Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic is a non-bookish freebie, meaning we can talk about anything we like that’s not book-related. And if there’s one thing I love almost as much as I love books, it’s kdramas!
So today I want to highlight my top ten favorite kdramas (at this moment at least). All of these are kdramas that not only did I adore, they’re also ones I could happily watch over and over again. They are my comfort shows. This was hard, as there are a lot of amazing kdramas out there, across all possible genres, but I chose these 10 specifically because they are the most dear to my heart.
So without further ado, let’s dive right in!
10. While You Were Sleeping
What it’s about in a nutshell:
While You Were Sleeping is about a woman who has dreams about the future and one day she meets two people who start having the same kind of dreams. One of them is a prosecutor and so they work together to solve crimes and save each other and of course fall in love in the process.
Recommended if you love:
- Dreaming about the future
- Crime solving squads
- Epic courtroom scenes
9. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Do Bong-Soon is a young woman born with superhuman strength, which is passed on through the women in her family. Though she tries to keep this hidden, a young rich CEO witnesses her strength one day and promptly hires her as his bodyguard. Around the same time, a series of kidnappings take place in the area where Do Bong-Soon lives, and she is determined to catch the culprit.
Recommended if you love:
- Normal people with supernatural powers
- Slapstick comedy type humor
- Serial kidnapper plots
8. Business Proposal
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Business Proposal is about a woman who goes on blind dates to help her best friend. She intentionally ruins the dates so badly that there will never be a second one and her friend is free to live her life. One day, she dons her wig, make-up and outfits once more for another blind date. But this date turns out to be her CEO, who doesn’t recognize her, ignores her unhinged behaviour and instead proposes to her. (Read my full review)
Recommended if you love:
- So many tropes: fake dating, secret identity, rich guy/poor girl, …
- Laugh-out-loud humor
- Great friendships
7. Legend of the Blue Sea
What it’s about in a nutshell:
In this gorgeous drama, the love story between a Joseon-era mermaid and a town official repeats itself in modern times, when a mermaid falls in love with a con artist.
Recommended if you love:
- Mermaids falling in love with a human
- Con artists and hackers as squad goals
- Love throughout time
6. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
What it’s about in a nutshell:
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim is the story of a narcissistic, distant CEO who gets competely thrown back when his secretary of 9 years tells him she wants to quit.
Recommended if you love:
- Workplace romance
- Character development
- Swoony chemistry
5. Semantic Error
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Computer science major Chu Sang-woo is the embodiment of an inflexible and strict rule-abiding person. While working on a liberal arts group project with freeloaders who don’t put in any effort, Sang-woo decides to remove their names from the final presentation. One of those “freeloaders” is popular Design Student Jang Jae-young. He decides to find Sang-Woo and wants to make him pay, but ends up falling for him instead.
Recommended if you love:
- M/M Romance
- Enemies to lovers
- College setting
4. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is the story of a successful dentist who righteously quits her job in protest of her greedy boss. But when she drunkenly posts her story on the internet, that boss makes sure she can’t get hired in Seoul again. In an attempt to soul-search, she visits a little seaside village and on a whim decides to open up her own dentist practice there. Naturally she has some issues adjusting to small-town life and regularly buts heads with the town handyman. (Read my full review)
Recommended if you love:
- The ‘city girl moves to small town’ trope
- An amazing cast of quirky, loveable townspeople
- A healthy, adorable romance
3. True Beauty
What it’s about in a nutshell:
This is about an 18-year old high-school student, who is severely bullied at school because of her looks. Her bullies call her ugly and they have given her a huge inferiority complex. When she moves to a new school, she binges makeup tutorial videos on the internet and masters the art of makeup so well, she becomes instantly popular at her new school. Yet, she’s still terrified anyone will discover her ‘real face’. (Read my full review)
Recommended if you love:
- Deeply emotional but also powerful and uplifting storylines
- High school romance
- Complicated friendships and family dynamics
2. Crash Landing On You
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Crash Landing On You is the story of a South Korean heiress called Yun Se-ri (played by Son Ye-jin), who ends up in North Korea after a paragliding accident. She is found by captain Ri Jeong Hyeok (played by Hyun Bin) who decides to hide her and try to get her safely back to South Korea. (Read my full review)
Recommended if you love:
- Star-crossed lovers
- ALL THE CHEMISTRY (side note: the two main actors actually fell in love and married IRL, how amazing is that?)
- Squad goals and found family vibes
1. Romance Is A Bonus Book
What it’s about in a nutshell:
Romance is a Bonus Book is the story about a woman called Kang Dan-I who used to be a successful copywriter until she got married and chose to stay at home to raise their daughter. But when her husband leaves her penniless, jobless and homeless, she struggles to find a job because nobody wants to hire someone who hasn’t had a job in years. Not giving up, she decides to lie about her degree and ends up working a temporary support job at the publishing company her best friend is the main editor at. The series then delves into both their personal and professional challenges, as well as their true feelings for each other. (Read my full review)
Recommended if you love:
- Friends to lovers romance
- A publishing house setting / ALL THE BOOK LOVE!
