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Pierce Conran

The year 2025 was another big one for Korean dramas, with a wide range of exciting new shows. While the industry may not have produced as many stand-outs as in previous years, the past 12 months still delivered emotional highs.
Here is our pick of the top 15 Korean dramas of the year, from good to great.
15. Melo Movie
Lead cast: Choi Woo-shik, Park Bo-young, Lee Jun-young, Jeon So-nee


Our Beloved Summer scribe Lee Na-eun proved that she was no one-hit wonder with her second series Melo Movie, the story of young professionals in the film industry balancing love and career, success and disappointment.
The show, which once again teams her with lead actor Choi Woo-shik, shows that she is a sensitive writer in tune with her generation’s perspective and concerns.
Choi plays a gregarious film critic who gets involved with an aspiring filmmaker (Park Bo-young). Read our full review
14. Weak Hero Class 2
Lead cast: Park Ji-hoon, Ryeoun, Bae Na-ra, Lee Jun-young


Speaking of follow-ups, the second “class” of Weak Hero, moving from the Korean streamer Wavve to Netflix between seasons, may not have delivered the knockout blow of the first season, but there was much to enjoy as Park Ji-hoon’s reluctant teenage pugilist found himself mixed up with a new group of colourful rivals duking it out in the halls of their school.
The formula – a model student using his smarts to defend himself in a rough school – remains the same, though the budget here is bigger. However, the sheer desire to entertain, while providing strong set pieces, robs the narrative of some of its punch. Read our full review
13. Friendly Rivalry
Lead cast: Lee Hye-ri, Chung Su-bin, Kang Hye-won, Oh Woo-ri


Another stylised high school thriller was the dynamic Friendly Rivalry, this time focusing on female students in a competitive environment.
Lee Hye-ri plays the ice queen who seems to befriend a bewildered transfer student (Chung Su-bin) thrown into a lion’s den.
The engine of this constantly shifting story comes from the evolving relationship between these characters, which is dictated by a volatile mix of empathy and self-interest. Read our full review.
12. Our Unwritten Seoul
Lead cast: Park Bo-young, Park Jin-young, Ryu Kyung-soo


Park Bo-young marks her second entry on this list, playing twins who switch places in Our Unwritten Seoul. One is a corporate overachiever in the city, while the other lives at home in the country, working odd jobs.
Both young adults suffer from a malaise born out of expectations and exhaustion. When they secretly switch places, they are slowly forced to confront their issues and find their way out of their protective emotional shells, though it is far from a simple journey. Read our early preview | midseason recap | final review
11. Dear X
Lead cast: Kim Yoo-jung, Kim Young-dae, Kim Do-hoon


Kim Yoo-jung delivers a magnetic performance as a psychopathic manipulator who escapes a broken home as a young girl and forges a path to stardom by masterfully using each and every person around her.
Stylish and fast-paced, the series had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and later became the first Korean drama to launch globally on HBO Max. Read our early preview
10. Typhoon Family
Lead cast: Kim Min-ha, Lee Joon-ho


Pachinko actress Kim Min-ha is the force that drives this period workplace drama set against the backdrop of the devastating IMF crisis, which ravaged the South Korean economy in the late 1990s.
She plays a lowly actuary who becomes the secret weapon of a struggling trading company as she teams up with its new owner, the late owner’s son (Lee Jun-ho).
While formulaic, Typhoon Family successfully mixes office romcom and chaebol (Korean family-run corporation) drama tropes with a dose of social and historical reality. This proves to be a great combination, which elevates the series above many of its more conventional peers. Read our early preview
9. The Dream Life of Mr Kim
Lead cast: Ryu Seung-ryong, Myung Se-bin, Cha Kang-yoon


In this contemporary office drama, Ryu Seung-ryong plays the everyman salaryman who seems to have it all: a good management-level job, a home in the city and a family. However, hairline cracks on the surface widen into chasms as he pushes too hard to land his long-wished-for promotion.
The Dream Life of Mr Kim wryly examines just how hollow the Korean dream can be and how it can wear people down. The central role is a sensational showcase for Ryu’s relatable and self-deprecating charms. Read our early preview
8. The Price of Confession
Lead cast: Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Go-eun, Park Hae-soo


Sparks fly between top Korean thespians Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun in this twisty thriller that mixes hard-boiled tension and soapy frills.
A woman is jailed for her husband’s murder and strikes a deal with a dangerous younger woman who offers to take responsibility for the crime for a steep price. This compelling premise is only the tip of the iceberg in a series that stitches questions of morality and guilt into a tight thriller.
Though a little slow to start, the series gains momentum before hurtling towards a surprising finish. Read our full review
7. You and Everything Else
Lead cast: Kim Go-eun, Park Ji-hyun


Kim Go-eun also headlines our next pick, alongside rising star Park Ji-hyun in the nostalgic drama You and Everything Else.
Kim and Park play a drama writer and a successful film producer whose close friendship fizzled out years ago. When the producer suddenly appears with an unusual request, the writer is prompted to revisit their past, journeying through their school days and their respective starts in the entertainment industry. Read our full review
6. Squid Game season 3
Lead cast: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Im Si-wan, Wi Ha-joon, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young


