Top 40 Most Popular Korean Dramas of All Time
Our
obsession with all things K-drama is unstoppable. This time, we'll tell you
about the cable television Korean dramas with the highest ratings. It's a
tried-and-true list of shows that any serious K-fan should watch.
Check
out the list below to see if your favorite made the top 40.
1. The World of the married (2020)
Rating:
28.371 percent.
Television
Channel: JTBC (Japan Television Broadcasting Corporation)
When
a respected medical doctor learns about her husband's infidelity, her seemingly
perfect existence is flipped upside down. A bitter back-and-forth develops
between the two as they both seek retribution on the other in her quest to pay
back for his betrayal. The World of the Married broke its own record of 24.44 percent with its finale episode, which rated at 28.37 percent, shattering the
previous episode's record of 24.44 percent.
2. Sky Castle (2018)
Rating:
23.779 percent.
Television
Channel: JTBC (Japan Television Broadcasting Corporation)
This
satirical drama follows the lives of four housewives who reside in Sky Castle's
posh residential enclave. The women are brutal in their pursuit of getting
their children into the educational institution of Seoul National University.
3. Crash landing on You (2019)
Rating:
21.683 percent.
Television
Channel: tvN.
A South
Korean heiress and a North Korean military meet after a paragliding mishap
when the former falls into North Korean territory.
4. Reply 1988 (2015)
Rating:
18.803 percent.
Television
Channel: tvN.
As
they hit the pinnacle of their difficult teen years, five childhood friends who
reside in the same neighborhood of Ssangmundong rely on one another.
5. Goblin (2016)
Rating:18.680
percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
series follows a 939-year-old Goblin, also known as the Protector of Souls, as
he falls in love with the girl who would put an end to his cursed immortal
existence.
6. Mr. Sunshine (2018)
Rating:
18.129 percent
Television Channel: tvN.
During
the 1871 Shinmiyangyo incident, an impoverished child born into a family of
house servants travels to the United States. He grows up to be an American
military commander who returns to his hometown and falls in love with the
daughter of an aristocrat, all while uncovering a diabolical scheme to colonize
Korea by foreign immigrants.
7. Mr. Queen (2020)
Rating:
17.37 percent
Television
Channel: tvN.
In
modern-day Seoul, renowned chef Jang Bong-hwan of the President's Blue House is
embroiled in a scuffle and falls from a skyscraper. When he awakens, he
discovers that he has been transferred to the Joseon period and that his spirit
has taken up home in Queen Kim So-body. Yong Because he can't get out of this
peculiar situation, he sets out to learn more about the queen's life, but he
becomes entangled in the Kingdom's political upheaval.
8. Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) 2 (2021)
Rating:
16.582 percent
Television
channel: TV Chosun
In
the second season of Love, there are more clandestine relationships, turmoil,
and betrayal (ft. Marriage and Divorce). As we learn more about their husbands'
mistresses, the dramatization further unravels the collapsing marriages of our
three primary radio program pros.
9. Itaewon Class (2020)
Rating: 16.548 percent.
Telivisison channel: JTBC
Ex-con
Park Saeroyi and his misfit bunch of employees work hard to convert their small
bar into Itaewon's number one pub. As they deal with the merciless CEO of
Jangga Co., a.k.a. the man who set off a chain of events that landed Saeroyi in
jail in the first place, they discover that achieving their goal is going to be
a hard battle.
10.Vincenzo (2021)
Rating:
14.636 per cent
Television
Channel: tvN
After
being entangled in a power battle between two competing organizations, Vincenzo
Cassano, a South Korean-born Mafia lawyer in Italy, flees to his homeland. Back
in Seoul, he teams up with a fiery female lawyer to bring heinous criminals to
justice using any means possible.
11. 100 Days My Prince (2018)
Rating:
14.412 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Lee
Yul, a crown prince who is suffering from amnesia, is taken into the care of
Hong Shim, a smart but single woman, and her father. He weds Hong Shim,
believing himself to be a commoner, to spare her from being penalized by a law
that he made as a prince.
12. Hospital Playlist (2020)
Rating:
14.142 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Five
doctors who have been friends since medical school navigate the ups and downs
of their jobs at Yulje Medical Center while also creating a band to share their
passion for music.
13. Hospital Playlist 2 (2021)
Rating:
14.080 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
relationship between five college buddies who become doctors is put to the test
in yet another season of Hospital Playlist as they cope with life, death, and
everything in between at their hospital.
14. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Rating:
12.665 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Yoon
Hye-jin is a picture-perfect woman who works as a well-respected dentist in the
series. When her seemingly perfect life breaks apart, she finds herself in
Gongjin, a seaside community on the Korean coast. In the midst of striving to
relaunch her career, she meets Hong Doo-Shik, also known in the neighborhood
as Mr. Hong, and eventually develops an affection for him. Mr. Hong, although unemployed, is a jack of all trades who will take on any odd task to
serve the people of Gongjin.
15. Signal (2016)
Rating:
12.544 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
In
1989, a police lieutenant and criminal profiler Park Hae-Yeong teams up with a
detective to uncover three decades of related crimes after obtaining a
remarkable walkie-talkie that can interact with persons from the past.
16. Our Blues (Currently Airing)
Rating:
12.541 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Our
Blues is set on Jeju Island and stars a star-studded ensemble cast. As they go
through the uncertain motions of life in the province, the lives of multiple
individuals connect in unexpected ways.
17. The Lady in Dignity (2017)
Rating:
12.065 percent
Television
Channel: JTBC
When
a mysterious stranger enters her home as the caregiver for her ailing
father-in-law, a wealthy woman's lavish lifestyle is shattered.
18. Hotel del Luna (2019)
Rating:
12.001 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
strange Hotel del Luna, located in downtown Seoul, has been ministering to lost
souls for millennia. Jang Man Wol, the company's CEO, has been cursed to
oversee it for all eternity as penance for wrongdoing she can't recall. The only
way she can get out of her penance is to identify someone who has committed a
considerably more serious crime than she has.
19. Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)
Rating:
11.513 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
This
coming-of-age drama, set in 1998, follows the teenage characters as they
struggle with the fallout from Korea's IMF crisis. The plot revolves around
Baek Yi-jin and Na Hee-do, two people who fell in love three years after
meeting for the first time at the ages of 22 and 18. Their worlds cross in
unexpected ways now that they're 25 and 21.
20. Reply 1994 (2013)
Rating:
11.509 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
series alternates between 1994 and 2013, following six university students who
all live in the same boarding house in Seoul, where they meet the owner's
daughter, Sung Na-Jung. These seven strangers learn to treat one other like
family while witnessing numerous cultural Korean milestones together, such as
the rise of the K-Pop boy group Seo Taiji and Boys and the collapse of the Sampoong
Department Store.
21. Prison Playbook (2017)
Rating:
11.195 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
After
rescuing his sister from sexual assault, a top baseball player's bright future
finds a hitch when he is sentenced to one year in prison. As he adjusts to life
behind bars, he reconnects with a former baseball player and childhood friend
who has now become a prison warden.
22. The Uncanny Counter (2021)
Rating:
10.999 percent
Television
Channel: OCN
Four
demon hunters disguised as employees at a noodle shop restaurant come to Earth
to stop wicked spirits from achieving eternal existence.
23. The Crowned Clown (2019)
Rating:
10.851 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
Joseon dynasty hires Ha Sun, a clown and the king's lookalike, to assume his
place in the palace to safeguard their king during a period of popular turmoil.
Fearful of being discovered, Ha Sun struggles with his new duty, especially
when he falls for the lovely Queen Yoo So-Woon.
24. My Kids Give Me a Headache (2012)
Rating:
10.715 percent
Television
Channel: JTBC
The
story follows three generations of a family, beginning with the eldest daughter
Hee Jae, whose secret pregnancy raises a ruckus among her close-knit family
when they learn of her nine-month-old belly.
25. Jirisan (2021)
Rating:
10.663 per cent
Television
Channel: tvN
Seo
Yi-Kang, a talented ranger who has saved countless lives on Mount Jiri, stars
in this mystery drama. When weird rumors begin to spread about the titular
hiking trail, she partners up with ex-military lieutenant and rookie ranger
Kang Hyun-jo to investigate. Hyun-jo, who is new to his position, takes on the
arduous work after a traumatic incident on a mountain of his own.
26. Mine (2021)
Rating:
10.512 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
This
Korean drama depicts two affluent and ambitious ladies from a multinational
family as they search for the meaning of genuine love and joy while destroying
anybody who stands in their way.
27. Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) 3 (2022)
Rating:
10.395 percent
Television
Channel: TV Chosun
The
third season of the makjang multi-series Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) picks
up just where season two left off, with three surprise marriages. It also
introduces two new characters, as lead actors Kang Shin Hyo and Ji Young San
replace Sung Hoon and Lee Tae Gon in the drama.
