Television series
Summer Scent
A 2003 Korean romance where grief and magic collide. A man haunted by his girlfriend's death meets a woman whose donated heart—from that same lost love—begins to recognize him. It's achingly sincere, built on the fantasy of second chances and bodies remembering what minds forget. For anyone who's ever wondered if love could survive the unsurvivable.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love slow-burning melodrama where memory and longing carry the story, and you don't mind a supernatural tilt bending a romance toward the tearful.
Skip it if you want a brisk plot or a romance that moves quickly; at twenty episodes of sixty-odd minutes, its lingering pace and repeated heartache will test your patience.
What it asks of you: Twenty episodes of about an hour each, built slowly around long pauses and sorrowful glances that linger rather than resolve quickly.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Goblin Slayer2018
A doomed immortal and a girl who can see ghosts find love across centuries. Like Summer Scent, it pairs magical realism with genuine emotional devastation, asking whether fate matters if you've already lost everything.
But Seventeen episodes is a serious commitment, and the middle stretch lags while it figures out its mythology. The tone can whipsaw from comedy to heartbreak without warning.
My Love from the Star2013
An alien who crash-landed 400 years ago falls for an actress in modern Seoul. Same blend of the impossible and the intimate, with excellent chemistry and a script that trusts you to feel things without overexplaining them.
But The last few episodes rush toward resolution and feel slightly disappointed by their own ending. Some side plots meander before they land.
While You Were Sleeping2017
A woman develops psychic visions that let her prevent disasters; she becomes entangled with a prosecutor determined to save her. Shares Summer Scent's conviction that the supernatural is just another language for love and protection.
But The fantasy element exists mainly to create plot complications. If you want the magic to feel as real as the emotions, this leans too hard on the mechanics.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Summer Scent
More like this (6)
Tomorrow2022
A man on the brink of death meets a grim reaper trying to save lives instead. Devastatingly human—it's about second chances and whether people deserve them, anchored by two perfect performances and writing that never feels cheap.
But Heavy doesn't begin to cover it. This is grief rendered in detail. Some will find it cathartic; others will find it exhausting to sit with.
The Legend2007
Reincarnation melodrama about two souls separated by time. Leans into the baroque emotionality Summer Scent traffics in, with the added pleasure of watching Lee Min Ho play against type as someone genuinely broken.
But The plot requires a lot of convenient amnesia and separated-at-birth nonsense. If you can't lean into that kind of fairy tale, the mechanics will annoy you.
The Time We Were Not in Love2015
Two broadcast journalists spend years slowly realizing they're in love while life intervenes. Quieter than Summer Scent but shares its understanding that the best love stories are about people who arrive too late.
But The pacing is deliberately slow and meditative. If you need plot momentum, you'll check your watch.
Descendants of the Sun2016
A soldier and a surgeon fall in love in a war zone. It has Summer Scent's earnestness about feeling things completely, even—especially—when the world is burning around you.
But The production values and melodrama can feel occasionally overwrought. Some of the action sequences interrupt the emotional momentum rather than serving it.
100 Days My Prince2018
A man loses his memory and identity; the woman he loves must decide whether to tell him the truth. Explores the same question as Summer Scent: what do you owe someone you love if they can't remember you?
But The amnesia plot gets tangled. By the end you'll be tracking too many secrets at once and some threads get dropped.
Red Sleeve2021
A royal concubine and a crown prince try to love each other in a world that forbids it. Gorgeously shot, with a historical setting that makes the separation feel inevitable and necessary rather than convenient.
But Historical drama rhythms mean slowness and ceremony. The constrained setting, while beautiful, limits how much the plot can actually go. If you want momentum, look elsewhere.
