If you’re working from home and are enjoying every moment of it, congrats. I’m working from home and I’m enjoying it. And part of the reason I enjoy this WFH arrangement is because I can use the time I’ve saved on commuting and putting on makeup (here are “7 Things You Should Do To Switch Up Your Beauty Routine If You #WFH“) to watch Korean dramas. In fact, if I must say I’ve been pretty efficient about this—in the past month, I’ve finished watching five K-dramas and am currently watching three. Multi-tasking at its finest, aye?
And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one using this opportunity to catch up on K-dramas. But whether you’re just starting to work from home and need your K-drama fix, or don’t have that luxury but want to know what everyone else is watching, great news: we’ve asked the folks at Viu and Netflix to round up their most-streamed K-dramas in the past months so you can be in the know.
Scroll through the gallery so you know which ones to start streaming.
What’s it about: A Korean emperor during the time of constituional monarchy meets a detective in modern-day Korea upon crossing his parallel world. Played by Lee Min Ho, the emperor aims to close the door between the two worlds, while the detective, played by Kim Go Eun, tries to save lives.
Why you should watch it: Starring two fan favourite drama leads, this highly-anticipated series premiered on April 17 to high ratings. Written by Kim Eun Sook, whose projects include hit series Secret Garden (2010), Descendants of the Sun (2016) and Mr Sunshine (2018), it’s also a breath of fresh air as a fantasy romance drama that gels two unlikely worlds together, intertwined in a love story.
The King: Eternal Monarch is available on Netflix. New episodes out weekly.
What’s it about: A successful business man and a struggling single mother who were each other’s first love meet again in their 40s. You get glimpses of their past against their present, showcasing how things have changed for the two lovers.
Why you should watch it: This melodrama with a simple but captivating premise is a feels trip full of wistful, bittersweet moments complemented by beautiful cinematography.
When My Love Blooms premieres April 26 on Viu. New episodes every Sunday and Monday.
What’s it about: After experiencing a series of unfortunate events, a cello teacher (played by K-drama sweetheart Park Min Young) quits her job in Seoul and moves back to her hometown in the countryside. There, she bumps into an old high-school classmate (played by Seo Kang Joon) who runs a bookshop, and romance inevitably blossoms.
Why you should watch it: It’s a touching tale about healing, forgiveness and being able to work up the courage to open up and say things that couldn’t be uttered before.
When The Weather Is Fine is available on Viu. New episodes every Tuesday and Wednesday.
What’s it about: A family medicine doctor (played by veteran actress Kim Hee Ae) who seems to have it all – a successful career, blissful wedded life and caring friends – finds her world turned upside down when her husband (played by Park Hae Joon) and friends betray her, driving her to plot revenge.
Why you should watch it: Also known as The World of the Married, this show made headlines for its racy scenes (unconventional in Korean dramas), as it offers an intimate look into infidelity among married couples. It’s also a remake of the 2015 UK television series, Doctor Foster.
A World of Married Couple is available on Viu. New episodes every Saturday and Sunday.
What’s it about: Still haunted by the traumatic murder of her friend 19 years ago, and weighed down by guilt, Detective Young Jin (played by Sky Castle‘s Kim Seo Hyung) is determined to catch the serial killer who is still at large. When the murders begin again, so does her drive to put him behind bars once and for all.
Why you should watch it: If you’re craving a slow-burning crime thriller with a strong female lead, this show is right up your alley.
Nobody Knows is available on Viu.
What’s it about: Five doctors who attended the same medical university in 1999 are long-time friends working in the same hospital. It follows the day-to-day happenings inside the hospital while exploreing the dynamics between the doctors, patients, medical students and life and death itself.
Why you should watch it: Because of its star-studded ensemble cast. Also because this medical drama doesn’t focus solely on its cases, but also the chemistry and relationship between the doctors – which are just as compelling. It might also pique your interest to know that they started a band together.
Hospital Playlist is available on Netflix.
What’s it about: A female lawyer who would go to great lengths to win a case disarms the opposing lawyer (played by Kingdom‘s Ju Ji Hoon) – a proficient, elite one – by infiltrating his life and making him fall in love with her. Enraged but nonetheless impressed, this drama depicts the competitiveness between two rival lawyers as they tussle for victory and love.
Why you should watch it: Their chase for success and love will keep you hooked, and both leads are complex and intriguing in character. Them trying to outsmart each other also means a generous deal of plot twists; and if you think it’s your typical courtroom drama, it’s not, and is sprinkled with plenty of comic relief and entertaining bits.
