Sometimes we all need to sit back and relax... And watching dramas that don’t tax your emotions or pull at your heartstrings – like those in this collection – is a good way to do just that!

Healing Dramas

Lee Yeo Reum (Seolhyun) is a young woman whose career and life are going very well: She has just been awarded permanent contract status at work, and she has a boyfriend she likes very much. But work is starting to get stressful, and then she is hit with a double whammy of misfortune. Her mother dies in a tragic accident just moments after she is dumped by her boyfriend. Feeling utterly dejected and burned out, she decides to quit her job, head to the seaside, and do absolutely nothing for a while – at least until she can recharge her batteries and recover mentally.

She moves to a small seaside village named Angok. And it is here that she meets An Dae Beom (Im Siwan), a stuttering librarian who also has his share of skeletons in the closet. Many years ago, he was a math prodigy with a bright academic future ahead of him. But circumstances have forced him away from the big city and the scholastic life. What will happen when these two lost souls meet – and will a spell of “doing nothing” in this small town really cure their ills?

This drama was adapted from the web-based cartoon (webtoon) series by Joo Young Hyun.

“Summer Strike” is a 2022 South Korean drama series that was directed by Lee Yoon Jung.

Summer Strike

🍃 Let Me Be Lazy Team 🍃

Living as a loner his entire life, Jae Shik (Jin Goo) has never bothered to worry about anyone other than himself. Constantly short on cash, he has no scruples when it comes to making money. Whatever the job, whatever the scheme, he’s ready and willing to take it, so long as it pays off in the end. So when an opportunity to score some serious cash presents itself, he doesn’t let it pass him by. Little does he know, the decision to do so will change his life forever.

Too young to understand the tragedy that has befallen her, Eun Hye (Jung Seo Yeon) has no idea that her life has changed forever. Both blind and deaf, Eun Hye has one in the world willing to step in to care for her; at least not until Jae Shik arrives. Hoping to collect a hefty sum as the caregiver of a disabled child, Jae Shik willingly takes on the role of Eun Hye’s “father”. But life with Eun Hye turns out to be very different than what he imagined.

Finding ways to communicate with Eun Hye, the walls Jae Shik has built around himself slowly begin to break down. Learning to care for someone other than himself, both Jae Shik and Eun Hye’s lives are changed forever. But will this change be enough to keep them together once the truth behind his actions is brought to light?

A touching story from start to finish, “You are So Precious to Me” is a 2021 family drama film directed by Lee Chang Won and Kwon Sung Mo.

You're So Precious to Me

My Lovely Angel Team❣️

Fearless emergency service worker Kang San Hyeok (Park Hae Jin) is blighted by memory gaps. But when his rescue work leads him to a seemingly enchanted forest, he starts discovering clues about his childhood. He also meets Jeong Yeong Jae (Jo Bo Ah), a passionate young surgeon who has just begun a residency in the forest. As they spend more time in the woodland, they feel a strange bond drawing them together. Could their pasts somehow be intertwined? Will they learn the truth in this forest? And could it bring them to love? This 2020 South Korean romantic drama was directed by Oh Jong Rok.

Forest

Mysterious Forest Team

Fuji TV

Eight years after a heart-wrenching breakup, Tsumugi Aoba (Haruna Kawaguchi) unexpectedly reunites with her first love, Sou Sakura (Ren Meguro), only to discover he’s lost most of his hearing. As their shared love for music rekindles old feelings, Tsumugi is drawn back into Sou’s world, now silent and full of unspoken emotions. With fate giving them a second chance, Tsumugi must find a way to navigate the challenges of Sou’s new reality while reigniting the love they once had. Will their bond overcome the silence, or will the past keep them apart forever? This is a 2022 Japanese romance drama directed by Hiroki Kazama.

