It’s pretty common these days in South Korea for TV shows or movies to be adapted from a webtoon, novel, or webnovel even, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t original k-dramas that writers themselves have come up with.
Although the hype is always around the ones based on some other media, MyDramaList’s Top Shows list has mostly original k-dramas taking the top spots, including Twinkling Watermelon, Hospital Playlist, Alchemy of Souls, Flower of Evil, and of course the beloved Reply 1988.
Korean dramas have had such a boom in the last few years, especially because of Netflix, so I wanted shine a light on the older ones that everyone should check out, and many of them are considered a classic now, which every veteran k-drama watcher knows about.
Here’s my list of original Korean dramas to watch that can be easily binge-watched over the weekend, written in the order as I discovered:
1. Faith / The Great Doctor
After watching The Heirs, I looked up Lee Min Ho’s dramas, and so we have the period medical drama Faith, which stars him as General Choi Young, alongside Kim Hee Seon (Tomorrow, Angry Mom) as Dr. Yoo Eun Soo. The drama revolves around Yoo Eun Soo travelling back in time from present day to Goryeo Period to help Choi Young save the life of the queen who has been gravely injured.
Being my first period Korean drama, I enjoyed it quite well, even with it’s not-so-great CGI. The plot development and overall pace was great and so was the acting of the entire cast. Whether this counts as a spoiler or not, but earlier dramas, before Netflix I suppose, had happy ending, so I assure you that you will enjoy this period drama. Faith is also one of the few period original k-dramas that I have finished from start to end with no skipping, so there’s that.
The drama also stars Kim Mi Kyung, who plays Park Shin Hye’s mother in The Heirs, as a mother-like figure to Choi Young. I watched this k-drama nearly 10 years ago, but I remember how engaging the drama was, and the way everything was compared between past and present, whether politics or medicine.
As the drama centers around a doctor, we see how a doctor of the present infuses ancient medicine practices for treatment as well as mystery solving. I cannot account for historical accuracy, and considering the drama is fantasy, I doubt there is much. But Lee Min Ho looks amazing in the historical garb so that’s enough incentive for one to pick this up.
2. Heartstrings/You’ve Fallen for Me
The sweetest drama that there ever was, is none other than Heartstrings, starring Park Shin Hye and CNBLUE’s Jung Yong Hwa, and a string of cast including Lim Se Mi, Lee Yoo Bi, and CNBLUE’s Kang Min Hyuk.
I went in blind with this drama, and it surpassed my expectations. We have the cold guy male lead and the awkward sunshine female lead, with a bit of dumb friends and a jealous rival. The drama is set in a university about music students, with Park Shin Hye’s Lee Kyu Won in the Korean traditional music department and coming from a family of pansori singers, while Jung Yong Hwa’s Shin a guitarist in the applied music department. Both have a very different music style, and end up in a competition due to misunderstandings. From here on, they both become involved with each other and end up working together for a play that the Arts department of the university is putting on.
Shin’s little sister is, drum beats, Moon Ga Young, and she had no relation to plot I just wanted to mention it. There are so many subplots going on in the drama, along with the mandatory college trip, someone falling ill, and second lead couples that are in a drama, but it surprisingly balances all those tropes well. Its cheesy, sometimes awkward, and so much misunderstanding, but that’s just college I guess.
Overall, it’s a light-hearted drama and the reason I am a BOICE, so this drama is definitely a treat to those who like drama centered around music, but not musical dramas.
3. Pinocchio
Image Credit: Amazon
Now, when I looked up Park Shin Hye’s dramas, Pinocchio was still airing at the time, so I watched it on YouTube for a short time. Ah, the days of struggle…
The dramas stars Park Shin Hye as Choi In Ha, and Lee Jong Suk as Ki Ha Myeong/Choi Dal-Po, and an ensemble of cast that many will recognize have starred as main leads in recent dramas. The story begins with young Ha Myeong who has suffered a family tragedy wherein he lost both his parents and got separated from his older brother. He was saved by In Ha’s father from the ocean, who lived away from the city with his daughter and father after divorcing his wife. In Ha’s grandfather has Alzheimer, and believes Ha Myeong to be his son, that is In Ha’s uncle, and so he begins living with the trio. In Ha, meanwhile, suffers from Pinocchio Syndrome, a major plot point as one can guess from the title!
