I started watching Korean drama series after being exasperated with the English shows available. So I tried a show that had been coming up for a while on my recommendations, Marriage Contract, not expecting much except some guilty pleasure (because what else could a show about a marriage contract be?). 

The show was soapy - over-the-top, screaming and pushing, lots of bowing to the ground in desperate pleading, arranged marriage interests who kept hanging on, loan sharks.... all the bits. But it also, very surprisingly, had excellent production values, skilled actors, some of whom were very good-looking, and was actually very moving. I got invested in the characters' story, and definitely cried. I learnt things and had life insights. All this from a series I expected to be pretty B-standard. 

I wanted to try out more, and chose a couple more series to  get an idea of what else was available in this genre. The rest is history....

This doesn't list all the shows I've watched, since I started using My Drama List recently, and don't feel like adding everything... too tedious. 

I enjoy fantasy, when done well, especially fantasy mixed with the ordinary world, romantic comedy, as long as it's not too comedic or sickly romantic, tragic romance, as long as it's not ultimately tragic, historical, and historical fantasy. I've discovered some nice slice-of-life Chinese shows more recently, like Meet Yourself and Fake It Till You Make It, but haven't found any Korean shows of this type that were as good.  

Most of all, I want a show to have heart, humour, relatability (to my life or real human experience), excellent acting, good music, emotional punch, and a happy or wise ending. I appreciate good morals, a lack of profanity, and profound insight.