The popular Korean television show Crash Landing on You brought many South Korean fans to Iseltwald in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. Who can forget the number of tourists visiting the shooting locations in Iseltwald and Lucerne? What is less known, however, is the impact Korean pop culture has had on the Swiss during post-lockdown.

Prior to the pandemic, I only came across a few people patient enough to listen to Korean audio while reading subtitles. After the furor of The Squid Game, a new audience was born. Currently, I encounter an increasing number of people that only watch South Korean shows.

As a result, the addictively romantic scenarios paved the way for my K-drama recommendations.

First on my list is Crash Landing on You. A love story between a North Korean soldier (Captain Ri played by Hyun Bin) and a South Korean millionaire entrepreneur (Yoon Se-ri played by Son Ye-jin). After accidently paragliding into the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea during a sudden tornado, Yoon Se-ri takes another wrong turn and finds herself in Captain Ri’s village. Captain Ri, military McDreamy and his group of soldiers try and help Yoon Se-ri return south. While in hiding, the group encounters a series of mishaps. Prior to becoming the captain of his hilarious, loveable, and loyal troop of soldiers, Captain Ri was simply Ri Jeong-hyeok, a piano student studying in Switzerland.

Although the series features a number of filming locations in Switzerland, the most popular among tourists are: (1) Ri Jeong-hyeok playing the piano on a wooden pier overlooking Lake Brienz; (2) The Sigriswil Panoramic Bridge where Ri Jeong-hyeok meets Yoon Se-ri, a complete stranger at the time, while taking photographs of the Bernese Alps; (3) the spectacular views of Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeok at Lake Lungern.

You’ll be carried on an intensive emotional journey wondering along the way if love can somehow transcend borders. It is arguably one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Not surprisingly, my second recommendation, Inheritors, also features a stunningly good-looking South Korean by the name of Kim Tan (played by Lee Min-ho). The story introduces you to a wealth caste system. Kim Tan is at the pinnacle and is second heir to a South Korean business conglomerate (Jeguk Group). He meets Cha Eun-sang (played by Park Shin-hye) who is part of the have-nots.

The first meeting between the two main characters takes place in Los Angeles, where Kim Tan has been exiled by his older brother attempting to take over the family business as the sole heir. Kim Tan ends up providing accommodation to a stranded Cha Eun-sang who discovers her sister lives in squalor and isn’t getting married after all.

In going to the United States, Cha Eun-sang, had hoped to live with her sister to escape from her miserable life of part-time jobs in South Korea. When her plan fails, she returns home to her deaf and mute mother. In the interim, the mother moved to Jeguk Group’s residence as a live-in maid, after spending all her earnings on her eldest daughter. Unbeknownst to her, Cha Eun-sang joins her mother in the servants’ quarters of Kim Tan’s family home.

After receiving a scholarship to attend a prestigious school, Cha Eun-sang witnesses first-hand the bullying practices that occur, principally driven by the main ringleader, Choi Young Do (played by Kim Woo Bin).  When Kim Tan returns to South Korea and attends the same school, he is propelled into an old rivalry with Choi Young Do which is further exacerbated by them both being in love with Cha Eun-sang. The unlikely trio are united in their challenges. In the case of Choi Young Do, the absence of his runaway mother fuels his rage. As for Kim Tan, being shipped off to a foreign country in an attempt by his older brother to pave an unobstructed route to power lends toward a complicated family dynamic. And finally, Cha Eun-sang has been deserted by a social construct that doesn’t reward hard work or devotion. In the end, will the forces of family tradition and social norms win over efforts toward emancipation and love?

My third and final recommendation is the thrilling Korean TV show Healer, starring the spectacularly handsome actor, Ji Chang-wook as Seo Jung-hoo. He and his co-star, Park Min-young, played by Chae Young-shin, showcase their on-screen chemistry. Seo Jung-hoo, the hottie night courier, accepts errands that often puts him in danger, while Chae Young-shin digs up dirt for a tabloid newspaper. After inadvertently exposing the salacious nature of a businessman running for office and providing refuge to one of his many victims, Chae Young-shin becomes a target. To protect her, Seo Jung-hoo gets hired as her assistant. They both team up with a star reporter, Kim Moon-ho (played by Yoo Ji-tae) to uncover a long-buried incident from the past that connects them. Aside from the twists and turns that are bound to keep your adrenaline flowing, the fight scenes are expertly choreographed, placing this show as one of my all-time favorites.