The Most Iconic Korean Dramas Ever Made, Ranked

Have you watched these Korean dramas? They're pretty iconic.

Korean dramas, along with the country’s culture, music, and food, have become one of the biggest consumed products in the world. Audiences cannot get enough of the love stories, fantasies that take place in the modern-day and historical kingdom of Joseon, and relationships going wrong in these shows. That is why many streaming platforms like Netflix have continued to put money into creating original content appealing to the worldwide fanbase. With access to the Internet, movie and television lovers are now able to access so many different forms of entertainment, allowing these dramas the space on the global stage they deserve.

However, before Korean entertainment blew up and became well-known, there were still dedicated fans of Korean dramas. Websites like Dramafever allowed these genres to thrive among the communities that loved them so dearly, and dramas like Coffee Prince and Boys Over Flowers introduced people all over the world to what Korean television could look like. The 2010s ushered in an entirely new era, armed with better subtitles and the opportunity to receive funding from platforms like Netflix. Dramas from South Korea have come a long way in the past 20 years, and there is much more to look forward to in the decades to come. Until then, these are the most iconic Korean dramas so far.

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20. Coffee Prince

Coffee Prince, which came out in 2006, was ahead of its time. Starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye, it plays into a classic drama trope of its time: a girl, who disguises herself as a boy, ends up becoming the affection of another boy — one who usually is much wealthier than her. Yoon portrays Eun-chan, who works hard to bring in some money for her struggling family. When a rich heir (Gong Yoo) meets her one day, not realizing she is a girl, he hires her to act as his gay lover. However, this backfires against him when he begins to fall in love with her despite not realizing who she is.

19. Descendants of the Sun

One of the best K-dramas of all time has to be the 2016 popular tv series Descendants of the Sun. Starring Song Joong-ki in the role of Yooo Si-jin, a captain in the Special Forces of the South Korean army, and Song Hye-kyo in the role of Doctor Kang Mo-yeon, a beautiful and assertive doctor. The beautiful love story between the army officer and the surgeon became instantly popular across the world, and people still watch this series to revisit their sweet love story all over again.

18. The Heirs

Released in 2013, The Heirs was one of the most prominent Korean dramas of the early-2010s. Lee Min-ho, Park Shin-Hye, and Kim Woo-bin portrayed three students who find themselves amidst a love triangle. Park’s character, who is lower income, finds herself in a situation where two heirs of Korean conglomerates fight over her affections. However, one of them is engaged with someone else, making the situation even stickier than it already is. The television series was one of the hottest shows in Asia when it originally came out, although it has aged somewhat poorly.

17. Reply 1988

The Reply series is a throwback to Korea’s yesteryears, a blast from the past decades that did not happen too long ago. Reply 1988 was the third edition in the series, which previously took place in the years 1997 and 1994. This version is set in northern Seoul and focuses on the lives of five friends who were young during this time. Reply 1988 shines above its predecessors for how it takes relationships to the next level, showing how the friends one makes can brighten their life, but can also be a source of personal anguish. It was one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable history.

16. True Beauty

Based on a popular Korean Webtoon of the same name, True Beauty has to be one of the most popular kdramas of all time. It tells the story of a high school student named Lim Ju-kyung (Moon Ga-young) who is not traditionally beautiful but after becoming an expert in makeup, becomes really popular as a pretty girl. She tries to keep the secret of her true face hidden but it proves to be difficult when she crosses paths with a handsome guy named Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo) from the past who knows her actual face. Revealing a lot of truths about the beauty industry and the cruel beauty standards of our world, the series has to be one of the best kdrama of all time in the romance genre, even with a great love triangle.

