Today we will talk about the legendary Kdramas that are the best reviewed K-dramas of all time. If I inform you about their versatility in the drama genre then they have Romance, Romantic comedy, pure comedy, suspense and thriller, fantasy dramas, science fiction, medical dramas, law and crime dramas, historical dramas, time travel dramas, horror dramas and so on. It’s like the genie who asks you what you want.
From Seoul to soul Kdramas rule over the world in current days. No matter where you live in this world you can connect with their storytelling. You can feel the emotion they are expressing, you can understand the message they want to give you.
But this industry was not always like this, surely some of the awesome directors and writers came up with some fantastic dramas which later paved the way for gathering universal fans and became a topic of discussion all around the world. Now I’m going to talk about some of those dramas that brought them the present recognition.
Best Romantic K-Dramas
Every year this industry is giving some masterpieces in every genre, but the romantic ones always attract more attention from viewers of every level. As everyone wants to idealize our personal relationships, romantic Kdramas give us the wings to our imagination to do so. Let’s talk about the all-time hits.
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Boys Over Flowers (2009):
Based on a Japanese series the drama was released in 2009 with a massive viewership. The story is set in a high-class high school and revolves around four friends who were very influential among the students known as F4. Practically four richkids were the center of attraction. Their story takes a turn when a girl called JanDi transfers to their school who belongs to a poor family. Along with their friendship and the main lead’s puppy love, we also get to see the most iconic love triangle.
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Ku Hye Sun, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, Kim Jun
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Guardian: The Lonely God(2017):
One of the most iconic dramas, Guardian, mostly known as Goblin by fans, was aired in 2017. The story was about Kim Shin, who used to be the bravest general of the King in the historical period. Due to an unfortunate reason, he was cursed with an immortal life.
Now after 900 years he still is searching for a woman who will be his bride and help him to get rid of his curse. One night while wandering he saves a pregnant woman who is about to die and the Grim Reaper is unable to find her. 9 years passed and now that baby who was in her mother’s womb when Shin saved the woman grew up and now she is able to see ghosts, meets the Grim Reaper. The girl who goes to high school meets the Goblin for the first time and from a ghost, she gets to know about the Goblin’s bride. In the meantime, so many things happened and all of them started to live all together in the same house. And finally, one day the girl called Ji Eun Tak tells Shin that she is the Goblin’s Bride.
Cast: Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook, Kim Go Eun, Yoo In Na, Yook Sung Jae.
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Crash Landing on You(2019-20):
Yoon Se Ri is the daughter of a South Korean conglomerate. She was also the direct heiress of her father. One day,when she was spending her freetime, she accidentally landed in North Korea due to her paragliding session. At that time she didn’t know about her landing which was placed in their rival country but soon she met Ri Jeong Hyeok who was a North Korean army officer. That officer, knowing the situation, tries his best to save her and send her to her country. Neglecting all their differences eventually, they fall in love with each other.
Cast: Hyun Bin, Son Ye Jin, Kim Jung Hyun, Seo Ji Hye.
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What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? (2018):
Lee Young Joon is a successful businessman and the vice president of his company. His best side is that he is perfect, has a smart IQ, is handsome, he is rich, but on the other hand, he is way too arrogant and also self-centered. His secretary Kim Mi So who is also pretty and perfect in her job suddenly decides to resign. Her decision bothers Young Joon so much and he tries his best to pursue her. There is a twist as both of them have a childhood connection through an unfortunate incident, which binds them with each other.
Cast: Park Seo Jun, Park Min Young, Lee Tae Hwan.
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Descendants of the Sun(2016):
Shi Jin and Dae Young are best friends and both of them are army soldiers, one of them is the captain and the other one is Sergeant Major. One day they catch a thief who stole Shin Jin’s phone during their clutches. The thief got injured and Jin took him to the hospital where meets doctor Mo Yeon. Jin falls in love with the doctor as soon as he sees her. But she mistook him as a partner of the thief. To solve this misunderstanding he takes the help of one of his fellow soldiers Myeonh Joo who is an army doctor. After some meetings, they start to date and soon they break up due to their differences. Coincidentally they meet again in a country called Uruk.
Cast: Song Joong Ki, Song Hye Kyo, Kim Ji Won, Jin Goo.
Best Thriller & Suspense K-Dramas
There are so many people who don’t like the romcom genre. Instead of that they find adventure in thrillers. To be honest, the Korean film industry gained popularity first in the field of thrillers by releasing movies like I Saw the Devil and The Old Boy. Every year they give the audience some breathtaking crime thriller dramas too.
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City Hunter(2011):
Lee Yoon Sung is a member of a network team that works for Blue House. At work, he meets a bodyguard named Kim Na Na. Yoon Sung warned her not to fall for him but eventually, both of them fell in love with each other. The story is about a political clash between both North and South Korea. All of it started when the North Koreans made an explosion in Korea to harm South Korea but as the president was not in Korea the officials of the president were killed. To get revenge some high-ranking South Korean officers make a plan and send 21 special force members. But it was a failure. Many things happened after that. Now so many years later when Yoon Sung becomes an adult he comes to know that his father who was a soldier was killed and the government didn’t try to save him. Like this, the story became a revenge story of Yoon Sung.
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young.
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Flower of Evil(2020):
Detective Cha Ji Won is a married woman. She has a happy family where she lives with her husband Baek Hee Sung and her lovely daughter Baek Eun Ha. They are just like a typical normal family. Baek Hee Sung is a devoted husband and a loving father. Everything was fine until one day Cha Ji Won came to know about her husband’s cruel past. It shatters her completely.
