We have to admit, no one does romantic dramas quite like the South Koreans. Sure, sometimes we get the cliche plot of sudden illness or family members opposing the relationship, but the good news is, that the storylines for romantic Korean dramas are now more diverse. From love amidst a zombie apocalypse to office romances, we’re sure you’ll find something that will tickle your fancy. If you’re in the mood for love, try watching these romantic Korean dramas of 2025, some of which are already streaming on Netflix, Viu and Prime Video. Once you’ve gotten your dose of romance, check out these shows from other genres, from thrillers to revenge-themed dramas.
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1. Newtopia
If you loved Blackpink’s Jisoo in Snowdrop, be sure to catch Newtopia. It follows the story of exes Lee Jae-yoon (Park Jeong-min), a soldier, and Kang Young-joo (Jisoo), an engineer, who attempt to reunite after a zombie outbreak happens in Seoul. This marks Jisoo’s second lead role in a drama. It’s a romantic comedy, so don’t bank on it being like All of Us Are Dead. The show premiered on Feb 7, with new episodes released every Friday.
Newtopia is now on Prime Video.
2. Melo Movie
With a title like Melo Movie, it would be ludicrous for the drama not to be linked to films. This romance Korean drama revolves around the love story of Ko Gyeom (Choi Woo-sik) and Kim Mu-bee (Park Bo-young). The former is a film enthusiast whose goal is to watch every movie in the world, hence he becomes a film critic. Mu-bee is an aspiring film director who wants to make her mark but is burdened with a complicated past. The two met in the past but drifted apart. Years later, Ko Gyeom moves next door to Mu-bee, and they rekindle their love, but open old wounds and are confronted with unresolved issues.
Melo Movie is now on Netflix.
3. My Dearest Nemesis
You know that every rom-com with Moon Ga-young is a must-watch. In this drama, she plays Baek Soo-jung, the planning team leader at Yongseong Department Store who is known as a “director killer”, as she doesn’t hesitate to put them in their place, regardless of their rank in the company. After various directors quit, she meets her new boss, Ban Joo-yeon (Choi Hyun-wook), who is also the successor of the department store. But this wasn’t their first encounter. When they were in their teens, they were fellow gamers. He had fallen for her but was rejected as soon as he confessed his feelings. Sixteen years later, the pair reunites — only this time, he’s her boss.
My Dearest Nemesis is on Apple TV and will reportedly be available on Viu.
4. The Witch
Park Mi-jeong (Roh Jeong-eui) believes herself to be cursed. Since she was young, strange things have happened to the people around her. For example, all the boys who liked her died or got injured. This was why people called her “The Witch”. Believing that she was indeed cursed, she cut off all contact with the world. Lee Dong-jin (Jin Young), who attended the same high school, had a crush on her. After graduating, he majored in statistics, as he wanted to prove to her that what happened to the boys was not her fault. He uses his data mining capabilities to investigate how they got hurt, to help her break out of her shell.
The Witch is now streaming on Viu.
5. Can This Love Be Translated?
Kim Seon-ho acts as Ju Ho-jin, a multilingual interpreter who can speak many languages, including English, Japanese, and Italian. He becomes the personal interpreter for top star Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung), who is always confident and bright. However, they have contrasting views on love, which results in misunderstandings. As they become closer, they start enjoying the conversations they share, leading to mutual understanding of each other’s viewpoints.
The series is scheduled to be on Netflix in the fourth quarter of this year.
6. Way Back Love
Jung Hee-wan is a 24-year-old recluse who has lost her will to live. One day, she was visited by her childhood friend and first love, Kim Ram-woo (Gong Myung). Only, he passed away six years prior, and is now a grim reaper. The two were best friends, and liked each other, but did not confess their love. Ram-woo informs Hee-wan that she only has a week to live, and if she wanted to die peacefully, she would need to call his name three times. However, Hee-wan doesn’t call his name, as she didn’t want to be separated from him. Hence, Ram-woo makes a bucket list with her, and they try to fulfil it together before she dies. While the drama is said to premiere this year, the official date has yet to be announced.
It will be streamed on TVing, but it’s unclear if it will be available on any of the local or global streaming platforms.
7. Love Scout
Kang Ji-yoon (Han Ji Min) is a successful CEO of a headhunting firm. She is dedicated to her job and finds it difficult to have a work-life balance. She meets Yoo Eun-ho (Lee Joon-hyuk), a secretary who is a single father. He is competent, and has no trouble managing both work and his family life, leaving her impressed. When the pair starts working together, Eun-ho teaches Ji-yoon important life lessons, such as finding work-life balance and the importance of human connection. They form a special bond, and the business relationship soon turns romantic.
