A-list actress Lee Na-young’s long-awaited return to television saw sparks fly with noona-killer Lee Jong-suk. Lee stars as Kang Dan-yi, a divorced mother who used to be a successful copywriter, but has been out of the workforce for years and is now broke and unemployed (no thanks to her ex-husband).

Her old friend Cha Eun-ho (Lee Jong-suk) is the youngest editor at a publishing company and a popular writer. Eun-ho’s always had a soft spot for his noona, and Dan-yi ends up working at his company after secretly applying.

Get ready for some serious second-lead syndrome with book designer Ji Seo-joon (Wi Ha-joon).

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My Name is Kim Sam-soon (2005)

Without a doubt, the OG of noona-romance, also known as My Lovely Sam Soon in English. A very sassy Kim Sun-ah plays the titular heroine, who is belittled by others for her lack of success, her weight and her singlehood.

Hyun Bin plays Hyun Jin-hun, the chaebol owner of an upscale French restaurant, who witnesses Sam-soon’s humiliating break-up. Despite their antagonistic beginnings, she ends up working for him, and through a series of events pretends to be his girlfriend.

Throw in the return of Jin-hun’s ex-girlfriend (played by Jung Ryeo-won) and a hunky Korean-American doctor (Daniel Henney), and drama ensues.

With great acting, sizzling romance and a stellar soundtrack, it’s no wonder this is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas of all time.

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When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

This drama isn’t Gong Hyo-jin’s first noona romance – she starred in 2005’s Hello My Teacher with a young Gong Yoo – though we much prefer When the Camellia Blooms, which mixes comedy, romance, and social issues with great aplomb.

Single mother Dong Baek moves to the small town of Ongsan, sending tongues wagging when the locals realise she’s opening a “gasp” bar. She catches the eye of a tenacious police office, Hwang Yong-shik (Kang Ha-neul), who isn’t put off by her single-mother status or her job. By chance, her ex-boyfriend, baseball star Kang Jong-ryeol (Kim Ji-suk), reappears in her life, further complicating things. Add a serial killer in the background, and the stakes are up, in both Dong Baek’s life and love life.

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I Can Hear Your Voice (2013)

Before Lee Jong-suk romanced Lee Na-young, he established his status as a noona-killer in this supernatural romance-thriller. After witnessing his father’s murder, young Park Soo-ha gains the ability to hear people’s thoughts after looking into their eyes. During the trial, despite the threats of the murderer Min Joon-kook (a terrifying Jung Woong-in), a brave Jang Hye-sung (Lee Bo-young; Kim So-hyun as her child counterpart) testifies, but it changes her life forever.

Ten years later, Soo-ha meets his childhood crush and heroine, now a cynical lawyer, whose life is threatened by the reappearance of Joon-kook.

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Witch’s Romance (2014)

A remake of Taiwanese drama My Queen, this has the biggest age gap out of all our noona romances. Singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa stars as 39-year-old investigative reporter Ban Ji-yeon, who was stood up at the altar. Throwing herself into her work, her perfectionist tendencies result in her colleagues calling her a witch.

Yoon Dong-ha, 25, played by a then-unknown Park Seo-joon, is a man-for-hire – literally, he will take any odd job, including pretending to be someone’s boyfriend. Despite his carefree demeanour, Dong-ha’s haunted by the past.

While K-dramas often suffer from passionless kisses, Uhm and Park have amazing chemistry together, and aren’t afraid to get hot and heavy.

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