My Kdrama Favorites

Neverending rewatchability; an ensemble of charismatic young actors who punch it superior performances, pull at the heartstrings and get some laughs.  Great romance between the main leads.

This drama tore me apart like no other.  It really reminds you to love life, and care for those around you, all while making you laugh uproariously and cry your heart out

This knocked City Hunter off the pedestal as my favorite Korean action show, and nothing has dethroned it since.  It still leaves me in tears when I rewatch, and the chemistry between the leads is next level.

An epic of gargantuan proportions

I watched this at just the right time in my life. It's mellow coming of age tale about adulthood and family; not usually my thing but it's done exceptionally well, with a lot of stories to tell and pacing that doesn't lose you.

Kim Hye Yoon, you're a star!  Also this show is ingenious and unique and a visual delight

This show is just the right about of soapy melodrama and real, heartbreaking tragedy, with sunlight sliver of innocent, adorable romance. Wonderful performances all around

My favorite Korean revenge case-of-the-week procedural, which is high praise given its one of my favorite genres.  Great casting and cinematography.

This show just hits so many of my beloved kdrama tropes: found family, corruption/revenge storyline, complicated mother/daughter relationships, catharsis.... it's excellent.

The whole cast really pulls out all the stops here; the chemistry is great, and the struggles feel rooted in reality

Uee's performance in this is so impressive and real and complicated, and you really grow with her through the story and begin to love the people around her, too

The creme de la creme of Makjang

One of the few shows I would advocate for ending in a threesome

The way this drama captured young womanhood and college life but also was a mystery/thriller?? And every note was in tune????

I truly loved the message of this show, and Nana's performance and the adorable romance were simply an awesome bonus

My favorite family drama, mostly because the central conflicts felt full and real rather than annoying and cliche

I loved the fandom response to this show, and enjoyed the philosophical slice of life and gorgeous cinematography

Every episode was an emotional rollercoaster. The relationship were all dialed up to the extreme, but somehow it stops short of cartoonish and stays emotional and affecting. I've cried through this many times.

This show lives rent free in my head forever; Byung Yo Han romcom again when???

It started the nostalgia kick, and it did it with such commitment and authenticity and vigor

One of those shows that really shouldn't be as good as it is, but the central romance is just so mesmerizing. Chae Soo Bin is a chemistry machine and I adore her

A great mystery show that switches up the usual dynamics found in Korean detective dramas

An underrated makjang

A joy to watch, and it was before its time genre-wise

An excellently crafted second-chance-at-life drama... You really love and care for the main character and her happiness above all else