Whether male or female, these 19 Korean dramas will motivate you to keep your friends and appreciate them more:
In no particular order.
Boys Over Flowers (2009)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Synopsis: The series is about a working-class girl who gets tangled up in the lives of a group of wealthy young men in her high school.
No. of episodes: 25
Starring: Ku Hye-sun, Lee Min-ho, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Bum, Kim Joon, Kim So-eun
Written by: Yoon Ji-ryun
Directed by: Jeon Ki-sang
Date: January 5 – March 31, 2009
Network: KBS2
Reply 1997 (2012)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Teen, Drama
Synopsis: Set in 1997, the series follows a female high school student who idolizes boyband H.O.T and her five high school friends. As a teen, she was obsessed with a boy band. Now 33-years-old, she and her friends are reviving their memories at their school reunion.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Jung Eun-ji, Seo In-guk, Hoya, Eun Ji-won, Shin So-yul, Lee Si-eon
Written by: Lee Woo-jung, Lee Sun-hye, Kim Ran-joo
Directed by: Shin Won-ho
Date: July 24 – September 18, 2012
Network: tvN
Reply 1994 (2013)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Synopsis: A group of college students from all over Korea go from being complete strangers to a big happy family at a Seoul boarding house.
No. of episodes: 21
Starring: Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Sung-kyun, Son Ho-jun, Baro, Min Do-hee, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa
Written by: Lee Woo-jung
Directed by: Shin Won-ho
Date: October 18 – December 28, 2013
Network: tvN
Reply 1988 (2015)
Genre: Romantic comedy, Family
Synopsis: Follows the lives of 5 families living on the same street in a neighbourhood called Ssangmundong in Seoul. A nostalgic look back at the year 1988.
No of episodes: 20
Starring: Lee Hye-ri, Ryu Jun-yeol, Go Kyung-pyo, Park Bo-gum, Lee Dong-hwi
Written by: Lee Woo-jung
Directed by:Shin Won-ho
Date: November 6, 2015 – January 16, 2016
Network: tvN
Cheer Up! (2015)
Genre: Teen, Romance, Drama
Synopsis: At a prestigious boarding school, top students must join forces with the underachievers in the school’s dance club to form a cheer squad.
No. of episodes: 12
Starring: Jung Eun-ji, Lee Won-keun, Cha Hak-yeon, Ji Soo, Chae Soo-bin
Written by: Yoon Soo-jung
Directed by: Lee Eun-jin
Date: October 5, 2015 – November 10, 2015
Network: KBS
Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016)
Genre: Historical, Coming-of-age, Romance
Synopsis: It revolves around an elite group of young men called Hwarang, who discover their passion, friendship and love in the turmoil of the Silla Kingdom (57 BC–AD 935).
No. of episodes: 20
Starring: Park Seo-joon, Go A-ra, Park Hyung-sik, Choi Min-ho
Written by: Park Eun-yeong
Directed by: Yoon Sung-sik
Date: December 19, 2016 – February 21, 2017
Network: KBS
Dear My Friends (2016)
Genre: Drama
Synopsis: Several friends share personal stories with Park Wan, hoping that she will write a novel about them.
No of episodes: 16
Starring: Go Hyun-jung, Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Go Doo-shim, Park Won-sook, Youn Yuh-jung, Joo Hyun, Kim Young-ok, Shin Goo
Written by:Noh Hee-kyung
Directed by: Hong Jong-chan
Date: May 13 to July 2, 2016
Hello, My Twenties (2017)
Genre: Youth, Romance, Mystery, Friendship
Synopsis: A slice-of-life story about five girls who live together in a sharehouse called “Belle Epoque” and how they connect over the growing pains in their youth. It is based on the issues that younger generations are likely to face in South Korea.
No. of episodes: 26
Starring: Han Ye-ri, Han Seung-yeon, Park Eun-bin, Ryu Hwa-young, Park Hye-su, Ji Woo and Choi Ara
Written by: Park Yeon-seon
Directed by: Lee Tae-gon, Kim Sang-ho
Date: July 22, 2016 – October 7, 2017
Network: JTBC
Chicago Typewriter (2017)
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy
Synopsis: An epic story of camaraderie, friendship, love, and betrayal that lasts 80 years.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Lim Soo-jung, Go Kyung-pyo
Written by: Jin Soo-wan
Directed by: Kim Cheol-kyu
Date: April 7 – June 3, 2017
Network: tvN
Fight For My Way (2017)
Genre: Romantic comedy, Slice of life
Synopsis: Despite an increasingly hostile world, Ko Dongman and Choi Aera decide not to give up. No matter what others say, together they make their own way to live a happy life.