After topping our chart of the best K-dramas of 2024, Squid Game drops several spots with its third and final season.
The games remained breathlessly intense and the deaths were as gut-wrenching as ever, but some viewers were frustrated by an unsatisfying climax that failed to cap off the spectacular narrative momentum of last year’s episodes.
Of course, the journey is not over, as the coda confirmed that the Squid Games are alive and well elsewhere in the world. Whoever accepts the baton from series mastermind Hwang Dong-hyuk will have a daunting task ahead of them. Read our early preview
5. Nine Puzzles
Lead cast: Kim Da-mi, Son Suk-ku


Kim Da-mi and Son Suk-ku team up as a brilliant profiler and the detective who suspects her of murder in this thoroughly entertaining procedural thriller.
The Spy Gone North director Yoon Jong-bin orchestrates a polished production, bringing to life the sharp and twisty scripts by Navillera screenwriter Lee Eun-mi.
The series combines several intriguing mysteries, tying them together through the unusual alliance that forms between Kim’s kooky profiler and Son’s frustrated investigator. Read our early preview | final review
4. Aema
Lead cast: Lee Hanee, Bang Hyo-rin, Jin Seon-kyu, Cho Hyun-chul


With his first TV series, Believer director Lee Hae-young brings us back to the highs and lows of the 1980s Korean film industry, specifically through a fictionalised account of the making of Aema, Korea’s first erotic film.
Newcomer Bang Hyo-rin shines as a young woman plucked from an open audition to play the title role in the film, much to the chagrin of a superstar played by Lee Hanee, who is forced to take a secondary role.
Despite their initial misgivings about each other, the actresses soon realise that in a male-dominated industry, there may be more important things than their petty feud. Read our full review
3. The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call
Lead cast: Ju Ji-hoon, Choo Young-woo, Ha Young


Kicking off the year with a bang, Netflix added a jolt of life to the medical drama scene with the furiously entertaining The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.
The series never lets up, leading with high-stakes action, wry comedy and a commanding star turn from Ju Ji-hoon as a heroic doctor standing up to hospital executives more interested in profits than patients.
The series, which is based on a webtoon, has been renewed for two more seasons. Read our full review
2. Way Back Love
Lead cast: Kim Min-ha, Gong Myung


Fantasy, tragedy and romance make for a potent cocktail in the terrific limited drama Way Back Love.
Drawing our laughter and tears in equal measure, the series follows a young woman (played by Kim Min-ha, in her second show on this list) reeling from the death of her close friend (Gong Myung), who suddenly shows up in front of her as a chipper Grim Reaper telling her she only has a few days left to live.
The series is filled with comedy, with the high school flashback sequences a particular delight. Read our early preview | final review
1. When Life Gives You Tangerines
Lead cast: IU, Moon So-ri, Park Bo-gum, Park Hae-joon


Unquestionably the best show of the year, When Life Gives You Tangerines is an intimate Korean drama written on the largest possible canvas.
Spanning the years following the Korean war, the series follows the struggles of a hardy family on Jeju Island, giving us a front seat to Korea’s rapid and tumultuous economic and social advance during the 20th century.
A stellar showcase for its deep roster of stars and character actors and a rousing story built around family and life’s big and small moments, writer Lim Sang-choon’s masterwork is an inspiring and affecting TV event like no other. Read our early preview | midseason recap | final review
For the 15 best K-dramas of 2024, read our ranking here.


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Hyun Bin in a still from Made in Korea. Photo: Disney+

Hyun Bin in a still from Made in Korea, one of a host of new Korean dramas that viewers can look forward to in December. Photo: Disney+

Yoo Ji-tae (left) and Lee Min-jung (centre) in a still from Villains

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Disney+ K-drama Tempest: Jun Ji-hyun, Gang Dong-won and John Cho lead political thriller

Gang Dong-won (left) as Paik San-ho and Jun Ji-hyun as Seo Mun-ju in a still from Tempest. Photo: Disney+

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John Cho as Assistant Secretary of State Anderson Miller in a still from Tempest. Photo: Disney+

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Netflix K-drama Bon Appétit, Your Majesty: Im Yoon-ah leads delectable period drama

Im Yoon-ah from Girls’ Generation plays talented chef Yeon Ji-young in a still from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, a new Korean drama on Netflix.

Lee Chae-min in a still from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.

Lee Chae-min (left) and Im Yoon-ah in a still from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.

Im Yoon-ah in a still from Bon Appétit, Your Majesty.

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Kim Tae-ri (left) and Nam Joo-hyuk in a still from “Twenty-Five, Twenty-One”, one of many popular Korean drama series set in high schools. Photo: Netflix

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Here are our 15 favourite Korean dramas from the past year, which also include Dear X, Typhoon Family, Way Back Love, Aema and Nine Puzzles


Here are our 15 favourite Korean dramas from the past year, which also include Dear X, Typhoon Family, Way Back Love, Aema and Nine Puzzles.


The 15 best K-dramas of 2025 ranked, from Melo Movie to When Life Gives You Tangerines

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Here are our 15 favourite Korean dramas from the past year, which also include Dear X, Typhoon Family, Way Back Love, Aema and Nine Puzzles

15. Melo Movie

14. Weak Hero Class 2

Here are our 15 favourite Korean dramas from the past year, which also include Dear X, Typhoon Family, Way Back Love, Aema and Nine Puzzles