Welcome back to my end-of-the-year roundup, where we look back at the best Korean dramas the year had to offer. After a bit of a slump over the past couple of years, 2025 was a strong year for K-dramas - well, almost. There were some genuinely great dramas; then there were the almost good ones; and then there were dramas that started with a dynamite and ended in amnesia (iykyk). But listen...there was an attempt.
Most importantly, I actually managed to make this list. Unlike last year, when I was struggling to even come up with 10 decent dramas (god, 2024 was the worst. I am getting war flashbacks just thinking about it). So yes, happy to report: 2025 gave us some real bangers. And it’s time to talk about them.
Here’s my list of 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2025 You Absolutely Must Watch.
Disclaimer: This list is powered by vibes, emotions, and how much I screamed at my screen. It is based entirely on my personal taste and not a universal truth. Take it with a grain of salt and fight for your favorites respectfully in the comments. 😅
10 Best Korean Dramas of 2025
1. When Life Gives You Tangerines
2. Study Group
3. The Price of Confession
4. The Trauma Code
5. Resident Playbook
6. Good Boy
7. Undercover High School
8. The Manipulated
9. Taxi Driver 3
10. Typhoon Family
1. When Life Gives You Tangerines
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life
Starring: IU, Park Bo Gum, Moon So Ri, Park Hae Joon
Where to Watch: Netflix
I think we can all agree. This is it. There is no debate over this. When Life Gives You Tangerines is not only the best drama of 2025, it is once in a lifetime drama. period. A drama written by a woman, about a woman, for women. It is a celebration of love, life, and womanhood. It is beautifully shot, incredibly acted, written with a golden pen. Anything I can say in the praise of this show will never compare to the beauty of it..so I will just leave this review with one word: PHENOMENAL.
If I am being honest, you can't just randomly start watching WLGYT, this is the type of story you experience. These are the character you live. However, please be mindful of the trigger warnings. This is a deeply emotional drama and it can hit hard. If you tend to feel emotionally low after heavy shows, you might want to skip this one. If you’re okay with a masterpiece wrecking you a little, hope you have a great time. Watch at your own pace, take breaks if needed, and don’t feel obligated to power through just because everyone else did.
2. Study Group
Genre: Action, Friendship, High School, Comedy, Adaptation
Starring: Hwang Min Hyun
Where to Watch: Viki
Study Group is personally my favorite Korean Drama of the year. It was released in January 2025, and the moment I finished the first episode, I knew this will top my 10 best K-drama of 2025 list. At first glance, it may look like just another high school K-drama, then the story hits like a perfectly timed counterpunch you never see coming.
Based on a webtoon of the same name, Study Group follows Yun Ga Min, a student at one of the worst high schools in the country. Ga Min’s goal is simple: focus on his studies and get into university. But there’s one small problem - he is really, really bad at studies.
Excellent storytelling, over-the-top, manga-inspired action sequences, unique characters, sweet friendships, subtle comedy, and moments that genuinely hit you emotionally. Truly, this is the most fun I have had watching a K-drama in a long time. Yes, I am praising Study Group a lot. Yes, I am biased. No, I don't care.
3. The Price of Confession
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Starring: Jeon Do Yeon, Kim Go Eun, Park Hae Soo
Where to Watch: Netflix
Another incredible female-centric show, but with a completely different vibe. The Price of Confession is a murder mystery about two women who are imprisoned in different murder cases...this is all I will tell you. If you have not seen it, add it to your weekend binge list and be ready to cancel all your plans because once you start, this show will not let you go until the last scene.
The Price of Confession is more than a crime thriller - the core of this story are the two female characters - their emotions, behaviours, reasons, and their lives. Jeon Do Yeon and Kim Go Eun were absolute perfect casting choice for this k-drama. I am still getting chills thinking about Kim Go Eun's acting in this drama. While, Do Yeon made me question her every single scene.
Highly, highly recommend this drama for anyone who loves crime thriller drama.
4. The Trauma Code
Genre: Drama, Medical
Starring: Ju Ji Hoon, Choo Young Woo
Where to Watch: Netflix
The Trauma Code is just an eight-episode drama, however, in such a short time it managed to leave a big impact. Let’s be real - medical dramas are often entertaining even when they don’t try too hard. However, more often than not, they end up feeling unrealistic or comically over the top. The Trauma Code is one of the rare exceptions in the genre. It stays serious, maintains its intensity from start to finish, and is executed with remarkable restraint.
The k-drama follows a trauma surgeon with extensive experience in war zones. When he joins a university hospital, he finds himself facing a different kind of conflict - corporate politics. We follow his journey as he leads a severe trauma team with one clear goal: saving as many lives as possible. What truly sets The Trauma Code apart is that even when corporate interests are repeatedly brought into focus, neither the story nor the protagonist ever lose sight of what matters most - being a good doctor for the patients.
