Master List of all my Favorite Romance Kdramas!
*broken down into romance & romance thrillers listed in order from emma’s favorites to least!*
Romance (most have trauma but not as much violence)
- DOOM: AT YOUR SERVICE (TW death, terminal illness, parent death, themes of su*cide)
- Plot: When Tak Dong-kyung is diagnosed with a terminal illness & only has three months to live, she drunkenly wishes for the world to end. Myul Mang - Doom - can fulfill one human wish on his birthday, & upon hearing Dong-kyung's wish to end the world, he decides to grant it.
- TWENTY-FIVE TWENTY-ONE (TW anti-fatness, mild bullying, themes of depression)
- Plot: A teen fencer, Na Hee-Do pursues big ambitions & meets a hardworking young man, Back Yi-Jin, who seeks to rebuild his life.
- YUMI'S CELLS (1 & 2) (TW anti-fatness)
- Plot: Shows the life of an ordinary office worker, Yumi, from the perspective of the brain cells in her head that control her every thought, feeling & action. Her love-cell had fallen into a coma following the shock of a failed relationship, & throughout the show is brought back to life.
- HOMETOWN CHA-CHA-CHA (TW anti-fatness, themes of su*cide, ensemble character death)
- Plot: A big-city dentist, Yoon Hye-Jin, opens up a practice in a close-knit seaside village, home to a charming jack-of-all-trades, Hong Du-Sik, who is her polar opposite in every way.
- EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO (TW neurotypical actor playing “Autistic characteristics”, anti-fatness, ableism)
- Plot: An attorney drama that follows Woo Young-woo, a rookie attorney with autism spectrum disorder who is hired by a major law firm in Seoul & befriends her new neurotypical coworkers.
- HER PRIVATE LIFE (TW childhood trauma, brother figure is romantically interested in sister figure/not main pair from the love triangle grew up together as “family”, adoption trauma, family member death)
- Plot: Sung Deok-Mi lives for her work as an art gallery curator, but beneath her professional facade, Deok-Mi is a secret fan girl. She meets Ryan, her new boss and he ends up becoming a passionate fan-boy of her.
- WHAT'S WRONG WITH SECRETARY KIM (TW possessive male love interest, childhood trauma, kidnapping, shown su*cide)
- Plot: Lee Young-Joon’s world is shaken when, one day, his highly-capable secretary, Kim Mi-So, announces that she will resign from her position after working for him for nine years. Lee Young-Joon goes to great lengths to keep her around.
- SHE WOULD NEVER KNOW (TW anti-fatness)
- Plot: Chae Hyun-Seung developed romantic feelings for his senior at work, Yoon Song-Ah, who seems to only think of him as a coworker. He tries to protect her from being screwed over by her current partner.
- SEMANTIC ERROR (BL) (TW mild bullying)
- Plot: A serious programmer, Chu Sang-Woo, & a rebellious artist, Jang Jae-Young, clash over a school project. The characters discover their feelings for each other are a lot more complicated.
- IT'S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY (TW childhood trauma, parent deaths, neurotypical actor playing “Autistic characteristics”, disability viewed as a burden, murder)
- Plot: The series follows a psych ward caretaker, Moon Gang-tae, & an antisocial children's book writer, Ko Moon-Young, whose lives keep crossing paths.
- ONE MORE TIME (TW main character death, anti-fatness, shown su*cide, themes of su*cide, terminal illness)
- Plot: The singer of an indie band, Yoo Tan, becomes stuck in a time loop where the same day repeats over & over. He later finds out that the day that is repeating is the same day his girlfriend, Moon Da-in, suffers from a tragedy.
- BLUEMING (BL) (TW anti-fatness)
- Plot: This show follows two film department students, Si-Won, a student who tries hard to gain popularity, & Da-Woon, who is naturally popular with everyone & their journey together.
- LIGHT ON ME (BL) (TW homophobia, unrequited love)
- Plot: Woo Tae-kyung is a lonely outcast until he joins the school's student council where he is welcomed by a new group of friends, except one particular student, Noh Shin-woo, who clashes with him and makes his life more volatile.
- GOBLIN/GUARDIAN: THE GREAT and LONELY GOD (TW anti-fatness, themes of su*cide, immortal ML - teenage FL)
- Plot: Kim Shin is an immortal goblin tasked with protecting certain people from a life of misery. The only way to put an end to his immortality is to find the Goblin's bride, who can aid in pulling out the sword in his chest.
