Have A K-Drama Fix? Here are Five Amazing Korean Dramas from Five Different Genres That You Might Love!

 My Korean drama journey began not too long ago, within the last year, and it was because of a strong recommendation from my best friend. The show she recommended - Goblin or as listed on IMDb, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. I got through all sixteen episodes real quickly and was itching for more Korean-language content. 

I casted my net widely and tested the waters with various genres. I can't say I have enjoyed every show that I watched but I now have some absolute favourites from each genre! If you are looking for some K-drama to watch, I am excited to share these with you which I feel are great places to kickstart your own journey into the world of K-dramas.

So, here is the unveiling of my top 5 picks (in no particular order) ...

Fantasy Element

1. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016)

One-Line Synopsis: An immortal goblin roaming the Earth aimlessly is in search for his human bride who will have the power to end his life.

The premise of Goblin is really one of its strongest points. It is unique and fresh. There are so many things right with Goblin. It is equal parts heart-wrenching, comedic and romantic. And then there is Gong Yoo, he just does a Goblin so well. I really don't think I can do much justice to describing this and shall instead go ahead and tell you to get right to watching it.

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix

Romance/Comedy

For this genre, I honestly couldn't decide between two amazing choices. I love them both! So, I guess I am cheating a little by putting two shows under here. 

2a. Fight For My Way (2017)

One-Line Synopsis: Four childhood friends navigate adult working and love life while attempting to follow their true passion.

I might be a little biased here but I absolutely dig the chemistry between the leads - Park Seo-joon and Kim Ji-won. In fact, I actually started watching this drama because I caught a short clip of one of the episodes on YouTube and thought they had amazing chemistry! And once I started the drama, I just got sucked in and watched it till the end. 

I would say this was one of the most relatable series for me as the main characters go through situations I feel many young adults might encounter. The overarching theme revolves around determining if your dreams are worth pursuing over making money through more conventional routes.

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix

2b. Coffee Prince (2007)

One-Line Synopsis: A hardworking, poor hustler gets mistaken for a boy and finds employment with a young, rich heir of a food empire to work at his coffee cafe. 

Ten years before Fight For My Way, there was Coffee Prince, starring the very charismatic Gong Yoo. Yes, there I go again. I am absolutely biased because I think (very personal opinion here) that Gong Yoo is absolutely the best Korean actor. 

Anyway, personal biases aside, Coffee Prince was a light-hearted delightful watch from the start to the end. The love story evolved in a way that was very believable. I really can't say much more as I don't really want to spoil you even a little. 

But honestly, the way Gong Yoo's character accepts his love, no matter in what form just makes him so so so swoonworthy. Oh, for heaven's sake, go watch him already! Err.. I mean, go watch the series already...

No. of Episodes: 17

Available on Netflix, Viki

Drama/Romance

3. It's Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

One-Line Synopsis: A psychiatric hospital staff with an autistic brother gets pursued by a children's book author with antisocial personality disorder, bringing even more chaos into his already complicated life.

I really had no expectations for this one. The only reason I really started watching it was because I had nothing better to do and it was rated quite highly on IMDb. And boy, was I in for a ride. 

The grey-ness of the female lead's character gave me little shivers of delight. She was far from perfect and I sometimes wonder if I should even be rooting for her. But really, who needs boring, good characters all the time. Not me, thank you very much. I will take one very naughty but infinitely more interesting character any day.

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix

Thriller

4. The Flower of Evil (2020) 

One-Line Synopsis: A happily married police detective gets involved in a murder investigation, unaware that her husband is at the heart of the case and isn't exactly who he claims to be. 

I love the thriller genre and especially if there is a serial killer element to it, which was what first attracted me to The Flower of Evil. Then I started watching the series. And within a few minutes into the first episode, I had let out a thrilled cry of delight from the bottom of my thriller-obsessed heart. I just knew it was going to be good and it was!

I did have a little gripe about the way things proceeded in the last episode but even then I thought it resolved itself quite well. 

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix, Amazon Prime

Legal Drama

5. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022)

One-Line Synopsis: Woo Young Woo, a young lawyer with autism deals with daily life challenges while juggling court cases and a newly blooming love.

I started this drama because I thought it had a rather unique premise and I wasn't wrong. It is indeed unique in its main character choice. And watching her navigate life was like a breath of fresh air. 

Beyond that, the court cases were also really interesting! Barring two cases which spanned two episodes, each episode actually deals with a single case which makes it really watcher-friendly. You can actually stop after each episode and not have to force your mind to recap what went on in the case previously. 

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix

Other Special Mentions

While not making it into my Top Five or Six (pardon my small cheat), these are several K-dramas that were also good watch!

While You Were Sleeping

One-Line Synopsis: A young woman, who dreams of bad things happening to people in the future, is joined by a prosecutor to try to stop these incidents from actually happening. 

This drama is somewhat of a mixed bag. It has elements of fantasy, thriller and legal drama combined. Overall, a really entertaining watch except for the romance part. Just felt there wasn't as much chemistry there as some of the above-mentioned.

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix

Beyond Evil

One-Line Synopsis: Two police officers at constant loggerheads are brought together to solve a murder in a small town, which closely resembles an old cold case.

Beyond Evil falls under the mystery/thriller genre with a serial killer at large. The first half of the series was a delightful watch with ample mystery as to who the killer is. That is not to say the second half was bad. There was still ample thrills throughout but the murder case does get resolved in the first eight episodes. 

No. of Episodes: 16

Available on Netflix, Amazon Prime

** Hope you will enjoy these as much as I have. Do share if there are other great K-Dramas that I should watch!