Simple, focused, and effective. With a fast-paced narrative and no unnecessary B-plots, all eight episodes stay true to the heart of story. The Trauma Code is a very focused drama that understands its genre and executes it well. If you haven’t given this drama a try yet, it’s well worth your time.
5. Resident Playbook
Genre: Drama, Medical, Friendship, Slice of Life
Starring: Go Youn Jung, Shin Shi Ah, Kang You Seok, Han Ye Ji
Where to Watch: Netflix
Yep, another medical drama in this list. Resident Playbook four rookie residents who are just starting to figure out what it actually means to be a doctor and questioning whether they even want to be one. Between endless shifts, screaming seniors, patients they don’t know how to save, and having absolutely no time to eat, sleep, date, or even cry, all they really have is each other as they somehow survive one day at a time.
Hospital Playlist is one of my all-time favorite k-dramas, and I know it holds that spot for a lot of people. So, yes, Resident Playbook came with sky-high expectations and an even bigger space to fill in our hearts. Thankfully, the drama doesn’t try to compete with or replicate Hospital Playlist.
With a younger set of doctors and a focus on the most overwhelming phase of their careers, the drama feels raw, chaotic, and very real. The setting and vibe may feel different, but the emotional core remains unchanged. At its heart, it is still a story about doctors, the connections they form, and the quiet, often unnoticed kindness of people simply trying to do their best.
6. Good Boy
Genre: Drama, Medical, Friendship
Starring: Park Bo-Gum, Kim So Hyun, Oh Jung Se
Where to Watch: Prime
Park Bo-Gum did two dramas in 2025, and both landed in my best k-dramas of the year list - for completely different reasons. Good Boy follows former national athletes who enter the police force through special recruitment. When I started this, I expected just another crime-solving, teamwork-driven drama - but I am genuinely glad I gave it the chance to surprise me. Beneath the surface, it explores identity, discipline, and what happens when people who once lived for medals and victories are forced to redefine what winning even looks like.
Good Boy is a story of a morally upright hero, a former boxing champion, going up against a villain who is genuinely, unapologetically evil. This is one of those dramas that starts slow, takes its time setting the stage, and then steadily tightens its grip on you. As the story unfolds, the punches keep coming - literally and emotionally. What stays with you is the hero’s refusal to stay down. Even when he knows another hit is coming, he gets back up. Every. Single. Time.
It is a very straight forward drama, you can’t help but root fiercely for the good ones, while genuinely wishing the worst for the villains (and yes, hoping some of them don’t make it to the end). It’s gritty, emotional, and deeply satisfying in that classic underdog way.
If you love stories about resilience, moral conviction, and fighting back even when the odds are stacked impossibly high, this one is absolutely for you.
7. Undercover High School
Genre: Crime, Detective, High School
Starring: Seo Kang Jun, Jin Ki Joo
Where to Watch: Viki
Ever since Korean dramas became a global phenomenon, they haven’t quite been the same - for better and for worse. There was a certain charm to k-dramas back in the days...a warmth and simplicity that many of us originally fell in love with. Undercover High School carries that old-school k-drama vibe, and watching it reminded me why I used to enjoy k-dramas so much in the first place. That feeling alone earns this drama a spot on this list. We just don’t get dramas like this anymore.
It’s also been far too long since we saw Seo Kang Jun and Jin Ki Joo in dramas, which is such a shame. They incredibly charming, and seeing them on screen again was such a treat.
Undercover High School is a light crime-detective drama that follows an intelligence agent going undercover to solve a mystery. Unlike some of the heavier, more intense shows on this list, it keeps things simple, and that’s exactly why it worked. It isn’t trying to reinvent the genre or say something profound. It’s just fun, easy to binge, and comfortable in what it is.
With its light mystery, gentle romance, and steady pacing, it ends up being a surprisingly solid watch. Nothing over the top, nothing pretentious...just a drama that does its job well. Sometimes, that’s really all you need.
8. The Manipulated
Genre: Revenge, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Crime
Starring: Ji Chang Wook, Do Kyung-soo (D.O.)
Where to Watch: Disney+
Number eight, The Manipulated. If I am being completely honest, I am a little upset to see this drama sitting so low on my list. When it first started airing, I was convinced it would easily land in my top five. The first half set up something intense, gripping, and emotionally devastating… and then the second half happened. Unfortunately, the drama just couldn’t live up to the promise it made in the first half.
The Manipulated is a remake of movie Fabricated City - both starring Ji Chang Wook. The drama opens with a hardworking man being sentenced to life in prison for a crime he never committed. In the blink of an eye, his life turns into a living nightmare. Watching him trapped behind bars, completely helpless and stripped of hope, is brutal - especially because we, as the audience, know he is being subjected to the worst kind of injustice. It is painful, infuriating, and incredibly impactful.
