20 K-Dramas You Shouldn’t Miss – Part 2: History, the Mind and Fame
Part 1 covered money, work and power – and the codes that keep coming back in Korean series, from the thread of fate to the on-screen effects. This part is about history, the mind and fame.
The principle stays the same: for each series, the culture key – what a European viewer needs to know to understand it fully. Plus who it is for and how much time it takes.
A warning: things get more fantastic here. Aliens, immortals, parallel universes. Reality always plays along.
History, division, the state
11. Mr. Sunshine (2018)
tvN · 24 episodes · Writer: Kim Eun-sook · Director: Lee Eung-bok
In one sentence: A slave’s son returns to Korea as a US Marine officer and falls for an aristocrat’s daughter who secretly fights for independence.
The one-liner: A period drama in which the aristocrat’s daughter doesn’t do embroidery. She does sniping.
The culture key: The series is set in the final years before Japanese colonial rule. In 1905 Japan forced the Eulsa Treaty on Korea, stripping it of its diplomatic sovereignty; annexation followed in 1910, and with it 35 years of colonial rule. The heroine fights with the “Righteous Army”, the volunteer forces that resisted. According to the Korea Times, the series drew attention to these nearly forgotten fighters – but was also drawn into a dispute over whether it portrayed collaborators too gently. In Korea, history is not a backdrop.
What it is really about: Colonisation and resistance. The series is set in the early twentieth century and follows people fighting for Korea’s independence. Add to that class: the hero comes from a family of servants, the woman he loves from the aristocracy.
For: anyone who likes grand historical stories. Not for: anyone who needs a fast pace. Time needed: 24 episodes of just over an hour, around 28 hours.
Behind the scenes: The third collaboration between Kim Eun-sook and Lee Eung-bok after Descendants of the Sun and Goblin, with a budget of around 40 billion won. Netflix licensed the series worldwide before it aired. Lee Byung-hun returned to Korean television after eight years; Kim Tae-ri had become known through Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden.
12. Crash Landing on You (2019–2020)
tvN · 16 episodes · Writer: Park Ji-eun · Director: Lee Jung-hyo
In one sentence: A South Korean heiress paraglides into North Korea, where an officer hides her.
The one-liner: Paragliding into North Korea. Not an itinerary we would recommend.
The culture key: The writing team included Kwak Moon-wan, a defector who served in the guard protecting North Korea’s ruling family until 2004 and had studied film in Pyongyang. North Korean defectors praised its accuracy: one woman said she cried at the scene with the bicycle generator – every North Korean home has one, because the power keeps failing. In the North itself, the series circulated on smuggled USB sticks.
What it is really about: Division. A South Korean woman lands in the North, and the love story runs up against a border that really exists. The series shows North Korea not only as an enemy but as a place with people in it.
For: anyone who likes romance with humour and world politics. Not for: anyone expecting a political documentary. Time needed: 16 episodes, often well over an hour, around 22 hours.
Behind the scenes: Filming also took place in Switzerland and Mongolia, on a budget of about 20 million dollars. Leads Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin had already appeared together in the film The Negotiation (2018); they married in March 2022. Director Lee Jung-hyo had previously made the Korean version of The Good Wife.
13. Mr. Queen (2020–2021)
tvN · 20 episodes · Writer: Park Kye-ok, Choi Ah-il · Director: Yoon Sung-sik
In one sentence: A modern-day chef wakes up in the body of a Joseon-era queen.
The one-liner: A chef wakes up as a queen. Downton Abbey had its moments, but never this one.
The culture key: In episode two, the heroine calls the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty a tabloid. The Annals are a Korean national treasure and on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, 1,893 volumes. The production apologised and cut the line. A year later, the broadcaster SBS cancelled another series by the same writer, “Joseon Exorcist”, after just two episodes – over historical distortion and Chinese-looking props, at a time when Korea and China were arguing over the origins of kimchi and hanbok. In Korea, one jokes about one’s own history with care.
What it is really about: Who owns history? A modern man wakes up in a queen’s body – a comedy about gender roles. At the same time, the series sparked controversy in Korea over its treatment of historical figures. How freely may fiction deal with a country’s own past?
For: anyone who likes body-swap comedies and court intrigue. Not for: anyone expecting historical accuracy. Time needed: 20 episodes.
Behind the scenes: It is based on the Chinese web series Go Princess Go. Despite controversy over its handling of history, Mr. Queen became one of the most successful dramas on Korean cable television.
14. The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)
SBS · 16 episodes · Writer: Kim Eun-sook · Director: Baek Sang-hoon, Jung Ji-hyun, Yoo Je-won
In one sentence: The emperor of a parallel Korea passes through a gate into the Republic of Korea and meets a police officer.
