Top 20 K-dramas That Everyone Must Watch

This is the ultimate K-drama watch-list — Only the best of the best have it to the top 20 shows you absolutely need to watch before you press play on anything else.

How did I select these entries? I’ve spared no effort and taken quite a few criteria into consideration, including viewership ratings, popularity, plot and of course, my own due diligence! (From one ardent K-drama fan to another… you’re going to love this!)

Now I’m sure you’ve already watched a few of the shows I’m going to talk about. But I bet just reading about them may make you consider binging them a second time.

Here are the top 20 K-dramas everyone needs to watch:

1. Crash Landing on You (2019-20)

Plot: Yoon Se-ri is a South Korean heiress and businesswoman who accidentally crosses over the border while paragliding and lands into North Korea, right into the arms of soldier Ri Jeong-hyeok (No, I’m not kidding — This scene happens word for word!)

Jeong-hyeok must find a way to get Se-ri back to South Korea safely, lest they’re both discovered and killed.

The show has been applauded not just for its highly engaging romance and action, but also for the way it handles North Korea’s depiction. This is worth investing your time and tears in for sure!

Crash Landing on You | Official Trailer #1 | Netflix [ENG SUB]

2. The World of the Married (2020)

Plot: Ji Sun-woo’s perfect life is turned upside when she finds out that her husband has been having an affair and all her friends have been covering up. As a successful, independent doctor, she has enough money to exact revenge… But will she?

Emotions and tensions run high in this show, which is also sits at #1 in the list of most-watched K-dramas of all time! It really makes your heart ache with pain as it navigates how complicated it is to be betrayed by the person you love the most.

The World of the Married | Trailer | Watch Free on iflix

3. Reply 1988 (2015-16)

Plot: This slice of life K-drama is about five childhood friends and a few specific events that happen in 1988, which defines their lives.

Like the show’s usual approach, the story is told both in the present and past, with the present timeline providing a few mysteries that are solved through the past’s memories.

Reply 1988 is the third installment of the Reply series following Reply 1997 and Reply 1994. Typically these years are chosen because of their historic significance in Korea. 

Reply1988 [EP4 Trailer] Hye-ri-Go Kyung-pyo-Ryu Jun-yeol, real triangular love begins?! 151114 EP4

4. Goblin (2015-16)

Plot: Kim Shin was a military general from the Goryeo Dynasty who was punished by the deities to live as a Dokkaebi (a Korean folklore creature known as “Goblin”) for all eternity.

He can only meet his timely demise when his destined bride Ji Eun-tak pulls out the invisible sword lodged in his abdomen that will kill him. If she doesn’t, she will die in his stead.

This is an epic tale of love and sacrifice curated by destiny and those who dare to defy it.

(Have I watched this K-drama over six times? No comment.)

Goblin (Official Trailer)

5. Stranger (AKA Secret Forest) (2017)

Plot: As a kid, Hwang Si-mok undergoes a brian surgery that causes him to lack emotion. As an adult, he works as a cold, lonely prosecutor, one of the only virtuous ones who does not accept bribes.

He crosses paths with police lieutenant Han Yeo-jin, with whom he has to solve a murder that could uncover just how vastly corrupted the Prosecutor’s Office is.

The plot is dark and compelling which successfully transitioned into a second season with one of the highest viewership ratings.

6. Hospital Playlist (Season 1 & 2) (2020-21)

Plot: All about the life and times of five doctors (and best friends) at Yulje Medical Center who tackle both tough medical cases and life’s curveballs, one song at a time.

What I love about this show is how it really humanizes healthcare workers with insights into their personal life and interactions at work. Bonus: If you love discovering new music, there’s no better K-drama for it!

Hospital Playlist | Official Teaser | Netflix [ENG SUB]

7. Sky Castle (2018 – 19)

Plot: This is a satirical series about how South Korea’s elite pursue success relentlessly, even at the cost of destroying their own families.

