JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Top 10 Korean web dramas to watch: Be My Boyfriend, Top Management, and more
Here’s a list of some intriguing Korean web dramas for you to get hooked and sucked into the Korean drama craze.
We will never stop being in love with all kinds of Korean content, web drama, or otherwise. They exude a special kind of charm that amplifies our feelings and fangirl inclinations. Therefore, a Korean web drama will undoubtedly satisfy your need for stories that make you laugh, weep, or give you butterflies in your tummy.
Here’s an essential tried-and-tested listicle of shows that are a must-watch.
1. Be My Boyfriend
Category: Idol Drama, Romantic Comedy
Cast: Lee Si Woo, Shin Hyun Seung
Director: Lee ShiYoung
Writer: Han SongYi
Year of release: 2021
Rating: 8.3
Korean web drama ‘Be My Boyfriend’ has pretty much everything typical of a school web drama. It's entertaining, with a straightforward, predictable narrative, a sweet love story, and a gratifying conclusion.
The drama centres on a shy junior named Lee Seung Min (Shin Hyun Seung) who falls in love with the most popular, incredibly skilled, and immaculately dressed Oh Ji Na (Lee Si Woo). He is confident that he has no chance of capturing her heart due to his lack of charm. But he is in for a shock when Oh Ji Na devises a scheme to start a fake relationship.
Why this fake relationship? To discover, you'll have to watch this intriguingly adorable drama.
2. Best Mistake
Category: Idol Drama, Romantic Comedy
Cast: Lee Eun Jae, Kang Yul
Director: Lee Yoo Yeon
Writer: Yoon Shi So
Year of release: 2019
Rating: 7.5
‘Best Mistake’ is a bad boy-good girl, love/hate relationship web drama. In an attempt to get rid of her annoyingly persistent admirer/stalker, Yeon Doo unintentionally posts a picture of another boy (Hyun Ho) on her social media profile. Their love-hate relationship begins when Hyun Ho confronts Yeon Doo after learning the truth.
This series has everything you could want if you enjoy the bad boy turning into a complete softie for their crush. The loveliest thing ever is seeing Hyun Ho work hard in school to go into the same university as Yeon Doo. It's one of the greatest school drama shows out there and watching it will probably make you long for warm relationships.
You'll need to see it to get it!
3. Top Management
Category: Drama, Romance, Fantasy
Cast: Seo Eun Soo, Ahn Hyo Seop, Cha Eun Woo
Director: Yoon Sung-Ho
Writer: Jang Eun-mi, Kim Jung-hee, Lim Jung-min
Year of release: 2018
Rating: 7.5
‘Top Management’ is a 16-episode Korean web drama that is based on an original novel of the same name. The story revolves around a former girl group trainee turned manager of an unsuccessful idol boy band. The newly appointed management has future expectations, but they are not definite. The story demonstrates to viewers how an idol group is created and how things ultimately succeed in the market. Each episode also bears the name of a well-known K-pop song, such as BLACKPINK's ‘As If It's Your Last’, BTS' ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’, or Girls’ Generation’s ‘Into the New World’.
4. Love Playlist
Category: Romance, School, Slice of Life
Cast: Lee Hyun Seung, Jung Ji Won, Han Jae In
Director: Shin Jae-rim
Writer: Lee Seul
Year of release: 2017
Rating: 8
Without ‘Love Playlist’, our list wouldn't be complete. It is one of the most popular online dramas in South Korea. To be honest, the series represented a turning point for such shows, with a total of more than 630 million viewers throughout its 4 seasons (2017–2019).
The story centres around the highs and lows of five college students' everyday lives as they encounter romance, friendship, grief, and breakups. We can see many actors and actresses participating in the series and then gaining popularity through its success and receiving larger offers afterwards.
The following entry in the ‘Love Playlist’ series, ‘New Love Playlist’, is already available.
5. Blue Birthday
Category: Idol Drama, Romance
Cast: Kim Ye-rim, Yang Hong-seok
Director: Park Dan-hee
Year of release: 2021
Rating: 9.5
‘Blue Birthday’ is a 2021 South Korean drama web series. The show is a fantasy romance thriller drama in which the female protagonist, Oh Ha Rin (Kim Ye Rim aka Red Velvet’s Yeri), goes back in time through mysterious photos left by her first love Ji Seo Jun (Yang Hong Seok aka PENTAGON’s Hongseok), who passed away on her birthday ten years ago by taking his own life. Ha Rin is given the extraordinary ability to go back in time on her 28th birthday. Using the enigmatic pictures that were left behind, she revisits that day in the past to learn why the man chose to commit suicide and attempts to save him.
Sounds Interesting, right?
