A list of long-running K-dramas for the patient: two stunning actresses from “Boys Over Flowers” appeared on two seperate dramas
Despite their long airtime, these dramas still managed to gain impressive ratings.
Before short drama series airing weekly, Korean television produced no less dramas longer than 100 episodes that aired daily and received plenty of love from the audiences. These K-dramas held firmly their positions as dramas with the most episodes in one airing season.
Heaven and Earth – 165 episodes
Starting airing in 2017, “Heaven and Earth” created a fever for motifs of simple but profound family dramas. The series surrounds the main male character Mu Young (played by Park Hae Jin) who was abandoned by his mother at the gate of a house and was adopted by the married couple of the house. While loved and sheltered equally, with his natural mischief, Mu Young tends to create troubles.
The message the series wants to convey is that family by nurture can surpass family by birth. Spanning across 165 episodes, the series garnered an average rating of 30% in 9 months of broadcast and became an important “food for the soul” for Korean audiences.
High Kick Through the Roof – 167 episodes
With a total of 167 episodes in the first season, “High Kick Through the Roof” is considered the most long-running comedy sitcom on Korean television. Telling the stories of the extended Lee family, the show makes the viewers “laugh until they cry” from comic situations. The series soon became a phenomenon across Asia.
After the success of the first season in 2006, the series released another season, gaining enthusiastic responses. Adding the total episodes from the two seasons, “High Kick Through the Roof” amounts to nearly 400 high-quality episodes.
Hearts of Nineteen – 167 episodes
It seems as if long-running Korean dramas liked the 2006-2007 period to make their debut. Before getting famous in highschool-themed drama “Boys Over Flowers”, “Grass girl” Goo Hye Sun played the lead in “Hearts of Nineteen”.
The drama aired in KBS1 for 8 months about a countryside girl named Gook Hwa who packs her bags and heads for Seoul after her engagement with Soon Goo, the son of a educated, middle class family. Just as she steps in Seoul, she receives a heart-breaking news: her husband got into an accident and passed away. Insteading of going back to her hometown, Gook Hwa decides to stay in Seoul, settle down, build her own career and start a new life. The series was a major commercial success and reached a viewership of 43.2%.
Likeable or Not – 172 episodes
Making its first appearance in 2007, “Likeable or Not” once held the record of being the longest-running Korean television show. The series revolves around the couple Dan Poong (Han Ji Hye) and Baek Ho (Kim Ji Suk). Baek Ho meets Dan Poong at a food festival organized by Dan Poong’s company and, subsequently, falls in love with her. However, Dan Poong, at the time, is dating Hyun Woo, Baek Ho’s old highschool friend. Through ups and downs, the two finally end up with each other, but new obstacles abound.
“Likeable or Not” earned a top-notch average rating in Korea, with the highest episodic rating of 43.9%.
Happiness in the Wind – 173 episodes
Airing in 2010, “Happiness in the Wind” surpassed “Likeable or Not” to become the longest-running Korean show in a single season. 173 episodes centers on Oh Bok’s journey to realize the dream of being a top illustrator as well as her attempts to manage a life in the difficult city, Seoul.
She resembles Goo Hye Sun’s character in “Hearts of Nineteen”, played by none other than Kim So Eun, Goo Hye Sun’s future castmate in “Boys Over Flowers”. Starting their careers with hundred-episode dramas, the two actresses earned deserved successes with astounding drama ratings.
Source: Soompi
