Korean dramas (K-dramas) have taken over the world with their powerful and entertaining storylines, classic cinematography, heartfelt dialogues, and most importantly, their massively talented heartthrob actors.
These special hand-picked K-dramas will keep you hooked to your screen and you’ll thank us later for adding them to your pop culture diet.
1. Squid Game
Squid Game is dope! As Netflix’s most-watched show ever, the first season is totally worth a watch. The dystopian magic of Squid Game has a gripping effect with its distinctive plot and impromptu twists. With the largest cast, it showed 456 players (struggling with destitution) entering a game in pursuit of a life-changing cash prize of $4.56 million. They risk their lives to play a series of fatal games for the chance to win.
The title of the series is taken from a similarly named Korean children’s game, a modified version of which is played by the finalists.
Squid Game was released worldwide on 17 September 2021 and has an 8/10 IMDb rating.
2. Extra Ordinary Attorney Woo
This addictive show will encourage you to become an attorney. The titular character is not an ordinary attorney and, ratings-wise, the Korean drama is no ordinary show. The hit legal drama, starring Park Eun-bin and Kang Tae-oh in the lead roles, had 24 million viewers in the first week and reached a total of 77 million viewers by its seventh week.
The story follows the bright and determined Young-woo as she joins a top Korean law firm. Attorney Woo is a young law prodigy who graduated from the best school at the top of her class but lives with an autism spectrum disorder. Woo has a very unique way of looking at things that sometimes solves a tricky case.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo features some interesting court cases in which Woo gets to shine, illustrating the beauty inherent in diversity.
It has an 8.8/10 rating on IMDb.
3. Ghost Doctor
This epic drama has a completely different plot that ditches clichés and is a complete cliffhanger.
Director Boo Seong-cheol blended medical and fantasy genres in this drama with a new concept of a ‘coma ghost’. The series revolves around two doctors from extreme backgrounds, who have polar opposite personalities and medical skills.
Cha Young-min (Rain) is a genius doctor and a high-skilled cardiothoracic surgeon but is arrogant and selfish. Go Seung-tak (Kim-Bum), who possesses excellent medical knowledge, is hindered by his fear of blood.
One day, Young Min gets involved in an unexpected case, due to which his spirit possesses Seung-tak’s body.
This drama has a 7.9/10 IMDb rating.
4. Business Proposal
Business Proposal has received global acclaim and is Netflix’s third most popular K-drama series. This 2022 rom-com drama has become the year’s biggest hit so far.
Shin Ha-ri (the protagonist) is a food researcher at a company that just welcomed a new president, Kang Tae-moo (Ahn Hyo-seop). Her wealthy BFF encourages her to go on a blind date and the date turns out to be her new boss, Tae-moo.
The morning after the disastrous date, Ha-ri receives a call — Tae-moo wants to marry her. Their hilarious courtship, as well as the second lead romance, will definitely steal your heart.
This romance, compassion, and comic blended series scored an 8.7/10 IMDb ranking.
5. Flower of Evil (Editor’s Choice)
Some of us are naturally born detectives in our own ways and are intrigued by mysterious clues. At first, you would think that Flower of Evil is just like any detective and psychological-thriller drama but it is a rollercoaster ride. The rollercoaster of a plot will keep you glued to the screen and invested in the lives of the characters.
Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won’s chemistry is undeniable, and their stories will put you on a suspense-filled and heart-wrenching ride as you journey with them to discover the truth.
This series has an 8.9/10 rating.
6. Twenty Five Twenty One
Twenty Five-Twenty One is a stunning, wholesome, and soul-searching portrayal of friendships that struggle to stand the test of time. The tension and suspense about the fate of the lead actors kept building slowly from the first episode, rising to a crescendo until the bittersweet finale.
The ride is breathless and brutal but the emotional pay-offs are worth it. While the romance felt consuming, the beauty of the show was that it was about so much more, that by the end you just feel drained and exhausted.