Love Scout is available on Netflix.
8. Tastefully Yours
Han Beom-woo (Kang Ha-neul) is the successor to a large food company that runs the best fine dining restaurant in Seoul. However, he has no interest in how food tastes. Rather, he is known as a “recipe hunter” who acquires and merges small restaurants. Mo Yeon-ju (Go Min-si) is a chef who runs a one-table restaurant without a signboard in the countryside. To her, taste is the most important thing. The pair falls in love while running a small restaurant in Miraek, Jeonju.
Tastefully Yours will be available in the second quarter of 2025 on Netflix.
9. When the Stars Gossip
Lee Min-ho takes on the role of Gong Ryong, an obstetrician who is set to be the son-in-law of the largest chaebol group. He pays a large sum of money to be a space tourist. At the space station, he meets Eve Kim (Gong Hyo-jin), a space scientist on her first space station mission as a commander. Eve has a no-nonsense personality, and doesn’t tolerate any mistakes. The pair falls in love in space. To be honest, the drama has gotten mixed reviews, and it’s not hard to guess why when you read the confusing excerpt.
When the Stars Gossip is available on Netflix.
10. Undercover High School
This action comedy revolves around the story of Jung Hae-seong (Seo Kang-joon), an NIS agent who goes undercover as a student after getting demoted. He is given a secret mission: to find Emperor Gojong’s missing gold. His cover was almost blown when he meets his homeroom teacher, Oh Soo-ah (acted by Jin Ki-joo), and realised she is his first love.
Undercover High School is now streaming on Viu.
11. The Potato Lab
Just when you thought producers have run out of unique settings for K-dramas, you’ve proven wrong. Like its title suggests, this romance Korean drama is set at a potato research centre in the mountains. It follows the story of Kim Mi-kyung (Lee Sun-bin), a potato-crazy researcher who has been working at the Potato Research Institute for 12 years, and is dedicated to her job. Her simple life takes a turn after she meets So Baek-ho (Kang Tae-oh), an organisational innovation director, who may look bright, but is a cold-blooded pragmatist. The pair has conflicts on almost everything.
The Potato Lab premieres on March 1 on Netflix.
12. Genie, Make A Wish
The romance Korean drama sees Kim Woo-bin and Suzy reuniting after their 2016 hit drama, Uncontrollably Fond. Woo-bin plays Genie, a magic spirit in a lamp who is awakened from slumber after a millennium. He is emotionally charged and goes back and forth between different feelings. He meets Ka-young (Suzy), a young woman who is stoic and is trapped in a life controlled by her grandmother’s rules, and her own routine. She happens to summon Genie, and is granted three wishes.
Genie, Make A Wish, is set to stream on Netflix in the last quarter of 2025.
Did You Also Miss These Romantic Korean Dramas Of 2024?
Queen of Tears
With the hit show’s finale setting record viewership ratings as tvN’s most-watched series finale (even surpassing Crash Landing On You), this is definitely one not to miss. We’re not surprised too, as the same studio behind CLOY produces the romantic K-drama. Kim Ji-won plays Hong Hae-in, the arrogant chaebol heir of Queens Group. Kim Soo-hyun plays the legal director of Queens Group who marries her. The story revolves around this unexpected couple and how they overcome marital crises.
Queen of Tears is now on Netflix.
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Lovely Runner
Lovely Runner has emerged as one of the most talked-about K-dramas of 2024. The 16-episode series follows the time-travelling journey of two star-crossed lovers — Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), a devoted fan of idol Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok).
Once a promising film director, Sol’s dreams were shattered by an accident that left her paralysed. She finds solace in Sun-jae’s music, but her world is turned upside down when Sun-jae dies by suicide, leaving her devastated.
In a strange twist of fate, she unexpectedly finds herself transported 15 years into the past when he was still alive, and vows to save Sun-jae from his future untimely death. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride.
Lovely Runner is now on Viu.
Red Swan
In this romance revenge melodrama, Kim Ha-neul (18 Again) takes on the role of Oh Wan-soo, a a former professional golfer who aside her clubs after marrying the heir to one of Korea’s top conglomerates.
