Obviously, I only started watching Kdrama around September? But of the ones that I watched in 2016, these are definitely the top ten that I enjoyed the most. Not all of these aired in 2016, though a few of them did. I’ll go in order, with #1 being my favorite.
10. Heirs
Melodrama, High School Romance
The Korean version of Gossip Girl. Beautiful, ridiculously wealthy high schoolers navigating school, friendships, and love as their parents manipulate their futures. Totally bingeable. Gorgeous cast. So much drama. Finished this one in about twenty seconds. Fun and soapy, with some surprising depth. Plus Lee Min Ho is ALWAYS gorgeous to look at.
9. One Percent of Something
Romantic Comedy
This one was very fun. Adorable elementary school teacher and rich, obnoxious heir meet and date because heir’s grandfather is withholding his inheritance, and his condition for releasing it is to date the teacher, in the hopes that she’ll be a good influence on his grandson. Fun and funny and very cute.
8. Oh My Ghostess
Supernatural, Romantic Comedy, Mystery
Ghosts, cooking, and weird convoluted love triangles? Shy chef Bong Sun gets possessed by a ghost with a grudge: to lose her virgin status before moving on to the afterlife. Her target? Bong Sun’s boss (and long time crush). Hilarious and adorable romance shenanigans ensue. Things get really interesting when she realizes her grudge has nothing to do with sex.
7. Let’s Fight Ghost
Supernatural, Action, Romance
Exorcist and wandering ghost with no memory team up to fight evil ghosts. Lots of fun, lots of action, sweet romance, creepy villains. It’s the whole package. Main couple is more awkward and funny than serious. Comedic relief duo will have you laughing harder than you knew you could laugh. Korea once again proves that it has the most talented actors under the age of 20.
6. Pinocchio
Mystery, Melodrama, Romance
Woman with Pinocchio Syndrome (she hiccups every time she lies) wants to become a reporter, but because of the stigma surrounding Pinocchios, she finds this much harder than anticipated. Her best friend (whom she later falls in love with) also wants to be a reporter, but he wants the job to find justice for his dead family. A really awesome drama. My first Lee Jong Suk drama, but certainly not my last.
5. W
Sci-Fi, Action, Romance
This drama BLEW MY MIND. Girl doctor lives in one world where her father writes the webtoon “W”. Turns out W takes place in a dimension parallel to hers, and by strange circumstance, she jumps to that dimension and saves the main character of the cartoon, against her father’s (the author) wishes. As the story goes along, insane sci-fi shenanigans ensue, along with spectacularly adorable romance. Things get really interesting when the webtoon characters appear in the real world. Lee Jong Suk stuns again with his beautiful face, though I actually liked his acting in Pinocchio better.
4. Moonlight Drawn By Clouds
Historical, Romantic Comedy
Hilarious and adorable historical wherein a cross dressing woman ends up as a Eunuch for the Crown Prince…and through entertaining and surprising circumstances, they fall in love. If you want an entertaining historical romance, start here. Very fun. Plus Park Bo Gum’s acting is INCREDIBLE. Not to mention that he’s a beautiful human. Actually, the entire cast is really excellent. And super pretty.
3. Scarlet Heart: Ryeo
Historical, Romance, Drama, Time Travel
Woman from the 21st century travels back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty, falls in love with a prince remembered in history as being extremely violent, and tries to change things for the better. Have the tissues ready for this one. Absolutely exquisite show, but so hard to watch at times. Didn’t do super well in Korea apparently, but has a huge International following.
2. Healer
Action, Mystery, Romance
I had a hard time placing this one (either in first or second place); this show is AMAZINGLY plotted. The mystery and reveals and all the action leading up the final moments of the last episode are breathtaking. The romance and character development are delicious. Ji Chang Wook is too gorgeous for his own good. Healer follows a night courier (essentially a thief for hire) who discovers a recent client is much more attached to his mysterious past than he originally knew. This is a drama I would recommend with no reservations to anyone. Regardless of what genre you prefer. Just a really great show all around.
1. Descendants of the Sun
Romance, Drama, Military, Medical
While I would probably argue that Healer has a better all around script/story, I can without any hesitation say that Descendants of the Sun is my favorite romance that I’ve ever seen. End of story. I’ve already watched the entire show twice through, some episodes more than that. Solider and Doctor meet, try dating, but due to differing beliefs and circumstances, decide to go their separate ways. Fate brings them back together in a surprising way and, and through hardship and near death experiences, they fall madly in love. It’s beautiful. The two leads are also two of the most gorgeous humans on the face of the planet. Not to mention incredible acting. And wonderfully likable characters. And a great soundtrack. Just talking about it here makes me want to watch it again. (and I don’t really re-watch shows so that’s saying something). This one is on Netflix, so most of you have no excuse for not giving it a chance.
So there it is everyone, my top ten drama list for shows I watched in 2016. If you’re looking for recommendations, start here. If you want more info on any of the shows I mentioned, leave me a comment below, and I’d love to talk more about any of them! They were all wonderfully entertaining, and I myself would watch all of them again!
Did any of these dramas catch your eye? Which would you be most likely to watch?