- TO MY STAR (1&2) (BL) (TW homophobia, anti-fatness)
- Plot: Actor Kang Seo-Joon was one of South Korea's biggest stars, but his career is now in decline. Despite his fall in popularity, he believes he has had a change of fortune when he meets & falls for a dashing young chef named Han Ji-Woo.
- CLEAN WITH A PASSION FOR NOW (TW childhood abuse, neurotypical lead playing “OCD characteristics”, disability viewed as a burden)
- Plot: A sloppy hard working young woman, Gil Oh-Sol, joins a cleaning company owned by a man, Jang Sun-Gyeol, who suffers from severe germophobia.
- TOUCH YOUR HEART (TW stalking, assault, slipping someone a drug)
- Plot: An office romance between a lawyer, Kwon Jung-Rok, & a top actress, Oh Yeon-Seo, whose life goes downhill after becoming caught up in a scandal.
- PINOCCHIO (TW childhood trauma, family death, brother figure is romantic lead/romantic interests grew up together as “family”)
- Plot: A man, Choi Dal-Po, who loses his family & his life is ruined by corrupted reporters. He is saved by the family of In-Ha who has a Pinocchio Syndrome which makes her hiccup every time she lies. Together they bring out the truth behind his father’s death.
- MY LOVE FROM A STAR (TW stalking, anti-fatness, murder)
- Plot: A story about an alien, Do Min-joon, who landed on Earth in 1609 & 400 years later falls in love with a top female actor, Cheon Song-yi.
Romance Thrillers (includes violence but typically has large romance plot)
- VINCENZO (TW multiple characters death, murder, gun violence, homophobia, torture)
- Plot: The drama follows Vincenzo Cassano, an Italian mafia consigliere, who returns to Korea after his boss dies with the plan of getting some hidden gold & leaving. His plan gets sidetracked when he meets Hong Cha-Young & her father & becomes involved in the fight against Babel, a very corrupt group of companies.
- W: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (TW themes of & su*cide, gun violence, parent death, homophobia, sexism, anti-fatness)
- Plot: W is a fantasy romance about Kang Chul, & Yeon Joo, who are living in different worlds. Yeon Joo is a surgeon living in the real world, & her father is the author of the popular web-comic W. Kang Chul is the main character of that comic. Things become complicated when Yeon Joo’s father decides to kill off Kang Chul and Yeon Joo gets pulled into the comic world & comes face to face with it’s hero.
- HEALER (TW parent death, murder, childhood abuse, kidnapping, themes of su*cide)
- Plot: An old murder incident involving a group who ran an illegal broadcasting station brings together a mysterious guy "Healer" who possesses disguises & fighting skills, & Chae Young-Shin a reporter from a second-rate tabloid.
- WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (TW childhood trauma, parent death, so much anti-fatness, homophobia, sexism, main character death, murder, slipping someone a drug, themes of & shown attempted su*cide, gun violence)
- Plot: The drama is about a woman, Nam Hong Joo, who can see accidents that take place in the future through her dreams & a prosecutor, Jung Jae Chan, who struggles to stop the woman's dreams from coming true.
- HAPPINESS (TW self h*rm, murder, zombies basically so lots of blood, classism, gun violence)
- Plot: In a post-COVID world, long-time friends, detective Jung Yi-Hyun & Special Operations Unit officer Yoon Sae-Bom, strike a deal to secure an apartment in a newly-constructed high-rise building, just as a new infectious disease breaks out.
- LINK: EAT, LOVE, KILL/DIE (TW murder, violent fights, kidnapping, stalking, hiding a body)
- Plot: Eun Gye-hoon & his twin sister can feel each other's feelings even if they are far apart & the siblings called this phenomenon 'link'. Gye-hoon, who has never felt a link since his sister's disappearance 18 years ago, suddenly starts to share a woman, No Da-Hyun, feelings.
- BIG MOUTH (TW murder, extreme violence, shown elicited su*cide, death, prison injustice)
- Plot: The story follows Park Chang-ho, an incompetent lawyer who gets dragged into a murder case. Soon, he finds himself framed as the famous con man Big Mouse & must work to clear his name
- BAD AND CRAZY (TW multiple personality disorder misrepresentation, mental illness stigma, murder, childhood trauma, corrupt police, familial abuse, self h*rm, gun violence)
- Plot: A competent but corrupt detective’s life is thrown into chaos by a mysterious, justice-seeking entity.
