Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that Korean culture has taken over the world. From K-Pop to Squid Games, skincare brands and viral foods to an entirely new medical tourism industry…the K-ification of global culture is at an all-time high. It’s all been a bittersweet thing to witness. I often find myself reminiscing about simpler times: when Korean culture was built for Koreans, K-dramas were actually good, and I was obsessed with Korean pop music (from Big Bang and Wonder Girls to DBXQ, and don’t even get me started on S.E.S, Finkl, and H.O.T).
I’ve been thinking about this for years, but a couple weeks ago when BTS made their “comeback” and performed their first concert in four years in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace (right near my place in Seoul), it was cemented in my mind just how deeply Korean culture has taken over. It drove the local residents absolutely insane. There were security checks all along the neighborhood, buses and trains completely skipped my neighborhood stops for the day, and cars and taxis couldn’t access my neighborhood at all because the roads were completely blocked. I basically couldn’t leave my neighborhood for the day. Plus, lots of small businesses inevitably chose to close for the day knowing there would be no foot traffic/sales. The airport (I got back from Taipei the day before the concert) was more packed than I’ve ever seen it in my countless entries to Seoul. And the list of inconveniences goes on and on. I seriously couldn’t help but wonder … all this for what? The global relaunch of a boy band? A Netflix special? What’s even crazier is that it’s something that wouldn’t have been more than insider Korean knowledge a decade or two ago.
My friend Dante was in town for this whole fiasco – my white gay bestie who is oddly enough the one who introduced me to Blackpink (hence making me a reinvigorated K-pop fan) 7 years ago. Dante made us watch a newly released, totally random but popular (in the top ten for weeks) K-drama I had never heard of. It’s so funny because none of my Korean friends would ever suggest we watch something like this. I don’t even know any Koreans who actually watch the K-dramas that have come out in the last few years. Everyone just watches Korean reality TV (which is a category, on the contrary, that is doing great things). All this to say, this not-to-be-named drama was truly some of the worst TV I’ve ever seen in my life. But I’ve thought this about so many K-dramas over the last 10+ years. They’re. All. So. Bad. WHY?! What is going on?! Why are the storylines so horrible and hollow? Why is the color tone so white and sterile? Why is the writing so corny and weird? Why are the actors so botched and strange-looking? As I sat on my couch watching and laughing with Dante about how horrible it was, it made me weirdly nostalgic. It also made me protective of the category as a whole. I insisted that Dante watch my old favorites like Kim Samsoon. “It wasn’t always like this, I swear!” It inspired me to write this article that is so silly but a passionate topic for me (clearly).
So, here are my top five favorite K-dramas of all time. I beg you to watch at least one before you plan a beauty tour or a shopping/eating trip to Seoul.
Top of the top of the list. Kim Sam Soon is the story of an “old, fat” woman (aka not fat at ALL, and a mere 30 years old lol) who is a super talented pastry chef. (I guess it’s Bridget Jones-y). She finds herself in debt, desperately trying to help her family. Whilst looking for a job, any job, where she can showcase her skills, she meets Hyun Jinheon. Hyunbin’s character. (Every Korean girl’s number one celeb crush growing up.) Absolutely toxic deplorable behavior from Jinheon throughout the entire series but… don’t worry about that 🤣. He plays a super snobby but insanely hot hotel heir who hires Samsoon at his Italian restaurant as the head pastry chef. His ex, Yoo Heejin (played by Jung Ryeowon, the prettiest girl in the world), comes back from years in America with a huge secret on why she left him in the first place. And Daniel Henny is the extra eye candy just here for the ride. It’s funny, it’s problematic (very … but let’s ignore and just enjoy ☆__☆) , Jung Ryeowon’s outfits are e v e r y t h i n g, Daniel Henny exposes the world to Wasian excellence, and the main song is chef’s kiss forever and ever. I basically rewatch it once a year or two since it came out. An absolute must watch.
