8 Best K-dramas of 2024 according to fans

by Dramaddictally

Making a best-of list is no easy task. While we all have our favorites, knowing exactly what makes a drama so special requires a bit of context and a lot of compare and contrast. Dramabeans is no stranger to strong (and well-informed) opinions and with that in mind we rounded up the best dramas of 2024 according to those who know dramas best: a.k.a. the fans.

The selected dramas aren’t just your average list of well-liked shows, but those that made an impact in 2024 — whether at a personal level or an international one. If you’re interested in not only what dramas to add to your watchlist, but exactly why you need them in your K-drama knowledge arsenal, read on. These dramas set standards, changed hearts, and turned skeptics into believers.

And so, in no particular order, here are the 8 best K-dramas of 2024:

1. Lovely Runner

Anyone reading DB in 2024 will recognize this as a staff favorite — and anyone who watched the show when it aired will likely remember the dizzy, buzzy feeling we all got from what turned out to be the romance of the year.

Part rom-com, part tearjerker, and all kinds of time-slip fun, the drama follows a fangirl back and forth in time as she tries to save the life of her idol crush. Of course, he turns out to be more than a pretty face and that once-distant crush turns into a sophisticated and epic love.

The drama was hugely successful with an international audience, making it a gateway drama for a lot of new fans. As @unaspirated explains, “I wasn’t around for the Boys Over Flowers era that saw so many new people introduced to K-dramas, but this is what I imagine it felt like. Even with only modest domestic success, it propelled the two leads further into the spotlight… which goes to show that international success of a drama can have powerful ripples across the industry.”

Plus, with 2024 hitting its stride in the loser-in-love category for male leads, @unaspirated goes on to say that Sun-jae (Lovely Runner’s oh-so-lovely hero) will likely go down in history as the ideal of this new archetype for K-drama men. “I’m hoping in a few decades we will point to this drama as part of the movement that initially popularized that set of traits.”

With loveable leads, chemistry galore, and storytelling twists that forced us to contend with both chance and choice, Lovely Runner was one of the most beloved dramas of the year — and maybe for years to come. “It just has that addictive quality that I associate with a lot of older K-dramas that makes it hard to stop watching, but unlike those, I still love it months later,” @unaspirated adds.

2. Tell Me That You Love Me

Not as highly watched among the DB fans as some of the other dramas on this list, it scored major points with those who gave it a shot (me included). Airing on the cusp between 2023 and 2024, this is a love story between two artists, one of whom is hearing impaired.

Even with a dialogue-heavy script, the drama is low on verbal communication, relying on sign language and the written word to tell its story. A slow-paced melodrama filled with heartbreak and hope, it’s about learning what it is we want from a relationship and the best way to convey exactly what we feel.

As @welh640 notes, the show stands out “because it was unique in its storytelling (sign language), how people can be drawn together even if communication is lacking, and then [how they] overcome those language barriers to have real, deep, and serious conversations. It was the antithesis of a normal k-drama love story.”

“As a hearing-impaired person myself I really enjoyed Tell Me That You Love Me,” @diana-hansen adds. “Not just for the sign language though. I really loved the pace and gentleness of the story.”

3. Mr. Plankton

Late in the year, this gem appeared as a single-drop drama on Netflix and kind of took us all by storm. It wasn’t a typical K-drama in any sense, from its darkness and realism to its simultaneous strangeness and beauty.

Sort of a road-trip story, it’s also an action, kidnapping, breakup, and love story. Premised on the hero being diagnosed with a terminal illness, the drama follows him as he rips his ex-girlfriend from her soon-to-be wedding with another man and drags her around the country as he searches for his biological father. Or, so the logline says.

Mostly, this is an emotionally turbulent journey through the messiness of modern relationships. “This drama really hit me hard,” says @aigooooo. “As I was watching it, I wouldn’t have expected that, but once it was over I was in a sort of funk for days. Some sort of fog. I still think about it a lot, though that fog has lifted.”

“Part of that is the knife-edge balance between dark humor and warm darkness. Part of it is how beautifully the characters were developed and portrayed. They were all so flawed, and even when they tried to help each other they ended up hurting each other, just like life,” @aigooooo continues, noting that a lot of the usual tropes and expectations took on a new twist. “There was just something raw and human in the craziness that made the humor and the tragedy so sharp.”

4. Like Flowers in Sand

Another of the most watched and most loved among fans in 2024, this sports drama landed on our screens just as we were about to ring in the new year. A small and quiet drama that aced its way through writing, directing, cast, and setting, the story took its time to get where it was going.

Set in the world of ssireum (Korean wrestling), a talented but struggling athlete is about to retire when a new manager — who turns out to be his old friend — joins the team. Sparking renewed passion and a turn in his career, the drama centers on sportsmanship, romance, and an unsolved crime.

