Here are the best Asian dramas you shouldn't miss!

Must-Watch Dramas

Campus life at Seoyeon University has always been relatively peaceful, but when an anonymous post pops up on the school’s online community, the entire campus is flipped upside down. Posted by a mysterious individual, known only as “M”, the entire school is abuzz with curiosity and excitement. Determined to uncover the identity of the mysterious “M”, students all across the campus set out to uncover the truth. But the task will prove to be anything but easy.

Second year student in the Business Administration Department, Ma Joo A (Park Hye Soo), has taken a keen interest in uncovering the identity of “M”. While she has no interest in pursuing either her own dreams, nor any sort of romantic relationship, she does have a strong desire to solve the school’s current mystery. Alongside her is Cha Min Ho (Jaehyun (NCT)), a second year student in the Computer Science Department, and Joo A’s oldest friend. Together with Economics major, Seo Ji Min (Noh Jung Ui), and Business Administration major, Park Ha Neul (Bae Hyeon Seong), the four are determined to discover “M”’s true identity and bring an end to this mystery, once and for all.

As their journey towards the truth progresses, the four friends find themselves in an ever-changing tangle of morphing relationships and budding romances. With emotions high and hearts aflutter, uncovering the identity of “M” has never been more complicated. Will the friends be able to solve this mystery or will “M”’s true identity remain hidden forever?

Based on the web series, “Love Playlist”, “Dear.M” is a 2021 mystery romance drama directed by Park Jin Woo and Seo Joo Wan.

Dear.M

The "Mysterious M" team

The residents of Hera Palace, a luxury penthouse apartment with 100 floors, have many secrets and hidden ambitions. Sim Su Ryeon, who was born into wealth, is the queen of the penthouse apartment. Cheon Seo Jin, the prima donna of the residence, does all she can to give everything to her daughter. Oh Yoon Hee comes from a poor family background, but she strives to enter high society by becoming the queen of the penthouse, the pinnacle of success in her eyes.

The Penthouse

The Penthouse Tangles Team

Fuji TV

Misaki Sakurai (Mirei Kiritani) is down on her luck. Her dreams of becoming a top-level pastry chef with her own business seem as distant now as they have ever been and her love life appears to have stalled. To top it all off, she has just been fired from her job, and could find herself out of money and out of a home. But just when things are looking like they couldn’t get any worse, she finally gets a lucky break when her old high school flame Chiaki Shibasaki (Shohei Miura) appears on the scene and not only offers her a part-time job at his restaurant over the summer, but also a place to stay – in the house where her and his two younger brothers the cooking school dropout and womanizer Toma (Nomura Shuhei) and the unflappably patient Kanata (Yamazaki Kento) also live there.

The brothers, also talented cooks in their own right, and are as full of charm as Chiaki Shibasaki. And as Misaki Sakurai starts to live with them, she starts to realize that she might have romantic feelings not only for her former flame, but also his siblings. Will true love end up on the menu for Misaki Sakurai – and can she get her culinary dreams back on track?

“A Girl and Three Sweethearts” is a 2016 Japanese drama series that was directed by Hiro Kanai, Ryo Tanaka, and Tomonobu Moriwaki.

A Girl & Three Sweethearts

🍰Sweet Treat🍰-Team

Tokyo MX

Shinohara Kanon (Okamoto Rei) is 33 years old. She works hard in her job as a home designer, but she has come to a crossroads in her life. She realizes that she is now entering her mid-thirties and spends her downtime drinking and generally being slovenly at home. She has had romantic experiences in the past, but is nowhere near marriage. Her financial situation leaves also leaves much to be desired... Life, it seems, is passing her by.

But one day, at an event organized by a friend, she bumps into a younger, handsome, well-dressed man. She learns that his name is Shirosaki Makoto (Nagatsuma Reo), that he is 28, and that he is the CEO of a company president. Later, he springs a surprise on her, asking her to marry him – on certain conditions. Unsure if this is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn her life around or a situation she should leave well alone, she hesitates. But Shirosaki Makoto is insistent – and as her 34th birthday approaches, could marriage really be in the cards for her?

“Marriage with Me? Seriously?” is a 2023 Japanese drama series that was directed by Hirokazu Fujisawa.