- SUSPICIOUS PARTNER (TW stalking, wrongful conviction, parent death, childhood trauma, murder)
- Plot: Noh Ji-wook, a prosecutor, & Eun Bong-hee, a prosecutor trainee, work together on a mysterious case involving a sly psychopath murderer.
- THE K2 (TW gun violence, murder, slipping someone a drug, kidnapping, death, su*cidal thoughts)
- Plot: The K2 tells the story of a bodyguard, Kim Je-Ha, who is dedicated to his country but is betrayed by it. When seeking revenge, he becomes involved with a woman, Ko An-Na, who is the secret daughter of a presidential candidate.
Non-Korean Romance Dramas
- KINNPORSCHE (BL with sex scenes) (TW gun violence, murder, torture, kidnapping, mafia altercations, physical altercations, under the influence sex scene) (Thailand)
- Plot: Kinn, the second son of a prominent mafia head, meets Porsche, a college student who comes to his rescue, thus beginning their reluctant relationship as boss & bodyguard, which soon turns into something more.
- BAD BUDDY (BL) (TW physical altercations) (Thailand)
- Plot: Ever since they were young, Pran & Pat's families hated each other, & the two boys became rivals. Pat & Pran decide to coordinate to keep their friends from fighting each other. As they coordinate, they become closer.
- MY LOVE MIX-UP (BL) (TW homophobia) (Japan)
- A Japanese BL high school romcom, where teenage protagonist, Aoki, has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he finds out she has a crush on another boy - Ida. When her secret crush becomes exposed, Aoki protects her identity by pretending he's the one with the crush on Ida.
- THE ECLIPSE (BL) (Thailand)
- Plot: The series is about the country's leading all-boys school, Suppalo, which is strictly governed. Rumor has it that a curse will punish students who act out. Two rival boys, Akk, a rule enforcer & Ayan, a rule breaker, get closer as they deal with the curse.
- LOVE IN THE AIR (BL with sex scenes) (Thailand)
- Plot: Rain, an architecture student, meets Phayu & there rivalry begins. Rain announces that he will make Phayu fall in love with him within a month.
- NOT ME (BL) (TW physical altercations, gun violence) (Thailand)
- Plot: White disguises himself as his twin brother, Black, in order to discover who attacked him & put him in a coma. White joins Blacks friend group & slowly gets to know his estranged brothers gang.
- TRIAGE (BL) (Thailand) (TW themes of & su*cide, gun violence, main character death, surgery scenes, corrupt doctors)
- Plot: Tin is an emergency room doctor who gets caught in a time loop & repeats the same timeline after failing to save a patient’s life. Tin must find a way to save the patient & student Tol’s life to escape the vicious time loop. Tin & Tol travel through time trying to change the fate of that night.
- ABOUT YOUTH (BL) (Taiwan)
- Plot: Smitten by the kindness that Ye Guang showed Xu Qi Zhang on one of the saddest nights of his life, Xu Qi Zhang is more than happy to repay that kindness when Ye Guang starts having a hard time with his parents.
- UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN (BL) (TW themes of and shown su*cide, homophobia, anti-fatness) (Thailand)
- Plot: Two modern-day college students who discover that they are the reincarnated souls of two past lovers who had committed suicide.
- PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER (TW anti-fatness) (China)
- Plot: An accounting student, Si Tu Mo, ends up unexpectedly living with a physics student, Gu Wei Yi, as they go from bickering roommates to lovers.
i wanted to include any warnings i noticed while watching these shows, as to reduce any harm to anyone taking my recommendations! these are still my favorite shows and have as many nuanced positives as nuanced negatives!
key: FL = female lead, ML = male lead, TW = trigger warning
i think so many of us are drawn to kdramas for their depth and analysis of different forms of oppressions and traumas. however kdramas are lacking so much in so many ways thus the TW’s. i recently found out that studio dragon, the largest production company in south korea is totally a monopoly company (bought out all smaller independent business and now has total control over most production in south korea). studio dragon alone has produced vincenzo, hometown cha cha cha, happiness, twenty five twenty one, yumis cells, my roommate is a gumiho, doom at your service, true beauty, start up, tale of the nine tailed, flower of evil, it’s okay to not be okay, hi bye mama, my holo love, love alarm, hotel del luna, because this is my first life and way way more. plus they just signed with Netflix in the last year or two, and will only be continuing to expand. if you regularly watch kdramas there’s not much we can do, expect support the dramas that have become more inclusive. knowledge is power and having perspectives on why studio dragon is not perfect is more beneficial than living in the dark.
