This time we will discuss the list of the best K-dramas with the main character who has trauma in his childhood. The storyline will follow the main character who still harbors his childhood trauma into adulthood.
Those unfortunate incidents in childhood can also trouble the person throughout their life. But when he meets someone he loves, his trauma will slowly fade away.
So, here are some of the best Kdrama shows whose storylines focus on such childhood traumas.
K-dramas with Childhood Trauma List
1. King of The Land
King the Land is the latest Korean drama with the male lead having a childhood trauma. It tells the story of Goo Won, a man who can’t stand fake smiles because of the dark stories of his childhood.
He is the Heir to The King Group, with King of the Land hotels, distribution companies, and airlines in his portfolio. Currently, Goo Won has been thrown into the inheritance tug-of-war.
With her brilliant mind, innate grace, and captivating charm, she has everything but no sense when it comes to dating.
On the other hand, Cheon Sa Rang is a girl who makes the world brighter with just her smile. He was thrilled to get a job at the King Hotel, where he experienced his happiest times as a child.
He must now put those fond memories aside and mature quickly to deal with the prejudices and misunderstandings that often exist in the workplace.
When Goo Won met Cheon Sa Rang with his sincere smile, the two created a happy moment where they could smile brightly at each other.
This K-drama set in a hotel was released in 2023 with 16 episodes. You can watch it on Netflix.
2. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Ko Moon Young is a woman who works as a popular children’s literature writer. He suffers from antisocial personality disorder, appearing to be very self-centered, arrogant, and violent due to childhood trauma.
Meanwhile, Moon Gang Tae is a male community health worker at a psychiatric ward who is blessed with everything including a good body, intelligence, ability to sympathize with others.
Once upon a time, the two of them met when Moon Gang Tae attended a book launch event for Ko Moon Young because his older brother was a fan of Ko Moon Young.
After that, they kept seeing each other but Moon Gang Tae denied his love for Ko Moon Young and he didn’t know it. The two defy fate and fall in love, finding their souls and identities in the process.
This is one of the best K-dramas with childhood trauma. It was released in 2020 with 16 episodes and is available on Netflix.
3. Kill Me, Heal Me
Due to a traumatic childhood experience, Cha Do Hyeon is currently suffering from memory loss and dissociation. He has finally resulted in the creation of seven distinct personalities.
Wanting to regain control of his life, he asks Oh Ri Jin, a first-year psychiatric resident, to help him, but ends up falling in love with one of his personalities.
This MBC series was released in 2015 with 20 episodes. You can watch this Kdrama about childhood trauma on Apple TV.
4. The King of Pigs
Two friends meet and reminisce about their experiences as victims of school bullying when they receive a message from a friend from 20 years ago and then a mysterious serial killer begins to occur.
Kyung Min lives with the trauma of school violence that he experienced twenty years ago and an unexpected case causes his repressed emotions to resurface.
Meanwhile, Detective Jong Suk receives a mysterious message sent from a friend 20 years ago reminding him of the school violence that occurred at that time. Chasing the mysterious message, he tries to stop the killings.
It was released in 2022 with 12 episodes. You can watch one of the best K-dramas about childhood trauma on Amazon Prime Video.
5. Just Between Lovers
It tells the story of a major accident that takes the lives of 48 people which leaves trauma in some people due to the loss of loved ones.
One of them is Lee Gang Doo who was 15 years old at the time and dreamed of playing for the Korean national soccer team, but a serious injury due to an accident shattered that dream.
In the following years, Gang Doo spends his days struggling through physical and emotional pain, as he struggles to support his sister to pay off heavy debts and live a frugal life.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, Ha Moon Soo also had the same accident and is still plagued by nightmares years later. She lives above the women’s bath which her mother runs.
A few years later a construction project will start at the crash site. This brings back painful memories for Gang Doo, Moon Soo, and all those associated with the tragedy. This Korean drama was released in 2017 with 16 episodes and is available on Disney Plus.
6. Summer Strike
Lee Yeo Reum is a young woman whose career and life are going very well. He just got a permanent contract status at work, and he has a girlfriend that he really likes.
But work started to get stressful, and then he was struck with double misfortune. Her mother died in a tragic accident moments after she was dumped by her boyfriend.
Feeling completely dejected and exhausted, he decides to quit his job, head to the beach, and do nothing for a while. At least until he can recharge mentally and recuperate.
He then moved to a seaside village called Angok. And it is here that he meets An Dae Beom, a librarian who also has skeleton parts in the cupboard.
Years ago, he was a mathematician with a bright academic future ahead of him. But circumstances had forced him away from the big city and scholastic life.
What will happen when these two lost souls meet – and will the small town’s “do nothing” spell really cure their ailments?
Summer Strike is one of the best K-dramas with the main lead having a childhood trauma. It was released in 2022 with 12 episodes and you can watch it on Viki.
7. See You in My 19th Life
It tells the story of Ban Ji Eum, a woman who has extraordinary abilities because she can remember memories from all of her past lives. Repeating his reincarnation for nearly a thousand years, Ban Ji Eum has lived his life diligently.
After her previous life was interrupted by a tragic accident, she decides to reconnect with people from her past life in her current life and decides to find a man named Moon Seo Ha, whom she met in her 18th life.
On the other hand, there is also Yoon Cho Won, a landscape architect and Yoon Joo Won’s younger sister, whose life collapsed after the death of her older sister.
He is brave and kind, even after facing the death of his beloved sister, but he struggles to maintain his brightness.
When Yoon Cho Won met Ban Ji Eum by chance and saw his older sister in her, he wondered about Ban Ji Eum’s identity.
Then there is Ha Do Yoon, Moon Seo Ha’s secretary and best friend since childhood. Even though they come from very different backgrounds, Ha Do Yoon feels a kind of affinity for him.
This Korean drama about childhood trauma was released in 2023 with 12 episodes and is available on Netflix.
8. You Are My Spring
Kang Da Jung is a beautiful woman who lands a job at a five-star hotel, rising to the manager’s position faster than any of her fellow employees who were hired at the same time as her.
Once upon a time she followed her mother’s bad choice of men and dated a terrible man like her father. That then got him in trouble.
Meanwhile, Joo Young Do is a psychiatrist who helps others heal their emotional wounds and find the will to live. However, he himself bears his own wounds for not being able to save his younger brother and one of his patients.
The two, who suffered from traumatic childhoods, form a genuine bond when they become entangled in a complicated local murder case.
This drama was released in 2021 with 16 episodes. You can watch one of the best K-dramas with childhood trauma on Netflix.
That was the list of the best K-dramas with childhood trauma that has carried over into adulthood. Thanks for reading this article, have a nice day!
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