We asked the K-drama-watching veterans of the r/KDRAMA subreddit for their recommendations for dramas that gave them all the feels, and they answered our call. Check out their curated collection if you're in the mood for an emotional roller coaster!

K-Dramas for Every Emotion

Im Sol (Kim Hye Yoon) is devastated by the sudden and tragic death of her favorite star, Ryu Sun Jae (Byun Woo Seok), a former swimmer turned K-pop idol. But in the midst of her anguish, she magically time slips back to 2008 – when Sun Jae is still only 19 years old! Delighted that she has a chance to help him avert his unhappy future fate, Sol makes it her mission to change the future... and maybe find love along the way. Will her efforts to divert the course of the past prove successful – or could they have unexpected consequences? This 2024 South Korean drama was adapted from a web novel named “The Best of Tomorrow” by Kim Bbang and was directed by Kim Tae Yeop and Yoon Jong Ho.

Lovely Runner

✨ The Marvellous ✨ team

Na Bong Sun (Park Bo Young), a timid assistant chef with a secret crush, gets entangled in a supernatural scheme when Shin Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gi), a ghost with unfinished romantic business, uses Bong Sun’s body as a vessel to complete her final wish. As Soon Ae's bold attempts to experience love affect Bong Sun’s life, the once shy assistant begins to catch the eye of her star chef crush, Kang Sun Woo (Jo Jung Suk), who’s nursing a broken heart of his own. Both women strive to fulfill their desires – one for a love she never had, and the other for a chance at romance. Will their intertwined fates lead to unexpected romance and closure, or will their desires remain unfulfilled? This 2015 Korean drama series was directed by Yoo Je Won.

Oh My Ghost

The Ghostwriters@viki

In 2023, Ha Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) is a high schooler and a budding rock musician. He stumbles upon a magical music store that sends him back in time to 1995… where he comes face-to-face with his father Ha Lee Chan (Choi Hyun Wook), who is still in high school! Things get even weirder when he discovers that Lee Chan has a crush on the icy cellist Se Kyeong (Seol In Ah) – not Eun Gyeol's mother, Cheong Ah (Shin Eun Soo)! To try and make things right, Eun Gyeol must join a band fronted by his father. Can Eun Gyeol bring his future parents together? And will he ever get back to his “modern” life? This 2023 South Korean drama series was directed by Son Jong Hyun.

Twinkling Watermelon

🍉Viva la Watermelon🍉Team

Lee Yeong Joon (Park Seo Joon) is the arrogant hotshot vice president of his family’s company, thanks to the tireless efforts of his incredibly talented secretary, Kim Mi So (Park Min Young). With her by his side for the last nine years, Yeong Joon has been able to appear like the shining star he believes he is. But when Mi So suddenly decides to quit, Yeong Joon quickly realizes just how important she is... and not just to his career. Jealous over his older brother, Lee Seong Yeon’s (Lee Tae Hwan) growing relationship with Mi So, Yeong Joon decides it’s time to get his secretary back, no matter what. Based on the novel of the same name by Jung Kyung Yoon, this 2018 South Korean romantic comedy series was directed by Park Joon Hwa.

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim

The Perfect Secretaries Team

Dramax

Arrogant Lee Jae In (Ha Seok Jin) is stunned when his grandfather conditions his inheritance on marrying sweet schoolteacher, Kim Da Hyeon (Jeon So Min). Reluctantly, Jae In signs an engagement contract with Da Hyeon, despite being strangers. As the couple endure months together, their differences seem insurmountable, but time may soften even the hardest hearts. Directed by Kang Cheol Woo, this 2016 South Korean romantic comedy series was based on a novel of the same name by Hyun Go Woon.

1% of Something

ღ 100% Fabulous ღ

Kang Ji Yun (Han Ji Min) is the confident and accomplished CEO of a leading headhunting firm. Despite working in a fiercely competitive industry, Ji Yun thrives and dedicates herself fully to her work. However, she's completely lost with even the simplest daily task outside of work. This is where her secretary Yu Eun Ho (Lee Jun Hyuk) shines: he's an extremely capable worker, and raising his six-year-old child alone helped him further develop life skills that transfer seamlessly to organizing Ji Yun's life. But as the line between their professional and personal relationship begins to blur, something else seems to spark between them!