Tied for my number one spot. Oddly progressive and ahead of its times without trying. Gongyoo (up there with Hyunbin for Korea’s hottest early 2000s actor) also plays a snobby chaebul (elite family) heir who runs a coffee shop for fun/to show “responsibilty” and ends up falling in love with an employee. (Wow, realizing how similar the baseline plot is to KSS). The problem? The employee is a guy and Gongyoo is not gay. But wait! The employee is actually not a guy, it’s Yoon Eunhye, whose character Eunchan is such a tomboy that she gets mistaken for being a boy. (Sounds nuts, right?! Trust me it’s better than it sounds.) Eunchan goes along with it because she desperately needs this barista job and the cafe only hires boys. They slowly but surely fall for each other and Gongyoo is torn with what to do. He’s lowkey down to “turn” gay for her … it’s all so progressive and sweet if you think about it. Lol. It sounds so crazy as I write about it but it’s such a fun, light, sexy watch. I’ve also rewatched this countless times.
RIP to Lee Sunkyun (the actor from Parasite) who is one of the main characters in this </3.
Ahh full house. Maybe the best all-around OST (soundtrack) out of this entire list. (I still listen to the songs and use them on IG posts like here and here.) K-drama queen bee Song Hyegyo is so young and pretty in this drama. Accompanied by Bi/Rain (an iconic Korean popstar who also had a pretty great acting career) in his absolute heyday. The story is about Han Jieun (Song Hyegyo) who is an orphan with little to nothing in her name except an amazing, huge house by the sea. Due to her crazy friends basically ruining her life and complicated paperwork (doesn’t make much sense), Lee Youngjae (Rain) who is a superstar/popstar with an asshole personality, ends up purchasing the home without Jieun’s knowledge. They both refuse to leave/give up the house and basically decide to cohabit/live together and of course, fall in love along the way. It’s sooo cute and funny. 10/10!
The early 2000s were the golden age of K-dramas, and actress Yoon Eunhye was simply there to rule it all. Basically the Hillary Duff of Korea. She is the main character in Coffee Prince (where she plays the super tomboy) and also stars in Goong, where she plays an actual princess. Her range! I love her. Goong is based on a comic book that went viral before viral was even a thing. I actually have been meaning to read the books since comic books seem like the perfect level of Korean for me to do light reading lol. Goong takes place in modern day Korea where a monarchy still exists and the prince goes to a regular high school with normal people. It is here he meets Shin Chaekyung (played by Yoon Eunhye) and has to marry her due to a strange arranged-marriage-type situation. He quickly falls for Chaekyung’s clumsy charms and yep, you guessed it, they fall right in love. (It’s kind of giving Princess Diaries vibes except it’s a prince instead of princess, but both take place with high school students). It’s so cute, and very fun to see a historical side of Korea (albeit very inaccurate), with a great soundtrack to match. Another 10/10!
The only drama on this list that came out in the last decade (well, almost). My mom actually told me to watch this, and I remember her saying, “if you want to understand Korea, watch this drama.” I thought that was an overstatement but after watching it (and rewatching it three times), I couldn’t agree more. It encapsulates the old Seoul I grew up in before my family immigrated, and Korean culture as a whole, perfectly. Reply 1988 is part of a non-continuous series (there’s also Reply 1994 and Reply 1997). The others are worth watching but 1988 takes the top spot for sure. The story takes place in an alley in Seoul, where four teens grow up on the same block. These childhood friends deal with life simultaneously as their parents, who are also close friends. It’s sweet, nostalgic, melancholic, funny and weird. It’s also fun to see Korea’s young stars back when they were babies; they all dominate the industry now.
An honorary mention because I had to! Not a K-drama but a sitcom. I rewatched a lot of it while living in NYC to brush up on my Korean. It follows the Lee family’s daily life and all the funny things that come along the way. It’s kind of the perfect show to watch on/off, when you’re alone, want to watch something while eating, etc. The episodes are super short and very funny. So many iconic memes and gifs came out of this show! Not to mention catapulting many Korean actors’ careers. A very light and easy watch. Plus you don’t necessarily have to watch in order, and definitely don’t need to watch every episode (there are 167).
Thanks for reading! Obviously this list is based on personal opinion and what I grew up watching. But the early 2000s were, unarguably, the absolute pinnacle of K-drama (and cinema) excellence, and there are so many dramas that I also loved but didn’t include here. Lotsss of super sad dramas that I don’t really find myself gravitating towards as a rewatch moment but very worth watching. Please let me know your favorites, if you’ve watched any on this list, or plan to!
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