ONTD Original: Best K-Drama (that I've seen) in Each Genre (that popped into my head)
I wanted to give our shiny new k-drama tag a spin (turn on k-drama tag notifications!), so I'm making an ONTD original about the Best K-Drama in Various Genres. Please enjoy this entirely self-indulgent post.
But first! A Disclaimer: I've only been watching K-dramas for about 2 years and this list is only dramas that I've seen so there are obviously massive gaps in my knowledge. (If you're curious about which shows I have and haven't watched, you can look at My Drama List.) So please don't get mad at me if your favorite is missing. Instead, tell me where I can watch them! 😈
Now let's roll out the red carpet for this extremely prestigious awards ceremony.
Part One - Basic Categories
Best Medical Drama
[winner]Hospital Playlist
At its core, this show is about 5 doctors who went to medical school together back in the day and are now working at the same hospital. They are best friends who get together for weekly jam band sessions. What makes this show stand out for me among other dramas is that it perfectly balances and blends the medical stories of patients that come through the hospital with the individual character arcs of the 5 friends and their interpersonal relationships. Unlike most K-dramas, there are also 2 whole series instead of just the one! And both series are equally good! Highly recommend this show.
Best Romance Drama
[winner]Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Have you ever wanted to leave a shitty job and stressful life in the city to move to a small seaside town and fall in love with its handyman? Then this show is perfect wish fulfillment for you! The leads have great chemistry and the Wacky Townsfolk are actually generally quite charming and have some real hidden depths. I think this drama does the 'opposites attract' trope well because neither character is super OTT about it- they're just people with different perspectives on life. As you watch the leads fall in love, it feels natural. A perfect comfort watch, imo.
Best Historical Drama
[winner]100 Days My Prince
I've often described this drama as a fanfic come to life and I mean that in the BEST way possible. There are so many fanfic-y tropes going on, but the show manages to do it in a way that doesn't feel silly. This drama is a fake married, amnesia, hidden identity story set in the Joseon era and trying to explain the plot will make it sound ridiculous, so you will just have to trust me that this show is a delight. As per usual with historical dramas, there is an Evil Minster who tries to kill the Crown Prince while he is out of the palace. However, the attack doesn't go as planned and the Crown Prince escapes, except he hits his head and loses his memory. This coincides perfectly with the female lead needing to find a husband because (as per the Crown Prince's decree) all unmarried people must marry in order to rebalance the energies of the nation and end the drought. To spare herself from being flogged, she marries the man with no memory that her father has just rescued from the forest. Except of course, she has a hidden identity and secret past too. Watching all the secrets in this show unravel while feelings grow is just... so so so good.
Best Crime Drama
[winner]Inspector Koo
This drama is criminally underrated, and imo it's probably because this drama doesn't follow the usual crime drama format. It's not centered around a police officer or prosecutor so it has a very different vibe than most crime dramas. The protagonist is a former detective who left the force after personal tragedy (and now spends her days gaming) and is currently contracted to work for a life insurance company investigating some suspicious claims which is how she crosses paths with a serial killer who has a flair for the dramatic. This show was inspired by the same books that Killing Eve was based on so it's got that fun cat and mouse vibe. I really enjoyed that the main characters are all women which is rare for a crime drama. There is also a stylistic flair to this show that makes it a lot of fun to watch. Would def suggest this show, even if crime dramas are not usually your thing.
Best Fantasy Drama
[winner]Tale of the Nine-Tailed
Ha! You were probably expecting me to award this to Goblin or Alchemy of Souls (which are also dramas that I like tbh), but this drama has fully captured my heart. What puts this drama above the others, for me, is the relationship between two brothers that is one of the hearts of the show. Obviously the central romance (a nine tailed fox/mountain god had a doomed romance with a human woman and he's been waiting for centuries for her soul to reincarnate) is the other heart of the show, and I do like the main romance. BUT! For me, there is just something about the complicated relationship between Lee Yeon, the male lead, and Lee Rang, his younger brother who has felt abandoned by Lee Yeon and can't see just how much his older bother loves him. I cried multiple times due to feelings about them and I am not ashamed! (Also the sequel series to this drama just finished airing and is also very good, FYI!)
