[Short but sweet] A web drama appreciation post
by Guest Beanie
W.H.Y.
This month’s theme of “Short but sweet” is the perfect time to talk about the growing body of K-web dramas. Just like the name says, K-web dramas are broadcast online and typically comprise of 10 episodes and each episode runs about 15 minutes per episode. As web dramas have grown more common, we’ve also started to see them become a gateway for rising actors to big TV network/cable dramas. Shin Ye-eun of That Psychometric Guy debuted in the web drama A-Teen. Kim Dong-hee of SKY Castle was in the same web drama with Shin Ye-eun.
It was hard to choose, but I will talk about my top three favorite web dramas.
W.H.Y.
W.H.Y centered on the male lead Yeon-woo as he tried to figure out the reason his girlfriend had broken up with him. She was his high school crush, and he was thrilled when she finally agreed to go out with him, but their relationship ended on their 100th day anniversary. To help Yeon-woo get over his heatbreak, his best buddies took him on a trip to the countryside. On Jeju island, they met a noona who was also trying to get over her heartbreak, and another noona who worked at a guesthouse they ended up staying in.
W.H.Y.
As Yeon-woo reminisced about his ex-girlfriend and revisited his beautiful memories with her, his stay on Jeju Island gave him an opportunity to think things through – the things he did for the relationship, the things he gave up to be in the relationship; the things he might have overlooked in that relationship. Maybe the relationship wasn’t as perfect as he had pictured it in his mind?
W.H.Y.
What I loved about this web drama was that I got to witness how heartwarming the boys’ friendship was — they had each other’s backs no matter what. That friendship extended to the two noonas they randomly met on the road and the web drama also showed what the beauty of the picturesque Jeju Island.
Not to mention, the OST of this web drama is amazing: Trouble by Bol4. I’m still listening to it to this day.
Just One Bite
Just One Bite focused on three couples talking about their romantic relationships with their respective friends while binge eating. I’ll only talk about one couple here as they were my favourite among the three.
Soo-ji and Chan-hyuk were high school sweethearts and who had been going out for four years when we meet them in the drama. On the surface they’re the ideal couple who are incredibly into each other. The problem is that as much as they love each other, Soo-ji doesn’t have quite enough love and respect for herself. When she’s around his buddies, she pokes fun at herself for being chubby and treats her relationship with him as a joke – i.e. she jokes that he is only dating her because she is funny and that she confessed to him first, which is completely opposite of the actual events. Chan-hyuk is, in fact, head over heels for her, and he asked her out first.
Just One Bite
Her insecurity and worry that she’s incompatible with him because she’s chubby and not “pretty” grows the longer they’re together. She even believed that confirmation of her suspicions that Chan-hyuk was cheating was inevitable. When no cheating ever happened, that broke her even more.
Season 1 left me wanting for quality time for the two as individuals before anything else. Although season 2 was less interesting, my favourite couple had a pretty decent ending.
Just One Bite
Soo-ji and Chan-hyuk’s story showed why self-love is so important. I didn’t support Soo-ji being in a relationship when she didn’t even know how to love herself first. Chan-hyuk could give her the moon and stars, but even that wouldn’t be enough assurance for her. In her eyes, she remained an unattractive and an inadequate partner for him. While season 2 did not really highlight the change that happened within Soo-ji, I appreciated how they agreed to find a way to grow together, not only as a couple, but as separate individuals.
Have a Nice Dessert
Sometimes a plot doesn’t need to be heavily analyzed to be great. Have a Nice Dessert has one of the sweetest couples I’ve seen; as sweet as the desserts they promote in this web drama. I was all smiles watching them together and their basically non-existent conflicts. This is one of my favorites because I can watch it mindlessly for a sweet entertaining treat.
Have a Nice Dessert
Cheong-nan and Yeon-nam were freshman university students. It was love at first sight for Yeon-nam as he found her adorable and lovable from the moment he first saw her. However, it took Cheong-nam a little later to realize her interest has shifted from her former crush to Yeong-nam, but I appreciated her growth.
K-web dramas, short but sweet. Sometimes I wish they were longer and the characters were more fleshed out, but most times, I’m content by how quick the plot builds up and how quickly things get wrapped up.
Have a Nice Dessert
RELATED POSTS
Tags: Theme of the Month
![[K-drama Treasure Hunt] Heart-fluttery bottle opening](https://d263ao8qih4miy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Kdrama-treasure-hunt.png)
Required fields are marked *
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
1 No-ID
April 9, 2019 at 6:17 AM
Thank you for this post! I’m so sad I’ve never even heard of these web dramas before, and they totally sound like my cup of tea!
