The Ultimate K-Drama Watch List 2020/21

I can officially and proudly say, that I am an expert when it comes to K-dramas. Over time I have watched so many, that I cannot even count and the list will probably grow even bigger in no time, trust me! Note that this is my personal opinion which does not mean, that certain dramas are good or bad. Everyone has their own preferences, this just acts as a source of inspiration for everyone out there who wants to watch a K-drama for the first time or is running out of new ones (definitely not me though). So let us get started!

So how did I get into K-Dramas? It all began in 2017 when I also started to like (or better call it stan) K-Pop and the Korean culture. With my growing interest, it only made sense to me, that there had to be more than just music, Vlife, and variety shows (only content-wise). Also, a friend of mine had been really into K-Dramas, which made me even more curious. At that time I listened to BTS every day (without fail) and really grew into the fandom. When I found out that one member of BTS called Kim Taehyung (V) played a role in a historical drama, I just could not resist anymore. So my first ever K-Drama was Hwarang, not really the typical one you would expect to watch as a first-timer in my opinion. Still, it drew me in from the first episode, and without realizing it, I finished it really fast. After that, I decided to give another one ago that my friend recommended to me, which at that time was Healer. This one, of course, was really different from the first one and made me feel so many emotions at once. From that day my obsession remained firmly in place.

reference: goblin

Platforms

The first question you may be asking is: Where can I even watch Korean Television? A few years ago I would have only mentioned one source, but now with K-Pop and the growing interest in the Korean culture worldwide finally brought more content to our platforms. I used to watch K-Dramas only on Viki before, sometimes on YouTube (rarely found entire episodes with good quality) but now even Netflix releases many great and commonly known dramas. So what do I use now? To be honest, there is not this one platform I use for everything, because that would just mean missing out on a huge variety of beautiful content, right? For everyone wondering, Viki is free (Web, App), but this means you have to deal with advertisement A LOT. Sometimes it can get really annoying when you have to watch two to three advertisements in between, especially when it is a cliffhanger. And let me tell you, that happened to me way too often! So I mostly use Netflix (who would have guessed) and if the specific drama I really want to watch is not available on Netflix, I just go on Viki.

OST-Playlist (Spotify)

There is something about the music, that is specially created for a K-drama and makes you come back to it all the time, even after you finish the last episode. I personally always listen to the OST (soundtrack) and found a lot of great Korean melodic songs through it. The ones that really stuck with me to this day are from Goblin, Healer, Memories of the Alhambra, and Itaewon Class. Sometimes I am just in the right mood to listen to my eight-hour-long playlist on Spotify, which you can check out and listen to right here:

Favorite Actors

Male: Ji Jang Wook, Park Hyung-sik, Yoo Seung-ho, Gong Yoo, Lee Dong-wook, Park Seo-joon, Hyun Bin, Nam Joo-hyuk, Hyo-seop Ahn, Lee Min-ho

Female: Park Shin-hye, Park Min-young, Park Bo-young, Kim So-hyun, Chae Soo Bin, Kim Go-eun, Yoo In-na, Lee Sung-kyung, Lee Joo-young, Shin Se-kyung

K-Dramas (aka the infinite list)

Hwarang 5/5 - heartwarming, funny, historical
Healer 5/5 - action, drama, love
Descendants Of The Sun 5/5 - military, beautiful scenery, perfect lead/couple
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon 5/5 - hilarious, cuteness overload
I Am Not a Robot 5/5 - new, funny, heartwarming
Goblin 5/5 - fantasy, best cast (lead, sub cast), exceptional storytelling
Memories of the Alhambra 5/5 - stunning scenery, special storyline, real-life gaming
Abyss 5/5 - fantasy, exceptional chemistry, thrilling
Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung 5/5 - historical, cheerful, bubbly
Itaewon Class 5/5 - social topics, transgender, insprirational
The Bride of Habaek 5/5 - fantasy, heartwarming, binge-worthy
Nokdu 5/5 - historical, funny, men turns into women
The King: Eternal Monarch 5/5 - fantasy, parallel universe, great lead
Korean Odyssey 5/5 - dark fantasy, funny, binge-worthy
The K2 - political, action and binge-worthy
Boys Over Flowers 4/5 - THE classic, emotional, funny, original
Crash Landing On You 4/5 - north korea, history, fiction
Hotel Del Luna 4/5 - dark fantasy, thrilling, unique
While You Were Sleeping 4/5 - sad, beautiful, binge-worthy
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo 4/5 - funny, breaking the girl-image
Love Alarm 4/5 - really different, dating app, school life
My name is Gangnam Beauty 4/5 - beauty standards, university life, love
What´s wrong with Secretary Kim 4/5 - hilarious, inspiring
Heirs 4/5 - oldie but goldie, poor girl falls for rich boy, love
Fight for my Way 4/5 - athletic leads, cute, fun
Hello my Twenties 3/5 - funny, real life stories, society
Touch Your Heart 3/5 - cute, fun
Suspicious Partner 3/5 - business lovestory
Just between Lovers 3/5 - hilarious
Something in the rain 2/5 - older generation, adulthood, love
Tune in for Love (movie) 2/5 - traveling through time, aging, love
Romance Is A Bonus Book 2/5 - publishing agency, adulthood, love

Extra: Chinese Dramas

Meteor Garden (Chinese Version of Boys Over Flowers) 5/5 - this one will make you feel every possible emotion(s)
A Love So Beautiful 4/5 - cute, first love, aging
Whirlwind Girl 1/2 - 4/5 - friendship, love, sport (karate)
Arsenal Military Academy 5/5 - historical, funny, thrilling
Well-Intended Love 3/5 - cute, hilarious, university life (cheesy alert)

Still Need To Watch

Sky Castle
The K2
The Guardian

... to be continued

My Personal Top 5

Goblin
Healer
Abyss
Memories of the Alhambra
The Bride of Habaek

What are your favorite K-Dramas?

Pages

search