We all wear masks in our daily lives. A temporary worker wears a mask of an owner at a hostess bar, a girl who used to be a terrible bully back in her school days now wears a mask of a graceful lady to impress her blind date, and a director of child care center who abuses children puts on a mask of an angel before cameras. Hiding our true selves under the masks, we lead a lonely life. Today is the age of materialism, and a married couple that left love and everything behind to get what they want discovers each other\u2019s true colors under their masks and realizes that love and family matter the most.

Mask

The Pretenders

KBS, KOCOWA

As a teenager, Kang Joo Eun (Shin Min Ah) was an undeniable beauty, but time and stress have taken their toll. After being dumped by her boyfriend of 15 years, Joo Eun's self-esteem hits rock bottom. Enter Kim Yeong Ho (So Ji Sub), a renowned personal trainer for Hollywood stars, who reluctantly returns to Korea to face his family after a scandal with an actress. Despite his wealthy background, Yeong Ho bears emotional scars from a devastating childhood injury, which he has managed through a disciplined, healthy lifestyle. Yeong Ho agrees to help Joo Eun regain her health and confidence. Could their working relationship turn into something more? Kim Hyung Suk and Lee Na Jeong directed this 2015 South Korean series.

Oh My Venus

Minion's Rising Team

Oh Yeon Joo (Han Hyo Joo) is searching for her missing webtoon-writing father when she is sucked into the strange world of her father’s comic creation. In this dimension, she comes face-to-face with Kang Cheol (Lee Jong Suk), an Olympic gold medal winner and self-made millionaire… and the main character in her father’s unfinished masterpiece “W.” Yeon Joo soon discovers that she can only escape from this bizarre universe by winning the feelings of Cheol. Will she ever return to the “real” world – and find love on the way? This 2016 South Korean drama series was directed by Jung Dae Yoon.

Cassiopeia

Tencent

How far back do their destinies cross in history? Xue Ling Qiao (Kim Tae Hwan) is a mutant man with superpowers who has been roaming the Earth for 500 years but has been trapped in a deep sleep for the past 100 years. When B-actress Tian Jing Zhi (Wu Qian) gets into a car accident, Ling Qiao is released from his sleep trap. He uses his powers to heal her wounds and bring her back to life. With nowhere else to go, Ling Qiao forces his way into rooming with Jing Zhi in her apartment, becoming embroiled in her crazy world of trying to make it as an actress under the shadows of a perfect A-list star. As they bicker their way to a better relationship, they are shocked to learn that their fates have been entangled by a conspiracy that spans many centuries! “My Amazing Boyfriend” is a 2016 Chinese drama series directed by Deng Ke.

My Amazing Boyfriend

The Mutant Team

SET TV

There is something to be said for late bloomers! Ji Wen Kai (Aaron Yan) and Zhong Yu Tang (Joanne Tseng) have known each other since childhood and have always competed against each other. But it was no contest as Yu Tang always was at the top of her class while Wen Kai couldn’t do any better than mediocre grades. After graduation, Yu Tang lands a coveted job at MUSE Cosmetics and works her way up the secretarial pool. She is poised to take over as the Head Secretary to the new incoming CEO of the company. Wen Kai worked odd jobs after graduation and then went abroad to find work. Years later, MUSE Cosmetics is in crisis and the company brings in Wen Kai as the new CEO to help turn the company around. Imagine their surprise when Wen Kai realizes that his new secretary is none other than Yu Tang from his childhood! With the tables turned, will anything Yu Tang does or say be good enough for Wen Kai? “Refresh Man” is a 2016 Taiwanese drama series.