Could you possibly recommend more here in the comment section please? (No limit on the number, just as many as possible) Thank you :)
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 6:57 AM
Absolutely! I am mostly a fan of Playlist Global production - 2/3 of my favourites are from there. So you can check out their many short series on their YT channel. But I’ll definitely write up some more of my favourites/noteworthy ones when I get back from work 😃
And yay thanks for having my post up!
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 8:18 AM
Comment was deleted
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 8:19 PM
Comment was deleted
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 8:20 PM
Here are some more I recommend. I am into high-school sweethearts/friends-turn-to-lovers and that's why the list below screams that kind of plot ^^
Seventeen - romance stories of high school friends. I think there's 3 stories involved, but my favourite one was the main couple's. The setting reminds me a lot of Reply 1997 - group of friends got together and took a trip down the memory lane of their high school. In the restaurant they were dining in, it revealed who ended up dating, ended up breaking up, what went on in their high school from each character's perspective.
Love Playlist Season 3 - Now for some reason, Love Playlist Seasons do not really interest me. I`ll try to rewatch it, but I just couldn't get past of Season 1 Ep 1. But Season 3 introduced childhood bestfriends Ha Neul and Pu Reum - Pu Reum is annoying af when she was introduced; she was a side character that I couldn't care less of and wished she'd stop blabbing. But when it was her turn to tell her own love story, hers ended up being my favourite! It's just so cute that she`s totally "friendzoning" Ha Neul. The feeling was mutual for Ha Neul, or so he thought until he started blocking guys wanting to get to know her, until he got curious who she likes who is not a celebrity, until he kissed her on the cheek during their annual birthday photobooth session! like eeeppps! 😆 Wishing Season 4 will have more of their story!
Love After School - Myungrok and Sein met at a after school detention class. The plot is another trip down the memory lane by the main female lead of high school days - how she met Myungrok, became friends with him, dated him, and broke up with him. *Warning* - Please only watch Season 1. Let's leave Myungrok and Sein's beautiful HEA love story closed in Season 1. Wanting/Wishing to see more is like opening a can of worms.
No Time For Love- This is in college setting. I liked the sort-of plot twist of this web drama.
That's all for now ^_^ This post is quite long with my essay plots. lol
Required fields are marked *
de
April 10, 2019 at 3:26 AM
The Boy Next Door. It's really really funny!
Required fields are marked *
2 superwhopotterlock
April 9, 2019 at 7:21 AM
WHY- I was so sad watching the other best friend suffer- he had to give up on his love as well as lost his friendship with her. He couldn't even confess to her later. I can't blame the girl totally as well. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with the guys but that reluctance lead to her losing them eventually. If she had just been honest with Yeon woo, I'm sure he would understand.
Have a nice dessert was such a sweet drama. Although I wanted the misunderstanding between the Yeon nam and Cheong nam's older sister to clear up, I'm glad it didn't Dwell on it (since there was no time).
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 7:45 AM
Right! Here’s to hoping there will be a season 2 just for his story! Such a genuine guy, he broke my heart too at the end. Yeah I don’t blame the girl either, look what happened when she called it quits - she turned into a stranger to them. But all is good, if it weren’t for Yeon Woo’s heartbreak he wouldn’t have met noona 😏.
Have a nice dessert - unni was soooo cute tho at the end. Yeon Nam kneeling before her when she caught them being all cozy on the couch 😂
Required fields are marked *
3 bam 🐢🐌💖~
April 9, 2019 at 8:03 AM
Waffle! 😍
Required fields are marked *
4 lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 8:18 AM
Hi there :) Welcome to the world of web dramas - once you get in, you can't get out! If you don't mind, I do have a list (I watched all above and more), I watched tons over Youtube mainly :)
As @13infamyss mentioned, watch all of Playlist Global's productions, they have Eng Subs on all their videos. Other than those mentioned here, Love Playlist (3 seasons) and Not Alright But It's Alright are great productions as well
Channels that provide English subtitles:
1. Dingo K-Drama channel - Miss Independent Ji-Eun, No Time For Love and Real Life Love Story - 4 seasons (last one is more of an anthology rather than a web-drama)
2. Beautiology channel - 너대처법, My Dog-like Dating, 짝사랑 전세역전, Love After School
3. tvN D Story channel - Ok to be sensitive? (2 seasons), When you love yourself, Society Obsessed with Love
4. studio lululala channel - Fork Your Boss (both seasons) and First Kiss
5. KOK (King Of Korean-drama) TV channel - Secret Crushes (3 seasons), Room of Romance, Always a Boy Friend, Never a Boyfriend Season 3
6. 썸카페 channel - 트리플썸 (Ongoing)
