The 10 Best Korean Dramas To Watch On Netflix In 2022 (2023)

EUIf you ask a friend which Korean drama series they would recommend, chances are it's from last year.squid gamewould be at the top of your list.

The show not only broke a record1.65 billion hours of playbackIt also won several prestigious awards in its first 28 days on Netflix - includingtwo Emmys, one for Best Lead Actor and one for Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Most importantly, it showcased the creativity and innovation of South Korea's entertainment industry on the small screen on a global scale.

This has been another stellar year for K-Drama and general Korean content on Netflix, following a500multimillion investmentin the South Korean production and content stages over the past two years. The streaming platform reported that more than 60% of its users watched Korean content in 2022. Last year, Korean content reached Netflix's weekly top 10 in over 90 countries - and three of the top 10 most popular non-English shows in all times come from South Korea (Squid game, we're all dead,EAssociate Lawyer Woo).

Whether you're a complete newbie looking to immerse yourself in Netflix's suite of Korean dramas or a seasoned fan looking to expand your list of shows to watch, here are the top 10 shows coming out this year. All titles are available to watch on Netflix US and are not listed in any particular order.

Associate Lawyer Woo

Legal dramas are nothing new, however.Associate Lawyer Woobrings a breath of fresh air to the genre, featuring a rookie autistic lawyer as the title character. Park Eun-bin sensitively portrays Woo Young-woo, who uses his erudite attributes (including a photographic memory) to represent his clients and help resolve legal cases. Many viewers praised the show for its nuanced portrayal of accessibility issues in the workplace and the various prejudices people with disabilities face in society. The 16-episode drama series became the sixth most popular non-English language series of all time on Netflix and remained on the global top 10 non-English language list for 20 weeks - the only series since.squid game.

we are all dead

Fans of the zombie genre will enjoy this series about a group of Korean teenagers trapped in a high school amid a mysterious virus outbreak that turns victims into rabid, flesh-eating monsters. Based on a web cartoon,now in our schoolby Joo Dong Geunwe are all deadit's a blood-soaked emotional rollercoaster with compelling performances from rookie actors. The plot is mostly driven by the usual teen angst and apprehension about the future, but what separates this teen hormone series from other shows is the drama that is driven by how far a person - especially one who has been bullied - will go to get revenge.

Keep reading: Squid Game and All of Us Are Dead made her a star. Now Lee You-mi goes his own way

youth cut

Veteran actor Kim Hye-soo returns to the small screenyouth cut,a procedural legal drama. Kim plays Sim Eun-seok, a newly appointed juvenile court judge who has made it clear that she doesn't like young offenders and believes the law should punish her severely. Her temper is balanced by assistant judge Cha Tae-joo (played by Kim Moo-yeol), who believes in giving second chances. The series explores themes of murder and sexual abuse, and viewers are encouraged to question whether the punishment Eun-seok inflicts is compatible with the crime. The series is particularly compelling when it comes to developing Eun-seok's arc, as she slowly reveals the reasons for her disdain for juvenile delinquents and her years of pursuit of justice.

twenty five twenty one

twenty five twenty oneis a coming-of-age story set in the late 1990s, when the IMF crisis is wrecking South Korea's economy. The plot revolves around Na Hee-do (played by Kim Tae-ri frommister sunshinefame), a high school student who dreams of one day being a fencer in the Olympics, and her blossoming romance with Baek Yi-jin (played by Nam Joo-hyuk), a student who is forced to drop out of college because his family loses his fortune because of financial crisis. Their relationship is told through the eyes of Hee-do's 15-year-old daughter, Kim Min-chae (played by Choi Myung-bin), who accidentally stumbles upon her mother's diary in present-day South Korea. The 16-part series is filled with melancholy moments that speak to the understandable experience of growing up in a society subject to great change.

Keep reading: 10 best tv shows of 2022

business proposal

Webtoon turned drama seriesbusiness proposalis a light-hearted rom-com that ticks all the boxes for a casual weekend binge. Shin Ha-ri (played by K-pop singer Kim Se-jeong) is a young food researcher who, at the request of her best friend, takes her place on a blind date for an arranged marriage with the intention of warding off the potential suitor. However, it turns out that the man who appears is none other than Kang Tae-moo (played by Ahn Hyo-seop), the CEO of the company Ha-ri works for. But instead of getting scared, he finally proposes a deal - a fake engagement to save his grandfather in exchange for cash payments to Ha-ri, who must support her parents. The resulting mishaps are often cute and hilarious, even if they border on the unusual.

