My favorite couples of 2023 (only Kdramas):-

Call It Love
The Eighth Sense
My Lovely Boxer
Our Dating Sim
Jun & Jun
His Man Season 2
Perfect Marriage Revenge
The Matchmakers (side couples)
My Demon

There were shows like Destined With You where I liked the ML or the FL, but not the couple. All in all, it was a disappointing year in terms of romance from Kdramas. The KBLs were a bit better.

#2023 Top Kdrama Couples

My number 1: Woo-Joo and Dong-Jin from Call it Love

My number 2: Woo-Joo and Dong-Jin from Call it Love

My number 3: Woo-Joo and Dong-Jin from Call it Love

If we open this up to cdramas

My number 1: Dian Jia-Xu and Sang Zhi from Hidden Love

That's it. I'm starting My Lovely Boxer.

I either disliked (King the Land, Destined With You) or didn't watch (Call It Love, Perfect Marriage Revenge) all the popular couples this year.

My favorite couples of 2023 were all unpopular:
The Secret Romantic Guesthouse Shin Ye-eun and Ryeoun
Strong Girl Nam-soon Lee Yoo-mi and Ong Seong-wu
Joseon Attorney Woo Do-hwan and Bona
Unlock My Boss Chae Jong-hyeop and Seo Eun-soo
Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 Kim Bum and Woo Hyun-jin

I'm currently under the spell of My Demon couple and the cute Contract Marriage Couple. And of course the badass Mr.Secretary and Sawol couple. 🏍 😎

My favorite couple was Kang Chang-Wook and Jung Da-Jung portrayed by Han Suk-Kyu and Kim Seo-Hyung. I have no words to describe how heart-achingly beautiful it was.

The cutest couple of the year for me is Jung Soon-gu and Maeng Sam-soon. They were most adorable things ever.

For C-drama land it was Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ru Yi. These two spies from enemy states had most epic romance of the year.

Call It Love? deserves all the love it gets. This ones did, if not, set fire to the rain. That's the only piece of the two leads I saw this year. I'm okay that it remains that way.

My Dearest on another hand was one drama whose romance brought not only the romance but all the dramas associated or not with its romance. They killed it. And I can't think of too many culpable of stepping in and characterizing Gil-chae as Ahn Eun-jin did. Nam Goongmin wasn't playing
either.

Matured leads is what I asked for this year. Matured leads are the very ones that ticked and killed it - some have been mentioned already in the comments. I really like that we are having such matured people as leads in their own stories instead of as side fillers.

That's not to say the younger folks didn't. Does Kang Hoon count as younger folk if he's above 30? His love arc as Kim Shi-yeol with Yoon Hyun-joo was the romantic story that had my attention during The Secret Romantic Guesthouse.

Although I agree with almost all of these picks (I can't quite get behind Ahn Soo-young and Ha Sang-soo as worthy of this title because her feelings for him were too ambiguous), the OTP of the year for me was Jang Uk and Naksu/Mu-Deok/Jin Bu-yeon. The central conceit--one man falling in love with the same woman twice at two significant points in his life--is one we don't see often, and rarely, if ever, with two different actresses. But it was so well done and depicted, and provided multiple chemistry-filled scenes that hold up very well re-watch after re-watch (just trust me--I've put in the work).

Part I dragged for me when these two didn't have scenes together, but I loved their banter and slowburn attraction. It's Part II, however, that fully engaged my heart. Jang Uk was deep in the mire of grief for his (not so) dead love, tortured, cynical, and yet reluctantly smitten with his new wife. Bu-yeon was instantly and adorably smitten, but as her memories returned, she became as hard and resolved as Jang Uk had been. Throughout everything, whether arguing, flirting, or finally reconciling, they were passionate and sweet, fiery and at peace. The fact that they were able to resolve the seemingly insurmountable obstacles threatening to permanently sever their bond was amazing in and of itself, but that they were also able to still spark in every scene together right up through the final one is why I can't seem to fully let them go, even a year after this drama wrapped up.

Runners-Up: Shim Woo-joo and Han Dong-jin
The only reason I didn't pick theirs as the best kiss of the year is because there was because it occurred right before the story was clearly going to take a dark turn with the truth finally coming to a head. So watching these two FINALLY admit and act on their feelings was almost voyeuristic in how real and raw it felt, but it's not a scene I've found myself re-watching because there's still too much pain to come.

This is also why I wish the end had given us a little more so we could see these two finally have a romantic moment not marred by secrets or heartbreak.

Woo joo/dong Jin
Sang soo/soo young
Jang uk/naksu

For me this year. And for the first two, they wouldn’t be the picks if not for the actors behind the characters…just spoke volumes about the acting caliber of yys, mgy and kyk. These were also my favourite top actors of the year. Beautiful. At the hands of lesser experts, these would have been disasters.

My favourite ones were from The Interest of Love and Destined with You!

The least favourite was My Dearest one. Between what it could have been and what we got... I spent 20 episodes to see them lying and hurting each other.

Tomorrow will be D-day to know if The Matchmakers's couple rejoin my favourite ones!

