The holiday season is that best time of year where watching cringe-worthy korean dramas romance and love stories is perfectly acceptable. Romantic k-dramas tell the stories of finding true love, reuniting families and finding oneself, and that go well with a fuzzy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.
If you’re scrolling through Netflix and looking for some romantic k-dramas, here are 16 romantic korean dramas to plan out your holiday spirit binge-watch.
Hometown cha-cha-cha was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated series on cable television history. It also became one of Netflix’s most watched non-English television shows.
A love story set in the seaside village of Gongjin. Yoon Hye Jin, who works as a dentist, is a woman who has both beauty and brains. However, her life plan falls apart because of the tiny bit of righteousness in her heart, and after various obstacles, she moves to the seashore village Gongjin and meets Hong Doo Shik. She becomes curious about him. Hong Doo Shik is called Chief Hong by the local residents. He is officially unemployed, but he is a master of odd jobs who appears to help everyone in Gongjin with any situation they run into. This drama is so romantic and healing.
Having recently suffered a painful breakup, Yu Mi’s love cells have fallen into a deep coma. While the surrounding cells work hard to revive their fallen compatriots, Yu Mi spends her days stuck in the grind of everyday life. With a heart still broken and no romantic prospects, Yu Mi’s love cells might have been in serious trouble had it not been for the sudden appearance of Goo Woong. An emotionally stunted game developer, Goo Woong has no idea how to express his true feelings, but after meeting Yu Mi, he finds himself wanting to try. With his own love cells unexpectedly sparking Yu Mi’s back to life, things between the two start to get interesting. With both Yu Mi and Goo Woong’s cells working overtime, the two find themselves drawing ever closer. But will the efforts of this small collection of cells really be enough to bring two hearts together forever?
Adapted from the webtoon of the same name.
The king Affection
When the Crown Prince’s consort Princess gives birth to twins, the twins are considered an ominous sign, and the order is sent to kill the daughter. To save her, she is secretly sent out of the palace. A few years later, the twin son Lee Hwi dies due to a disease. To hide her twin son’s death, the mother brings back the daughter and raises her as Prince Lee Hwi. Lee Hwi eventually becomes a crown prince. Fearing that her real identity will be revealed, Lee Hwi is unable to have anyone close to her and hides her emotions from others, making biting remarks. Although she distances herself, she starts developing feelings for Jung Ji Woon, her teacher and also her first love who comes from a noble family. . ~~ Adapted from the manhwa “Yeonmo” (연모) by Lee So Young (이소영
THE RED SLEEVE
In Korea during the first half of the 1700s, Yi San is an aloof and perfection-loving young prince. At court, he meets a young woman named Sung Deok Im. Yi San falls in love with her and tries to convince her to become his official concubine. But Sung Deok Im is strong-willed and free-spirited. She is also intelligent enough to understand that becoming a royal consort to the future king is a prestigious role, but one that would restrict her freedom and likely bring her little in the way of joy. But Yi San’s love for Sung Deok Im is true, and she starts to understand that forming a union with him could ultimately benefit his troubled realm. ~~ Adapted from the novel “The Sleeve’s Red Cuff” (옷소매 붉은 끝동) by Kang Mi Kang (강미강).
Nevertheless
Adapted from the webtoon of the same name. This drama is story about a college student Park Jae Uhn, who finds dating a waste of time but likes to flirt. Even though he is friendly and cheerful toward all, he is actually uninterested in other people and has sworn off dating. He’s a master of the “push-and-pull” who doesn’t get swept up in emotions. He draws firm lines between himself and other people and doesn’t reveal how he feels, but when he meets Yoo Na Bi, he finds himself wanting to cross those lines. Yoo Na Bi, who doesn’t trust love but wants to date. After a cruel and bitter experience with her first love, she no longer believes in destiny and makes up her mind not to get swept up in love again. When she meets Park Jae Uhn, however, he has a magical effect on her that shakes up her determination to remain aloof.
Doom At Your Service
Doom At Your Service tell a story about Tak Dong Kyung who is an editor for a web novel company. She has led a tumultuous life, subject to the whims of fate, and she soon finds herself on the precipice of true destruction and Myeol Mang, the existence of a middle manager between God and humans, suddenly appears in her ordinary life. He was born between the dark and the light: when he breathes, countries disappear; where he walks, the seasons collapse; when he smiles, a life is extinguished. All he has to do is exist for something to fall into ruin. This is not his intention, but simply his fate.
Dong Kyung makes a 100-day contract with him, risking her life and her love. Myeol Mang eventually forms a relationship with her, who curses the whole world, as she drags him into her life with her fierce desire to live.
