Summary

• Korean TV showcases LGBTQ+ representation with heartwarming storylines, pushing the genre forward.
• K-dramas like Semantic Error explore identity and relationships in academia, marking progress.
• Despite challenges, LGBTQ+ representation is growing in K-dramas, offering diverse romantic storylines.

Representation in Korean television has been improving over the years, and the best gay K-dramas have some of the most heartwarming storylines that push the subgenre forward. American shows have, more recently, been noted for showcasing LGBTQ+ representation on the small screen, albeit in a relatively small way. However, when it comes to K-dramas, the genre has been a bit more conservative. Over the years, there has been a growing number of LGBTQ+ representation in K-dramas, whether involving same-sex couples or small storylines.

The representation may feel small to the Western audience, but they have a strong impact in a country that previously never tackled these themes on TV. There are now even several K-dramas dedicated to a gay love story and helping the rise of the new "Boy’s Love (BL)" genre. While there's still a long way to go, there are a handful of gay Korean dramas that break the mold and feature LGBTQ+ characters. K-drama fans looking for more diverse romantic K-dramas with moving storylines should check out ones with LGBTQ+ representation.

25 Lovestruck In The City (2020)

A Documentary Crew Interviews People About Love

Lovestruck In The City is not a show that centers on an LGBTQ+ couple. It is, however, a series about relationships in general. The story is told in the present day, with flashbacks to the past, and with interviews with the main characters in a documentary-style format. The main couple spotlighted is a man and woman who meet, have an instant connection, and then don’t see one another for five years. Around them, however, are many different types of relationships, from the chronically single to those in it for the long haul.

Because the show examines different connections between people, how relationships spark, and why they last, it strives to be inclusive. There is a gay couple among the relationships, but they don’t get nearly as much screen time as their heterosexual counterparts. Their inclusion, however, in a series spotlighting different forms of romantic love marks a step forward in South Korean programming.

24 Semantic Error (2022)

Opposites Attract On A School Project

Semantic Error toys with the old adage of opposites attracting. In this case, it’s two students who are supposed to work together on a school group project. Computer science student Choo Sang-woo (Park Jae-Chan) finds himself doing all of the work on the project, so he removes the names of the other students so they don’t get credit for it. One of the students most affected is a popular guy on campus, Jang Jae-young (Park Seo-ham). Little do either of them know that their conflict will lead to real feelings between them.

Semantic Error is the first Boy Love K-Drama to see major mainstream success in South Korea. It started as a web novel, got a series adaptation, and was then further cut together to become a movie. The show, the movie, and the actors involved were all nominated for major awards in South Korea. Park Seo-ham and Park Jae-chan even won the award for Best Couple at the APAN Star Awards, which would have been nearly impossible just a few years earlier.

23 Nevertheless (2021)

Art Students Explore Relationships

Set at an art school in South Korea, Nevertheless primarily follows the relationship between two people who are attracted to one another, but cannot get themselves to have anything beyond a friends with benefits situation because of their past relationships. The show explores love, attraction, and the fears that come along with both.

Nevertheless has been criticized in the past for showcasing a more toxic relationship, but the truth is that it explores a variety of relationships among young people who are trying to figure out their lives. That includes the relationships among the friendgroup of the leads as well, like that between Yoon Sol (Lee Ho-jung) and Seo Ji-wan (Yoon Seo-ah), one of the few lesbian couples in the entire K-drama landscape. The two are friends with one secretly pining for the other long before a confession takes place.

22 Mine (2021)

Strong Women Find Their Identities

Mine is set up as a story about strong, successful, and even wealthy women pushing back against how society sees them. While they might appear composed in front of others, they are seething in secret as they find their truths and follow their own ambitions. One of those women is Jung Seo-yun (Kim Seo-hyung), a member of a chaebol family married to the first son of another chaebol family.

She’s been keeping a secret since she was in college. Her first love is a woman, a woman who just happens to be an internationally recognized artist named Suzy (Kim Jung-hwa). The series is the first K-drama to feature a lesbian as the lead character. While other K-dramas had featured lesbians in ing roles, Mine marked a huge step forward for LGBTQ+ representation in South Korean television.

The series was also nominated for four Baeksang Arts Awards, including Best Screenplay.

21 Her Private Life (2019)

A Woman Has To Balance Her Work With Her K-Pop Love

Her Private Life is best known because it’s a rom-com series starring Park Min-young, who is essentially the current queen of K-dramas. Here, she plays a museum employee who hides a secret: she’s an obsessed K-pop fan, even running a fansite. She ends up falling for her new boss, all the while, trying to keep her double life a secret from him.

