Best K-Dramas I watched in 2019 & 2020

San
Apr 30, 2021
5 min read

Updated: May 14, 2021

K-dramas entered my life officially in 2019 through Descendants of the Sun and it has been a tumultuously beautiful, occasionally frustrating and almost always enjoyable journey so far. So, I decided to compile a list of my favorite dramas that I watched in my first 2 years in KDramaLand.

*Arranged in ascending order of the year the drama first aired

1. I Can Hear Your Voice(2013)

Synopsis: The legal drama centers around Jang Hye Sung, a brazen, sharp-tongued female attorney who says everything that comes to her mind with no filter. When she gets to the point in her career where it's hard to muster up any enthusiasm for her work, she teams up with the serious Cha Kwan Woo, a passionate public defender, and Park Soo Ha, a 19-year-old high-school student with a special ability to hear people's inner thoughts. Seldom she knew that she has a past connection with Park Soo Ha. Together, they also must face a killer with a personal vendetta that entwines all of their lives. Can they bring the dangerous man to justice?

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Law, Romance, Drama, Supernatural

Starring: Lee Bo-young, Lee Jong-suk, Yoon Sang-hyun and Lee Da-hee.

IMDb rating: 8.1/10

2. Master's Sun (2013)

Synopsis: Tae Gong Sil has the ability to see ghosts, but their constant demands of help make her life impossible, until she meets Joo Jong Won, handsome CEO that measures everything with money, since when she touches him, the ghosts disappear.

Genres: Horror, Psychological, Comedy, Romance, Drama, Supernatural

Starring: Kong Hyo-Jin, So Ji-seob, Seo In-Guk|

IMDb rating: 8.2/10

3. Pinocchio(2014)

Synopsis: The idealistic Choi In Ha has her work cut out for her when she becomes a broadcast journalist, especially when she suffers from a condition known as “Pinocchio syndrome,” which makes her break out into hiccups whenever she tells a lie. Her rookie colleagues include Choi Dal Po, whose shabby appearance masks his true eloquence and sharp memory; Seo Bum Jo, a wealthy heir who has had everything handed to him in life; and Yoon Yoo Rae, whose fangirl knowledge comes in handy in covering the news. The 20-something newbie reporters pursue justice as they try to discover themselves in the process.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Comedy, Romance, Melodrama

Starring: Lee Jong-suk, Park Shin-hye, Kim Young-kwang and Lee Yu-bi.

IMDb rating: 8.4/10

4. Healer(2014)

Synopsis: An old murder incident involving a group who ran an illegal broadcasting station brings together different people - a mysterious errand guy "Healer" who possesses disguise and fighting skills, a reporter from a second-rate tabloid, and a famous journalist. They will have to deal with the cruel conflict of truth versus faith.

Genres: Action, Thriller, Mystery, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Starring: Ji Chang-wook, Park Min-young and Yoo Ji-tae.

IMDb rating: 8.5/10

5. Signal(2016)

Synopsis: Communicating via a walkie-talkie that transcends time, a profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 join forces to tackle crimes and injustice.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Drama, Supernatural

Starring: Kim Hye-soo, Lee Je-hoon, Cho Jin-woong

IMDb rating: 8.6/10

6. Another Miss Oh(2016)

Synopsis: Two women, both named Oh Hae Young, find themselves constantly mixed up in each other’s lives because of their shared name. From confusion over boys and grades in high school to ending up in the same occupation and company as adults, they can't stop running into each other. And then there’s the man in their lives, a man with the ability to see into the future

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Family, Melodrama, Supernatural

Starring: Eric Mun, Seo Hyun-jin, Jeon Hye-bin.

IMDb rating: 7.9/10

7. Dr. Romantic 1(2016)

Synopsis: A story about Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu), a triple-board certified surgeon, who was once at the top of his field and used to work at Seoul's top medical center, Geosan University Hospital. After a traumatic incident, he disappears and changes his name to Kim Sa-bu. He begins working at a small hospital named Doldam, located in Gangwon Province. He guides Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Seo Hyun-jin) to become great doctors by teaching them to fight against power and money for the sake of patients.

Genres: Medical Drama, Romantic Comedy, Korean Drama

Starring: Han Suk-kyu Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin.

IMDb rating: 8.3/10

8. Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon (2017)

Synopsis: Do Bong-soon is a woman born with superhuman strength that comes from the long line of women possessing it. when Ahn Min Hyuk, the CEO of Ainsoft, a gaming company witnesses her strength he hires her as his personal bodyguard.

Genres: Idol Drama, Romantic Comedy, Fantasy

Starring: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik, Ji Soo

IMDb rating: 8.7/10

9. While You Were Sleeping (2017)

Synopsis: “While You Were Sleeping” is a South Korean drama series combining elements of legal drama and fantasy genres. The story revolves around three characters possessing the ability to see the future through premonition dreams.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Comedy, Crime Drama

Starring: Lee Jong-suk, Bae Suzy, Jung Hae-in, and Lee Sang-yeob

IMDb rating: 8.4/10

10. The Beauty Inside (2018)

Synopsis: The series tells the love story of Han Se Gye, an actress who must spend one week out of each month living in someone else's body, and Seo Do Jae, a man who suffers from Prosopagnosia.

Genres: Romantic Comedy, Fantasy

Starring: Seo Hyun Jin, Lee Min Ki, Lee Da Hee, Ahn Jae Hyun.

IMDb rating: 7.4/10

11. Encounter(2018)

Synopsis: It all started with an encounter between a young, ordinary man and a woman whose life has been designed by her influential parents. May it be fate or sheer coincidence, it was a picturesque sunset-lit evening in Cuba that brought them together.

Genres: Romance, Slice of Life, Melodrama

Starring: Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum.

IMDb rating: 7.1/10

12. The Fiery Priest(2019)

Synopsis: Following the mysterious death of an elderly priest, an EX NIS agent turned Catholic priest, Kim Hae Il joins hands with Koo Dae Young, a detective and Park Kyung Sun, a prosecutor.

Genres: Action, Mystery, Comedy, Crime, Drama

Starring: Kim Nam-gil, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Hanee, Go Joon and Keum Sae-rok.

IMDb rating: 8.1/10

13. Extraordinary You(2019)

It is based on the webtoon July Found by Chance Synopsis: The series follows high school girl Eun Dan-oh (Kim Hye-yoon) who is a student at a prestigious academy. One day, by chance, she discovers that the world she lives in is a fantasy world of comics. She and everyone else are merely characters in a comic book entitled Secret, all under the authority of their omnipotent and omniscient Writer. Dan-oh is only an extra character and, worse, the Writer gave her a lame set-up: she is engaged to her long-time crush who despises her, and she has a heart disease and is expected to die soon.

Not satisfied with this fate, Dan-oh decides to forge her own destiny by changing the story's plot and finding her own true love. Her hopes of freeing herself from the Writer's control becomes stronger than before when she unexpectedly meets nameless Student Number 13 (Rowoon). But as the events around Dan-oh and Number 13, whom she named as Haru, gradually starts to have parallels with the Writer's previous work Neungsohwa, changing her destiny could have a price to pay.