kdrama whump recs: found family/team as family edition
Found family/team as family is my favorite trope, and when it’s combined with whump it’s even better! So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite whumpy kdramas featuring these tropes! (This list is not a ranking!)
1. The Uncanny Counter (2021)
Age Rating: TV-14
Synopsis: So Mun is an orphaned high-school student who suddenly gains supernatural powers. Soon after, the local noodle-shop employees recruit him into their team of “Counters”, where he begins to learn of the evil spirits roaming around town.
Notes: This was actually my first-ever kdrama! It’s a great blend of action, drama, and comedy. It also has one of the most unique “magic” systems I’ve seen, with the “Counters” each connected to a spirit in the afterlife. It’s also extremely whumpy, with a lot of comfort and care given to the characters. Definitely recommend.
Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump
Here is a whumplist for Season 2!
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2. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021)
Age Rating: TV-MA
Synopsis: Dan Hwal has lived for the past 600 years as a Bulgasal—a mythical creature that feeds off human blood and is cursed with immortality. Eventually, he connects with his reincarnated family, along with a formerly immortal woman.
Notes: This show is pretty complex and can get confusing at times. It’s also heartbreaking, but the characters make up for it! There’s a TON of whump for both characters shown in the GIF above.
Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump
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3. Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)
Age Rating: TV-MA
Synopsis: Han Kang-bae is a young man with the ability to make people confess their deepest troubles with a single touch, but this power isn’t always a gift to him. One night, he meets the mysterious owner of a pop-up bar, a woman who must settle the grudges of 100,000 souls in order to gain a peaceful place in the afterlife.
Notes: This show isn’t the most whumpy on this list by any means, but it still has a good amount! What stood out to me were the relationships between the main trio of characters and how close they become with each other over the course of the show. No spoilers here, but this drama does involve reincarnation...
Here is a whumplist by @whumperfect
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4. While You Were Sleeping (2017)
Age Rating: TV-14
Synopsis: Three young adults discover that they all have the same ability: seeing the future in their dreams. As a trio, they work together to attempt to change these (sometimes terrible) visions and save each other from harm.
Notes: Though this show is more focused on the romance between Jae-chan and Hong-joo, there are some great moments of found family feels between the main trio, sometimes including Jae-chan’s little brother and a different character who somewhat acts as a father figure. Pretty whumpy show that I absolutely adored watching! (Plus, the cast is STELLAR! I mean, Suzy, Jong-suk, and Jae-in together in a drama? It’s so good.)
Here is a whumplist by @whumpalot
Here is a whumplist by @thewhumpyrabbit
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5. Tomorrow (2022)
Age Rating: TV-MA
Synopsis: Choi Jun-woong is a young man struggling to find a job, but when he falls into a coma after an unfortunate accident, he’s offered a place on the Risk Management Team as a temporary grim reaper. Together, they help save people from s*icide.
Notes: Possibly my most favorite kdrama ever! It has more emotional whump than physical for the most part, but it’s so amazingly done. The main trio (plus another character, later in the show) have such great platonic chemistry, and even though they have conflicts, you can tell they all truly care for each other even after a short amount of time. (Rowoon’s acting talents are really highlighted in this show, as well as the other main leads!)
Here is a whumplist I made!
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6. The Devil Judge (2021)
Age Rating: TV-14
Synopsis: This series is set in a dystopian version of South Korea, where the people live in chaos and corruption runs rampant. Trials are held through a courtroom live show aired on television, led by "The Devil Judge”.
Notes: This show is very dark, but has an interesting dynamic between the characters that evolves and grows over the course of the show. The characters are complex and imperfect, and though their conflicts are intense, it just makes the domestic moments so much better because of it. It has some good whump for the two main characters, and of course, Jin-young is an added bonus.
Here is a whumplist by @whumpslist
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7. He is Psychometric (2019)
Age Rating: TV-14
Synopsis: Lee Ahn is a young man with the ability to read the memories of any object or person he touches. He begins to train his powers in order to help solve crimes and get justice for the death of his parents.
Notes: One of my favorite kdramas ever and a must-watch for anyone in the kdrama whump community. Fair warning, this show will absolutely shatter your heart, but it has such a great storyline with many twists and turns. This is a complex found family, and though the show does have a romance, it’s a really good one. Also, there’s SO MUCH WHUMP! Like in every single episode. It’s truly amazing. Jin-young never fails to amaze me with his acting.
Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump
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Alright, that’s the end of the list (at least for now)! If you have any recommendations for more whumpy found family/team as family kdramas, please comment them or send me them! <3
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Ohhhh hoo hoo so @/writing_prompt_s posted this prompt: “You were the only child that didn't have powers in a family of metahumans. Today you got kidnapped by a supervillain… and none of your family came to the rescue.”
Imagining Four… pre powers… having nightmares…
Bc of course his family would never, but intrusive thoughts and a scary young mind…..
My muse grabbed me and I wrote something for this in a few hours and it’s not the exact same as the prompt but it’s pretty darn close so! enjoy.
Tw nightmare, also I teared up writing this so be warned it hits kinda hard but it’s hurt/comfort so dw. Sorry Four.
