‘Tis the Christmas season and the time to be jolly! What better way to spend the holidays than kicking back on the couch and watching your favorite K-dramas? But alas! This may not be entirely possible, owing to the fact that the festive season also means relatives coming over, family dinners, gift shopping, and all those other holiday requirements. So, to get you into the spirit of things, here is a list of K-drama Christmas (or related) episodes that give you the feels.
Pinocchio (Episode 13) “The Gift of the Magi”
The 2015-16 K-drama Pinocchio has such a sweet Christmas episode. Choi Dal-po gets drunk, forgets the address of the house he’d recently moved into, and goes back to his family home. So, he spends Christmas breakfast with his family. In Ha’s father and grandfather arrive at his new house with boxes of food and to check on his condition, reminding him that no matter what he does, family will always be family.
“The Gift of the Magi” is a rather adorable episode in the funny and cute drama, and it spreads the joy of Christmas conveying a message of the strength that family bonds have.
You’re Beautiful (Episode 9)
Strictly speaking, this episode of You’re Beautiful is not a Christmas one, but having Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hong-gi, Jang Geun-suk, and Park Shin-hye sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is sure to get you in a festive mood.
Go Mi-nam’s twin brother is a K-pop star in recovery after his plastic surgery went wrong. So, the awkward Go Mi-nam pretends to be her brother until he can correct the problem. In this episode, she takes to the stage to sing a Christmas carol, but then the jealous actress Yoo Hye-yi pours a bucket of water on her. Hye-yi expected the other band members to humiliate Mi-nam, but instead they join her on stage and help her continue the song. It’s such a sweet and friendly gesture that definitely spreads the joy of the season!
My Love From Another Star (Episode 3)
Again, this was not officially a Christmas episode, but the episode came out on Korean television on Christmas Day. In this episode of My Love From Another Star, 400-year-old alien, Do Min-joon, tries to figure out the connection between a girl he had met in his distant past and his current neighbor, actress Cheon Song-yi.
The most Christmassy part of the episode is when it starts to snow while Song-yi is in the hospital and she looks out and says “The first snow…”. This reminds Do Min-joon of a similar quote spoken by Song-yi’s Joseon-era counterpart, where she states how people believe that all lies said on that day would be forgiven. Cheon Song-yi finishes her sentence with “…is the perfect day for chicken and beer” and goes on to list all the food she can’t eat as she’s always dieting.
Food is an essential feature of the season, and this episode is a funny reminder of it.
Oh My Venus (Episode 12 and 14)
There are two Christmases being celebrated in Oh My Venus — one ‘before’ and one ‘after’. In episode 12, everyone celebrates Christmas happily, and Kang Joo-eun reflects on how her life has changed, and about the people around her. That night, Kim Young-ho is badly injured in a car accident and needs to go to the U.S. for treatment.
Fast forwarding to episode 14, it’s Christmas again. Young-ho has returned to Korea, and they all spend Christmas together again. Joo-eun again reflects on how she spent the entire year crying, but at the end, it was the best Christmas ever.
This drama definitely had one of the best Christmas episodes of all time, with its wonderful message that no matter what happens, Christmas is about spending time with those you love. That’s the magic of Christmas.