Korean dramas have nailed the formula for romance. They can pack a punch of infatuation, humor, intrigue, and suspense in a sixteen-episode arc that’s meaty enough to develop a full cast of supporting characters, but short enough to maintain an exciting pace. Whether you’re an expert, or interested in trying out this genre for the first time, this list is guaranteed to hit you right in the feels.
Happy watching!
Watch On Netflix
Sung Deok-mi is a super professional museum curator by day, with a secret identity as an obsessive fan girl who runs a website for her favorite K-pop idol, Cha Shi-an, after hours. When new boss, Ryan Gold, joins the museum staff, Deok-mi and he begin a fake relationship to stave off wild rumors that she and Cha Shi-an are dating, so she can avoid the online ire of jealous fans. As her and Gold work closely to maintain the farce, avoiding the prying eyes of suspicious intern Kim Hyo-jin, she learns more about his past as an artist, and the Stendhal syndrome that drove him to retirement.
Watch On Viki
Kim Mi-young is the sweet, unassuming Ugly Betty of K-dramas. Known as “post-it” girl at work because she’s always getting taken advantage of, she and wealthy businessman, Lee Gun, who dresses like a Korean version of 2010’s “Lord” Scott Disick, have an unintentional one-night stand, after a series of unfortunate events involving drugs and hotel-room mix-ups. When Mi-young discovers she is pregnant, Gun proposes a contract marriage, in which he agrees to help raise the child, while outwardly scorning and mocking Mi-young, but the more time they spend together, the more they wonder whether their relationship truly was destined to be.
Watch On Viki
Everyone’s favorite Squid Game actor, Gong Yoo, stars as supernatural being Kim Shin, a cursed Goryeo Dynasty general who was murdered by his king, and resurrected by the gods as a punishment. He becomes an immortal Goblin, who must watch the people he loves die as the decades pass him by. The only way to break the curse is by finding his ‘Goblin Bride’ to pull the invisible sword from his chest. After centuries without relief, Shin meets Ji Eun-tak, a 19-year old student who can see ghosts and brings a new sense of light-heartedness to his tortured existence. Memorable for humorous supporting roles like a Grim Reaper roommate, and a magic door that leads from Korea to Québec City, this is one k-drama you absolutely can’t miss.
Watch On Hulu
Another workplace drama with a well-dressed boss who has narcissistic tendencies, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim is a hilarious romantic drama following vice-chairman Lee Young-joon’s efforts to keep his secretary, Kim Mi-so from quitting after she unexpectedly decides to resign out of the blue to focus on herself and finding love. While Young-joon is initially clueless about how to win Mi-so over, as the two spend more time together, they uncover their shared trauma stemming back to a childhood kidnapping which predates their professional relationship. It’s a feel-good story that will deliver the laughs episode after episode.
Watch On Viki
Lim Ju-kyung was bullied for her appearance and struggling with self-esteem, before she learned to do make-up and transferred to a new school where no one knows about her troubled past. She draws attention from Lee Su-ho, an introverted overachiever with a traumatic secret, and Han Seo-jun an aspiring idol and loveable bad boy. She does her best to manage life and newfound popularity, but avoids letting anyone seeing her bare face at all costs. It’s a funny, warm-hearted comedy that’s touching and sentimental, and perfectly sums up the need to look pasts appearances, to the inner glow-ups happening all around us.
Watch On Viki
Im Sol is a young woman with a cheerful spirit, despite a tragic past that left her in a wheelchair. Inspired to keep living after a radio station call from idol Ryu Sun-jae, she becomes a super fan, and attends his concert years later. When he unexpectedly dies of suicide the same night, Im Sol is devastated, and discovers that a stop-watch of Sun-jae’s, which she bought on an online auction, has the power to transport her 15 years into the past, when her and Sun-jae were students at the same high school, and her accident has yet to occur. In a series of complex time loops, Im Sol searches for the right combinations of changes to the past that will keep Sun-jae alive and happy, realizing in the process just how closely intertwined their destinies truly are.