No of episodes: 16
Starring: Park Seo-joon, Kim Ji-won, Ahn Jae-hong, Song Ha-yoon
Written by: Im Sang-choon
Directed by: Lee Na-jeong
Date: May 22 – July 11, 2017
Network: KBS
Welcome To Waikiki (2018)
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Three young men join forces in a guesthouse venture with one dream in mind, to finance their own film project. However, the venture is anything but profitable.
No. of episodes: 20
Starring: Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Yi-kyung, and Son Seung-won
Written by: Kim Ki-ho
Directed by: Lee Chang-min
Date: February 5 to April 17, 2018
Network: JTBC
Welcome To Waikiki 2 (2019)
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Now successful in their respective fields, the previous owners of Waikiki have left with the exception of Lee Joon-ki. While struggling with his career, he tries to revive the guest house amidst a bankruptcy along with the help of high-school friends.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Lee Yi-kyung, Kim Seon-ho, Shin Hyun-soo, Moon Ga-young, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Ye-won
Written by: Kim Ki-ho, Song Ji-eun, Song Mi-so, Seo Dong-bum
Directed by: Lee Chang-min
Date: March 25 to May 14, 2019
Network: JTBC
Be Melodramatic (2019)
Genre: Romantic comedy
Synopsis: Three 30-year-old best friends, Jinju, Eun-jung, and Hanju each pursue different paths in both career and love. Despite life’s difficulties, the three friends can always return home at the end of the day and support each other.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Chun Woo-hee, Jeon Yeo-been, Han Ji-eun, Ahn Jae-hong, Gong Myung
Written and directed by: Lee Byeong-heon, Kim Young-young
Date: August 9 – September 28, 2019
Network: JTBC
Search: WWW (2019)
Genre: Romance, Melodrama
Synopsis: Three 21st century women, working at the top two competitive web portal companies, decide to put their careers ahead of everything else in their lives.
No of episodes: 16
Starring: Im Soo-jung, Lee Da-hee, Jeon Hye-jin, Jang Ki-yong, Lee Jae-wook, Ji Seung-hyun
Written by: Kwon Do-eun
Directed by: Jung Ji-hyun, Kwon Young-il
Date: June 5 to July 25, 2019
Network: tvN
Hospital Playlist (2020-2021)
Genre: Romance, Medical drama, Comedy, Slice of life
Synopsis: Friends since undergrad school, five doctors remain close and share a love for music while working at the same hospital.
No of episodes: 12
Starring: Jo Jung-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok, Jung Kyung-ho, Kim Dae-myung and Jeon Mi-do
Written by: Lee Woo-jung
Directed by: Shin Won-ho
Date: June 17 – September 16, 2021
Network: tvN and Netflix
Our Beloved Summer (2021)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Synopsis: Years after filming a viral documentary in high school, two former lovers get pulled back in front of the camera and into each other’s lives.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Choi Woo-shik, Kim Da-mi, Kim Sung-cheol, Roh Jeong-eui
Written by: Lee Na-eun
Directed by: Kim Yoon-jin
Date: December 6, 2021 – January 2022
Network: SBS, Netflix
Rookie Cops (2022)
Genre: Coming-of-age, Procedural, Romance
Synopsis: The series revolves around police academy students enrolled at the elite Korean National Police University.
No of episodes: 16
Starring: Kang Daniel, Chae Soo-bin, Lee Shin-young, and Park Yoo-na
Written by: Lee Ha-na
Directed by: Kim Byung-soo
Network: Disney+
Date: January 26 to March 16, 2022
Thirty-Nine (2022)
Genre: Romantic, Drama
Synopsis: This series revolves around the life, friendship, romance and love of three friends, who are about to turn 40 years old.
No. of episodes: 12
Starring: Son Ye-jin, Jeon Mi-do, Kim Ji-hyun
Written by: Yoo Yeong-ah
Directed by: Kim Sang-ho
Network: JTBC, Netflix
Date: February 16 – March 31, 2022
Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)
Genre: Romantic, Drama, Coming of age
Synopsis: The series depicts the romantic life of five characters from 1998 to 2021.
No. of episodes: 16
Starring: Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Bona and Lee Joo-myung
Written by: Kwon Do-eun
Directed by: Jung Ji-hyun
Network: tvN, Netflix
Date: February 12 – April 3, 2022
KORB 