Whether they play it for laughs or tears, three of this year's dramas explore the subject of divorce. And the year is yet young.

In one current and one upcoming drama, the writers use divorce as a premise for a comedy plot, making the characters fall in and then out and then maybe back in love again. But another currently running drama sheds plenty of tears while it seriously examines the ill effects of two marriages at a turning point.

The fast-paced comedy "Emergency Couple" treats divorce as a temporary break-up that can be played for laughs. The comedy features a couple that both married and divorced in a hurry. The exes wind up working together only to discover that they don't actually hate each other as much as they thought they did. In the emergency room war of words between interns Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo, viewers can see that their short-lived marriage never really had a fair chance at success.

By offering the possibility of a sweet reunion, the comedy makes divorce seem like something that can be mended with the balm of a few laughs.

The drama "One Warm Word" offers more tears than laughs. An affair in the heartbreaking drama, starring Han Hye Jin, Ji Jin Hee, Kim Ji Su and Lee Sang Woo, threatens to not only destroy two marriages but the first real chance at love for another innocent couple. The drama visits every shade of misery that divorce might inflict on those involved. It's sensitive and sobering, while not making a villain out of anyone even the characters that had the affair.

If you prefer a more lighthearted look at the subject of divorce, wait for the upcoming comedy "Cunning Single Lady," which follows "Miss Korea." Lee Min Jung and Joo Sang Wook play a divorced couple that fate throws back together. Joo Sang Wook becomes a successful businessman and his ex decides that she wants to win him back. She does everything in her power to seduce him. But he bears a grudge left over from the divorce and can only think about how to get even with her.

It's a nice fantasy that divorced couples can get a do-over but the rate of real life divorced couples reuniting must be pretty low.

The rate of divorce in Korea is still low compared to many other industrialized countries but it has risen notably in the last decade. According to Statistics Korea, the number of divorced householders was 1.26 million in 2011, a 40.2 percent increase from five years before.

So whether the effects of divorce are played for k-drama laughs or tears, the subject may become a more popular one.