For many, Netflix's recently released survival horror series, Squid Game, was their first foray into the quickly-developing obsession of discovering all the amazing Korean dramas out there. But many are still hesitating to take this blissful drive down binge lane simply because there are hundreds upon hundreds of Korean dramas to binge-watch and more all the time — Netflix alone serves countless titles! Don’t worry though, because as future fellow K-drama addicts, we are here to help you pick the best out of the endless sea of awesome series to begin your forever journey in the world of Korean shows.
Whether it's in terms of breaking the stereotypical bonds of storytelling, impressive character arcs further amped up by award-winning performances, glorious cinematography, or the innovative use of CGI, Korean shows (and excellent Korean films) have proven their mettle in every possible genre. Fantasy, action, romance, thriller, comedy, and other genres each include a long list of exceptional choices to begin your binging spree. Thus, in order to lessen your burdensome task of picking what to watch, here are the best Korean dramas you can (and practically need to) stream right now:
Updated June 2023: If you are a sucker for K-drama and wondering which series to stream right now, you'll be glad to know that this article has been updated with additional content and entries by Yosra Ben lagha.
10 The Silent Sea
If you have not been living under a rock, you must have already read the rave reviews about the Korean science-fiction drama, The Silent Sea, led by the magnificent trio of Bae Doona, Gong Yoo, and Lee Joon. Set in a dystopian future, the series’ unique storyline depicts our planet in the throes of severe water scarcity, which is only getting worse with time. To counter the situation, a team is selected to go to the abandoned Balhae Lunar Research Station on the moon and retrieve a mysterious sample. But the location has a morbidly secretive history — five years ago, all 117 members of the station’s crew reportedly died due to a radiation leak, but there was never a proper investigation.
Captain Han Yun-Jae (Gong Yoo), who is a soldier for the Republic of Korea’s Space and Aeronautics Division (SAA), leads a team including Song Ji-an (Bae Doo-Na) an astrobiologist whose sister died in the Balhae accident, to travel to the moon. Soon, their quickly botched mission faces secrets that turn deadly in the time they have been forcibly suppressed. The series has joined the list of the most critically adored shows on Netflix and is counted amongst the best sci-fi series to date. Given the show’s surefire promise of being excellent, there is nothing stopping you from immersing yourself in unraveling The Silent Sea’s riveting puzzles.
9 Strong Woman Bong-soon
If there is ever a universal list of evergreen best Korean dramas, Strong Woman Bong-soon will undoubtedly lead it by a huge margin. The series is a romantic comedy that tells the story of the enigmatic Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) who is no damsel in distress — she is born in a family where women have always been blessed with superhuman strength. Despite her attempts to lead a normal life, Bong-soon often ends up using her power for the good of others, and this brings her across rich gaming CEO Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik) who is instantly impressed (read: smitten) by her and decides to hire her as his bodyguard. Meanwhile, Bong-soon is stuck with her overwhelming romantic feelings for her clueless crush, childhood friend and police officer In Guk-doo (Ji Soo).
But amidst this love triangle, there is a brewing crime that needs to be solved ASAP. A cruel and scheming serial killer that is kidnapping women crosses paths with Bong-soon, resulting in devastating consequences for the latter. Balancing out this serious central plot are the countless laugh-out-loud moments scattered throughout the series (whenever someone underestimates Bong-soon and immediately regrets it, the goofy charm of Park Hyung-sik when he unabashedly hits on Ji Soo, etc.). It's a strange mixture but a delightful cocktail.
8 W: Two Worlds Apart
When it comes to making supernatural fantasy shows, not many can rival the quality or variety provided by Korean dramas. W: Two Worlds Apart, starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo, is the perfect example. The drama starts with legendary illustrator Oh Seong-moo (Kim Eui-sung) who is famous for his webtoon entitled W and its fictional protagonist, Kang Chul (Jong-suk), an Olympic gold medalist and CEO of the broadcasting channel W. One day, he plans to wrap up the webtoon’s storyline by making Kang Chul commit suicide. But at this point, the webtoon suddenly takes on a life of its own where Kang Chul refuses to die and vows to find the killer who murdered his family.
But the real story starts when the illustrator's daughter Oh Yeon-joo (Han Hyo-joo) accidentally enters the world of the webtoon and ends up saving the very character whose story her father is determined to conclude. Apart from the engrossing and undeniably juicy and meta plot line, it is the series’ amazing cast, their emotive performances, and the stunning ways the real world and the animated webtoon world are visually differentiated that makes watching W a unique experience. This story of two supernaturally linked worlds stays true to its promise of offering double the drama, romance, and nail-biting anticipation.
7 It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
Anybody who even remotely harbors the notion that Korean dramas have a clichéd set of formulaic storylines needs to add It’s Okay Not to Be Okay to this watch list. It tells the refreshing story of Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun), who diligently takes care of his older brother, Moon Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se), with autism. But they are desperately running away from something — every few months, the duo moves from one town to another, with Gang-tae taking up the job of a caretaker in a psychiatric ward in each place.
Fate leads Gang-tae to meet famous children's book writer, Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji), who has antisocial personality disorder and is plagued by traumatic memories of her childhood. While It’s Okay Not to Be Okay is a romance, the main theme of the series is depicting mental health sans the incorrect stereotypes the sensitive topic is always given, and the show stresses the importance of an individual’s necessary journey to healing. For example, Moon-young’s character is not represented as a burden, even though most films and series prefer to demonize characters with this disorder.
