Are you looking into starting a Korean drama, but don’t know where to start because of the overwhelming selection? Don’t worry, I’ve got you! I have been watching Korean dramas for 5 years now and I think I’ve watched close to 60 dramas to date (this number is only going to grow). They get you hooked so easily and make it hard to stop watching them. To this day, I still don’t know what makes them so addictive. I’ve come up with a list of 5 dramas that are, in my point of view, a must watch.
- Descendants of The Sun (2016)
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Descendants of The Sun got me hooked really quickly. I watched 7 episodes of the 16 in one night and finished the drama in three days. It follows the love between Yoo Si-Jin (Song Joon-Ki), a captain of a special force unit, and Kang Mo-Yeon (Song Hye-Kyo), a doctor. What is really interesting about this drama is that the love story does not start the same as other dramas. I won’t say anything more, though – if you want to understand, watch the show!
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)
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This is a historical drama with Lee Ji-Eun (aka IU) and Lee Joong-Gi. IU plays Go Ha-Jin, a 21st century woman who is transported to the 10th century after a solar eclipse. She wakes up as Hae Soo among the royal princes of the Goryeo Dynasty. There she will fall in love with Wang So, the dreadful fourth prince. Scarlet Heart will make you laugh, cry and get angry. This drama was the first historical drama I watched and made me like this genre.
- Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2016-2017)
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This is an amazing drama. I fell in love with it within the first few minutes of the first episode. Everything about it was amazing, from the story and cast to the soundtrack. Goblin is a fantasy romance drama about Kim Shin, played by Gong Yoo, a goblin who possess immortal life. He has waited 900 years for a human bride, the only person who can end his immortal life. He meets Ji Eun-Tak, played by Kim Go-Eun, who is the Goblin’s bride. The complications start when he starts falling in love with her and then tries to find how he can stay alive. Goblin will make you go through every emotion from the first episode until the final second of the last episode.
- Hotel Del Luna (2019)
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Another drama with IU that will tug on your heartstrings. IU plays Jang Ma-Wol, the immortal owner of The Hotel Del Luna. She became immortal because of an error she did many years ago. Koo Chan-Sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) is the manager of the hotel because of a deal his father made when he was younger. This drama shows the versatility of IU, the character of Jang Ma-Wol being very different from the one of Hae Soo. This drama was very successful in Korea, and as you watch, you understand why.
- The Fiery Priest (2019)
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The only non-romantic drama of this list, it was an exciting action-packed drama. It tells the story of Kim Hae-Il (Kim Nam-Gil), a priest who, following the death of an elderly priest, joins forces with a detective and a prosecutor. The Fiery Priest is a perfect mix of action and fun that it will make you laugh out loud.
These are my top 5 dramas that everyone must watch. These dramas are really fun to watch and hopefully you will enjoy them like I did. You can find them on Viki or Netflix.