Otherwise, in non-Kdrama, I really liked When I Fly Toward You!

Call it love ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️

Sure recency bias maybe but I'm confident I'd say the same thing if you asked me next year too - Guwon & Dohee from My Demon are The Couple Of 2023 for me!!

Second place goes to the MLL couple Doha & Solhee and in third is Rang & Yeohee from ToTNT 2 . There's so many others where I liked one half of the OTP more or the leads as individuals but not so much together but these three are the ones I liked both separate and together a lot!!

PMR, My Demon and Hidden Live

Call it Love and Perfect Marriage Revenge no contest.

2023 OTPs for me are ~

* Woo Joo and Dong Jin in Call It Love
* Mi Hyun and Doo Sik in Moving
* Chung Ah and Yi Chan in Twinkling Watermelon
* Yi Joo and Do Guk in Perfect Marriage Revenge
* Yeon Woo and Tae Ha in The Story of Park's Marriage Contract
* Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ruyi in A Journey to Love

IMHO, Do Do-Hee and Jeong Gu-Won in MY DEMON wins hands down for Best K-Drama Couple of 2023.

Lee Hong-Joo and Jang Shin-Yu from DESTINED WITH YOU come second.

And that's it.

No Castaway Diva? One of my top OTPs of all time, let alone this year

For obvious reasons Ha Yi Chan and Yoon Chung Ah from Twinkling Watermelon

Cha Jin Woo and Jung Mo Eun as a the most healthy and mature couple of the year

Moving's Mi Hyun and Doo Shik!

I'm glad to see almost all of my favourite couples in the list. Now if I have to rank:

1. Call it love & Interest of love :
When it comes to chemistry I can't seem to choose between these two. Both of the dramas didn't have many butterfly inducing romantic moments, but created sexual chemistry soo well that everything felt like exploding even whenever their fingertips touched. Both of the dramas aren't completely my cup of tea ( CIL was kinda medicore for me ,& IOL was beyond toxic without any growth of the FL) but in terms of chemistry, they top the list.

2. King the land : To be honest, I watched the show only for the couple & they served! I was waiting for the match to happen for a long time & they gifted us with so many butterflies in the stomach.

3. Twinkling Watermelon : Yi Chan × Chung Ah. The drama was good in so many aspects that the romance part is less talked about. They had less screen times but those were so heartachingly beautiful.

Special mention: The revenant Hong Sae × Sanyeong . They were never an official couple but somehow their scenes gave me butterflies more than some other couples.

My favourite couples of the year came from Call it Love
and Perfect Marriage Revenge. Such amazing chemistry, it's all been said more eloquently than I ever could.

But then there are the couples that didn't happen and among these, the FL/SML combo of 2020 Taiwanese drama Lost Romance is the most shining star among them, a could-have-been-romance that culminated in the most butterflies-tingle-worthy yoga scene. After the FL was properly dubbed FL, my interest dwindled as the chemistry between the leads, although good, wasn't on the same level.

Provoke, albeit a short web-drama, had drama and chemistry in spades and one of few dramas I'd wish for a season 2 of.

And then there is Lost You Forever. The only couple whose chemistry is off the charts is the one that's obviously not gonna happen. So here's my hope for 2024; a modern romantic melo drama starring Yang Zi and Zhang Wanyi. It could set fire to the rain.

The only one Call It Love!! ❤️

@dramaddictally your description of INTEREST OF LOVE is spot on! It’s also one of my favourite stories as well, their frustrating but all too real actions and motivations really left a mark on me this year

My favourite couples from this year are-
Behind Your Touch, Jang Yeol and Bong Ye Bun
Extra special mention Ok hui and Da Eun's brother.
My Demon, Gu won and Do-hee.
Tell me that You Love Me, Mo-eun and Jin woo.

Hallyu was not at its best game this year in terms of romance, sorry not sorry. Many potentially good pairings ended up terribly wasted (ISLAND, anyone?), some even achieved a great start only to fall from grace, and hard, later. MY DEAREST is arguably the biggest offender here. Dishonorable mentions: SYIM19thL, AGDTBAD, OBY (this one is personal, writer-you-don't-deserve-that-respectful-"nim"!).

There were a few heartwarming - but still lacking just a tiiiny bit to be perfect - exceptions, of course. And when I'm saying "a few", I mean it literally - there's only 2 of them:

Lee Hongjo and Jang Shinyu (DESTINED WITH YOU). Bonus point for making the past life version of this OTP no less engaging than the main one. And one more for that legendary wardrobe action)))

Jang Yeo Hee and Lee Rang (TALE OF THE NINE-TAILED 1938). Never in my wildest post-S1 dreams could I imagine this guy of all people having not just a love line, but a compelling one - can you blame me? - yet turns out that his gumiho family really needed some crazily determined "seafood" added into the mix. Wouldn't mind more of them in the epilogue tho - a wedding, perhaps?

