Top 18 Best Korean Dramas Of 2021 That Are Must-Watch

The year 2021 has given some of the best kdramas to us. Even if we were staying at home, South Korea still gave us a lot of good dramas. These dramas have got great ratings from the audience.

Kdramas are becoming more popular due to increased access to Korean content on platforms like Netflix, Viki, Disney+, etc. The Hallyu wave is also responsible for this. Korean dramas are addicting.

Dramas have a great plot, acting, romance, comedy & suspense. They are quite good to watch with family too. If you are looking for some good Kdrama recommendations, read on.

Best Korean Dramas Of 2021

If you are looking to binge-watch some kdramas, 2021 has given us a lot of good dramas. Here are 18 of them you can watch to escape your daily life. Watch them on weekends.

This list includes Korean dramas that have been watched by maximum viewers and have high ratings on IMDB & other drama sites. Most of them are available to watch on Netflix & Viki.

1. Hospital Playlist 2

The drama tells the story of doctors, patients, and nurses working at Yulje Medical Center. It focuses on five doctors who have been friends since they entered medical school in 1999. It will also deal with a story of a band formed by a group of doctors.

Cast –

• Jo Jung Suk as Li Ik Jun
• Yoo Yeon Seok as Ahn Jung Won
• Jung Kyung Ho as Kim Jun Wan
• Jeon Mi Do as Chae Song Hwa

No. Of Episodes – 12

Watch On – Netflix

2. Vincenzo

Vincenzo, a Mafia consigliere, runs away to South Korea to get gold from the bottom of Geumga Plaza. But a company has illegally taken ownership of the building, and he must use his skills to get the building back and get his money back.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Song Joong Ki as Vincenzo Cassano
• Jeon Yeo Been as Hong Cha Young
• Ok Taec Yeon as Jang Jun Woo
• Kim Yeo Jin as Choi Myung Hee

No. Of Episodes: 20 (80 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

3. Happiness

In the near future, a new apartment building has been built. The people who live there come from different places, but a new disease spreads quickly. It shows the psychological battle and the way that people from different classes treat each other.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Han Hyo Joo as Yoon Sae Bom
• Park Hyung Sik as Jung Yi Hyun
• Jo Woo Jin as Han Tae Seok
• Park Joo Hee as Ji Soo

No. Of Episodes: 12 (65 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

4. Move To Heaven

A young man with Asperger’s syndrome and his estranged uncle, a former convict, work together as trauma cleaners, clearing out the possessions of dead people, uncovering the stories they left behind, and telling them to loved ones.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Je Hoon as Cho Sang Gu
• Tang Jun Sang as Han Geu Ru
• Hong Seung Hee as Yoon Na Mu
• Jung Suk Yong as Yoon Young Soo

No. Of Episodes: 10 (52 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

5. Navillera

The story of a 70-year-old retired mailman who decides to pursue his life-long dream of learning ballet. At the dance academy, he meets a 23-year-old ballet dancer. He is struggling financially and thinks of giving up ballet until meeting the mailman, which changes his mind.

Cast –

• Park In Hwan as Shim Deok Chul
• Song Kang as Lee Chae Rok
• Na Moon Hee as Choi Hae Nam
• Hong Seung Hee as Shim Eun Ho

No. Of Episodes – 12

Watch On – Netflix

6. Red Sleeve

A historical drama that tells the romance of a royal court between Sung Deok Im, a court lady who wants to protect the life she chose and Yi San, an emperor who believes his duty is to his country first above love.

Cast –

• Lee Jun Ho as Yi San / King Jung Jo
• Lee Se Young as Sung Deok Im
• Kang Hoon as Hong Deok Ro
• Lee Deok Hwa as King Young Jo

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Viki

7. Our Beloved Summer

A coming of age, romantic comedy revolving around Choi Woong and Yeon Soo, who broke up with a promise never to meet again. The documentary they filmed ten years ago in high school gets the fame and they are by compulsion facing camera once more.

Cast –

• Choi Woo Shik as Choi Woong
• Kim Da Mi as Gook Yeon Soo
• Kim Sung Chul as Kim Ji Woong
• Roh Jeong Eui as NJ

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix

8. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Hye Jin, a dentist moves to the seaside village of Gongjin. She meets Du Shik and becomes curious about him. He is known as Mr. Hong around town. He is unemployed officially, but he is a master of odd jobs who appears to help everyone with any situation.

