Son Ye Jin’s ‘Summer Scent’, Song Hye Kyo’s ‘Full House’ and more: 5 top K-Dramas of 2000s to watch

1. Summer Scent (Son Ye Jin, Song Seung Heon) 

Yoo Minwoo's (Song Seung Heon) first love was Seo Eun Hye (Shin Ae). However, Eun Hye gets into a car accident and dies. Without Minwoo's knowledge, her parents decide to donate her organs. Shim Hyewon (Son Ye Jin) has suffered from a possibly fatal heart disease ever since childhood. Miraculously, she finds that she will be obtaining a heart from a donor, the deceased Eun-hye. Suffering from the pain of losing his girlfriend, Minwoo goes to Italy to study, with the memories of Eun Hye still lingering in his heart. When he returns to Korea, fate takes a turn and brings Hye-won and Min-woo together. When the two first meet at the airport, Hyewon's heart (Eunhye's heart) oddly beats faster when she is around Minwoo. Park Jung Jae (Ryu Jin) is Hyewon's fiancé. Jung Jae's younger sister, Park Jung Ah (Han Ji Hye) meets Minwoo in Italy and falls for him. Meanwhile, Minwoo feels guilt towards Eunhye, because his feelings of love are stirred once again as he keeps being around Hyewon.

2. Full House (Song Hye Kyo, Rain)

The drama follows Han Ji Eun (Song Hye Kyo), an aspiring scriptwriter, who lives in a house called ‘Full House’ built by her late father. One day, her two best friends trick her into believing that she has won a free vacation. While she is away, they sell her house. On the plane, she meets a famous actor named Lee Young Jae (Rain). Through comedic events, they get acquainted during her vacation and when she returns, she discovers that her house has been sold to him. Though they do not get along with each other due to their contrasting habits, they agree to live with each other. At first, Ji Eun works as his maid in order to buy her house back. However, later, they enter into a contract marriage as Young Jae wanted to make his crush, Kang Hye Won (Han Eun Jung), jealous. Complications arise as Ji Eun and Young Jae become attracted to each other.

3. Autumn In My Heart (Song Hye Kyo, Song Seung Heon)

There were two girls who were born in October. They had the same birthday and were raised in the same village and in the same class. One led a happy life with loving parents and a brother. Her name was Eun Suh (Song Hye Kyo). However, the other was raised by a single parent and was living in poverty. Her name was Shin Ae (Han Chae Young). One day Eun Suh has a car accident and by a blood test it is found that Eun Suh and Shin Ae were swapped at birth. Girls were returned to their original places. Eun-suh's brother Jun Suh (Song Seung Heon) is especially confused and saddened by this. Some years later, Eun Suh and Shin Ae bump into each other at a hotel. Eun Suh is a poor worker and Shin-ae is a hotel manager. Meanwhile, Jun Suh has become an artist and has a fiancee. One day he's introduced to his friend's girlfriend and she is his long lost sister, Eun Suh. Now all the relationships start to twist around and Eun Suh and Jun Suh's sad love begins. 

4. My Lovely Sam Soon (Kim Sun Ah, Hyun Bin) 

Kim Sam Soon (Kim Sun Ah) is loud and brash, yet insecure about her weight. She has always been embarrassed by her old-fashioned first name, and nearing her 30th birthday, she dreams of changing it. She is an excellent baker with a fervent passion for making desserts. On Christmas Eve, Sam-soon gets dumped by her cheating boyfriend (Lee Kyu Han) and loses her job. One of the witnesses to her public humiliation is Hyun Jin Heon (Hyun Bin), the owner of upscale French restaurant Bon Appetit. Upon recognizing her talent, Jin Heon hires her as Bon Appetit's new pastry chef. From their first meeting, the two have an antagonistic relationship (she calls him the equally old-fashioned "Sam Shik"), and sparks fly. When Sam-soon finds herself in need of ₩50 million (approximately US$50,000) to prevent the foreclosure of her mother's house, Jin-heon proposes a deal: in exchange for the money, she agrees to become his pretend girlfriend. They draw up a complicated contract, of which the most important stipulation is that they should never fall in love for real. But as they spend more time together, Sam Soon and Jin Heon grow closer and gradually fall for each other. 

5. Stairway To Heaven (Choi Ji Woo, Kim Tae Hee, Kwon Sang Woo) 

Han Jung Suh (Choi Ji Woo) and Cha Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo) are childhood friends and have a special bond that blossoms into love. They both share the pain of losing a loved one: Song Joo's father died in a traffic accident and Jung-suh's mother died of eye cancer. Jung Suh's father (Ha Jae Young) marries an actress named Tae Mi Ra (Lee Hui Hyang), who brings her real daughter, Han Yoo Ri (Kim Tae Hee), and son, Han Tae Hwa (Lee Wan) into the household. Yoo Ri is jealous of Jung-suh, making her look terrible in front of her mother, who begins to turn on Jung Suh. When Jung-suh's father leaves for work, her stepmother assaults her. She thwarts Jung Suh's attempts to study abroad with Song Joo, who then leaves for America alone. Mi Ra plots for Yoo Ri to win the affections of Song Joo who is the heir of his family fortune. All the while, Jung Suh tries to be nice to Tae Hwa, but he mistakes her friendship for something more, and falls in love with her.

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Which drama are you adding to the list? Let us know in the comments below.