28. Show Window: The Queen's House (2022)
Rating:
10.335 percent
Television
Channel: Channel A
Han
Sun-Joo is born into a wealthy family, but her idyllic life is shattered when
her seemingly loving husband has an affair with her best friend, Yoon Mi-ra.
Sun-Joo, initially oblivious to Mi-desire Ra's for the man, encourages her,
oblivious to the fact that it will lead to the ruin of her own family.
29. Encounter (2018)
Rating:
10.329 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
In
Encounter, opposites attract when divorced hotel CEO Cha Soo Hyun and the
innocent and ordinary Kim Jin Hyuk, both looking for a fresh start, meet and
fall in love on a trip to Cuba.
30. Military Prosecutor Doberman (2022)
Rating:
10.081 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Do
Bae-man becomes a military prosecutor in search of money and fame, but he is
uninterested in his work and fantasizes about retiring one day. Meanwhile, Cha
Woo-in, the sole daughter of a chaebol family, seeks retribution by applying
for the same job. Despite working for very opposite objectives, the two team up
in the military to aid each other in combat evil.
31. Memories of the Alhambra (2018)
Rating:
10.025 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
After
his best buddy betrays him, Yoo Jin Woo, a great game creator and the fiery CEO
of an investment firm, finds his competitive nature put to the test. After
hearing of a groundbreaking AR game produced by someone from the area, he heads
to Granada, Spain. He sleeps at a hostel there and unknowingly becomes
entangled in a sequence of odd incidents with the proprietor, Jung Hee-Joo.
32. Another Oh Hae-young (2016)
Rating:
9.991 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
This
16-episode fantasy rom-com, also known as Another Miss Oh, features a long game
of mistaken identity. Oh, Hae Young and Oh Hae Young are two women who are
constantly causing confusion in their different occupations and relationships
because they are always enmeshed in one other's lives.
33. Bossam: Steal the Fate (2021)
Rating:
9.759 percent
Television
Channel: MBN
In
this film set during the Joseon period, Ba Woo, an elusive felon, gets money by
performing Bossam, an archaic ritual in which he kidnaps widows and remarries
them to other men. His life is turned upside down when he accidentally kidnaps
Princess Hwa In, the king's daughter, while on one of his tasks.
34. The Light in Your Eyes (2019)
Rating:
9.731 percent
Television
Channel: JTBC
When
Kim Hye Ja discovers a watch that allows her to travel across time, she
unintentionally transforms into a 78-year-old woman. Thus begins her convoluted
love affair with Lee Joon Ha, a young want-to-be reporter who has decided to
live a sedentary lifestyle rather than squander his time.
35. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)
Rating:
9.668 percent
Television
Channel: JTBC
The
CEO of a gaming corporation recruits Bong Soon, a small lady endowed with
magical power, to be his bodyguard in the face of an unknown menace. He is
smitten with her at first sight, but he is up against competition for her
affections because she has her sights set on a childhood acquaintance who is
now a police officer.
36. Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) (2021)
Rating:
9.656 percent
Television
Channel: TV Chosun
Three
accomplished ladies who work on a radio show are the focus of this K-drama.
When twists and turns begin to trouble their happy marriages, their seemingly
perfect lives begin to disintegrate.
37. Stranger 2 (2020)
Rating:
9.408 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
The
second season of Stranger, a sequel to the crime drama Stranger, sees tensions
between the prosecutor's office and the police force rise as the latter demands
discretionary power over fresh case investigations. The cops, on the other
hand, are fiercely opposed to the idea and are battling for complete
investigation authority.
38. Uncle (2022)
Rating:
9.329 percent
Television
Channel: TV Chosun
Wang
Joon-hyuk, a down-on-his-luck singer, is left with looking after his nephew,
who has developed both an anxiety illness and OCD after his sister divorces her
violent husband and goes away to keep a low profile.
39. Lawless Lawyer (2018)
Rating:
8.937 percent
Television
Channel: tvN
Bong
Sang Pil, a former criminal, decides to become a lawyer in order to bring his
mother's terrible death to justice. In doing so, he turns a crew of loan sharks
into a law company, and they quickly learn how to win their cases by cleverly skirting
around legal loopholes.
40. Record of Youth (2020)
Rating:
8.740 percent
Two
childhood pals who have turned models try their hand at acting and meet up with
a young makeup artist. In a world where dreams are a luxury few can afford, the
three persist in pursuing their goals, relying on their talent and desire to
get them there.