K-pop is not the only thing that has gained popularity worldwide, but Korean TV shows has earned fans from across the globe as well. According to ABC News, Rakuten Viki, a streaming platform with both original and licensed content from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan and subscribers around the globe has the largest audience from the U.S. The U.S made up of 75 percent of the viewer. It goes to show that the Hallyu phenomenon, or the Korean wave has certainly hit viewers across the globe.
Ranker.com has made a list of the best Korean Dramas of all time, voted by millions of people worldwide. The list garnered a total of 1.8 million vote. The data was based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Here, we are going to look at the top 10 best Korean drama of all time.
1. Crash Landing on You
It is about a South Korean chaebol heiress who, while paragliding in Seoul, South Korea, is swept up in a sudden storm, crash-lands in the North Korean portion of the DMZ, and meets a captain in the Korean People’s Army. Over time, they fall in love, despite the divide and dispute between their respective countries. It is voted the Best Korean Dramas to Watch on Netflix, ranked no. 1 of 146. The drama is also ranked 122 of 396 of the Best Netflix Originals. It is ranked no. 3 of 55 for the Best Romance Series on Netflix to Watch now. The series aired on tvN in South Korea and on Netflix worldwide from December 14, 2019, to February 16, 2020. It is the highest rated tvN drama and the third highest-rated South Korean TV drama in cable television history.
2. Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
A military general from the Garyeo Dynasty is cursed with immortality and became an immortal goblin. The only way to end the curse is the Goblin’s Bride, whose aid in pulling out the sword will end his painful immortality.
3. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
A 25-year-old 21st century woman is transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty during a solar eclipse. She wakes up in the year of 941 in the body of Hae Soo, among the many royal princes of the ruling Wang family during the reign of King Taejo. She initially falls in love with the gentle and warm-hearted 8th Prince. Hae Soo soon finds herself caught up in palace politics and rivalry among princes as the fight for the throne.
4. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas on cable television history. Do Bong-soon was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. She eventually become the bodyguard to a rich heir. Their relationship grows throughout the series as they work together.
5. While You Were Sleeping (2017 TV Series)
This legal drama-fantasy television series centres on the lives on three young adults—a field reporter, a prosecutor, and a police officer—who have acquired the ability to foresee future events through their dreams, after saving each other many years ago. It was ranked no. 10 of 13 on The Best Korean Dramas on Hulu Right Now, no. 6 of 116 of the Most Romantic Korean Dramas Ever and no. 8 of 88 on the Best Fantasy & Supernatural K-Dramas Ever.
6. Descendants of the Sun
The series was a major hit in South Korea where it drew a peak audience share of 38.8%. It received several awards, such as winning the Grand Prize in television at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards; and was named the Most Popular Show of the year by Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation. The show was broadcast across Asia where it was hugely popular, and has been credited with a rise in tourism to Korea. The drama follows the story between a captain of a South Korean Special Forces Unit and a doctor. Their relationship was fill with hurdles due to opposing views, yet they somehow always find their way back to each other
7. My Love from the Star
The story tells the tale of an extra-terrestrial alien who landed on Earth in 1609 during the Joseon Dynasty and 400 years later falls in love with a top female actor. The drama garnered widespread popularity during its broadcast and sparked trends in fashion, make-up and restaurants. It has been also credited for spreading Korean wave. It was ranked no. 18 of 168 on the Best K-Dramas to Watch on Viki and no. 8 on the Best Romantic Comedy K-Dramas Ever. The series won the Korea Drama Award for Best Drama, the Seoul International Drama Award for Excellent Korean Drama and the Magnolia Award for Best Foreign Television Series.
8. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
Th story is inspired by the life of Olympic gold-medallist Jang Mi-ran. The story starts with a young woman chasing her dream of weightlifting on an athlete college campus, but incidentally develops a crush on her friend’s brother. At first, the friend goes along with her act, but soon finds himself falling in love for her.
9. Healer
A decades-old incident involving a group of five friends who ran an illegal pro-democracy broadcasting station during the Fifth Republic in South Korea brings together three different people—an illegal “night courier” with the codename “Healer” who possesses top-notch fighting skills, a reporter from a second-rate tabloid news website, and a famous journalist at a major broadcast station. While trying to uncover the truth from that 1992 incident and a series of present-day murders, they grow into honest reporters who try to blur the lines of conflict between truth and reality, even if that means fighting media honchos. Though the drama received modest ratings in its home country, it was well received overseas.
10. W: Two Worlds
W is a 2016 South Korean television series, starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo. W centers on the clash between “two worlds”: the real world and an alternate universe inside a webtoon, from which the title of the television series was taken. It is also known as W: two Worlds or W: Two Worlds Apart. The story begins with the younger years of the main character, Kang Chul, a handsome and intelligent boy who is also skilled in shooting. He rose to stardom when he won the 50-metre pistol shoot at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But the stardom was short-lived when his family was massacred and he is accused of committing the crime. He was eventually acquitted of the crime and he devote his life to crime-fighting in hope of catching the real killer. Ten years later, Kang Chul has become a multimillionaire. He starts “Project W” in an effort to catch the real culprit behind his family’s death. One night, he receives a suspicious phone call and is severely injured by the same killer on the rooftop of his penthouse. Then even stranger things happen when the illustrator’s daughter Oh Yeon-joo accidentally enters the comic world.
Photo Credit: https://mykoreatrip.com
