The K-drama industry shows no sign of stopping—as it shouldn’t—and more and more shows are available on streaming services as part of their original programming. 2025 has been an exceptionally fruitful year for K-dramas of all genres, from rom-coms and historical, sageuk dramas to thrillers and action; Netflix has even rolled out its first original K-variety show, Three Idiots in Kenya.
If you’ve been keeping up with this year, you might have heard about the best K-dramas of the year, but just in case you haven’t, and would like a list of some of the best shows out there, here are the ten best K-dramas of 2025, ranked.
10
‘Tastefully Yours’
Tastefully Yours is one of the best K-dramas of the year, and it’s a story with a modern setting, and it’s simple, yet beautifully complex in every way a K-drama can be. The show stars Kang Ha-neul, one of the greatest K-drama male leads of the 2010s and beyond, the beautiful Go Min-si, and the hilarious duo Kim Shin-rok and Yoo Su-bin. The cinematography is stunning, and the show succeeds in evoking that feeling that many K-drama viewers get, wanting to be there, among the narrow streets of Seoul or beyond, cooking greatly delicious food, and living a quintessentially domestic and calm life.
Tastefully Yours follows the smug and cunning heir to Korea’s biggest food conglomerate, Han Beom-woo (Kang). He and his brother are rivals, and both fight for their distant mother’s approval with their business ventures; Beom-woo often steals recipes from small restaurants and gives them to the chefs in his Michelin-starred restaurants. When he tries to steal a recipe from the reclusive and solitary chef Yeon-joo (Go), his life is turned upside down, and both of them go through a major transformation. Simple yet delicious, Tastefully Yours is a really fun and romantic binge-watch.
9
‘Dear Hongrang’
Dear Hongrangstands as one of the most devastating K-dramas of the year, and it’s set in the old Joseon era, so it’s technically a sageuk tragedy. The storyline is complex, and the characters are morally gray, which is always an interesting twist in a K-drama. Dear Hongrang, in a way, returns to the formative K-dramas with its melodramatic plot, to the times of Winter Sonata or I Love You, I’m Sorry. Lee Jae-wook stands firmly as the titular Hong-rang, showing off great skills in action, melodrama, and mystery; his appearance alone often brings an air of unknown to a scene, and he nails this aspect beautifully.
Dear Hongrang opens with the return of adult Prince Hong-rang (Lee), who has been missing since he was eight years old. His half-sister, Jae-yi (Jo Bo-ah), never stopped looking for him, and now that he’s back, she doesn’t believe this is really him; she looks into his past while the “new” Hong-rang deals with court and palace intrigue. The show is fun, but very emotional and mellow, though it has great moments of choreographed action.
8
‘Nine Puzzles’
As one of the best thrillers of the year, Nine Puzzles is a unique cat-and-mouse chase that casts suspicion on every single character in the ensemble; you often don’t know who is the killer and why, but once you find out, it’s a major plot twist and things fall into place perfectly; everyone has a reason, but no one has the guts to really do all those things, basically. Nine Puzzles is packed with famous Korean stars; it’s led by Son Suk-ku and Kim Da-mi, who are great fun together, but there are also guest stars like Park Gyu-young, Ji Jin-hee, and Hwang Jung-min.
Nine Puzzles opens with high school girl E-na (Kim) arriving home, where she lives with her uncle (Ji), and finding him dead. Next to him is a black-and-white puzzle piece that she keeps long into her adulthood, when she becomes a profiler. Detective Han-saem (Son), knowing E-na was the only witness at the scene, continues to suspect her over the years; however, when he gets another puzzle piece at a crime scene, he and E-na must join forces to find the person committing these crimes. It’s quite intense at times, and despite slowing down towards the end, Nine Puzzles is a fun murder mystery.
7
‘The Haunted Palace’
A sageuk with a sci-fi/fantasy premise? Count everyone in, because The Haunted Palace is a funny and heartfelt historical romance that weaves together multiple genres in a way only a K-drama can. The Haunted Palace stars Yook Sung-jae and Kim Ji-yeon in a sparkling dynamic; Yook is ridiculously funny, and Kim is very charismatic. Together, they have a wonderful chemistry and fill every scene with great energy. They’re joined by Kim Ji-hoon as the third most important character, and the one who introduces high stakes into the story as something of an antagonist.
The Haunted Palace opens with the story of Kang Chul, a dragon who, after completing his 1000 years of training, must ascend to space. However, his ascent is interrupted, and he develops a deep hatred for humans. When he inhabits the body of the royal palace member, Yoon-gap (Yook), Yoon-gap’s longtime love, the shaman Yeo-ri (Kim), tries to win him over again, but her efforts prove in vain because Yoon-gap doesn’t seem to be the same. With some mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, The Haunted Palace is a gem worth watching.
6
‘Bon Appétit, Your Majesty’
Another show that blends a favorite sci-fi trope—time travel—with fantasy and history is Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, the most streamed Netflix K-drama in over 20 countries during August and September. The show’s premise is simple, and it’s been seen many times before, but Bon Appétit, Your Majesty still remains incredibly fun and romantic; it’s the show you turn on to spend time with when you wish to cozy up and enjoy the warm vibes of greatly cooked food and a nice romantic plot.
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty follows a modern, award-winning chef, Yeon Ji-yeong (Im Yoon-ah), who, after winning a prestigious cooking contest, finds herself transported several hundred years back to old Joseon, where she becomes the cook of the King Yi Heon (Lee Chae-min). She tries to figure out how to return to her life while navigating court dynamics and royal politics; her cooking softens the heart of an otherwise ruthless Yi Heon, and she learns something about herself, too. The recipe is foolproof, and Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is endlessly fun throughout.