The series depicts the romantic lives of five characters between 1998 and 2021. In a time when dreams seem out of reach, a teen warrior pursues high ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuild his life.
7. Vincenzo
If you’re looking for a show that is thrill, suspense, and action-packed, and is about the mafia, Vincenzo is for you.
Song Joong-ki stars as a Korean man named Vincenzo who was adopted by an Italian mafia family and raised in the mob life in Italy. When his adoptive father dies, his adoptive brother sets out to kill him, forcing Vincenzo to flee back to Seoul.
Vincenzo returns to his home country with a single goal — to tear the Geumga Plaza building down and claim his hidden gold. The real owner of the building was a Chinese tycoon who passed away but was one of the few people who knew about it.
In his attempt to take the treasure out from the building’s basement, Vicenzo meets an odd group of tenants because of whom his original plans change and he somehow ends up fighting for the tenants’ rights.
The show is wild and completely worth indulging in. It will give you goosebumps with its twists and turns, and is not something you will find in any other action-packed show.
8. Big Mouth
Everyone is whipped for Bigmouth but what makes it a truly gripping thriller?
The plot is fast-paced and gripping, and ticks all the thriller check-boxes. There are twists and turns, alliances and political games, and a realistic look at how hierarchies and power structures work.
Packed with suspense, the moments of revelation are some of the show’s best scenes. If you’re looking for intrigue and shock, then Big Mouth is for you. The story follows Park Chang-ho, an incompetent lawyer with a less than 10% success rate, who gets dragged into a murder case. He finds himself framed as the famous con man, Big Mouse, and must work to clear his name.
Along the way, he is forced to deal with corrupt policemen, brutal prison mates, and a group of rich, powerful men from a group known as the NR Forum.
With conspiracies, backstabbing, and secret laboratories thrown into the plot mix, Big Mouth has it all, and is one to watch, for sure.
9. Little Women
This show is the perfect example of a classic thriller. The increasingly high ratings for all the episodes indicate just how riveting the show is. The story follows three fierce sisters who face a gruesome series of events and predicaments.
Kim Go Eun plays the eldest sibling, Oh In Joo, who wants to help her family escape poverty and protect them. The second eldest is the fearless news reporter, Oh In Kyung, played by Nam Ji Hyun. Despite their status, she is not easily swayed by power and money, and always aims to do what’s right. Playing the role of the youngest is Park Ji Hu from All of Us Are Dead. She portrays the artistic Oh In Hye, who managed to enter the prestigious art university thanks to her natural skill.
The three sisters who were bought up underprivileged, suddenly get the chance to improve their prospects. They get involved in a conspiracy involving the disappearance of 70 billion won.
The characters and stories of the women in this show are well written and portray various levels of badass, which is a pleasure to watch. The Korean mystery is like nothing ever seen before.
10. The Sound Of Magic
Do you believe in magic? If your life is as grim as Yoon Ah-yi’s in the Korean drama Sound of Magic, you may need to believe in magic to watch this show. Reality has not treated her kindly. Ah-yi, played convincingly by Choi Sung-un, is in a terrible situation. Abandoned by her father, the high school student is desperately trying to survive and provide for her younger sister. Sound of Magic is a weirdly wonderful drama in which magic seems both hopeful and menacing. Characters seem kind and then are cruel.
Ji Chang-wook makes a shadowy magician, a rumpled seedy Peter Pan, who could just be delusional. He could turn out to be a hero or a villain. Or unable to really help her. Ah-yi has no choice but to find out. Where is this quirky musical drama going to take me and do I believe in magic enough to go there? Viewers will likely take a chance on this original drama, if only to see what kind of tricks Ji’s complicated magician character manages to pull out of his hat. The music is a melodious mixed bag, with a frothy high school dance number, sweet duets and moving commentary on the educational rat race. Both the addition of musical numbers and the dark storyline make this drama compelling.