Marriage with Me? Seriously?

Past events at Seoyeon High School have a repercussion on a group of students preparing to graduate six years later. A tragic romance that ended in sadness when a girl tried and failed to stop a young man from taking a fatal decision. Now, the paths of teenagers “from the past” appear destined to cross with those of three present-day students.

The group comprises the teenagers “from the past,” including Lee Ha Min (Seo Ji Hoon), who, to those who do not know him well, seems to be full of joy and brightness. But in his deepest thoughts, darkness stalks him constantly. There is also Han So Mang (So Ju Yeon), a warm-hearted but shy girl who wants to help others. In the present, Lee Jae Min (Kim Min Kyu) is a popular and tender student who also hides sadness and a past tinged with pain. There is also the studious and kind Yoon Bo Mi (Kang Hye Won) is a sweet, model student – as well as her devoted best friend Kang Sun Hee (Oh Yoo Jin). Rounding out the number is the more temperamental gamer Choi Jin Young (Yoon Hyun Soo) whose thorny attitude also hides a tender side. What does life – and love – have in store for this group of students as they prepare to become adults?

This drama was based on a web-based cartoon of the same name, which was authored by Hongduck and illustrated by Nemone.

“Seasons of Blossom” is a 2022 South Korean drama series that was directed by Wang Hye Ryung.

Seasons of Blossom

🌸The season of flowers🌸

Such is life. Sometimes, you are grateful and happy that you are alive, but then you lose the reason to live when you gradually lose things or people that are dear to you. When you face hardship, you start to wonder if living just means you are walking down a path of misery. However, while you are walking down that path alone, there comes a time when you become desperate for someone's hand. That hand may save you from lingering in your own misery and may also spark the desire to live although life is full of hardship. This drama shows that exact moment when two hands reach out to each other and bloom, keeping one another warm and safe. Come and Hug Me wishes to tell the viewers that although life may not be full of miracles, there is still that small hope of its getting better.

Come and Hug Me

KBS02

As a young boy, Moo Hak grew up in the market as a peddler. Although he is ignorant, he is strong-willed and knows how to make money. He is now the managing director of Dondon F and B, a global restaurant chain that his family started as a small gamjatang diner. However, he isn't dignified and only cares about money. He meets Da Li, the only daughter and child of an upper-class family who runs an art gallery. She has a profound deep knowledge of things. She gets faced with bankruptcy due to her father's sudden death and begins a hard life. Moo Hak and Da Li start a relationship as a creditor and debtor over the art gallery. Will these two polar opposites understand each other and fall in love?

Dali and Cocky Prince

Dali and Prince Lovers Team 

Youku

A young woman yearns to learn about her past and finds a story she didn’t expect.

Lin Jing Yun (An Yue Xi) is a food critic and food magazine editor based in France. She travels to Shanghai to explore the local cuisines and rediscover her heritage. What she finds is an old family diary belonging to a woman named Duan Tian Ying (An Yue Xi), who lived during 1930s Shanghai. 

In the diary, Tian Ying talks about her torn feelings between the gentle Xu Xing Cheng (Kevin Chu) and the arrogant Luo Fu Sheng (Zhu Yi Long). However, Hong Lan (Eva Cheng) has a secret crush on Fu Sheng and Duan Tian Ci (Alen Fang) is in love with Tian Ying and will do anything to protect her.

What will Jing Yun discover about her own history through this diary?

“Granting You a Dreamlike Life” is a 2018 Chinese drama series. It is based on a novel by Chen Ju Zi.

Granting You a Dreamlike Life

🌟 You Are My Sunshine 🌟

Ye Fei Mo (Lawrence Wong) is the CEO of Anning Culture, a media production company. Although he is clever and good-looking, he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Instead, he mopes around, thinking about the top actress who split up with him, leaving him brokenhearted. His mother has been trying to set him up with women ever since, but he rebuffs all of their advances. Anning runs into difficulties, however, and executives hatch a plan that involves Ye Fei Mo appearing to have a girlfriend.

