I started getting into korean drama when I was in Grade 3 and I was maybe around 8 years old at that time. Yes, I was that young. The first korean drama that hooked me was Boys Over Flowers. It aired late at night around 10:30 PM. Me and my family really waited for each episode every weekday night and we watched it together. It was also such a hot topic back then that when I went to school, me and my classmates talked about it. I also bought postcards and put them in my notebooks, in my file case or somewhere. That’s a little history on how I started to like k-dramas.
As someone who likes korean drama for quite a long time now, I have only finished around 30 series and the rest was unfinished. I personally have only 4 k-dramas that I rated 5/5. K-dramas that I think are the best of all time and that I highly recommend to everyone. Whether you are a complete beginner in watching k-drama or you’re an avid k-drama lover, these must be checked off on your watch list.
This list is in no particular order.
4 Best K-Dramas Of All Time
1. Weighlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Sports, Coming-of age
Starring: Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk
Storyline: This series is about the main character, Kim Bok Joo, who is a young woman working on her dream of weightlifting in an athlete university. Later on, she develops a feeling toward Jung Jae Yi who is a doctor and an elder brother of Jung Joon Hyung at the same time. Initially, Joon Hyung keeps on teasing Bok Joo and even helped her to get close to Jae Yi. Those times are when he started falling in love with the charm of Bok Joo. This is about the group of college athletes experiencing and finding love, and are working hard to achieve their goals.
I watched this when I was in Grade 9. That time, there are so many good k-dramas popping out such as Legend of the Blue Sea, While You Were Sleeping, I'm Not a Robot, Goblin, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Hwarang: The Beginning, and so much more. Yet, this is the one that stood out for me. This series made me laugh so hard. I like the lightness of the story line and the castings for me are great. Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk have a lot of chemistry. I fell in love with Lee Sung Kyung because of this series. It has superb cinematography, and I also rewatched this from time to time and I still get the same positive vibes. Swag!
Watch this if you want to laugh and feel more light. Or if you wanna take a break from a stressful day. You won’t regret it. Swag!
2. Reply 1988
Genre: Family, Comedy, Romance
Starring: Lee Hye Ri, Park Bo Gum, Go Kyung Pyo, Ryu Jun Yeol, and Lee Dong Hwi
Storyline: The story revolves around five friends and their families who live in the same neighbourhood at Ssangmun-dong, Dobong District, Northern Seoul.
I watched this last year when the world was in a total lockdown. I was binge-watching a lot of k-dramas at that time to keep me sane but this series stood out among the rest. Honestly, the first few episodes are kinda confusing and have a slow storyline, like nothing much is happening. But as the story progresses, you will slowly have a certain attachment to each character. There are so many relatable everyday real-life moments that this series has shown. Like playing with childhood friends outside, sharing food with neighbours, mothers that are gossiping around or making chika, and so on. I feel like 80s, 90s, and early 20s babies are more likely to enjoy this series, will feel more relatable, and will feel very nostalgic all throughout the episodes. Reply 1988 is gold!
This can be watched perfectly with family and friends. Watching alone is also fun, of course.
3. Start-Up
Genre: Drama, Romance
Starring: Bae Suzy, Nam Joo Hyuk, Kim Seon Ho and Kang Han Na
Storyline: The series revolves around Seo Dal Mi who aspires to become a great entrepreneur like Steve Jobs. She drops out of university and does part-time work in order to help her grandma. Despite having an uneasy life, it didn't hinder her to have a bright personality and be passionate to pursue her dreams. This revolves around her and her love triangle between her first love and another one who is pretending to be her first love.
I finished watching this last December 7, 2020. This is the first k-drama that made me cry so hard within just a few minutes of the very first episode. Literally every episode, I laughed and cried (a lot). This k-drama hooked me so much maybe because it revolves around a group of people who are pursuing entrepreneurship. And I am one of those people who aspire to become an entrepreneur someday. So everytime time there's a montage or simple moments of Samsan Tech squad in this k-drama, it makes my heart flutter so much and I always end up tearing up.
Maybe other people who watched this already were so focused on the love triangle, but personally, I looked forward more to the business matters, family, and friends moments. It's one of the best!
I highly recommend it if you want to feel inspired and motivated to keep on working for your dreams.
4. It's Okay Not To Be Okay
Genre: Romance, Drama
Starring: Kim Soo Hyun, Seo Yea Ji, Oh Jung Se
Storyline: Moon Gang Tae has an elder brother Moon Sang Tae who has autism. Their mother was murdered when they were still young and Sang Tae witnessed it. Since then, they frequently move from town to town. Gang Tae works as a caretaker in a psychiatric ward at every place they settle in. While working in a hospital, he meets Ko Moon Young who is a famous children’s book writer and has an antisocial personality disorder. Circumstances made Gang Tae to work at a hospital in Seongjin City, the same city where they lived when they were young. On the other hand, Moon Young forms a romantic obsession for Gang Tae so she follows him to Seongjin City. The trio gradually begins to heal each other’s emotional wounds. They untangle many secrets, seek comfort from each other and move forward in their lives.
Unlike the previous k-dramas that I mentioned, this one is a more heavy and dark drama. This is the first k-drama that I watched this year and this is also the first kdrama that I watched that focuses on mental health and mental illnesses. The backstory of this is amazing, and each of the supporting characters are very heartwarming. The OSTs (Official SoundTracks) of this k-drama are absolutely incredible. There’s also a different children's story each episode. Can’t deny the fact that I cried hard almost every episode. Moon Gang Tae's older brother, Moon Sang Tae, has autism, a mental disorder, and so it reminds me of my elder brother who has a mental disorder too.
Hands down to this kdrama. This is a masterpiece! ❤️🥺
That's my 4 best k-dramas of all time!
Have you watched any of these? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts.
And if you haven’t watched any of these yet… which one do you want to watch the most? Let me know.
If you’ve come this far, please smile. 😊
Thank you for reading!
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Best kdrama for me is Cloy ( Crash Landing On You). It's not just a happy ending in drama but also in reality. They're married last march 31 2022. I really happy that my wish before been granted. Happy for both of them.