Aaaah the world of KDramas ….If you haven’t jumped on the K-drama bandwagon yet, you’re seriously missing out on all the hype! Intense storylines, unpredictable plot twists, and a healthy dose of sappiness that will make you question all your life choices. Trust me, these Korean dramas have got it all!
And let’s not forget the global phenomenon they’ve become. K-dramas and K-movies have taken over the world faster than you can say “dramatic love triangle.” If you want to be in the know and impress your pop culture-loving friends, you simply can’t afford to ignore the K-drama craze.
So, why not dive into the captivating world of Korean dramas? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably scream “What the heck just happened?!” more times than you can count. But hey, that rollercoaster of emotions is what makes these shows so addictive.
To get you started, we’ve rounded up the 20 all-time best K-dramas for your viewing pleasure. Whether you’re into romance, action, or mind-bending mysteries, there’s something for everyone. And if you’re up to date with the classics, we’ve even got a list of the freshest K-dramas on Netflix in 2023 to satisfy your cravings.
So grab your popcorn, find a cozy spot on the couch, and prepare to be hooked. Trust me, once you go K-drama, you’ll never go back. Happy binge-watching!
Action Korean Dramas
1. ‘Squid Game’
If you haven’t jumped into the frenzy surrounding Squid Game, you’re missing out on the wildest game of life-or-death you’ll ever see on Netflix. In this Korean sensation, a bunch of big-time losers, drowning in debt, decide to compete in childhood games for a chance to win a mind-boggling 45.6 billion won (that’s around $38 million, people!). The catch? Losers don’t just get a consolation prize, they get a one-way ticket to the afterlife. So, gather your nerves and binge-watch Squid Game if you’re ready to laugh, cry, and question your own sanity. And for those who can’t wait for season 2, hold your breath and join me in crossing our fingers for more quirks, thrills, and bloody games!
2. ‘Happiness’
In this hilarious zombie extravaganza, brace yourself for a rollercoaster of surprises that’s spicier than a zombie’s favorite brain-flavored snack! Picture this: Officer Yoon Sae-bom (played by the fabulous Han Hyo-joo) dreams of getting her own cozy apartment, and bam! She gets it! Little did she know that along with the swanky pad, she’d also get a front-row seat to the wackiest pandemic ever depicted in a drama. Of course, her high-school friend, Detective Jung Yi-hyun (the charming Park Hyung-sik), joins her in this zombielicious adventure. With the country infected and people craving human blood (yikes!), our heroes find themselves trapped in a quarantined high-rise. As if that weren’t enough, they’ve got to navigate the crazy antics of their eccentric neighbors. Buckle up, grab a bucket of popcorn, and get ready for a laugh-out-loud riot!
Romance KDramas
These romantic K-dramas are for the fans of intense, sweeping romances that can span from heart-fluttering to heart-wrenching in one episode. (Think Bridgerton, but even more swoon-worthy.) If you want to spend 16-20 hours invested in a serious slow burn, look here.
3. ‘Business Proposal’
Sure thing! Hold on tight for this hilarious 2022 rom-com sensation that’s rocking the charts like nobody’s business! Prepare yourself for an overdose of side-splitting romance and buckle up for a wild ride. So, there’s this genius food researcher named Shin Ha-ri, played by the talented Kim Se-jeong (a.k.a. the queen of I.O.I. and The Uncanny Counter fame). Now, Ha-ri’s life takes a comically crazy turn when her wealthy bestie, portrayed by the fabulous Seol In-ah, asks her to sabotage her blind date. And guess who Ha-ri ends up getting hitched with accidentally? None other than the drop-dead gorgeous and newly appointed company president, Kang Tae-moo (played by the dashing Ahn Hyo-seop)! You won’t believe what happens next, because even Ha-ri sure as heck didn’t! Get ready to snort with laughter as their zany love story unfolds, and brace yourself for a second lead romance that will leave you gasping for air! Seriously, this show is heart-stealing material at its finest. Don’t miss out!
4. ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there were two unlikely lovebirds. Picture this – a fancy city girl named Yoon Hye-jin and a simple country lad called Hong Doo-shik. Fate brought them together when Hye-jin lost her posh shoe while visiting a sleepy seaside village. And who would have thought, the shoe ended up in the hands of Doo-shik, a jack-of-all-trades who could fix just about anything. Talk about a Cinderella situation! Long story short, Hye-jin decides to give up her city life and embrace the village charm, all thanks to her newfound friend Doo-shik. And what do you know, as they spent more time together, love started to bloom like the most peculiar wildflower. Ain’t love just grand?
5. ‘Boys Over Flowers’
Boys Over Flowers is an old-school teen drama, focused on a group of popular/privileged/not-so-nice boys at the prestigious Shinhwa High School. The group, known as F4, bully others to get their way—until a working class girl named Geum Jan-di arrives at the school on scholarship and stands up to the boys.
6. ‘True Beauty’
Get ready to buckle up for a wild ride with this high-school love triangle extravaganza! Picture this: Im Ju-yeong, your typical teenager with a serious inferiority complex because people just can’t look past her appearance. But hold up! With a stroke of luck and some makeup magic, she goes from zero to hero, becoming the hottest thing in town. Suddenly, she’s caught in a classic love triangle between the enigmatic Lee Su-ho, who’s clearly smitten by her stunning makeup skills, and his former bestie Han Seo-jun. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, drama, and of course, perfectly winged eyeliner. Prepare for laughs, swoons, and a whole lot of makeup madness!
7. ‘Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo’
This drama has one of the most likable protagonists and the cutest friends-to-lovers story. Kim Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung), a collegiate weightlifter training for the Olympics, meets Jung Joon-hyung (Nam Joo-hyuk) a swimmer at the same school recovering from a psychological problem. The two athletes start out as reluctant friends, but watching them fall in love makes for some hilarious, heart-warming moments.
8. ‘Our Beloved Summer’
Ten years have passed since high schoolers Choi Ung (Parasite‘s Choi Woo-sik) and Kook Yeon-su (Kim Da-mi) starred in a documentary together. Though they started out hating each other, the pair later began dating and stayed together for five years. Now, five years after the rough breakup, the two adults find each other back in their lives at the same time the documentary goes viral, with fans clamoring for an update. Will Ung and Da-mi fall in love again while filming the sequel? Check out this enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers(?) drama to find out.
9. ‘Doona!’
his heart-fluttering college romance is based on the WEBTOON webcomic The Girl Downstairs. Doo-na (Bae Suzy) was a member of the popular K-pop girl group Dream Sweet before she went into hiding due to mysterious circumstances. Won-jun (Yang Se-jong) is an ordinary college student who moves into a group home to discover his downstairs neighbor is a former idol. The two housemates from entirely different worlds slowly become curious about each other and let their respective guards down as the school year goes on.
Fantasy Korean Dramas
10. ‘Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)’
This series, written by Kim Eun-sook, is the fourth highest-rated Korean drama of all time. The fantasy romance is about a modern day goblin, Gong Yoo, who needs a human bride (Kim Go Eun) to end his cursed immortal life. His life then becomes intertwined with a grim reaper, Lee Dong-wook, who is unable to remember his past. The story evolves as all these strangers’ lives intertwine.
11. ‘The Uncanny Counter’
This show loosely reminds me of Ghostbusters, but with an eclectic group of characters who each possesses special abilities. The five-person group, called “Counter,” work at a noodle restaurant by day and at night, hunt down evil spirits who have escaped from the after life to go after humans. (Their red tracksuits in the show are iconic and honestly would make for great group Halloween costume in 2023—just putting the idea out there.) This K-drama has been very well received by the audience and will have you binging all the episodes in one weekend.
12. ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’
You might want to keep the lights turned on for Lee Dong-wook’s new show because it’s a little scary (think scenes with ghosts and a water well à la The Ring). Aside from some minor scenes that make you shudder, however, the story largely revolves around his character Lee-yeon, a mythical fox known as gumiho, and a documentary filmmaker Nam Ji-a (played by Jo Bo-ah) who were once lovers in the past. (The foxes adopt human appearances, but have special powers.) Circumstances in the present bring the two on a treacherous journey that involves solving Ji-a’s parents mysterious deaths and the two rediscovering their love for each other.
