Presenting the ultimate list you’ve been longing for: A compilation of must-watch romance Korean dramas from 2023, that deserves a spot on your Kdrama watchlist. Explore the spectrum from first loves to rekindled romance, extraterrestrial love to fantasy revenge genres, and indulge in the charm of time-slip and sweet rom-com. This collection boasts a total of 27 captivating drama series, promising a wonderful and diverse journey through the world of Kdramas. Let the binge-watching begin!
1. Crash Course in Romance
“Crash Course in Romance” tells the story of two people, one of whom is highly optimistic and the other one is overly sensitive and prickly. Nam Haeng Sun (Jeon Do Yeon) is a former national athlete who currently runs a side dish shop. She has an optimistic personality and believes in her decisions. She decides to enter a private education field to take Korea’s college entrance exam. There she gets involved with Choi Chi Yeol. He is a famous Hagwon instructor in the private education field especially in Mathematics. He has outstanding skills. He is hardworking and lives like a celebrity with all the wealth and fame he has achieved. But with this increasing success he has become overly sensitive to people. Then he meets Nam Haeng Sun and gets in a romantic relationship with her.
2. Our Blooming Youth
“Our Blooming Youth” tells the story of a crown prince named Lee Hwan, who seems arrogant, mean, and temperamental but suffers from a mysterious curse. He hides a deep scar, which makes him lonely. On the other hand, Min Jae Yi who belongs to a noble family, is engaged with the son of the second state councillor. She was preparing herself to be a perfect wife and mother when her whole family was murdered four days before her wedding. But what broke her the most was the accusation that she was the murderer of her own family. The two met and agreed to help each other. Lee Hwan agrees to save Jae Yi from false accusations of being the murderer of her own family, and Jae Yi agrees to save Lee Hwan from the curse in return. This leads both of them towards the path of love.
3. The Heavenly Idol
“The Heavenly Idol” tells the story of Pontifex Rembrary, the most popular divine and the world’s best high priest ever who fights against evil. One day while fighting with a devil, he wakes up in a different world and finds himself in the body of Woo Yeon Woo, a member of an unpopular boyband known as “Wild Animal.” The group is on the verge of disbanding because of its lack of success. A few hours later, the group has a live stage performance at a broadcasting station, and when the music begins, Pontifex Lembrary shouts out, “I don’t know how to dance.” And when it is supposed to be a disaster, the incident attracts a lot of attention from people and the media. Due to Pontifex’s confidence and visuals, he becomes famous and so does his group. Now Pontifex has to learn how to live the life of an idol and deal with religious groups and the devil.
4. Love to Hate You
“Love to Hate You” tells the story of Yeon Mi Ran, a rookie attorney at a law firm. She is not interested in dating men and hates losing to men. Nam Kang Ho is an A-list actor in the entertainment industry. He is quite popular in South Korea due to his handsome appearance, smartness, and kindness. But he has trust issues when it comes to women. For both of them, love means nothing, and their first encounter was not pleasant either. But, what can they do when their fates are intertwined together as they are forced to date each other. And here starts the battle of love.
5. Bora! Deborah
“Bora! Deborah” tells the story of Yeon Bo Ra a famous best selling novelist of romance and relationships. She is very famous by the name ‘Deborah’ and some of her sayings that she made as a dating coach are quite famous too. However, her own life is full of failed relationships and backstabbing. Her life changes as meets Lee Soo Hyeok.Lee Soo Hyuk is a publishing planner whose behaviour is unpredictable when it comes to women. His first encounter with Bo Ra didn’t go well as he felt that she thought so highly of herself when talking about love; after all, love is a challenging thing for him. But as their lives get entangled with each other, many things change between them.Meanwhile, Han Sang Jin is the CEO of Jinri publications and a close friend of Soo Hyuk. Although he is smart and loved by everyone, he has no interest in starting a serious relationship.
6. Doctor Cha
“Doctor Cha” tells the story of Seo In Ho (Kim Byung Chul) and his wife who after 20 years of staying at home, wishes to retake her medical residency course. Seon In Ho is a chief medical surgeon at a medical university, where he maintains a strict and tough personality. After their marriage, his wife Cha Jung Sook (Uhm Jung Hwa) left her doctor career. Now that she has decided to re-enter the medical field, what will she do when she learns about her cheating husband?
7. Doctor Romantic 3
“Dr. Romantic 3″ Korean drama revolves around four protagonists: Teacher Kim, Cha Jae, Seo Woo Jin, and Park Min Guk.
Teacher Kim is a triple-board certified surgeon, a genius in the medical field who used to work in one of the South Korea’s premier hospitals, Geosan University Hospital. But he was compelled to leave the hospital and start afresh because of an incident. Now he works at a small hospital and is known as Kim Sa Bu.