Part Two - Let's Get (Weirdly?) Specific
Best Revenge
[winner]The Glory
Warning: This series centers around a woman seeking revenge on her high school bullies who abused and tortured her and the flashback scenes are very disturbing and could be triggering. However, if you think you can stomach watching that, this series is well worth watching. It's just so much fun to watch the protagonist's intricate plans for revenge fall into place and pay off. And the bullies are universally horrible people so you feel zero guilt as they all get what is coming to them. The lead bully is especially awful, but I HAVE to give props to the actress who plays her because DAMN her laugh is unsettling.
Best Noona Romance
[winner]Romance is a Bonus Book
For k-drama newbies, noona romance = romance where the woman is the older one in the relationship. Anyway, I LOVE this one. I think the central romance is very sweet, but beyond that, I think that this is an excellent exploration about how much being a woman is some bullshit. lol. Basically, the female lead is a woman who left the workforce to care for her child and she is having a hard time finding a job after her divorce because the job market is competitive and no one wants to hire a woman with a large gap in her resume. So she lies about her qualifications to undersell her education and experience so she can get a support job at the publishing company where her longtime friend is a co-founder... without telling him first. I LOVE a good story of a woman in her 30s who rediscovers herself and her passions and this show does it really well.
Best Hidden Identity
[winner]Flower of Evil
I picked Flower of Evil for this category (a somewhat common trope in K-dramas) because the identity is hidden for like a decade; it is a husband hiding his real identity from his WIFE; and his wife is a COP. AMAZING. But the lies begin to fall apart when a case that his detective wife investigates leads her down the path to find out the shocking truth about her husband's past. Sure, this veers into melodrama more than once, but it's a fun ride that I enjoyed immensely.
Best Drama That Will Make You Sob
[winner]Move to Heaven
If you can make it through this entire show without shedding a single tear, I am going to have to get a stethoscope and check to see if you have a heart. Move to Heaven is an exploration of death, the people left behind, and complicated familial relationships that will absolutely tear your heart out. In this drama, a young man with autism works alongside his father at a trauma cleaning company owned by his father (trauma cleaning = people who come and clean the rooms of deceased people). When his father suddenly dies, his uncle (who he's never met and is newly released from prison) is appointed to a trial guardianship, as per the father's will. The various trauma cleaning cases are well done, and the familial story at the heart of the show will hit you with an emotional battering ram.
Best K-Drama With Lots of Flashbacks
[winner]Our Beloved Summer
Having flashbacks as a storytelling device is a fairly common narrative device in K-dramas, but I think Our Beloved Summer does it the best. The flashbacks actually feel like they have equal weight and importance to the current day story. Flashbacks can often feel a little bit cheap or lazy, but not in Our Beloved Summer. This drama is the story of two high schoolers who filmed a documentary where they were paired together as the highest and lowest achieving students in their class. After the documentary, they dated for five years until they had a painful breakup. Five years after that, the documentary production company wants to do a follow up to see where they are now. Forced to spend time together again, can they heal past hurts and move forward together?
Best Drama with a Fictional Country that You Should Definitely Avoid Visiting Because There Are Too Many Disasters
[winner]Descendants of the Sun
The show mainly takes place in the fictional country of Uruk where a member of the South Korean special forces is stationed and where his sorta girlfriend doctor is sent on a medical volunteer trip, forcing them to confront their attraction to each other. And then like, disasters start coming and they never stop coming and it is insane! Realistic? no. But SO much fun in its ridiculousness. But also like... don't go visit Uruk. You might find yourself in the midst of an Ebola-type virus outbreak.
Best "Karen is weirdly attracted to men who have been beaten up and maybe should do some self-reflection about it" Moment in a Drama
[winner]Tomorrow
Tomorrow is a solid show. I think there is legitimate criticism to be had about the overly simplistic view of suicide in the show, but if you can accept that the show's view of suicide is outdated, then there are some really great stories being told about life and death and finding reasons to live. But that's not why this show is here. It is here because there's a scene towards the end of the series where a male character has been beaten up and I was like 'sexxxxxy' and had to pause to judge myself. Sharing my shame with you all.
