Long before K-dramas, Meteor Garden put Taiwan on the map - here are the dramas you missed

Time of India

10 hours ago

South Korea leveraged its soft power to promote K-pop, K-dramas, and beauty items around the world, resulting in the creation of an entertainment empire. Korean dramas have dominated foreign screens for years, and Netflix has emerged as a major player in spreading their global reach.
Amid all this, one drama shook the internet even before the Korean wave truly took off: Meteor Garden. This early 2000s Taiwanese idol drama was a cultural juggernaut. It launched F4 into superstardom, popularized the rich-boy–poor-girl romance trope, and laid the groundwork for the Hallyu wave before Korea fully caught on.
However, as K-dramas became more popular, Taiwan's once-dominant drama scene receded into the background. But it never stopped creating intellectual, emotionally complex entertainment, ranging from cute rom-coms to daring social commentary. These often-overlooked treasures demonstrate that Taiwan's presence in Asian pop culture is more than just a memory; it is a story that is continually being written.
The Prince Who Turns into a Frog (2005)
A powerful CEO loses his memory and falls for a sweet, unassuming girl, only to regain his past and returns to his cold, arrogant self. The drama, starring Ming Dao and Joe Chen, was a huge ratings success, demonstrating that people couldn't resist a classic redemption storyline combined with sweeping romance.
The Fierce Wife (2010)
This immensely popular series dealt a significant blow to Taiwan's primetime comfort zone. The series delves into infidelity and divorce, generating national debates on marriage, commitment, and female empowerment in a society that traditionally shunned such topics. It even signified a transition in Taiwanese dramas, moving away from youthful purity and toward the stark, difficult truths of adulthood.
The World Between Us (2019)
This drama, set in the aftermath of a mass shooting, intermingled the lives of journalists, lawyers, victims' families, and relatives of the murderer. The show, which addressed problems such as media ethics, mental health stigma, and justice, received critical acclaim for its nuanced storytelling and societal depth, establishing its position as one of the decade's most important Taiwanese dramas.
Someday or One Day (2019)
This series sparked global interest in Taiwanese dramas by combining time travel mystery and passionate romance. Huang Yu Xuan (Alice Ko), who is grieving the loss of her boyfriend, wakes up in another girl's body in 1998, where she meets a boy who looks precisely like him. With its clever story twists, emotional depth, and nostalgic beauty, the show became a streaming hit.
The Victims' Game (2020)
This dark, riveting, and emotionally complex series attracted international attention to Taiwan's criminal drama industry. This Netflix original follows Fang Yi Jen (Joseph Chang), a talented but socially aloof forensic detective with Asperger's syndrome, as he investigates a string of murders involving his estranged daughter. The series distinguished out from normal procedurals with its noir tone, snappy pacing, and careful treatment of neurodiversity, which connected with people all across the world.
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