8. The Good Bad Mother
“The Good, Bad Mother” Korean drama tells the story of a mother and her bond with her son. Jin Young Soon (Ra Mi Ran) is a single mother who was widowed at a young age. She owns a pig farm and is committed to give her son a good upbringing. Young Soon has endured enough hardship in her life that she doesn’t want her son to experience the same pennyless and powerless fate. Despite the fact that she loves her son, Choi Kang Ho (Lee Do Hyun) the most, she has always been harsh with him. As a result, his son has grown well and has become a successful prosecutor. However, he has also become cold-hearted and aloof because, in his eyes his mother is a “bad mother” as she has always been strict with him. One day an accident causes Kang Ho to lose his memory and revert to being 7 years old. To bring back his memories, Young Soon decides to become a bad mother again.
9. Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox 1938
“Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox 1938” is a time-traveling Korean drama about a nine-tailed fox who happens to face unexpected events when he gets dragged back to the period of 1938. The protector of Baekdudaegan, Lee Yeon is living happily with his first love, Nam Ji Ah. But he is unexpectedly summoned to the year 1938, where he meets his brother Lee Rang, with whom he shares a love-hate relationship.
He fascinates Ryu Hong Joo when he meets her again. She’s the owner of a high-class restaurant in Gyeongseong. Cheon Moo Young, Lee Yeon and Ryu Hong Joo had known each other for a long time but after an accident, Moo Young becomes hostile towards Lee Yeon. Now stuck in the past, Lee Yeon only wishes to go to the present and get back to his loved ones.
10. Oh! Youngsim
“Oh! Youngsim” Korean drama tells the story of Oh Young Shim and Wang Kyung Tae, two childhood friends. Kyung Tae had a crush on Young Shim when they were younger, and he made sure she always felt it. Unfortunately, she never felt the same. The two buddies split up and lost communication when Kyung Tae’s family abruptly made the decision to go to the United States. Twenty years later, Young Shim works as a producer for TV variety shows. It’s been 8 years since she has been producing TV shows, but it seems like luck is not on her side because her shows get cancelled due to low popularity. When she is given the opportunity to produce a love themed entertainment show, she is determined to make it a success. She chose to cast well-known CEO Mark Wang for this, but when they eventually meet, she is shocked to learn that he is actually her childhood buddy Wang Kyung Tae, who has grown into a handsome guy. What will happen next? Does he still harbour feelings for her? Will she now be swayed by him?
11. King The Land
King The Land” Korean drama tells the love story between a hotel heir and the hotel employee set at the backdrop of a VVIP business lounge, which is a place of dreams for hoteliers. Goo Won (Lee Jun Ho) is an heir to the King Group, which owns hotels, an airline, and distribution companies. However, he has to compete with the other heirs as well. He is smart, intelligent, good-looking, and he hates fake smiles. Goo Won is also not good when it comes to romantic relationships. He seems to be changing after meeting Cheon Sa Rang (Im Yoon Ah). She works at the King Hotel. Her smile can lift anyone’s mood. Her job requires her to smile all the time, even though she doesn’t want to. Cheon Sa Rang also has a deep connection with the King Hotel. She shares very good childhood memories with the hotel, so she tries to give the similar experiences to the customers.
12. See You in my 19th Life
“See You In My 19th Life” Korean drama tells the story of a woman who has the power to reincarnate her life, and she remembers all her past lives. For almost 1000 years, Ban Ji Eum (Shin Hye Sun) is reincarnating, and she remembers all her past life. During her 18th reincarnation, she met a man named Moon Seo Ha (Ahn Bo Hyun). However, she couldn’t meet him again. So, Ji Eum decides to find him in her 19th life.Meanwhile, Moon Seo Ha’s life changes when he meets Ban Ji Eum in her 18th life. During his childhood he lost his loved ones, this causes him trauma. Yoon Joo Won (Kim Shi Ah), his first love, helps him through the trauma. However, she also dies later.
13. My Lovely Liar
“My Lovely Liar” Korean drama tells the story of a girl named Mok Sol Hee who has Supernatural ability. She can hear people thoughts if they lie. However, Sol Hee doesn’t like this power of hers as because of it she cannot trust people at all. But, she decides to become a lie hunter. Sol Hee new neighbour, Kim Do Ha is a successful music producer who hides himself from everyone as he has a secret. One day somehow he becomes a murder suspect. However, he claims he is innocent, but no one believes in him.
