This is me! When I started to watch korean dramas, I never thought of watching this kind of genre. Mostly because I'm afraid of the makjang-fest ( I have too much of them before ) and the length scares me. I decided to embrace them a few years ago. But I'm still stuck with KBS mostly.

The only family drama that I had watched is Father, I'll Take Care of You. True, family drama is full with makjang, but family drama is kinda easy to watch imo. Father is Strange and The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop are on my watchlist. Gosh, I wish I've time to watch 50+ episodes of family drama.

Love a good family drama but then I really like the crazy at times. My favorite family drama of all time is New Tales of Gisaeng followed by Five Children.

I guess I won't have to send in my entry because this is exactly what I wanted to talk about and Javabeans said it all, reading and nodding my head with everything said here!

"I appreciate that they take the time to explore other types of love relationships, because not everything in real life is about romantic love." This is why I started family dramas and this is why I love them!

"I think there’s often an impulse to defend one’s choices, because we see taste as an indicator of discernment, or maybe even intelligence. (When really, taste is just taste!) Or maybe there’s that urge to label something a guilty pleasure before someone else has the chance to put it down, or to feel hurt when others don’t have the same warm reactions."

I agree! One million times. We shouldn't have to feel guilty or stupid for what entertains us.

The timing of this post is a little uncanny for me, because I've literally just started wondering if I should watch a family drama. I've never seen one, actually, but everyone's posts (and screenshots) of Father Is Strange have been gradually drawing me in, and I've begun to wonder if I was writing off a whole kind of drama for no real reason---length, mostly. Anyway I loved this post--it hits on a lot of things I've wondered about or considered myself, in (as usual :P) a more eloquent and thorough way. Maybe I'll take the leap into family dramas after all!

I enjoy the odd comfort food family drama every once in a while, but... I kinda cheat. Never do I watch the whole thing. Both in terms of episodes and plot lines. At the beginning, I kinda leapfrog through episodes until the stories start getting some traction (or past any backstories) and then, once I have the lay of the land, I narrow my viewing down to the one or two plot lines I give a flying fig about. Sometimes I know going in which plot line I'm in it for, sometimes I'm unexpectedly surprised as to which characters I care about. But if anyone veers towards makjang, they get the same fast forwarding treatment as everyone else until they regain their sanity. I may be ruthless, but it keeps things light and there are still HOURS to watch.

Noh Hee-kyung's "More Beautiful Than a Flower" got me interested in family dramas. I don't think it was a weekend family drama but it was so real and hearty that it got me interested in checking out more family dramas coupled with some of my favorite sageuks veterans.
One of these days I'll go back and watch "Beautiful Days."

Grandpa Lee Soon-jae "Childless Comfort"
Yoo Dong-geun "What Happens to My Family?"
Kim Yeong-cheol "My Father is Strange."
I tried "Father, I'll Take Care of You" for Park Eun-bin but dropped it halfway.

"(When really, taste is just taste!)"
That's very true. I don't let the rating decide what I like or want to watch and I'm not watching dramas to impress anyone. I watch what I like.
I'm trying to be more sensitive to other viewer's taste that aren't the same as mine. I have my favorites but to be honest I like everything but it depends on what I'm in the mood for.

Thank you for this JB <3.

Ojakkyo Brothers was adorable! It was also my first family drama and it's still the best weekender for me.

Since then I have 10 episode rule with weekend dramas: I wait a little while to know if it's worthwhile for me, so around episode 10 I watch some scenes and read about it. If I like the characters and find the story engaging, I watch the rest.

For example, I really wanted to like Our Gap-Soon because of the OTP (Kim So Eun e Song Jae Rim), so I was monitoring some scenes, but around episode 10 I found the story didn't work for me at all. No regrets. I still watched some adorable scenes between the two, but the drama itself was a little annoying for me.

Father is Strange is very charming and I really like the majority of the characters. I started watching around episode 10 too and can't wait for the weekend to the next episode! The lenght doesn't feel too long at all.

Between so much fantasy and crimes in the 16 ep dramas nowadays, it's very refreshing to watch everyday struggles of common people. I really like it.

I adoreddd this genre since Ojakkyo Brothers and I did follow your mini recaps on Sons of Sol Pharmacy back in the day or was it from another drama site... I watch trendy dramas still but I always come back to family dramas because they're like comfort food. They're so warm and cuddly, the characters and their relationships feel familiar and their worries sometimes relatable. There's always one or two couples that make me squee, bits I have to fast forward and a few eps can be missed here and there... Especially loved Five Kids and What Happens to this Family! Father is Strange is also one of my top faves now.