13. ‘Alchemy of Souls’
This was by far the best kdrama fantasy in my opinion.Set in the fictional country of Daeho, this period fantasy takes place in the world of mages, who live as nobles and warriors among other mortals. Elite warrior Nak-su has evaded authorities by using a forbidden spell called “alchemy of souls,” which allows her to switch bodies. When she jumps into the weak body of Mu-deok (Jung So-min), she has to re-build enough strength to wield her powerful sword. So she takes a position as a servant for Jang-uk (Lee Jae-wook), a noble who needs a teacher to help him unbind his magic.
Melodrama Korean Dramas
14. ‘The Glory’
When Moon Dong-eun (played as a teen by Jung Ji-so) was in high school, she was severly bullied and assaulted by a group of classmates, led by the unrepentant Park Yeon-jin (Im Ji-yeon). The bullies run the aspiring architect out of school and leaves her with deep emotional scars, so much that she dedicates her life to getting revenge. Decades later, and having become a teacher, Dong-eun (Song Hye-ko) begins her elaborate scheme when she becomes the homeroom teacher of Yeon-jin’s young daughter.
16. ‘The Penthouse: War in Life’
If you thought shows like Big Little Lies and Revenge laid the melodrama on thick, just wait until you take a bite out of this rollercoaster of a series. Penthouse follows three wealthy families vying for power in the exclusive Hera Palace community–a luxurious 100-floor high-rise that juts out of the Seoul skyline. Like its forebears, the series centers on three women who hide behind their various secrets and traumas with piles of money and their boundless ambitions for their children. Their world begins to crumble after a mysterious girl falls to her death and the trio attempt to cover up the location of her death to protect the reputation of Hera Palace. It’s messy, and I am living for it.
17. ‘The Heirs’
This drama (also known as Inheritors) tells the story of a group of rich, privileged high school students who will one day take over their families businesses. The coming-of-age themes explored in the drama include identity, wealth, and relationships. One of the main characters is Kim Tan, a chaebol heir to Jeguk Group, who hasn’t had the easiest relationship with his older half-brother Kim Won because he thinks Tan is trying to steal their father’s company from him. To make Tan’s life even more difficult, he ends up falling in love with his housekeeper’s daughter, Cha Eun-sang, much to his father’s disapproval and he has to compete with classmate Choi Young Do’s sudden interest in Eun-sang too when she transfers into their elite school. Tan seeks to overcome all the obstacles to be with Eun-sang no matter what his family or friends at school say.
Historical Korean Dramas
18. ‘Under the Queen’s Umbrella’
This period drama has drawn comparisons to SKY Castle, though these ambitious mothers and children aren’t competing for a place at a top university. Instead, they’re princes and concubines of the king of Joseon, who are striving to become heir in a system based on talent and merit. When the current Crown Prince and Queen Hwa-ryeong’s (Kim Hye-Soo) eldest son falls gravely ill, the queen has to whip her four younger sons into shape, or their lives as well as their positions will be in danger.
19. ‘The Kings Affection’
In the world of The King’s Affection, twins are associated with negative elements such as curses and destruction. When the Crown Prince finds out that his wife is carrying twins – a girl and a boy – he makes it clear that only the twin boy should be spared.
No mother could bear the sight of her baby dying in her own hands, and so the Crown Prince’s wife comes up with another plan behind her husband’s back: she saves her daughter and keeps her away from the royal palace.
However, when the twin boy soon loses his life due to an illness, the twin girl steps in discreetly to take over her brother’s position.
20. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Go Ha Jin is sent back in time to the Goryeo dynasty and finds herself in the body of Hae Soo, a 16-year-old girl. Hae Soo’s cousin is married to the 8th Prince, which makes Hae Soo part of the royal family. Ha Jin, now named Hae Soo, meets the princes and a few of them develop feelings for her.
The princes consider one another as rivals, and this results in a struggle for the throne. Hae Soo ends up tangled in the mess with no idea how to return to her world.
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is a drama to watch when you are in the mood to cry. It’s all about tragedy, romance, unrequited love, and family. Have a box of tissues ready when you watch this drama.
