They stare into each other’s eyes, each trying to guess what the other is thinking. It’s a scene that plays out in “Crash Landing On You.” The girl, Yoon Se-ri, has a sly smile painted on her lips as she realizes she’s won. On the other hand the boy, Ri Jeong-hyeok, a North Korean soldier, wears an expression that is a mix of frustration and curiosity as he stands as still as possible for the fear of disrupting the land mine planted under his foot. Yoon Se-ri takes off running in the wrong direction, finding herself on the bumpy road to true love.

Had I been told two years ago that I would soon be craving ramen, making fingers hearts and obsessing over Korean idols, I would have thought you were crazy. Yet, after I watched my first K-drama, the popular show “Crash Landing On You” on Netflix, my life changed. It was absolutely amazing. One second tears glistened in my eyes, the next my stomach hurt from laughter, other times I was curled up in a ball, tense. The full 10 out of 10 experience one could hope for.

Seven people live at my house, my mom, my dad and my quintuplet siblings, and we don’t agree on practically anything. In the eyes of my siblings, the restaurant we end up eating at is thought to be a declaration of who my parents favorite child is. Seating arrangements in the car for long car trips are long battles fought weeks before we’ve even started packing. And the worst disagreement of all, who gets the prized seat next to Mom, is basically a trial in court as each quint brings forth evidence of who sat by her recently and who ‘never’ sits by her. Yet, by some sort of miracle, there is one thing the Wilkinson family can agree on. K-dramas.

In fact, my whole extended family can agree on it. My grandmas, aunt’s and cousins have all proudly given away hours of their lives to watch these K-dramas. And, if I’m being honest, some of them have full time jobs watching these wonderful pieces of art play out on the screen. K-dramas have become a glue to these relationships, holding them together tightly.

Of course, K-dramas are more than just a good hour spent on the couch, the lessons they teach by way of character development and villain motivations are inspiring. “Pinnochio” taught about the importance of truth, “Hometown Cha Cha Cha ” about owning one’s mistakes and “While You Were Sleeping” about facing one’s fear. With the thoughts provoked by these shows, I’ve grown in knowledge about aspects of the world I never even knew about. 

Now, for the most important thing in life, food. K-dramas helped my family see different foods in a new light. The first, ramen. Before, it was just a pile of noodles in flavored broth that my parents ate a lot of in college, now it’s a full meal complete with chopsticks and kimchi. As I watched my favorite actors and actresses put fried eggs in their ramen I thought that would taste gross, but it turned out to be super delicious.

The second, tteokbokki, a rice cake that often makes an appearance in K-dramas. While we were with my aunt, she made us tteokbokki and it tasted fantastic. The texture is strange, but it’s the good kind of strange that leaves you craving for more. 

The third, bulgogi. My family and I walked into Honey Pig Korean BBQ almost by accident. It was just my parents and my sister, so we wanted to go out to eat. Deciding to try something new and noticing that it had Korean in the title, so it had to be good, we walked into Honey Pig. It was like stepping into South Korea. We sat down on tin stools and the waiter brought out numerous side dishes and turned on the burner in the middle of our table. Then, after placing our order, they set a large pile of bulgogi on the burner. Now, when they first brought it out my stomach did a front flip, it did not look appetizing. But after it had finished cooking and I tried a bite, my stomach was jumping up and down with joy. It was, yet another, amazing Korean dish.

Alright, now I have a confession to make. I’m a hopeless romantic and the displays of affection between male and female leads in K-dramas put a smile on my face no matter how cliché or cheesy they are. If you’re looking for a show to watch that makes your jaw drop and heart flutter because of chivalrous guys, K-dramas are the thing for you. Between him catching the leading lady before she trips, opening her car door, staring into her eyes, and the dimple smile on his face when she laughs, you’ll easily find yourself a new celebrity crush. I know, ‘cause I have.

And that’s about all you need to know about K-dramas. The most amazing, awesome, wonderful things in the world. While I’m sure you’ve got football games to watch, superhero movies to catch up on and horror films lined up to watch with your friends, you should consider watching a K-drama. I mean, they changed my life, and they’re sure to change yours.