What do you think, is checking out the highest-rated Korean dramas of all time list helpful anyhow? Well, let me tell you it is, for newcomers. People who are interested in watching Korean Dramas but don’t have any idea about what to watch, to those people this kind of information is useful.
In current times, the Korean entertainment industry, especially Korean Dramas has become one of the phenomena that captures the hearts of people around the world so effortlessly. Every day this industry is gaining new fans who intend to watch Kdramas but can’t decide their watchlist.
The amazing presentation of universal emotions like love, hatred, sorrow and family bond with an amazing storyline is the key to success for Kdramas to bring a huge number of fans every day.
Top-Rated Dramas: A Deep Dive
Are top-rated and best dramas the same thing? Ok, allow me to tell you, both are not the same thing. A drama is declared best when it’s measured by the subjective point of view of a fan or a critic. On the contrary, the best-rated dramas are listed by the objective view of any company, if I make it more clear then, the rating agencies of Korea track the view percentage of the viewer of Korea and even in the other country and give the title of either top rated or low rated drama. But on international platforms streaming hours are also important.
Let’s see what are the Top 10 highest-rated Korean dramas of all time.
The Short List:
The Top 10 highest-rated Korean dramas of all time are:
- The World of Married(2020) – 28.37%
- Reborn rich(2022) – 26.94%
- Queen of tears(2024) – 24.85%
- Sky Castle(2018) – 23.77%
- Crash Landing on You(2019) – 21.68%
- Love in the Moonlight(2016) – 20.4%
- Reply 1988(2015) – 18.80%
- Goblin(2016) – 18.68%
- Mr. Sunshine(2018) – 18.12%
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo(2022) – 17.53%
These are the all-time highest rated dramas of Korea, which set an unbreakable record with it,s rating.
Dramas That Set the Bar
Let’s talk about some of these dramas that set the bar for the other dramas.
Goblin:
An outstanding mixture of genres like romance and fantasy made this drama a forever favorite among the fans and a best of all time.
Nationwide the final rating was 18.68% which is not a joke. And that’s why this one has to be on the list of highest-rated Korean dramas of all time.
Various things worked behind it like the unique plot, the star power, the chemistry of all the stars and the interconnection, the emotions, the longings of the characters and the cinematography. The unique personification of a mythical character Goblin and Grim Reaper with their past and present life story is the central attraction of the drama. Human and nonhuman love stories were a pull factor for sure. Stars like Lee Dong Wook, Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun and Yoo In Na played an important role in attracting the fans. The on-screen as well as the off-screen bond of the stars are till date loved by the fans.
The World of Married
Love, marriage and divorce are crucial parts of every human’s life. But getting a divorce from an unhappy marriage is always that easy? This story is about a woman who comes to know about her husband’s extramarital affair. But she can not ask for a divorce or do anything from her husband because she has a kid and a social stature to care for. This is kind of a universal problem of current society. It’s not just about cheating or anything else but also a story of a married woman who has so many things on her plate to look after. Now in this situation what the woman should do or what the woman is going to do is the central attraction of the audience.
This storyline with a universal problem is the key to success for the drama. The nationwide rating it earned is a total of 28.37% and till date no other drama was able to beat the record. The acting of all the actors was commendable, the twist after every episode was also praiseworthy because this unrevealed ending twist kept the audience hooked and made them wait eagerly for the next episode.
Reply 1988:
The drama is famous for its true portrayal of family bonds, friendship, love and other emotions. The story is set in a small village in South Korea and the drama takes us back to 1980 where we can see the neighborhood bonding of that time. The drama also skillfully blends all the generations in a single script. Audiences of all generations got a nostalgic moment while watching this drama from grandfather to grandson. This drama gained even more fans than usual because this drama is based on a real story which the audience finds interesting.
The not-too-exaggerated storyline, simple characters, relatable family life and day to day emotions made this drama an evergreen as well as one most rated dramas of all time with 18.80% nationwide ratings.