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Four didn’t know what was chasing after him, but he was too terrified to look.
Something grabbed at his back and Four frantically shook it off, wishing not for the first time that he had longer legs. He bolted down the street, no traffic around to stop him, or even people to ask for help, and finally recognized his house in the distance.
Four charged, relief sweeping over him at the sight of his family out in the yard.
They’ll help me, they’ll stop it, they’ll save me—
Something shot out and grabbed him right as he reached the mailbox, and Four cried out, falling to the ground as his family looked over at him in surprise.
“Help!” Four cried, but his siblings merely glanced at each other, then went back to what they were doing. “Wh— no wait! Wait help!”
His brothers began to walk away towards the house, not appearing to care a bit that their younger brother was in trouble. Four watched in disbelief as they strode away, hurt striking him even harder then the pain from falling on the ground.
“T-Twi?” Four whimpered.
Twilight didn’t even give him a backward glance as they all filed in, Wind closing the door behind them.
More hands grabbed at Four, beginning to pull him backwards, and he looked frantically around for help, his gaze landing on his mother standing nearby.
“Mama! Don’t let them take me!” Four cried out, but she merely shook her head, Time walking up to stand beside her.
“Sorry Link. You’re just... not useful,” Malon sighed, giving him a disappointed look.
“If only you were born with powers,” his father said with a shake of his head. “Maybe you’d be worth saving.”
The arms tugged Four further away from his family and he clawed against them, his eyes stinging as panic and horror shook through him.
“Wait!” he shrieked, but Malon merely turned away, Time following after her. “Please don’t— I can be useful! I promise I can, I— don’t let them take me!”
Time glanced back at him as Malon paused, his bad eye glowing slightly as they watched Four struggle.
“No you can’t,” he said simply, voice emotionless. “You’re not special, Link. And this family has no need for useless children.”
And he and Malon turned to head inside.
“No, no wait!” Four screamed, more arms clawing at him, pulling him back into the darkness. “Daddy, Mama please, please—”
A hand tried to cover his mouth, but Four thrashed away from it, and he managed to let out one last scream for his parents before he was pulled into the darkness.
“I’m not useless!”
“Four, Four wake up!”
Four’s eyes shot open, and he didn’t even realize he was screaming until he it suddenly cut off into a sob, his face already damp with tears.
Something touched his arm, and Four stiffened, blinking the tears out of his eyes just enough to see the blurry figure of his father next to his bed, eyes wide with concern.
Another sob burst out of him, and Four closed his eyes, shaking with the want to throw himself into his father’s arms, but unable to forget how he’d looked at him in his dream.
This family has no need for useless children.
Four heaved in a whimpering breath, and before he could figure out what to do next, his father had moved forward and pulled him into his arms, holding him tight.
“Link, shh, it’s okay,” Time whispered, Four shaking with remaining terror from his dream. “You were having a nightmare, it’s all right.”
Four sobbed, his father running a hand over his head, and didn’t speak for several moments.
“I-it, it felt real,” he finally hiccuped, barely able to speak through the lump in his throat and terror constricting his chest, “you, you a-and M-Mama said I’m—”
His voice broke, and Time shushed him again, still trying to calm him down.
“You s-said ‘cause I don’t have p-powers, I’m useless,” Four sobbed, and he heard Time inhale.
“Oh Four, no, you’re not useless,” he breathed, tucking him securely under his chin. “Me and your mother would never say that.”
“But I am,” Four cried, burying his face in his father’s shirt. “I can’t do a-anything, I can’t run like Wild, o-or turn into things like L-Legend or Twi, or e-even—”
“Link Smith Forester, you are not useless,” Time said firmly, holding him tight. “Having or not having powers doesn’t have any bearing on that. You’re not useless now, and you never will be. Powers or not.”
Four felt more tears drip down his face.
“You d-didn’t try to save me,” Four whimpered, his words interspersed with sniffling. “In th-the dream, you didn’t bother.”
“We’ll always bother, Four,” his father whispered back. “If you’re ever in trouble we’ll come save you, I promise. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Sure?” Four whispered.
“I’m sure. I promise.”
Time slightly eased his grip, leaning back to grab something, and Four wiped his eyes, feeling a little better, but still miserable. His dream still lurked at the forefront of his mind, the faces of his family uncaring and indifferent, the words they spoke holding nothing but disapointment and annoyance at having to deal with him. Time leaned forward again as Four let out another sniffle, and handed him the stuffed bird he usually slept with, tucking him back into his arms.
Four squeezed it tight to his chest, and Time began to lightly rock him, humming something under his breath that Four could barely make out.
“Don’t leave,” Four whispered when Time shifted how he was sitting, and his father nodded, wrapping him more securely in his blankets.
“I’m staying right here,” he whispered back, and went back to humming the soft melody.
Four relaxed a bit, still sniffling and shaking, but much less terrified, his dream finally fading to the background of his mind. Time’s hand ran through his hair, the soft rumbling of the melody in his chest comforting under Four’s head, and he closed his eyes.
The last thing he remembered before drifting off was his father holding him tight.
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