New Top 30 Must Watch Kdramas in 2022

Once you are hooked on K-dramas, then there is no going back. Welcome back, Chingu 😃. You will definitely find your next k-drama here to add to your watchlist. Here is the complete list of the top 30 must-watch Korean dramas in 2022. This list contains all types of Korean Drama which you should definitely watch in 2022 ranging from rom-coms, thrillers, suspense, fantasy, and comedy you name it.

Top 30 Korean Drama List

1. Business Proposal

Business Proposal

Genre: Romantic-Comedy

“Ranked Second in the Top 10 Netflix TV Series Worldwide”

Ratings: Mydramalist-8.4/10, IMDb-8.8/10

  • Episodes: 12
  • Release Date: February 28–April 5, 2022

Business Proposal is an exciting office romance about a face-to-face brilliant CEO and an employee who lies about her identity. It is based on Kakao Page’s webtoon and web novel of the same name. Ahn Hyo-Seop plays Kang Tae Moo, the perfect third-generation conglomerate. On the other hand, Kim Sejeong plays Shinhari, a regular office worker who hides her true energetic self and transforms into a charismatic femme fatale for her blind date.


2. Twenty Five Twenty One

twenty-five-twenty-one

Genre: Slice of Life, Youth, Friendship

Ratings: Mydramalist-8.9/10, IMDb-8.9/10

  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: February 12 – April 3, 2022

Twenty Five Twenty One Kdrama depicts the love story of two youths, Na Hee-Do (Kim Tae Ri) and Baek Yi-Jin (Nam Joo Hyuk), who face difficulties in their lives that lead them to drop their dreams. Na Hee Do is a fencer whose high school team has disbanded due to the IMF crisis. Her dream seemed to collapse before her, but she didn’t give up and went into the future. Baek I-jin is the eldest son of a family torn by the IMF crisis. Despite his difficult career, he is working hard to become a reporter.

Despite being deprived of their dreams they found new directions and growth in their lives.


3. All Of Us Are Dead

All of us are dead korean Drama

Genre: Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi

Ratings: IMDb-7.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes-83%

  • Episodes: 12
  • Release Date: January 28, 2022

At Hyosan High School, a virus outbreak arises. Infected people swiftly transform into human-eating zombies. Students at the high school are now fighting for their lives as they try to find a way out. The students desperately escape from school to avoid becoming zombies and are willing to do anything for their survival. It is very heartwrenching to see how students sacrifice their lives to save their loved ones and their friends. The scene where people turn into zombies is extremely terrifying. You will be able to feel the extreme fear in the scenes that show people transforming into bloodthirsty zombies.


4. Forecasting Love and Weather

forecasting-love-and-weather

Genre: Office Romance, Drama, Comedy

Ratings: IMDb-7.7/10, IMDb-7.2/10

  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: February 12 –; April 3, 2022

Forecasting Love and Weather‘ is a romance drama about the Meteorological Agency’s work and love, which is hotter than tropical nights and more unpredictable than local heavy rains. Park Min-young as Jin Ha-Kyung, a principled general forecaster, and Song Kang as Lee Si-woo, who is in charge of happy news in every situation, demonstrated the ‘heart-thumping’ chemistry in Korea’s first work with the Korea Meteorological Administration as the backdrop.


5. The Red Sleeve

30 Must Watch K-Dramas in 2022

Genre: Romance, Historical drama

Received maximum Double-Digit ratings in its entire runtime”
 
Ratings: Mydramalist-8.810 IMDb-8.610
  • Episodes: 17
  • Release Date: Nov 2021- Jan 2022
The Red Sleeve drama is set in Joseon Era, it depicts the love story of a crown prince who falls in love with a court maid. Doek Im is a court maid with whom the crown prince San falls in love, the storyline is very interesting in that he hides his identity of being the crown prince from her and started to fall in love with her, when she finds the truth about him being the crown prince, she hides her feelings from him and refuses to become his concubine. 
It is very interesting to see how they will conquer their love amidst the political tension in the palace.


6. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Hometown Cha Cha Cha

Genre: Romance, Slice of life

“The highest-rated series on cable television history”
 
” Netflix’s most-watched non-English television series “
 
Ratings: IMDb-8.6/10     Mydramalist-8.8/10
  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: August 28 – October 17, 2021
It is a story of an intelligent and pretty dentist Yoon Hye-jin who resigns her job after finding that the head of the hospital is corrupt. One day she sets on a trip to a beautiful seaside village where she meets a handsome and attractive man named Hong Du-sik, who is called chief in that village due to his generous and kind personality. He always helps her whenever she is in trouble.
It is interesting to see how they develop romantic feelings for each other.