Key Factors of High Rated Kdramas
Why are all the dramas not highly rated even if they are loved by fans? Because, not all the dramas have the key factor in them or they just can not touch the bad of the standard.
There are some facts or qualities of a drama that we can call the key factors of a drama to be a high-rated drama, in particular, those are:
- Compelling Storylines: If a drama does not have anything new to offer as a story, then there’s no point in watching a drama from the start to the end. But if the story has to show something new and effective then for sure it will appeal to the readers to watch it till the end.
- Strong Emotional Resonance: A drama makes a sure hit if there is something more in it than just entertainment. Human life is based on emotion because there is no man who does not feel any emotion. When a drama is able to make someone laugh, cry or love it becomes forever memorable to a person. With the overview of emotion, a drama connects the audience with it. If there is no emotional connection then the drama is a failure.
- Star Power and Performances: A good actor gives a character both a soul and a body. Because we hear the character through him and also see it with him, if the presentation is not good it will not be regarded as a good drama even if the story is strong.
- Cultural and Universal Appeal: The universal theme of love, friendship, marriage, betrayal, revenge and even the class distinction makes a connection between Korea and the other parts of the world. This is an absolute key to success for a drama.
- High Production Values: the visual quality is important for a drama to get the audience hooked with the drama. If the production quality of a drama is not good or enjoyable, the audience can get bored of the drama and can drop it even before it finishes.
Apart from all these, a thing called fandom is a game changer. Because an actor or writer can have a huge and loyal fandom who watch all the works of their favorites. Suppose a Song Kang fan will never ever drop any of his dramas even if the story is not connected at all.
The Lasting Legacy of These K-Dramas
The top rated dramas set a high bar that works as a legacy for the upcoming dramas. Again not only in Korea but also outside of Korea, this drama influenced fans. We can see the influence of this drama through social media and other streaming platforms as how people are obsessed with Korean drama.
Dramas like Goblin or Reply 1988 became that door that introduced the modern day drama to the globe. People are trying to connect them with the characters and their stories. To many fans, Kdrama has become a place to escape from the harsh reality of life.
One of the strong points of these dramas is that they are exchanging cultures with the world. As the people outside of Korea are becoming more and more interested in Korea. They are exploring the foods, drinks, fashions and even trying to learn their language to know more about them.
“I’ll wait for you until the end of time”- this dialogue of Goblin is one of those memorable dialogues that are stuck in the head till now. Memorable dialogues are that success of a drama which makes it an all time legacy. Again the memorable characters also work the same.
The Influence on Future K-Dramas
There is a significant influence that a high rated drama has on the upcoming dramas. As the dramas set a benchmark for the other dramas to follow. Those are:
- Production Quality: If we see the drama Goblin, the production work, the cinematography, the color palette and even the visuals of the cast are so mesmerizing. So the Goblin fans have expectations which are so high that when they watch the other dramas they are not happy with the bare minimum. To satisfy those fans, the other dramas have to do their best like Goblin.
- Deeper Storylines: The traditional Kdramas tend to be lighthearted. But when a story goes out of their tradition it becomes interesting and attracts more and more fans. Amid all the light hearted story, The World of Marriage deals with a mature and psychologically complex story that is different from all the contemporary dramas and it brought the drama a huge success.
Nowadays Kdramas have become a cultural sensation. From liking a drama story to becoming obsessed with one certain character the fans pass a long way every year. A new drama, a new obsession, this is how the Hallyu wave works. To survive as one of those obsessions every year hundreds of dramas race together.
But this is all just a process trust me. Sometimes some dramas become underrated which has all the qualities of being not only one of the highest-rated Korean dramas of all time but also a masterpiece. But if you are a new fan it is alright to find and watch only those dramas which are listed as high rated dramas, but if you are not then just go for everything, you will find some hidden gems. And before watching a drama make sure to read the synopsis, if you like it, watch it but if you don’t then drop it.