Must Watch Korean Dramas of 2023

Binge-watch the Korean dramas of 2023 that are worth clearing your weekend for, from a schoolyard revenge plot and superpower family sagas to banchan-shop romance. Every pick below is spoiler-free, with the cast, air dates and a short premise.

The Glory (더 글로리)

Release Date: December 30, 2022 - March 10, 2023 Genre: Revenge, Psychological thriller

Who's in the cast:
Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun
Lee Do-hyun as Joo Yeo-jeong
Lim Ji-yeon as Park Yeon-jin
Yeom Hye-ran as Kang Hyeon-nam
Park Sung-hoon as Jeon Jae-joon

What it's about: Moon Dong-eun was tormented by her classmates in high school and never got justice. Years later she has built a careful plan for revenge, starting with a job as a homeroom teacher at the elementary school attended by the daughter of her chief tormentor. Written by Kim Eun-sook, the series was released in two parts, the second in March 2023.

Network: Netflix · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Crash Course in Romance (일타 스캔들)

Release Date: January 14, 2023 - March 5, 2023 Genre: Romantic comedy

Who's in the cast:
Jeon Do-yeon as Nam Haeng-seon
Jung Kyung-ho as Choi Chi-yeol
Roh Yoon-seo as Nam Hae-yi
Oh Eui-sik as Nam Jae-woo
Lee Bong-ryun as Kim Young-joo

What it's about: Nam Haeng-seon runs a banchan shop selling side dishes and puts everything into her daughter's college entrance exam prep. Choi Chi-yeol is a star math instructor at a top cram school, and the pressure-cooker world of test prep keeps throwing the two together. What starts as friction slowly turns into something harder to label.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix and Viki

Taxi Driver 2 (모범택시)

Release Date: February 17, 2023 - April 15, 2023 Genre: Action, Crime, Vigilante, Black comedy

Who's in the cast:
Lee Je-hoon as Kim Do-gi
Kim Eui-sung as Jang Sung-chul
Pyo Ye-jin as Ahn Go-eun
Jang Hyuk-jin as Choi Kyung-ku
Bae Yoo-ram as Park Jin-eon

What it's about: Kim Do-gi is a former special forces soldier who drives for Rainbow Taxi Company, a quiet outfit that takes revenge for victims the law has failed. The cases draw on real Korean crimes, and the team goes after abusers who walked free. Season 2 continues the story, so start with season one if you want the full backstory.

Network: SBS · Episodes: 16

Doctor Cha (닥터 차정숙)

Release Date: April 15, 2023 - June 4, 2023 Genre: Medical, Comedy, Family drama

Who's in the cast:
Uhm Jung-hwa as Cha Jeong-suk
Kim Byung-chul as Seo In-ho
Myung Se-bin as Choi Seung-hi
Min Woo-hyuk as Roy Kim

What it's about: Cha Jeong-suk has spent twenty years as a full-time housewife. After an unexpected crisis, she decides to return to medicine and starts over as a first-year resident, with a family that has to adjust. It is a comedy with a medical-drama spine.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

The Good Bad Mother (나쁜엄마)

Release Date: April 26, 2023 - June 8, 2023 Genre: Family, Comedy drama, Slice of life

Who's in the cast:
Ra Mi-ran as Jin Young-soon
Lee Do-hyun as Choi Kang-ho
Ahn Eun-jin as Lee Mi-joo
Yoo In-soo as Bang Sam-sik

What it's about: Jin Young-soon is a single mother who runs a pig farm, and her son, Choi Kang-ho, is an ambitious prosecutor. After a serious accident leaves him with the mind of a child, the two have to rebuild a strained relationship from scratch. It is a comedy that leans hard on the tears.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 14

Watch it on Netflix

King the Land (킹더랜드)

Release Date: June 17, 2023 - August 6, 2023 Genre: Romantic comedy

Who's in the cast:
Lee Jun-ho as Gu Won
Lim Yoon-a as Cheon Sa-rang
Ahn Se-ha as Noh Sang-sik
Go Won-hee as Oh Pyung-hwa

What it's about: Gu Won is the heir to a luxury hotel group and is caught in an inheritance fight. Cheon Sa-rang is a hotelier known for her bright smile, and Won has no patience for smiles he suspects are fake. It is a workplace romance with a family-empire backdrop.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Moving (무빙)