6. In Seoul
Category: High School, Family
Cast: Min Do Hee, Jang Young Nam
Director: Im JiEun
Writer: Jung SooYoon
Year of release: 2019
Rating: 7.5
The excellent on-screen chemistry between mother and daughter has contributed to this online drama's overwhelmingly good reviews. The love-hate relationship between a mother and her high school daughter (who is in her last year) who are living alone is the subject of this growing drama.
The mother in the novel continually criticizes her daughter for having no sense of reality, and the daughter desires to enrol in a university in Seoul to leave her house and become independent of such a mother. It concerns the impact of generational differences on mother-daughter interactions. Season 2 recently aired and it explores topics such as college life, dorm life, living in a big city, and the challenges that high school students, particularly those who are from outside the capital, encounter.
7. Summer Guys
Category: Web Drama, Romantic Comedy
Cast: Lee Jung Shin, Kang Mina, Lim Na Young, Lee Jung Sic, Viini
Director: Heo Chan
Writer: Yook Shi Mon
Year of release: 2021
Rating: 7.9
It is a popular youth drama featuring four men and women with different personalities who want to revitalize a beachside cocktail bar.
A dying seaside bar is located in Jeju, a subtropical South Korean island. Despite the resort's fame and the bar's ideal location, it seemed to be destined for disaster. Oh Jin Dal Rae (Kang Mina), the bar's lone employee and 25-year-old bartender, is adamant that she won’t let the bar die. As summer approaches and vacationers begin making their plans, she enlists the aid of three young male want-to-be bartenders – Seon Woo Chan (Lee Jung Shin), Ma Tae Oh (Lee Jung Sic), and Park Gwang Bok (Viini). Oh Jin Dal Rae and her new staff resolve to renovate the bar to have a summer to remember by mastering the art of mixing and shaking cocktails. However, love-related issues pose a danger to their goals, and as the summer heats up, so do the passion and the heartache!
8. A-teen
Category: Coming of Age, High School, Romance
Cast: Shin Ye Eun, Lee Na Eun, Shin Seung Ho, Kim Dong Hee, Kim Su Hyeon, Ryu Ui Hyun
Director: Han Soo-ji
Writer: Kim Sa-ra
Year of release: 2018
Rating: 9.2
Another online drama that gained popularity in 2018 was A-Teen, thanks to its relatable and fresh storyline centred on teens in their second and third year of high school.
Despite each episode of the drama lasting about 6 to 10 minutes, the drama manages to explore the unique struggles that each character faces. Some themes include sibling interactions and the contrast between the extroverted overachiever and the quiet ordinary student. The drama is about the life of a teenager and depicts the various things that a teenager may encounter, in keeping with the drama's name. Each adolescent character in the show has a unique upbringing and life experiences. The show features several celebrity cameos, including those of NCT's Jaemin and Jeno as well as SEVENTEEN’s Joshua.
9. XX
Category: Friendship, Romance, Melodrama
Cast: Ahn Hee Yeon (Hani), Hwang Seung Eon, Bae In hyuk, Lee Jong Won
Director: Kim Joon-mo
Writer: Lee Seul
Year of release: 2020
Rating: 9.5
‘XX’ is a focused, intense web drama with beautiful cinematography, powerful music, and an outstanding cast on top of that. The show centres on Yoon Na Na (Hani), a bartender who works at XX, as well as Park Dan Hee (Bae In Hyuk), a new employee, and what transpires when Lee Roo Mi (Hwang Seung Eon), her old best friend and the bar's new owner, returns to her life.
‘XX’ will strike all the appropriate notes. You will be rooting for Dan Hee and Nana's passionate love tale since it is intriguing and controversial. The tone and aesthetic of the series are incredibly artistic, and despite the repeated flashbacks, the plot moves along well. Although romance takes a backseat in this drama, it's amazing to witness how female friendships develop and the effects that love connections have on them.
10. Color Rush
Category: Mystery, Romance, Drama, Supernatural
Cast: Yoo Jun and Hyun Jun
Director and Writer: Park Sun Jae
Year of release: 2020
Rating: 7.5
‘Color Rush’ is one of the most unique high-school Korean dramas that was released in the latter half of 2020. Based on the eponymous boys' love (BL) novel; it relates the tale of Yeon Woo (Yoo Jun) who suffers from neurological blindness and sees the world in various shades of grey, and Yoo Han (Hyun Jun), a character who gives Yeon Woo a sudden "color rush" and makes him fall in love. While Yeon Woo mulls over his future, he joins his aunt's quest for her sister who vanished years ago. Eventually, he discloses the mystery surrounding his mother's abduction and enlists Yoo Han to join him.
A fine list of web dramas to keep you hooked. Also, this is the right chance for you to be sucked into the Korean web drama craze. Let us know what you think of these interesting listings.
ALSO READ: The best K-dramas to binge on Netflix in 2023 including All of Us Are Dead S2
Latest Articles
