Our Favorite K-dramas with LGBTQ+ Storylines to Watch on KOCOWA Right Now

Happy Pride Month! KOCOWA is delighted to shine a light on shows that have LGBTQ+ storylines with hopes that we will have many more to come. 

Though there are only a few openly LGBTQ+ actors in Korea right now (due to Korea being a very conservative country in regards to gender and sexuality), there are plenty of shows that dipped their toe into the concept that love is love no matter what you look like.

Below are several K-dramas to sink into for Pride month where the main lead either questioned their sexuality or where there were openly gay characters. 

Though I have not watched all of these K-dramas, I do want to spotlight two that I think were wonderfully done, especially in the time they were created. Those two dramas are “Painter of the Wind” and “Coffee Prince”, which, for me, had sincere portrayals of what is meant to question either your gender or your sexuality. The other shows highlighted below are the variety show “Showterview with Jessi” and the K-dramas “Love With Flaws” and “XX”.

PAINTER OF THE WIND

“Painter of the Wind” is a thoughtful historical K-drama that cleverly explores the creation of real-life works of art from that time period. But not only that, it weaves the works of art beautifully into two love stories. 

“Painter of the Wind” is about a talented female painter named Shin Yoon Bok, who has to disguise herself as a boy in order to enter the Royal Painting Academy. This drama is lovely because it sincerely depicts the life of a person who, after spending most of their life hiding their gender, is led to question their gender and what that means.

Kim Hong Do is the painting instructor that falls in love with his young apprentice without knowing that he is actually a woman. The love story itself is low-key, sweet, and charming, indicative of the time period.

However, there is another love story worth talking about. Yes, our main character is entwined in two love stories in this show, and it is so beautiful to behold.

While disguised as a boy, Yoon Bok becomes very close friends with a gisaeng and allows that friendship to develop into love. Their relationship is so intense that the couple calls themselves “their beautiful beloved” and continue to use this term even when it is revealed that Yoon Bok is a woman.

After years of disguising herself as a boy, Yoon Bok starts to question who she is in this world: a talented male artist who serves the noble class or a well-mannered feminine woman who should serve a man. She decides that she can never be a subservient woman again, but she can also not be a man, and decides to live her life between both worlds.

The ending of this show is just *chefs kiss* and had me thinking about it for days and days afterwards. “Painter of the Wind” is a gorgeous K-drama that is highly recommended.

And now for a romantic comedy to lighten the “Painter of the Wind” woes.

[maxbutton id=”577″ ]  [maxbutton id=”582″ ] 

COFFEE PRINCE

Just a downright delightful romantic comedy. In “Coffee Prince,” Choi Han Gyul is the free-spirited heir to a chaebol food company. He is also a playboy who has no will to settle down. 

That is all well and good; however, he is under pressure from his grandmother to straighten up and fly right (i.e. get married and do something productive with his life). But Choi Han Gyul is not having any of that. To put a stop to his grandmother’s badgering, he hires poor, pretty boy, Ko Eun Chan, to pretend to be his gay lover. However, he does not know that Eun Chan is actually a girl!

To please his grandmother, Han Gyul opens a Coffee shop but decides to only hire men. He hires Eun Chan as well, believing that she is a man. Though they bicker at first, Han Gyul and Eun Chan soon become best friends. When Han Gyul starts to have romantic feelings for Eun Chan, he begins to question his sexual orientation. “Coffee Prince” is a wonderful delight of a show because we go through all the motions of Han Gyul falling in love with Eun Chan and wondering what that means. Why does he suddenly have these feelings for another man? Han Gyul begins to look inward, wondering excitedly about his new sexual desires for the same gender.  

This leads Han Gyul to completely throw away his notions of what love is, culminating in possibly one of the best love confessions (and kisses!) in K-drama history. (I just love that confession so much, y’all, it is so good).

Of course, the pie hits the sky when Han Gyul finds out that Eun Chan is actually a girl. He feels betrayed and hurt and doesn’t know how to confront those emotions either because this is the first time he has ever loved anyone or felt so betrayed by someone he loves.

For its time period, “Coffee Prince” did a great job of diving into one’s sexual orientation and what it means to love someone. It is not a show about pulling two people apart; it is more a show about bringing two people together. Everyone knows that Eun Chan and Han Gyul should be together and love each other, and they all work to make that happen. 

Y’all, what a wonderful concept! It is such a wonderful concept that this show still makes me smile whenever I think about it. It is really just the best emotional ride with new love. Highly recommended.

---

As mentioned, “Coffee Prince” and “Painter of the Wind” are my favorite dramas on this list. However, a big caveat is that those dramas were made several years ago and do not showcase openly gay characters, and they are just the beginning of K-drama’s exploration into sexual identity and sexual orientation. 

Thankfully, Korea is slowly starting to positively depict LGBTQ storylines in more dramas in recent years. To that, we say heck yes! Also, give us more! The more representation we have across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, the better. 

Below are three K-dramas KOCOWA recommends that show openly gay characters and storylines and are great to check out for Pride Month. 

[maxbutton id=”578″ ]  [maxbutton id=”582″ ] 

LOVE WITH FLAWS

“Love With Flaws” is a romantic comedy about two childhood friends who find each other again as adults. However, the male character is much too handsome for the woman to fall in love with. Mostly because she despises handsome men, having been surrounded by her handsome brothers all her life. One of the brothers of the female lead is an openly gay character who runs a gay bar. His love storyline involves meeting someone who is just coming out and the challenges that come with having a relationship with someone who is newly out to the community.

[maxbutton id=”579″ ]  [maxbutton id=”582″ ] 

XX

“XX” is the story of a talented female bartender named Na Na who dreams of opening her own bar one day. However, she gets deterred when she has to overcome an obstacle from her past. The main characters roommate, best friend, and confidant is a gay man named Jung Deun who is always trying to lead Na Na in the right direction. Their friendship is adorable and is one of the best parts of this already well made drama. Plus, he has his own successful boutique that plays a key role in this show.

[maxbutton id=”580″ ]  [maxbutton id=”582″ ] 

SHOWTERVIEW WITH JESSIE

Showterview is a high energy interview show hosted by Jessi, a Korean-American rapper, singer, and songwriter based in Korea. A fun episode to watch is episode 41 with Hong Seok Cheon who is an out and proud entertainer in Korea. On that show we learn all about how he started as an entertainer in Korea (including passing all major broadcasters talent programs!), when he came out, and what he is doing now.

[maxbutton id=”583″ ] [maxbutton id=”582″ ]

Happy Pride month, everyone! All of these dramas and more are available right now on KOCOWA. Start your free two-week trial today!