15. Guardian: The Great and Lonely God

Gong Yoo, Kim Go-Eun, Lee Dong-Wook, and Yoo In-na star in Guardian: The Great and Lonely God, which has simply just been called Goblin by its fans. Gong Yoo portrays a dokkaebi, or Korean goblin, who was previously a general in his past life. After being accused of becoming a traitor and watching all of his loved ones be killed, he is doomed to immortality as a goblin. The only one who can get him out of this cycle is the goblin’s bride, but when he finally meets her (Kim), she’s only a high school student and is too curious, much to his chagrin.

14. Hotel del Luna

As the title already says, Hotel del Luna is set in a hotel, which is run by the beautiful and enticing Jang Man-wol, who is portrayed by the talented singer IU. When Koo Chan-sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) is brought in as the new manager, he is left in utter disbelief when he realizes that his new workplace is actually a hotel for ghosts or, much rather, souls who have yet to move on to the afterlife.

Supernatural elements, greed, distrust, and growing feelings serve as a perfect combination for a gut-wrenching Korean drama. If the storyline is not already convincing enough, then the stunning visuals will, without a doubt, hold you captive. The aesthetic in Hotel del Luna is beyond amazing, as it not only radiates every color you can imagine but also manages to put images onto a screen that are more than magical.

13. Mr. Sunshine

The Handmaiden’s Kim Tae-ri and Lee Byung-hun star in Mr. Sunshine, a historical drama set in the period right before the Korean peninsula was colonized by the Japanese in the 1870s. Lee’s character is a former child who was born into slavery during the Joseon period of Korean history but found himself immigrating to the United States during his boyhood. After joining the United States Marine Corps, he finds himself returning to Korea and falling in love with an aristocrat’s daughter. But more foul things are lurking underneath the surface, as he soon discovers the Japanese are planning to annex Korea into their empire.

12. Hospital Playlist

Medical dramas have always been one of the most popular genres across countries. The second installment of The Wise Life series (the first being Prison Playbook, another popular K-drama), Hospital Playlist, tells the story of five doctors working in the same hospital. These doctors have been friends since their time in medical school, and the drama revolves around their careers and lives in and out of the hospital. It became one of the most beloved and best K-dramas of all time pretty quickly, and the second season of the series was equally celebrated.

11. Boys Over Flowers

Boys Over Flowers is one of the most recognizable Korean dramas from the 2000s, as it was the reason so many people originally began to fall in love with dramas. It is based on a Japanese Manga of the same name, which has spawned many adaptations all across Asia throughout the years and is the reason Lee Min-ho’s career has been so successful. He plays the leader of a group of rich boys called F4, and when their paths cross with a lower-income girl who attends their school on a scholarship, things are about to change. The F4’s leader treats her poorly but realizes he has a crush on her much later.

10. The Moon Embracing the Sun

Immensely popular when it first came out, the historical drama The Moon Embracing the Sun features Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Kim Min-seo, and Jung Il-woo. Korean political history, particularly before the country’s unfortunate colonization by Japan, is fascinating, and The Moon Embracing the Sun offers a fictional take on the drama found within the royal court. A king (Kim) fell in love with a girl in his youth, but political forces forced them to be apart, seemingly killing her. However, she survived, but when the king meets her, now a shaman, she has no memory of who she once was or what happened to her.

9. My Love from the Star

My Love from the Star, also known popularly as You Who Came From the Stars, was released in 2013 and was a smash hit when it came out across the world. It launched the actors Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, to all new levels with their careers. Jun portrays a South Korean actor with worldwide fame who struggles with her personal life and finances. Kim is an alien who fell onto Earth 400 years before the events of the series, but, after meeting Jun’s character, finds himself debating between leaving and returning home or staying with the woman he has fallen in love with.

8. It's Okay to Not Be Okay

It is not easy to create a romance show with brilliant comedic elements which also has a person with autism as one of the central characters of the story, but the 2020 K-drama It's Okay to Not Be Okay achieved that. It is one of the most sweet and heartfelt shows of all time, which tells the story of an antisocial children's author named Ko Moon-young who falls in love with a psych-ard worker named Moon Gang-tae and moves back to her hometown to pursue him.

