K-dramas only grow increasingly popular each year, meaning viewers can easily access internationally acclaimed titles. From classic rom-coms to groundbreaking sci-fi K-dramas, the umbrella term spans every sub-genre imaginable, so there’s undoubtedly something for everyone.
The rise of K-dramas on streaming has caused the industry to evolve, with new technology and subversive storytelling paving the way for modern classics. Some of the best K-dramas of the decade have even been Netflix, Disney+, or Apple TV originals. As such, it’s easier than ever to become a K-drama fan.
Beauty Inside
Beauty Inside is an unconventional romance following a man with prosopagnosia (face blindness) and a woman who mysteriously changes identities once a month. The female lead changes age, gender, and even race, but her partner chooses to love her nonetheless. From the magical realism to the tender love story, Beauty Inside is an unforgettable title.
Vincenzo
Vincenzo’s titular character (Song Joong-ki) starts out as a consigliere for the Italian mafia, but he quickly sets his sights on a more righteous cause: taking down a corrupt pharmaceutical conglomerate in South Korea. Vincenzo’s violent tendencies remain, however, making him a delightfully disturbing antihero.
Unlike most legal dramas, Extraordinary Attorney Woo focuses on its eponymous lawyer Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) just as much as its mysteries and court cases. As the first Korean attorney with autism, Young-woo faces her fair share of hardships— but she prevails with the help of her tight-knit team.
Doom at Your Service
When a woman finds out she has mere months to live, she drunkenly wishes for the world to end, attracting the attention of a primordial being known simply as Doom. Yet, his apocalyptic plot begins to go off the rails when he begins to fall in love with the main character.
Squid Game
Arguably the most successful K-drama of all time, Squid Game follows a group of desperate contestants who play sordid death games for the chance to clear their debt. The dystopian tale was so captivating, it made Netflix a premiere K-drama destination.
When Life Gives You Tangerines
Lauded as one of the best romances of the century, When Life Gives You Tangerines is an intergenerational slice-of-life that follows Oh Ae-sun (IU) and her family across five decades. From humble beginnings to bittersweet ends, When Life Gives You Tangerines is pure poetry.
Hotel del Luna
Hotel del Luna has one of the most distinctive aesthetics in K-drama history, from its gothic set designs to its highly-stylized costumes. This dark fantasy romance about a ghost hotel, its human manager, and the mysterious owner stuck in purgatory stands in a league of its own.
When The Phone Rings
When The Phone Rings starts off on a unique note: the female lead is kidnapped and, after escaping, uses the experience as a way to secretly blackmail her husband. As she’s forced to reconsider her supposedly loveless marriage, however, a killer is hot on her tail and hungry for vengeance.
Daily Dose of Sunshine
After nurse Jung Da-eun (Park Bo-young) suddenly transfers to the psychiatric ward of Myungshin University Hospital, she’s thrown into the deep end of nuanced mental health issues and the ugly truth of when medical care falls short. Though at times a tough watch, Daily Dose of Sunshine is a deeply important title that everyone should see at least once.
Celebrity
Celebrity pulls back the curtain on the so-called rich and famous influencers of the digital age, holding a mirror up to some of society’s most egregious frauds. Once outsider Seo Ah-ri (Park Gyu-young) infiltrates a popular content group, she uses her connections to expose the truth— stopping at nothing, not even faking her own death.
