We have entered the new year, 2024! And now it’s time to check the 2023 Korean dramas that won the hearts of many and reserved their top spot among 100s of Kdramas last year.
The top 10 list has been selected on the basis of reviews around the Web, their ratings and popularity. Once, you watch them you’ll end up screaming “BEST”!
Note: The list is in no particular order! (Watch Links available)
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.
Watch On: Netflix
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.
Watch On: Disney+
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.
Watch On: Netflix
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.
Watch On: Viki
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.
Watch On: Viki
Moving
“Moving” Korean drama story will center around three teenagers each having extraordinary super powers which they got from their parents. And their superhero parents need to protect their superhero children from bad guys who want to take advantage of them. Lee Mi Hyeon (Han Hyo Joo) and Kim Doo Shik (Jo In Sung) are husband and wife with special abilities. Mi Hyeon has the strongest five senses than any human. Doo Shik is a veteran agent with flying skills. They also have a son named Kim Bong Seok (Lee Jung Ha). He also has the ability to defeat gravity as a result he can fly. Jang Joo Won (Ryu Seung Ryong) has the ability to recover from pain or injury within seconds. His daughter Jang Hee Soo (Go Yoon Jung) has the same strength and powers as his father. Lee Jae Man (Kim Sung Kyun) is an agent with superhuman strength. His son Lee Kang Hoon (Kim Do Hoon) also has the same power and speed.
Watch On: Disney+
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.
Watch On: Netflix
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?
Watch On: Netflix
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.
Watch On: Netflix
The Glory
“The Glory” Korean drama tells the story of Moon Dong Eun (Song Hye Kyo) who was once bullied horribly in her school. Park Yeon Jin (Im Ji Yeon) and Jeon Jae Joon (Park Sung Hoon) were one of the highschoolers who bullied her. Today, Moon Dong Eun becomes an elementary school homeroom teacher, but she has never forgotten her tormenting past. In fact, she was planning revenge on her bullies all the way. To which she decides to take on her bully’s kids and also on those who watched her being bullied. Ju Yeo Jung (Lee Do Hyun) is a mysterious character. On the outside, no one can tell he is hiding a mysterious secret inside. Kang Hyeon Nam (Yeom Hye Ran) is a domestic violence victim. She wants to protect her children from Moon Dong Eun, so she makes a proposal with her.
Watch On: Netflix