14. My Dearest
“My Dearest” Korean drama tells the romance story set during the Joseon period when Qing invaded Joseon. Yoo Gil Chae (Ahn Eun Jin) is a bright and beautiful young woman who comes from a noble family. However, she is so full of herself and thinks she can win the heart of any man. Soon, her carefree life takes a mature turn after Qing invasion, and she also meets a mysterious man, Lee Jang Hyun (Namgoong Min). Lee Jang Hyun is an unfamiliar man in the Neunggeun Village who suddenly appears in the village’s high society. Due to a tragedy in his life, he lost any interest in love, marriage, or anything. However, when he meets Lee Jang Hyun he falls for her strongly. Both end up falling in love with each other, but war and struggles comes between them. As they fear of losing their loved ones, they need to go separate ways.
15. Destined With You
“Destined With You” will tell the story of civil servant Lee Hong Jo who one day, gets a mysterious book hidden in a wooden box inside a temple at Onju Mountain. It has been sealed and forbidden for 300 years. A man becomes the victim of that book. Meanwhile, Jang Shin Yoo is a popular lawyer who has a curse that was passed down to him from Joseon era. When he finds about the mysterious book, Jang Shin Yoo gets a job at a place near to Lee Hong Jo, hoping that the book can break his curse. The two then end up falling in love.
16. Twinkling Watermelon
“Twinkling Watermelon” Korean drama tells the story of Eun Gyeol (Ryeo Woon), a perfect student and passionate band guitarist who is the only one in his deaf family who can hear. One day, he accidentally time-travels inside a suspicious musical instrument store, where he meets his father Lee Chan (Choi Hyun Wook), who is 18 years old. Eun Gyeol is surprised to learn that his father had feelings for Se Kyung (Seol In Ah) rather than his mom Chung Ah (Shin Eun Soo). Chung Ah, like Lee Chan, is also deaf and is popularly known as the ice princess in school. On the other hand, Se Kyung is the school’s cello goddess, famous for her cold attitude. Unexpectedly, Eun Gyeol becomes good friends with his father’s younger self, starts a band called “Watermelon Sugar,” and falls in love with a girl.
17. Perfect Marriage Revenge
“Perfect Marriage Revenge” Korean drama tells the story of Han Yi Joo (Jung Yoo Min), an adopted daughter of a wealthy family who was never loved by her parents or her younger step-sister Han Yoo Ra (Jin Ji Hee). Furthermore, her husband also doesn’t love her. One day, Han Yi Joo witnesses her husband confessing his feelings to her younger step-sister. However, before she can react, she gets into an accident. Hoping for a second chance at life, she unexpectedly reincarnates into the past when she was engaged to her husband. With this new opportunity, she decides to seek revenge on her family and husband and reclaim what she has lost. Seo Do Guk (Sung Hoon), a smart and handsome grandson of the Taeja Group’s founder, assists Yi Joo in her revenge. Significantly, Seo Do Guk also happens to be the love interest of her younger sister, Han Yoo Ra.
18. Castaway Diva
“Castaway Diva” Korean drama tells the story of a girl named ‘Mokha’ (portrayed by Park Eun Bin). Due to her father’s domestic violence and to fulfill her dream of becoming a singer, she decides to leave her home. She goes to an audition by boat, but is swept away by an unexpected storm. Later, she finds herself on an uninhabited island. She doesn’t lose hope and starts living there, thinking of herself as the main character of a movie. Fifteen years later, she is rescued, and the story will then continue with Mok Ha adjusting to the world and people she had been isolated from and fulfill her dream of becoming a singer.
19. Doona
“Doona!” Korean drama tells the story of a K-pop star from the “Dream Sweet” girl group who suddenly retires one day from being a K-pop idol. And an ordinary college student who is curious about her mysterious life.Lee Doo Na (Bae Suzy) is a retired K-pop idol who was always the more popular group member and served as the main vocalist. However, she decides to retire and moves into a share house in a college town.Meanwhile, Lee Won Jun (Yang Se Jong) is an ordinary college student who also resides in the same house where Lee Do Na now lives. Initially, he can’t believe that a famous K-pop idol is his neighbor. However, he becomes increasingly curious about her mysterious life.
20. A Good Day to be a Dog
“A Good Day to Be a Dog” Korean drama tells the story of Han Hae Na (Park Gyu Young), a Korean language teacher cursed to transform into a dog for 6 hours every night, after her first kiss. The only way to break the curse is to kiss the same man for the second time, even while in her dog form. This family curse has persisted for generations.One day, Han Hae Na unintentionally kisses Jin Seo Won (Cha Eun Woo), a Maths teacher at the same school. He is now the only one who can break her curse, but his fear of dogs due to a past trauma poses a challenge. Can Han Hee Na break her curse and find true love? Meanwhile, she also has a crush on the school’s Korean history teacher, Lee Bo Gyeom (Lee Hyun Woo).