Silent

The Sound of Love Team

Hunan TV, Mango TV

Hotel industry professional Xu Hong Dou (Liu Yi Fei)’s life takes a sudden turn after her best friend passes away, causing her to reconsider her life trajectory. She decides to take a break from the rat race, trading in her big-city life for a spell in a tranquil Yunnan Province village. However, Hong Dou is in for a rude awakening when it turns out that the countryside is not quite as idyllic as she’d imagined. She eventually meets Xie Zhi Yao (Li Xian), another big-city refugee who has come back to his hometown to launch a tourism business that showcases the village. Hong Dou offers to help him by sharing her hotel industry knowledge. As they begin to work together, they start to develop feelings for one another! Could love bloom as they try to put the little village on the tourist trail? This 2023 Chinese drama series was directed by Ding Zi Guang.

Meet Yourself

The Windy Team

Ja Geum Soon (Go Doo Shim) was born in 1930 in what is now North Korea. When the Korean War broke out in the 1950s, she escaped to what is now South Korea – and was torn away from her husband and young child. She dreamed of being reunited with them, so she founded a hotel that she hoped would become a metaphorical lighthouse – and bring her lost family back to her. This hotel became the successful Nakwon hotel chain.

Now, Ja Geum Soon is approaching the end of her life, and she dreams of being reunited with the grandson she has never met: Im Moon Sung. Her ever-faithful assistant Jung Sang Cheol (Sung Dong Il) hatches a plan to help bring peace to the old woman before she dies – he will hire an actor to pose as Im Moon Sung. He seeks out Yoo Jae Heon (Kang Ha Neul), a struggling stage actor who has been playing a North Korean soldier in a theater performance. Yoo Jae Heon agrees. He is told to pose as a defector who has come to visit the old woman for a while before attempting to return to the North. However, it soon appears that he has bitten off more than he can chew. He also crosses paths with Park Se Yeon (Ha Ji Won), Ja Geum Soon’s granddaughter – the woman who is running Nakwon...and has vowed not to allow it to fall into anyone else’s hands!

“Curtain Call” is a 2022 South Korean drama series that was directed by Yoon Sang Ho.

Curtain Call

🎭 Lighthouse Keepers 🎭

Youku

Years ago, the workaholic botany professor Zhuang Yu (Vin Zhang), oblivious and lacking social graces, unintentionally broke the heart of an aspiring scientist Yu Mei Ren (Esther Yu) by flat-out rejecting her confession. Years later, Mei Ren has become a successful fashion blogger and is unexpectedly reunited with her former crush. Determined to get revenge, she plans to make the botanist suffer for the hurt he caused her. However, her old feelings for him begin to resurface, complicating her scheme. Will Mei Ren make Yu pay for the hurt he once caused her, or will she get a second chance at love? This 2022 Chinese drama series was directed by Cai Cong.

A Romance of the Little Forest

🌿The Botanists🌿

Growing up in a small remote village in North Gyeongsang Province, Jung Jun Kyung (Park Jung Min) has spent his entire life all but cut-off from the world around him. With a deplorable lack of usable roads running in and out of his village, the only real way for Jun Kyung and the rest of the villagers to get anywhere is to walk along the railroad tracks that run through the town. With an unpredictable train schedule, such trips are dangerous at best and far too often, they end in horrifying tragedy.

The son of an engineer, Jun Kyung has often wondered why no train station exists in his village. Now in high school, Jun Kyung has taken it upon himself to turn his lifelong dream of a village train station into a reality. By writing endless letters to the President, asking for permission to build a train station in his tiny village, Jun Kyung is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the station is built. But things don’t quite work out the way he planned. On the verge of giving up, Jun Kyung finds renewed determination after befriending his classmate, Song Ra Hee (Yoona). A firm believer in pursuing dreams, Ra Hee gives Jun Kyung the inspiration he needs to keep going.

Finding fresh inspiration and a renewed sense of determination, Jun Kyung and the village residents set out to turn this one dream into reality. Do they have what it takes to make this single dream come true?

