Chicken Nugget, Netflix’s latest mystery comedy, is one of the highest anticipated releases of the year. It has managed to create an enormous amount of buzz on social media platforms with fans guffawing over the absurdity of the plot and its over the top humour.
Chicken Nugget is based on a popular Naver webtoon by creator Park Ji-Dok. It depicts the hilariously miserable journey of a father to save his daughter who has been turned into a chicken nugget after entering a mysterious machine, assisted by a man who has a crush on her. In the Kdrama adaption, celebrated actor Ryu Seong-ryong plays the role of the father Choi Seon Man, Kim Yoo-jung plays the role of the daughter Choi Min-ah and Ahn Jae-hong plays the role of Ko Baek Joong, who has a crush on Min-ah.
In this article, we bring to you, 10 kdramas with a similar vibe, humour and tropes to that of this eccentric kdrama. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right in!
Mr. Queen
Similarities: Chaotic, Absurd, Wild and Crazy, Body-swap, Hilarious
Mr. Queen is pure chaos and laughter. It is based on the sorry tale of a modern-day chef finding himself in the body of a joseon-era woman, who unfortunately is, also, a soon-to-be-queen. If you are looking for wildly hilarious kdramas along with the body-swap, gender-bender trope, look no further!
Behind Your Touch
Similarities: Absurd, Comedy, Mystery
Behind Your Touch begins with a ridiculous premise much like Chicken Nugget and involves a mysterious plot that gets better with every episode. Bong Ye-bun is a veterinarian who is gifted with psychometric powers on the day of her regular visit to a dairy farm.
She discovers that she can mentally “see” the past events involving the animals when she touches their butts and well, she wonders if it works on humans as well! Unsurprisingly, she is arrested for being a pervert. And so her adventures of touching people’s butts begin amidst an ongoing murder mystery case!
Pegasus Market
Similarities: Wild and Crazy, Absurd, Comedy, Webtoon adaptation
Pegasus Market is a wild ride of absurdity and mayhem. With dramatic acting and events, spies, gangsters, along with one-horned dancing tribals, this show has it all!
It revolves around Jeong Bok-dong, a spiteful director of Daema Group, who vows to bring down the group out of resentment for demoting him. After failing to increase sales of a product, he is demoted to the role of the president of the abandoned Pegasus Market. Bok-dong hires odd-balls, gangsters, literally whoever comes to his door, in order to make his plan a success but ironically, the market flourishes in sales instead of deteriorating!
This is a must watch for anyone looking for the absurdity and craziness of Chicken Nugget!
A Good Day to be A Dog
Similarities: Body-swap, Comedy, Webtoon adaptation
Good Day to be a Dog features a relatively romcom vibe with a body-swap plot similar to that of Chicken Nugget. However, instead of a girl turning into a chicken nugget, we have a woman turning into a dog instead! If you like fluffy romcoms with the body-swap of Chicken Nugget, this one’s for you!
The story revolves around Han Hae-na, a high school teacher who buries a deep secret: she turns into a dog after midnight when kissed by the opposite gender! Her family has inherited this cursed legacy from their ancestors. The problem arises when Hae-na drunkenly kisses the math teacher and if the she doesn’t break the curse soon, Hae-na is going to be a dog forever!
Extreme Job
Similarities: Wild and Crazy, Comedy
Extreme Job is just as it sounds, extreme, wild and crazy! Not only does it share the comedy in Chicken Nugget but it has two more things in common: Ryu Seung-ryong and chicken! Ryu Seung-ryong’s relation with chicken has become an ongoing joke at this point, and Chicken Nugget brings forth this legacy. So, it’s going to be criminal if we don’t mention Extreme Job in this list.
Extreme Job revolves around a poorly performing narcotics team, made up of an odd bunch of police officers who go undercover as a chicken shop owners. The twist in the story comes forth when the chicken shop becomes wildly popular, much more than their original careers!
Gaus Electronics
Similarities: Wild and Crazy, Hilarious, Absurd
Gaus Electronics is a workplace k-drama that might not be as wild in its presentation as Chicken Nugget but it definitely kicks you with its situational comedy, slapstick and wordplay. It also packs in a romance plot along with its absurdities.
The plot follows the members of Marketing Team 3, the lowest ranking team of Gaus Electronics, formed by members with their own idiosyncrasies often leading to major mishaps that incites chuckles from the viewers.
Yumi’s Cells
Similarities : Unique, Comedy, Webtoon adaptation
Yumi’s Cells is another unique kdrama similar to Chicken Nugget with a hilarious plot. It revolves around a woman named Yumi and her various body cells as they try to awaken her dormant love cell, who has fallen into a coma after a failed relationship. Similar to Chicken Nugget, this show is quirky, unique and absolutely hilarious at times. For readers, who would like more of a wholesome romcom and a with Chicken Nugget, Yumi’s Cells is for you!
Welcome to Waikiki
Similarities: Chaotic, Absurd, Wild and Crazy, Hilarious
Welcome to Waikiki is unanimously considered one of the most absurd slapstick comedies in the kdrama universe and matches with the “wild and crazy” vibe of Chicken Nugget. Various scenes from the show have gone on to become internet viral memes as well! The story revolves around the hilarious adventures of a group of misfits while they try to run a failing guesthouse named “Waikiki”.
Kill Me, Heal Me
Similarities: Wild and Crazy, Comedy, Chaotic
If you haven’t yet watched Jin Sung calling Park Seo-jeon “Oppaaa” with tears in his eyes, you are royally missing out on one of the most chaotically hilarious shows – Kill Me, Heal Me. This show revolves around Cha Do-hyun, a business heir who develops dissociative identity disorder, and his psychiatrist, who tries her best not to make him appear in front of the public wearing a girl’s school uniform screaming, “Oppaa” at every good looking man.
18 Again
Similarities: Body-swap, Comedy
18 Again is another hilarious romantic comedy featuring the body-swap trope where a man turns into an 18 year old teenager when his wife files for divorce. As he enrols into his children’s school and discovers insights that he couldn’t gain as his 37 year old self, he begins to make amends. 18 Again is the Korean remake of the American teen comedy film, 17 Again starring Zac Efron and Matthew Perry.
If you have watched the film, you will definitely like the k-drama which, although based on the American film, is korean to its heart’s content! And, it will not fail to make you laugh.
What do you hope to see as the series progresses? What’s been your favorite moment of Chicken Nugget so far? Let us know in the comments below!