17 Interesting Careers in Korean Dramas
While many Thai dramas focus on doctors, international series often showcase a wide array of fascinating professions. The way these careers are portrayed, including the perspectives and details, makes the stories even more engaging. Today, Jobcadu presents 17 unique and captivating careers from Korean dramas that are just as compelling as being a doctor. 1.News Anchor - Pinocchio (2014) This drama tells the story of Ki Ha-myung (Lee Jong-suk), a young man who suffers from the pain caused by media coverage that led to his family's tragic loss. He wants to live his life by erasing his past and assuming the name Choi Dal-po, the son of an elderly Alzheimer's patient who happens to find him as a child. Choi In-ha (Park Shin-hye), a young woman with Pinocchio syndrome (hiccups when lying), comes to live in the countryside with her father after he decides to divorce her mother, a female reporter. This makes Choi Dal-po become Choi In-ha's uncle, even though they are close in age. As they grow up, Choi In-ha decides to become a reporter, hoping to meet her mother and using her Pinocchio syndrome as a selling point. Meanwhile, Choi Dal-po wants to stay away from the media and reporters. However, a twist of fate leads him to become a rookie reporter to uncover the truth and settle the grudge in his heart, which conflicts with his love for In-ha. 2.Curator (Museum Caretaker) - Her Private Life (2019) This romantic comedy series follows Sung Deok-mi, a talented curator with two lives. In her normal life, she is a curator at an art museum, while in another life, she is a die-hard fan of a popular idol singer. Ryan Gold, the new director, enters the gallery and Deok-mi's life. By chance, he discovers her secret, leading him to become more interested in her. As they work together, they grow closer and eventually fall in love. A curator is a highly responsible position. They need expertise in their specific field and the ability to manage, care for, and design exhibitions to make them appealing. The duties of a curator vary depending on the specific venue. Those interested in this career should have a degree in History, Archeology, Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Fine Arts, or Applied Arts. 3.Forest Ranger - Jirisan (2021) Seo Yi-kang is a top ranger at Jirisan National Park with extensive experience in guiding, making her knowledgeable and skilled in tracking missing persons. One day, she becomes the partner of Kang Hyun-jo, a rookie ranger who graduated from a military academy and is a former lieutenant. However, he experiences a horrific incident on Jirisan that leads him to become a forest ranger. The series depicts the mysteries surrounding the mountain, a place visited by many people who come to kill and those who come to end their lives. 4.Web Portal Industry - Search WWW (2019) This drama tells the story of conflict, victory, and loss from the experiences of three women working in the tech industry. It follows the lives of women in the 21st century who choose not to be wives or mothers but want to succeed in their careers. Bae Ta-mi (Im Soo-jung) is a woman in her 30s working for Unicorn, the largest organization in the industry. Although she has won many times, she still has morals in her heart. She has always prioritized herself over dating, but her thinking begins to change when Park Mo-gun (Jang Ki-yong), the intelligent CEO and music producer for games, enters her life. 5.Software Developer - Start-up (2020) This drama follows Seo Dal-mi (Bae Suzy) as she tries to find Nam Do-san, her childhood pen pal and first love, to impress her sister Won In-jae (Kang Han-na) at a party. Her grandmother, who knows the truth, asks Han Ji-pyeong (Kim Seon-ho), the boy she used to take care of, to find the real Nam Do-san. However, when Han Ji-pyeong meets the real Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk), he is disappointed by the reality. Nam Do-san is just a nerdy genius who doesn't know how to take care of himself. He runs a small company called "Samsan Tech" with two friends. When Do-san reads Dal-mi's letters, he wants to help her and decides to change himself. After that, the big lie that everyone started begins, and things get even bigger as they reunite in SAND BOX to pursue their business dreams. 6.Meteorologist - Forecasting Love and Weather (2022) This series tells the story of modern men and women through characters like Jin Ha-kyung, a talented meteorologist who is committed to rules and is betrayed by her boyfriend Han Ki-joon, who is planning to marry her. They break up while still working together. Jin Ha-kyung meets Lee Si-woo, a new young meteorologist on the team, and falls in love. They have to date secretly, agreeing that if anyone finds out, their relationship must end immediately. The series presents a chaotic love story alongside a unique career as a meteorologist, making it a fun and well-rounded experience. 7.Programmer - Memories of the Alhambra (2018) Yoo Jin-woo (Hyun Bin), the CEO of an investment company developing a project to produce contact lenses designed for use with AR technology, travels to Spain to find Jung Se-joo (Chanyeol EXO), a genius programmer who developed an AR game used in medieval battles. He believes that if the game can be used with Jin-woo's contact lens technology, it will generate huge revenue. However, Se-joo disappears mysteriously before his appointment with Jin-woo at a hostel in Granada, Spain. This leads him to meet Jung Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye), Se-joo's sister and the owner of the hostel. 8.Writer & Chef - Temperature Of Love (2017) This drama tells the story of two people who date and break up in a short period because their "love temperature" is not the same. They meet again and fall in love at the right "love temperature," which makes their relationship a true love. Lee Hyun-soo (Seo Hyun-jin) quits her job at a big company to pursue her dream and becomes a drama writer. On Jung-sun (Yang Se-jong) is a Michelin chef who is sincere and warm. He is 6 years younger than Lee Hyun-soo. They first meet online, and their relationship is not good. They separate until they meet again in real life. Park Jung-woo (Kim Jae-wook) is a young businessman who co-owns a restaurant with On Jung-sun. Although he looks cold on the outside, he is warm inside. Ji Hong-ah (Jo Bo-ah) is Lee Hyun-soo's best friend and assistant writer, but their friendship turns sour when Ji Hong-ah learns that On Jung-sun has fallen in love with Lee Hyun-soo. 9.Psychiatric Ward Caregiver - It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) This drama features two interesting professions: the male lead who works as a caregiver in a psychiatric ward and the female lead who is a children's book writer. It's Okay to Not Be Okay tells the story of Moon Kang-tae, a psychiatric ward caregiver who dedicates himself to others and takes care of his autistic brother, and Go Moon-young, a famous children's book writer with antisocial tendencies. When they meet, a special healing begins. 