“Everyone so completely disappeared into their roles, including the supporting roles of residents, that it felt like watching life unfold as real people went about their lives in a real town where ssireum is the lifeblood,” says @HopefulRomantic, adding that as far as drama endings go (which we know have a tendency to veer off course), it was “one of the most triumphantly perfect final episodes I’ve seen.”

Getting to the heart of what makes the drama special, @HopefulRomantic concludes, “In many ways, this was a drama about (late) blooming and renewal: renewing your strength to follow your dreams, renewing the bonds of friendship, … and renewing trust by getting to the root of an old tragedy.”

5. Jeongnyeon – The Star is Born

Highly, highly praised among fans (despite noting flaws in the writing), this drama set in the 1950s boasts a female-led cast who sings, dances, and gives a nod to traditional Korean theater.

Emplacing its characters in historical context, the story tracks a talented girl from the countryside as she makes her way to Seoul to fulfill her dream of performing on stage. An underdog story through and through, the show is unique for its theatrical performances (many shown in full) housed within the drama.

“I have never seen a show bring stage performances to life so vividly on screen, and the fact that it celebrates a groundbreaking all-female art form that was disappearing from historical memory makes it even more significant,” @wonhwa says, highlighting the believability of the stars in their roles.

But beyond that, “It’s a powerful show that genuinely breaks new ground, rather than just recycling the same plots and tropes over and over again,” @wonhwa goes on. “The fact that it was a major hit despite its lack of a male lead, [while also introducing] queer themes and a unique story, are all testaments to the craft and care with which it was made.”

6. Queen of Tears

A record breaker by all counts, and one of the most popular dramas of 2024, while this may be the most tropey drama on the list, it still scored high for its overall appeal, its characters, its leads, and the experience of watching it all together as a community (when it seemed like the whole world was watching).

A marriage-on-the-rocks story about an ordinary man who weds a chaebol heiress, the drama questions whether or not the pair can make it work. Makjang to the core, the story left us invested in its OTP as individuals and as a couple, as it moves from resentment and impending divorce through tribulations that invoke a steadfast love.

With one of the highest production values of the year, this drama won our 2024 Editors’ Picks award for Best Art Direction/Production Design. “As a whole, the cinematography is crisp and intentionally thoughtful,” writes @daebakgrits, explaining that it shines in its use of CGI, especially to depict the female lead’s hallucinations. “Obviously, a large portion of this drama’s budget went into creating these green screen moments, but it was the way [her] world transitioned from reality to illusion and back again that was sadly beautiful.”

But even with an exorbitant budget and all the bells and whistles, in the end, this drama won out “based on squee factor, feelings, [and the ability to] rewatch,” says @parkchuna with finality.

7. Good Partner

With fewer views but a lot of likes, this legal drama makes the list for cast, overall themes, and the stellar performance of the female lead(ing attorney). Thought provoking while still entertaining, the story doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the Korean legal system.

With a veteran divorce lawyer at its center, “partner” here highlights both marriage/divorce partners, as well as the star attorney’s new partner at the law firm who differs from her in values and mindset. While the two lawyers get off on the wrong foot, their eventual alliance leads to growth, personally and professionally — which had a big emotional payoff for fans.

Episodic legal dramas are a dime a dozen, but this one stands out for its range of themes that stay rooted in their human elements. “I have seen three other [legal dramas about divorce], and I must say that this was emphatically the good one,” says @toomuchtv. “I appreciate it when the writers can balance the stories of the week against the narrative arc and main characters’ development.”

8. Wonderful World

A lesser noted drama, but one that stuck with the fans who watched, this thriller scores in the department of a well-paced mystery that unravels one layer at a time. A notable lack of flashiness may have kept some viewers away. However, the story and performances are solid.

The drama unfolds when the young son of a successful professor suddenly dies in a hit and run, and she decides to take the law into her own hands to seek revenge. In the process, she gets entangled with a man who’s also locked in pain and grief, which are the main themes the drama contends with.

Given that thrillers have to work hard to surprise audiences, the show took some flak for the familiar plot beats. But as @petrolia explains, that’s not the point of this drama. “For me it’s about what happens when you grieve. What grief can make you do, or feel, or not. How it can drive you to act against your own convictions and personality; how lies and misconceptions can feed into that; and how you can eventually get out of it.”

Relatable and emotional — like any K-drama worth its salt — it stands out for its melo/mystery mix, and the pain it packs by the end.

For another six dramas that made waves in 2024, check out this list of honorable mentions:

• A Virtuous Business
• Connection
• No Gain No Love
• Atypical Family
• Knight Flower
• Marry My Husband

Editor’s note: If you enjoyed this post, please participate in the next Drama Chat where we’ll be asking about your favorite dramas from 2023.
 
RELATED POSTS

• [2024 Year in Review] Editors’ Picks
• Lovely Runner
• Tell Me That You Love Me
• Wonderful World
• Good Partner
• Like Flowers in Sand
• Mr Plankton
• Jeongnyeon The Star is Born
• Queen of Tears