Refresh Man

The Marvelous Rivals

SETTV

Could anyone be more excited to reach her 26th birthday? Pi Ya Nuo (Megan Lai) had an inauspicious start to her life. When she was born 25 years ago, her parents and extended family – along with their fortuneteller – eagerly awaited her arrival in the delivery room so that they could bless the beginning of the Pi family’s heir. Upon hearing her first cry, the fortuneteller predicted on the spot that the baby boy would be a great success and a natural-born leader. But when the nurses announce that the baby is a girl, the stunned fortuneteller immediately announces that the girl would not survive her childhood unless she lives as a boy for the first 25 years of her life. Only then can Ya Nuo change her bad fate and bring prosperity to her family. On her 26th birthday, Ya Nuo can go back to her true gender without any repercussions. Doomed to live her life as a boy, Ya Nuo is shy and always tries to keep her distance to people to hide her true identity, and the mysterious aloofness makes her irresistible to the girls around her. One day, she accidentally helps out Du Zi Feng (Baron Chen), who happens to be a triad leader, and his sister, Du Zi Han (Mandy Tao). While Zi Han falls in love with Ya Nuo, Zi Feng becomes Ya Nuo’s “sworn brother” and best friend. With her 26th birthday fast approaching, will Ya Nuo find her much-anticipated return to being a female will be as easy as she had hoped? “Bromance” is a 2015 Taiwanese drama series directed by Chen Rong Hui.

Bromance

The B-romantic Triad

What happens when true love meets Murphy’s Law? Murphy’s Law states “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Guan Xiao Tong (Ivelyn Lee) is known as the “love guru” of the Meet and Match Online Dating Company, able to solve anybody’s relationship issues. When Ji Jia Wei's (Danson Tang) proposal is rejected by his girlfriend (Jenna Wang), he decides to heal his wounds by setting up a divorce agency that provides divorced couples with "happy endings". He sets it up across the street from the matchmaking agency where Guan Xiao Tong works while healing from her own difficult breakup. When the two meet, sparks fly, but is it hate... or love? Can they have a happy ending together or will Xiao Tong find that she is destined to have bad luck in love? Meanwhile, Xiang Zi Yan (Jolin Chien), Xiao Tong's boss' son, gets to know Xiao Tong and begins to develop feelings for her. “Murphy’s Law of Love” is a 2015 Taiwanese drama series.

Murphy's Law of Love

The Murphys

Life is best lived through the cuisine of the world. Han Jie (Lego Li) is a heralded celebrity chef who runs a restaurant in Europe but returns to Taiwan to become a culinary teacher at Si Ping High School to fulfill his promise to his old mentor. Fang Xiao Rou (Allison Lin), the mentor’s daughter, also works as a culinary instructor at the school and immediately clashes with Han Jie on teaching and cooking. Han Jie’s best friend, Wen Zhen Yu (Duncan Chow), also teaches at the school but the two friends soon become rivals for Xiao Rou’s affections. Jiang Pei Ying (Nita Lei), Xiao Rou’s best friend and fellow teacher, also has strong feelings for her fellow colleagues. Can the four instructors keep their differences in check to share their culinary passion with their students? “Love Cuisine” is a 2015 Taiwanese drama series.

Love Cuisine

The Culinarians

If you were to look back on your life, what would you remember most about your high school days and what you and your friends thought was important back then? Sung Shi Won (Jung Eun Ji) and her five friends – Yoon Yoon Jae (Seo In Guk), Mo Yoo Jung (Shin So Yul), Kang Joon Hee (Hoya), Do Hak Chan (Eun Ji Won) and Bang Sung Jae (Lee Shi Un) – were friends in high school in 1997, when the K-pop and celebrity idols were gaining national popularity, and they were swept up in the adoration of their favorite K-pop and other idol stars. To the 18-year-old Shi Won, her entire world revolved around Tony An of H.O.T., and her only aspiration in life was to grow up to become his wife. Her best friend Yoo Jung was her partner in crime, also falling in love with a different idol everyday. Fifteen years later at the age of 33, the six high school friends meet for a mini-reunion, during which two of the friends announce their plans to marry. As they reminisce about the height of their teenage angst, the viewer needs to try to figure out which two friends fell in love during the 15 years since high school, much like the popular American sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” Which two friends’ passionate idolization K-pop stars turned into a genuine love for each other?

“Answer Me 1997,” also known as “Reply 1997,” is a 2012 South Korean drama series directed by Shin Won Ho.

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