20 Korean Dramas to Watch Out for

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Heroes fight against social inequality, weave political intrigues and even fight zombies.

20. Her adorable heels

• South Korea, 2014.
• Melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Girl Zhi Hu, buying shoes in a shoe store, meets a nice consultant. Imagine the surprise of the heroine when she learns that the same young man is her new boss.

Ji Hu is happy to be around O's manager and wants to confess his feelings to him. But he does not want to start a relationship at work. In addition, another leader had an eye on him.

19. Marriage agency "Cyrano"

• South Korea, 2013.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Inspired by the work "Cyrano de Bergerac", the actor creates an unusual dating agency. Employees, like skilled psychologists and directors, develop the script, adjust situations and explain to the client what he must do and say in order to win the object of his sympathy. But the fun begins with the arrival of a new employee, Min Young, at the agency.

Definitely a positive drama that makes you want to fall in love.

18. Strings of the Soul

• South Korea, 2011.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Lee Gyu Won is an emotional and determined student who plays the national Korean instrument. Li Shin is her opposite: a cool handsome man, the leader of a student rock group, without making any plans and hopelessly in love with a dance teacher. At first, the couple dislikes each other, but soon everything changes.

A bit naive, but sweet, the drama shows how the meeting turns the lives of the main characters. And all this against the background of students and beautiful music.

17. Cinderella and four knights

• South Korea, 2016.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

High school student Eun Ha Won meets an elderly rich man who offers her a deal. The girl will work in the house of his grandchildren and try to establish relations between them, and he will pay for her studies at the university.

She will have to renew the family ties between the self-confident major Hyun Min, the cute pop idol Seo Woo, and the rude bully Ji Woon. The kind and hardworking heroine gradually melts the ice in this family full of problems, but she will have to endure many difficulties.

It is intriguing who will turn out to be the fourth "knight", which of the guys will achieve reciprocity from the girl and how the strict grandfather will react to this.

16. Cheese in a mousetrap

• South Korea, 2016.
• Romantic drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Student Hong Seol immediately had a problem with her fellow student. Handsome, rich, popular and seemingly perfect, Yoo Jung is a girl's dream. But Sol suspects that he is actually a cruel and vengeful manipulator who deftly uses people.

After all the troubles brought by the young men, the heroine cannot believe in his sincerity when he begins to take care of her. Problems are added by a girl in love with Yoo Chun, his childhood friend, inflamed with feelings for Seol, a lot of strange personalities from the university and family troubles.

Until the end of the series, it's unclear what is behind Yoo Jung's grin: whether he loves Sol or uses it in his next plan.

15. Koh Ho's Starry Night

• South Korea, 2016.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

The whole life of 29-year-old Koh Ho is spent at work in an advertising agency. She successfully realized herself in the profession, but the boss constantly finds fault, the guy quit, and the girlfriends have long found a mate.

But with the arrival of a new boss in the office, who turned out to be her ex, everything turns upside down. The ex-boyfriend wants to return to her, besides, the young intern does not give the girl a pass. And that's not all Ko Ho fans.

The main character's task in such a situation is not to miss true love and not be left without work.

14. Doctors

• South Korea, 2016.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Young Yoo Hye Jung's life was not easy from the start. However, the girl is not one of those who give up. She is determined to become a doctor and now works in the neurosurgical department of a prestigious clinic. This is extremely responsible, and Hye Jung's relationship with colleagues is not always perfect.

The lead role is played by Park Shin Hye, the star of the Korean dramas Pinocchio, Heirs and Strings of the Soul. At first, the agents of the actress did not believe in the success of Doctors, but the series suddenly became very popular.

13. The Songgyungwan scandal

• South Korea, 2010.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

The series follows the difficult life, study and relationship of four guys at Sunggyungwan University during Joseon's time.

Lee Sung Joon is a wise and decent person, true to his principles. Moon Jae Shin is a warrior who has saved the lives of his friends more than once. Goo Young Ah is everyone's favorite heartthrob. Kim Yoon Sik is a charming poor man whose secret of attraction is that he is a girl.

The four will be drawn into state secrets. It is even more interesting how quickly the secret of the main character will be revealed by her friends. In addition, love will break out between the characters.

12. Oh my Venus

• South Korea 2015-2016.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

During her school years, Kang Joo Eun was the main beauty of the area. But now she is in her 30s and has let herself go. A former bbw girlfriend has lost weight, stole her beloved man Zhu Eun and methodically ruins her life at work.

Everything changes when the heroine accidentally meets John Kim, coaching Hollywood stars. A cute coach is taken to return Zhu Eun to his former form. But there is a catch: everything has to happen in secret, since he is a world celebrity and is hiding from the paparazzi.

A light, fun and romantic drama with a touch of motivation for those who want to finally switch to proper nutrition and fitness.

11. Moonlight painted by clouds

• South Korea, 2016.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A girl disguised as a guy helps men with advice in love affairs. But the initiative is punishable: because of his tricks Hon Ra He goes to the palace to serve the crown prince.

Not only the heir to the throne draws attention to the "young man", but also the handsome court poet. Ra He needs to hide the secret of her gender from everyone except the prince she liked.

If you're into Sunggyungwan Scandal and don't mind watching something similar, this drama is in the same style.

10. Full house

• South Korea, 2004.
• Comedy, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Han Ji Eun is an innocent girl with a kind heart. When friends told her that she had won a free ticket to a five-star hotel, Ji Eun immediately believed them. Leaving her house to her friends, the girl went on vacation, but along the way many strange things awaited her. Starting with the fact that her neighbor on the plane suddenly turned out to be a popular actor, and ending with the fact that in the hotel no one knows about any prize.

