50 Best K-Dramas You'll Be Completely Hooked On

At the age of 8, Park Joo-Hyeong went to Italy after being adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-Ki). He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha-Young (Jeon Yeo-Bin). She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case. Vincenzo Cassano falls in love with her. He also achieves social justice in his own way.

This series, written by Kim Eun-sook, is the fourth highest-rated Korean drama of all time. The fantasy romance is about a modern-day goblin, Gong Yoo, who needs a human bride (Kim Go Eun) to end his cursed immortal life. His life then becomes intertwined with a grim reaper, Lee Dong-wook, who is unable to remember his past. The story evolves as all these strangers' lives intertwine.

Suzy Bae and Nam Joo-hyuk stans will want to tune into this drama, which mixes comedy with romance. The show centers around a group of young individuals who are all eager to start their own businesses. When Bae and Nam's characters, Seo Dal-mi and Nam Do-san respectively, are chosen to join Sandbox (a tech accelerator for entrepreneurs), along with Seo's sister Won In-Jae, the three are pitted against one another in a contest to be the best. Little does Dal-mi know, however, that someone important from her past (Han Ji-pyeong, played by Kim Sun-ho) has her back throughout this start-up journey. Viewers will be rooting for Dal-Mi to end up with Do-San or Ji-pyeong. Personally, we are team Ji-pyeong.

The story centers around a caretaker at a psychiatric ward, Moon Gang-tae, who crosses paths with a children's book writer Ko Moon-young. Gang Tae has lived life on the run while taking care of his older brother, Sang Tae, who is autistic and suffers from reoccurring nightmares of the day their mother was murdered. He is a big fan of Ms. Ko, who is known to be antisocial and has a difficult personality. After a series of events, all three lives become intertwined and their dramatic back stories are revealed. Gang-tae, Sang-tae, and Ms. Ko share more in common with one another than they think. Aside from the fact that the two leading romantic pairs are both gorgeous, this show will keep viewers glued to their seats thanks to Gang-tae and Ms. Ko's push-and-pull dynamic.

After a failed science experiment, a local high school is overrun with zombies, and the trapped students struggle to survive. With no food or water, and communication cut off by the government, they must use the equipment around the school to protect themselves in the midst of a battleground or they will become part of the infected.

All of Us Are Dead - The series mostly takes place at a high school in South Korea as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out and threatens the safety of the students.

A South Korean heiress, Yoon Se-ri, gets caught in a storm while paragliding and finds herself blown off course into North Korea. Se-ri then runs into Ri Jeong-hyeok, Captain of the North Korean Special Forces and a member of the North Korean elite family. Captain Ri eventually hatches a plan to get Se-ri back to South Korea with the help of his squad, but not before they all tackle the obstacles that come their way—and then some. This drama mixes romance with comedy and ultimately tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers. It's currently the highest rated tvN drama and the second-highest Korean drama in cable television history.

In a world where an app lets you know whether or not someone is in love with you within a 10-meter radius, feelings are transparent even when you don't want them to be. The story centers around a hardworking and studious student Kim Jo-jo who catches the eye of two guys (who just so happen to be best friends and basically are like brothers) in her school: Hwang Sun-oh and Lee Hye-yeong. Sun-oh is a model from a rich family and could not be any more different from Jo-jo but they fall for each other. As time passes, the two drift apart and Hye-yeong sees this as a chance to finally confess his feelings for Jo-jo. At the end of season one we're left with a cliffhanger: who will Jo-jo choose to be with?

If you haven't yet checked out Squid Game, which is set to become Netflix's most-watched show ever, then here's one more recommendation: This edge-of-your-seat Korean thriller is definitely worth a look. In the viral hit, a group of characters in serious debt sign up to play a series of children's games for a chance at 45.6 billion won (about $38 million). The catch? If the players lose at Tug of War or Red Light, Green Light, they die.

This show loosely reminds me of Ghostbusters, but with an eclectic group of characters who each possesses special abilities. The five-person group, called "Counter," works at a noodle restaurant by day and at night, hunting down evil spirits who have escaped from the afterlife to go after humans. (Their red tracksuits in the show are iconic and honestly would make for a great group Halloween costume in 2022—just putting the idea out there.) This K-drama has been very well received by the audience and will have you binging all the episodes in one weekend.

Storyline: Ki Seon-gyeom, a popular sprinter turned sports agent, meets Oh Mi-Joo, who writes subtitle translations for movies, and Mi-Joo believes they were destined for each other. The story centers around their budding romance alongside some strong secondary characters. Mi-Joo is played by actress Shin Se-Kyung (from Rookie Historian) while Seon-gyeom is played by Im Si-Wan (from Strangers From Hell), so if you're familiar with both famous faces then give this show a chance.

This series tells the story of Park Sae-roy, who opens a restaurant in Itaewon after having spent a few years in prison for beating up Jang Geun-won, the son and heir to Jangga Group. The two have a rough history and now, with a fresh start, Park Sae-roy wants to not only franchise his restaurant DanBam, but have it overtake Jangga Group as a household name. (His ultimate goal is to get revenge for his father's death, which was caused by the Jangga family.) The CEO of Jangga Group is a self-made man of success and he will not let Park Sae-roy defeat him or his son. The two engage in a power struggle throughout the entire series that's filled with juicy plot twists and turns.

If you enjoyed Korean movies like The Call and Alive, you'll be able to stomach and love Sweet Home. The show follows a guy who moves into a new apartment complex after the death of his family. Depressed and a loner, he starts witnessing frightening things in the building from some of his odd neighbors. If you're a peek-over-the-blanket-type person when watching horror shows like I am, then I'd advise you to tune into this during the daytime. (I made the mistake of starting this show at night—never again.)