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These K-Drama Awards Name 2021's Best Onscreen Couples

Which pairing is your favorite from this list?

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Metro.Style Team

<p>2021 was yet another memorable year for many K-drama fans, as there was a long list of amazing, noteworthy series to choose from. Despite the pandemic, K-dramaland continuously gifted viewers from different parts of the world with a wide array of shows.</p><div><br/></div><p>To cap off 2021, network companies MBC, KBS, and SBS held their annual Drama Awards that honored their best dramas for the year. Among their categories is the Best Couple award, which recognized the undeniable, outstanding chemistry of several onscreen couples.</p><div><br/></div><p>tvN network, which doesn’t hold a similar award ceremony, also gave us 2021 K-drama pairings like Kim Jung-hyun and Shin Hye-sun in <em>Mr. Queen</em>, Song Joong-ki and Jeon Yeo-been in <em>Vincenzo</em>, and Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-ah in <em>Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha</em>; they were all nominated in the Best Couple category at our <a href="https://metro.style/culture/events/the-winners-of-metro-best-k-drama-awards-2021/32062" target="_blank">2021 Metro Best K-Drama Awards</a>, with the adorable <em>Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha</em> duo ending up as the winner.   </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div class="imageRichText" draggable="true" style="display:table;padding:25px 0px 0px 25px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"><img src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/0c670a52-42e3-42a5-9e49-0cdf00366204_269743186_1304846986662314_2589959634768862202_n.jpg" style="width:852px;height:852px" alt="cms.metro.style 0"/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>In the gallery below, see the other K-drama couples who made a mark in 2021, as named by MBC, KBS, and SBS Drama Awards: </strong></div><div><br/></div><div class="article-content" itemProp="articleBody"><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/a2887ba1-229d-479a-8c52-0f34d4eab1f9_2021 best kdrama couples sbs kbs mbc drama awards landscape.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/f1ca1e23-9fbe-46e0-b36c-b61a6ff5ac97_lee se young lee jun ho the red sleeve mbc drama awards.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/a0417a04-b315-4ba5-994a-e5ff7d84194c_lee junho lee se young the red sleeve photo 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/58123e67-d921-4336-9b54-b933c01386cb_lee junho lee se young the red sleeve photo 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/40660c22-94b4-4ca2-9e35-305694a976a9_kim so hyun na in woo river where the moon rises b.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/5e6c517c-66a4-46e4-b6c5-42d20fae73e9_na in woo kim so hyun river where the moon rises 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/843eedda-7142-47bc-bd2e-de2c0db02e30_kim-so-hyun na in woo river where the moon rises 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/9424912d-5aa6-4897-978b-3f3e5b840457_cho yi hyun and kim yo han - school 2021 b.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/2792572d-8fb0-4f7c-a3a0-7745618f413b_kim yo-han and cho yi-hyun in school 2021 photo 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/f3627ca2-9911-4d7c-9cf3-cc9849bc027b_kim yo-han and cho yi-hyun in school 2021 photo 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/4464093d-aef6-4345-a31d-26d866ccc1ce_park gyu young kim min jae - dali and cocky prince.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/0405b468-9e2b-4abf-8fbc-7ecc7018a247_park gyu young kim min jae dali and cocky prince photo 2.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/2b5b6f22-00b0-44a4-b27b-e2b45896dc64_park gyu young kim min jae dali and cocky prince photo 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/8c42f2f4-017d-4c41-bc1d-fa6bb092ed34_lee do hyun go min si - youth of may b.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/8b782ccd-f401-4b39-8304-420cf6d7a697_lee do hyun go min si youth of may a.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/b9c94be3-6c32-4115-bbb0-9769dc081c1c_lee do hyun go min si - youth of may c.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/cda2c1f1-7c68-44a1-8bc0-58e74bceee3a_park eun bin rowoon kings affection kbs drama awards 2021.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/ce8e051a-8394-4e5f-85ec-1b487fe99edb_park eun bin rowoon the kings affection photo 1.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/725c462c-aefc-435c-8869-042f223cfc1a_park eun bin rowoon the kings affection photo 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/81aa2577-069f-4a29-84b1-1f57faaf36e0_lee se hee and ji hyun woo - young lady and gentleman.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/6fd88fe4-4735-4093-9ee9-dde5645eda89_ji hyun-woo and lee se-hee in young lady and gentleman 1.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/0422dc08-6209-40f3-8aaf-fa358820a676_ji hyun-woo and lee se-hee in young lady and gentleman 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/3104deed-2826-453f-bed0-c280b24e6511_kim yoo jung ahn hyo seop - lovers of the red sky.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/287d5c10-da66-4a8a-9384-70af5d4a4a77_ahn hyo seop kim yoo jung lovers of the red sky photo 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/670a31ac-fbcb-484c-80c5-e4120c1f2001_ahn hyo seop kim yoo jung lovers of the red sky photo 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/c9f7e26e-0357-44c7-8d05-1807dcaa0852_jinyoung and cha tae hyun - police university.jpg" alt="2021 best kdrama couples" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/3856d058-a87d-43b5-81fc-8aa3761ff59d_cha tae hyun jinyoung police university 2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div><div><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/d0039285-1c95-4460-be37-bdfa033d9cc1_cha tae hyun jinyoung police university 1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Lee Junho and Lee Se-young in “The Red Sleeve” (MBC) - In this historical drama, Lee Junho is Crown Prince Yi San and Lee Se-young is court lady Seong Deok-im. Brave, confident, and independent, Deok-im wishes to live her life on her own terms. As she is assigned to take care of the Crown Prince as his personal maid, the two develop romantic feelings for each other. Yi San later becomes King Jeongjo, and he wants her to become his concubine. She, however, refuses to be one of the King’s women, because that means she will not be able to live her life the way she wants to.  <cite>@mbcdrama_now</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Na In-woo and Kim So-hyun in “River Where the Moon Rises” (KBS) - This historical series focuses on the love story of Na In-woo’s On Dal and Kim So-hyun’s Pyonggang, formed in the midst of political conflicts. He’s a peace-loving man who has made it his mission to protect her, a princess raised as an assassin, and join her in her battle against corruption.<cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Kim Yo-han and Cho Yi-hyun in “School 2021” (KBS) - This coming-of-age series tells the stories of high school students navigating their way through life, love, friendship, and passions. Among this group are Kim Yo-han’s Gong Ki-joon (who has always dreamt of becoming a taekwondo player until he suffers a serious ankle injury that leads to him quitting the sport) and Cho Yi-hun’s Jin Ji-won (a confident young woman who’s firm on pursuing her dream to become a carpenter).   <cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Kim Min-jae and Park Gyu-young in “Dali and Cocky Prince” (KBS) - “Dali and Cocky Prince” is a rom-com that merges food and art. At the core of the plot are Kim Min-jae’s Jin Moo-hak, the director of an F&amp;B company that has hundreds of franchised gamja-tang restaurants, and Park Gyu-young’s Kim Dali, the director of an art museum that’s on the verge of bankruptcy. In an interesting mix-up, their paths cross and they develop an unexpected business partnership that eventually evolves into a romantic one.   <cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Lee Do-hyun and Go Min-si in “Youth of May” (KBS) - Set in the year 1980 during the Gwangju Uprising, period melodrama “Youth of May” zooms in on the love story of Lee Do-hyun’s Hwang Hee-tae, a medical student who enters Seoul National University College of Medicine with top scores, and Go Min-si’s Kim Myung-Hee, a struggling breadwinner and nurse who hopes to study in Germany. In the middle of protests and cries for democracy, they fall in love with each other and face injustices together.<cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Rowoon and Park Eun-bin in “The King’s Affection” (KBS) - This sageuk starts off with the birth of the Crown Prince’s consort’s twins, a boy and a girl. As twins are considered an ominous sign in the Joseon Dynasty, the boy was saved while the girl was ordered to be killed. The mother couldn’t let this happen, and planned to send her daughter out of the palace instead. Years later, the daughter (Park Eun-bin’s Dam-yi) returns to the palace as a maid. When her twin brother, Crown Prince Lee Hwi, is killed due to mistaken identity, their mother persuades her to disguise herself as the Crown Prince. She later meets Rowoon’s Jung Ji-woon, a man from a noble family who serves as her teacher. The inevitable eventually happens and they fall in love with each other while protecting her secret.<cite>@eunbining0904</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Ji Hyun-woo and Lee Se-hee in “Young Lady and Gentleman” (KBS) - A family drama, “Young Lady and Gentleman” is about Lee Young-guk (Ji Hyun-woo) and Park Dan-dan (Lee Se-hee) and how their relationship bloomed. 40-year-old Lee Young-guk is a corporation’s chairman and a widower with three kids who hasn’t gotten over his wife’s death yet 27-year-old Park Dan-dan is a bold and bubbly woman who ends up becoming a live-in tutor at Lee Young-guk’s house. As they live in the same house, he develops feelings for her. <cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Yoo-jung in “Lovers of the Red Sky” (SBS) - This historical series with a fantasy twist features the intertwined fate of Ahn Hyo-seop’s Ha Ram (Ilwolseong) and Kim Yoo-jung’s Hong Cheon-gi. Ha Ram had an accident during a rain-making ritual when he was a kid, causing him to lose his sight; with the power of the Demon King, he survived the accident and is now an astrologer. Meanwhile, Hong Cheon-gi is a genius female painter who was born blind but whose eyes are miraculously healed due to the curse of the Demon King during the same accident Ha Ram was in. Years later, the two reunite and eventually fall for each other. <cite>Kocowa</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>BONUS! Cha Tae-hyun and Jinyoung in “Police University” - Jinyoung’s Kang Seon-ho and Krystal’s Oh Kang-hee sure had several kilig scenes in romance drama “Police University.” But the bromance of Kang Seon-ho (a freshman in the National Police University who’s skilled in hacking) and Cha Tae-hyun’s Yoo Dong-man (a detective with 20 years of experience in the field-turned-professor at the said university) here was indeed notable. Together, the two men investigate the internal corruption in their school.  <cite>KBS on YouTube</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div><div class="item-desc"><div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br/></div><p>Lead photos from <strong>@mbcdrama_now</strong> and <strong>@eunbining0904</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/people/celebrities/how-k-drama-hallyu-stars-spent-christmas-2021/32118" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Season’s Greetings From Our Favorite Hallyu Stars</a></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/people/celebrities/k-drama-stars-born-in-the-month-of-january/32165" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">K-Drama Stars Born In The Month Of January</a></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/people/celebrities/breakthrough-korean-actors-actresses-2020-to-2021/31516" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All Hail to the Breakthrough Korean Actors and Actresses of 2020-2021</a></div>