My first Lee Jong Suk drama, the drama deserves all the hype and more. It has a refreshing story, and an amazing cast whom all gave a stellar performance. There is mystery to be solved, as well as social issues to be tackled. The drama also showcased how media has a large influence on people and is used to manipulate them as well, and also the negative side of working in news.
Also, Lee Jong Suk with longer hair looks so cute in this! There are some sweet moments in the drama, and found family trope is strong with this one. Yes, it’s weird when you think about that Dal Po and In Ha grew up as family and are also romantically involved, but oh well, kdramas love to play around this trope. It also dealt with some several serious issues, which were all handled well, and yes, keep the napkins close because it gets teary too.
4. School 2013
Image Credit: KBS
Naturally, the next step would be finding Lee Jong Suk’s drama and lo and behold, it also stars Kim Woo Bin? Jackpot! This was my first School series kdrama, and years after Goblin aired, I found out that both Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook have starred in School 3 and 4, that came out in 1999 and 2000.
Back to School 2013. If you haven’t watched School series, then I highly recommend starting with 2013 one. The series in general revolves around students and teachers and their lives. It’s about friendship, rivalry, bullying, school corruption, rich vs poor and many more themes.
The 2013 one focuses on students, including Lee Jong Suk, Kim Woo Bin, Park Se Young, Kwak Jung Wook, and Ryu Hyo Young, and two teachers, Jang Nara and Daniel Choi, who teach Korean Literature and English respectively. The school is known for having low academic scores in the entire city, and the drama shows how these two teachers help students become better and deal with personal issues.
Now nearly 10 years old, this drama was my first school kdrama, and I can still say that no school drama can beat this drama ever. Fair warning however, there is no romance in drama, but lots of bromance and becoming a better friend, which is what school life is really all about.
5. Blood
Image Credit: dramacream
2015 was really a year for kdramas for me because I was about to begin college and slowly getting into kpop and kdrama more seriously. All I knew about Blood was that Gu Hye Sun had previously appeared in Boys Over Flowers and that its about vampires. Now, I was big on vampires, given the popularity of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, so naturally I watched this drama.
Before I begin to tell you what this drama really is, which is a vampire medical mystery drama, I should tell you that the drama did not fare well, and the two leads, Ahn Jae Hyun and Gu Hye Sun got married and divorced a couple years back, so the drama has quite the drama around it as well. But if you are new to kdramas, or just dramas in general, then you will like it, because the plot is certainly interesting, even if all other aspects fail. And yes, the romance is pretty great. The couple together looks cute, honestly.
The story is about Park Ji Sang, played by Ahn, who is a vampire as well as a doctor, who begins working at a hospital owned by the family of Yoo Ri Ta, played by Gu, who is also a doctor there. We uncover the mystery of Park Ji Sang’s origin as well as the tragedy that led to the death of his father as well as his mother.
It does give off that vibe of, this drama is taking itself too seriously, with sometimes too awkward comic relief moments, but it is in this list, and it’s enjoyable for those who like vampire-related stuff.
6. Who Are You: School 2015
Image Source: subtitledream
Honestly, this drama was such a rollercoaster! I had not watched, or heard, about any of the actors of this drama, and began it because it was School series and now it had been a year since I got into kdramas. How do I begin with this…
Starring child star Kim Soo Hyun in double role as twin sisters Lee Eun Bi and Ko Eun Byeol, Nam Joo Hyuk as Han Yi Nan and BTOB’s Sung Jae as Gong Tae Kwang, this school drama dealt with slightly darker themes, such as bullying, murder, and mental illness. The drama begins with Eun Bi, an orphan, being bullied at school by some girls to the extent that she wants to commit suicide, but is saved by someone. When she regains conscious, she is at a hospital and has lost all memories. She meets her mother, who tells her that she is Go Eun Byeol, her adopted daughter.
