Want to watch the Best Korean Dramas of 2025?
Cinema Escapist is here to help inform you about what they are, and where you might be able to watch them.
In this list, we’ve selected 2025’s top Korean dramas—across genres like romance, action comedy, historical, workplace, culinary and more. We tried selecting Korean dramas that not only were entertaining, but also have some degree of artistic notability or sociopolitical significance. For those who follow celebrities, the K-dramas we curated also feature top stars like IU (Lee Ji-eun), So Ji-sub, Park Bo-young, Park Bo-gum, Im Yoona, and beyond.
We also tried including streaming links for services like Netflix, with availability dependent on your region.
With the above in mind, here are Cinema Escapist’s 11 choices for 2025’s best Korean dramas.
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11. Beyond the Bar
Korean: 에스콰이어: 변호사를 꿈꾸는 변호사들 | Starring: Lee Jin-wook, Jung Chae-yeon (Chaeyeon), Lee Hak-joo, Jeon Hye-bin | Genre(s): Workplace, Legal
Legal K-drama aficionados can take pleasure in Beyond the Bar, a drama which centers on a rookie lawyer named Kang Hyo-min (Jung Chae-yeon) who must sharpen her skills under the mentorship of a senior lawyer named Yoon Seok-hoon (Lee Jin-wook).
Character development and chemistry is this drama’s strong suit, especially as Kang and Yoon’s mentor-mentee relationship evolves across many (sometimes literal) trials and tribulations. The legal battles and variety of cases in Beyond the Bar are also well-crafted and thought-provoking, providing insight into various social issues like family dynamics, gender discrimination, and animal rights.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
10. Love Scout
Korean: 나의 완벽한 비서 | Starring: Han Ji-min, Lee Joon-hyuk, Kim Do-hoon, Kim Yoon-hye | Genre(s): Romance, Workplace
Love Scout falls into the subset of Korean romance dramas with female leads that are older than male leads, and is probably the most notable member of that subgenre for 2025. This drama centers on a burnt-out CEO of a headhunting company named Kang Ji-yoon (Han Ji-min), who hires a single father secretary named Yu Eun-ho (Lee Joon-hyuk). As they work together, Kang and Yu become enamored with each other.
If you’re looking for a mature, low-toxicity romance drama, Love Scout will satisfy your needs. Kang and Yu have an articulate, caring relationship with a realistic communication style and wholesome family elements. This isn’t to say that Love Scout is boring; rather, the drama is perfect for comfort watching—perhaps after a long, burnout-inducing workday.
Watch this 2025 Korean drama on Viki
9. Study Group
Korean: 스터디그룹 | Starring: Hwang Min-hyun, Han Ji-eun, Cha Woo-min, Lee Jong-hyun | Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Teen, Coming-of-age
Study Group tells the story of students at South Korea’s worst high school, with Hwang Min-hyun headlining as a pugnacious student named Yoo Ga-min who forms a study group in the hopes of getting into university. Along the way, Ga-min and his fellow study group members must battle not just academic challenges, but also corrupt adults and criminal mysteries that plague their school.
With tight pacing, witty dialog, and excellent fight choreography, Study Group makes for solid entertainment. If you want a Korean drama without romance, Study Group is also a great choice as it focuses more on student camaraderie and eschews drawn-out romantic subplots. On top of all this, Study Group ends up being an accessible peek into South Korea’s hierarchical academic culture—it’s a drama that’s both fun and, fitting to its title, educational as a bonus.
Watch this 2025 Korean drama on Viki
8. Tempest
Korean: 북극성 | Starring: Jun Ji-hyun, Kang Dong-won, John Cho, Lee Mi-sook | Genre(s): Political, Spy, Romance, Action
We’ve put Tempest on this list of 2025’s top Korean dramas mostly for two reasons: novelty and sociopolitical distinctiveness. A big budget production from Disney, Tempest is unique for the degree to which it blends American and Korean television, as well as American and Korean politics.
