15 Most Addictive Korean Dramas

If you're looking for a good laugh, cry, or mystery to solve, many K-dramas got you covered. Here are some of the most addictive ones.

Watching a Korean drama is like falling into a black hole — once you’re in, there’s no way out. Korean drama has found its way through international audiences more so in recent years, promoting Korean culture and their own unique style of filmmaking. Usually referred to as K-drama, the TV series comes in various genres: rom-com, historical, and legal, among others.

Recently, more and more international audiences have gravitated towards K-dramas due to some show’s global popularity, such as Squid Game. K-dramas are popular for many reasons, including their fantastic story arc, killer OSTs, and unique portrayal of Korean culture. Plus, for Korean language enthusiasts, watching K-dramas can surely help in learning the language in a more engaging way.

Over the years, many K-dramas have come out with higher quality than the last. Be it the actors, the story, or the OSTs — many K-dramas are now upping their standards to please more eyes of the audience. Here are a handful of the most addictive K-dramas in various genres that you should watch.

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15. Mr. Queen

Korean historical drama often has a serious and political tone that sometimes makes it a little challenging to watch. However, this doesn’t apply to Mr. Queen. This 2020 K-drama is fun, light-hearted, well-written, and all-around very addicting. The chemistry between the leads is next level, and it feels like all actors were born just for their roles in this K-drama.

Mr. Queen tells a story about a high-profile chef who cooks for top politicians in South Korea who suddenly finds his soul moved to South Korea’s Joseon era in the body of a young queen, Kim So-yong (Shin Hye-sun). Her husband, King Cheoljong (Kim Jung-hyun), is the reigning monarch with many secrets.

The blend of modern times from Kim So-Yong’s soul and the historical era brings the characters' new and fun adventures together. If you’re looking for a fun watch in a new and interesting setting, Mr. Queen is the perfect one to spend your hours on. Many say it’s hilarious and has excellent OSTs — more reasons to give this one a try.

14. Alchemy of Souls

Lost souls in the wrong bodies during the Joseon era bring unlikely relationships to life. A troublemaker son of a noble family named Jang-Uk (Lee Jae-wook) meets a strong warrior trapped in a weak servant’s body, Mu-Seok (Jung So-min), and they help each other in their walled-up journey in the kingdom.

Released in 2022, Alchemy of Souls so far has two parts, with equally fantastic cinematography, and OSTs, as well as the perfect dose of suspense and romance. From the first episode, many fans were hooked due to its fast-paced plot and big plot twists. Don’t ask about the chemistry, for it’s always off the charts.

13. Flower of Evil

The thriller/detective genre is another popular genre in K-dramas, especially in recent years. K-dramas have a unique way of storytelling in the genre, leaving small breadcrumbs throughout the episodes that, wherever they go, always surprise the audience.

One of the most successful thriller/detective K-dramas is Flower of Evil, starring Moon Lovers star Lee Joon-gi as a husband named Baek Hee-sung to a detective named Cha Ji-won (Moon Chae-won). Her husband apparently lives under someone else’s identity, concealing his disturbing past, and she has to put aside her feelings to crack her husband’s big and disturbing past.

Every episode grows more intense than the last, with impressive performances and engaging story development. Lee Joon-gi’s character is both a daydream and a nightmare and combined with Moon Chae-won’s character’s wit and top-notch detective skills, successfully drive the plot and make the audience forget about their reality for a moment.

12. Big Mouth

A lousy lawyer who runs his mouth more than he does cases, “Big Mouth” Park Chang-ho (Lee Jung-suk) works on a murder case with higher stakes than he has ever experienced before. Somehow, along the way, he gets pointed as the perpetrator who happens to go with the name “Big Mouth," sending dangers all his way.

His genius and hardworking wife, a nurse named Ko Mi-ho (Im Yoon-ah), supports him throughout his hurdles, including when he gets accused of being a criminal. She tries her hardest to clear his name despite everything that says otherwise.

This 2022 K-drama has a thrilling plot that intrigues the audience about who the real “Big Mouth” is. The engaging story next-level performances and chemistry push Big Mouth to have a pretty high rating during its airing time. However, many are conflicted with how the story ends — but you’ll have to watch it to know.