Hyena is available on Netflix.
What it’s about: A prince has to figure out why a zombie pandemic is happening in his country, and how to control it, all while making sure he’s not killed by the forces that orchestrated the disease.
Why you should watch it: If you missed Season 1 of this show, don’t worry, it’s still on Netflix. Each season is only six episodes long and OMG, every episode is intense. If you’re into zombies, politics and royal treachery, this one will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you’re wondering how addictive this is, I finished watching all the episodes of Season 2 on Saturday, a day after it launched on Netflix.
Kingdom Season 2 is streaming on Netflix now.
What it’s about: A woman who died while giving birth to her child gets a second chance at life (literally) when the powers above bring her back to life. But she has a mission to accomplish within 49 days if she wants to stay with her daughter.
Why you should watch it: It’s funny, touching and dramatic all at once. And it’ll remind you how important family is and how unpredictable life is. Please have your tissues ready because you really don’t know when a tearjerking moment might appear.
Hi Bye, Mama! is streaming on Netflix now.
What it’s about: An ex-convict, whose father was killed in an accident, tries to put his life back together and follow in his father’s footsteps of opening a bar.
Why you should watch it: Honestly, you can’t go wrong with a Park Seo Joon drama. This drama will make you angry, but inspire you as you watch Park Sae-ro-yi working hard to turn his bar into a franchise and overtake a food company, whose CEO is linked to his father’s death.
Itaewon Class is streaming on Netflix now.
What it’s about: Despite its name, it’s not a love story. It follows the story of a top doctor who gives up everything to work in a small hospital following a traumatic incident. In this second season, he moves to another town and recruits doctors with troubled backgrounds.
Why you should watch it: If you still want to watch more medical dramas after Doctor John, catch the second season of Dr Romantic. Maybe start with season one if you haven’t watched that—you’ll see why it was renewed for a second season.
Full episodes of Dr Romantic 2 is available for free on Viu.
What it’s about: A rich heiress and business owner from South Korea who decided to try out her new product, a paraglide, ended up stranded in North Korea. She has to figure out how to get home while hiding from the authorities. Oh, she falls in love with a military captain so things get a lot more complicated.
Why you should watch it: This is not your typical love story (read also “15 Relationship Tips To Learn From Popular K-Drama Crash Landing On You“). OK, to some extent, it is. But it also gives you a glimpse of what it’s like to live in North Korea (to be taken with a pinch of salt) and is basically proof that you can get away with anything if you have money… kinda.
Crash Landing On You is streaming on Netflix now.
What it’s about: A brilliant doctor who was imprisoned for allegedly euthanising a patient goes back to the medical world despite getting the cold shoulder from his colleagues.
Why you should watch it: If you like medical dramas, you’ll love this. The drama also touches on rare diseases and conditions, so you’ll feel smarter after watching it. And honestly, Ji Sung in a drama? Just watch it lah.
Full episodes of Doctor John is available for free on Viu.
What it’s about: A director of a company develops face blindness after an accident and mistakes his secretary for an heiress. He falls in love with her and she hides the truth from him.
Why you should watch it: Like a rom-com that can make your heart flutter and ache? You’d love this. It reminds us a bit of What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim and She Was Pretty so if you enjoyed those, you’d love this too.
Full episodes of The Secret Life of My Secretary is available for free on Viu.
What it’s about: A hotelier (played by Yeo Jin Goo) suddenly finds himself recruited to work at a hotel for spirits who are on their way to the afterlife. There, he finds out how he is tied to the hotel.
Why you should watch it: The drama may be about ghosts, but save for a few scenes, it’s not scary at all. Rather, you might find yourself crying in every other episode as the spirits take you on their life journey, which make you treasure life all the more.
Full episodes of Hotel Del Luna is available for free on Viu.
What it’s about: An art curator for a museum leads a double life: off-duty, she’s the manager of a fan site for a K-pop idol/actor. Can she keep her private life a secret from the museum owner who doesn’t like fangirls and her new boss who seems to suspect she has something to hide?
Why you should watch it: If you’ve always been curious about what fan site managers actually do, you might get an inkling by watching this (of course, this is the glamourised version of the truth). Also, watch it to witness the chemistry between Park Min Young (here are “Matching Power Suits Worn By Park Min Young In Her Private Life To Conquer The Workplace“) and Kim Jae Wook.
Full episodes of Her Private Life is available for free on Viu.
This article was first published in Cleo ; with updates from the Singapore Women’s Weekly.
