Your Friends Won’t Stop Talking About K-Dramas. Here’s Why.
You’ve seen the TikToks. Your coworker keeps quoting “Goblin.” Your cousin’s entire personality is now “Crash Landing on You.” And every time you open Netflix, a Korean show you’ve never heard of is sitting in the top 10.
At some point, curiosity wins. But then you look at the sheer volume of shows out there — thousands of titles across half a dozen streaming platforms — and the question becomes: where do I even start?
That’s what this list is for. These aren’t just good K-dramas. They’re the ones that convert skeptics. The ones that make people go from “I don’t watch shows with subtitles” to “I need season two immediately.” Whether you’re into romance, crime thrillers, dark comedies, or genre-bending chaos, there’s an entry point here for you.
One quick note before we dive in: watch with subtitles, not dubbed. Korean voice acting, comedic timing, and emotional delivery are half the experience. Dubs flatten all of it. Trust us on this one.
The 10 Shows
1. Crash Landing on You (2019) — The Gateway Drug
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 16
A South Korean heiress paraglides into North Korea during a freak storm and lands — literally — in the arms of a North Korean military officer. It sounds absurd. It is absurd. And it’s also one of the most emotionally satisfying love stories you’ll ever watch.
Why it hooks beginners: It’s funny, romantic, and surprisingly educational about Korean culture on both sides of the border. The supporting cast is incredible (the village soldiers alone are worth the watch), and the chemistry between Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin is the kind that launched a real-life marriage. If you only watch one K-drama in your life, make it this one.
2. Squid Game (2021) — The One You’ve Heard Of
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Survival Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 9 (Season 1), 7 (Season 2)
Hundreds of debt-ridden contestants compete in deadly versions of childhood games for a massive cash prize. You probably already know the premise — it became the most-watched Netflix series of all time for a reason.
Why it hooks beginners: If you think K-dramas are all romance and melodrama, Squid Game will shatter that assumption in the first episode. It’s brutal, suspenseful, and deeply human. The social commentary hits hard, and you’ll never look at Red Light, Green Light the same way again.
3. Business Proposal (2022) — The Office Rom-Com
Genre: Romance, Comedy Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 12
Shin Ha-ri goes on a blind date disguised as her friend to sabotage it — and discovers the man sitting across from her is Kang Tae-mu, the CEO of the company she works at. Now she has to keep the charade going while dodging him at the office. It’s as chaotic as it sounds.
Why it hooks beginners: At 12 episodes, it’s shorter than most K-dramas, which makes it a perfect low-commitment starter. Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong have off-the-charts chemistry, the comedy lands every time, and the pacing never drags. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel — it’s a workplace rom-com done extraordinarily well. The kind of show you finish in a weekend and immediately miss.
4. Vincenzo (2021) — The Stylish Anti-Hero
Genre: Dark Comedy, Crime, Legal Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 20
A Korean-Italian mafia lawyer returns to Seoul to recover hidden gold and gets tangled up with a ragtag group of tenants fighting a corrupt conglomerate. Song Joong-ki plays the title character with the swagger of a Bond villain and the moral flexibility of someone who’s definitely committed crimes but looks really good doing it.
Why it hooks beginners: It’s fun. Unapologetically, laugh-out-loud, “I can’t believe they just did that” fun. The tonal shifts between dark crime thriller and absurdist comedy shouldn’t work, but they do. If you need a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still delivering high-stakes drama, start here.
5. Reply 1988 (1988) — The One That Makes You Cry
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Family Where to watch: Netflix, Viki Episodes: 20
Five families in a tight-knit Seoul neighborhood navigate life, love, and growing up in 1988. That’s it. That’s the plot. And somehow it’s one of the most beloved Korean dramas ever made.
Why it hooks beginners: This show will make you laugh, ugly-cry, and feel nostalgic for a decade you probably didn’t live through. It’s not about big twists or high stakes — it’s about the small, achingly real moments of family life. The “who does she end up with” mystery will keep you guessing until the very end, and the found-family dynamics are warm enough to make you want to move in next door.
6. Alchemy of Souls (2022) — The Fantasy Epic
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Action Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 20 (Season 1) + 10 (Season 2)
In the fictional land of Daeho — a Joseon-inspired kingdom where mages wield elemental magic — a powerful warrior’s soul gets trapped in the body of a blind woman. She becomes the secret martial arts master of a young nobleman from one of the kingdom’s four great families. Political intrigue, forbidden soul-shifting magic, and a slow-burn romance take it from there.
Why it hooks beginners: If you’ve ever wished Game of Thrones had better romance and a more satisfying ending, this is your show. The world-building is rich without being overwhelming, the fight choreography is genuinely impressive, and Lee Jae-wook and Jung So-min have the kind of chemistry that makes you yell at your screen. Season 2 shifts the story in a bold direction that pays off beautifully. It’s the show that proves K-dramas can do epic fantasy just as well as anyone.
7. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) — The Feel-Good Hit
Genre: Legal, Drama, Comedy Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 16
Woo Young-woo is a brilliant attorney with autism navigating her first year at a top law firm. Each episode is a self-contained case wrapped inside a larger story about acceptance, identity, and what it means to be “normal.”
Why it hooks beginners: It’s the most purely likable show on this list. Park Eun-bin’s portrayal is nuanced, respectful, and genuinely funny. The legal cases are clever, the romance is sweet without being saccharine, and the whale facts alone are worth the watch. It went mega-viral for good reason.
8. Signal (2016) — The Time-Bending Crime Thriller
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Sci-Fi Where to watch: Viki, Amazon Prime Video Episodes: 16
A present-day criminal profiler discovers a walkie-talkie that connects him to a detective in 1989. Together, across decades, they try to solve cold cases — but changing the past has consequences.
Why it hooks beginners: If you love True Detective or Mindhunter, Signal is your entry point. It’s tightly plotted, intellectually satisfying, and emotionally devastating. No filler episodes. No wasted scenes. Just relentless, gut-punch storytelling based loosely on real Korean cold cases. Many fans consider it the best K-drama thriller ever made.
9. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) — The Cozy Comfort Watch
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life Where to watch: Netflix Episodes: 16
A big-city dentist moves to a seaside village and keeps running into the town’s charming jack-of-all-trades handyman. Sparks fly. The entire village gets involved. It’s warm, funny, and as cozy as a blanket on a rainy day.
Why it hooks beginners: This is the show you put on when you want to feel good about humanity. The small-town setting is idyllic, the romance develops naturally, and the ensemble cast of quirky villagers will make you wish you lived in Gongjin. Zero stress. Maximum comfort. It’s a hug in TV form.
10. Moving (2023) — The Superhero Drama You Didn’t Know You Needed
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Drama Where to watch: Hulu, Disney+ Episodes: 20
Three high school students discover they have superpowers — one can fly, another has super strength, a third has enhanced healing. But their abilities are inherited from parents with a dark, classified past rooted in Cold War-era espionage between North and South Korea.
Why it hooks beginners: If you’ve burned out on Marvel, Moving is the antidote. It’s a superhero show that’s actually about something — generational trauma, sacrifice, and parents trying to protect their kids from the world that broke them. The action sequences are stunning, the emotional payoff is enormous, and the dual-timeline structure (parents’ past / kids’ present) gives every revelation twice the weight. It’s the most ambitious K-drama in years and proof the format can go toe-to-toe with any prestige TV.
What to Watch Next
You’ve finished your first show. Maybe your second. You’re now eyeing a third at 1 AM on a work night. Congratulations — you’re officially in too deep.
Here are a few more to keep the momentum going, organized by what you gravitated toward:
- Loved the romance? Try It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, My Love from the Star, or What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim
- Loved the thriller? Try Stranger, Beyond Evil, or Mouse
- Loved the comedy? Try Welcome to Waikiki, Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, or Twinkling Watermelon
- Loved the fantasy? Try Goblin, Hotel del Luna, or Tale of the Nine-Tailed
- Loved the action? Try D.P., My Name, or Vagabond
Keep Track (Seriously, You’ll Need To)
Here’s something nobody warns you about: once you start watching K-dramas, the list grows faster than you can finish them. You’ll have shows you’re watching, shows you’re planning to watch, shows someone recommended at dinner, and shows you abandoned at episode 3 but might circle back to.
Trying to keep all of that in your head — or worse, in a random Notes app list — gets messy fast. That’s exactly why we built the Asian Drama Tracker. It’s an Excel spreadsheet designed specifically for K-drama and C-drama fans to log shows, track episode progress, rate what you’ve watched, and keep notes on actors you want to follow. There’s even a daily journal section for capturing your reactions (because you will have reactions).
Prefer Google Sheets? There’s a Sheets version too. And if Notion is more your style, the Notion version has you covered.
One Last Thing
K-dramas aren’t just “Korean TV shows.” They’re a storytelling tradition with different rhythms, structures, and emotional payoffs than Western television. Most series are a single season of 16-20 episodes with a definitive ending — no multi-season bloat, no cliffhanger cancellations. You get a complete story, beginning to end, in one run.
That’s part of what makes them so addictive. Every show is a commitment you can actually finish.
So pick one from the list, turn off your phone, and give it two episodes. If you’re not hooked by the end of episode two, try the next one. But fair warning: most people don’t make it past the first show before they’re already planning the second.
Welcome to the rabbit hole. We’ll see you on the other side.