When it comes to Korean dramas, Suzy is a staple. She’s become a household name thanks to roles in the widely successful teen drama Dream High and the supernatural romance Gu Family Book. She’s once again garnering attention for another drama about following your dreams called Start-Up.
Below are all her dramas to-date. Tell us your favorites or which ones you plan to watch next.
#1 Dream High (Coming-of-Age)
Premise: Dream High follows a group of students who attend a performing arts school called Girin High. Suzy plays Ko Hye-mi, a girl whose dream to become a world-renowned violinist is side-tracked when she’s forced to take on her father’s debt.
Thoughts: It’s been a while since I’ve seen Suzy’s debut drama, but I actually remember her getting hate for her “wooden acting”. I thought she did pretty well for a rookie, and had good chemistry with the rest of the all-star cast. If you like dramas about friendship and following your dreams, you’ll enjoy Dream High. Especially since you’ll also get to ogle a young Kim Soo-hyun and 2PM’s Taecyeon and Woo-young. Just prepare yourself for a bittersweet ending.
How to watch: Viki, On Demand Korea
#2 Big (Fantasy Romance)
Premise: Gil Da-ran (played by Lee Min-jung) has been diligently preparing to take her teacher’s exam. In the meantime, she works as a temporary teacher for a local high school. Her life is turned upside down when her fiancé Seo Yoon-jae (Gong Yoo) gets into an accident and swaps bodies with one of her students! Now Da-ran’s fiancé is a child at heart. Literally.
Thoughts: Suzy plays the second female lead. A teenage girl who Da-ran’s student continues to have a romantic entanglement with even while in a thirty-year-old man’s body. She gets a decent amount of screen time, but her character’s kind of annoying.
The drama started off interesting, but lost its direction and became receptive so I dropped it halfway. I love most of the dramas the Hong Sisters write, but it didn’t seem like they knew what to do with this one. When the last episode aired, I remember everyone who’d stuck with it disliking the ending, so watch at your own risk.
How to watch: Viki
#3 Gu Family Book (Supernatural/Romance)
Premise: Gu Family Book is a fantastical tale headed by Lee Seung-gi. He plays Choi Kang-chil, a half-human/gumiho searching for an old book with the secret to becoming human. Suzy plays Dam Yeo-wool; a skilled archer with past ties to Kang-chi.
Thoughts: I personally haven’t seen this drama, but it was extremely popular while it was airing. I heard it had great action scenes and tons of twists and turns. It’s also heralded as one of Suzy’s best performances. But you’ll need a box of tissues, because things get emotional.
How to watch: Viki, On Demand Korea
#4 Uncontrollably Fond (Romance/Melodrama)
Premise: Noh Eul (Suzy) lives every girl’s worst nightmare when she’s tasked to film a documentary about her ex-boyfriend Shin Joon-young (Kim Woo-bin) who is now a famous actor and singer. Sparks fly as they butt heads and fall into old patterns.
Thoughts: I haven’t seen this drama, but many fans have stated it’s everything you’d expect from a melodrama: lots of screaming and crying, and crazy coincidences. So if you want to see Suzy in a very emotional role this drama will give that to you. She also apparently has great chemistry with Kim Woo-bin.
How to watch: Viki
#5 While You Were Sleeping
Premise: Nam Hong-joo (Suzy) is a reporter who has the ability to see the future through her dreams. She meets a prosecutor named Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk) and a police officer named Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in). Together they try to prevent crimes and other bad things from happening.
Thoughts: While You Were Sleeping is a fan favorite for a reason. It blends fantasy, crime, and romance very well. Suzy gives a solid performance, and even though some say she didn’t have chemistry with Lee Jong-suk, they still manage to deliver butterfly-inducing scenes.
The pacing is great and the backstory of all the characters is heart-warming.
How to watch: Viki
#6 Vagabond
Premise: Cha Dal-gun (Lee Seung-gi) is a stuntman who dreams of dominating Taekwondo. When the plane his beloved nephew is on crashes mysteriously, he teams up with a covert operative named Go Hae-ri (Suzy) to uncover the truth.
Thoughts: A lot of people were excited to see Suzy in this kind of action drama. Especially since she’d be starring opposite Lee Seung-gi, her Gu Family Book love interest. Sadly, this drama fell off my Must-Watch list when I heard about all the plot holes.
On the bright side, there are other good aspects of the drama, so if you still want to see Suzy kick butt and take names, I’d give it a shot.
How to watch: Netflix
#7 Start-Up (Contemporary Romance)
Premise: Seo Dal-mi (Suzy) doesn’t have much to her name, but dreams of becoming Korea’s Steve Jobs. With the help of Nam Do-san (Nam Joo-hyuk), a genius coder she thinks is her first love, Dal-mi sets sail in the cold world of business.
Will the two keep each other warm? Or will old secrets tear them apart?
Thoughts: Start-Up is a breath of fresh air. It’s inspiring and funny, and shows that Suzy’s capable of delivering nuanced performances. I like everything about it from the screenplay to the cinematography. If you’re a Suzy stan then you definitely won’t want to miss this one.
How to watch: Netflix
So which Suzy drama is your favorite? Mine is still While You Were Sleeping, but Start-Up is really giving it a run for its money.
No matter what kind of drama Suzy stars in, she usually surprises and delights us. It’s for this reason I think she’ll be a household name for a long time.
Adri, you really should see Gu Family Book. It’s very close to my heart as it shares high school memories with my friends since we watched it together. It’s an amazing drama. You shouldn’t also sleep on Uncontrollably Fond, I’ve watched it thrice and still keep crying my eyes out. After I watched it the first time, I will just randomly burst in tears when I’m having a hard time and some scenes from the deama comes to my mind. They are on the top ranks of my favs from Bae Suzy
Author
I really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment! I think I’ll try Uncontrollably Fond since it’s the most recent 🙂