10 Picks To Send You To Lala Land
Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol is a charming romantic comedy that mixes in heartbreak, joy, big laughs and big tears. All of this combines to create a wonderful Korean drama. If you’re itching for more of the same after finishing streaming this one, we’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle of looking with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing. To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have too. Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with. So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet the appetite when you’ve finished streaming Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.
Crash Landing On You
Similarities – Romance, Characters & Comedy
Who knew an innocent paragliding incident would cause such a stir in the k-drama world. Crash Landing On You has been dubbed by many as 2020’s crowning jewel. It’s also arguably the gateway drama that attracted a whole new crowd of people to experience Korean dramas thanks to Netflix’s desire to showcase more of these wonderful shows. Crash Landing On You manages to effortlessly blend romance, action and comedy together into one heady cocktail of delight. The main protagonist here is Se-Ri, a rich South Korean who finds herself caught in a strange land with strange people. As she starts to learn more about the North Koreans, she finds herself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse and desperate to return home. It’s a show that manages to constantly surprise with every episode, featuring twists and turns that leave you speechless, in tears, elated – or even all three at once! You can read our thoughts on Crash Landing On You in our full season review here!
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
Similarities – Comedy
A proper coming-of-age story, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo sprinkles some serious fairy dust across this lovable Korean drama. With an uplifting narrative about a group of college athletes fighting for their dreams, the story starts slowly before evolving into a memorable feel-good narrative. There’s some great character work achieved here and across the season all the characters grow and evolve in a realistic way. It helps too that the chemistry between the lead characters is excellent and backed up by an equally impressive supporting cast. It’s a great entry point for anyone looking to dive into Korean dramas and the effortless comedy emanating through the series is hard not to fall in love with.
Extraordinary You
Similarities – Comedy, Mystery & Lee Jae-Wook
This meta self-aware K-drama offers up a smartly written plot based on a webtoon of the same name. The main premise revolves around the idea of a comic book heroine suddenly becoming aware that she’s inside a comic and doing all she can to course-correct the author. It’s a fun, romantic and oftentimes surprisingly poignant drama and one that nails its landing too, rounding this one out perfectly. It’s also another of Jae-Wook’s drama so if you’re looking for more of the male lead, this one’s worth watching. You can read our thoughts on Extraordinary You in our full season review here!
Chocolate
Similarities – Characters & Healing
Split across the usual 16 episode K-drama run, Chocolate’s story intertwines two star-crossed characters together through their shared love of food. This is then mixed in with the death of a loved one to deliver a beautifully written but incredibly sad drama. The themes of healing and forgiveness come into this in a big way and for that alone, this show should definitely strike a chord with fans of Do Do. While some may see this show as a little too melodramatic, there’s no question that it makes for a really engaging watch and definitely hits some of those poignant heights that the later episodes achieve. You can read our thoughts on Chocolate in our full season review here!
When The Camellia Blooms
Similarities – Healing, Comedy & Romance
On the surface, When The Camellia Blooms appears to be a romantic thriller-comedy about the realistic, passionate love between three couples. Add to that quirky humour, some back-and-forth timelines and strong character drama, When The Camellia Blooms grows and evolves through its 20 episodes into something far more profound and poignant than one would normally expect Camellia is a great example of how to build characters effectively, leading to a really emotional final act that rounds out this highly popular Asian drama in the most satisfying way. You can read our thoughts on When The Camellia Blooms in our full season review here!
Strong Woman Bong-Soon
Similarities – Comedy
Part-fantasy, part comedic drama, Strong Woman Bong-Soon gives no illusions about its premise. It’s a drama about a strong woman called Bong-Soon who was born with superhuman strength. Putting her abilities to good use, she’s hired by the CEO of a gaming company to be his bodyguard. It’s a simple premise on paper but one that’s propped up by a thick layer of comedy and romance. Yes, the series includes all the usual tropes like slow-mo kissing and some cheesy dialogue, but it’s easy to look past that in the wake of such a fun and lovable storyline. Like many others on this list, the chemistry between the two lead characters is ultimately what helps this stand out and if you haven’t already, this is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the mood for a classic Korean drama treasure.
Mystic Pop-Up Bar
Similarities – Strong Themes & Healing
With an original story and some great chemistry from its cast, this latest K-Drama hits all the right notes when it comes to humour, tension and world building. It tackles a lot of important themes about life and death too, along with the consequences of our actions, which serves up a nice layer of depth to this series. The drama excels with its world building, showing us how people are judged after they pass away and what happens afterwards. There is a strong sense of karma running throughout, with emphasis on how our past actions will reflect our next life – or even our future. You can read our thoughts on Mystic Pop-Up Bar in our full season review here!
Forest Of Piano
Similarities – Music & Healing
Based on the manga Piano No Mori, Netflix anime Forest Of Piano is a well written series dripping in gorgeous visuals and armed with an exquisite eye for colour. It’s also graced with some of the best classical music ever composed. The story follows a young boy called Kai who transfers to a new elementary school and has a tough time with bullies and doing school work. Finding refuge with an old piano in the forest, Shuhei Amamiya’s father Ajino happens upon his talent and decides to mentor Kai to help hone his skill. It’s a beautifully written anime and one that perfectly caps off its first season with a lovely solo piano number well worth the wait. You can read our thoughts on Forest Of Piano in our full season review here!
Mozart In The Jungle
Similarities – Music & Comedy
While this is bubbling up nicely, young oboist Hailey hopes for her big chance in that very same symphony. Both of these characters inevitably cross paths and what follows are four seasons of laughs, tears and heart-ache. It’s a light, breezy show to sink into and by comparison to the hour-long Do Do, this is a very easy watch.
Do You Like Brahms
Similarities – Characters & Healing
Set in a music university and following a group of aspiring (and seasoned) musicians, Do You Like Brahms is ironically not really about music. While there are admittedly some incredible piano and violin performances, this Korean drama instead settles into a melodramatic rhythm for much of its runtime. The story predominantly revolves around two different characters from very different walks of life. The first is Song-A who finds herself hopeful to become a violin major amongst stiff competition. Thrown out of an early performance for being the least talented, Song-A finds herself struggling to be heard and seen. However, talented pianist Joon-Young is one such person who sees her. Romance inevitably blossoms between them but this is quickly followed by a healthy dose of melodrama too, which makes for quite the dramatic and turbulent run. Despite a few wobbles along the way, this remains another Korean drama in 2020 that’s worth checking out. You can read our thoughts on Do You Like Brahms in our full season review here! So there we have it, our 10 TV show picks to pick up when you’re finished with Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol. What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!
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