Cast –

• Shin Min Ah as Yoon Hye Jin
• Kim Seon Ho as Hong Doo Shik
• Lee Sang Yi as Ji Sung Hyun
• Lee Suk Hyeong as Kang Do Ha

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix

9. D.P.

The story of a team of Korean military cops whose job is to catch deserters. Corporal Ho Yul and Private Joon Ho work together to find the deserters. The drama shows how hard life was for each enlistee during his mandatory call to war.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Jung Hae In as Ahn Joon Ho
• Koo Kyo Hwan as Han Ho Yul
• Kim Sung Kyun as Park Bum Goo
• Son Seok Koo as Im Ji Sup

No. Of Episodes: 6 (50 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

10. Youth Of May

Set in the year 1980 during the Gwangju Uprising, the drama follows the love story of medical student Hee Tae, who entered medical school and Myung Hee, who worked as a nurse for the past 3 years. Their love seems destined by fate.

Cast –

• Lee Do Hyun as Hwang Hee Tae
• Go Min Si as Kim Myung Hee
• Lee Sang Yi as Lee Soo Chan
• Geum Sae Rok as Lee Soo Ryun

No. Of Episodes – 12

Watch On – Viki

11. Beyond Evil

The story of Lee Dong Shik and Han Joo Won, two brave police officers who break the law to catch a serial killer. As they try to figure out who did it, they start to doubt the innocence of everyone involved, including themselves.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Shin Ha Kyun as Lee Dong Shik
• Yeo Jin Goo as Han Joo Won
• Choi Dae Hoon as Park Jung Je
• Choi Sung Eun as Yoo Jae Yi

No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

12. The Devil Judge

The drama is set in a dystopic version of Korea. Three judges work together to bring justice and peace through a courtroom live show that airs on TV. Kang Yo Han, a cruel head trial judge, is made the chief judge.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Ji Sung as Kang Yo Han
• Kim Min Jung as Jung Sun Ah
• Park Jin Young as Kim Ga On
• Park Gyu Young as Yoon Soo Hyun

No. Of Episodes: 16 (75 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

13. Snowdrop

Set in 1987, when South Korea was governed by a dictatorial government, a graduate student Soo Ho, who is covered in blood, jumps into the female dormitory at a women’s university. Young Ro finds him and helps to hide him. They develop a romantic relationship.

Cast –

• Jung Hae In as Im Soo Ho
• Kim Ji Soo as Eun Young Ro
• Jang Seung Jo as Lee Kang Moo
• Yoon Se Ah as Pi Seung Hee

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Disney+

14. Taxi Driver

Do Gi is a taxi driver for a company that offers a service called “revenge call” to its customers. It is a secret group that takes care of people whom the law failed to protect. Do Gi and his coworkers will take revenge for customers who ask them to.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Gi
• Esom as Kang Ha Na
• Kim Eui Sung as Jang Sung Chul
• Pyo Ye Jin as Ahn Go Eun

No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

15. Mouse

Ba Reum is a police officer whose life changes when he encounters a psychopathic killer. This drives him and his partner to unveil the truth behind psychopathic behaviours. A drama that asks the question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?”

Cast –

• Lee Seung Gi as Jung Ba Reum
• Lee Hee Joon as Ko Moo Chi
• Park Joo Hyun as Oh Bong Yi
• Kyung Soo Jin as Choi Hong Joo

No. Of Episodes – 20

Watch On – Viki

16. Squid Game

The story of people, who are failures in their life plays a survival game named ‘Squid Game’. The risk is high, and so is the bet, which is $45.6 billion. The men in pink overalls and masks are watching every move. There will only be one winner.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Jung Jae as Seong Gi Hun
• Park Hae Soo as Sang Woo
• Heo Sung Tae as Duk Su
• Wi Ha Joon as Joon Ho

No. Of Episodes: 9 (60 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

17. Jirisan

Set against the backdrop of towering views of Mount Jiri, the rangers and other employees of the Jirisan National Park climb through the mysterious and unexplored regions of the mountain, trying to rescue the lost trekkers.

Cast –

• Jun Ji Hyun as Seo Yi Kang
• Joo Ji Hoon as Kang Hyun Jo
• Sung Dong Il as Jo Dae Jin
• Oh Jung Se as Jung Goo Young

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Viki

18. Bad and Crazy

Soo Yeol has spent his whole life as a materialistic police detective. When he meets ‘K,’ a hero of this generation who fights injustice with a fist and doesn’t ask questions, he changes into a champion for justice and fights against police corruption.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Dong Wook as Soo Yeil
• Han Ji Eun as Hee Gyeom
• Wi Ha Joon as ‘K’
• Cha Hak Yeon as Oh Kyung Tae

No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Wrapping Up

These were the best Kdramas of 2021 you can watch to relieve yourself from stress. You can pick any of them, whatever genre – thriller, romance, suspense, fantasy, all are included in this list.

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