Saint of Narcos

To take care of your childrennoraebang(karaoke) owner Kang In-gu (played by Ha Jung-woo) joins his friend's business and imports rays from Suriname to South Korea. After opening a factory in Suriname, In-gu is introduced to Pastor Jeon Yo-han (played by Hwang Jung-min), a Korean church leader who has built a reputation as a good Samaritan, helping to protect local businesses from gangs and corruption. protect the authorities. However, In-gu realizes it's all just a facade when he's falsely accused of a crime: the lightning bolts he imports are found stuffed with cocaine, which is later linked to Pastor Jeon. In-gu is approached by Choi Chang-ho (played by Park Hae-soo), a National Intelligence Service (Korea's CIA) agent who is looking for someone to infiltrate Pastor Jeon's inner circle. With no other options available, In-gu teams up with Chang-ho to bring down the pastor's drug empire. the show that isbased on real facts, has not been spared controversy: the depiction of Suriname as a drug state prompted its government to do soconsider legal actionagainst the show's producers.

Keep reading: 10 best movies of 2022

Thirty-nine

Stick your paper lenses: Son Ye-jin (hard landing on you) returns to the small screen in a drama about the long friendship between three women in their late 40s. The trio - consisting of Cha Mi-jo (played by Son), Jeon Chan-young (Jeon Mi-do) and Jang Joo-hee (Kim Ji-hyun) - their friendship is put to the test when it comes to one of them. an incurable disease is diagnosed. The lows these women face are balanced by the highs that come with small moments of joy as they hold on to the pain of inevitable loss. The show is a balm for the soul and viewers can't get enough:Thirty-ninewas in Netflix's Global Weekly Top 10 for five weeks this spring.

The Sound of Magic

This six-episode musical drama is based onAnnarasumanara,a webtoon by Ha Il-kwon. Yoon Ah-yi (played by Choi Eung-sun) is a high school student going through desperate times and struggling to survive for her sister and herself. One day, her paths cross with Ri-eul (Ji Chang-wook), a man who lives in an old abandoned amusement park and claims to be a magician. Ah-yi is initially suspicious of Ri-eul, but soon wonders if magic is real. As they spend more time together, Ah-yi discovers that there may be something darker behind Ri-eul's magic than she cares to admit. Could he even be capable of murder?The Sound of Magicis a bit hit-or-miss: it tackles touchy subjects like abandonment and sexual abuse — but it somehow successfully balances the darkness with smooth acoustic duets and carefully choreographed numbers.

Keep reading:The 10 best film performances of 2022

There once was a small town

Han Ji-yul, a veterinarian from Seoul (played by Chu Young-woo), is persuaded by his grandfather to temporarily move to the picturesque rural village of Huidong and run the elder's veterinary clinic while his grandparents enjoy a honeymoon. late. Firstly, Han, who is desperate to get back to Seoul, is a fish out of water and cold-hearted towards the locals. But he eventually softens, especially towards An Ja-young, the nosy local policeman (played by Joy ofK-pop group Red Velvet). The underrated rom-com consists of 12 episodes, and each episode only lasts around 30 minutes, making this a light-hearted weekend binge that doesn't require any serious commitment.

our blue

Featuring top-notch actors like Lee Byung-hun (Red 2, squid game), Shin Min-a (Heimatstadt Cha-cha-cha), Cha Seung-won (A normal day), Uhm Jung-hwa (dancing queen), Han Ji-min (one spring nightand Kim Woo-bin (the inheritors) this life drama weaves together several separate narratives of residents living on the paradise island of Jeju, South Korea. Each episode focuses on a different relationship dynamic and features themes ranging from friendship - in the story of two high school exes who are reunited - to forgiveness - in the story of a mother and her estranged son. The show manages to give each character's story time to breathe and connects them in a way that brings the island community to life on screen.our bluespent nine weeks on the Global Non-English Top 10 Most Watched list, ranking second best in the world.

Correction, December 19

The original version of this story misspelled the name of the star ofbusiness proposal. It's Ahn Hyo-seop, not Ahn Hyo-sop.

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