2024 is the year where K-dramas experimented, broke stereotypes and gave us new couples to swoon over. Here’s everything we loved this year!
There’s never been a better year for K-drama fans! This year we didn’t just go gaga over the rom-coms but we were actually surprised with the new genres that came our way. If K-dramas of 2024 had to be summed up in a sentence, we’d call it ‘the year of the underdogs’. There were quite a few stories that looked underwhelming from the trailer but gained so much popularity once it aired. If this doesn’t teach you not to judge a book by its cover then we don’t know what will. Against all odds, Lovely Runner soars high as the most viewed series this year. With a cast that was not very well known and no known platform that streamed the show, it still managed to capture our hearts and how!
Queen of Tears had people waiting with bated breath for the next episode. There were watch parties kept all over the world and we love a K-drama that brings a community together! Shin Min-Ah and Kim Young-Dae’s pairing might have felt off beat in the start but their chemistry spoke for them when the show began. A Virtuous Business had four strong headed women carrying the story on its shoulders and it turned out to be a K-drama we’ve never seen before. While Mr. Plankton made us cry over a bittersweet ending, Family By Choice felt like a heartwarming hug.
We all love a good Park Min-Young drama and her legacy of feel-good rom-coms continues with this one. When her character, Kang Ji-Won is given a second chance at life she tries her best to change her fate, and in that journey finds true love. There are plot twists at every turn, we got a new male lead to swoon over, and I love the pace at which this drama unfolded. What’s not to love?
The last time we saw Kim Soo-Hyun on-screen was in Its Okay To Not Be Okay, andQueen of Tears was a pretty good reminder of how good looking he truly is. It's not just that, his chemistry with Kim Ji-Won is one for the books. It is one of the best enemies-to-lovers K-drama tropes that we have seen in a long time. The K-drama OST, the plot, the antagonists and the supporting cast all just worked in unison to give this drama the success that it gained.
A drama that initially wasn’t being funded, was rejected by many K-drama actors, and was denied a platform by most OTT apps, pierced its way to success and how! We, as a fandom, are beyond grateful for this drama, mainly because it gave the K-drama world its new obsession aka Byeon Woo-Seok. This year was undisputedly his, all thanks to his performance in Lovely Runner. A series that started off as an idol-fan relationship, proved to be much more than that. It was quintessential K-drama romance and every girl’s fantasy in every sense. It’s been 6 months since the drama ended and none of us have gotten over it yet!
The Atypical Family - Netflix
What started as an off beat and unconventional story that we couldn’t quite get a grip on, turned out to be a rather intriguing story. Gwi-Ju and his family have superpowers but none of them can use it as they fall prey to modern day problems. This changes when Do Da-Hae, a con-woman enters their life, and then began the most ‘atypical’ story of time travel we’ve watched in a while!
Shin Min-Ah and Kim Young-Dae were a K-drama pair we didn’t know we needed. No Gain No Love was the most unK-drama K-drama ever! For the first time in a K-drama, we saw a woman speak so openly about her sexual relationship, smoke a cigarette and also be older than the man. The premise of the show was based on these two faking their marriage for money but eventually falling in love for real. The sexual tension between the leads had us all kicking our feet in the air, and if that wasn’t enough, the second leads’ love story was just the cherry on the top we needed.
A comforting slice of life drama about an unconventional family that’ll melt your heart from the start to the end! Hwang In-Youp finally got his first K-drama as a lead this year and he proved to the world why he deserved it!
Four rural women start an adult sex toy business in their town. As they broke multiple stereotypes and fought prejudices of people, they also embarked on a heartwarming journey of self discovery. A story way ahead of its times even for today as sex is not something that is openly discussed in K-drama often, this one definitely had a foot in the right direction.
In a swarm of romantic K-dramas, this was our yearly dose of K-trauma that we didn’t see coming. We knew since the start that this K-drama wouldn’t end well and yet it made us root for the leads to end up together. The chemistry between the leads was through the roof hence the bittersweet ending just stung us more!
When The Phone Rings - Netflix
A rising politician and his mute wife's tense marriage begins to unravel after a call from a kidnapper turns their lives upside down. The current talk of the town has us all hooked and wondering what’s going to happen in the next episode!
Which of these K-dramas did you love the most this year? Let us know in the comments below!
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