7. True Beauty

Must Watch Kdramas in 2022

Genre: Romance, a slice of life, coming of age, comedy

Ratings: IMDb-8.1/10 Mydramalist-8.3/10

  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: December  2020 – February  2021
It is a story of a girl who is a high school student, because of her appearance her classmates bully her and made her quit school. To change her facial appearance she learns makeup from youtube and joins a new school where she is considered the most beautiful girl in that school and everyone there starts liking her. There she gets involved with two boys who fall for her and stuck in a love triangle
 
Now it is interesting to watch who will she choose.


8. Vincenzo

Must Watch Kdramas in 2022

Genre: Crime-drama; Dark comedy, Thriller, Suspense

Ratings: IMDb-8.5/10 Mydramalist-9/10

  • Episodes: 20
  • Release Date: February 20 – May 2, 2021
It is a drama about a boy who is adopted by a family in Italy, he is now an adult and is a lawyer named Vincenzo Cassano, who works for the mafia as a consigliere. He gets into disputes with the mafia groups and a war starts between them so he flees to South Korea. There he meets an attorney named Hong Cha-Young, who will do anything to win a case, but later changes her mind and fights for justice with Vincenzo Cassano.
 
It is very intriguing to watch how secrets reveal one after another in this drama.


9. Penthouse

Penthouse

Genres: Korean Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Crime 

Ratings: IMDb-8.1/10 Mydramalist-8.8/10
  • No. of episodes: 48
  • No. of seasons: 3
  • Release Date: Oct.2020 –Sep2021
The drama is set in a luxury high-rise building with 100 floors. The 100th floor is the most luxurious one and everyone in the apartment wants to live on the 100th floor. A series of events start happening when a girl dies after falling from the penthouse. In order to keep their apartments price high, the club members get rid of her body.
 
This drama is full of suspense and series of murders one after one.


10. Squid Game

Squid Game

Genre: Survival, Thriller, Horror, Drama

“It is Netflix’s most-watched series of Nov. 2021, became the top viewed program in 94 countries”
 
Ratings: IMDb-94 Rotten Tomatoes-94%
  • No. of episodes: 9
  • Original release: September 17, 2021
It is a survival drama, in this drama, 456 people who are highly in debt are invited to play a children’s game and the one who will win all the games will be rewarded with a large cash prize. The drama starts with a man named Seong Gi Hun, who is a gambler who is highly in debt and a divorced father who lives in a small apartment with his mother and daughter.
 
It is very interesting to watch how these people are made to play the children’s game and what will people can do in order to win the game.


11. The King’s Affection

The Kings Affection

Genre: Romance, Historical Drama, Comedy

Ratings: IMDb-8/10 Mydramalist-8.3/10
  • Episodes: 20
  • Release Date:  October 11 –December 14, 2021
The Drama is set in Joseon Era, in a palace crown lady gives birth to twins, a girl and a boy, at that time giving birth to twins in a royal family is considered an ominous sign. So a royal order is given to kill the girl, in order to save the girl crown lady secretly sent her out of the palace.
 
But later after a few years, the twin daughter returns to the palace as a court maid and when her twin brother dies the crown lady made her take the place of the dead prince. Later she falls in love with her royal teacher, who was her first love in her childhood.


12. Happiness

Happiness

Image:tvn

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Action, Drama

Ratings: IMDb-8.5 Mydramalist-9/10
  • Total Episodes: 12
  • Release Date: November 5 –; December 11, 2021
Happiness is a thriller drama set in a newly built apartment where a deadly infectious disease starts to spread. The apartment got sealed by the government authorities and is under martial law, the residents struggle to survive and commit gravely crimes in order to survive.


13. My Roommate is a Gumiho

My Roommate is a Gumiho

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Comedy 

Ratings: IMDb-7.9/10  Mydramalist-8.4/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: May 26 –July 15, 2021
It is a story of a gumiho, who has lived hundreds of years. One day, accidentally the bead of the gumiho sticks in the throat of a college student girl, in order to take back the bead from the girl they lived together, while living together they start to have feelings for each other.


14. Doom at Your Service

Doom at your Service
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Ratings: IMDb-8.1/10  Mydramalist-8.4/10
  • Total Episode: 16
  • Release Date: May 10 –; June 29, 2021
 
It is a story of a woman who lost her parents in her childhood and is diagnosed with a brain tumour, now she has less than 100 days to live. As she prays for the destruction of the world, destruction himself comes to her and asks her to wish the world to end and he will grant her wish, he demands her to ask for the destruction of the world or else the one whom she loves the most will die, before the end of 100 days. But later she starts to fall for the doom and now he is the one whom she loves the most.