21. Strong Girl Nam-Soon
The spin off series tells the story about Do Bong Soon’s 6th cousin, Kang Nam Soon (Lee Yoo Mi). Raised in Mongolia, she travels to South Korea to find her parents.She finally meets her mother, Hwang Geum Joo (Kim Jung Eun) in Gangnam who also has superpowers like hers. Kang Nam Soon also meets her grandmother, Gil Joong Gan (Kim Hae Sook) who is a member of a secret investigation team that investigates drug cases in Gangnam. Together, these three women with immense power and strong bond starts investigating a famous drug case in Korea with detective Kang Hee Shik.
22. Moon in the Day
“Moon In The Day” Korean drama tells the story of Kang Young Hwa (Pyo Ye Jin), a firefighter turned bodyguard, and Han Jun Oh (Kim Young Dae), a top star in Korea. When Young Hwa rescues Jun Oh from a fateful car crash, their destinies become intricately linked. However, a supernatural twist occurs when Jun Oh’s body is possessed by the vengeful spirit of Do Ha (portrayed by Kim Young Dae), a nobleman from the ancient Silla Dynasty, who seeks revenge from his beloved wife Han Ri Ta (portrayed by Pyo Ye Jin), the one who ended his life. Ever since his wife’s act, Do Ha’s existence has been frozen in time. In today’s world, Young Hwa is the reincarnation of Han Ri Ta, his beloved wife.
23. Welcome to Samdalri
“Welcome to Samdalri” Korean drama tells the healing romance story of Jo Yong Pil (Ji Chang Wook) and his childhood friend, Jo Sam Dal (Shin Hye Sun).Jo Yong Pil is a weather forecaster who takes on this job to safeguard the residents of his hometown, Samdalri, on Jeju Island. When he was young, he lost his mother due to an inaccurate weather report. This tragic event led him to make a commitment to remain in his hometown and carry out his work with precision. His unwavering dedication to providing accurate weather reports often leads to conflicts with his boss.On the other hand, Jo Yong Pil’s childhood friend, Jo Sam Dal, with whom he shares 30 years of history and cherished memories, had always been determined to go to Seoul. However, due to a particular incident, they became separated and lost all contact with each other. Sam Dal eventually makes her way to Seoul, adopting the name Eun Hye, and starts working as an assistant in the field of fashion photography. She climbs to the top but faces a swift downfall. Subsequently, Sam Dal returns to Samdalri.
24. My Man is Cupid
“My Man Is Cupid” Korean drama tells the story of Cheon Sang Hyuk (Jang Dong Yoon), a charming cupid fairy who lost his wings 500 years ago after he accidentally shoots an arrow to himself and falls in love. To regenerate his wings, he underwent 27 metamorphoses. Just as he is on the verge of another transformation, he becomes entangled with Oh Baek Ryun (Nana).Oh Baek Ryun, a veterinarian, consistently faces misfortune in her relationships. Her partners frequently encounter near-death experiences and depart shortly after dating her. Despite this, she still hopes to encounter her nobleman soon.
25. My Demon
“My Demon” Korean drama tells the story between a heiress and a demon, who somehow gets into a contractual marriage. Do Do Hee (Kim Yoo Jung) is a chaebol heiress to Mirae Group to whom no one likes and everybody is her enemy, so she can’t trust easily. However, she falls in love with a demon. Even though she learned about the world early on, Do Do Hee became cold and stopped believing in love. To see if things can change, she makes a deal with a demon named Jung Gu Won (Song Kang). Jung Gu Won is a really charming demon who has been making deals with people for centuries which involve taking people’s souls as a sort of guarantee. But everything changes when he meets a woman named Do Do Hee. She’s different and somehow takes away his powers. Now, to keep from losing everything, Gu Won has to protect Do Do Hee, the one who took his abilities. However, they end up falling in love.
26. Tell me that you Love me
“Tell Me That You Love Me” Korean drama tells the story of Cha Jin Woo (Jung Woo Sung), a hearing-impaired man who doesn’t like to talk much and finds peace in it. He often expresses himself through drawings. Cha Jin Woo’s life takes a new turn when he meets Jung Mo Eun (Shin Hyun Been), an aspiring actress who communicates through words, and they fall in love. Meanwhile, Song Seo Kyung (Kim Ji Hyun) is Jin Woo’s college classmate and ex-lover who is also the director of an art center. Yoon Jo Han is Mo Eun’s high school classmate and a composer and music producer.
27. Call it Love
“Call it Love” Korean drama tell the story of Shim Woo Joo (Lee Sung Kyung) whose father becomes involved in infidelity. Her father’s mistress kicks her out of the house. Woo Joo then tries to take revenge from the mistress’ son Hang Dong Jin (Kim Young Kwang). Their relationship starts as revenge, but later they change as both become exhausted from it and start feeling sorry for each other so much that they both even cry. Soon they forget about the revenge and develops a profound bond as they help each other with their lives.