Because beautiful drama experiences are meant to be shared, here’s a list of Korean romance dramas that are worth spree-watching this love month.
These Korean romance dramas are always worthy of yearly reruns or when you need a quick break from an emotional strain that just won’t go away.
This selection considered uniqueness, binge-watch worthiness, lingering love lessons, and romance taking the bulk and driving point of the narrative.
Additionally, this list from 2009 to present dramas, also covers not just the happy-ending types of romance stories, but those with painful endings that are equally exquisite.
You’re Beautiful
The recent influx of celebrity-commoner love stories takes us back to the pioneering drama that started it all.
Perky mood coupled with a fast-paced storyline, You’re Beautiful easily won the viewers’ attention owing to the abundance of humor and sweet-sigh-inducing scenarios. The well-written script and candied moments splurged in increments, helped establish remarkable connections between Mi Nam and each of the male leads.
That made the love stories more interesting especially that point when the boys subconsciously competed to protect the heroine and to claim her heart, as frames of heaven are scattered to delight any rom-com craver.
The lively and refreshing vibe contributed to its cult following, as well as its stature as one of the most highly-recommended romance dramas with ample music to date.
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City Hall
This politics-based romance drama is not your conventional narrative with cushioned and frosted romance. It is a love story where the prince did not rescue his damsel in distress but pushed her to be brave and resolve things on her own.
With an uncomplicated premise, the writing is exceptionally thought-provoking for any woman experiencing challenges in finding her worth, not in the standard of what society dictates, but in the dreams, she has as a woman.
One of star writer Kim Eun Sook’s early series wove an affecting love story between two politicians.
Their personal dreams and love fulfillment are drawn engagingly as they pursue their political careers. Kim Sun Ah and Cha Seung Won in one of their best romantic dramas as well.
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Secret Garden
The sparkling tracksuit, the sweet sit-up kiss and coffee kiss, the hilarious body swap, Ha Ji Won‘s stunt woman portrayal, and Hyun Bin’s melting gaze are some of the things that we remember most about this series. It is a breather from rom-com prototypes with its perfect blending of fantasy and romance.
Secret Garden is your drama to see when you want a K-Drama marathon vacation. It plays well in keeping the excitement stable and hits a love progression which the viewers loyally cheer for. The fantasy body-switching plot is a brilliant addition to keep the story bubbly as well as the reversal of roles for the strong heroine and weak but charming lead man.
The strength of how the love couple bickers along the way to realize they are both rendered by the love bind they throw at each other unconsciously will make you mark this drama as an all-time favorite.
The Greatest Love
This love drama staged in the showbiz land revolves around the story of a top actor in his prime, and a struggling actress who used to be from a famous girl group – but was condemned unfairly by the public’s judgment. In a series of forming a love story, they keep on crossing the same path every now and then.
Before he can even process it, the cutely egoistic and mischievous Dokko Jin’s protective instinct is awakened by the pure-sometimes-vulnerable character of Ae-jung. An endearing battle-for-the-leading-lady’s-heart showcase can leave viewers truly blissful, as the two male leads wager their creativity to let Ae Jung notice how much they love her.
The Greatest Love disarms the viewers from earthly life and draws them to thrive inside a protective romantic bubble. It is done short and sweet with a basket full of happy hearts delivered personally by cupid to all of us.
City Hunter
The reckless hero and action-filled drama City Hunter leaves a gripping impression that girls may want to be kidnapped, wishing the lead man would rescue them. Lee Min Ho proves he can also throw some exciting combat moves apart from heart-flutters. With doses of romantic frames, gorgeous fight scenes and a definitive plot, it raised the bar to action drama set in modern times.
The nifty plot provides life lessons owing to the base pretext of the main character’s family issues. Each episode is done where the tussles did not exhaust the viewers, but place them in a trance for wanting more.
Directing and editing-wise, this is one of those dramas which knew how to pull cliffhangers even to the finale episode where the hate-you-love-you character of Jin-pyo showed a befitting redemption. The main leads are so pumped up in making the story ever-moving and exciting.
Admirably, the lead girl Kim Nana (Park Min Young) is as strong-willed as smart. She does not go to the usual mopey and always looking for a rescue female lead. Overall, this is a drama that satisfies cravings.
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Scent of a Woman
Looking back, what to like most about Scent of a Woman is how, for a change, we got the conflict first in one big blow at the beginning of the series and I stayed glued to it even when I got the picture of expected possibilities.
We felt that the tears, the smiles, the bright side, the romance, the optimism, the strong heroine; and Lee Dong Wook are all perfectly placed at the finish line.
Love and life-affirming, if you are looking for a drama that will make you laugh, fall in love, cry, and be hopeful all at the same time, this one is for you.