Love Scout

🎯Heart Headhunters💘

JTBC

Despite not being biologically related, Kim Sanha (Hwang In Youp), Yoon Juwon (Jung Chaeyeon), and Kang Haejun (Bae Hyeonseong) share a close bond with each other. The trio spent their adolescence raised by Juwon's father Jeongjae (Choi Won Young) and Sanha's father Daeuk (Choi Moo Sung), who did their best to give them a happy childhood as they healed from past trauma. Upon reaching adulthood, however, Sanha and Haejun sought out their biological families, leaving Juwon behind. Ten years later, the five members of their found family reunite, but things aren't the same as they used to be – Juwon holds some resentment after feeling abandoned by Sanha and Haejun, while the two boys are struggling with new romantic feelings for Juwon and their own familial issues. Can these chosen siblings work out their feelings with each other, and will romance form between them? This drama was adapted from the 2020 Chinese drama "Go Ahead."

Family by Choice

Heartfelt Family Team

Since losing her husband, Jeong Soon Deok (Cho Yi Hyun) has lived an eventful life, moonlighting as a matchmaker for eligible bachelors and would-be brides. Soon Deok’s path crosses with that of Shim Jeong Woo (Rowoon), a talented scholar whose princess bride died moments after their marriage. Together, this duo must pool their wits to find husbands for a group of important noblewomen. But will playing Cupid for others also put them back on the path to love? This 2023 South Korean drama series was directed by Hwang Seung Gi and Kim Soo Jin.

The Matchmakers

The Fabulous Matchmakers

Park Dong Hoon (Lee Sun Gyun), a middle-aged engineer, struggles with a deeply unhappy life, working under his college junior Do Joon Yeon (Kim Young Min) while supporting his unemployed brothers and mother. His wife's secret affair with Joon Yeon further complicates his miserable existence. When Lee Ji An (IU), a desperate co-worker drowning in debt and caring for her invalid grandmother, discovers Dong Hoon accepting an unexpected bribe, she attempts to exploit his vulnerability to improve her own circumstances. Despite her initial manipulative intentions, an unexpected connection forms between them as they both seek to escape their respective hardships. Caught in a web of personal struggles and corporate tensions, Dong Hoon and Ji An gradually develop a profound understanding that might help them heal their deep emotional wounds. This is a 2018 South Korean drama directed by Kim Won Seok that explores the complexities of human resilience and connection.

My Mister

The Lonely Team

Having long dreamt of the day she could move into a place of her own, Police Officer Yoon Sae Bom (Han Hyo Joo) is counting down the days until the construction of the city’s brand-new high-rise apartment building is complete. With her long-time friend and fellow officer, Detective Jung Yi Hyun (Park Hyung Sik) planning to move into the complex as well, Sae Bom is certain her new home is going to be nothing short of perfect. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be more wrong. Not long after moving in, a strange sickness begins to spread throughout the building, leaving the city with no choice but to quarantine the residents. Cut off from the outside world, will the uninfected residents find a way to save themselves from this living nightmare? This 2021 South Korean fantasy action thriller series was directed by Ahn Gil Ho.

Happiness

Oh Yeon Joo (Han Hyo Joo) is searching for her missing webtoon-writing father when she is sucked into the strange world of her father’s comic creation. In this dimension, she comes face-to-face with Kang Cheol (Lee Jong Suk), an Olympic gold medal winner and self-made millionaire… and the main character in her father’s unfinished masterpiece “W.” Yeon Joo soon discovers that she can only escape from this bizarre universe by winning the feelings of Cheol. Will she ever return to the “real” world – and find love on the way? This 2016 South Korean drama series was directed by Jung Dae Yoon.

Cassiopeia

Veteran Korean language teacher Seo Hye Jin (Jung Ryeo Won)’s stable and pressure-free life is unsettled by the return of her former pupil, the one-time troublemaker Lee Jun Ho (Wi Ha Joon). A decade ago, she helped him gain admission to a prestigious university. He secretly fell for her then, and has admired her from afar ever since. In the pursuit of love, he gives up his job at a major company to become a Korean language teacher – and be closer to Hye Jin again. Will his plan work? And could this former teacher and student find love, despite their sizable age gap? This 2024 South Korean romance drama series was directed by Ahn Pan Seok.

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