Full House looks like a regular soap opera, but it's very sweet, humorous and very short. The series is watched in one breath, and during this time you manage to sincerely fall in love with the characters. The drama was appreciated by viewers outside of Korea, and in Taiwan they even filmed a version with the same name.

9. When camellia blooms

• South Korea, 2019.
• Melodrama, comedy, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Single mother Ton Back opens her own bar, Camellia, in a provincial town. But due to the fact that the heroine is not married, she constantly has to deal with misunderstandings, gossip and loneliness.

Six years later, police officer Hwang Yong Shik returns to the city and immediately falls in love with the girl. Meanwhile, it turns out that a serial killer is on the loose, and in the next victims he just outlined Ton Back.

"When the Camellia Blossoms" combines romantic comedy and detective stories. The series even has elements of a thriller, which is quite unusual for a typical Korean drama.

In addition, the authors raise an acute topic for the country - the prejudice of society against single mothers, orphans or children who do not have a father.

8. Itaewon class

• South Korea, 2020.
• Drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Because of the influential Zhang family, young Park Se Roi loses his father - he dies in an accident. Circumstances are such that the hero also ends up in prison for three years. Released, he vows revenge. To destroy the restaurant business of his enemies, the guy opens a cafe in Seoul's Itaewon district.

The drama, in addition to being just entertaining, also raises a number of important questions. First of all, this is bullying in schools, as well as attitudes towards transgenderism, homophobia and racism. And the whole plot revolves mainly around the attempts of heroes that are non-standard for Korea to fit into a society that does not accept them.

7. Tramp

• South Korea, 2019.
• Detective, crime, action, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

Stuntman Chha Gong is raising his orphaned nephew alone. One day, a boy dies in a plane crash along with the entire Korean national taekwondo team. The hero manages to find out that it was not a tragic accident, but a terrorist attack. It remains with the help of the scout Ko Hae Ri to catch the one who organized all this.

"Tramp" doesn't look like your typical drama at all. There is a lot of action and spectacular scenes, and even the romance line gets a lot less attention than usual in Korean dramas.

6. Zombie Kingdom

• South Korea, 2019 - present.
• Horror, action, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

The action takes place around the 15th-16th centuries in the Korean state of Joseon. The emperor falls ill, and a struggle for power immediately begins in the kingdom. After an unsuccessful attempt to see his father, Crown Prince Li Chang arrives at the village hospital, where the ruler's personal physician was practicing. There the hero finds a bunch of corpses hidden from the sun.

The project, filmed specifically for Netflix, is far from just another "Walking Dead". "Kingdom" combined seemingly incongruous things: zombie horror and historical drama with intrigue in the spirit of "Game of Thrones". The series was so popular with critics and viewers that it was quickly renewed.

5. Empress Ki

• South Korea, 2013-2014.
• Biography, historical drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

The historical saga tells the story of the life of Ki Hwang Ku, wife of the last emperor of the Mongol Yuan Empire. The girl lost her parents very young. The heroine will become the concubine of the Chinese ruler, then one of his wives, and then the empress. And for this she skillfully weaves palace and political intrigues.

One of the most emotional Korean dramas will surely appeal to anyone who loves historical dramas like The Magnificent Century or The Tudors. You just need to remember that this is an artistic interpretation of a real story. Some characters have never intersected in reality, and many plot moves are invented by the scriptwriters.

4. Love landing

• South Korea, 2019.
• Comedy melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

The wealthy heiress Yun Se Ri decides to fly a paraglider, but gets caught in a hurricane and literally falls on the head of a handsome North Korean officer. He is trying to return the unwitting trespasser of the border home. The hero himself does not notice how he falls in love with a girl, despite the political differences between their countries.

The series, barely released on Netflix, became a real event not only in its homeland, but throughout the world. The only thing that raises questions in "Love Landing" is the culture and life of North Korea, which are shown in a stereotypical and one-sided manner. But still, the actors play so sincerely, and the story is so sweet that you can close your eyes to unrealism.

3. Medical wisdom

• South Korea, 2020.
• Drama, comedy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

Five doctors have been friends since studying at the medical university. Now they work in the same hospital and often face unusual cases - both during medical practice and in everyday life.

The main thing that sets the show apart from other medical production dramas is that the main characters are also musicians. In each episode, they go on stage to perform a new song, and it looks lovely.

2. Scarlet heart

• South Korea, 2016.
• Historical drama, melodrama, fantasy.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

During a solar eclipse, a girl from our day falls into the Koryo era. The struggle for the throne between the heirs of King Taejo is in full swing, and the heroine becomes involved in political intrigues. Not having time to really understand anything, Hye Soo finds enemies and supporters, admirers and love among the crown princes.

The intrigue is who the girl will stay with, and whether she will be able to prevent the tragedy that got into the history books.

The lightness at the beginning of the series is replaced by a growing lump in the throat in the middle. The "Crimson Heart" evokes a whole range of feelings: tenderness, horror, understanding, sympathy.

1. Mister Sunshine

• South Korea, 2018.
• Historical drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 8.

Events unfold in the late 19th - early 20th centuries in Joseon. A small country is being torn apart by America, France and Japan. US Marine Captain Eugene Choi, who fled Korea as a child, returns to his homeland, but as a soldier. There, he falls in love with Go E Shin, a brave rebel girl from a noble family.

This emotional, incredibly beautiful story will captivate even those who were not familiar with dramas before. If you are well versed in Korean cinema and have heard the name of director Park Chan Wook, famous even outside his homeland (he shot, for example, "Oldboy"), then you will immediately recognize the actress from "The Handmaid." Her name is Kim Tae Ri.

This material was first published in May 2017. In August 2021, we updated the text.