Vincenzois a story about a boy Park Joo Hyeong ( Song Jong Ki ) went to Italy after he was adopted at the age of 8. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Casano. He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha Young ( Jeon Yeo Bin ). She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case.
Adapted from the novel “Princess Pyeonggang” (평강공주) by Choi Sa Gyu (최사규). This story is about a Princess Pyeong Gang ( Kim So Hyun ) is a woman with big dreams and limitless ambition. Determined to become the first Empress of Goguryeo, Pyeong Gang will stop at nothing to make her dream come true.However, things take an unexpected turn, the day she meets On Dal ( Na In Woo ), a peace-loving man, whose sole goal in life is to live in harmony with those around him. On Dal is the exact opposite of the ambitious princess. He is a oasis of calm amid the turbulent storms in Pyeong Gang’s life. The warrior princess soon finds herself falling for gentle On Dal.
So I Married A Anti Fan
What happen when a top a kpop star fall in love with his anti fan. Adapted from the Korean novel of the same name, which was made into a webtoon. This drama give us a light breezy romance kind vibe and it’s also introduce us the hardship that kpop idols are facing in their daily life.
Now We Are Breaking Up
‘Now, We Are Breaking Up‘ is a Korean drama series, story of love and breakups in the romantic world. Ha Yeong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) is a beautiful and classy fashion designer. Yoon Jae-gook (Jang Ki-yong) is a successful fashion photographer. As if in a dream, Young Eun and Jae Kook find themselves falling for each other. But not all fairy tales have a happy ending. Is theirs a story that will end in heartbreak or will they manage to find their own version of happily ever after, after all?
Yoon Song Ah ( Won Jin Ah ) works as a marketer for a cosmetic brand. She enjoys her job and does it with vigor. Her dream is to start her own cosmetic brand. Meanwhile, Chae Hyun Seung ( Ro Woon ) works with Yoon Song Ah as a marketer. He becomes attracted to Yoon Song Ah and tries to develop a romantic relationship with her. However, Yoon Song Ah rebuffs his advances, because she does not see younger guys as dating partners. Adapted from a web novel of the same name.
True Beauty
Adapted from the webtoon “Yeoshingangrim” by Yaongyi. True Beauty is a romantic comedy about a high school girl Lim Ju Gyeong, who rises to pretty girl fame after she masters the art of make-up from YouTube. She turns into a goddess because of her makeup skills, but would rather die than reveal her bare face to anyone. It tells her love story with the only boy that saw her without makeup, Lee Su Ho (Cha Eun-wo) . Lee is an attractive and handsome boy who appears cold because of his dark past but is actually very caring. They grow when they meet each other sharing their secrets and finding love with each other, but can Su Ho make Ju Gyeong find her true beauty?
This drama gave me a major second lead syndrome this year! I’m literally crushing over him.
Lovers of the Red Sky
Set during the Joseon era, Hong Cheon Ki is a female painter with a genius like painting talent. She is picked as the first female painter of the Korean Royal Academy of Painting. Hong Cheon Ki also has a beautiful appearance and a bright personality. For her, painting is everything. One day, she meets Ha Ram.
Ha Ram is an officer, When he was young, an accident caused him to become blind. Hong Cheon Ki falls in love with him and she doesn’t care that he is blind.
Adapted from a novel of the same name written by Jung Eun Gwol.
Melancholia
Set at a corrupt private high school with preferential treatment, “Melancholia” will tell the beautiful story of a math teacher and a genius math student.
Ji Yoon Soo is a high school math teacher who appears good-natured on the outside but gets very tenacious and stubborn once she makes up her mind about something. Extremely passionate about math, she is a teacher who encourages her students to find their own answers.
Math genius Baek Seung Yoo is a guy of few words who is a voluntary outsider and enjoys taking photos with a DSLR camera. Although ranked last place at his high school, he actually dominated math Olympiads when he was younger, entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyat age 10, and dropped out at age 12.
My Roommate is a Gumiho
About a female college student named Lee Dam who accidentally swallows the marble of a male gumiho (a mythological nine-tailed fox) named Shin Woo Yeo, who was close to achieving his goal of becoming human. If a human swallows the marble, they can only live for one year, and the marble will break, preventing the gumiho from becoming human. Thus, Shin Woo Yeo suggests living together to Lee Dam, beginning their unexpected romance. Adapted from a webtoon of the same name by Na.
Youth of May
In May of 1980, amidst the heated passion and cries for democracy that reverberated throughout Gwangju, Hee Tae ( lee do hyun ) a top student of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Myung Hee ( go min si ) a nurse find themselves in a twist of fate.