Release Date: August 9, 2023 - September 20, 2023 Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller, Sci-fi, Romance, Family drama

Who's in the cast:
Ryu Seung-ryong as Jang Ju-won
Han Hyo-joo as Lee Mi-hyun
Zo In-sung as Kim Doo-sik
Go Youn-jung as Jang Hui-soo
Lee Jung-ha as Kim Bong-seok

What it's about: A group of high school students are hiding superhuman abilities, and their parents are guarding painful secrets of their own. Adapted from Kang Full's webtoon, with the author writing the screenplay, it is a superhero story that keeps coming back to family.

Network: Disney+ · Episodes: 20 (season 1)

Watch it on Disney+ and Hulu

Mask Girl (마스크걸)

Release Date: August 18, 2023 Genre: Black comedy, Crime, Thriller

Who's in the cast:
Lee Han-byeol as Kim Mo-mi
Nana as Kim Mo-mi
Ko Hyun-jung as Kim Mo-mi
Ahn Jae-hong as Ju Oh-nam
Yeom Hye-ran as Kim Kyung-ja

What it's about: Kim Mo-mi is an office worker who feels insecure about her looks and becomes a masked online personality at night. Then a chain of unexpected events overtakes her life, and three actors play her at different stages. Based on a webtoon, it is dark and not for every mood.

Network: Netflix · Episodes: 7

Watch it on Netflix

Twinkling Watermelon (반짝이는 워터멜론)

Release Date: September 25, 2023 - November 14, 2023 Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Coming-of-age, Time travel

Who's in the cast:
Ryeoun as Ha Eun-gyeol
Choi Hyun-wook as Ha Yi-chan
Seol In-ah as Choi Se-kyung
Shin Eun-soo as Yoon Chung-ah

What it's about: Ha Eun-gyeol is the only hearing member of a deaf family, and he has a gift for guitar. After a fight with his father over his music dreams, he is sent back to 1995, where he meets his father as a high school student. He joins his father's band and gets to know his parents' youth.

Network: tvN · Episodes: 16

The Worst of Evil (최악의 악)

Release Date: September 27, 2023 - October 25, 2023 Genre: Crime action, Thriller, Noir

Who's in the cast:
Ji Chang-wook as Park Jun-mo
Wi Ha-jun as Jung Gi-cheul
Im Se-mi as Yoo Eui-jeong
Lee Shin-ki as Seo Jong-ryeol

What it's about: In the 1990s, a criminal organization runs an illegal drug trade across Korea, China and Japan. Park Jun-mo, a countryside detective, takes an undercover job inside the Gangnam organization, hoping it will earn him a promotion. On the other side is Jung Gi-cheul, a former nightclub DJ who has risen to run the group's drug business.

Network: Disney+ · Episodes: 12

Watch it on Hulu

Strong Girl Nam-soon (힘쎈여자 강남순)

Release Date: October 7, 2023 - November 26, 2023 Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Family drama

Who's in the cast:
Lee Yoo-mi as Gang Nam-soon
Kim Jung-eun as Hwang Geum-joo
Kim Hae-sook as Gil Joong-gan
Ong Seong-wu as Gang Hee-sik
Byeon Woo-seok as Ryu Shi-oh

What it's about: As a child, Gang Nam-soon goes missing in Mongolia and develops superhuman strength. Now an adult, she returns to South Korea to look for her parents and finds her mother, a wealthy businesswoman, and her grandmother. The family soon gets pulled into a drug case that a detective is chasing.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix

Welcome to Samdal-ri (웰컴투 삼달리)

Release Date: December 2, 2023 - January 21, 2024 Genre: Comedy drama, Romantic comedy

Who's in the cast:
Ji Chang-wook as Cho Yong-pil
Shin Hye-sun as Cho Sam-dal
Kang Young-seok as Boo Sang-do
Kim Mi-kyung as Go Mi-ja

What it's about: Cho Sam-dal and Cho Yong-pil are childhood friends from a small village on Jeju Island. He became a weather forecaster; she moved to Seoul to make it as a fashion photographer. When her career collapses, she returns home, and old feelings come back to the surface.

Network: JTBC · Episodes: 16

Watch it on Netflix