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Can you guess what is common between “Queen Of Tears” and “Love Next Door”? They both are this year’s successful romantic K-Dramas, featuring a significant character battling sickness. Though they aren't the only releases of 2024 that include this K-Drama theme, “Doctor Slump,” “A Typical Family,” “Your Honor,” and “Blackout: Cinderella Must Die” also featured at least one of their characters dealing with some or the other ailments.
Overall, many Korean series have begun to feature illness-centered storylines or characters again. Let it be a mental disorder, physical disability, or terminal illness, they have found meaningful inclusion and representation on-screen in recent years.
For many avid K-Drama viewers, this change might feel redundant, cliche, or even oversaturated, but there are certain reasons behind this change and why it is a good thing. Let's take a closer look at the rise and fall of ailments-inclusive K-Dramas, their evolution, and impact.
Before we start, just a little note the article uses the word “sickness” to discuss mental disorders, physical ailments, and other bodily diseases and dysfunction. It is used as a general term to re
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