And that's it folks! Thank you for coming to my post. I spent way too much time on this silliness. So please come and play in the comments if you want to argue with me about my picks. Come up with your own weirdly specific award categories! Or if you're a K-drama newbie, come and hang out and maybe get some recommendations for shows to try.
But first! A Disclaimer: I've only been watching K-dramas for about 2 years and this list is only dramas that I've seen so there are obviously massive gaps in my knowledge. (If you're curious about which shows I have and haven't watched, you can look at My Drama List.) So please don't get mad at me if your favorite is missing. Instead, tell me where I can watch them! 😈
Now let's roll out the red carpet for this extremely prestigious awards ceremony.
Part One - Basic Categories
Best Medical Drama
[winner]Hospital Playlist
At its core, this show is about 5 doctors who went to medical school together back in the day and are now working at the same hospital. They are best friends who get together for weekly jam band sessions. What makes this show stand out for me among other dramas is that it perfectly balances and blends the medical stories of patients that come through the hospital with the individual character arcs of the 5 friends and their interpersonal relationships. Unlike most K-dramas, there are also 2 whole series instead of just the one! And both series are equally good! Highly recommend this show.
Best Romance Drama
[winner]Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Have you ever wanted to leave a shitty job and stressful life in the city to move to a small seaside town and fall in love with its handyman? Then this show is perfect wish fulfillment for you! The leads have great chemistry and the Wacky Townsfolk are actually generally quite charming and have some real hidden depths. I think this drama does the 'opposites attract' trope well because neither character is super OTT about it- they're just people with different perspectives on life. As you watch the leads fall in love, it feels natural. A perfect comfort watch, imo.
Best Historical Drama
[winner]100 Days My Prince
I've often described this drama as a fanfic come to life and I mean that in the BEST way possible. There are so many fanfic-y tropes going on, but the show manages to do it in a way that doesn't feel silly. This drama is a fake married, amnesia, hidden identity story set in the Joseon era and trying to explain the plot will make it sound ridiculous, so you will just have to trust me that this show is a delight. As per usual with historical dramas, there is an Evil Minster who tries to kill the Crown Prince while he is out of the palace. However, the attack doesn't go as planned and the Crown Prince escapes, except he hits his head and loses his memory. This coincides perfectly with the female lead needing to find a husband because (as per the Crown Prince's decree) all unmarried people must marry in order to rebalance the energies of the nation and end the drought. To spare herself from being flogged, she marries the man with no memory that her father has just rescued from the forest. Except of course, she has a hidden identity and secret past too. Watching all the secrets in this show unravel while feelings grow is just... so so so good.
Best Crime Drama
[winner]Inspector Koo
This drama is criminally underrated, and imo it's probably because this drama doesn't follow the usual crime drama format. It's not centered around a police officer or prosecutor so it has a very different vibe than most crime dramas. The protagonist is a former detective who left the force after personal tragedy (and now spends her days gaming) and is currently contracted to work for a life insurance company investigating some suspicious claims which is how she crosses paths with a serial killer who has a flair for the dramatic. This show was inspired by the same books that Killing Eve was based on so it's got that fun cat and mouse vibe. I really enjoyed that the main characters are all women which is rare for a crime drama. There is also a stylistic flair to this show that makes it a lot of fun to watch. Would def suggest this show, even if crime dramas are not usually your thing.
Best Fantasy Drama
[winner]Tale of the Nine-Tailed
Ha! You were probably expecting me to award this to Goblin or Alchemy of Souls (which are also dramas that I like tbh), but this drama has fully captured my heart. What puts this drama above the others, for me, is the relationship between two brothers that is one of the hearts of the show. Obviously the central romance (a nine tailed fox/mountain god had a doomed romance with a human woman and he's been waiting for centuries for her soul to reincarnate) is the other heart of the show, and I do like the main romance. BUT! For me, there is just something about the complicated relationship between Lee Yeon, the male lead, and Lee Rang, his younger brother who has felt abandoned by Lee Yeon and can't see just how much his older bother loves him. I cried multiple times due to feelings about them and I am not ashamed! (Also the sequel series to this drama just finished airing and is also very good, FYI!)
