There was a time Korean dramas were our escape to surrealism so that for a few hours we can forget the harshness of life. The cheesy romance, cliched love story plots, cheeky comedy and beautiful looking people. They pulled us out of sticky times in our lives and gave us hope. However, this year, Korean Dramas have decided to show us the mirror, rude reality checks and teach shocking life lessons. While we are all for life's truths which we try to avoid, at times, they hit a little too close to home and we find ourselves at crossroads. Even All Of Us are Dead, which is a zombie-thriller, taught us why revenge always ends in disaster whether it's served cold or as a drug. Snowdrop, Sweet Home, Happiness - 5 Korean-Dramas That Fooled Us With Misleading Titles.

So here are five Korean dramas of 2022 which made us realise time what you may, life will catch up with you any way.

1. Twenty Five Twenty One

Lesson: Not every love story has a happy ending, and that's okay

Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo Hyuk) and Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri) were shipped since the first episode and when they got together, it was as if fans' prayers were answered. But they don't end up together and that stopped bothering after a while. That's because happy endings don't have to be so stereotypical. While Yi-jin became a reporter of repute and turned things around for himself after an economic crisis robs him of his riches, Hee-do moved on and became a star fencer. Love is a part of life, it isn't the heart of it!

2. Thirty Nine

Lesson: Zindagi lambi nahi, badi honi chahiye (Life doesn't need to be long but large)

Anand had said it in the 70s to his Babumoshai and so many years later, we realised it again when we watched Thirty Nine. Three friends close to hitting 40 go through everything from love, pain, breakup to death. It teaches us that death is an eventuality we can't avoid, so live life. These stressful days often make us forget how lucky we are to have a great life. Not many are privileged enough to experience it.

3. Liberation Notes

Lesson: Acceptance of who we are

Running away from reality is a favourite sport of nearly every human. Truth is devastating, so create lies and hide behind those to not feel the pain. My Liberation Notes liberates you from that baggage. It lets you accept your sorrows, insecurities, fears, struggles and doesn't judge you if you don't fix those. Like they say, acceptance is the first step to recovery.

4. Juvenile Justice

Lesson: South Korea isn't just about dreamy Korean Dramas

Juvenile Justice bares a system that needs a lot of improvements and upgrade because not all minors are coaxed or manipulated to commit a crime. Some do it willingly and also, for fun! This is a reality check for fans like us who believe the world shown in dreamy South Korean rom-coms is real. JJ also makes us aware the limitations of law condemn crime are quite same everywhere irrespective of geographies.  From Heirs to Moon Lovers, 5 Multi-Starrer K-Dramas We Love To Watch On Repeat!.

5. Pachinko

Lesson: Fall down so that you can rise up

Failure is not the end of everything. In Pachinko, Sunja played by Kim Min-ha, goes through extreme hardships but never backs down. She promises her son a world of possibilities and she makes it happen. It's such an inspiring tale of not accepting defeat when one fails. It just another opportunity to fight back.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2022 08:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).