For some of these shows, female friendships may not have been their primary themes, but they completely stole the spotlights. Here are my favourite female friendships for the 2022 K-dramas.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Besides the fact that Twenty-Five Twenty-One broke all our hearts when the leads didn’t end up together, Na Hee-Doo, Ko Yu-rim and Ji Seung-wan’s friendship completely stole the show. These girls selflessly supported one another even though they had a rocky start. The scene where He-doo and Yu-rim were tired after practising in the gym for a long time and kept turning the fan towards the other person will always be cute because how can you not think of yourself first?
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20th Century Girl
Imagine loving a friend enough to help her stalk a boy she likes, falling in love with him and still being willing to give him up for your friend’s happiness? Not going to lie, it could never be me, but that’s the kind of love Bo-ra and Yeon-do have for each other is too precious. The way they cried when they saw each other again after Yeon-do’s surgery will forever be etched in my mind.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
The titular character struggled a lot navigating courtrooms as an autistic person, but her amazing friends are always there by her side. She has the best friends for real: Dong Geurami with their cute special greeting and “Spring Sunshine” Choi Soo-yeon, her work bestie who doesn’t let anyone bully her.
39
39 managed to handle a complex subject like death through the lens of the beautiful friendship between three women. This show explored dealing with love, work, and loss and struggles with close friends by your side. I especially enjoy the friendship dynamics between older women and I loved seeing them banter and tease each other so much I forgave the show for all the tears it made me shed.
Business Proposal
Ha-ri and Young-seo’s friendship shouldn’t work because of how different their backgrounds are, but it does. They argued like sisters and made bad decisions together. They were always there for each other. In that one scene where Young-Seo has a stalker and felt unsafe, Ha-ri came to be with her. I lived for every shared moment with them on screen.
Our Blues
I loved how this show handled jealousy in friendships. Eun-hui and Mi-ran may not have had a picture-perfect friendship, but they cared for each other, even after hurting each other multiple times. All that mattered was the effort to fix their relationship and work through that pain. Then there was Yeong-ok, a fiercely independent girl trying to make money for her disabled sister, who found friendship with the Haenyeons, ocean divers, who’d initially given her a hard time.
Little Women
While the characters in Little Women are sisters, it took a special type of bond to be friends. In Joo, In Kyung, and In Hye may have disagreed a number of times, but ultimately all they wanted for each other was a life of happiness. I’m so glad they each got the break they deserved.