They eventually convince a woman named Wen Xiao Nuan (Xu Hao) to pretend to be his girlfriend. She is trying to raise funds by working as an extra and a bit-part actress to support an opera troupe in her hometown. Eventually, the rouse becomes full-time: Wen Xiao Nuan must continue to keep up the act, and Ye Fei Mo has no choice but to play along. But as the web of lies becomes more intricate, a spark of genuine romance ignites between them. Could they find love in this strange, fake “relationship?”

“Girlfriend” is a 2020 Chinese drama series that was directed by Ming Yan.

Girlfriend

The Love Act Team

As high school students, Tsumugi Aoba (Haruna Kawaguchi) and So Sakura (Ren Meguro) shared a keen interest in music. With their interests so similarly aligned, it was only natural for a friendship to blossom between them. Over time, that friendship developed into something deeper, a relationship that might have come to last a lifetime, if not for So’s sudden change of heart.

Calling their relationship off without any warning or reason, So not only broke Tsumugi’s heart, but his immediate disappearance afterward left her completely crushed. Eight years later, Tsumugi may occasionally wonder what happened to So but has, in all other ways, moved on with her life. Now living in Tokyo, Tsumugi works part-time at a large music store where she is free to completely immerse herself in the music she loves so dearly. Perfectly happy with her life, Tsumugi might have eventually forgotten about So completely, if fate hadn’t decided their paths needed to cross once again.

Noticing So at work one day, Tsumugi musters up the courage to approach him, only to find that in the eight years since they last spoke, he has almost completely lost his hearing. With sparks of their old flame beginning to reignite within her heart, will Tsumugi find a way to solidify her place in So’s now-silent world?

A story of fate and second chances, “Silent” is a 2022 Japanese romance drama directed by Hiroki Kazama.

Silent

The Sound of Love Team

As a standup paddleboard instructor, summer is unquestionably Natsumi Aoi’s (Nana Mori) busiest season. Living and working at a popular seaside destination, it’s only natural for Natsumi to meet people from all walks of life. Little did she know that this summer, those people would ultimately change her life forever.

As Natsumi’s childhood friend, Takumi Makino (Fuju Kamio) has always been by her side. Never leaving his seaside home, Takumi is now a carpenter who still has a knack for being around anytime Natsumi needs him. Kento Mizushima (Shotaro Mamiya), on the other hand, is an out-of-towner who also works in construction. But his major company ties and degree from a prestigious university set him miles apart from Takumi. Joining him on this seaside adventure is Osamu Sasaki (Riku Hagiwara), a second-year clinical resident and Kento’s high school best friend. Enjoying a little seaside escape of their own are Airi Takigawa (Ai Yoshikawa), Mamoru Yamauchi (Alan Shirahama), Lisa Ogura (Sawa Nimura), and Sosuke Hayakawa (Koji Mizukami).

Coming from all walks of life, this group of young people finds their fates slowly entwining during their seaside adventures. Eventually forced to confront their complex feelings and bottled-up emotions, will any of them find the one thing they’re all so desperately searching for?

Everything a seaside summer romance should be, “Cinderellas of Midsummer” is a 2023 Japanese romance drama directed by Ryo Tanaka.

Cinderellas of Midsummer

⛱️ Summer Guys Team🌞

Kawai Yoshiko (Sakurako Ohara) once had grand plans for her romantic future. She wanted to marry at age 26, have her first child at age 27, and give birth to her second child at age 29. But now, just a few days ahead of her 29th birthday, all her plans appear to have come to naught. Her boyfriend dumps her, leaving her single and alone. In her despair, she goes to a cafe to wallow in her solace and unhappiness. But there, she runs into Yuki Masaomi (Matsuda Genta), a junior colleague from work.

At the office, Yuki Masaomi is nicknamed “AI,” due to the fact that he looks incredibly handsome, but is emotionally cold, and does not seem to have any empathy. But when Kawai Yoshiko tells her colleague about why she is so unhappy, he comes up with a remarkable offer. If she cannot find a romantic partner before her 30th birthday, he will marry her instead! Could this be his way of telling her that he likes her? Could they be compatible? Or will this offer lead her to further heartbreak?

“The Date of Marriage” is a 2023 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yoshihiro Fukagawa, Takahiro Ouchi, and Hiroshi Mori.

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