It is later revealed that Eun Bi had a twin sister but the two were at different orphanages. However, Eun Byeol is missing, and Eun Bi starts attending her sister’s school under Eun Byeol’s identity, and works to solve the mystery of her missing sister.
This is all just the first episode, so imagine the entire series! While it does seems sometimes that the beginning was too rushed and the rest was at a slow pace, overall the drama was like teenage thriller, to be honest. I loved the fact that the bully were punished and suffered the consequences of their action early on, but of course the second lead syndrome was a little too much here. The acting was stellar and I want to give special shout out to Nam Joo Hyuk, who always seems to be a swimmer in every second drama he did during his early years. It’s so weird that right after this drama, Sung Jae did Goblin while Nam Joo Hyuk did Scarlet Moon and Weightlifting Fairy. They looked like such babies here!
7. I Remember You / Hello Monster
Image Credit: Black Sesame
Yes, I’ll admit I began this drama for EXO’s Kyungsoo, but I stayed for Park Bo Gum (also Seo In Guk). Up until this drama, I had not watched any police/detective drama. Honestly, the way Jang Nara was portrayed here was not that great, because she was a police officer who often ended up in trouble with things she would not have if the character was a male officer. But moving on, the drama kept me on my toes from start to end.
The plot is pretty complicated, so I’ll tell you in brief about the four main characters. Two brothers were separated at a young age when a sociopath killer escapes from prison and murders the inspector who had him arrested. The younger brother is taken by the killer. In present, the older brother, played by Seo In Guk, who studied abroad and became a professor, comes back to Korea and tries to solve the disappearance of his brother and find his killer’s father. Jang Na Ra, who plays a police officer, has been closley following the older brother and the case of his family and they become involved.
Apart from the main mystery, Seo In Guk’s character also helps the police officers in solving other cases. The cases shown in the drama are pretty intense, but like I mentioned before, Jang Nara’s character did annoy me because she wasn’t portrayed as a female detective should, like Moon Chae Won’s character in Flower of Evil. She kept needing to be saved by the male lead. The characters otherwise are great, and pretty enjoyable. I watched it a long time back, so I can’t say much, but I did finish it so it will be worth your while.
8. Sassy Go Go/Cheer Up!
Image Credit: Viki
Finally, a drama I cannot stop recommending enough, my favorite school drama, Sassy Go Go, which is also known by several other names. It stars Apink’s Eun Ji as the female lead and Lee Won Geun as the male lead. Unlike any school drama that I’d watched till then, this drama was centered around two student group, one who loved to dance, and other which consisted of toppers of the school.
Set in a rather prestigious school, Kang Yeon Doo, played by Jung Eun Ji, is the leader of a dance group, all of whom are also the ones who score the lowest at their school, and they want to become a big sensation. However, their practice at school interrupts the study session of the studious students, which is ‘led’ by topper Kim Yeol, played by Lee Won Geun, who end up getting the dance group disbanded. This is how the conflict between the students begin.
However, in order for Kwon Soo A, the second position holder played by Chae Soo Bin, to get into an Ivy League College, she needs be a part of an extracurricular activity in her school. So her devises a plan for the school to make a cheering squad and take part in the national cheering competition. For this, they enlist the help of Yeon Doo and her fellow dance group members, forcing the two group who hate each other to work together.
There’s romance, their friendship, there’s jealousy, second and third lead syndrome, the student who needs to get a life away from study, mothers ruling over school principal and what not. This drama made me fall in with Lee Won Geun, as well as get into two more K-pop groups, Apink and VIXX, whose Cha Hak Yeon plays the role of Ha Dong Jae, Yeon Doo’s childhood friend and fellow classmate.