Father is Strange is my first try dipping into family drama territory. I only read positive reviews and comments about it, plus I have a soft spot for Jung So min, and her couple shoots with Lee Joon popping here and there were so adorable, so I decided to take a peek at this one genre I was initially reluctant to try in my 10 years of kdrama watching. And surprisingly, I loved it! I can't stop myself from pressing the play next ep button and finished 30 eps in less than 4 days (and made a mess out of my regular drama watching schedule!). I was expecting all sorts of makjang, which I normally hate but willing to brush aside for the sake of new experience, but it turns out I didn't need the ff button after all!

So I'd like to take this opportunity to say (ok, write) this out loud, echoing JB:

I’m sorry for ever doubting you, family dramas!

I haven't watched the recent episodes of Father is Strange but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna continue. Hopefully finish a family drama because as far as I can remember, I haven't finished one and mostly dropped it.

I have yet to find one of these I like, but I'll never say never!

What happened to my Family was so good! The episodes flew so fast that I honestly don't how I didn't get bored of it even though I hardly felt the need to skip anything (and I usually ff a lot!).

I remember starting "What Happens to me family?" thinking that it was a 16 episode drama and boyy was I wrong. It took me too long to realize that it was a family drama and I kept thinking "50 episodes is too much of a commitment". But I stuck with it!! And watching this show was absolutely one of the best experiences I've had.

When family dramas are done right they have this way of capturing your attention, making you wish your family was like the one in the show and stomping on your heart til you cry. And they seem so relatable -- that's the best part. I think getting older has caused me to like shows that are a bit slower and focus on topics other than romance

A few years ago, I got to the point that even 16-episode drama would feel too long but that was because the loose plotting and they try to drag along with non-sense angst. However, I really enjoy tight-plot, fast-paced, medium-size story namely something like Circle. But family drama is the whole different world. It can be frustrating some of the time, but it also fulls of hearts. One thing is that you can miss a couple of episodes and still be able to keep up.

Family dramas are mostly makjang but what I like about them is they always have a heart. There's always a warmth to them that just draws you in. My all-time favourite would be You Who Rolled in Unexpectedly. Each family felt like a mini-society and all the characters were well-written and well-acted.

What Happens to my Family is the drama that really hooked me and my husband into Kdramas. We caught a couple of random episodes on KBSWorld and had to go back and find out why the Dad was suing his kids. It was such a wonderful experience. We're currently watching Father is strange and enjoying that and waiting for it all to hit the fan.
When the family drama works it feels like you're watching a novel.

I love family drama so much ❤ I started to love family drama in the last 5 years. I think KBS has the reputation of making a good family drama compared to other channels. MBC is more makjang-ish and complicated - Father I'll Take Care of You left me bad memories, although not as bad as Our Gap soon (SBS).
Our Gap soon - it shows mess relationships, but too inconsistent, inbalance and dragging, with 10 epi extension made story more ridiculous. I can write 10 pages of my complaints about this show though lol.

I always watch weekend drama, and not necessarily family drama, like I Have A Lover (2015) which is melodrama but still has a part of family aspects. My current favourite is Father Is Strange, and show only has 14 epi left. sobs. I really hope there will be no extension, or if around 2-4 epi, then it is OK. I want to see at least Lee Yu Ri and Lee Joon to get award at the end of the year, I'm pretty sure Lee Yu Ri will get it as she is the most established actress among the casts and has been award receiver for years.

I don't know if it's categorised as family drama - but if it's more than 24 eps - it's a long haul drama!!
The first I actually watched was Smile, You. 45 episodes - which I only jumped if for Jung Kyung Ho's sake!! Loved it and then went on to - Likeable or Not (I guess this would be one of the sitcom category). So from dipping toes - I started occasionally looking out for these long haul dramas - and have to date watched Ojakkyo Brothers and What Happens to my Family and even All About My Mom (although there were major parts where I had trouble ploughing through!!). Currently watching Father Is Strange.
I admit to waiting for reviews/recaps and word of mouth (and also am very dependent on who the main cast are) before taking one up because I just feel drained and frustrated when a drama devolves into makjang-fest which is absolutely a major definite catnope for me! ?

I find myself in the same boat. Never thought I would love watching a 50 episode drama when it was hard enough to finish a 24 episode one. That was me... until last year. Now weekend dramas are like comfort food to me, warm and satisfying.

I found myself growing weary of the ever changing short running week-day dramas and craved something more permanent that I could relax and watch over the weekend. That's not to say I don't love my week day mysteries, thrillers and rom coms, I still do.

But my true initiation to weekend family dramas started with Five Children and I fell in love with it, and moved on to Father, I'll take care of You which was quite exasperating and now I'm loving Father is Strange.

Just a note about Father Is Strange: I loved Kim Young-chul and Kim Hae-sook as the mom and dad in Life Is Beautiful, and I so appreciate their relationship in FIS, too. I love how they both sit at the head of the table, side by side. Sure, they have their disagreements (which makes them relatable), but they really work together as a team and they support one another so beautifully. I want healing for them (in terms of releasing the burden they've been carrying) as much as I do for Joong-hee.