Living in a residential area called “SKY Castle,” the irony is how the families try to portray their lives as an elusive shiny castle despite their actual relationships being frail and dysfunctional.

Since a big focus of the show is on Korea’s competitive education system, SKY is also a play on the acronym used for the country’s three most prestigious (and hard to get into universities): Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.

Sky Castle | Main Trailer [HD] | Netflix

8. Mr Queen (2020)

Plot: I have to begin by saying this is one of the best gender swaps done. Jang Bong-hwan is a chef who works in the current-day Blue House. Suddenly, his spirit is transported back in time into the body of Queen Cheorin.

There, he starts figuring out that well-liked and easy-going King Cheoljong is not all who he seems to be.

I cannot tell you how fun it was to see a Joseon queen who’s meant to be conducting herself with grace and propriety, behave with the airs of a 21st century man!

MR. QUEEN - OFFICIAL TRAILER | Korean Drama | Shin Hye Sun, Kim Jung Hyun

9. Itaewon Class (2020)

Plot: Sae-ro-yi is put into jail for assaulting Jang Geun-won, the son of Jangga (Food) Group, who killed his father.

He later also discoveres that Jangga was using his father’s recipe for their successful products without giving him any credit or compensation.

After Sae-ro-yi gets out of jail, he chalks out a “revenge” plan that is very reflective of his values and noble demeanor — Getting Jangga Group out of business by having the most successful restaurant in Itaewon. My, what an empowering story this turns out to be!

Itaewon Class | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

10. True Beauty (2020)

Plot: Im Ju-kyung is bullied for her appearances because of which she has to transfer schools. Before enrolling into her new school, she starts learning how to use make-up to cover up her “ugly” features.

This proves to be monumental since her new looks quite literally make her the “goddess” of her new school. Now she had to juggle between friends, romances and personal insecurities, lest she is once against outed as the ugly duckling.

You may or may not know this, but quite a few K-dramas are based on webtoons, which are popularly consumed in Korea.

While the show doesn’t follow the webtoon dedicatedly, (which is a good thing because the webtoon goes places you don’t want to go) it is one of the best adaptions I’ve seen so far.

Look how uncanny the resemblance between the animated and live-version poster is!

TRUE BEAUTY - OFFICIAL TRAILER 2 | Korean Drama | Cha Eun Woo, Moon Ga Young

11. Hometown Cha Cha Cha (2021)

Plot: Yoon Hye-jin decides to quit Seoul life due to the stressful work environment and opens up her own dental practice in the picturesque town of Gongjin. What she doesn’t foresee is that she may not get along with Gongjin’s residents.

She also clashes with Chief Hong Du-sik, an overskilled handyman with a secretive past. But whatever differences they have among themselves, love and healing is right around the corner to patch them up!

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

12. Mr Sunshine (2018)

Plot: Eugene Choi (Korean name Yoo-jin) was born into slavery in Joseon (modern-day Korea) and escapes in 1971 via the Korean expedition to the United States.

After training as a US Marine Corps officer, he is stationed back in Joseon. Here he falls in love with Go Ae-shin who is part of the Righteous Army fighting for Joseon’s freedom against the approaching Japanese annexation.

A charged love story in the middle of absolute political turmoil, Mr Sunshine is the sixth highest-rated K-drama of all time.

Mr. Sunshine | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

13. The Lady in Dignity (2017)

Plot: This story is about the elegant Woo Ah-jin, who lives in Cheongdam-dong, one of Seoul’s most affluent neighborhoods. Thank to her marriage with a “chaebol,” her life is minted with luxury.

On the onset of her husband’s betrayal, an unfazed, mysterious Park Bok-ja walks in as a caretaker to Ah-jin’s father-in-law. But Boj-ja’s ulterior motives change Ah-jin life for the worse.

This is highly melodramatic show that depicts the mess created when the wealthy don’t get to do things their way.