5
‘As You Stood By’
A heartbreaking story with a happy ending, As You Stood By is a binge-worthy K-drama that has two charismatic and stunning female leads—Lee Yoo-mi and Jeon So-nee. The two never fight for the spotlight, but rather support each other throughout the series; with both women having to go through their own life lessons, the story weaves their personalities perfectly. This show might have to be issued with a trigger warning, though, because it depicts (and revolves around) domestic violence. However, it uses that to drive its point further, which is a critique of a society that turned passive and stays silent.
As You Stood By follows Eun-soo (Jeon), a luxury shopping mall employee and personal shopper for wealthy clients. When the wife of one of her clients shows up with visible marks of abuse, Eun-soo looks away, and her trauma of witnessing domestic violence at home resurfaces. After she realizes that her best friend, Hui-soo (Lee), is experiencing the same thing at her home, Eun-soo decides to stop looking away and help Hui-soo get out. It’s a story of perseverance, bravery, and friendship, but also a mirror to modern society and a call to action in some ways.
4
‘Weak Hero Class 2’
Weak Hero Class 2 is the second season of Weak Hero Class 1 (or simply Weak Hero), and it’s a brilliant continuation of a show that won the world over by storm in 2022. Weak Hero is an action-packed story set in high school, depicting school violence as a relentless recurrence, but also showing the victims of bullying fighting back. Park Ji-hoon is the star of both seasons, and he’s the quiet and brooding modern hero many people love to see. This K-drama has universally won over all types of audiences, regardless of age and gender, which is why it’s been record-breaking since it first came out.
Weak Hero Class 2 follows Si-eun (Park), a hyper-intelligent high school student who stands in the defense of a frequently bullied classmate one day. Si-eun doesn’t know how to fight, but his analytical skills often give him the upper hand. Class 2 follows the events of Class 1, and sees Si-eun transferred to a different school, where he makes new friends ready to stand up to school bullying. The action is relentless and often feels overdone, but the choreographies and action scenes are so well-made that it never feels unrealistic. People are holding out hope for Weak Hero Season 3—and they’re valid for it, since there’s a lot of potential.
3
‘Our Unwritten Seoul’
Our Unwritten Seoul stars Park Bo-young in a dual role as twins, and fans of one of the greatest K-drama female leads will relish this series. This drama combines a romantic premise with a coming-of-age story, and Park portrays two women leading different lives who are identical only in appearance; both struggle, and both grow, but their power and bond increase when they come together. Our Unwritten Seoul is heartfelt and sometimes sad, but never boring or monotone—it’s one of the best-rated shows of the year.
Our Unwritten Seoul follows two identical twins living separate lives—Yoo Mi-ji and Mi-rae. Mi-ji is a former promising athlete who, after an injury, was forced to retreat from sports; she decided to stay in her hometown and take care of her and Mi-rae’s grandmother. Mi-rae is an academically gifted corporate employee who left home, but she’s not as physically adept as her sister. When Mi-ji hears that Mi-rae is being bullied at work, she suggests they switch places for a while. This gives the sisters insight into each other’s lives, but also weaves some romantic subplots and misunderstandings. Park is lovely, as usual, and the best part of the series by a long shot.
2
‘The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call’
Fans of medical K-dramas will agree that The Trauma Code: Heroes On Callis one of the best K-dramas of the year. To think that it came out in January 2025 and stayed on top throughout the rest of the year is not just commendable but a true sign of a well-written, well-made series. There’s a lot to love about Trauma Code: Ju Ji-hoon is as charming and masterful as ever; Choo Young-woo joins him as a great supporting actor and comedic talent, continuing his newcomer’s streak (he debuted in 2021); and the show has plenty of excitement, close calls, mysteries, and medical emergencies to make every single moment fun.
The Trauma Code is set at the Hankuk National University Hospital, which is struggling to allocate a budget for its most important department, the Trauma Center. The Minister of Health invites a highly experienced and mysterious trauma doctor and combat medic, Baek Kang-hyuk (Ju), to train doctors in the Trauma Center and rebuild it so it can earn its funding. Baek, however, is very unorthodox and often brash, but his methods are life-saving and easy for other doctors to pick up. We’re still holding out hope that Season 2 will be approved, as Trauma Code is one of the best K-dramas of the 2020s, not just this year.
1
‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’
When we think of historical romance, we think of K-dramas with the Joseon-era outfits and setting, but When Life Gives You Tangerines is proof that these kinds of shows can also be set in history closer to our modern age—the 1950s. When Life Gives You Tangerines is an amazing chronicle of the love between two wonderful people from Jeju Island, Ae-sun (IU) and Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum). The show won four awards, including Best Series, at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, which would be the equivalent of the Golden Globes or Emmys in the US. This is also one of the highest-rated K-dramas, maybe ever, with a 9.1 on IMDb and a 100% RT score.
When Life Gives You Tangerines spreads across decades and is shown in a non-linear way: the events in it take place between the 1950s and the 2000s, depicting Ae-sun and Gwan-sik, their families, and the lives of their children later on. The show is narrated by IU in a secondary role as Ae-sun and Gwan-sik’s daughter, Geum-myeong, who often contributes her emotions and thoughts on events in the episodes, too. This heartfelt family story depicts the ups and downs of a regular Jeju family, proving that art and beauty lie in the little things, and that life itself is a story worth living in.
