This list is long (and it’s gonna get longer as soon as I’ll find new ones) as I’ve watched a handful of romantic kdramas already since 2019. Just made me think, there were really a lot of good ones and I enjoyed them all. Take a peek at my favourites…
with Bae Suzy & Nam Joo Hyuk
In order to impress her estranged, rich mum and sister, Seo Dal Mi quits her job to start her own business. She meets Nam Do San, the founder of NamSan Tech, who she thinks was her long time pen pal. They team up to join the hackathon for start ups which is run by a company called Sandbox.
Record of Youth – rated 8.5 stars
with Park Bo Gum & Park So Dam
Sa Hye Jun has been working as a model for 7 years but what he really wants is to become an actor. He is always compared to his close friend, Won Hae Hyo, who is also a model and comes from a rich family. Through their work, Sa Hye Jun and Won Hae Hyo get acquainted with a professional makeup artist, Han Jung Ha, who is a huge fan of Sa Hye Jun.
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay – rated 9 stars
with Kim Soo Hyun & Seo Ye Ji
Moon Kang Tae works as a psychiatric caregiver and also takes care of his grown up brother who has special needs. He is great at his job but he doesn’t stay long in one hospital or employer. Due to a childhood trauma, he moves around with his brother a lot. Moon Kang Tae meets Ko Moon Young, a popular, successful and eccentric kids book author. Ko Moon Young takes a liking to Moon Kang Tae and starts following him around.
Dinner Mate – rated 8 stars
with Song Seung Hun & Seo Ji Hye
On her trip to Jeju and after being dumped by her boyfriend, Woo Do Hee meets Kim Hae Kyung, a psychiatrist who happens to be in the island to treat a patient. They share a dinner together. Without high expectation that they’ll meet again, the two find each other and share another meal at a fish market in Seoul. Once again they part without exchanging contact details and leave it to fate to find each other once more.
When My Love Blooms – rated 7.5 stars
with Yoo Ji Tae & Lee Bo Young
Yoon Ji Soo is in her 40s and has a son from a divorced marriage. She is having a hard time as a single mom trying to raise her son and make a living as a piano teacher. After several years, she meets her first love unexpectedly. His name is Han Jae Hyun, his senior in college who she deeply admired and loved.
I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day – rated 8.5 stars
with Park Min Young & Seo Kang Joon
After a failed teaching career in Seoul, Mok Hae Won goes back to the countryside where she grew up and studied. She meets again her former classmate Im Eun Sub who now owns a bookshop and is quite content with his life in the village. Little did she know that Im Eun Sub liked her a lot even when they were still young but opted to admire her from the far.
with Park Hae Jin & Jo Bo Ah
Kang Sun Hyuk does everything to acquire important business deals even if that would mean joining a special rescue team in order to get a good glimpse of Miryeong forest, which has a potential to be turned into a resort. He gets to share a house in Miryeong village with a surgical resident, Jung Young Jae, who got kicked out from a top hospital in Seoul because of an incident.
Itaewon Class – rated 8.5 stars
with Park Seo Joon & Kim Da Mi
Park Sae Royi, after losing his father and who did not get justice from it, promises himself to take revenge against the people who did him wrong. After some years serving in prison and later working very hard to raise some money, he finally manages to own a pub in Itaewon, an area in Seoul popular for its nightlife and restaurants. “Inspiring story: the hardships then the success.”
Angel’s Last Mission: Love – rated 7.5 stars
with Shin Hye Sun & L
An angel messes up his last mission. Instead of taking the soul of a ballerina, he saves her from the brink of death. He is given though another chance, a mission to make the ballerina fall in love. However she is one difficult soul and that gives our angel a hard time.
Romance is a Bonus Book – rated 7 stars
with Lee Jong Suk & Lee Na Young
A young, handsome chief editor of a big publishing company has some unfinished business with his first love. Now that she’s divorced, broke, starting from the bottom and even living in his house for the time being, will our chief editor has a chance or will he forever be her little brother?
Fates and Furies – rated 8 stars
with Lee Min Jung & Joo Sang Wook
Goo Hae Ra, a small-time shoe maker in Busan approaches Tae In Joon for a purpose. She makes him fall in love with her to avenge her sister who is in coma for years. However, the way to vengeance is never easy.
Memories of the Alhambra – rated 9 stars
with Hyun Bin & Park Shin Hye
Yoo Jin Woo, a CEO of an investing company travels to Spain for a business and gets hold of a mysterious game worth investing millions but little did he know that he’ll get suck into the game. He finds help from Jung Hee Joo, a hostel owner who happens to be the sister of the game developer.