The one-liner: An alternative Korea that kept its emperor. Some of us find the idea of a monarchy perfectly ordinary.
The culture key: The empire is not pure invention. Gojong, the last king of the Joseon dynasty, became Korea’s first emperor; the empire ended in 1910 with annexation by Japan. The series asks what a Korea with a different history would look like – a question that means more than a fantasy game in a country with this past.
What it is really about: Monarchy or republic. Two parallel Koreas, one an empire, one a democracy. Beneath the fantasy lies a thought experiment about what a country would look like if its history had gone differently.
For: anyone who likes fantasy and parallel worlds. Not for: anyone who prefers simple plots. Time needed: 16 episodes of 70 to 79 minutes, around 20 hours.
Behind the scenes: Another work by Kim Eun-sook (Goblin, Mr. Sunshine). It premiered on Korean television and worldwide on Netflix on the same day, with a budget of over 30 billion won. After Goblin, Kim Go-eun once again stars in a Kim Eun-sook series.
Mind, difference, dependence
15. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)
tvN · 16 episodes · Writer: Jo Yong · Director: Park Shin-woo
In one sentence: A psychiatric carer, his autistic brother and an abrasive children’s author heal one another.
The one-liner: The Korean title translates as “Psycho, But It’s Okay”. Which would also work as a dating profile.
The culture key: Mental illness was long a taboo in Korea. As early as 2014, a Seoul psychiatrist reported more young people coming to his practice after a series about a psychiatrist. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay continued along that path and popularised a simple calming technique, the “butterfly hug”. Director Park Shin-woo said that all of us are crazy in one way or another.
What it is really about: Mental health and care. The series is partly set in a psychiatric hospital and tells of a man who has devoted his life to caring for his autistic brother. Care, shame and mental illness are placed at the centre of an entertainment series.
For: anyone who likes dark fairy tales and big emotions. Not for: anyone for whom psychiatric scenes hit too close. Time needed: 16 episodes of 70 to 85 minutes, around 20 hours.
Behind the scenes: The New York Times named it one of the best international shows of 2020. At the Baeksang Arts Awards, Korea’s leading prize for film and television, it received eight nominations and two wins, including one for costume design, and it was nominated for an International Emmy.
16. Good Doctor (2013)
KBS2 · 20 episodes · Writer: Park Jae-beom · Director: Ki Min-soo, Kim Jin-woo
In one sentence: A young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome has to prove himself in a hospital.
The one-liner: Bedside manner: optional. Honesty: compulsory.
The culture key: In South Korea, according to the head of Autism Partnership Korea, autism and disability are often associated with shame; some parents even hide the diagnosis from relatives. Series such as Good Doctor and later Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) brought the subject into living rooms. Critics note, however, that Korean productions very often pair autism with savant abilities – which are rare in reality. Some families simply called it fantasy.
What it is really about: Prejudice. A young surgeon with autism has to prove himself in a hospital that doubts he can do the job. The series asks who decides what counts as “normal”. Daniel Dae Kim, who later bought the American rights, was drawn precisely to this atypical lead.
For: anyone who likes hospital dramas. Not for: anyone expecting a realistic portrayal of autism. Time needed: 20 episodes.
Behind the scenes: The series has been remade several times: in the US as The Good Doctor, in Japan, and in Turkey as Mucize Doktor. Writer Park Jae-beom later wrote The Fiery Priest and Vincenzo.
17. Save Me (2017)
OCN · 16 episodes · Writer: Jung Shin-kyoo · Director: Kim Sung-soo
In one sentence: An impoverished family falls into the grip of a cult, and four young men try to free the daughter.
The one-liner: The cult leader promises paradise. The terms and conditions run rather long.
The culture key: Cults are no fringe topic in Korea. Three years after Save Me, the religious group Shincheonji, described by mainstream churches as a cult, became the centre of the country’s first major COVID-19 outbreak: in early March 2020, around 60 per cent of the known cases were linked to it. More than 1.3 million people signed a petition to disband the group.
What it is really about: Dependence. After a bankruptcy, a family loses its footing and falls into the grip of a cult. The series shows how hardship and isolation make people vulnerable.
For: anyone who likes oppressive thrillers. Not for: anyone looking for entertainment to switch off to. Time needed: 16 episodes.
Behind the scenes: It is based on Jo Geum-san’s webtoon Out of the World. It was the first series from Hidden Sequence, the company of producer Lee Jae-moon (Signal, Misaeng). Lead Ok Taec-yeon is also a member of the band 2PM. A second season followed in 2019, based on a different source, the animated film The Fake.
Death, fame and fiction
18. Goblin – The Lonely and Great God (2016–2017)
tvN · 16 episodes · Writer: Kim Eun-sook · Director: Lee Eung-bok
In one sentence: An immortal general searches for the bride who can end his curse.
