Summary
- K-dramas often feature nonsensical and unintentionally funny storylines, but criticism comes from a place of love for the genre.
- In It's Okay to Not Be Okay, the plot twist of Moon-young's mother being alive raises questions about the feasibility of her obtaining a new identity and job.
- Plot holes in K-dramas like My Love From Another Star and Hyde, Jekyll, Me create inconsistencies in characters' actions and storylines.
Despite delivering compelling character arcs, some Netflix has so many K-dramas. The ease of access opens this genre up to an entirely new audience.
However, K-dramas tend to require a larger suspension of disbelief in certain situations. Quite a few, including those that have been highly successful, have been driven by nonsensical and unintentionally funny storylines. But ittedly, criticism of these elements ultimately comes from a place of love for the genre. K-drama has so much to offer in the way of new stories and perspectives, meaning that they can be appreciated nonetheless.
10 How Was Moon-Young’s Mother Alive? (It’s Okay To Not Be Okay)
A central plot point within It's Okay to Not Be Okay is that, as a kid, Ko Moon-young lost her mom, Do Hui-ja, at her father's hands. This traumatic event shapes her as a character, influencing her sense of self. However, at the end of It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Moon-young learns that her mother is alive and living under the identity of Park Haeng-ja, the head of nursing at OK Psychiatric Hospital. At face value, this turn of events makes It's Okay to Not Be Okay a K-drama with a heartbreaking plot twist. Unfortunately, at a second glance, this plot development doesn't add up.
For her to still be alive, Hui-ja would've had to survive a fall off a building. Then, she would've had to obtain a new ID, a nursing degree, and a job at the OK Psychiatric Hospital all in the time since she faked her death. Moreover, Hui-ja would need to take over someone else's identity, rather than take on a new name, because hospital jobs typically require a background check. This raises the question of whom the real Haeng-Ja is and how Hui-ja got away with taking over her identity.
9 Min-Joon Gets Sick Every Time He Kisses Song-Yi (My Love From Another Star)
Because Min-joon is an alien, he's physically incompatible with Song-yi in My Love From Another Star. This is highlighted best by the fact that he gets deathly ill every time they kiss. While not a plot hole, this plot device seems counterintuitive to the overall story. Viewers are supposed to root for these two star-crossed lovers, but that's hard to do when Song-yi could quite literally kill him with a kiss. Their dynamic changes from star-crossed to toxic by adding the sickness storyline. Moreover, Song-yi never puts it together that Min-joon's getting sick because they're kissing. Instead, he must tell Song-yi about the problem, which makes her seem less caring and attentive.
8 Seo-Jin Could Be Hypnotized, Then Couldn’t (Hyde, Jekyll, Me)
The character Koo Seo-jin and his alter Robin engage in hypnotherapy for years before the start of Hyde, Jekyll, Me. He's also shown doing this therapy throughout the series for his dissociative identity disorder (DID). However, in Hyde, Jekyll, Me, episode 14, Tae-joo learns that he can't actually hypnotize Seo-jin. Aware of his inability to be hypnotized, Seo-jin works with the police by wearing a wire to record Tae-joo itting to his crimes during a hypnotherapy session.
While this character trait helps push the story forward, it creates a massive question: if Seo-jin can't be hypnotized, what has he been doing in hypnotherapy for years? Unless he gained this ability at some point in Hyde, Jekyll, Me, Seo-jin must've been pretending the whole time. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear explanation as to why he would do that for so long.
7 Why Didn’t Joon-Young Escape The Interrogation Room? (Hello Monster)
The K-drama Hello Monster includes flashbacks to Lee-hyun's childhood, and one particular flashback proved to be especially confusing. When Lee-hyun is a child, he walks through the unlocked door to a police interrogation room and has a conversation with the serial killer Joon-young. As evidenced by their conversation, Joon-young is fully capable of getting out of the handcuffs to hold Lee-hyun's hand. While this physical connection builds a sentimental scene, it also opens up a plot hole. The door is unlocked and Joon-young can get out of his handcuffs, meaning he could've escaped much earlier than he did. It would've been easier to leave the interrogation room instead of prison.