I loved this drama to bits, it has amazing character developments, interesting character backstories, and the student residential system that I missed since To The Beautiful You and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. Also, the way all friendships are shown, how they patch up and help each other through tough times, is depicted so nicely, like the drama is so kind it’s insane, given how heavy some of the themes are.
9. Circle: Two Worlds Connected
Image Credit: kdramalove
The WAY this drama was ahead of its time! The story, the plot, the mind of the makers of the drama, all of it so insane, so out of the box, and SO MUCH UNDERAPPRECIATED!!!!!
I will admit, I like Yeo Jin Goo and have watched his stuff a lot, but that which is surprisingly liked by few, like Ornage Marmalade, what the fuck was that fever dream, and Link: Eat, Love, Kill. Best believe me when I say I have not finished The Crowned Clown, Hotel Del Luna, or Beyond Evil, why, I don’t know.
But let’s talk about Circle, a science fiction drama which stars him along with Kim Kang Woo, who plays his older brother, along with Gong Seung Yeon, an alien who fell on earth and was discovered by the two brothers and their father when the kids were very young. The story mostly takes place in future, where earth has become inhabitable and those who can afford to live in this other dimension which is equivalent to utopia. In the future, the younger brother has disappeared, and so has the alien, while the older brother has become a police officer looking for his younger brother, and has also lost some of his past memories.
The drama alternates between year 2017 and 2037.
In all, I think the drama was simply *chef’s kiss*. I know the storyline does not interest many, and the drama could have ended better if it was longer than 12 episodes, but it’s such a treat for science fiction fans. I am a sucker for these things, blame Wall-E for that, and this drama not only had a great cast but an amazing execution according to me, although there was room for improvement. It seemed rushed at the end and there are still so many unanswered mysteries, but like Jane Austen, if I loved you less, I may be able to talk about it more. Also, Lee Gi Kwang from Highlight is also in the drama and I loved his acting, wish he did more dramas tbh.
10. Man To Man
Image Credit: IMDb
Would you have guessed this drama making onto the list? The action spy drama Man to Man was me seeing Park Hae Jin in a lead role after not finishing Cheese In The Trap, which I did later finish it, like a year ago, because I also tried reading the webtoon and it was unnecessarily long that I gave up and read the end chapters.
Anyways, Man to Man is a fun and light-hearted watch, with a bit weird plot that is actually crazy as it unfolds in the show. The drama centers around international spy Kim Sul Woo, played by Park Hae Jin, who has to carry out a mission in his home country South Korea, for which he has to go undercover as the bodyguard of famous actor Yeo Woon Gang, played by Park Sung Woong. While dealing with the actor, he also has to deal with his assistant, Cha Do Ha, played by Kim Min Jung.
The drama is funny, well according to my standards in 2017, and a good enough plot which did become boring between action scenes, and there were some rather cringe moments, as romance comedy dramas usually have, but overall it was a fun watch.
Yes, the plot is bizarre in the sense how this famous actor, known for portraying villains is a favourite of some foreign gangster/mobster? Also how you can be so undercover that you have a child with the villain of the show? But is it fun? Yes, actually, and I am sure I watched it for the comedy and the banter between Sul Woo and Woon Gang. But I would still recommend it to someone getting into kdramas.
11. The Guest
Image Source: WeTV
Before I talk about this, this is a horror, and I mean horror kdrama which is not for the weak. The Guest, which stars Kim Dong Wook, a shaman, Kim Jae Wook, a Catholic exorcist priest, and Jung Eun Chae, a detective, is a scary and very eerie drama.
For me, this was my first serious horror drama, and kdrama fans know that most horror dramas are comic as well, so for fans of horror, you are gonna fall in love with this one.
The drama centers around an evil spirit/ghost, which has affected the lives of all three lead characters when they were young, and how the three meet by fate in present and have to team up in order to defeat that spirit and restore peace/take revenge.
