5 K-Dramas That Blend Romance With Technology
Sometimes, love can feel like a swipe or a click away. There are dating apps that help find your perfect match, or programs specially designed to curate the perfect date, and also devices which can prompt a potential love interest. Welcome to a world where romance and technology are inseparable. K-dramas, known for their distinct and many shades of love, have brought us quirky romantic stories where the many degrees of romance are driven by a gadget. Here are five K-dramas which seamlessly bring us some tech-savvy love stories.
“Boyfriend on Demand”
Mi Rae (Jisoo) is an overworked webtoon producer. She is weary of the tropes and clichés in webtoon romances that her company produces. But one day, she gets a trial subscription to a virtual dating simulation service to experience the date of her dreams. What starts as a one-off thing becomes something of an obsession for Mi Rae as she’s swept into a whirlwind of romantic situations, one gorgeous man after the other.
Her many dates include a chaebol (Lee Soo Hyuk), a hunky college heartthrob (Seo Kang Jun), a doctor (Lee Jae Wook), and even Jay Park playing himself.
But there is also Kyeong Nam (Seo In Guk), her co-worker, who gets on her nerves until the app lets her create her own ideal date.
“Boyfriend on Demand” is a no-fuss, feel-good show. Jisoo does full justice to her character as a young woman who, though cynical of relationships in the real world, has not given up on love. The many cameos and Seo In Guk’s easy charm make this an undemanding yet enjoyable watch.
“Absolute Boyfriend”
Da Da (Minah) is a professional makeup artist who has been secretly dating a celebrity, Wang Joon (Hong Jong Hyun), for several years until he decides to break up with her, choosing fame over love.
Jaded by her unrequited efforts, she vows never to get into a relationship, that is, until she meets a humanoid called “Zero Nine”(Yeo In Goo) who has been trained to be the ideal boyfriend.
It is the start of a cute yet chaotic relationship. Zero Nine, programmed to be the perfect guy, is loyal and absolutely charming. But issues arise when he learns about emotions and love which is beyond the robotic sphere. There is a glitch in his operations when Wang Joon returns, and what we get is a love triangle between a man, woman, and a robot.
“Absolute Boyfriend” is quirky and clever. Between a robot learning how to feel and a woman who has already forgotten, the real error isn’t in the code. Yeo Jin Goo is an absolute delight and is indeed the almost perfect boyfriend.
Start watching “Absolute Boyfriend”:
“Are You Human, Too?”
Nam Shin (Seo Kang Jun) is the son of a well known and influential family. He falls into a coma after an accident. His mother, a renowned scientist and artificial intelligence expert, creates a robot named “Namsin III,” who looks just like him, in order to secure his place in the family business and keep his inheritance intact. The robot learns Nam Shin’s mannerisms and takes his place in the real world with his position in the business and to secure his inheritance.
Kang So Bong (Gong Seung Yeon), hired as Nam Shin’s bodyguard, grows suspicious of Namsin III while trying to protect him from those who attempted to murder the real heir. But the issue is, will she able to resist his charm?
Seo Kang Joon pulls off the show and showcases his dual sides as the android and human effortlessly. His ease with action and comedy prove his range as an actor. Even though it’s a tech driven premise, it is essentially a human story at heart.
Start watching “Are You Human, Too?”:
“My Holo Love”
Go Nan Do (Yoon Hyun Min) is a brilliant yet reclusive software developer. His world revolves around Holo, an advanced holographic AI companion he created and one who can be accessible through a pair of glasses.
Though Holo is his carbon copy, no one knows it. Scarred by his past, Nan Do avoids social interactions, choosing to to stay away from any public engagements. His company is fronted by his closest confidant.
Things take a turn when Holo’s glasses accidentally end up with Han Seo Yeon (Go Sung Hee). An eyewear professional ironically suffering from face blindness, Seo Yeon struggles with isolation and communication. But Holo becomes her perfect companion—warm, attentive, and everything Nan Do is not.
The real conflict begins when Holo starts developing unexpected feelings, forcing Nan Do out of hiding to confront the reality.
“My Holo Love” offers an interesting take on love, especially self-love, through the lens of AI. It also questions what qualifies as real when everyone is trying to live in a world that’s far from real. The show offers us one of the most unique and quirky love triangles in K-dramas.
“Love Phobia”
Yun Bi Ah (Yeonwoo) is the cold, genius creator of the AI app “It’s You,” designed as a romantic companion for lovelorn city slickers. As she engineers perfectly curated, viral love stories, her work begins to blur the line between simulation and reality, directly impacting the life of romance novelist Han Sun Ho (Kim Hyun Jin). Already struggling with writer’s block, he finds his personal life unraveling when his own girlfriend becomes emotionally invested in the app.
An unexpected rumor of a brewing romance between Bi Ah and Sun Ho puts them in an awkward position. But it is also the start of an unexpected relationship between these two people with very different personalities.
“Love Phobia” taps into something both familiar and unsettling. We see how there’s the growing reliance on technology to fill emotional voids, even as genuine connection becomes harder to navigate alongside the quiet loneliness of modern relationships.
Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.