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The Master’s Sun
In the sea of dramas where stories are usually woven from the rich-boy-poor-girl love affair or the male-pretending-lead-girl, a you-and-me-against-the-ghosts love story hit all the romantic nerves of drama fans with its comic spooky vibes.
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My Love From The Stars
You see, love stories need not be so big romantic kind of way, not that we didn’t like the “alien-who-loved-me” twist but My Love From The Star drew a great following because of the vibrant characters who have really brought to life their fictional images to an unforgettable and you-can’t-help-but-relate-to kind of way.
Fate, chance encounters, and brave “i-love-you-right-now claims have never been so perfectly achieved until this love story graced the K-drama screen.
Queen and I
Pouring out surprises and twisting one after another, this time-traveling romance story easily enthuses. The neat time transitions of its enticingly inventive plot left me with numerous case of jaw-dropping moments.
Rarely would you remember equally the story and the characters, but with Queen and I, the characters synchronized well with the story and strangely the characters would be able to stand alone as the story retain its brilliance and vice versa.
Having a smart love pairing frolicking in their time-warp-powered romantic story also became a standout moment of this series.
Discovery of Love
Hitting all the realistic elements of what it really takes to be in a relationship was the best part of the love triangle in this roller-coaster romantic ride.
Diverting from the usual cushioned approach or drama-infused conflicts, the series dug to the root of love problems in a coherent world – the strength to let go of a half-baked love and the choice to be in a not-so-perfect but true love.
Discovery of Love‘s splendid screenplay and the amazing cast brought to life the story’s lingering simplicity. It trudges on a ruminative adult romantic life and somehow digs a well from anyone’s memories of braving everything for love.
It’s Okay That’s Love
It might be the most unconventional modern romance drama we’ve ever seen, but it has such an affecting and peculiar story given that sickness in K-Dramaland usually involves amnesia or anything fatal.
It’s Okay, That’s Love is just how relationship realities are translated into cherished, ardent, unadulterated, lingering, failing, and blissful TV drama scenes.
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Descendants of the Sun
Helmed by star writer Kim Eun Sook, the story and its characters have been put forward in such a way that it touches directly the hearts of the fans.
The series is one of those few romance-themed ones with impeccable and consistent episode runs. Sprinkled love and humor notes made it such a gratifying treat for the viewers all throughout.
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W: Two Worlds
Sprinting to a mind-blowing setting and pushing the viewers to an extent of an imaginary world where everything is possible to happen, W: Two Worlds spurred a lot of jaw-dropping and head-splitting moments following Kang Chul and his adventures. It was so ambitious in how it vividly displayed and chronicled a love story that defied an alternate universe.
Discovering a world inside the world he lives in; Lee Jong Suk’s portrayal notched a memorable K-Drama hero through its richly sketched foundation story.
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Uncontrollably Fond
Uncontrollably Fond taps into those memories of lost and depressing love that people don’t want to look back anymore in their lives. It is not a happy-ever-after kind of romance that appeals typically to almost anyone. Instead, it delves into the most shameful, most regretful, and most painful things that anyone can do because of love.
Limited by its realistic approach, the writing flows to the agonizing dying-man-all-willing-to-protect-his-woman premise. It leaves a love lesson on how the pain we feel to fight for our love does not mean less to the love we gave to stay in a relationship.
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Another Miss Oh
Another Miss Oh is not just your typical rom-com drama. It takes pride in its keen perception of the difference between how a man and a woman take on distinct approaches to loving someone while weighing on their pre-conceived inhibitions that the relationship might not work.
It tackles playfully and seriously the kind of love someone can give after learning lessons from a heartbreak.
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Queen For Seven Days
Queen For Seven Days efficiently maximizes the staple government intrigues and character motivations to balance the frustrating love line. While you grieve with the love pair who are forced to love each other from afar, you will accept that true love is kept in the heart with the best memories you have with someone, even if you cannot have future moments together.
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Goblin
Arguably one of the best-conceived Korean dramas, Goblin easily affirms any K-Drama fan’s weary spirit, with its addictive pace, perceptive characters, detailed back story, and exciting race to closure.
Intricately connecting two timelines requires immense focus to stay on track. Writer Kim Eun Sook admirably weaves novelty for a love story with supernatural elements. Neatly blending the mystical notes and sensible realities to propel the narrative without losing focus and as simply told as it can be.
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The Legend of the Blue Sea
The Legend of the Blue Sea is strong on the candied-heart-fluttering moments, but even stronger on relaying the couple’s sweet and yet agonizing journey to endure the love they have in the present in the pretext of a human-mermaid romance impossibility.