The one-liner: Nine hundred years old, immortal, and still single. Relatable, if you’ve ever been on the apps.
The culture key: Two keys. First, the title: the hero is a dokkaebi, a figure from Korean folklore with little in common with the European goblin – sometimes god-like, sometimes ghostly, invoked for good fortune as early as the fifteenth century, a being that punishes the wicked and rewards the good. Second, the snow: according to the Korea Times, Koreans used to say that true love blossoms between two people who experience the first snow of winter together. Once you know that, every snow scene looks different.
What it is really about: Death and loss. A general, betrayed by his king, lives on for centuries and watches people die. Beneath the fantasy costume, the series is a long meditation on grief.
For: anyone who likes fantasy, melancholy and humour. Not for: anyone who cannot warm to supernatural stories. Time needed: 16 episodes of 60 to 90 minutes, around 20 hours.
Behind the scenes: Writer Kim Eun-sook and director Lee Eung-bok had previously made Descendants of the Sun. Filming also took place in Québec City, Canada. Goblin was the first cable drama to pass a 20 per cent rating. At the Baeksang Arts Awards, Kim Eun-sook won the grand prize and Gong Yoo best actor. In March 2026, tvN announced a reunion of the leads for the tenth anniversary.
19. My Love from the Star (2013–2014)
SBS · 21 episodes · Writer: Park Ji-eun · Director: Jang Tae-yoo
In one sentence: An alien who has lived on Earth for 400 years falls for an actress just before he can go home.
The one-liner: An alien who has been here for 400 years and is thoroughly fed up with humans. Basically a Londoner.
The culture key: One line from the heroine set off a wave in China: on a snowy day, she says, fried chicken and beer are just the thing. According to the Korea Times, this sparked a “chimaek” boom in China – the word combines chicken and maekju, Korean for beer. Chinese fans watched the finale at an observatory in Shanghai, with chicken and beer. In 2016, more than 4,500 Chinese tourists held a chimaek party in Incheon aimed at the Guinness record book. And once again: the snow.
What it is really about: Fame and public condemnation. The heroine is the country’s biggest star, and when a fellow actress dies in an accident, suspicion immediately falls on her. The series shows how quickly celebrities become targets.
For: anyone who likes romantic comedy with fantasy. Not for: anyone who prefers sober stories. Time needed: 21 episodes of about an hour, around 21 hours.
Behind the scenes: The idea goes back to records from the Joseon dynasty: in autumn 1609, people across Korea reported unexplained flying objects. The series was a major hit in Korea and China and was remade in the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore. Writer Park Ji-eun later wrote Crash Landing on You.
20. W – Two Worlds (2016)
MBC · 16 episodes · Writer: Song Jae-jeong · Director: Jung Dae-yoon
In one sentence: A doctor is pulled into her father’s comic, whose hero starts to suspect he is invented.
The one-liner: A comic-book hero realises he has been written and complains to the author. Every novelist’s nightmare, and several editors’.
The culture key: The comic in the series is a webtoon – and webtoons are a Korean invention: digital comics read by scrolling down on a phone. Emerging in the early 2000s, the market grew to 1.57 trillion won by 2021 according to the state agency KOCCA, about four times its 2017 size. Many series on this list are based on webtoons, including Misaeng, Itaewon Class and Save Me. And webtoon readers comment on every episode immediately – which the cartoonist in W feels keenly.
What it is really about: The power of the author. A cartoonist wants to kill off his own hero, and the hero fights back. The series asks what responsibility storytellers bear for their characters – not an entirely theoretical question in an industry built on stories.
For: anyone who likes layered ideas. Not for: anyone bothered by plot holes. Time needed: 16 episodes of about 70 minutes, just under 19 hours.
Behind the scenes: Writer Song Jae-jeong has said the idea grew out of a Goya painting. Because rights to show paintings on television were hard to obtain, the painter became a comic artist. After the finale, she made the scripts of all 16 episodes publicly available.
What connects these ten
In Korea, history is not a backdrop. Anyone who treats it lightly has the audience to answer to – as Mr. Sunshine and Mr. Queen show. And even the most fantastic series on this list tell of division, colonial rule, grief and shame.
The best fantasy is the kind in which reality plays along.
It is also striking how many of these stories existed before – as a webtoon, a novel or a Chinese web series – and how many travelled on afterwards. Park Ji-eun wrote My Love from the Star and Crash Landing on You, Kim Eun-sook wrote Goblin, Mr. Sunshine and The King.
Back to Part 1: Money, Work and Power. What happens when series move to other countries is the subject of Same Story, Different Country. From 2023 onwards, we present the ten most successful Korean series of each year.