Happy watching!
Her Private Life
Watch On Netflix
Sung Deok-mi is a super professional museum curator by day, with a secret identity as an obsessive fan girl who runs a website for her favorite K-pop idol, Cha Shi-an, after hours. When new boss, Ryan Gold, joins the museum staff, Deok-mi and he begin a fake relationship to stave off wild rumors that she and Cha Shi-an are dating, so she can avoid the online ire of jealous fans. As her and Gold work closely to maintain the farce, avoiding the prying eyes of suspicious intern Kim Hyo-jin, she learns more about his past as an artist, and the Stendhal syndrome that drove him to retirement.
Fated To Love You
Watch On Viki
Kim Mi-young is the sweet, unassuming Ugly Betty of K-dramas. Known as “post-it” girl at work because she’s always getting taken advantage of, she and wealthy businessman, Lee Gun, who dresses like a Korean version of 2010’s “Lord” Scott Disick, have an unintentional one-night stand, after a series of unfortunate events involving drugs and hotel-room mix-ups. When Mi-young discovers she is pregnant, Gun proposes a contract marriage, in which he agrees to help raise the child, while outwardly scorning and mocking Mi-young, but the more time they spend together, the more they wonder whether their relationship truly was destined to be.
Guardian: The Lonely And Great God
Watch On Viki
Everyone’s favorite Squid Game actor, Gong Yoo, stars as supernatural being Kim Shin, a cursed Goryeo Dynasty general who was murdered by his king, and resurrected by the gods as a punishment. He becomes an immortal Goblin, who must watch the people he loves die as the decades pass him by. The only way to break the curse is by finding his ‘Goblin Bride’ to pull the invisible sword from his chest. After centuries without relief, Shin meets Ji Eun-tak, a 19-year old student who can see ghosts and brings a new sense of light-heartedness to his tortured existence. Memorable for humorous supporting roles like a Grim Reaper roommate, and a magic door that leads from Korea to Québec City, this is one k-drama you absolutely can’t miss.
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
Watch On Hulu
Another workplace drama with a well-dressed boss who has narcissistic tendencies, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim is a hilarious romantic drama following vice-chairman Lee Young-joon’s efforts to keep his secretary, Kim Mi-so from quitting after she unexpectedly decides to resign out of the blue to focus on herself and finding love. While Young-joon is initially clueless about how to win Mi-so over, as the two spend more time together, they uncover their shared trauma stemming back to a childhood kidnapping which predates their professional relationship. It’s a feel-good story that will deliver the laughs episode after episode.
True Beauty
Watch On Viki
Lim Ju-kyung was bullied for her appearance and struggling with self-esteem, before she learned to do make-up and transferred to a new school where no one knows about her troubled past. She draws attention from Lee Su-ho, an introverted overachiever with a traumatic secret, and Han Seo-jun an aspiring idol and loveable bad boy. She does her best to manage life and newfound popularity, but avoids letting anyone seeing her bare face at all costs. It’s a funny, warm-hearted comedy that’s touching and sentimental, and perfectly sums up the need to look pasts appearances, to the inner glow-ups happening all around us.
Lovely Runner
Watch On Viki
Im Sol is a young woman with a cheerful spirit, despite a tragic past that left her in a wheelchair. Inspired to keep living after a radio station call from idol Ryu Sun-jae, she becomes a super fan, and attends his concert years later. When he unexpectedly dies of suicide the same night, Im Sol is devastated, and discovers that a stop-watch of Sun-jae’s, which she bought on an online auction, has the power to transport her 15 years into the past, when her and Sun-jae were students at the same high school, and her accident has yet to occur. In a series of complex time loops, Im Sol searches for the right combinations of changes to the past that will keep Sun-jae alive and happy, realizing in the process just how closely intertwined their destinies truly are.