Family dramas were good, way too good to get me addicted but mostly had frustrated ending. They'd better had more satisfying ending.

For the most part, I'm a rom-com gal. However, whenever I come across a family drama that gets me, I commit until the end. My first one was Ojakgyo Brothers! I.just.love.it. It's both fun and heartwarming. I also enjoyed What Happens to My Family and Five Children. Weirdly, I'm not taken by Father is Strange. Anyway, KBS does family drama really well among the big three, in my opinion.

DB readers who like family dramas and have tolerance for 120 half-hour episodes should tune into "Working Mom, Parenting Daddy", a solid contemporary family drama with minimal makjang happenings. It's much more in the Family Drama category than in the Daily Drama category. There's plenty of social commentary without being preachy, as the writer lets the story do the talking. It looks like an easy watch on the surface, but there is a lot to think about afterward.

I've been wanting to watch some family dramas, but it's hard to find recommendations, I've watched:
- Five Children, which I LOVED!
- Legendary witch and You're the best Lee Soon Shin, which were okay.
- My Daughter Geum Sa Wol and Rosy Lovers, which I HATED (but still finished, go figure ?).
So basically, I find them really hit and miss. If anyone has any recommendations based on these I would be VERY grateful :)

Omg, is that Ji Chang-wook in the Sons of Sol Pharmacy photo? It totally is! I remember watching that show because Dramabeans has always been my K-drama bible and I always thought highly of Javabeans' recommendations, so seeing it being recapped and talked about on here was enough for me to check it out. It turned out to be a lot of fun to watch, so yay!

You used the screenshot of one of my favorite moments in all of my kdrama watching. I'm finding that I'm coming around to family dramas too. Sure they're really long and there are a lot of them that depict unlikable people in makjang situations. However, it doesn't matter if they're 16 or 24 or 50 episodes long, you can usually tell what you're getting into within the first few weeks of the drama and make the decision to drop if need be. And what's the matter with a 50 episode drama if I can watch like many 6+ season American series?

However, I think the rewards of finding a gem can be huge, since you can really get attached to all these people in the family and see them grow. And once you've grown to like the characters, you get to have them for 3 times longer than your usual primetime show. I've been enjoying Father is Strange immensely and it may be the first family drama I'm fully completing without skips. I remember enjoying most of Sons of Sol Pharmacy and Smile You, but I think the subs to those longer shows weren't as easily available as they are now, so I eventually gave up. I watched a heck load of clips from What Happens to My Family and am really tempted to start it. I also need to finish Laurel Tree Tailors.

And it's nice to see family moments when in primetime, so many characters seem isolated from their families (and sometimes also isolated from real friends) or are just orphaned.

My first family drama series is probably Life is Beautiful (SBS-2010) starring Lee Sang Yoon and Song Chang Eui. It was the first time getting a peek into a traditional family setting of Koreans. Beautiful Days (starring Lee Seo Jin and Kim Hee Sun) and My Daughter Seo Young (starring Lee Sang Yoon and Lee Bo Young) were so addictive and heart wrenching to watch. Right now, I am watching Father is Strange, which I enjoy the JH and MY stories more than the other siblings.

My love-hate relationship for family dramas began with Lee Soon-Shin, You're the Best. I loved the central couple (played by IU and Jo Jung-Seok) but hated the birth secret that made for 50 episodes of teeth-gnashing makjang and irrationally angry characters. Once burned... To this day, I am very hesitant in watching any family drama. I will be perusing the comments carefully to see if there's a family drama to be enjoyed without too much regret.

Smile you/Smile Honey of Jung Kyung Ho and Lee Min Jung is a good Family drama too. I felt like they are real family and their interaction to each other are great. The side stories are good too. It's funny and romantic at the same time. I don't know if East of Eden is considered a family drama but it's good one of the best like Baker King Kim Takgu :D

Wow! What an article! Does JB expect us to write our thoughts to match her writing skill levels?? Because I definitely can't ?

And the only family drama I've seen is Ojakkyo Brothers & I liked it. The only reason I don't watch family dramas is because I can't, the 50+ episodes need some dedication & I don't want to give up a drama halfway because I didn't have the time.

I relate to you Javabeans. Laurel Tree Tailors hooked me in with its campy leads and predictable vibe and Father Is Strange is keeping me hooked with its spunk.

But it was the over-the-top nutty 100 Year Inheritence that actually bought me into this genre! ?

I watching Father is Strange and Unnie Is Alive for weekend dramas. Father is Strange is warm but i feel draggy some times, that I find hard to catch up new eps. Unnie Is Alive is a makjang (i watch all writer dramas), the story is addicted and really big.

i still can't watch the family drama until end
there are so much distraction from other serials or mini dramas ?