Yong-kook has a history of infidelity, yet Wan-soo has worked hard to keep their marriage intact despite knowing about his affairs. However, the arrival of a mysterious new bodyguard will challenge her loyalties for the first time. Seo Do-yoon (played by Rain), who seems strangely familiar, is dedicated to protecting Wansoo, but his presence and possible ulterior motives could jeopardize everything she has worked so hard to preserve.
Red Swan is now on Disney+.
Marry My Husband
This is more of a revenge drama than the typical romantic Korean drama, but it currently has the highest ratings among the dramas airing in Korea for good reason. The story follows the story of Kang Ji-won, a cancer patient who is killed by her husband after she finds him having an affair with her best friend. When she regains consciousness, she finds that she had time-travelled to a year earlier, before she got married. She sets her plan for revenge in motion and tries to push her best friend to marry her future husband instead. Where’s the romance bit, you ask? She receives help from a man who has an unrequited love for her.
Currently streaming on Prime Video.
Love Song for Illusion
Based on a webcomic, this romantic Korean drama revolves around an unlikely love between a crown prince and an assassin who tried to kill his father. Park Ji-hoon acts as Crown Prince Sajo Hyun, who hides his identity by working as a fashion designer, and has two personalities: the crown prince, and Ak-Hee. The latter can make anyone fall for him, but whenever he touches anyone, he experiences extreme pain. The two personalities agree to share a body for three days at a time. Yeon Wol, acted by actress Hong Ye-ji, is an only child of the Yeon Family, but her family was executed after her father committed treason. She becomes an assassin, and while trying to kill the king, she falls into a trap. When she wakes up, she has no memory of her past, and becomes the crown prince’s concubine.
The drama is currently streaming on Viu.
Doctor Slump
One is an ace plastic surgeon who was framed for medical negligence resulting in his patient’s death. One is an anaesthesiologist who is dedicated to her job, but eventually burns out and has depression. The two are rivals from high school. When both fall into a slump, they have a serendipitous reunion in a rooftop room, and find solace and support in each other. This romantic comedy has the typical enemies-to-lovers trope, but we have high hopes because the leads are Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik. The trailer looks promising already!
Doctor Slump is now on Netflix.
Knight Flower
Lee Hanee’s character Jo Yeo-hwa, has been a widow for 15 years. She is the daughter-in-law of the most prestigious noble family in her neighbourhood. She lives a quiet life at home and doesn’t leave the house. However, at night, she secretly leaves the house to help people in need. She meets senior officer Park Soo-ho (Lee Jong-won), and starts to dream about her future for the first time in a while. If you have watched any of Hanee’s works, you’d know that she’s an amazing actress, so this romantic K-drama is definitely worth a watch!
Captivating the King
This historical romantic Korean drama is fronted by Jo Jung Suk and Shin Se Kyung. The former acts as a
prince, Lee In, who in vowing loyalty to his older brother, is taken hostage by the Qing Dynasty. His brother, King Lee Sun, thinks his brother has betrayed him and starts to hate him. During this time, Lee In meets a baduk (traditional board game) player Kang Hee Soo (Shin Se Kyung) and becomes fascinated by her. She too falls in love with him. In a turn of events, Lee In becomes the king. Hee Soo, however, comes spy and tries to get revenge on King Lee In.
Captivating The King is now on Netflix.
The Trunk
With Gong Yoo as the lead actor, there’s really no reason you should be sleeping on this drama. We kid. The K-drama, which is based on a novel, centres on the story of Jung Won (Gong Yoo), and In ji (Seo Hyun-jin) who get married after meeting through a marriage agency. Plot twist: Jung Won’s ex-wife, whom he still misses, was the one who applied for the matchmaking service for him, and In Ji actually works for the marriage provision company. All seems well until they find a trunk in a lake, which leads them to the secrets behind the company.
The Trunk is now on Netflix.
LTNS
The title, which is short for Long Time No Sex, tells the story of a couple who has been married for five years, doesn’t have a child, and has a dead sex life. The wife, Woo Jin (Esom), is a go-getter who works as a hotel receptionist, while the husband, Samuel (Ahn Jae Hong), appears mild-mannered but has well-concealed anger issues. He worked for a big company after graduating from a prestigious university but quit to become a taxi driver. The pair tails a couple having an affair to blackmail them, and find themselves forming a team to expose cheating couples. In doing so, they seek to turn their lives – and relationship – around.
LTNS is now available on Viu.
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This article was originally published on July 7, 2024 and updated on Feb 26, 2025.
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