15. Youth of May

Youth of May

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Ratings: IMDb-8.6/10  Mydramaist-8.8/10
  • Total Episodes: 12
  • Release Date: May 3 – June 8, 2021
During Gwangju Uprising, Hee-Tae, a medical student who entered medical college at the top of his class falls in love with a girl named Myung-Hee who works as a nurse in a hospital, she is very ambitious and wants to pursue her medical degree in Germany. 

16. Mouse

Mouse Kdrama

Genre: Crime thriller; ‎Suspense‎; ‎Mystery‎; ‎Sci-Fi‎

Ratings:  IMDb-8.7/10  Mydramalist-8.7/10
  • Total Episodes: 20
  • Release Date: March 3 – May 19, 2021

It is the story of a very honest and ambitious police officer who takes care of the miss happening in the town and always tries to attain justice. One day, he faces a psychopath murderer, who places the entire town in fear. To catch the murderer he teams up with the notorious detective.


17. Beyond Evil

Beyond Evil Kdrama

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological, Drama

Ratings: IMDb-8.2/10  Mydramalist-8.8/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: February 19 – April 10, 2021

It is a thriller crime drama, a serial murder case that takes place in a small peaceful time. The case is the same which took 20 years ago. Two detectives are assigned to catch the killer, while catching the serial killer their secrets also started to disclose.


18. Sisyphus: The Myth

Sisyphus the Myth

Genre: Science fiction; ‎Thriller‎; ‎Drama‎; ‎Action

Ratings: IMDb-7.1/10  Mydramalist-7.8/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: February 17 –; April 8, 2021
A mysterious event takes place, which introduces an engineer to dark secrets and to a woman from the future who has come looking for him to save the world from destruction. She saves a man from death and prevents him from inventing an uploader, the time machine.


19. Run On

Run On kdrama

Genre: Korean drama, Romance, Drama, Life, Sports

Ratings: IMDb-7.6/10  Mydramalist-8.4/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: December 16, 2020 – February 4, 2021
It tells the love story of Seon-gyeom and Oh Mi-Joo, a subtitle translator. Seon-gyeom is a sprinter who is a national track athlete and always got the second position. His parents were both busy so he grew up without social interaction. Oh Mi-joo is his only real friend who loves movies and works as a film translator.


20. Start Up

Start Up Kdrama
Image: tvn

Genre: Romance, Business, Drama

Ratings: IMDb-8.1/10  Mydramalist-8.1/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: October 17 – December 6, 2020
A girl who lives with her grandmother after her parents got divorced, dreams of starting her own business. She works part time to earn extra for her business setup. She also looks for a boy who comforted her when her mother left her by sending letters. He is her first love.


21. Love Alarm

Love Alarm Kdrama

Genre: Romance, Drama

Ratings: IMDb-6.9/10  Mydramalist-7.6/10
  • No. of seasons: 2
  • No. of episodes: 14 
  • Release Date: August 22, 2019 –March 12, 2021

It depicts the story of an app made by high school students, which enables users to discover who loves them by notifying them when someone who loves them comes within the boundary of 10 metres. Kim Jo-jo, a beautiful, hardworking high school girl involves with two guys who fall for her. It is interesting to watch who will she choose.


22. Hospital Playlist

Hospital Playlist Kdrama

Genre: Medical Drama, Romance, Comedy, Slice-of-life

Ratings: IMDb-8.8/10  Mydramalist-9.1/1o
  • Seasons: 2
  • Total Episodes: 24
  • Release Date: March 12, 2020 –September 16, 2021

Hospital Playlist is a story of five doctors who are friends since they entered medical college and now work in the same hospital in different departments. They also share a love for music and starts their own band, they practice every weekend.


23. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

Genre: Romance, Romantic Comedy, Psychological

“The New York Times named It’s Okay to Not Be Okay one of “The Best International Shows of 2020”
 
Ratings: IMDb-8.7/10  Mydramalist-9/10

  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: June 2020
It is a story of a woman named Ko Moon-young, a children’s book author who has an antisocial personality disorder and does not gets well with the people she is very arrogant and rude, and a man named Moon Gang-tae, a psychiatric hospital caregiver who lives with his older brother Moon Sang-tae who is mentally ill.
 
The drama displays how Moon Ga Young develops a Romantic Obsession with Moon Gang-tae, and starts following him. It is very interesting to watch how she persuades him to like her and how they tackle all the challenges that come their way.


24. Our Beloved Summer

Our Beloved Summer

Genre: Romantic comedy, Drama, Coming of age

 
Ratings: MyDramaList-8.6/10 , IMDb-8.8/10
  • Total Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: December 6, 2021
This drama depicts complicated feelings between two ex-lovers, a coming of romantic comedy which revolves around two ex-lovers who broke up 5 years ago with a promise to never meet again. But destiny wants something else, the documentary they filmed ten years ago when they were in high school went viral and they are forced to appear in front of cameras together again by their producer friend.