I like weekend family dramas. You can just watch the first 10 episodes, drop it for a bit and come back for the juicy last 15-10 episodes. Hahaha. But daily family dramas, still too much for me.

i'm not into family dramas. actually i'm still considerably new to the kdrama land without much experience of thousand-something-dramas, but in the short span that i have been following kdramas, i think my tastes have also changed a wee-bit. i used to like all sorts of crime thrillers, be it english, american, indian (although that one is long forgotten) and of course, korean. my fav is still 'i remember you', but i've also navigated the muddy waters of unfamiliar genres and come to like cute, romantic, comic effects or fantasy dramas and sageuks to an extent too. although, cute and romantic is the definition of kdramas, i was always more inclined towards criminal geniuses and plot revealing that most of the directors and writers get right, or even the simple mysteries unfolding in a simply different genre's story; but comic effects like in W or Goblin (as a fantasy and not for the sageuk, that was so emotional...) and now looking forward to the bride of Habaek, the set trajectory of a protagonists journey and the way they flout, bend, or twist the rules is fun to watch!

and of course, the major credit goes to dramabeans :) <3

i'm not into family dramas. actually i'm still considerably new to the kdrama land without much experience of thousand-something-dramas, but in the short span that i have been following kdramas, i think my tastes have also changed a wee-bit. i used to like all sorts of crime thrillers, be it english, american, indian (although that one is long forgotten) and of course, korean. my fav is still 'i remember you', but i've also navigated the muddy waters of unfamiliar genres and come to like cute, romantic, comic effects or fantasy dramas and sageuks to an extent too. although, cute and romantic is the definition of kdramas, i was always more inclined towards criminal geniuses and plot revealing that most of the directors and writers get right, or even the simple mysteries unfolding in a simply different genre's story; but comic effects like in W or Goblin (as a fantasy and not for the sageuk, that was so emotional...) and now looking forward to the bride of Habaek, the set trajectory of a protagonists journey and the way they flout, bend, or twist the rules is fun to watch!

and of course, the major credit goes to dramabeans :) <3 :D
another thanks for this new thread of conversations :D

In my 15 years of watching korean dramas, I can count in a single hand the number of weekend dramas I've watched. Weekend dramas seem to scare me. If I do follow one, more often than not, I have skipped some episodes or a few minutes in episodes that I watched. But surprisingly, "Father is Strange" is setting some sort of history. I have not missed a single episode and has skipped just a few minutes (mostly Hyeyoung MIL scenes). Thirty six episodes in and I am still interested sometimes hooked with some complaints here and there (how long are we keeping JH's birth secret?).

In my country, these "family dramas" are called "telenovelas". The typical setting was: they would start promising, develop dragging, absurd and crazy, and end happily, even for the wicked ones!!!!!
I had watched few as a child (even though they were not recommended for children audience but the adults around me did not care?)... Happily, of course, I was clever and I eventually i stopped watching them.
Now it is been some 4 years since i discover the K Dramas, and i have never watched a 50-er episode family drama because of dreading the same "promising-absurd-happy end" trope, but who knows, maybe one day i will start paying attention to your recommendations here.

I, too, never would have thought I'd get into family dramas but this year most of the few dramas I ended up finishing were actually weekenders. Who'd have thought, huh? I agree with what javabeans said, I like how I can watch it passively at times and I find comfort in the familiarity of the set-up. My favorites include Smile You, Ojakgyo Brothers, What Happens With My Family, All About Mom, and I Have A Lover (which is sort of a family drama but not?).

Thank you Javabeans for this post.
I finally tried family dramas starting with Father is strange after seeing all the good reviews it got in What we're watching .
It's a drama so I find familiar things and tropes, but the overall atmosphere, colors, relationships explored and the possibility to have multiple stories within one drama all related beacause it's one family, for me it's like the little rest of doing nothing sitting on the couch after a long day of work, and like everyday duties calling you back to reality there are some makjang elements, step mother with a fake cast never apologising ^^' *inner peace* .

Because we are talking about family dramas, I would like to ask an important request.... I am looking for a rather old family drama, The Golden Era of Daughter-In-Law. I am pretty sure it was TV ripped from KBS World by Devil Slob, but it was now gone from the Internet. Does anyone have access to it? I really wanted to watch Lee Sookyung and Kim Jihoon couple in action.

Awww i tear up with this: "If I could do any one thing with Dramabeans, it’s to empower us all to embrace what makes us happy and what we enjoy... (and) provide a cocoon of comfort and make you feel at home.
This is why Dramabeans is the best kdrama site ever. ?

I love family dramas! I got into them with a friend's recommendation with What happened with my family and I loved it so much. I cried in my sleep after the final episode, I find them so heartwarming, touching and comforting. I have not watched another one since due to the length but I have many of them on my watchlist and I want to start Father is strange because of everyone's comments.