Based on a true story, “Miracle: Letters to the President” is a 2021 drama film directed by Lee Jang Hoon.

Miracle: Letters to the President

✨Miraculous✨Team 

TV Asahi

Togoku Kyosui (Nozomu Kotaki) is the owner and manager of Rokuhodo, a traditional Japanese tea house. A tender-hearted soul with a fondness, his tea-making skills are without equal. But he struggles with making tasty food to complement his brews – so decides to enlist the help of some kindred souls to make Rokuhodo a success. He turns to his old school friend and talented cook Tokitaka Nagae (Shono Hayama) to help out in the kitchen.

Also helping out at the tea house is Gregorio “Gure” Valentino (Saeki Daichi), a masterful coffee expert who learned his trade in Italy. Rounding out their number is the shy buy incredibly talented pastry chef Tsubaki Nakao (Ryusei Onishi). Clad in their kimonos, they make a very distinctive team – and are always at hand to listen to their customers’ troubles, even offering some helpful advice along the way. But while fixing other people’s problems is important, so is trying to resolve their own personal issues!

The drama was based on a long-running manga series of the same name that debuted in 2013 and was authored by Yu Shimizu.

“Rokuhoudou Colorful Days” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yuki Saito, Keisuke Shibata, and Eriko Sato.

Rokuhoudou Colorful Days

JTBC

After several unhappy events at work, Seoul-based cellist Mok Hae Won (Park Min Young) has grown tired of big-city life. She decides to take a break from the hustle and bustle and returns to the small village of Bukhyeon, where she lived for a short time during her high school years, hoping to take some time and unwind. However, she didn’t bank on reuniting with her former classmate and neighbor Im Eun Seop (Seo Kang Joon), who now owns a small, unassuming independent bookstore. Hae Won is drawn to Eun Seop, who lives his life at a slower pace than the people she used to hang out with in the capital. Over time, they begin to feel the pull of attraction. But Eun Seop, too, has deep secret scars. Can they overcome the obstacles they find in their way – and begin a lasting romance? This 2020 South Korean drama, based on the novel of the same name by Lee Do Woo, was directed by Han Ji Seung.

I'll Go to You When the Weather is Nice

The warm-hearted team

Nozue (Kouhei Takeda), a 39-year-old office worker, believes his career and life are bleak and stagnant. While his 29-year-old subordinate, Togawa (Tatsunari Kimura) is cold and distant at first, he secretly harbors respect and romantic feelings for Nozue. When fate brings them together at a trendy pancake shop, their relationship slowly begins to shift. As they spend more time together, Nozue finds himself drawn to Togawa’s unexpected kindness and charm, and the spark of something more starts to ignite between them. Could this newfound connection be the start of true love? This 2022 Japanese BL drama, based on the manga of the same name by Sagan Sagan, was directed by Ayaka Kato.

Old Fashion Cupcake

🧁 A Cupcake for Two 👨‍❤️‍👨

Shen Ying (Zhao Yao Ke) is a hard-working, independent-minded, young, personable, and up-and-coming editor at a food magazine. Zheng Dao (Zhang He), meanwhile, is her polar opposite. Notoriously harsh, fussy, sharp-tongued, and even cruel to his co-workers (and especially his subordinates), he has been tasked with directing the magazine’s gourmet-themed edition. When a project comes up and Zheng Dao needs to bring another editor with him for a special report, Shen Ying “accidentally” volunteers for the task.

The duo gets off on the wrong foot – they clash, and she finds him insufferable. Things go from bad to worse when they are forced to spend the night in a love hotel due to a lack of other accommodation options. But as they begin to spend more time together, they start to feel a bond growing. However, this comes under threat when individuals from their past – Zheng Dao’s ex and Shen Ying’s male friend – appear on the scene. Will these love rivals derail the course of romance – or will Shen Ying and Zheng Dao find the perfect recipe for love?

“Healing Food, Healing Love” is a 2022 Chinese drama series that was directed by Heng Gup.

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