Part Two - Let's Get (Weirdly?) Specific
Best Revenge
[winner]The Glory
Warning: This series centers around a woman seeking revenge on her high school bullies who abused and tortured her and the flashback scenes are very disturbing and could be triggering. However, if you think you can stomach watching that, this series is well worth watching. It's just so much fun to watch the protagonist's intricate plans for revenge fall into place and pay off. And the bullies are universally horrible people so you feel zero guilt as they all get what is coming to them. The lead bully is especially awful, but I HAVE to give props to the actress who plays her because DAMN her laugh is unsettling.
Best Noona Romance
[winner]Romance is a Bonus Book
For k-drama newbies, noona romance = romance where the woman is the older one in the relationship. Anyway, I LOVE this one. I think the central romance is very sweet, but beyond that, I think that this is an excellent exploration about how much being a woman is some bullshit. lol. Basically, the female lead is a woman who left the workforce to care for her child and she is having a hard time finding a job after her divorce because the job market is competitive and no one wants to hire a woman with a large gap in her resume. So she lies about her qualifications to undersell her education and experience so she can get a support job at the publishing company where her longtime friend is a co-founder... without telling him first. I LOVE a good story of a woman in her 30s who rediscovers herself and her passions and this show does it really well.
Best Hidden Identity
[winner]Flower of Evil
I picked Flower of Evil for this category (a somewhat common trope in K-dramas) because the identity is hidden for like a decade; it is a husband hiding his real identity from his WIFE; and his wife is a COP. AMAZING. But the lies begin to fall apart when a case that his detective wife investigates leads her down the path to find out the shocking truth about her husband's past. Sure, this veers into melodrama more than once, but it's a fun ride that I enjoyed immensely.
Best Drama That Will Make You Sob
[winner]Move to Heaven
If you can make it through this entire show without shedding a single tear, I am going to have to get a stethoscope and check to see if you have a heart. Move to Heaven is an exploration of death, the people left behind, and complicated familial relationships that will absolutely tear your heart out. In this drama, a young man with autism works alongside his father at a trauma cleaning company owned by his father (trauma cleaning = people who come and clean the rooms of deceased people). When his father suddenly dies, his uncle (who he's never met and is newly released from prison) is appointed to a trial guardianship, as per the father's will. The various trauma cleaning cases are well done, and the familial story at the heart of the show will hit you with an emotional battering ram.
Best K-Drama With Lots of Flashbacks
[winner]Our Beloved Summer
Having flashbacks as a storytelling device is a fairly common narrative device in K-dramas, but I think Our Beloved Summer does it the best. The flashbacks actually feel like they have equal weight and importance to the current day story. Flashbacks can often feel a little bit cheap or lazy, but not in Our Beloved Summer. This drama is the story of two high schoolers who filmed a documentary where they were paired together as the highest and lowest achieving students in their class. After the documentary, they dated for five years until they had a painful breakup. Five years after that, the documentary production company wants to do a follow up to see where they are now. Forced to spend time together again, can they heal past hurts and move forward together?
Best Drama with a Fictional Country that You Should Definitely Avoid Visiting Because There Are Too Many Disasters
[winner]Descendants of the Sun
The show mainly takes place in the fictional country of Uruk where a member of the South Korean special forces is stationed and where his sorta girlfriend doctor is sent on a medical volunteer trip, forcing them to confront their attraction to each other. And then like, disasters start coming and they never stop coming and it is insane! Realistic? no. But SO much fun in its ridiculousness. But also like... don't go visit Uruk. You might find yourself in the midst of an Ebola-type virus outbreak.
Best "Karen is weirdly attracted to men who have been beaten up and maybe should do some self-reflection about it" Moment in a Drama
[winner]Tomorrow
Tomorrow is a solid show. I think there is legitimate criticism to be had about the overly simplistic view of suicide in the show, but if you can accept that the show's view of suicide is outdated, then there are some really great stories being told about life and death and finding reasons to live. But that's not why this show is here. It is here because there's a scene towards the end of the series where a male character has been beaten up and I was like 'sexxxxxy' and had to pause to judge myself. Sharing my shame with you all.
And that's it folks! Thank you for coming to my post. I spent way too much time on this silliness. So please come and play in the comments if you want to argue with me about my picks. Come up with your own weirdly specific award categories! Or if you're a K-drama newbie, come and hang out and maybe get some recommendations for shows to try.