10.Nutritionist - My Secret Romance (2017) This story follows a nutritionist who gets into a chaotic situation due to a misunderstanding between her and her new billionaire boss, with whom she had a one-night stand. Three years later, they meet again, and she works as a nutritionist at his company's cafeteria. They pretend not to know each other as their one-night stand gradually turns into a meaningful love. A nutritionist is someone who has studied nutrition and is knowledgeable in providing food services for patients in hospitals and giving general nutritional advice. They ensure that patients receive appropriate nutrition for their health. This also includes individuals who want to take care of their health and consume food that will be most beneficial to their bodies. 11.Cleaning Company Employee - Clean with Passion for Now (2018) This is a love story between Gil Oh-sol (Kim Yoo-jung), a cheerful and carefree woman who doesn't care about cleanliness due to her busy work life, and Jang Sun-kyul (Yoon Kyun-sang), the handsome and wealthy CEO of Cleaning Fairy who has mysophobia (fear of germs). He considers cleanliness to be the most important thing in life. When they meet, chaos ensues. The position of CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer, which means the highest authority and responsibility in an organization or company. They are authorized by the board of directors to manage the company, including setting policies, making decisions, and using their authority to manage the company. A CEO is crucial to a company's success or failure. 12.Cartoonist - W (Two Worlds) (2016) This is a story about two people living in different worlds. Oh Yeon-joo (Han Hyo-joo) is a thoracic surgeon living in the real world. Kang Chul (Lee Jong-suk) is the co-CEO of JN Global, an e-commerce company. He lives in a virtual world created by Oh Sung-moo (Kim Eui-sung), a webtoon artist, in his webtoon called W. The story begins when Yeon-joo is pulled into the virtual world and saves Chul's life. After that, the webtoon unfolds as Yeon-joo tries to help Kang Chul, while Sung-moo tries to kill him. 13.Lawyer - Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) is a young lawyer with Asperger's Syndrome, which makes her lack social skills. However, she is highly intelligent with an IQ of 164, excellent memory, and a creative way of thinking. She graduated at the top of her class from Seoul National University's law school and faces many prejudices. But she solves cases by paying attention to detail and noticing legal loopholes that others miss. Woo Young-woo starts working as an intern lawyer at the large law firm Hanbada. While working there, she faces prejudice and irrationality from her colleagues and clients. But she can solve cases with her unique perspective and grow into an excellent lawyer, including her curiosity to try to socialize with others. 14.Emergency Dispatch Police Officer - Voice (2017) This is the story of a talented detective who has solved many important cases. However, after losing his wife to a serial killer, his life goes downhill as he feels guilty for not being able to protect her. He decides to team up with Kang Kwon-joo, a rookie police officer with excellent hearing analysis skills, to track down the killer. She is also a victim who lost her father to the same killer. The series shows the work of the emergency dispatch police, where viewers can see the process of the dispatch center coordinating with the police in the area to help the victims. 15.Special Effects Makeup Artist - My Absolute Boyfriend (2019) This romantic-drama series presents a career that many movie fans are familiar with: special effects makeup artist. The series tells the story of talented special effects makeup artist Eom Da-da, who secretly dates Ma Wang-jun, a top star. However, he gets tired of their secret relationship, and their 7-year love ends. Then she meets Zero-Nine, a humanoid robot created to be the perfect boyfriend. As they get closer, they fall in love. But her old love, Wang-jun, wants her back, and Zero-Nine's original owner, Diana, comes to take him back. 16.Food Researcher - Business Proposal (2022) This popular series tells the story of Shin Ha-ri, a food researcher at GO Food, who goes on a blind date in place of her best friend. But an unexpected event happens when the man she meets is Kang Tae-moo, the president of her company. The chaotic love story is entertaining to watch. Besides being romantic, the series also shows the work of a food researcher, who studies and researches food to develop and improve its quality, safety, nutritional value, and taste. We see some of the processes of developing processed food, with the female lead experimenting and developing new recipes for the company. 17.Type Designer - More than Friends (2020) This romantic-comedy series about friends zone will resonate with anyone who has ever had a crush on a friend. It tells the story of Kyung Woo-yeon, a woman who designs letters, and Lee Soo, a photographer. They have been best friends, but no one knows that Kyung Woo-yeon has had a crush on him for over 10 years. Because of the friend zone, she is afraid to confess her feelings. They separate after graduation, but fate brings them back together. Will Kyung Woo-yeon dare to break the friend zone and develop her love with Lee Soo? Viewers will have to cheer for her in the series. A type designer is someone who designs typefaces, including logo design, font design, and lettering. It is a comprehensive design of everything related to letters, even fixing letters that need to be repaired, such as rebranding. The letters also have their own treatment. It requires design skills and proofreading skills. As you can see, there are many other careers in Korean dramas that many people may not know about, but they are valuable and worthwhile. Therefore, before diving into any career, you should study it thoroughly before making a decision to choose a career path that aligns with your long-term goals and needs. If you are unsure, you can learn more about finding the right job or how to develop yourself to meet your career goals at the Career Portal.