- Amazing secondary characters
- Warm and comfy vibes all around
Tell Me:
Do you watch kdramas? If yes, what are your favorites?
I see so many things about these dramas on Twitter! I feel like sometimes, based on the plot, I would enjoy some of the stories, but I never watched any because becoming addicted to a new TV genre is the last thing I need. 😉
Haha I can understand not wanting to become addicted to a new TV genre 😉 It’s too late for me though 😀
Fun post! Now I’m wondering why I haven’t been watching any of these shows. Looking forwardd to trying some from your list 🙂
I hope you’ll love any kdramas you decide to try from this list! 🙂
We don’t have netgalley or anything similar so I haven’t seen anything Kdrama since I think that is where you find most? But I would probably watch quite a few of these otherwise (and I know there are a few with a magical element too).
Netflix I meant, net flix obviously lesigh.
Indeed, most of these are on Netflix but you can also watch a lot of kdramas on Viki. The free version has some ads, but still a good way to try a kdrama 🙂
Maybe one day I’ll watch a K Drama 🤣
I hope you’ll love it if you do, Sophie! 😀
I know nothing about k dramas, but these do look fun. 🙂
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-my-favourite-things/
They are quite fun indeed 🙂
I’ve watched quite a few Kdramas already (although it’s been a while now) but I’ve been dying to see Romance Is A Bonus Book and Business Proposal. I need to get back into it!
Oh, I do hope you’ll love Romance is a Bonus Book and Business Proposal! 🙂
I have actually never watched a Kdrama but these sound so fun!
They are quite fun indeed 🙂 I hope you’ll love it if you ever decide to try one!
While You Were Sleeping sounds interesting.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
It was a really fun drama!
I have not watched a Kdrama but I have heard great things about them. I think Romance is a bonus book would be the perfect place to start.
Romance is a Bonus Book would definitely be a great place to start, especially for a book lover 🙂 And it’s on Netflix!
Okay, I absolutely love this post because k-dramas are amazing and you mentioned so many I haven’t watched yet! Thanks for all those recs! <3
Yay, so glad you also love kdramas! Hope you’ll find some new favorites from this list 🙂
I hate to admit it, but I haven’t watched a Kdrama. These look fun, though!
Kdramas are fun indeed 🙂 If you ever do try one, I hope you’ll love it!
I’ve never seen a Kdrama (I’m not a tv watcher) but several of these look fun!
They are quite fun indeed 🙂 If you ever do try one, I hope you’ll love it!
Ohh, I wrote about Asian dramas for this week’s post too! I’ve watched six of these ten. I have Semantic Error on my TBW. I wasn’t interested in True Beauty, but it is always non-stop trending on Viki with over 400,000 views so I might actually give it a try. Do you use MyDramaList to track your shows? I’d be interested in following you if you do. You can read my post here: http://www.shelfleigh.com/2023/04/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-asian-dramas.html
Nice, I’ll come check out your favorites too! 😀
I hope you’ll love Semantic Error and True Beauty if you decide to give it a try. I don’t use MyDramaList but I’ll be sure to check it out!
I don’t know anything about kdramas but these look good!! Thanks for sharing something you love so much!! 🙂
Thanks! Kdramas are a lot of fun indeed 🙂
I’ve never watched a kdrama but I hear so much about them and I know another blogger who LOVES Viki. I think the meraid one sounds cool.
Viki is so great when it comes to watching kdramas! Though Netflix has been increasing their kdrama portfolio too so I can’t complain 😀
These ALL look so good! I can’t wait to check some of them out. 😀
I hope you’ll love any of these you decide to try! 🙂
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is giving me Hallmark movie vibes with the whole big city person moves to a small town and falls for a local, though they don’t like each other at first. LOL! I may have to give it a watch.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/ten-things-you-may-not-know-about-me/
It does have major Hallmark vibes! Or Hart of Dixie vibes, if you ever watched that show 🙂
These all look like so much fun!
They are a lot of fun indeed!
I’ve never seen any of these, or any kdramas at all to be honest, but a lot of these do sound fun!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/04/18/top-ten-tuesday-416/
If you ever decide to try a kdrama, I hope you’ll love it! And I’m always here to help with recs, haha 🙂
Thanks I appreciate that!
K-Dramas are so popular but I’ve never watched one, only because I’m not even sure where to start. I have heard good things about Crash Landing and Hometown though and my mum, who’s obsessed with K-dramas (lol) loves both shows!
Oh, your mum has great K-drama taste as we have those faves in common 😀 If you want to start, I think Crash Landing is probably one of the best options! Though for book lovers, Romance is a Bonus Book is also a good one 🙂
Love the post!! My favourite Kdramas would have to be: goblin, legend of the blue sea, vicenzo and moonlovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. I’m currently watching 2521 and its really good so far.
I love Goblin too! Vincenzo and Moonlovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo are both still on my to-watch-list 🙂