As Ji Chang Wook's wife (shh...I am manifesting guys, let me be delulu), I can’t even explain how hard it was to watch his character be dragged through absolute hell. Kyung Soo was also excellent in his role, so were other actors. But this is easily one of my husband's (Wookie's) finest performances. He carried this drama on his very capable (very sexy) back, and I mean that with full sincerity.
Ironically, what didn’t quite work for the drama is the same element that worked so well in the movie: the revenge arc. The film went big and dramatic with its revenge, while the drama chose a more milder approach. That choice isn’t wrong, but it meant the payoff felt rushed, leaving the final stretch emotionally underwhelming.
Revenge may not be the entire point of the story, but it’s still a major part of it. After everything we endure alongside the protagonist - the torture, the abuse, the sheer emotional exhaustion - we needed a second half that would feel just as satisfying. While the drama remained good overall, it never quite reached great. It started with a bang but slowly fizzles out toward the end. It’s still worth watching, especially for the performance, but it stings a little because it could have been so much more.
Would I still recommend the drama? Yes, absolutely. Despite it flaws, the drama is a very solid watch. Just check the trigger warnings before you start though, the first half goes very dark.
9. Taxi Driver 3
Genre: Revenge, Action, Crime
Starring: Lee Je Hoon
Where to Watch: Viki
If you somehow haven’t watched Taxi Driver all these years, you are in luck. You now have three full seasons of pure entertainment waiting for you. The drama follows a secret organization that delivers revenge to victims the law failed to protect. That’s the premise. And yes, it’s exactly as satisfying as it sounds.
Each season, the team takes on different cases, goes undercover in all kinds of ridiculous (and impressive) ways, and delivers justice to people who have suffered the worst kinds of crimes. It’s a simple concept, executed extremely well - and three solid seasons are proof that the formula works.
Lee Je Hoon is truly perfect in this role - a hero who is endlessly kind, deeply empathetic, and also fully capable of taking down an entire army on his own. The balance works exceptionally well. The drama delivers excellent action sequences, genuinely funny moments, and hard-hitting emotional scenes without ever feeling messy or overwhelming.
Sometimes, a drama doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. It just needs to do what it does well and this one absolutely does. It knows exactly what it is and leans into it. It’s fast, fun, endlessly bingeable, and structured in a way that honestly could run for 30 more seasons, and I would happily keep watching.
10. Typhoon Family
Genre: Business, Life, Drama
Starring: Lee Jun Ho, Kim Min Ha
Where to Watch: Netflix
Set in 1997, during South Korea’s financial crisis, Typhoon Family tells a simple, underdog story. It follows a privileged young man who loses his father and, almost overnight, sees the company his father built collapse - forcing him to grow up, face reality, and rebuild his life from absolute zero.
This is the kind of drama where you can feel the potential quietly simmering beneath the surface, but it does ask for patience. Typhoon Family eventually delivers - not through grand, dramatic victories, but through its strong emotional foundation, gorgeous cinematography, period-perfect styling, a memorable OST, and a cast of deeply endearing characters set against the warm nostalgia of the 1990s.
The characters (especially the performances) are the true heart of this drama. While Jun Ho’s role highlighted his best qualities: tenderness, idealism, soft masculinity, and quiet strength. The drama made a refreshing choice with its female lead, Kim Min Ha, who is written as diligent, ambitious, and emotionally restrained - a woman determined to carry her own weight. Their relationship also unfolded with remarkable restraint. It’s understated, deeply respectful, and at times almost too gentle.
Stories about people chasing dreams and rebuilding their lives always hit differently. This drama was clearly building toward something meaningful, and while it didn’t fully reach the emotional payoff I was hoping for, it still left behind a soft, lingering warmth. In my opinion, the slow pacing of Typhoon Family will determine if this drama is for you or not. It can either feel frustrating watching these characters go through loss after loss or it will beautifully reflect to you the reality of life.
Finally, after almost 3,500 words (yikes!) that’s a wrap! Honestly, I tried to keep it short, but this is one of the posts I am most proud of every year. I hope it shows my sincerity and love for this blog and k-dramas. Did you like the graphics I made for this one? They were a real labor of love.
This was my 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2025 You Absolutely Must Watch list. What about you? What are your top 10 K-dramas of 2025? Did any of these make it onto your watch list? Or are you planning to binge them soon? Drop a comment and let me know - I would love to hear your picks!
Now that your watch list just got way too long, I’ll leave you to your drama-induced late nights. Don’t say I didn’t warn you 🍿✨
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Krati Joshi
Krati Joshi
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