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One of the most classic K-dramas, The Heirs, starring Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye, easily sits as a beloved series for every veteran K-drama fan. The show, which premiered back in 2013, hit its ten-year mark on October 9, 2023, naturally taking fans back to the tense and drama-filled series that's effortlessly bingeworthy. As a classic representative of the love trope between a young boy from the rich and a poor girl, the story builds on all the expected tensions between them.
While their love flourishes between them, it gets challenged in the face of their contrasting families and backgrounds, which heavily tests their relationship's stability. Despite the drama-filled series, The Heirs also brings in several other reeling characteristics, like the overflowing chemistry of the main leads, the OSTs that you can't help but sing along to, and the emotional scenes that have you crying buckets.
From supernatural fiction to school drama: 5 binge-worthy K-dramas to watch when you're missing The Heirs
1) True Beauty
Given that The Heirs' story is that of a rich high school boy who is cold to everyone but the girl he's in love with, the 2021 K-drama True Beauty works on similar notes. Starring Cha Eun-woo, Moon Ga-young, and Hwang In-yeop, the series narrates the life of a high school girl who's forced to hide behind the mask of makeup to prevent herself from getting bullied.
While she navigates through two lifestyles, one with makeup and another without, a young and rich fellow high schooler whom she unexpectedly comes across ends up falling for her no-makeup side. In addition to his rich lifestyle, he's also similar to Lee Minho's character in a way that he is only soft and nice to the girl who eventually becomes his girlfriend.
2) Boys Over Flowers
With The Heirs' cast effortlessly standing as one of the most iconic and talented ones in the K-drama industry, a visit to their other dramas also becomes necessary. Another beloved Lee Minho show is Boys Over Flowers, which captivates the viewers with drama-filled incidents in a high school environment.
Released in 2009, the utter classic revolves around the life of a smart yet poor girl who gets transferred to a high school that predominantly houses students from elite backgrounds. While she tries to navigate through her new and intimidating lifestyle, she crosses paths with the four richest boys in the school and also falls in love with one of them.
3) Secret Garden
Another show with a rich-boy and poor girl love trope that stands similarly to The Heirs but with a tinge of supernatural elements is Secret Garden. The 2010 show, starring Hyun-bin and Ha Ji-won, revolves around the life of a rich young CEO who unexpectedly falls in love with a stuntwoman who struggles to make ends meet.
However, their connections get further complicated when they suddenly start to switch bodies with each other, forcing them to spend more time beside one another. As their bond slowly solidifies into love, they face other obstacles, such as the male lead's family's disapproval of their love.
4) You're Beautiful
Another actor from The Heirs cast whose work is worthy of notice is Park Shin-hye. The 2009 show revolves around the lives of a set of twins, a boy and a girl, who grew up at an orphanage. As they grow up, the boy fulfills his dream to join a boy band, while the girl moves towards accomplishing her goal of becoming a nun.
However, one day she is requested by the boy band's manager to disguise herself as her brother for a month while he heals from his plastic surgery. As she continues her life under her brother's name, she's particularly unwelcomed by one of the band members. Ironically, however, their initial contrasting personalities pull them together as they spend more time with each other.
5) School 2015
The last on the list of shows that stand similarly to The Heirs is School 2015. Released in 2015, its exciting cast of Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim So-yun, and Yook Sung-jae already piques the interest of the viewers. The school-drama-based series revolves around the lives of two girl twins who get separated during their childhood.
While one enjoys a cheerful life at a private school in Seoul, the other faces bullies on a daily basis as she continues her life at an orphanage. After a dark set of events, their places get switched, naturally causing much chaos and problems along the way. Additionally, their respective love interests, played by Nam Joo-hyun and Yook Sung-jae, become one of the first to catch the awkward changes.
While there are abundant K-dramas that draw a similar or close picture to The Heirs, every drama comes with its own essence, and The Hiers' is quite unmatched.
