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Plenty of classic romance K-dramas exist that can beat out modern shows, making them ideal watches if you’re looking for a swoonworthy romance.
K-dramas have undergone a major shift over the past five years, focusing on top-notch cinematography, stronger writing, and prestige TV. This has led to some of the best romance K-dramas of all time, including Crash Landing on You and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.
However, that doesn’t mean modern K-dramas are always the best. Many classic romance shows can rival and even beat out most of the modern shows, putting aside the two mentioned stand-outs. These ten, in particular, will win over fans.
For the purpose of this article, a K-drama had to be more than 10 years old to qualify for “classic” status.
10 Fated To Love You (2014)
The K-drama version of Fated to Love You is a profound love story that takes the audience through a wide range of emotions. The story begins with CEO Lee Gun and law firm secretary Kim Mi Young, who are drugged on a night out and have sex.
The CEO wants to propose to his girlfriend of six years, but everything changes when Mi Young gets pregnant. Although they have known each other for only four days and two nights, Gun and Mi Young decide to marry. The show s their journey from friendship to love, navigating marriage and the hurdles that could break up the best couple.
This K-drama will make you laugh, cry, and say “aww.” Except for the farcical inciting incident, the story is grounded in reality. Gun and Mi Young are a couple to root for. They may not have been fated, but they choose each other and keep working at their relationship even when it’s hard.
9 Coffee Prince (2007)
Coffee Prince is an iconic rom-com that was years ahead of its time. Eun Chan, a gender-nonconforming woman mistaken for a man, lies about her gender to get a job at Han Kyul’s family’s coffee shop. Meanwhile, Han Kyul pretends to be gay to avoid his family’s matchmaking. He hires Eun Chan to pose as his boyfriend, but they develop genuine feelings, causing Han Kyul to question his sexuality.
The rom-com’s intrinsic queerness is one of its best traits. Han Kyul’s emotional conflict about his sexuality and eventual acceptance that he can love regardless of gender are very real, despite Eun Chan’s gender. Plus, Eun Chan is gender nonconforming, challenging gender norms.
On top of that, Eun Chan and Han Kyul have a very natural chemistry, making their romance heartwarming. What’s more, the world is so immersive that the cozy, relaxing feeling of the shop extends to the viewers.
8 Secret Love (2013)
Secret Love is a great K-drama for dark romance readers seeking moral grayness, taboo moments, and high-intensity romance. I recognize dark romance isn’t for everyone. So, do not expect a healthy romance. The show is a twisted revenge romance.
A hopeful prosecutor, Do-hoon, causes a car accident that kills a woman and flees. His girlfriend, Yoo-jung, takes the blame, serving his jail time in hopes that their romance will continue. Meanwhile, the dead woman’s boyfriend, Min-hyuk, now engaged to Shin Se-yeon, is angry and seeking revenge on Yoo-jung. Shockingly, he finds himself falling for her.
Yoo-jung is caught between Do-hoon and Min-hyuk. However, the two male love interests have opposite arcs. Do-hoon goes from kind to power-hungry and abusive. Meanwhile, Min-hyuk changes from abusive and mean to kind and gentle. This makes it easy to root for Yoo-jung and Min-hyuk.
7 My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho (2010)
A more lighthearted classic romance K-drama with a few sad moments is My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho, which blends rom-com and fantasy. The story s a college student, Chae Dae-woong, who dreams of becoming an action star. He accidentally releases a gumiho, a legendary fox with nine tails, whom he names Mi-ho.
She says she will give him her “fox bead,” a magical orb that possesses great energy and knowledge, to help him become a stunt man. In exchange, he will help her become human. Of course, as promised by the title, the two fall deeply in love.
The cinematography matches the time. However, the story and acting are awesome. Not only are both leads extremely charming, but they have fantastic chemistry. They bounce off each other really well. Their romance has a pretty happy ending. Plus, the K-drama has a phenomenal original soundtrack.
6 She Was Pretty (2015)
This show is for anyone who loves classic rom-coms. The screwball comedy K-drama She Was Pretty, which is based on a true story, is extremely entertaining, well-written, and a perfect watch for people who love the “ugly duckling turned swan” trope.