... aaand that's it for kdramas. You thought I was joking? Nah! Cdramas won this race without breaking a sweat in 2023. Not without some blunders, of course - I'm looking at you, LOVE YOU SEVEN TIMES! - but still, there was simply no real competition here. This year Bean of Chemistry (or how should we call it?) from me goes to 3 winners:

Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi x3 different (sorta) OTPs (TILL THE END OF THE MOON). As you know if you've watched the drama, it's complicated lmao. If I had to choose just one couple, it'd be Sang Jiu and Ming Ye. Surprised? Trust me, I am too. It's just... they were the only one that I've found truly mutual (sorry, TTJ, blame writers who did all your 100500 marriages dirty!), even if too little too late and given the catastrophic conclusion. 3rd drama for them when?!

Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu (TILL THE END OF THE MOON). The only couple in the show that really worked and didn't lack anything - except of a non-cut closure((( Another actors reunion I'd love to see.

Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou (A JOURNEY TO LOVE). True champions, absolute perfection (tame kisses aside - someone get LYN a good coach asap or I'll bring a chair and do it myself), platinum standard of a mature, functional and badass drama couple. And a beautiful one - wouldn't hurt to stress this hard fact one more time! 40 episodes of them were not even nearly enough((( Impatiently waiting for fanfics to fill the void...

I have not liked so many couples this year in K-dramaland. So my favorite couples are from China (Meet Yourself and Fake it till you make it).

From Korea, my favorite couples are all the side-couples in The Matchmakers and Yi Chan and Cheong-ah from Twinkling Watermelon, hands down.

I will remember the OTP in My Dearest, even though they were frustrating sometimes.

And I have to mention Shi Yeol and Hong-joo from Secret Romantic Guesthouse. I loved their arc, and both actors were fabulous.

Sam-soon-gu!!!! [Maeng Sam-soon x Jung Soon-gu from Matchmakers]

Adorable until the very, very end!!!

Jung Woo-Sung and Shin Hyun-Bin in TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, which has been so far a surprisingly good series.

The writing and acting shows most realistic couple facing many barriers and obstacles on their individual journey to happiness.

Kdrama land
All of the couples in the Matchmakers were so sweet.
Yi Chan and Cheong-ah from Twinkling Watermelon.

Cdramaland
The main couple in Meet yourself had a realistic getting to know you as a person phase and reflecting on the future including career and lifestyle in a realistic way whilst still being a really sweet and ideally suited couple to watch.

I know I repeat myself... I should probably give up and admit that My Lovely Boxer was the only really worthy drama this year XD At least that's what my heart thinks.
I remember so many precious scenes that made my heart flutter. The relationship grew slowly but it was a really strong one. Made of respect and understanding. And both actors were simply sooo good.

When I read this page and the comments, I feel like I'm in a completely different universe, despite the zillions of hours I spent watching live airing dramas this year. My best couples this year would include:

Jang Uk/Naksu from Alchemy of Souls
Mokha/Kiho from Castaway Diva
Yichan/ChungAh from Twinkling Watermelon
Honorable mention to all couples from Moving

Best Chinese couple:

Sang Zhi/Duan Jia Xu from Hidden Love

Side note: I wish there was an edit option on DB. I hate realizing I mis-typed html codes and have to leave a "comment deleted" line instead of being able to correct it.

I agree with the Destined With You couple. I may not be the biggest fan of the writing overall especially for the female lead but I do have to admit that the main pairing (& largely Rowoon and his character) is what kept me going. I love their chemistry so much, I wish it was a better written story. I do, however, love their past life story. Had me almost wishing that the show was a sageuk instead LOL but then we wouldn't get those kisses and closet scene if it were a sageuk 🤭

Lee Kwon-sook and Kim Tae-young were my fav couple this year, not just because of how they adorable they are or all the delicious angst, but just how much they healed each other.

was not expecting to see MLB get so much love on this site but I'm happy :)

Call It Love. The best South Korean drama of 2023 in every aspect. The best drama in terms of the main couple.

I would like to ask people with a chinese communist agenda to stop mentioning chinese dramas on this topic. This is a website for South Korean dramas.

In no particular order my favorites are
1. Both couples in Dr Romatic 3
2. PMR!!
3. Mokha-Kiho in Castaway Diva. We need moreee!!
4. Namsoon and Police - the drama is shit but they're so cute
5. Both the main and second couple for The Story of Park's Marriage Contract... please end well :")

My Dearest - satisfying reunion
Dr Romantic 3 - supportive, devoted
King the Land - cutest, devoted
Twinkling Watermelon - heart-warming
Perfect Marriage Revenge - melodramatic

Biggest leads disappointments: Doona!, See You in My 19th Life, Interest of Love

I love Destined with you :)

My OTP for 2023 is Jang Uk and Cho Yeong from Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow.

I have not been much impressed by kcouple of 2023, but I agree with @laurensophie that Alchemy of souls has alchemy in spades.

It might be that they are less physically reserved, and thus more romantically credible, but I have a special fondness for Elvis Han and Elvira Cai in Fake it till you make it and cuteness incarnated Zhao Lu Si with Chen Zhe Yuan in Hidden love. (First time someone calls me a communist... shall I tweak my pseudo @oasia ?)