Across Southeast and East Asia, dramas are very popular, especially ones coming from certain countries. While South Korean dramas have become popular all over the world, whether it is the likes of the Netflix original series Squid Game or a romance show like Crash Landing on You, a large industry for Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese television shows has opened up new avenues. Out of mainland China, historical dramas have become very popular with global audiences, not only teaching audiences about Chinese history and customs associated with the dynasties but the costuming as well. But in Japan and Taiwan, romance dramas have become a staple for viewers.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, some of the most popular romance actors in Taiwan were in bands or active as singers, leading to the popularity of what has been named "idol dramas." These are popular abroad, and the dramas often skewer towards a younger demographic because their leads are often young as well. Taiwanese dramas are often similar to Japanese and Korean dramas due to the nature of the tropes utilized in them, as well as the situations the characters stumble into. That said, these are the best Taiwanese romance dramas.
Updated May 13, 2023: If you are interested in Taiwanese dramas and love Asian romance in general, you'll be glad to know that this article has been updated with additional content by Yosra lagha.
9 Fall in Love With Me
Fall in Love With Me features one of the most popular actors in Taiwanese dramas and a former idol: Aaron Yan. He co-stars with Tia Lee, a fellow musician active in a girl group, and received many awards for his acting and content. Yan is Lu Tian Xing, a hotshot in advertising that announces at the beginning he will take a brief hiatus in the industry. He meets a woman named Tao Le Si and assumes a fake name to hide his identity, joining her advertising agency to help her out, but leading the two down a completely different path.
8 Attention, Love!
Released in 2017, Attention, Love! stars Joanne Tseng and Prince Chiu as two soulmates. Their parents are best friends, meaning that the two knew of each other, but the boy, Li Zheng, actually ended up being raised in Japan. Eventually, he returns to Taiwan, and the two meet for the first time since they were babies. At first glance, the two should never date. They are complete opposites, with one being stoic and the other outgoing, and their personalities clash. But as they continue to spend more time with each other, a romance sparks.
7 Just You
Just You is an idol drama. Aaron Yan and Puff Guo star as the lead couple in this 2013 television show. A germaphobe (Yan) moves back to Taiwan from New York City and wants to purchase his childhood home for nostalgia’s sake. It will not be easy, though, as the current tenant (Guo) does not want to leave what she has now made her home. The two quickly discover that they work together, which becomes a problem when office romances have been banned. The two are spiraling deep into relationship territory, making everything so much more complicated.
6 Behind Your Smile
Marcus Chang leads Behind Your Smile, a 2016 release that is fairly underrated in the world of East Asian romance dramas. He portrays Zhao Yiting, a man who seeks out revenge against someone else. Seemingly emotionless in his everyday life, Zhao is driven towards this goal because the person he wants revenge against made him lose his father. When the woman’s daughter returns home and discovers her mother has left her, Zhao takes her in with the intent of getting his revenge by using her. What ends up ultimately happening may be the exact opposite of that, as he ends up falling in love with her.
5 Someday or One Day
Alice Ko stars in Someday or One Day as a woman whose deepest desire is to see her boyfriend, who died in a plane crash, one more time. Unable to move on, she finds herself trying to reach out to his cell phone every day, despite knowing he is gone, and is surprised to see that one day she receives a package from an unknown individual. She begins to dream she is a girl living in 1998 and quickly realizes she is trapped in the past inside someone else’s body — who may die quite soon if she does not change their trajectory.
4 HIStory
HIStory composes of multiple seasons of a web series, one that is quite innovative for the kind of content that broadly appeals to audiences. An anthology series, each season has completely new characters and plot lines, introducing driving conflicts relevant to the world they are set in. However, there is one defining element throughout: HIStory is an LGBTQ+ TV show, featuring relationships between the male characters. The series was a massive hit in Taiwan and abroad, garnering praise not only for its writing, but the realistic characterization implemented throughout the show.
3 Autumn’s Concerto
Released in 2009, Autumn’s Concerto remains one of the most iconic Taiwanese romance dramas to date. It stars Ady An, Ann Hsu, and Vanness Wu in a tale that brings lost souls together. Ren Guang Xi is a troubled law student who exploits his status at the school to wreak havoc on other people. He crosses paths with Liang Mu Cheng, a girl trying to escape an abusive household situation, and almost immediately the two declare each other enemies. Autumn’s Concerto takes the classic enemies-to-lovers trope in a way that progresses across years, twisting as new developments appear on the horizon.
2 Fated To Love You
Released in 2008, Fated to Love You instantly stole the heart of viewers with a love story unlike any other. The story begins with the wealthy and confident Ji Cun Xi having a one-night stand with the shy and kind-hearted Chen Xin Yi on a luxurious family yacht. This random encounter results in a pregnancy that forced the two strangers to unite in marriage. The couple starts slowly and unexpectedly falling for each other and warming up to the forced marriage that was dictated by their conservative families.
However, Ji Cun Xi's girlfriend's arrival creates the kind of test that would either make or break their relationship: the test of the third party. Chen Xin Yi's incredibly giving, and selfless nature finally gets the best of her husband who eventually ends up refusing to be with anyone else. They both learn at the end that their first random encounter was nothing but fate unfailingly bringing them together. This show's realistic take on love and marriage is what made it stand out and become one of the most iconic Taiwanese romance dramas.
1 Moonlight Romance
Unlike Fated to Love You, Moonlight Romance, released in 2020, and starring Amber An, Edison Song, and Sheng-hao Wen, could not be said to be realistic but still has all the potential to be as relatable and addictive as the other. After some trouble in paradise, the former God, Li Yue, falls into the human realm and takes up the name of You Tianle. In order to survive, Li Yue has to feed off other people's energy, so he decides to be a divorce lawyer in order to absorb the negative energy of broken relationships.
However, his meeting with Fang Duo-Mi, a 32 years old graduate of Cosmetics and Perfume Marketing specializing in creating pheromone perfumes, changes his world upside down. The exciting dynamic of an immortal falling in love with a human simply never gets old. Their beautifully entangled and complicated romance brings a lot of excitement, suspense, and drama to the screen.