WOMAN OF DIGNITY (2017) - TRAILER

14. Hotel Del Luna (2019)

Plot: Jang Man-wol is the grumpy and avaricious guardian of Hotel Del Luna, the supernatural abode of souls who are contemplating moving into the afterlife. The duty of the hotel and staff is to ease their client’s journey.

As per tradition, the hotel’s manager should be a human and Gu Chan-sung finds himself appointed for the same. As he enters this strange, unpredictable world, he realizes that his ties with Man-wol run deeper.

No spoilers, but I really love how this show challenges the conventional notion of one true love/eternal love that is seen in most K-dramas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3_1v8sB48&t=179s&ab_channel=VikiGlobalTV

15. Memories of the Alhambra (2018)

Plot: Yoo Jin-woo is a CEO of an investment company that specializes in optical devices. He travels to Granada, Spain to meet the creator of an AR game, Jung Se-joo. Weirdly, Se-joo has gone missing.

Se-joo’s sister Hee-joo enlists Jin-woo’s help in finding her brother but the deeper they dig, the more lines between the real world and the AR world begin to blur. Memories of the Alhambra is a truly immersive experience you wouldn’t want to miss!

Crash Landing on You | Official Trailer #1 | Netflix [ENG SUB]

16. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon (2017)

Plot: Do Bong-soon is born with superhuman strength that is only passed down in the women in her family. Although she keeps her powers secret, the rich bratty CEO Ahn Min-hyuk hires us as a bodyguard when he discovers it.

Together they train to control her powers and even try to take down an assailant who has been terrorizing the neighborhood. It’s time to meet the world’s cutest superhero, Bong-soon!

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon | Trailer | Watch now on iflix

17. Coffee Prince (2007)

Plot: In order to avoid his family’s demands of getting married, Choi Han-kyul pretends to be gay. He hires guy-ish looking Go Eun-chan to be his boyfriend, not realizing that she is actually a girl.

Eun-chan has her own reason for staying mum — the quick cash that will provide her family financial security.

But it gets super conflicting when the two fall in love with each other, pushing Eun-chan to question if Han-kyul would still like her if she revealed she was a girl.

This was another K-drama that was ahead of its time when it came to the main character exploring their queerness. 

18. Law School (2021)

Plot: While conducting a mock trial, the students of Hankuk University Law School discover that their professor has been murdered. The biggest suspect is the cold and stern prosecutor-turned-professor, Yang Jong-hoon.

This Whodunnit will really get you scratching your head, as you dive into the students and faculty’s lives and see that they each had a motive to commit murder.

A big shout-out to Kim Myung-min who will make you fall in love Professor Yang, irrespective of whether he is guilty or not.

Law School | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

19. It’s Okay to Be Not Okay (2020)

Plot: Due to witnessing his mother’s murder as a child, autistic Moon Sang-tae suffers from traumatic outbursts and an irrational fear of butterflies.

He is taken care of by his younger brother Gang-tae, who has to be ever-ready to move and take his brother to a new location when his condition gets bad.

In one such move, Gang-tae he meets children’s book author Ko Moon-young, who suffers from antisocial personality disorder.

Soon the three realize that their pasts overlap and their shared trauma may be the key to solving who killed the Moon brothers’ mother.

Quite a few scenes that broke me in this show were about how poorly the public reacted to Sang-tae’s autism, which is a sad reflection of what happens in real-life too.

It's Okay to Not Be Okay | Official Trailer #1 | Netflix [ENG SUB]

20. Squid Game (2021)

Plot: Seong Gi-hun is a divorced father and indebted gambler with the worst tendencies. In an attempt to make back all the money he’s lost, he enters a survival contest where he can win big if he passes a series of children’s game. If he fails, he will be punished with death.

The show is ripe with ethical debates, a running commentary on capitalism and it’s crippling effects and character deaths that will feel like you’re losing a friend. No wonder this became Netflix’s most streamed show of all time!

Squid Game | Official Trailer | Netflix