Cast: Lee Joong Gi, Moon Chae Won, Jung Hee Jin, Seo Hyun Woo.
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Save Me(2017):
Safe to say, this drama is for sure a psychological thriller drama. Facing a family financial issue a girl named Sang Mi had to move to an unknown place, Muji-gun with her whole family. Being in an alien land, Sang Mi tragically gets herself involved in a religious cult. Some years later one of her classmates who is currently a law student meets Sung Mi coincidentally along with his two friends. Sung Mi asks for their help, whispering “Save me”. That friend whose name is Han Sang Hwan decides to help her get rid of that cult and adds one more friend into that group and now those four young men come forward to help Sung Mi with all their capabilities. This drama also has a second two with the same name Save Me 2.
Cast: Ok Taecyeon, Seo Ye Ji, Woo Do Hwan, David Lee, Ha Hoe Jung.
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Blind(2022):
Ryu Sung Joon is a passionate detective, his elder brother Ryu Sung Hoon is an Honest judge and a social worker Jo Eun Ki gets involved with each other for a serial murder case. At the point of solving the case, both brothers suspect each other as the brutal serial killer. This drama for sure has one of the craziest plot twists ever.
Cast: Ok Taecyeon, Ha Seokjin, Jung Eun Ji.
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Mouse(2021):
Mouse is indeed an absolute masterpiece of Korea. From the start to the end, it’s full of mystery and thrill. How will a mother feel when she gets to know that her unborn child will become a psychopath? Jung Ba Reum is an honest police officer who just joined his job. Due to his work, he meets a psychopath killer which entirely changes his life.
Cast: Lee Seung Gi, Park Ju Hyun, Lee Hee Jun, Kyung Soo Jin.
Best Historical & Fantasy K-Dramas of All
Every Korean is strongly connected to their culture and history. To give tribute to their brave forefathers and to keep their prestigious history alive every year they produce some superfine historical drama, at the same time their fantasy dramas too are loved by the viewers.
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Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo(2016):
This drama is not only a historical one but also a historical fantasy drama. During an eclipse, Hae Soo finds herself in the Goryeo era. She realizes that she surprisingly traveled 1000 years back as a princess. There she meets some people such as her family, friends and someone special called Wang Soo. Wang Soo is a man whom everybody fears but Hae Soo falls in love with. There she experiences love, hate, betrayal, family bond and so many other emotions. With some bitter-sweet experience, the drama ends.
But the fans are still stuck into it as even after 8 years they are waiting for season two.
Cast: Lee Joong Gi, IU, Kang Ha Neul, Hong Jong Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Baekhyun, Ji Soo
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Love in The Moonlight(2016):
Hong Ra On is a passionate, smart and free-spirited woman of The Joseon Dynasty. She has her way of life unlike the women of her era. To survive in a male-dominated society and to fulfill her dream she takes the help of disguise and pretends to be a man. Hiding her identity she works under the crown prince as an eunuch. As the story moves forward both of them fall in love with each other.
The story is based on the theme of love, identity and social equality of that time, which made the drama one of the highest-rated dramas of all time.
Cast: Park Bo Gum, Kim Yoo Jung, Jin Young, Chae Soo Bin, Kwak Dong Yeon.
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My Love From The Star(2014):
Cheon Song Yi, a famous actress, often creates a mess on social media for her offensive posts. Though she is childish she is no doubt honest and a hard-working actress. One day she meets a man with a cold attitude, later we can see is cold and not even a human being. The mysterious man named Do Min Joon is actually an alien, who came to the earth 400 years ago. Living in the same building as neighbors they knew each other closely and fell in love. As an alien he has so many superpowers at the same time for the same reason he can not stay on the earth forever.
This unusual and heartwarming love story was praised by both the netizens and the fans.
Cast: Jun Ji Hyun (Gianna Jun), Kim Soo Hyun, Park Hae Jin, Yoo In Na.
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Legend of The Blue Sea(2016):
The love story is about a mermaid and a con artist who are even connected by their past life. The mermaid discovers herself in modern life where she meets Joon Jae who is actually a swindler who works with Nam Doo and Tae Oh. Through so many actions and plots they fall in love with each other.
The story is based on a historical legend of Korea about a man who captures a mermaid and releases it where the mermaid falls in love with a son of a nobleman.
Cast: Lee Min Ho, Jun Ji Hyun (Gianna Jun), Lee Hee Jun, Shin Won Ho, Shin Hye Sun
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Tale of Nine Tailed(2020):
Based on an urban myth of Gumiho (the nine-tailed fox), the mountain god wins the hearts of the viewers. The love story of a nine-tailed fox is shown in the drama who waited for his lover for over 100 years. The 1000-year-old fox meets a woman called Ji Ah in the present time who is the reincarnation of the lover of the fox. The strong brotherhood of Lee Yeon and Lee Rang, the fox and his half-fox brother was also loved by the audience. Even the villain of the show Imoogi was also sympathized by the fans.
Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Kim Bum, Jo Bo Ah, Kim Tae Ri
Every genre has its masterpiece, even if you are not watching any of the hits, still you can get the essence of korean best dramas. This industry is vastly growing year by year. Every genre itself captures the heart of the viewers.
No matter what purpose you have to watch any of their work you will be mesmerized by their amazing talent as well as their visuals. So without any worry enjoy your show.