7. A Day Before Us (channel of the same name) - it's a anime-style version unlike the rest, but cute!
I went by channels instead because most channels that are successful with web-dramas tend to do a few. Tried to include more unknown ones here as well!
Sorry for the Korean titles for some of them, couldn't find the English ones, but you can search these directly, and they have English subtitles.
For those who are working, would really recommend Fork Your Boss :))
For those who can watch without subs (subtitles not provided):
1. My Ex Diary from Krispy Studio channel 💖
2. 썸 끓는 시간, 4분 30초 from 라면공작소 channel
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 8:19 AM
This was meant to be a reply to @No-ID haha :)) The rest of you knock yourselves out, this is a list to binge watch :) Thank god they are shorter than regular dramas haha
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 11:50 AM
Thank you listing! Web dramas have grown so much that it’s hard to keep track the channels and series! So this is helpful.
Dingo has a lot of one-episode web dramas, but it’s mostly for the purpose of PPL 😂😂 I was watching this series, I forgot the title, but the face mask ad was legit in every scenario.
I watched Real Love Story too, but I got confused with the plot. Was it a series of different plots, nonrelated to each other, but roleplayed by same main leads?
Beautiology is in my top channel to watch too!
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 11:59 AM
Yup, you are spot on about the concept of Real Love Story! Each episode is based off a different story submitted by a viewer, but they keep the same actors since I think it's easier and cheaper and well, they're cute haha
Haha Dingo's PPL videos I don't regard them as webdramas they are basically one video skits with advertisements 😂
Yep Beautiology is great! I think I have been following them for probably 2 years now :)
I generally liked web dramas because they are basically romance dramas but a fraction of the time, and still gives off the heart-fluttering feelings, with a lot of heart and you can discover cute newbie actors too :) Then I started seeing some other genres like Fork Your Boss and by 72secTV and enjoyed them for their witty style. I think it's great that some channels use their dramas to highlight societal issues like in tvN D Story!
Actually there are even more web dramas but these are mainly the channels that stuck more to my memory and I eliminated some that I didn't think were as of quality heh
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 12:33 PM
Couldn’t agree more! web dramas tend to be perfect in hitting the right buttons for me if I wanted less complex plot, but it doesn’t diminish the same vibe/feel with their main couple. You still end up rooting for them to get together. And yes I agree with discovering new actors!
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 12:05 PM
Oh right! Forgot to mention:
8. 72secTV channel - Banana Actually (2 seasons)!
I think this was what kicked off my web drama craze. This channel has a pretty witty editing style, I'm kind of sad they don't really upload as much as before. Sadly they don't have subs for all their series, but Banana Actually does!
Sorry about the list being a little long, if I had time I would give a summary for all the web dramas but I'm occupied with finals right now, if y'all have any questions just hit me up!
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 12:37 PM
Thank you so much for your effort! Feel free to recommend more whenever you get a moment. I thought I had seen most of them already but looking at think list and what you still haven’t written, obviously I would need to search up more 😂😂 I haven’t seen this Banana Actually.
Good luck with your finals!😄
Required fields are marked *
lostmysanity
April 9, 2019 at 1:34 PM
Wow you have seen most of them? Then did you watch all 3 seasons of Secret Crushes by the KOK channel? That was a personal favourite :)
If you have trained your Korean listening well enough, would really recommend My Ex Diary from Krispy Studio as well, wish it was subbed so it could be more known :')
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 1:51 PM
Thought I did, but seeing your list guess not 🙃🙃 some of the titles don’t ring a bell, but maybe I’ve come across them on YT.
And yeah unfortunately I can only pick up Korean words, I can’t watch a drama with no subtitles at all. 😰
5 Yashashree Jadhav
April 9, 2019 at 9:15 AM
Web dramas have grown into a cozy corner in my Kdrama lover heart!
these days with fresh new topics and quick short and sweet time slots (and might I add, belated but very present Eng Subs!) these cute gems are adorable to watch!