25. Snowdrop

Snowdrop kdrama
 

Genre: Black comedy; ‎Romance‎; ‎Melodrama‎

 
Ratings: IMDb-8.7/1  Mydramalist-7.4/10
  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: December 18, 2021 – February 6, 2022

Snowdrop is set in 1987, it depicts the situation of the Democratic Movement of 1987, which was a mass protest movement demanding to hold fair elections in South Korea.

During the protest, a female university student discovers a young man covered in blood, she hides him in her dormitory room at her Women’s university. Later, they develop romantic feelings for each other.


26. So I Married an Anti Fan

So I Married An Anti Fan

Genre: Romantic Comedy

 
Ratings: Mydramalist- 810 IMDb-7.510
  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: April 30, 2021

It is a story of a world-famous superstar who looks cold-hearted but he is a pure person and a magazine reporter who hates him and his number one anti-fan cause she thinks her life is ruined because of him. A romance embarks between them when they end up participating in a television show where they live together.


27. Itaewon Class

175273b4 1227 48cb 8515 b45458a58a0f itaewonbanner

Genre: Business, Romance, Drama

Ratings: Mydramalist-8.510 IMDb-8.210

  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: January 31 – March 21, 2020

It is a story of a high school student Sae-Ro-Yi who punches a rich brat who was bullying his classmate on the first day of attending the school, apparently, his fathers work for the restaurant which is owned by the father of the rich brat guy, his father demands apology from Sae-Ro-Yi but he refuses to apologise, so his father resigns from his post and sides with his son. Sae Ro Yi gets expelled from the school. Sae Ro Yi’s father dies in a car accident caused by the rich brat guy, aggressively Sae RoYi beats him and gets arrested for the assault, while in prison he decides to take revenge by owning the number one restaurant in South Korea .


28. Crash Landing On You

Crash Landing On You

Genre: Romance, Military, Comedy

 
Ratings: Mydramalist-910 IMDb-8.710
  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: December 14, 2019 – February 16, 2020
A rich woman who owns a skincare-making company in South Korea accidentally while paragliding lands in North Korea, where he meets a man who is an army officer of North Korea. He helps her and hides her in his banquet and tries to protect her in every possible till she safely returns to South Korea. While protecting and helping her return to South Korea he falls for her.


29. Secret Royal Inspector & Joy

Secret Inspector Royal and Joy

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Historical Drama

 
Ratings: Mydramalist-8/10 IMDb-7.710
  • Episodes: 16
  • Release Date: November 8 – December 28, 2021

This drama is set in Joseon Era, it depicts the story of a young man who unintentionally becomes a royal inspector and a divorced woman who wants happiness in her life. They team up to investigate a case and expose political corruption.


30. Hellbound

Hellbound

Genre: Thriller, Horror, Dark Fantasy 

“Most viewed series on Netflix”
 
Ratings: IMDb-6.710 Rotten Tomatoes-96%
  • Episodes: 6
  • Release Date: November 19, 2021

 People start to hear predictions about their deaths and when they will die. When their death will come near, a deity of death will appear in front of them and kill them. It gives rise to the religious groups and creates chaos in the town.


FAQ’s

Where Can I Watch These Kdramas Online?

You can find the above-listed dramas on Netflix, Disney Plus, Viki, Viu, KOCOWA and on some illegal free streaming sites.

Is it better to watch K-drama in subbed or dubbed form?

It is entirely a matter of personal preference. We prefer the subtitled version because it captures the characters’ original emotion, which is frequently lost in the dubbed versions. Furthermore, most K-drama streaming sites may not carry dubbed versions of your favourite drama, so you’re stuck with subtitled ones.

How To Watch Kdramas From Anywhere?

If you live in a country where these streaming platforms are not available, you can watch all of your favourite shows and movies with a VPN membership by changing the servers to the country where the drama is available to stream on your desired platform.

Check out our recommended VPN here.

Why you should use a VPN?

VPN stands for “virtual private network,” and it allows you to connect to the Internet safely and securely. A VPN network primarily protects you against the theft of your personal information and data while also concealing your online identity. Your internet traffic runs through an encrypted funnel that no one can see, including hackers, thieves, governments, and your ISP when you connect to a safe and secure VPN server.

Consumers use virtual private networks (VPNs) to keep their online activities private and secure, ensuring that their online experience is free of theft or outside influence.

Hope you found this blog post helpful. What are some of your recent fav k-dramas? Do let me know in the comments. If you liked it do share it with your friends. Thanks for reading! Have a good day 🙂

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