11. Extraordinary Attorney Woo

It’s been proven that audiences like to see K-dramas explore the justice system from different perspectives: the lawyers, the prosecutors, the victims, or the perpetrators. Though many of the K-dramas that fall under this genre are often heavy and emotional, the 2022 drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo is none of that, yet still very engaging and fun to watch.

Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) is a brilliant young lawyer with autism spectrum disorder, giving her the ability to see things outside the box, which often leads her to solve cases that seem hopeless at first. Though a genius, she lacks empathy and social skills, making her occurrences with her clients often funny and sometimes inappropriate.

It’s heartwarming to see Woo Young-woo grow as a lawyer and as a person, finding love in her workplace that pushes her to learn and grow. Park Eun-bin’s performance was praised by many for her excellent portrayal of Woo Young-woo, who has a mix of wit and seriousness, knowledgeable and clueless. This legal drama is fun if you’re looking for a light-hearted drama to take a break from the heavy stuff.

10. Law School

A fiery team consisting of a prosecutor turned law professor, Yang Jong-hoon (Kim Myung-min), and his law students named Kang Sol A (Ryu Hye-young) and Han Joon-he (Kim Bum) get involved in a case with many twists. Their diverse personalities in the courtroom can be their weapon or their weakness, sometimes jeopardizing their case.

If you yearn to experience courtroom drama with strong, assertive figures and genius problem-solving, Law School is worth watching. Though starting slow, the plot quickly picks up its pace and continues smoothly like a snowball.

Law School portrays a pretty accurate South Korean law and courtroom proceedings, although still with sprinkles of added drama to make it engaging. Deep and well-written characters are the key in this drama, and the actors did a great job pushing their characters’ perspectives as the cases progressed.

9. Reply 1988

Set in South Korea in 1988, Reply 1988 tells the story of friendship, family, love, and young dreams often barricaded by difficult times and the older generation’s rules. It focuses on five high school students who have a very tight-knit friendship: Sung Deok-sun (Lee Hye-ri), Kim Jung-hwan (Ryu Jun-yeol), Sung Sun-woo (Go Kyung-pyo), Ryu Dong-ryong (Lee Dong-hwi), and Choi Taek (Park Bo-gum).

From neighbors to close friends and, for some, lovers, these young souls have unique friendships built from going through life’s rough patches together. Sacrifices, failures, grief, Reply 1988 explores all there is to explore in one’s young life in South Korea 1988.

They each have their dreams and goals, and it’s heartwarming to see them growing together instead of out of each other. The friendship and their families’ stories bring that warm and nostalgic feeling into your heart — healing your inner self that you didn’t know was broken.

8. Hospital Playlist

The Avengers of Yulje Hospital, a group of five surgeons/professors in different departments, are all experts in their jobs, and all have quirky sides to contribute to their cute friendship since university. Hospital Playlist has many big names as its stars: Jo Jung-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok, Jung Kyung-ho, Kim Dae-myung, and Jeon Mi-do.

Their friendship has grown since their first year in university in 1999, all the way until the present when they all work at the same place, Yulje Hospital. The plot shares their daily lives as professors and surgeons, highlighting hospital life, friendships, family, and romance.

A very nice detail is that the beloved five professors have formed a band, where they practice and perform their loved songs from the old times. Their remake of old popular Korean songs makes this two-season K-drama’s OSTs unique and special. Hospital Playlist has it all: friendships, romance, family, comedy, and, of course, hospital drama.

7. Fight for My Way

One of the most popular K-drama genres there is rom-com. K-drama was first known for its swooning charm in nailing rom-coms. One of the most popular ones, Fight for My Way, highlights the romance between two young adults who struggle in their own lives — all about careers, aspirations, and love.

The leading actors Park Seo-Joon as Ko Dong-man and Kim Ji-won as Choi Ae-ra, their characters are immature and unserious to the max, but they both always have a soft spot for each other. This K-drama follows the best friends-to-lovers trope, which has many curling their toes as their love grows greater and greater.