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 11:56 AM
Right, they’re really a good pass time if you’re in a K-drama slump or you’re not exactly looking for an hour long series.
And yes! The fact that these channels offer English subs is such a great feat. When I first saw these web dramas on my recommended channels on YT a few years back, it hurt clicking on them cuz there wouldn’t be subs at all. Then I don’t know, one day, I just had an influx of web drama series with English subs popping up on YT! What a time to be alive 😵😵
Required fields are marked *
6 dramamad
April 9, 2019 at 10:01 AM
Is anyone watching I hate you Juliet? It’s cute in a formulaic way but sometimes that’s just what you need. Noble my live was actually the first web drama I watched though it’s pretty long for a web series l.
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 11:59 AM
I have never heard of it, not even Noble my live! Thank you for recommending. I’ll look that series up.
Speaking of, I don’t remember now what my first web drama was. I wanted to say it was Seventeen, but I think I saw something before that.
Required fields are marked *
growingbeautifully
April 9, 2019 at 5:06 PM
@13infamyss
Thanks for your article. I missed all these!! Now I know what to look for when I'm in between shows. :-)
Just a note: The title of the drama I think should be "Noble my Love".
Required fields are marked *
dramamad
April 9, 2019 at 6:43 PM
Love- yes sorry about the typo
Required fields are marked *
Blue (@mayhemf)
April 14, 2019 at 6:55 AM
Am watching it. I started it because it was short episodes and surprised I am kinda liking it. I like the fact that the college life seems a bit real. Students actually attend classes and do projects :))
Noble my love - I didn’t like it.
Required fields are marked *
7 beantown
April 9, 2019 at 10:18 AM
Thank you, these sound wonderful !
Required fields are marked *
8 RaOnAh loves Jay B 💚
April 9, 2019 at 11:42 AM
These all sound so cute 💕
Required fields are marked *
9 sal
April 9, 2019 at 2:07 PM
To me web drama is like short story that even tough it have smaler narrative scope still manage to tell a story in effective way. maybe it do not have allot of character growth. What short story strength is telling a story in a moment of life of a character, and one event that happens to affect them, witch can be just as captivating as longer story.
Required fields are marked *
10 JustMe
April 9, 2019 at 2:37 PM
Ive become a fan of webdramas over the past few months. They get straight to the point and so the angst doesnt last long. And if its cheesy romcom sweetness youre looking for, you get it just at the right dose before you cringe. Sometimes, however, serious issues are only lightly treaded upon and they dont go into much detail on how to handle it. Which can be bothersome. But when done right, webdramas are the perfect weekend escape from the real world.
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 9, 2019 at 7:37 PM
Agree with all your points. The first few web dramas used to be around 5-6 mins long. And I`m just amazed how an episode could fit in 5-6 mins and still manage to get the message come across (ie. Seventeen)
I agree that serious issues in the plot get brushed off cuz they either have little time to talk about them or it's just plain bad writing. I enjoyed Season 1 of Love After School, but hated every single episode of its Season 2. Once the cute and fluff faded, and it tried step into a sensitive topic issue, it failed to get my interest back in and I ended up hating the fact that main leads were still together ~_~. Wish I could undo watching the season 2. So yeah, bottom line is you don't seek for web dramas if you want something more spice in the plot. There's TV network/cable dramas for that. ~_^ Web dramas are only suitable for cute, light, mindless watch.
Required fields are marked *
JustMe
April 10, 2019 at 2:18 PM
YES THAT WAS THE ONE I HAD IN MIND! I remember reading in the comments of the end of season 1 to not watch season 2 so i didnt, im glad i did from what i hear from you.
Required fields are marked *
11 HANI
April 10, 2019 at 12:27 AM
Ohhh...So Kim Hyang Gi move on from Park Solomon (and Cha Eun Woo) to Kim Ming Gyu? Giirrlll~ this unnie is jealous~ lol
Will definitely check this out later~
Not familiar with web drama tbh as I think I only watched a few. 7 kisses (a lot of handsome oppas), The boy next door (I laugh so much watching this), the one with EXO Suho, I forgot the title and Revenge Note.
Required fields are marked *
12 yop
April 10, 2019 at 3:25 AM
I love W.H.Y., A-teen and The Boy Next Door (his one is soooo funny, I'm a big fan of Jang Ki-yong)
Required fields are marked *
13 geminirat
April 10, 2019 at 4:37 AM
I'm not sure if My First Time is a web drama but it's a short one. Young people can relate to the story. And you realize what young men will do when they learn they are in love with the same woman.
