Must Watch Korean Dramas of 2020

Looking back at 2020? These ten Korean dramas mix ratings hits, award winners and genre standouts, from a romance across the border to a monster horror. Every premise below is spoiler-free, so pick the one that sounds like your kind of binge and press play.

Crash Landing on You (사랑의 불시착)

Release Date: December 14, 2019 - February 16, 2020 Genre: Romantic comedy

Who's in the cast:
Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-hyeok
Son Ye-jin as Yoon Se-ri
Kim Jung-hyun as Gu Seung-jun
Seo Ji-hye as Seo Dan

What it's about: Yoon Se-ri is a South Korean heiress whose paragliding trip goes wrong and drops her on the wrong side of the border. A North Korean army captain finds her and decides to hide her instead of turning her in. Keeping the secret gets harder every week, and so does pretending they feel nothing.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Itaewon Class (이태원 클라쓰)

Release Date: January 31, 2020 - March 21, 2020 Genre: Romantic drama, Comedy

Who's in the cast:
Park Seo-joon as Park Sae-ro-yi
Kim Da-mi as Jo Yi-seo
Yoo Jae-myung as Jang Dae-hee
Kwon Nara as Oh Soo-ah

What it's about: After losing his father and serving time in prison, Park Sae-ro-yi opens a small bar-restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. His goal is to grow it into a business big enough to take on the food company that wronged him. A sharp, strategic newcomer joins his staff, and the underdog story becomes a workplace drama with real heart. The series is based on a webtoon.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Hospital Playlist (슬기로운 의사생활)

Release Date: March 12, 2020 - May 28, 2020 Genre: Medical drama, Slice of life, Comedy

Who's in the cast:
Jo Jung-suk as Lee Ik-jun
Yoo Yeon-seok as Ahn Jeong-won
Jung Kyung-ho as Kim Jun-wan
Kim Dae-myung as Yang Seok-hyeong
Jeon Mi-do as Chae Song-hwa

What it's about: Five friends who met in medical school now work as doctors at the same hospital, each with a different personality and specialty. The first season follows their long friendship, their patients and their lives outside work. It is a warm, gentle pick if you like ensemble stories.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 12 (season 1)

Watch it on Netflix

The World of the Married (부부의 세계)

Release Date: March 27, 2020 - May 16, 2020 Genre: Melodrama, Psychological thriller

Who's in the cast:
Kim Hee-ae as Ji Sun-woo
Park Hae-joon as Lee Tae-oh
Han So-hee as Yeo Da-kyung
Park Sun-young as Go Ye-rim

What it's about: Ji Sun-woo is a respected family doctor who believes her marriage and her life are secure. Then she finds proof that her husband has been hiding something, and she starts planning her next move. The series is a tense, tightly wound remake of the BBC drama Doctor Foster.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

The King: Eternal Monarch (더 킹: 영원의 군주)

Release Date: April 17, 2020 - June 12, 2020 Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Who's in the cast:
Lee Min-ho as Lee Gon
Kim Go-eun as Jeong Tae-eul
Woo Do-hwan as Jo Yeong
Jung Eun-chae as Koo Seo-ryeong

What it's about: Lee Gon is the emperor of the Kingdom of Corea, a modern monarchy in a parallel world. When he crosses into another reality where Korea is a republic, he meets Jeong Tae-eul, a police detective who is tied to a mystery from his past. Expect a parallel-world puzzle with a romance at its center.

Network: SBS · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

It's Okay to Not Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아)

Release Date: June 20, 2020 - August 9, 2020 Genre: Romantic comedy, Psychological drama

Who's in the cast:
Kim Soo-hyun as Moon Gang-tae
Seo Ye-ji as Go Moon-young
Oh Jung-se as Moon Sang-tae

What it's about: Moon Gang-tae works as a caregiver at a psychiatric hospital and looks after his older brother, who is autistic. His quiet routine changes when he meets Go Moon-young, a successful children's book author with a prickly personality and a talent for unsettling stories. Their wounded pasts pull the three of them together. The show balances dark fairytale visuals with tender, funny moments.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix and Viki

Flower of Evil (악의 꽃)

Release Date: July 29, 2020 - September 23, 2020 Genre: Romance, Mystery, Thriller

Who's in the cast:
Lee Joon-gi as Baek Hee-sung
Moon Chae-won as Cha Ji-won
Jang Hee-jin as Do Hae-soo
Seo Hyun-woo as Kim Moo-jin

What it's about: Baek Hee-sung is a devoted husband and father with a picture-perfect family life. His wife, Cha Ji-won, is a police detective, and when she starts investigating a string of unsolved murders, small things about the man she loves stop adding up. It is a slow-burning mix of romance and suspense.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Record of Youth (청춘기록)

Release Date: September 7, 2020 - October 27, 2020 Genre: Coming-of-age, Romance

Who's in the cast:
Park Bo-gum as Sa Hye-jun
Park So-dam as Ahn Jeong-ha
Byeon Woo-seok as Won Hae-hyo

What it's about: Sa Hye-jun is a model from a working-class family who wants to be taken seriously as an actor, but the roles keep slipping away. Along the way he crosses paths with Ahn Jeong-ha, a makeup artist who quit an office job, and Won Hae-hyo, a friend with the head start that money can buy. It is a story about ambition, friendship and young love in the entertainment industry.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Start-Up (스타트업)

Release Date: October 17, 2020 - December 6, 2020 Genre: Romantic drama, Romantic comedy, Slice of life

Who's in the cast:
Bae Suzy as Seo Dal-mi
Nam Joo-hyuk as Nam Do-san
Kim Seon-ho as Han Ji-pyeong
Kang Han-na as Won In-jae

What it's about: In Sandbox, a fictional Korean answer to Silicon Valley, ambitious Seo Dal-mi dreams of becoming the next Steve Jobs. She believes struggling founder Nam Do-san is the pen pal she has always thought of as her first love. Do-san, a former math prodigy, lets the mix-up stand, and both the startup world and a love triangle get complicated.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Sweet Home (스위트홈)

Release Date: December 18, 2020 Genre: Horror, Action, Apocalyptic

Who's in the cast:
Song Kang as Cha Hyun-su
Lee Jin-wook as Pyeon Sang-wook
Lee Si-young as Seo Yi-kyung
Park Gyu-young as Yoon Ji-su
Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yu

What it's about: Cha Hyun-su, a withdrawn young man who has lost his family, moves into a run-down apartment building called Green Home. When monsters suddenly overrun the city, he and his neighbors have to work together to survive. Some residents begin to turn into creatures shaped by their own desires. The series is based on a popular webtoon.

Network: Netflix · Episodes: 10 (season 1)

Watch it on Netflix