12 Romantic K-Dramas to Enjoy this Love Month
Here are our favorite dramas we think would make your hearts flutter this season of love!
Whether you’re coupled up or single and ready—or not quite ready; you do you—to mingle, you’re likely down for something pleasant and sweet to watch this Valentine’s season.
K-drama romances, adored by audiences for the way they portray love stories of all types, are always great to tune into. There’s always plenty of waiting and anticipation; the meeting of glances of an accidental brush of one hand against another alone can make any hour-long episode worth it.
Kim Ji Won and Ji Chang Wook in 'Lovestruck in the City'
Happy Valentine’s Day, chingus! We hope some of the shows on this list have made—or will make—your hearts go pitter-patter this season of love.
12 Romantic K-Dramas To Enjoy All Love Month Long
12 Romantic K-Dramas To Enjoy All Love Month Long
Lovestruck in the City (2020)
This short format romance drama is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It depicts the complex dating lives of men and women in a busy city, utilizing an interview format that breaks the fourth wall to bridge the gap between the actors and audience.
Photo Credit: Kakao, Netflix
Lovestruck in the City (2020)
It’s easy to get hooked; the palpable chemistry between architect Park Jae-won (Ji Chang-wook) and his erstwhile lady love, freelance marketer Lee Eun-o (Kim Ji-won) is more than enough reason to binge. Their friends, longtime couple Choi Kyung-joon (Kim Min-seok) and Suh Rin-yi (So Joo-yeun), voluntarily single Kang Geon (Ryu Kyung-soo), and eccentric Oh Sun-young (Han Ji-eun) are just as riveting, each one having their own story to tell.
Photo Credit: Kakao, Netflix
Touch Your Heart (2019)
There’s nothing like watching a reincarnated Grim Reaper and Sunny finally have their happy ending, right? While not at all connected to Goblin—Lee Dong-wook stars as no-nonsense lawyer Kwon Jung-rok, while Yoo In-a plays actress turned secretary Oh Yoon-seo—this romcom is a genuine delight.
Photo Credit: tvN
Touch Your Heart (2019)
Full of sweet moments, hilarious interactions among its excellent cast—Oh Jung-se is terrific as an ardent fanboy/CEO—and the best CF reenactments to grace the small screen, this is an absolute must-watch. The main draw is Jung-rok and Yoon-seo’s endearing love story. They start off on the wrong foot; he finds her shallow, she finds him unfair, but eventually—and inevitably—they fall in love.
Photo Credit: tvN
Extraordinary You (2019)
Imagine finding out one day that you’re just a character—an extra expected to die of heart disease, at that—in someone’s story. Unhappy with her tragic plot line, high schooler Eun Dan-oh (Kim Hye-yoon) sets out to change her destiny. Meeting and falling for Student Number 13 (Rowoon), a nameless extra, makes Dan-oh even more determined to wrestle control from the writer.
Photo Credit: MBC
Extraordinary You (2019)
But her fight for freedom has a price to pay, as Dan-oh’s actions begin to have repercussions on the author’s previous work, which also includes her character. This webtoon based fantasy romance is a teenage girl’s dream come true, but it’s a great V-Day watch for folks of all ages!
Photo Credit: MBC
Love Alarm (2019)
Welcome to Black Mirror for dating! Love Alarm is an app that sends you a notification when someone within a 10-meter radius has romantic feelings for you. This, of course, spells ‘trouble’ with a capital T, but everyone in the city is obsessing over it, regardless. Because she’s got real life to deal with as well as a longtime boyfriend, our high schooler heroine Kim Jo-jo (Kim So-hyun) just can’t be bothered.
Photo Credit: Netflix
Love Alarm (2019)
Their breakup has besties Lee Hye-young (Jung Ga-ram) and Hwang Sun-oh (Song Kang) suddenly vying for Jo-jo’s affections, and one can only imagine the drama that unfolds from this. Should you get hooked, there’s a second season in the works!
Photo Credit: Netflix
Her Private Life (2019)
Museum curator Sung Deok-mi (Park Min-young) goes to great lengths to hide that she is a mega fan of idol group member Cha Shi-an (Jung Jae-won). Deok-mi’s life gets complicated when she and her boss, art director Ryan Gold (Kim Jae-wook) pretend to date to ward off Shi-an’s crazy fans, who go after Deok-mi when she is seen leaving his building.
Photo Credit: tvN
Her Private Life (2019)
Even the most veteran of K-drama romance fans will find themselves drawn to Ryan and Deok-mi’s romance, which is handled with such grace. There’s a maturity to the characters that helps them avert crises, but there’s also plenty of sweetness and humor. You’ll want your own Ryan after this.
Photo Credit: tvN
Mr. Queen (2020)
A highly successful, free-spirited chef employed at the Blue House, Jang Bong-hwan (Choi Jin-hyuk in a special cameo) finds himself in strange circumstances after waking up in the body of Kim So-young (Shin Hye-sun), the 25th Queen of the Joseon Dynasty. The actress does wonderfully in portraying a man trapped in a woman’s body.
