Top 10 K-dramas of 2022 that you must binge-watch ASAP

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers. Proceed with caution if you have not watched the show/movie.

K-dramas, short for Korean dramas started getting popular with non-Korean audiences since 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that compelled global audiences to look for quality TV shows beyond the confines of their home country. Over the next two years, K-drams became so mainstream that some of them would win several prestigious global entertainment awards and break several viewership records. For instance, the 2021 Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ became the most popular show on Netflix in the first month after its release, with a record 1.65 billion hours of viewing. The show also secured two Emmy awards in that year. The popularity of K-drams continued to upsurge in 2022. If you are a fan of K-drams but could not fathom what to watch in 2022, here’s a list of the top 10 Korean television series that wowed international viewers.

Twenty Five Twenty One

It is one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history. The K-drama Twenty Five Twenty One is an engaging limited series that you can watch several times.

Twenty Five Twenty One is directed by Jung Ji-hyun, and it stars Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Bona, Choi Hyun-wook and Lee Joo-myung. The drama depicts the romantic lives of five characters spanning from the year of 1998 to 2021.

In 1998, Na Hee-do is a member of the school fencing team at Seonjung Girls' High School, but due to the IMF crisis, the team is disbanded. To continue pursuing her passion, she comes to Taeyang High School and later manages to become a member of the National Fencing Team. Baek Yi-jin’s family goes from "riches to rags" and is separated due to the financial crisis. He takes up several part-time jobs and later becomes a sports reporter.

In present day, Kim Min-chae the daughter of Na Hee-do, who quits ballet and "runs away" to her grandma's house. During her stay, she comes across her mother's diary, through which the story is then told.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Extraordinary Attorney Woo tells a simple story of a female attorney.  Extraordinary Attorney Woo Season 2 is yet to be confirmed. The South Korean drama is directed by Yoo In-shik and scripted by Moon Ji-won. The cast includes Park Eun-bin, Kang Tae-oh and Kang Ki-young.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo follows Woo Young-woo, a female rookie attorney with autism spectrum disorder, who is raised by her single father. She is hired by a major law firm in Seoul. Being different from her neurotypical peers, her manner of communication is seen by them as odd, awkward, and blunt. With each legal case and through her intelligence and photographic memory, she becomes an increasingly competent attorney.

Business Proposal

Business Proposal is a South Korean Drama based on a seemingly unrealistic plot, but it still became popular because of its leads’ performances and the great chemistry between them. The series stars Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Se-jeong, Kim Min-kyu, and Seol In-ah. Business Proposal tells the story of Shin Ha-ri, an employee who accepts to go on a blind date in place of her friend, but finds out that her date is actually her boss. It is a limited series that is streaming on Netflix in selected regions. The South Korean romantic comedy series is based on the webtoon of the same title written by HaeHwa and illustrated by Narak.

The Sound of Magic

Based on the Naver webtoon Annarasumanara by Ha Il-Kwon, the K-drama The Sound of Magic was ranked 4th in the Netflix TV shows (Non-English) category after its release. The Sound of magic is a limited series, but fans are hoping for another season.

The Sound of Magic is a Netflix Original musical fantasy series written by Kim Min Jeong and directed by Kim Seong-Yoon. The Sound of Magic revolves around high school student Yoon Ah-Yi. She's poor and trying to balance between earning a living by working part-time and studying at school. She finds herself into impossibly difficult circumstances.

One day her life changes forever. She meets a magician called Ri-Eul at an abandoned amusement park. He performs magic for people. He's mysterious and comforts Ah-Yi, promising to help her. In all, Ah Yi's life gradually changes as she becomes a follower of Lee Eul, making herself again a believer in magic and further deciding to follow her dreams in earnest.

Pachinko

Pachinko is an American drama television series created by Soo Hugh based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. The series is directed by Kogonada and Justin Chon and stars Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha, and Jin Ha. The series is renewed for Season 2.

Pachinko is based on a 2017 epic historical fiction novel by Min Jin Lee. The story follows a Korean family who immigrates to Japan. The character-driven story features an ensemble of characters who encounter racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and other aspects of the 20th-century Korean experience of Japan.

Money Heist: Korea- Joint Economic Area

The Spanish crime drama series Money Heist is always fans' favorite. The recently released Korean remake of the Spanish drama proved them right once again. The Korean remake is titled, "Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area."

Money Heist: Korea- Joint Economic Area hit home with audiences for the powerful storylines, excellent performances of the actors, high-quality productions and gorgeous locations. Streaming platforms like Netflix picked the series for worldwide viewers.

The series follows "The Professor" (Yoo Ji Tae), a strategist criminal mastermind, who plans to pull off a heist in the reunified Korean Peninsula inspired by those in Spain. The operation involves strategists and desperados with different characteristics and abilities, who have to face unusual situations. Thieves overtake the mint of a unified Korea. With hostages trapped inside, the police must stop them — as well as the shadowy mastermind behind it all.

Juvenile Justice

South Korean series, Juvenile Justice acquires 1st place in Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched Netflix TV shows (Non-English). Juvenile Justice stars Kim Hye-soo, Kim Mu-yeol, and Lee Sung-min.

Directed by Hong Jong-chan, the series tells the story of Shim Eun-seok, an elite judge with a cold and distant personality, who is known for her dislike of juveniles, as she becomes a newly appointed judge of a juvenile court in the Yeonhwa District. There, she breaks customs and administers her own ways of punishing the offenders. She has to deal with and balance her aversion to minor offenders with firm beliefs in justice and punishment as she tackles complex cases while discovering what being an adult truly means. The courtroom drama sends a message of how society is also responsible for juveniles' acts.

Little Women

Little Women is the Korean adaption of Louisa May Alcott’s novel of 1868 by the same name. the story is set in the modern day and tells the story of three poor sisters who are close, their involvement in the case of 70 billion won which goes missing, and how they bravely face Korea's richest family, who are their opponents.

Little Women is directed by Kim Hee-won, and stars Kim Go-eun, Nam Ji-hyun, and Park Ji-hu. Little Women is currently available on Netflix.

Our Blues

Our Blues is also one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history. This series is also available on Netflix. Our Blues stars Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Cha Seung-won, Lee Jung-eun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Han Ji-min, and Kim Woo-bin.

Kim Kyu-tae directed drama revolves around the sweet and bitter lives of people at the end, climax, or beginning of life, and depicts their stories in an omnibus format against the backdrop of Jeju Island.

 Thirty-Nine

The South Korean television series, Thirty-Nine was listed for four weeks in the Global Top 10 weekly list of the most-watched international Netflix TV shows. Thirty-Nine was first released on JTBC.

 Thirty-Nine is directed by Kim Sang-ho and stars Son Ye-jin, Jeon Mi-do, and Kim Ji-hyun. The series revolves around the life, friendship, romance, and love of three friends who are about to turn forty.

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