Required fields are marked *
14 nahaluk
April 10, 2019 at 7:37 AM
Thank you for the post, I already watched WHY and I'm half way through "Have a nice dessert" which is super cute and the FL is a dessert herself. What I like about these short dramas is the lack of fillers.
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 10, 2019 at 5:48 PM
I love my macaroons couple 🥰🥰 I liked when Yeon Nam said he would fill his insta page with their pictures since Cheong Nam has photos of desserts all over on her insta but not one of her pic. Auuugh he’s sooo into her, it hurts. Happy watching! 😬
Required fields are marked *
15 Ayan
April 10, 2019 at 11:47 AM
Thank you for sharing this, I've been loving these web dramas on YouTube. Its just the perfect dose of drama after a tiring day.
I'm definitely going to check out w.h.y tonight :)
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 10, 2019 at 5:44 PM
Yay! Happy Watching! Hope you liked it 😬
Required fields are marked *
Ayan
April 11, 2019 at 12:24 AM
I really enjoyed W.H.Y, I'm hoping they will do another season for jae young. They could all go on a trip together again and he meets someone new. They can't end his story like this!
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 11, 2019 at 6:49 AM
Yes! That’s such a great idea for season 2 - the gang going on another trip to a different picturesque countryside this time. It’s really sad how no one knew Jae Young had his heart broken too and that it had been a painful journey for him all throughout. He didn’t even spare Ju Hyun’s feelings (despite how much he liked her) when she came to see them because he was mad at her for Yeon Woo. What a great buddy 😭 His epilogue definitely calls for a second season, and so I hope it happens quick!
I think I am all for a new love for Jae Young too! As much as I don’t blame Ju Hyun for going out then breaking up with Yeon Woo, I think it’s about time they all move on from this - that includes Jae Young and Ju Hyun. They look like two people who would have been cute together, but so much time and events had passed. I think they aren’t really meant to be together.
Required fields are marked *
Ayan
April 11, 2019 at 9:03 AM
Exactly I cant imagine how painful it must be watching someone you love dating someone else and being unable to get any closure or confess.
I think it would be uncomfortable for everyone if jaeyoung and ju hyun started dating.
It would definitely strain the boys friendship no matter how yeon woo is over the break up.
Its such a shame that ju hyun lost their friendship, what she was trying so hard to keep.
Maybe there can be a scene where she is meeting someone new and letting her and Jae hyun have that closure.
16 Kim Sun👸💖💖💖
April 11, 2019 at 2:07 AM
I Just saw drunk on good taste (have a dessert) couple of days ago and I loved it alot, every character in that drama is cute but kim hyang gi is the cutest.. That girl must be a fairy
Required fields are marked *
17 Mich
April 11, 2019 at 10:40 AM
YAY for appreciating web dramas! have so many fave web dramas (many of them written here) and i'm glad there are these short drama bites that can be devoured in an hour or so haha. special shouts to Banana Actually (my first!), Closer to Uijeongbu than Sadang (S1/S3), Miss Independent Jieun, Office Watch (S1; S3 - you were a little weird...) Love Playlist S1/S2, Seventeen, A-Teen! (can't wait for S2!), 너, 대처법 (i don't know the English title heh)... can't wait to discover more!
Required fields are marked *
13infamyss
April 12, 2019 at 6:41 AM
I know what I’ll do this weekend then! Binge on some more web dramas 😁😁
For some reason I can’t get into the Office Watch vibe - I’m always stuck in that part where there were three of them in the office and two of them were once a couple. And the girl is still obviously into him. I’ll try to watch it again.
And eeeepps! A-teen Season 2!!! They’re 19 now! They released a new teaser and it looks like it will centre on Kim Ha Na this time. I heard Shin Ye Eun and Shin Seung Ho are only making special appearances 💔💔 still can’t wait to watch it!
Required fields are marked *
Mich
April 12, 2019 at 10:20 AM
AH that sounds like Season 3! it's a bit weird and i'm not really into what it turned into... try it from S1 :) that was more fun and the office romance was a little more believable haha. (but the guy in S3 is hella cute lol.)
and awww Do-ha and Si-woo >.< hope they'll make more appearances than less! can't wait! nice that the actors and actresses are getting more recognition, esp after some got casted in cable shows like Sky Castle and He is Psychometric.
Required fields are marked *