I was surprised by how actually scary this drama was, like visually as well as auditory, and it kept me on the edge of my seat till the last minute of the drama. There is no romance, so the story offers us the power of friendship and found family trope. By the end of the drama, I was almost convinced that ghosts are real. The acting was obviously top notch, with this being my first drama of any of the lead actors. However, after the drama all of the actors became my favourite actors, especially Kim Jae Wook.
12. Search: WWW
Image Credit: Amazon
A drama which ended up becoming one of the best dramas I have ever watched, Search: WWW stars Im Soo Jung, Lee Da Hee, and Jeon Hye Jin in the lead roles, with Jang Ki Yong, Lee Jae Wook, and Ji Seung Hyun as their love interests/partners. The drama, for me, was a refreshing one, which focused on career woman and their lives with romance taking a back seat, sort of.
Up until now, all dramas I had watched were centered around a man or a couple, but this drama centered around these three woman, with male leads that were all green flags.
In the beginning, Im Soo Jung’ Bae Ta Mi works under her senior Jeon Hye Jin’s Song Ga Kyeong at Unicon, owned by the latter’s husband’s family, but due to a conflict she leaves the company and joins Barro, the rival company of Unicon, where Lee Da Hee’s Cha Hyeon works.
As the competition goes between the two firms and conflicts arise, Ta Mi meets Park Morgan, played by Jang Ki Yong, a young CEO of a music company that provides content for video games. Meanwhile, Hyeon meets aspiring actor Seol Ji Hwan, played by Lee Jae Wook, who also stars in her favourite drama. Ga Kyeong is married to Oh Jin Woo, played by Ji Seung Hyun, who is the youngest son of the chairwoman of KU Group, a movie director and producer, whose mother is the chairwoman of one of the largest conglomerate in South Korea, KU Group.
I was already a fan of Lee Jae Wook, and did not know he played a role in this drama as I went in blind, but oh my goodness is he the sweetest being ever. The drama is around woman in their thirties, so the love interests of Ta Mi and Hyeon are younger, which is also addressed as an important factor in their relationships.
The chemistry between all characters is amazing, and we get to see all of them interact with each other at some point. There’s lots of twists and turns and also cute moments. The drama deals with several issues and I feel they were handled well, with every character given a back-story or a reason as to why they act the way they do. The OST is sung by Mamamoo, so the drama is great in that too. The pilot episode did seem to move fast in order to set the story, and there are a few slow moments, but it’s great and we learn a lot about how internet really works and how competitive all these web portals really have to be.
13. Because This Is My First Life
Image Credit: subtitledreams
A drama I began because my friend recommended it, Because This Is My First Life is a rom-com drama with Lee Min Ki, Jung So Min, Esom, Park Byung Eun, Kim Ge Eun, and Kim Min Seok apart from DOTS.
The story revolves around the six people and how they navigate through their careers and relationships, coming in terms with past and moving onto new beginnings.
The females leads have been friends since school, with Jung So Min’s Yoon Ji Ho being a screenwriter going through a career crisis, Esom’s Woo Soo Ji working in a corporate office, and Kim Ga Eun’s Yang Ho Rang working as a server at a restaurant. Lee Min Ki’s Nam Se Hee works as a designer at an online dating company, whose CEO is Park Byung Eun’s Ma Sang Goo, and Ho Rang’s longtime boyfriend with who she shares a house, Sim Won Seok played by Kim Min Seok, is a developer at his own startup. Won Seok also knows Sang Goo as he was his junior in college.
Ji Ho and Se Hee end up sharing a flat, owned by Se Hee, and so the lives of all six people becomes intertwined.
I did not expect the drama to be as enjoyable and funny as it was, and the cast was just amazing. The characters in this drama are so relatable its crazy. Again, all the leads are such green flags, and the relationship dynamics, whether friends or family, have been depicted to accurately that this drama is for sure to become anyone’s favourite from the first minute. Also, special shout out to the cat Woori.