Where Stars Land – rated 8 stars
with Lee Je Hoon & Chae Soo Bin
Lee Soo Yeon is physically disabled but able to live a normal life with the help of extra-ordinary machines which are attached to his limbs. However, they start malfuntioning when he falls in love with a colleague, Han Yeo Reum.
Are You Human Too? – rated 9 stars
with Seo Kang Joon & Gong Seung Yun
Nam Shin 3 is a very advanced robot created by the brilliant scientist Dr. Oh to replace her son the real Nam Shin whose been separated from her since he was young. When Nam Shin falls into coma, Nam Shin 3 has to replace him to act on his behalf as the director of the company the real Nam Shin will have to inherit. Nam Shin 3 is doing fantastic in his job and he even gets close to the lady bodyguard, Kang So Bong.
The Great Seducer – rated 8 stars
with Woo Do Hwan & Joy
Kwon Shi Hyun would do everything to please Choi Soo Ji, the lady who he likes that when she asked him to seduce a girl, Eun Tae Hee, he did without hesitation. But while doing so, he falls in love with Tae Hee and puts his childhood friendship behind.
Man to Man – rated 7.5 stars
with Park Hae Jin & Kim Min Jung
Ghost agent Kim Sul Woo is on a mission to get all three wooden carvings which each hides a key that will unlock a secret room owned by the deceased chairman of the powerful Songsan Group. To get the first carving, he has to go undercover as the bodyguard of a Hallyu star Yeo Woon Kwang whom later becomes a good and trusted friend. “Action like James Bond!”
While You Were Sleeping – rated 8.5 stars
with Lee Jong Suk & Lee Jong Suk
Nam Hong Joo dreams a lot about what is going to happen in the future and that includes deaths of people around her including herself. She is trying to prevent such unfortunate events to happen but unsuccessful until she meets Jung Jae Chan, a prosecutor who just moved to her neighbourhood.
Temperature of Love – rated 8 stars
with Seo Hyun Jin & Yang Se Jong
Lee Hyun Soo is an aspiring drama script writer who falls in love with a younger aspiring chef Ohn Jung Sun. They like each other but both want to pursue their careers. Hyun Soo goes on to become a popular writer and Jung Sun finally starts his own restaurant. “Great chemistry!”
Tomorrow With You – rated 8 stars
with Lee Je Hoon & Shin Min Ah
Yoo So Joon, a time-traveler made his fortune through real estate by investing on properties that are gonna be a hit in the future. When he thought the ability to time-travel gives him all the success that he’s raking, it also gives him the chance to see his grim future, an early death.
with Gong Yoo & Lee Dong Wook
Kim Shin, a brave warrior during the Goryeo era and was a loyal servant to his king met his end at the hand of his master. Due to the number of people he had killed in the battlefield, he was punished and was given the task of a Goblin. “You can’t go wrong with Gong Yoo as Goblin!”
with Ji Chang Wook & Im Yoon Ah
Kim Je Ha, a former soldier who is on the run after being framed, crosses path with the powerful Choi Yoo Jin, the wife of a presidential hopeful, Jang Se Joon. Je Ha witnesses one of Jang Se Joon’s affair thus ordered to be killed by Choi Yoo Jin but survives. Impressed by that, the latter then hires him to be one of her trusted bodyguards and gets an assignment to look after the secret daughter of Jang Se Joon. “Action-packed with top chemistry!”
with Lee Jong Suk & Han Hyo Joo
Our surgeon heroine, Yun Joo went into the webtoon world to save the gorgeous and super rich Kang Chul of W webtoon series that her own father created. She was able to return to the real world but would always be summoned back especially when Kang Chul needed her. “A perfect 10 rating that you shouldn’t miss!”
Descendants of the Sun – rated 9 stars
with Song Joong Ki & Song Hye Kyo
Capt Yoo Shi Jin, a member of the Korean special force met the very pretty and talented surgeon Kang Mo Yun at the hospital where the latter was working. Trying to have a date with a soldier was almost impossible but their fate to be together got sealed when both were assigned in a far away, post-war country called Urk. “Awesome top leads and their chemistry!”
with Joo Won & Kim Tae Hee
To pay back his credit, Kim Tae Hyun, a resident surgeon at Han Shin hospital does house calls for injured gangsters which earned him the name Yong Pal. With the intention to get a secure position in the hospital, he gets himself involved in a big secret on the 12th floor which houses the sleeping chaebol heiress beauty, Han Yeo Jin. “Another favourite, recommeded!”
with Soo Ae & Joo Ji Hoon
Byun Ji Sook has that unfateful day when everything wasn’t just working for her and she had to choose between dying and living but had to wear a mask. She chose the latter and had to pay the price for being someone she’s not. “Awesome kdrama, recommended!”