Photo Credit: tvN
Mr. Queen (2020)
Along for the ride is Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheoljong, who seems vapid at first, but certainly knows more than he lets on. Body swap and time slip K-dramas often entail mayhem and madness, and this one performs well because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Expect a lot of laughs and just the right amount of sweetness.
Photo Credit: tvN
Because This Is My First Life (2017)
Oftentimes, the circumstances we find ourselves in push us to make practical choices. Quirky IT guy—left brain house, right brain cat—Nam Se-hee (Lee Min-ki) and homeless writer Yoon Ji-ho (Jung So-min) decide to get married just so he can pay off his mortgage via her rent and she can have a place to sleep. Though they initially agree that no feelings must be involved, things don’t go as planned, and the two inevitably find themselves drawn to each other.
Photo Credit: tvN
Because This Is My First Life (2017)
A great watch for older adults, the show also tackles social and familial expectations, dealing with traumatic experiences, and differing perspectives on career, love, and marriage through its diverse cast of characters.
Photo Credit: tvN
My Love From The Star (2013)
One of the greatest shows in all of Hallyuland, this sci-fi romantic comedy stars six-time Daesang winner Kim Soo-hyun as Do Min-jun, an extraterrestrial being who has been stranded on Earth since the Joseon Dynasty. He’s in the midst of cleaning his slate in preparation for his long-awaited voyage home, but the brash and eccentric top star Cheon Song-yi (Jun Ji-hyun) moves into the apartment next door, messing with his plans by dragging him into all the hijinks she gets involved in.
Photo Credit: SBS
My Love From The Star (2013)
It’s all sorts of fun, but also a poignant and soul stirring watch—especially when their feelings for each other come into play. Will you still welcome love when you’re running out of time?
Photo Credit: SBS
Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)
A former hotshot copywriter, Kang Dan-i (Lee Na-young) is looking to rejoin the workforce after opting to become a stay-at-home mum. Despite her credentials, she has difficulty in landing a job due to the fierce competition and her prolonged absence. Down on her luck, our desperate heroine shreds her university and work records to pose as a high school graduate applying for a temp job at a publishing house where her childhood friend Cha Heun-ho (Lee Jong-suk)—who secretly has feelings for her—is the editor-in-chief.
Photo Credit: tvN
Romance is a Bonus Book (2019)
This is a feel-good story about hope and second chances that encourages us to embrace new opportunities and fall in love again.
Photo Credit: tvN
Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)
There’s a lot to unwrap with this cross genre drama, but let’s just say all events are set into motion because a mermaid (Jun Ji-hyun) comes to shore and meets a man (Lee Min-ho). The modern-day romance is juxtaposed with that of their Joseon era counterparts; the ill-fated lovers were parted by tragic circumstances in their past lives, and the mermaid erases her love’s memories. However, Dam-ryeong sends an artifact to his future self, con-artist Heo Joon-jae, as a reminder.
Photo Credit: SBS
Legend of the Blue Sea (2016)
While much of the plot is dedicated to unraveling whether they can enjoy a happy life or are doomed to repeat the past, there are plenty of lighthearted comedic moments to enjoy as a breather.
Photo Credit: SBS
When My Love Blooms (2020)
Interspersing two contrasting timelines, this melodrama explores the stories of Han Jae-hyun (played by Park Jin-young and Yoo Ji-tae) and Yoon Ji-soo (played by Jeon So-nee and Lee Bo-young), university students who start dating but eventually part ways. Their paths cross once again, their former idealistic selves worn out by the demands of adulthood. It’s a plot line so many of us are all too familiar with; Jae-hyun is driven by wealth and success, while Ji-soo struggles as a mother and contract worker.
Photo Credit: tvN
When My Love Blooms (2020)
The series is punctuated by repression and yearning, and you can tell that things left unsaid from their youth are resurfacing, brought upon by this chance meeting twelve years down the line.
Photo Credit: tvN
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018)
No Valentine’s Day recommendation list would be complete without the most beloved romcom of all. Narcissistic business magnate Lee Young-joon (Park Seo-joon) is thrown off course by the sudden resignation of his secretary of nine years, the highly capable and long-suffering Kim Mi-so (Park Min-young). He does everything—and by ‘everything,’ we mean grandiose gestures—to stop this from happening, realizing that he has developed feelings for Mi-so along the way.
Photo Credit: tvN
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018)
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? isn’t particularly ground-breaking in terms of plot or execution, but the ParkPark couple’s chemistry will have you glued to your seat. While PSJ shines brightest playing the everyman, he’s clearly enjoying hamming it up as Young-joon. All together now, chingus: “AURA!”
Photo Credit: tvN
Love is in the air, indeed! Are you ready to swoon over these dramas on Valentine's Day—and to be honest, beyond Valentine's Day—like we are?
Park Min-young and Park Seo-joon in 'What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?'
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