So far, here are the 17 most heart-fluttering Korean drama pairs of the year:
1. Lee Junho and Yoona | King The Land
The pair of JTBC’s King The Land (2023) takes the spotlight as the most dazzling onscreen couple of the year. Lee Junho is an elegant hotel heir who cannot stand fake smiles but falls in love with Yoona, a hardworking hotel employee whose job is to smile for customer service. You can’t help but smile while watching these two spend sparkling romantic moments together. Hermes!
2. Lee Jung-ha and Go Youn-jung | Moving
Moving (2023) is definitely not a romance series but the interactions between the gifted kids, Lee Jung-ha and Go Youn-jung serve to be the cutest onscreen romance of the year. Lee Jung-ha considers himself a loner because of his hidden superpowers until he meets Go Youn-jung, a transfer student who becomes his new friend and crush. Everytime their eyes meet, Lee Jung-ha feels a rush of emotions and floats into the air, giving viewers a heart-fluttering experience.
3. Hwang Minhyun and Kim So-hyun | My Lovely Liar
Perhaps the sweetest pairing belongs to Hwang Minhyun and Kim So-hyun from tvN’s My Lovely Liar (2023). The couple’s chemistry portrays a sense of believability onscreen, something that is not forced romance but somehow natural. Hwang Minhyun is a famous music artist who hides himself from the world after being framed for murder until he meets Kim So-hyun, a woman who has the supernatural ability to detect lies, falling for each other in the process.
4. Teo Yoo and Kim Ok-vin | Love To Hate You
Swoonworthy is the best word to describe the pairing of Teo Yoo and Kim Ok-vin in Netflix’s Love To Hate You (2023). You’ll be drawn to the onscreen charms and chemistry of the drama couple as they transform from enemies into lovers. Kim Ok-vin is a headstrong lawyer who hates losing to men while Teo Yoo is a famous actor who distrusts women. You can’t help but root for the two to end up together amid challenges in their new-found love.
5. Lee Do-hyun and Ahn Eun-jin | The Good Bad Mother
It’s an aching but healing romance between Lee Do-hyun and Ahn Eun-jin in JTBC’s The Good Bad Mother (2023) and they portrayed the moving love story of their characters with all excellence. Born on the same day and year, Lee Do-hyun and Ahn Eun-jin grew up together as childhood bestfriends and became lovers as adults, breaking apart but healing together through the ups and downs of life.
6. Jo Insung and Han Hyo-joo | Moving
The onscreen chemistry of veteran actors Jo Insung and Han Hyo-joo in Moving (2023) is simply exceptional! The two have secret super powers and work for the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP). Jo Insung is known to have a cold and calculated personality but he changes when he meets Lee Mihyun who becomes his wife. They share the sweetest moments during coffee talks, donkatsu talks, snowfall, and romantic walks.
7. Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin | My Dearest
Perhaps, the most aching yet heart-fluttering romance of the year belongs to Namgoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin in My Dearest (2023). After experiencing an unimaginable tragedy, Namgoong Min declares that he will not marry but unexpectedly finds himself attracted to Ahn Eun-jin, a nobleman’s daughter who is a socialite goddess for her beauty and charms. The two star-crossed lovers get swept up in the chaos of a terrifying war, fighting for their lives and loves.
8. Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Sung-kyung | Dr. Romantic 3
The sweet couple, Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Sung-kyung, displays a natural onscreen chemistry in Dr. Romantic 3 (2023). As the two have grown experts in their field as surgeons at Doldam Hospital, their love continues to bloom but is tested when the parents of Lee Sung-kyung enter the scene. Amid tension, Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Sung-kyung decide to choose each other as mature adults.
9. Ok Taec-yeon and Won Jian | Heartbeat
The pair, Ok Taec-yeon and Won Ji-an, makes Heartbeat (2023) one of the most enjoyable Korean rom-coms of the year because of their amusing chemistry. Ok Taec-yeon is a vampire from the Joseon era who desperately wants to become human while Won Ji-an is a cold-blooded woman from the modern times whose heart starts to grow warm upon meeting the vampire. Together, they create a harmonious and non-cliched romance pairing onscreen.