High Society – rated 7.5 stars
Jang Yoon Ha is a chaebol trying to find what she really likes so she took a job in a supermarket and blended well with the common people. She found a good friend in Ji Yi who worked with her. Soon these two ladies will find love with men having opposite backgrounds as theirs.
Hyde, Jekyll and I – rated 6.5 stars
with Hyun Bin & Han Ji Min
Geo Seo Jin, an heir and the CEO of a theme park Wonderland is suffering from a multiple personality disorder. The other personality he possesses is called Robin, a very talented artist who always helps him whenever he’s in a difficult situation.
with Park Shin Hye & Lee Jong Suk
After the tragic loss of his parents, a young Ki Ha Myung decided to live by another name Choi Dal Po after being adopted by the person who saved him from the waters. He then met his foster parent’s granddaughter who happened to be the daughter of the reporter who framed his family.
It’s Okay, That’s Love – rated 8 stars
with Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo Jin
It has some melodrama moments but I found it funny most of the time. Jo In Sung as the psychiatric patient and Go Hyo Jin as the doctor. These 2 can’t be together… or can they?
Hotel King – rated 7 stars
with Lee Dong Wook & Lee Da Hae
Cha Jae Wan, the manager of Hotel Ciel had a dark past but after getting to know the heiress of the hotel, things started to change and painful truths slowly unfolded.
Angel Eyes – rated 8 stars
with Lee Sang Yoon & Koo Hye Sun
The story of a blind girl who gained back her eyesight but lost her first love. After 12 years, he was back and she was in love with him again but dark secrets would stop them from being together.
That Winter, The Wind Blows rated 9 stars
with Jo In Sung & Song Hye Kyo
Oh Soo, a notorious gambler is in big trouble and in order to save himself from the gangster boss and raise money to pay his debt, he’s posing as the long lost brother of a blind heiress whose name was also Oh Soo. “Beautiful story with such brilliant leads!”
Marry Him if You Dare – rated 7 stars
with Yoon Eun Hye & Lee Dong Gun
Na Mi Rae travelled from the future to when she was just about to meet her husband so she could stop it from happening and was hoping that would change her life when she travels back.
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with Hwang Jung Eum & Ji Sung
A story of a woman who tries to keep a secret to save the man that she loves but ended up being unwanted by him in the end. “Awesome drama, highly recommended!”
I Miss You – rated 7 stars
with Yoon Eun Hye & Park Yoochun
A story of a young love between 2 teenagers who got separated by ugly circumstances. After 14 years, they meet again and while mysteries of the past are being solved, people around them are getting involved and hurt.
Innocent Man – rated 7 stars
with Song Joong Ki & Moon Chae Won
An innocent young man admits to the crime of his then girlfriend who dumped him for her own ambition. “First kdrama with the young Song Joong Ki in it!”
with Jang Geun Suk & Im Yoon Ah
A love that got conceived when it rained in the 70s but due to circumstances, the persons involved didn’t live it. That same love found its way back again with the offspring in the present time. “One of my favourites! The chemistry was just sooo good!”
City Hunter – rated 8.5 stars
with Lee Min Ho & Park Min Young
After being highly trained and educated, city hunter went back to Korea, his home country, to fight injustice and corruption. He met a girl who made his heart beat but he has to hide his true identity. “Action-packed with Lee Min Ho!”
Scent of a Woman – rated 7 stars
with Kim Sun Ah & Lee Dong Wook
A story of an ordinary lady worker, who after being diagnosed with a terminal disease decided to quit her job and traveled To Japan only to meet the guy she’ll fall in love with.
with Cha Seung Won & Kim Sun Ah
An average woman working in the city hall becomes the mayor out of circumstances. She falls in love with the former deputy mayor who played a big role in her taking the office.
Cinderella Man – rated 6 stars
with Kwon Sang Woo & Im Yoon Ah
A poor man’s life changed when he agreed to switch with a rich man who fairly looks like him. My first ever drama with Yoon Ah in it!
with Han Chae Young & Jo Hyun Jae
A story of a girl who aspires to be a chef so she went to Italy with her close friend to study cooking. This was the time when Han Chae Young still had the title “Korea’s Living Barbie”.
Stained Glass – rated 6 stars
with Kim Ha Neul & Lee Dong Gun
A love triangle which did not ended up so well. This is probably the first melodrama romance I have ever watched when Lee Dong Gun was still young and could still pull off as a main lead.
Lovers in Paris – rated 6.5 stars
with Kim Jung Eun & Park Shin Yang
This drama was very popular in the early 2000. Set in Paris where our main leads meet for the first time and ended up meeting again in Seoul.
