A good Korean drama needs a solid mix of various elements to truly excel, so it’s not enough to just have a great love story. There should be other captivating aspects that make you want to keep watching the series, especially since you might figure out early on who ends up with whom.
The list I’ve compiled below includes series that embody all these elements and that I enjoyed so much that I would rewatch them.
I liked them so much that I wish I could erase them from my mind just to experience them again.
1. See You in My 19th Life
I finished this series last week during what seems to be my K-Drama phase, I’ve watched many Korean series in the past month, and this one truly stands out as the most beautiful. Love transforms but always remains. I cried a lot—though I tend to cry easily—watching this series because of its beauty and how it manages to connect life, love, and death so deeply.
2. Crash Landing on You (2019)
A girl from Seoul who seemingly has never lacked anything—wealthy and beautiful, with a globally successful fashion brand—finds herself in a tornado while testing parachute designs. The tornado leaves her unconscious and she lands in North Korea.
However, she doesn’t realize that leaving this place will involve a lot of challenges, and that love might end up finding her.
The show starts off a bit slow, but I’ve never cried so much while watching a series. It’s a story that’s definitely worth watching.
3. Old woman by day, young lady by night or Miss Night and Day (2024)
– I’ve never laughed so much while watching a series –
Korean dramas are typically filled with a lot of drama, and this one is no exception. However, it made me laugh so much that the drama often took a back seat.
I think what made me enjoy this series so much is that it has multiple subplots that make you want to keep watching, not just for the love story, which, as I mentioned, might be quite obvious from the beginning, but because the other elements are genuinely engaging and make you crave more.
Contrary to what one might expect from this series, and with the main plot being clear from the title of the K-drama, a young woman’s life changes drastically when she wakes up one morning having aged nearly 30 years. However, by nightfall, she regains her youth.
– Very much in the style of Shrek –
In the background, she becomes involved in the investigation of a serial killer and in her relentless search for employment that she has been struggling with for many years.
4. King the Land (2023)
A girl is an excellent worker who, with all her skills, prepares from a very young age to fulfill her dream: working at the KING THE LAND hotel chain. Once she achieves her goal, she has an altercation with someone she believes is a rude customer, only to discover that he is actually her new boss.
The series has many funny moments, with minimal drama in my opinion, and is somewhat predictable at times.
However, if you’re a fan of watching the guy who never falls in love finally fall for the female lead, who no one would expect anything to happen with, then this series is definitely for you.
5. Nevertheless (2021)
What primarily captivated me about this series was its rare portrayal of the lives of university students in South Korea. As I’m very interested in this topic, it made me eager to watch the show from the start.
The main protagonist, after leaving a highly toxic relationship with a professor, decides to take control of her life and focus 100% on her studies as a visual artist.
Along the way, she falls deeply in love with the typical guy who doesn’t want anything serious but also can’t let her go.
She will have to learn to prioritize herself in many situations, which will contribute to her personal growth.
6. Forecasting Love and Weather (2022)
A highly successful meteorologist is about to get married when, one day after work, she discovers her fiancé with another woman.
Devastated, she realizes that she has been living a lie for the past 10 years of their relationship.
However, when she is appointed as the leader of a team, she falls deeply in love with one of her colleagues.
What I liked most about this story wasn’t the romance, which was quite ordinary and unremarkable.
Each episode delves into the various weather conditions and meteorological aspects that Korea faces daily, along with their social and economic implications.
I learned a lot about the climate from this series, and that was something I really appreciated.
7. Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)
This K-drama could easily make it into my top 3 favorites.
The amount I cried while watching it was unreal.
A girl obsessed with fencing is determined to become the best, no matter what.
One day, on her way to school, she meets a guy who becomes her best friend, and their relationship cannot turn romantic until two conditions are met:
- She is 21 years old.
- He is 25 years old.
In this K-drama, the love story isn’t the most important aspect, though it is quite beautiful.
What truly stands out is the theme of fencing, a sport full of passion, friendship, and the economic conditions of the protagonist’s love interest.
Leave a Reply