Pachinko and 4 Other K-Dramas and TV Shows With Lee Min-Ho
Stories about mermaids, cunning rulers and endless love.
There are several stars shining brightly in the firmament of Korean drama talent. And Lee Min-ho is one of them.
The actor has recently become popular not only among k-drama fans – thanks to Pachinko, a large-scale epic about several generations of a Korean family, viewers all over the world got to know Lee Min-ho.
1. The King: Eternal Monarch, 2020
Two timelines develop in parallel universes. In one, Korea is a kingdom, in the other a republic. The events of these two worlds intersect when the king's brother kills the ruler and takes possession of a magical artifact that grants the ability to move between the parallel Koreas.
The murder is witnessed by the king's young son, who is saved from certain death by a mysterious figure. The villain jumps to the neighboring world, kills his version in the republic, and takes his place.
Years pass, the prince becomes king and never loses hope of finding his uncle and taking revenge. A chance comes when he lands in a parallel timeline, where he meets his mysterious savior.
2. Heirs, 2013
Lee Min-ho plays Kim, an illegitimate son sent to the US by his father. There he meets a girl who came to find her older sister. Far away from home, they become each other's support. But when they return to Korea, a class divide opens up between them.
To strengthen her son's position, Kim's mother finds him a suitable bride. Moreover, the tow end up in the same school where the rich only hang out with their own kind.
3. Pachinko, 2022-...
A multinational team was involved in the creation of the big-budget Apple TV+ project. And this series is unlike anything Min-ho has done before. No magic, no naive love story, no miraculous rescue.
Pachinko reveals the difficult fate of several generations of a family. During the years of the Japanese occupation, a young Korean woman falls in love with a man who is married to another and becomes pregnant by him.
The woman is rescued by a priest who marries her and takes her to Japan. Many years later, the woman's grandson comes to visit her, having come to Japan from the US to conclude a business deal. And suddenly their fates are reflected in each other.
4. Personal Taste, 2010
Park Kae-in is going through a tough time in her life. First, her fiancé breaks her heart by having an affair with her best friend. Then the furniture she creates just won't sell. And she desperately needs money, having mortgaged the family home her grandfather built for the business.
To improve her situation, Park places an ad for a tenant for one of the rooms in the house. A young man comes for an interview and Park agrees to live with him. But Jeon Jin-ho is not used to getting close to people. The only thing that worries him are Park's grandfather's secret drawings.
5. Legend of the Blue Sea, 2016-2017
A terrible tsunami hits a coastal village, destroying homes and people's lives. And as if to pay for a momentary outburst of rage, the sea throws a huge amount of fish onto the shore.
While gathering the catch, a poor fisherman stumbles upon an injured mermaid and takes her to a local nobleman for a reward. But the nobleman decides to let the poor creature go. Many centuries have passed. Mermaids keep away from humans, having already forgotten the legend of the miraculous rescue of one of them and the rare human kindness.
But the mermaid from the legend does not lose hope of meeting her savior again. Therefore, she decides to leave the foam of the sea and plunge into the noisy life of humans, hoping to find love.