10. Kim Young-kwang and Lee Sung-kyung | Call It Love
The couple of Call It Love (2023) takes its viewers to a process of forgiveness and healing as they portray a palpable chemistry onscreen. Lee Sung-kyung vows revenge on her family’s greatest foe but falls for Kim Young-kwang, a heart-wrenchingly lonely, gentle man who happens to be the son of the mistress of her father. Love blooms as they start to listen and understand each other amid a complicated situation.
11. Kim Bum and Woo Hyun-jin | Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938
Endearing is the best word to describe the onscreen romance between Kim Bum and Woo Hyun-jin in tvN’s Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 (2023). Half-blooded gumiho Kim Bum becomes a leader of bandits in the chaotic era of 1938, is cold and harbors hatred in his heart until he meets Woo Hyun-jin, a half-blooded mermaid who likes him a lot and becomes the instrument for Kim Bum to experience a reason to live. Their romantic moments serve the most adorable scenes in the action drama.
12. Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been | A Time Called You
A travel between the past and present, Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been managed to present a unique chemistry for the dual characters that they portrayed in Netflix’s A Time Called You (2023). Jeon Yeo-been can’t seem to forget her boyfriend who died a year ago and she suddenly travels back in time to 1998, meeting Ahn Hyo-seop, a student who resembles her deceased boyfriend. Whether it’s mutual attraction in the past or present, there’s a sense of spark between them that serves viewers some heart-fluttering experience.
13. Ahn Bo-hyun and Shin Hae-sun | See You In My 19th Life
The pair, Ahn Bo-hyun and Shin Hae-sun, serves a riveting chemistry in the poetically creative storytelling of tvN’s See You In My 19th Life (2023). Shin Hae-sun is a mysterious woman who reincarnates every time she dies and vividly remembers all her past lives. During her 18th life, she meets a young boy she learns to love but her life was cut short after a tragic accident. So, she sets out to reconnect with him in her 19th life, letting go of the haunting memories with Ahn Bo-hyun and celebrating a new life together.
14. Lee Joon-gi and Shin Se-kyung | Arthdal Chronicles 2
A romance against all odds, Eunseom and Tanya finally met again after eight years of separation in tvN’s epic historical-fantasy show, Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun (2023). Lee Joon-gi plays the dual role of a powerful ruler of Ago Union and the commander of Arthdal’s army while Shin Se-kyung serves the people of Arthdal as the powerful High Priestess. Whether Lee Joon-gi portrays Eunseom or Saya interacting with Shin Se-kyung, there’s a sense of longing and deep connection between them especially when their eyes meet even without words, showing an attractive chemistry.
15. Woo Do-hwan and Bona | Joseon Attorney
It’s amusing to watch Woo Do-hwan and Bona come together for people and romance in MBC’s Joseon Attorney (2023). Woo Do-hwan plays a lawyer in Joseon Dynasty who takes revenge against the perpetrator who caused his parent’s death. Eventually, he transforms into an attorney with a heart for people when he gets to know Bona, a princess who hides her identity while helping people in her country.
16. Kim Nam-gil and Seohyun | Song Of The Bandits
A fight for freedom for Joseon and its people, Kim Nam-gil and Seohyun shows an awe-inspiring chemistry amid war in Netflix’s Song of The Bandits (2023). Kim Nam-gil plays a former Japanese soldier who cuts ties with the army while Seohyun works for the Joseon Railway Bureau who hides her true identity as a member of Independence Fighters. After five years, Kim Nam-gil becomes a ring leader of a group of bandits in the lawless land of Gando, fighting for freedom and protecting Seohyun against the Japanese soldiers.
17. Rowoon and Jo Boah | Destined With You
The pair, Rowoon and Jo Boah, displays an irresistible chemistry in JTBC’s Destined With You (2023). Jo Boah is a civil servant who obtains a forbidden book that was thoroughly sealed 300 years ago and get entangled with Rowoon, a popular lawyer who becomes a victim of the forbidden book. The two get swept up in a series of unexpected events due to the curse, all the while falling for each other.
By KORB Blog Team
KORB 