Where the LGBTQ+ aspects of her story come in are not through an actual relationship with a woman. Instead, there is a time in the show where there’s some confusion about her sexuality from the outside looking in. Others believe she is in a romantic relationship with her female best friend at one point, and they’re accepting of the perceived relationship instead of it being looked at as something that is taboo. Even though the two women aren’t romantically involved, seeing other characters being ive of the potential for a lesbian romance goes a long way in a K-drama.

There are also the minor characters in the series - lifelong friends - of a writer and a photographer who are not written as out characters, but whom fans have perceived as having feelings for one another. They’ve been described as soulmates by the audience, though their subplot is never explicitly stated to be a love story. Their deep connection, however, alongside the potential acceptance of romantic love between two women, has been viewed as a small stepping stone for K-dramas.

20 To My Star (2021-2022)

Romance Among Aspiring Artists

The show focuses on Kang, an actor who sees his career fading and his popularity declining.

The idea of people struggling with their sexuality while being in the public eye is a growing trend in many gay K-dramas as there is still real-life scrutiny that faces gay public figures. To My Star tackles this issue while also telling a charming story of star-crossed lovers. The show focuses on Kang, an actor who sees his career fading and his popularity declining. However, when he meets a more reserved and traditional aspiring chef named Han, Kang believes that his fortunes have finally started changing.

The different dynamics and backgrounds of these characters make their love story all the more charming and intense as they work to keep it strong. This gay K-drama has 10 episodes and all are shorter than most series with just 12 minutes per episode. This also led to an original release, which saw all the episodes released as a two-hour movie before it was split up as a series.

19 Color Rush (2020-2022)

True Love Cure Color-Blindness

Magic or unexplained supernatural aspects often find their way into K-dramas, and it is at the center of the charming love story in Color Rush. The show follows Choi (Yoo Jun) who has a form of color blindness that causes him to only see the world in gray. However, when he meets Go (Heo Hyun Jun), Choi is able to see color for the first time. The fantasy elements involved here see Choi as a "Mono" and in this world, every "Mono" has a "Probe" that can help him finally see the world as it was meant to be.

While it is not a very subtle metaphor, the sweet concept also speaks to how a person's outlook on life can open up when they embrace and accept their sexuality with a person they care about. This gay K-drama is based on the eponymous Boys' love novel of the same name. The series was successful, as it ended up renewed for a second season, meaning there are 16 episodes currently for viewers to enjoy.

18 Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart (2020)

Aspiring Musicians Make Music Together

Along with being another sweet gay K-drama love story, Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart became a global hit thanks to its effective blend of music in its romance as well. The show follows Kang (Kang In Soo), a ionate and determined aspiring musician who meets a young keyboardist named Yoon (Lee Sang). While their partnership is initially based on their love of music, they eventually begin to see a love growing between them. The central relationship is aided by the musical numbers that make it all the sweeter.

Like many K-dramas, this one is also based on a comic, as this one has the same title and 38 episodes, which wraps up the story with a conclusive finale. As for the Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart movie, it plays similar themes as the American musical movie Once, but with an LGBTQ+ slant. It also is smart in that it doesn't bog itself down too much with the relationship and expectations and just allows the story to play out as a love story between two individuals.

17 Out Of Breath (2019)

A Timid Woman Tries Dating In The Digital Age

A lot of gay K-dramas focus on the fear of LGBTQ+ characters having their sexuality found out. While this represents a very real fear of many of the community in Korea, it is also nice to see the stories where these people have loved ones who and accept them. Out of Breath tackles both aspects as it follows Ha-eun (Sohn Su-hyun), a young lesbian struggling to come out of her shell who is helped by her kind best friend who encourages her to try the world of dating apps.

While on the app, she meets Min-seo (Lim Ji Ahn), and the two of them do everything that Ha-eun always wanted to do with her ex but never had a chance until now. The movie takes a hard look at what it is like to be a young gay woman in South Korea, and the struggles that she encounters along the way.

16 You Make Me Dance (2021)

Two Men Pursue Their Dreams

You Make Me Dance is another K-drama that connects to the world of artistic expression. The series follows Song Shi On (Chu Young Woo), a student studying contemporary dance who is shunned by his family. He then moves in with Jin Hong Seok (Won Hyung Hoon), a young man who abandoned his dreams of being a pianist in favor of a secure corporate job. The themes of embracing the art that they love mirror the two men gradually acknowledging the romance that blossoms between them.

You Make Me Dance tells a beautiful story about two young men finding love while also achieving their greatest dreams and desires.

This is a miniseries short enough to binge-watch for most fans of gay K-dramas and there are eight episodes, each checking in at about 10 minutes each in length. Directed by Joon-moon So, who worked under the brilliant Park Chan-wook on the supernatural Korean horror movie Thirst, You Make Me Dance tells a beautiful story about two young men finding love while also achieving their greatest dreams and desires.