The drama stars Jun Ji-hyun as South Korea’s former UN Ambassador, who gets caught up with a covert agent played by Kang Dong-won after her husband—a presidential candidate—gets assassinated. Korean American actor John Cho also plays a supporting role alongside a large number of US cast members, as the series dives into US-North Korea tensions as well as geopolitics beyond the Korean peninsula.
While Tempest’s plot can get a bit complex at times, those who are interested in international relations, or want something that feels a bit like an American political drama but still features top Korean stars, will find the drama appealing.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Disney+ or Hulu
7. Resident Playbook
Korean: 언젠가는 슬기로울 전공의생활 | Starring: Go Youn-jung, Shin Si-ah, Kang You-seok, Han Ye-ji | Genre(s): Medical, Slice-of-life
Fans of the hit 2020 Kdrama Hospital Playlist should definitely check out Resident Playbook, which is an official spinoff series. The series follows a group of Gen Z medical residents who decide to enter the obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) discipline even as birthrates plummet in South Korea.
The drama has a generally slow-burn vibe and is more muted in comparison to Hospital Playlist. Nevertheless, its ensemble cast have great chemistry, and the series overall has a much more youthful vibe given its cast are all in their 20s as opposed to their 40s.
Furthermore, Resident Playbook provides an insightful glimpse into some of the factors that exacerbate South Korea’s low birthrate, and does a much better job at exposing some of the hierarchical factors and burnout that plague South Korea’s young doctors in the real world.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
6. The Art of Negotiation
Korean: 협상의 기술 | Starring: Lee Je-hoon, Kim Dae-myung, Sung Dong-il, Jang Hyun-sung | Genre(s): Workplace, Business
The Art of Negotiation stars Lee Je-hoon as a mergers & acquisitions (M&A) specialist named Yoo Joo-no, who must save a large conglomerate he used to work for from drowning in US$11 billion of debt. With his stellar negotiation skills, Joo-no navigates corporate intrigue and high-stakes deals in order to accomplish a seemingly impossible task.
If you’re interested in cerebral, tension-filled corporate thrillers, The Art of Negotiation will fit the bill. The drama is light on romance and heavy on strategic maneuvering; fans of other K-dramas like Misaeng and Money Game might also enjoy The Art of Negotiation.
Watch this 2025 Korean drama on Viki
5. Our Unwritten Seoul
Korean: 미지의 서울 | Starring: Park Bo-young, Park Jin-young, Ryu Kyung-soo | Genre(s): Coming-of-age, Romance
In Our Unwritten Seoul, Park Bo-young plays two identical twin sisters—Yoo Mi-ji and Yoo Mi-rae—who decide to swap vastly different lives. Mi-ji is a former athlete who still lives in the twins’ rural hometown, while Mi-rae has a white-collar job at a toxic company in Seoul.
Park’s ability to make Mi-ji and Mi-rae seem like entirely different individuals is a testament to her strong acting skills, and makes this drama especially emotionally resonant. The show also provides a nuanced look at various social challenges facing younger South Koreans, for example workplace-induced burnout, multigenerational family care obligations, and regional socioeconomic disparities.
Our Unwritten Seoul does not approach such issues in a bleak or overly flippant manner though; instead, it shows how ordinary Koreans like Mi-ji and Mi-rae make do, quietly resist, and build resilience despite everything. As such, the drama has a rather cathartic and affirming tone.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
4. Mercy for None
Korean: 광장 | Starring: So Ji-sub, Huh Joon-ho, Ahn Gil-kang, Lee Beom-soo | Genre(s): Action, Noir, Revenge
Those who want gritty gangster violence should check out Mercy for None, which is probably the most bleak and violent selection on our list of 2025’s best Korean dramas. The show features So Ji-sub as an ex-gang enforcer named Nam Gi-jun, who returns to Seoul’s underworld in order to get revenge for his younger brother’s murder.