The show s Ji Sung-joon, who was ugly in his teens but becomes attractive as an adult. He tries to reconnect with his first love, Kim Hye-Jin, who was gorgeous as a teen but becomes unattractive later. When he reaches out, Hye-Jin sends her pretty friend to pretend to be her. However, things get complicated when Hye-Jin is hired by Sung-joon’s company.
She Was Pretty is so beloved that it was remade in Turkiye, China, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia. The main characters are entertaining. Sung-joon is initially obnoxious, but this changes throughout the series. There’s a good amount of physical comedy. Ultimately, She Was Pretty is just so much fun to watch.
5 Boys Over Flowers (2009)
Before I break down this show, I want to make something very clear. This romance show isn’t good because it’s high quality. It’s good in the way reality TV and Gossip Girl are good. Boys Over Flowers is a soapy K-drama, and every toxic, problematic moment of it is enjoyable.
Jan Di, a working-class teen, wins a scholarship to the elite Shin Hwa High School, which is only filled with the children of the rich and powerful. She clashes with the F4, the four richest boys, causing conflict between her and them. But could that hatred turn into romance? Obviously, or Boys Over Friends wouldn’t be on this list.
Boys Over Flowers is one of the best “trash TV” K-drama romances out there. It’s not going to be for people who expect prestige television, but it will be for many people. Plus, it deserves some appreciation for helping to catalyze the genre’s popularity.
4 The King 2 Hearts (2012)
The King 2 Hearts is a political romantic drama and has many crazy twists to keep viewers entertained. If viewers can get past the shaky first episode or two, it will absolutely suck you in.
In an alternate world, South Korea is a constitutional monarchy with a playboy prince named Prince Jae-ha. He is teamed up with a North Korean special forces agent named Kim Hang-ah for joint military training. The two start out as enemies, but become friends. Then, they are pushed into an arranged marriage, but things then take a turn politically.
Despite getting multiple award nominations, The King 2 Hearts has largely flown under the radar. However, it’s a fantastic watch. The chemistry between Jae-ha and Hang-ah grows over time. They have some extremely sensual onscreen moments that will make your heart swoon. Plus, there’s a political subplot that’s interesting.
3 Emergency Couple (2014)
The K-drama Emergency Couple is the perfect second-chance romance, and it holds up over a decade after its release. It has impeccable comedy, strong romance, and some interesting medical situations.
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The story s a couple, Oh Chang-min and Oh Jin-hee, who get married extremely young. Unfortunately, bitterness, resentment, and conflict lead them to divorce. However, six years later, they become interns at the same hospital. As they work together in the emergency room, they start to wonder if they could have a second chance at a romantic relationship.
Chang-min and Jin-hee have excellent repartee, bouncing off each other perfectly. Their chemistry is impeccable. They both grow as characters across the series, becoming better versions of themselves. They’re much more compatible by the end. On top of that, Emergency Couple is just fun to watch because it never takes itself too seriously.
2 My Love From The Star (2013)
While I think all these shows are fantastic, I would only consider two of them 10 out of 10 masterpieces. My Love from the Star is one of them.
The story s Do Min-joon, an immortal alien stranded on Earth for 400 years after missing his spaceship, who becomes neighbors with a disgraced celebrity named Cheon Song-yi, who looks like a woman Min-joon met when he arrived on the planet. He decides to help her with her career even though he will leave Earth in three months, and they fall for each other.
This magical sci-fi romance is heartwarming and includes one of the best K-drama kisses of all time. The main couple fulfills the opposites attract romance trope. The cinematography in My Love From the Star is absolutely brilliant. The color palette brings the magical feeling to life. Unsurprisingly, the show won 3 Baek Sang TV awards and gained 7 more nominations.
1 Winter Sonata (2002)
Winter Sonata is part of the Endless Love tetralogy, with each series ing a different season. While all four strengths, Winter Sonata is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish, and every single romance K-drama fan must watch it.
In the story, Joon-sang and Yoo-jin are each other’s first loves, but the teens’ love story is cut short when Joon-sang gets into a car accident. A decade later, Yoo-jin is about to get married when she sees a man who looks like her supposedly-dead first love.
The coziness of the show is irresistible. The soundtrack is one of the best K-drama OSTs out there, and it’s very re-listenable. The romance is cautious and contemplative, and Joon-sang and Yoo-jin are one of the greatest couples in a K-drama. It feels like the characters are letting us in on an extremely vulnerable part of their life.