While there are many feel-good dramas out there, nothing beats the empathy of relating to characters who gradually come to terms with their unresolved trauma and prove that there is light at the end of the tunnel after all. This is one of the most beautiful Korean shows to date.
6 All of Us Are Dead
All of Us Are Dead is, indeed, a high school zombie South Korean series, but in no way does it resemble the cheesy zombie shows with no character development or good acting performances. It's pretty much the opposite. During its very first season, the show is already an astounding success ranking 11th on Netflix’s most-watched TV shows. It tells the story of high school students battling with bullying, suicidal thoughts, striving to find their identity in the world, and other high school issues of the sort. However, their internal struggle is cut short by a violent outbreak of a zombie apocalypse.
The deadly outbreak begins when a science teacher starts experimenting on rats who eventually end up biting one of the students and transmitting the virus throughout the school and the city at large. The show delivers many thrilling scenes about the fast-moving zombies destroying everything in their way. And while those scenes are entertaining, the real magic happens when there is a focus on the relationship dynamics of the characters, namely, the relationship between Cheong-san and On-ra who are two best friends secretly falling in love with one another.
The much-awaited Season 2 is expected to be released this summer of 2023. If you are a fan of the zombie genre, this might be your best pick.
5 Sweet Home
Sweet Home is yet another Korean post-apocalyptic horror TV series that was an instant hit when it was first released in December 2020. This Netflix original was so successful that it secured a second and a third season. It tells the story of Hyun, a high school student who lost his family in a horrible accident and had to move to a new city.
Only days after he settled into his new apartment, he notices the presence of some supernatural creatures lurking inside his apartment and the whole building. He soon discovered that people become monsters generally when they give into their dark desires and follow them without reserve. The TV show's morale touches a very deep side of our lives, that of knowing how to control our innermost cravings. Season 2 will be released between October and December 2023.
4 Extraordinary Attorney Woo
If you like watching TV shows about smart nerds who have supernatural intelligence, like Mr. Robot, you will likely enjoy Extraordinary Attorney Woo. The show is about a sharp law graduate, Woo, who suffers from a slight autistic disorder, as she gets hired by a reputable law firm to be a trainee lawyer. Her high IQ and her focus on her work exclusively tend to weaken her social skills and leave her vulnerable and exposed to prejudice and rejection in her workplace.
The series is about how Woo strives to be herself and still be integrated into an environment that does not accept differences and disability. The show also incorporates a beautiful and realistic love story that slowly grows between Woo and her colleague Jun-Ho as they work on several cases together. The show tells a very interesting story about being inclusive and supportive of people with mental disabilities or any other kind of difference. You can enjoy all that Season 1 has to offer until the upcoming release of Season 2 in 2024. Do not hesitate to stream this TV show; it is definitely a heart stealer.
3 Love To Hate You
If you loved 10 Things I Hate About You you will most definitely enjoy this Netflix Original series. Directed by Kim Jung-kwon, Love To Hate You, is about two people with huge trust issues having a war-like relationship. The woman (Yeo Mi-ran) is a sharp attorney who does not accept to lose (neither in her professional nor personal life) especially if the opponent is a man, and the man (Nam Gang-ho) is a popular actor with complicated trust issues especially when it comes to dating.
The two end up forming a strange connection of bittersweet romance that is at first explosive and violent, but that ends up changing both of them into calmer, more secure people who choose love over hate. The series beautifully demonstrates that love can change individuals into a better version of themselves. Although the ending is happy, and who doesn't like that? The juice of the series rests in the spicy, unorthodox beginning of the relationship, in which a lot of hilarious pushing and pulling takes place.
2 Crash Course in Romance
If you are a rom-com fan, then you might want to start streaming Crash Course in Romance right away. It's a hilarious 2023 TV series about a former national athlete called Nam Haeng-Seon (Jeon Do-yeon) who is also the owner of a side dish store. She is positive adventurous and very active. Besides running a business, she decides to enter the education field where she meets Choi Chi-Yeol (Jung Kyoung-ho), a famous math teacher. He falls in love with her food but as he knows her on a more personal level, a beautiful tension is born in their connection.
Choi did not acquire his fame from thin air. He is very serious, hardworking, and really passionate about what he does. However, that seriousness resulted in a coldness and an indifference that could be read all over his face and spotted in his behavior. As soon as Nam enters his world, she makes his reality much lighter and allows him to loosen up and enjoy a different side of life. Their beautiful romance is unconventional, refreshing, and hilarious in more ways than one. Crash Course in Romance is not just a romantic comedy, it tackles serious themes like the state of the educational system in Korea. It is by far one of the best shows to stream right now if you are looking for a great Rom-Com K-drama.
1 Duty After School
Duty After School follows the story of a threatening worldwide alien invasion that pushes Seongjin high school teachers and students to join the armed forces in order to ward off the looming evil. The TV Series stars Shin Hyun-soo, Lee Soon-won, Im Se-mi, Kwon Eun-bin, and other amazingly talented actors who were perfectly able to transmit the emotional and terrifying aspects of the story. The series depicts how students answered the duty call to defend the planet from this mysterious invasion.
The series, however, is not all action as it also focuses on how the war brought some students closer and helped others put everything in perspective and overcome their differences. This is without doubt the kind of K-drama to watch when the mood is right for thrilling action spiced up with some high school drama.