Testosterone-heavy and high-intensity, Mercy for None is replete with charismatic performances from So and other cast members, as well as cinematic physical action. The drama feels reminiscent of classic action-noir K-movies like The Man from Nowhere and A Bittersweet Life; its seven episode length also means that pacing never drags, especially in comparison to the 16 episode runtime of regular Korean dramas.
Watch this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
3. Bon Appetit, Your Majesty
Korean: 폭군의 셰프 | Starring: Im Yoon-ah (YoonA), Lee Chae-min, Kang Han-na, Choi Gwi-hwa | Genre(s): Historical, Fantasy, Romance, Time Travel
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is a truly mouth-watering Korean drama. That’s because this 2025 K-drama is a visual feast of both Korean and international cuisine, ranging from doenjang pasta to sous vide steaks; this is perhaps the most unabashedly food-focused Korean drama to come out within the last few years.
Of course, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty’s narrative is no joke either. The show stars Im Yoon-ah (i.e. Yoona of SNSD) as a talented modern-day chef named Yeon Ji-yeong who gets transported back in time to the Joseon Dynasty, and becomes the head chef for King Yi Heon (Lee Chae-min), who has an infamously sensitive palate.
With hunger-inducing food cinematography, visually resplendent sets of Joseon-era royal palaces, and addiction-optimized pacing, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty became one of the most viewed and discussed Korean dramas of 2025, and is a comforting and (metaphorically) tasty watch.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
2. The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call
Korean: 중증외상센터 | Starring: Ju Ji-hoon, Choo Young-woo, Ha Young, Yoon Kyung-ho | Genre(s): Medical, Comedy
One of 2025’s hidden gem Korean dramas was The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call. This Netflix original K-drama follows a gifted trauma surgeon and former warzone medic named Baek Kang-hyuk (Ju Ji-hoon) as he tries to lead a hospital’s trauma center, using unconventional methods to motivate an underdog team to save lives.
At eight episodes instead of the regular 16-episode length, The Trauma Code has tight pacing, and is immensely bingeable. Critics and audiences alike found The Trauma Code one of the most unexpectedly entertaining Korean series of the year, and social media buzz about it apparently even exceeded that of Squid Game season two.
Furthermore, The Trauma Code’s immense popularity actually led to meaningful discussions in South Korea around the relative lack of funding that hospital trauma centers in the country get. The Mayor of Seoul even explicitly cited the drama in February 2025 as one of the reasons for investing additional municipal funds into one of Seoul’s major trauma training centers.
Watch this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
1. When Life Gives You Tangerines
Korean: 폭싹 속았수다 | Starring: Lee Ji-eun (IU), Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, Park Hae-joon | Genre(s): Romance, Slice-of-life
Our choice for the #1 Korean drama of 2025 goes to When Life Gives You Tangerines. The show offers a poignant accounting of the decades-long romance between Oh Ae-Sun (played by IU, a.k.a. Lee Ji-eun, and Moon So-ri) and Yang Gwang-sik (played by Park Bo-gum and Park Hae-joon), as well as the lives of their children.
Born on Jeju island during the early 1950s, Ae-Sun and Gwang-sik come of age surrounded by economic hardship and conservative family pressures. Despite everything, the two end up falling in love and persisting together, decade after decade, in the pursuit of a better life for themselves and their children.
While this premise might seem rather simple, When Life Gives You Tangerines executes it with aplomb. The drama truly feels like an epic, tracing Ae-Sun and Gwang-sik’s maturation from youth into adults, and then exploring their relationships with their three children—especially their eldest Geum-myeong, who IU also plays. Intergenerational love and sacrifice are at the core of the drama—When Life Gives You Tangeries packs the same bittersweet but refreshing emotional punch as movies like How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, and competes alongside legendary slice-of-life family dramas like Reply 1988.
Stream this 2025 Korean drama on Netflix
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Want more K-dramas? Check out our lists of 2024 and 2023’s best Korean dramas. Or, check out our list of 2025’s Best Korean Movies!