The man she is bewitched by, however, has dedicated all his life to love and care for his older brother, Moon Sang-tae, who has autism. The lives of the two brothers would change drastically with the arrival of Moon-young, and all of them would begin their journey of healing with the help of each other. The warmth and sweetness of this series makes it one of the best Korean drama of all time.

7. Extracurricular

Extracurricular focuses on Oh Jisoo, who seems to be the quiet kid in school who is staying out of sight as much as possible. What quickly surfaces, though, is that, due to difficult circumstances, he is trying to financially survive on his own. In desperate need of money, Jisoo follows down a dark path and enters a world full of crimes. While it is his intention to stay as invisible as possible and keep his secret safely hidden away, the curiosity of his classmates turns out to be his downfall. Stepping away from romance and the cliches of High School, Netflix's Extracurricular delivers a raw yet captivating story that is nothing short of extraordinary.

6. Crash Landing on You

Netflix’s Crash Landing on You created a new generation of Korean drama fans when it appeared on the platform in 2019. Son Ye-jin portrays a wealthy South Korean CEO who, after a freak paragliding accident, ends up landing in North Korea. She befriends a local army captain (Hyun Bin) and hides in her house despite seeming out of place in the small North Korean village he lives in. As it turns out, her appearance might be the most beneficial thing to North and South Korean diplomacy, showing how people aren’t as different as they seem on the other side.

5. Vincenzo

Vincenzo is easily one of the most entertaining and fast-paced Korean dramas you can watch if you like crime thrillers. It stars Song Joong-ki in the title character of Vincenzo Cassano, who is a Korean-Italian mobster and lawyer who comes back to his motherland in South Korea, Vincenzo is driven by a sense of justice, revenge, and passion which helps him in his mission to bring down an evil conglomerate. With a side of sweet romance, this drama became one of the fan-favorite K-dramas upon its release, even garnering a large international audience with its universal appeal.

4. Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Park Eun-bin starred in the leading role of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, where she portrayed an autistic rookie attorney. Given a new position at a law firm, many look down on Woo Young–woo and her disability, but she proves herself to be capable in the court with her intelligence and photographic memory. Some are jealous of her rise at the firm, seeking out situations to deliberately sabotage her career, but others aid her on her journey to becoming a lawyer.

3. Snowdrop

The TV series Snowdrop introduces the protagonists, Lim Soo-ho and Eun Yeong-ro, who met at an event at Yeong-ro's university in Seoul. From the very first moment, their connection is undeniable, and the viewers are brought along to what seems to be the beginning of a heartwarming relationship. However, a shocking incident raises daunting questions, and a matter of life or death puts the entire women's dormitory at risk.

While the unexpected and gripping storyline is already epic enough, Snowdrop also stands out with a very special actress. The lead character, Eun Yeong-ro is portrayed by the singer Jisoo, who is a member of the world-famous K-pop group Blackpink. It is safe to say that Jisoo has multiple talents, and acting is definitely one of those.

2. Sky Castle

Sky Castle, which became the highest-rated Korean drama when it first aired, refers to the elite universities in South Korea: Yonsei, Seoul, and Korea. The series hones in on the lives of upper-class elites in Korea who will do anything it takes to get their kids into these schools. They live in a housing complex called Sky Castle, as many prestigious individuals, including professors from elite schools, live there. However, while their methods may prove to be effective, they come with catastrophic consequences.

1. The World of the Married

Now the highest-rated Korean drama to air, The World of the Married came out in 2020 with a splash. It stars Kim Hee-ae as a doctor and director of a hospital in the southern part of South Korea. Her husband, a film director, and she seem to have perfect lives, but everything spirals quickly after she accidentally discovers that her husband is cheating on her. Now driven by anger and revenge, she will do what she feels she needs to do, leaving viewers down a twisted, dark path full of betrayal and high drama.