6. Our Beloved Summer

The K-dramas with enemies-to-lovers trope are also popular within the rom-com genre. Our Beloved Summer, with leading actors Parasite’s Choi Woo-shik (Choi Ung) and Kim Da-mi (Kook Yeon-soo), follows the two from high school who have stark differences. Choi Ung is a free-spirited person with little to no care for his grades, while Yeon-soo is a top student who desires nothing less than a great job and financial stability.

During their final high school year, they were both seated together to shoot a documentary, which started their relationship. But, they broke up shortly after. Five years go by, and the documentary goes viral again, forcing them to shoot a continuation and meet again as exes.

Their sweet summer love in high school never really left their hearts. They see their sparks again when they meet as adults, putting the enemy-to-lovers trope to life once again. It’s a heartwarming love story with minimal heartbreak (though it still exists). They take the audiences down memory lane and live the sweetness of it together.

5. Crash Landing on You

Crash Landing on You is hands down one of the best and most popular rom-com K-dramas out there. It’s so lovely, heart-wrenching, and sweet that the leads, Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, ended up getting married in real life after the drama wrapped up. They now live happily with their newborn baby.

The story follows a rich South Korean CEO, Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin), who accidentally ends up in North Korea. She is brought to the home of the North Korean DMZ Captain’s house. The reserved captain, Ri Jeong-hook (Hyun Bin), takes her under his wing and hides her from the atrocious consequences that will befall her.

Their romance quickly starts and has to come to a halt the moment Se-ri manages to return to South Korea. Their strong but unlikely love faces many hurdles, but love always wins. Crash Landing on You is all you need if you want a good cry with a satisfying ending to seal it all off.

4. My Name

If you’re looking for a fast-paced and intense story that won’t let you off the hook, the action genre of K-dramas might be the answer. One of the big action K-dramas, My Name, follows a grieving daughter, Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee), who investigates her father’s sudden death and goes after whoever took him from her. She ends up helping the police when she finds a lead that might unravel her father’s death, putting herself in the line of danger. But, as a tough character, she doesn’t know when to stop.

My Name only has eight episodes, which might make it easier for those wanting an open-and-shut K-drama that satisfies the hunger for good action and mystery. Outstanding performances and OSTs really put this K-drama in the audience’s mind for days on end.

3. The K2

A former soldier turned bodyguard, Kim Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook), who also goes by K2, is hired to protect a high-profile family with a secret and recluse daughter, Go An-na (Im Yoon-ah). They soon become friends, and when their romance starts to spark, things get super complicated as politics and duties get in the way.

The K2 evolves around top secrets, political decisions, and revenge. The plot is quite intense, for it involves not only K2’s present political duties but also his grim past while serving as an active soldier. Many difficult choices must be made, and sacrifices often haunt them.

2. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

Fantasy is yet another genre that K-dramas always nail with its creative and out-of-the-box plot. This one, which often goes by the shorter name Goblin, tells the story of a soldier-turned-goblin who lives an immortal life. The 900-year-old Goblin Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) patiently waits for his bride to finally end his eternal life.

His bride is a high school student named Ji Eun-Tak (Kim Go-Eun), who has a complicated home life, much like Cinderella. Starting as a chance to help each other, their relationship soon becomes a passionate romance that quenches their longing for each other. One candle is all it takes for her to summon the Goblin.

Their love story is addicting and tragic, accompanied by great performances and funny banters between the Goblin and his roommate, the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook). Goblin is famous for its OSTs, with a plot that’s perfect as an introduction to K-drama’s fantasy genre.

1. Hotel del Luna

A hotel in Seoul that’s reserved only for ghosts waiting to cross to the afterlife — Hotel del Luna has its own interesting customers with funny, sad, and straight-up tragic stories. The hotel’s boss, Jang Man-wol (Lee Ji-Eun), is a ghost herself, stuck in the hotel for thousands of years, unable to go to the afterlife.

One day, she meets a new and curious hotel manager named Koo Chan-sung (Yeo Jin-goo). They go on adventures to keep their ghost customers in order while discovering secrets about her former life. They share scary, funny, swooning moments together and eventually fall in love. Be advised that tears will be shed aplenty during Hotel Del Luna. Love from different worlds is top-tier heartwrenching and exhilarating, after all. But fear not; their sweet and comedic love is worth all the pain.