6 Contestant 001 Shouldn’t Have Been Allowed To Participate (Squid Game)
In Squid Game, it's revealed that Contestant 001 was the rich creator of the games, Oh Il-nam. When he discovers he's sick, Il-nam decides to in the games to experience the thrill. Throughout his time participating, Il-nam experiences situations where he could've died, whether due to the game or his illness. It seems nonsensical that someone so integral to the games is allowed to participate, especially when Il-nam's death could mean losing funding. Moreover, his betrayal of the contestants didn't add tension or emotional weight to the plot of Squid Game.
5 Why Didn’t The Prisoners Face Repercussions For The Riot? (Big Mouth)
Toward the end of Big Mouth episode 11, a prison riot starts, continuing throughout episode 12. While this would usually be a good storyline for a crime K-drama, the whole event was so unrealistic that it provided unintended humor instead of suspense. The lights going out seems overdramatized, and prisoners easily take the guards hostage. Perhaps the most unbelievable part of the prison riots is the aftermath, though. Despite causing a riot that killed people, none of the prisoners faced repercussions for their actions. In fact, multiple prisoners walked free as of the end of Big Mouth season 1.
4 Why Didn’t The Government Realize The Aliens’ Weakness To Cold? (Duty After School)
In Duty After School episode 1, a YouTuber discusses the aliens who invaded the world, revealing that they didn't descend in any arctic regions. Later, a student named Hee-rak uses liquid nitrogen to save his friend from one of the aliens. Despite the fact that teenagers figure out the aliens' weakness to cold, governments around the world never connected the dots. The aliens had been around for a year at the time of the show, giving them ample time to determine why the aliens avoided cold areas. All things considered, the aliens' weakness seems so obvious that every government appears wildly incompetent.
3 Why Didn’t Jeong-Hyeok Ask For His Father’s Help With Se-Ri? (Crash Landing On You)
At the end of Crash Landing On You, Jeong-hyeok shows up to surprise Se-ri when she's paragliding in Switzerland. The show explains that Jeong-hyeok's dad, as a powerful person in the government, pulled some strings and got him there safely. While this provides a happy ending for the story, it raises an issue that undermines the entirety of the show. If Jeong-hyeok's dad was powerful enough to get a person out of the country without issue, he could have easily gotten Se-ri back home.
All things considered, it makes no sense that Jeong-hyeok never asked his dad for help. Considering Jeong-hyeok could have been arrested for trying to smuggle Se-ri out of the country, it's unlikely his dad would've rejected a request from his son. That said, there wouldn't have been a story to tell if Se-ri immediately went home. Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok are considered one of the best K-drama romances, and the story wouldn't have worked otherwise. Ultimately, this major plot hole, while bothersome, is also necessary to maintain the integrity of the show.
2 How Did Yeong-Eun Not Know Her Boyfriend Was Dead? (Now, We Are Breaking Up)
Ha Yeong-eun won't allow herself to focus on love in Now, We Are Breaking Up after believing her previous boyfriend Yoon Soo-wan stood her up. In reality, her lover died before he could show up to their date. There's one glaring issue with this motivation: in the age of technology, it makes no sense that Yeong-eun wouldn't have known about Soo-wan's death. News channels would have covered the accident, especially since it resulted in a death. Moreover, it seems unlikely that nobody in his family or friends would try to her to let her know what happened.
1 Sun-Mi Should’ve Known That Her Blood Attracted Supernatural Beings (A Korean Odyssey)
In the fantasy-romance K-drama A Korean Odyssey, the scent of Sun-mi's blood attracts demons, a fact that puts her in danger. While this builds high-stakes drama, it also creates a gaping plot hole that the show never addresses. Sun-mi is a 20-year-old female, making her of menstruating age. Based on the logic of A Korean Odyssey, every month she should have attracted demons during her period, making it unbelievable that she didn't know about her blood's qualities.
Additionally, it's implausible that Sun-mi went through her whole life without getting any cuts and scrapes. Even removing the menstrual factor, she would've been attacked by demons every time she got a simple paper cut. This makes it confusing how she managed to stay alive for so long, especially without Oh-gong's protection.