It neatly executed the narrative by using simple rules considering its metaphysical premise. It modernized the reincarnation plot, by playing the resident drama fix of how love overcomes anything and beyond everything.
Because This Is My First Life
Powered by a vibrant cast, the heartfelt writing reinvents the trite rom-com cohabitation premise to a whole new level, leaving traces of affirming feel-good love moments that would make you smile after each chapter.
If you want to deviate from the standard romance stories with a relaxing drama that is intuitively penned, an overnight marathon of Se Hee and the gangs’ love journey will make you sigh and ponder about those sweet little moments of being in love.
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Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Just as life is short, love is also fleeting. The all-important love lesson Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo taught us is how loving someone does not stop when we gave up on the person because the love does not belong anymore in the future.
The series touches on the painstaking, unrequited love of a damaged prince for a woman who shared his pain without prejudice.
It also sadly and yet beautifully expressed the betrayals of a dysfunctional Royal family raising devious ways to claim the throne for them to use in protecting the ones they love.
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes put viewers on that realization of how we underestimated melodramas to be just relying on tears and a series of unfortunate events to whirl its narrative. If given proper treatment, even with a bare setting along with essential conflicts and characters, it can paint an idyllic picture that goes back to one of the fundamental goals of storytelling — providing clear inspiration to its viewers.
Brilliantly penned, portrayed, and executed, it has streamed to one of the best melodramas in recent years. What you can change to because of love, and to which extent you would be willing to go for that same love, are the questions answered in the thrilling strips of this series.
Confession Couple
Staged in a wistful retro vibe, the engrossing love journey of Ban Do and Jin Joo pushes you to ponder on how you react if you would be given a chance like them to work on a relationship you have already given up.
Confession Couple presents a gravitating picture through the lead girl’s mother’s story arc, which starts the initial breaking of their relationship – and which they tried to ignore through the years. That same overlooked grudge is what they discovered to work on the fantasy of borrowed time given to them, to realize how they vowed to be with each other.
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More Than Friends
One of the best-written Korean dramas, the series has taken its viewers to stages of love that are equal parts blissful and painful – but ultimately the sweetest in between.
It’s interesting to note that More Than Friends is that one drama with such harrowing problems, yet there is not even one single villain present in the story. Remarkably conceived with an amazing cast who owned their roles to the hilt, this series evidently is one of my cherry-picked Korean romance dramas.
Something In The Rain
Taking subtle storytelling that is focused on the bliss and complication of the love tale, viewers would be immersed to cheer for the fulfillment of the romance which is belatedly realized, crazily enjoyed, and painfully let go in Something In The Rain.
The series reinvents the romance drama landscape with how it fervently keeps the serenity of storytelling through its heartfelt dialogues and spontaneous scenarios.
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When the Camellia Blooms
A single mother who discovered love in a small town hounded by an unsolved serial killing stigma appears heavy on paper. Hence, the comforting feel of When The Camellia Blooms strangely does not fit its premise. Therefore, it layers as an additional charm to the narrative.
When the Camellia Blooms reminds us that happiness is not supposed to be chased. It has to be savored right at the very moment it happens. Although problems decorate life, and it’s not something that we want to welcome – it inevitably arises to make us stronger.
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Youth Of May
Ponderous and eventful, Youth of May traverses a timeless love story set against the backdrop of the 1980s. Owing to its melodramatic and retro nature, it may not appeal to viewers who prefer a lighthearted and contemporary narrative. But if you’re drawn to political and social context, you will most likely appreciate the drama immensely.
More than recounting a nostalgic and innocent love, the series also serves as a tribute to the victims and survivors of one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of South Korea. Watching it is evidently emotionally draining but all the tears will be worth it in the end as the drama had served its purpose of enlightening the viewers.
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Crash Landing on You
Sweet as true love, Crash Landing On You gives all the reasons why viewers would ask for a can-we-have-more-episodes plead!
As rom-com stories emerged to have become synonymous with Korean dramas, Crash Landing On You aimed to utilize the same formula to endear the audience. Successfully doing so, its 16-episode run drifted to become an endearing weekly gift to its followers.
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Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Decorated with endearing romance stories that speak to varying ages, the series impressively brims with encouraging love, life, and career lessons. Reminding us of our very own circles, we found a weekend virtual haven in this series that gives a consoling mood sparingly.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha incorporates meaningful messages and moments for all ages without losing focus on hyping the romance story in place. Giving doses of uncomplicated love and life lessons, the drama teaches how to own to mistakes and be unapologetic to personal convictions.
Resonating that we are all eligible to commit to self-healing after a life setback, Gongjin is a representation of how we can find our very own solace in a place or with a person.
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Photos: Respective networks of featured dramas in the list
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