The drama also gives us life lessons, and references to the American movie The Gradute, which is Ji Ho’s favourite movie, with a very interesting way of portraying certain scenes and events. The character growth is *chef’s kiss* and the dialogues, Oh My God, true life lessons right there. Also, peep Kim Min Gyu’s cameo.
14. Just Between Lovers
Image Credit: Viki
Also known as Rain or Shine, Just Between Lovers is a melodrama romance drama with Lee Jun Ho and Won Jin Ah as the survivors of a tragedy and their fateful re-encounter years later.
Lee Jun Ho is easily the most versatile actor I have seen, despite being an idol, and I have loved every project he has been in. When you say range, Lee Jun Ho has to be the first name that comes to mind. His depiction of Lee Gang Do is simply phenomenal. But Won Jin Ah played her character Ha Moon Soo equally well, balancing being cute as well as mature.
The drama begins when the two were 15 and were at a mall, with Moon Soo there with her younger sister and Gang Do with his father who worked at construction for the mall. The mall then suddenly collapsed taking the lives of many. Moon Soo and Gang Do fortunately survive, after being trapped for over four days, and their lives change as Moon Soo’s sister dies in the accident and her parents end up divorcing, and Gang Do, who wanted to become a football players, taking a serious injury to his leg.
While Moon Soo becomes an architect, Gang Do drops out of school and starts working, and now lives frugally and does odd jobs at construction sites or similar to earn money for his younger sister’s medical studies. The two meet when construction begins at the site where the old mall collapsed, being handled by Seo Joo Won, played by Lee Ki Woo, son of the man who had built the mall.
There are many characters in the drama overall, it may seem overwhelming if I talk about them here. The drama is about trauma bonding, as well as getting over the trauma and how different people cope with tragedy. Something that struck me in the drama was how everyone had issues that they were struggling to resolve, and all very real. The drama handles its plot well and in a manner which makes it a sort of healing drama. I love the interactions of all the characters, and how the drama balances between nice people and villainous people, and that it takes its time in showing development of characters.
It’s a pretty serious drama with equally serious themes, with even themes like physical and mental disability, as well as accessibility, portrayed well.
Also, Kim Min Gyu also stars as a supporting character here as well.
15. Kill It
Image Credit: WeTV
Finally, a drama that left me feeling empty for days, Kill It starring Jang Ki Yong as an assassin and Nana, a detective looking into serial murders.
A short drama of twelve episodes, I began this drama because of the plot and stayed for the chemistry between the two leads. Jang Ki Yong has a face for a serious role, I honestly think this role and the one in My Roommate Is A Gumiho were perfect for him. His acting here is amazing, I think he should become an action hero. But I also liked him in Search: WWW, he was acting so cute because he was younger than the love interest. Ahhh… Anyways, back to drama at hand.
As you can guess, the murders are done by Jang Ki Yong’s Kim Soo Hyun, on orders from someone, that are relayed to him through his broker Phillip, played by Lee Jae Won. Soo Hyun was to be killed when he was younger, but the assassin instead takes him in and raises him as his own. As the assassin, played by none other than David McInnis, dies while carrying out a mission, Soo Hyun learns that his father ordered his assassination. He comes to Korea to find out about his birth and past, while carrying out assignments as well disguised as a vet.
Nana, who plays Do Hyun Jin, is a detective who is investigating the murders and ends up living in the same building as Soo Hyun, all the while being suspicious of him.
It’s pretty interesting how all the characters in the drama are connected to each other, and also the big reveal at the end which was totally worth it. The drama is fast-paced, given the less number of episodes, but easy to finish that makes you question your morals and ethics at one point. We have a strong female character who stands up for herself and can also take care of herself, unlike Jang Nara’s character in Hello Monster, and man Nana is so pretty.
I loved Phillip honestly, and he also acted as a comic relief sometimes, and was also our protag’s only friend.
All I can say, is that if you love mystery and action, this one’s for you!
Well, that’s it from my side. Let me know if there’s any drama you would like to add in the list, or recommend some dramas that are similar to the ones I wrote here.
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