a lesson on the history of kpop LOL. I dived into the drama barely knowing who’s H.O.T and came out of it loving their songs and being able to name their members.

Language wise, IT’S MAD LOVE. Reason being? Instead of the Seoul dialect, the Busan dialect is used!!!!!! Mad. Awesome. All Korean learners will know about the Busan dialect and how difficult it is to find a drama or movie that is acted in that dialect by locals. Movies like Tazza is set in Busan, but most of their actors are actually from Seoul and hearing them speak the dialect is awkward.

If you are interested in learning about the dialect, watch this drama NOW.

Of course there are more awesome dramas in 2012, but for now, watch these two!! 😀

What are your favorite 2012 k-dramas?