Forget Crash Landing on You: 10 Great Overlooked K-Dramas You Haven’t Watched Yet

10. Backstreet Rookie (2020)

Life is full of twists and turns, and those who were below you yesterday can become your bosses tomorrow. A troublemaking high-school tough girl applies for a part-time job in a small family-owned convenience store, but she doesn’t expect to learn that her superior is the guy she was bossing around as a student just a few years ago.

9. Blood (2015)

Hiding in plain sight is often the best strategy, and what place is more obvious for a vampire to be in than a hospital? An eternally young vampire doctor works tirelessly to save his patients’ lives as he struggles with his bloodthirst. To avoid temptation, he distances himself from others, but a young hotshot physician piques his attention.

8. Crash Course in Romance (2023)

Who says that giving up on your dreams won’t take you on a wonderful journey? A former national league handball player retires to look after her family and help her daughter with her college entry exams. Between managing a small store and dealing with her child’s new tutor, she finds herself caring for him more than she should.

7. Angry Mom (2015)

High-school bullying is no laughing matter, and it’s down to responsible parents to help their kids. When a young mother learns about her daughter’s troubles in school, she goes undercover and enrolls there, too. Her secret is that she used to be a real tough girl back in her days, and the bullies can’t fathom what’s coming for them.

6. When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

To be a good police officer, you need to care for the people you protect — but perhaps, that care better stay off the personal level. A police detective falls in love with a young single mother, but their town is terrorized by a serial killer, and she is the next target. Helping her settle down and saving her life become his only duties.

5. Secret Love Affair (2014)

People like to say that love is love, but in reality, many unions are frowned upon. When a 20-year-old piano student and his sophisticated 40-year-old tutor fall in love with each other, they must keep their relationship a secret to avoid judgment. But no love can flourish under such constant stress, so they’ll have to make a choice.

4. Dong Yi (2010)

Rags to riches stories are always satisfying; even more so, when a protagonist has a noble goal. After her family was wrongly accused of killing noblemen, a young girl secretly becomes a maid in the palace to learn more about the attacks. But the king takes a liking to her, and she quickly rises through the ranks, becoming his consort.

3. The King 2 Hearts (2012)

Forbidden love stops being such when it’s called diplomacy. In an alternate reality, a South Korean crown prince is tricked into an arranged marriage with the daughter of a high-ranking North Korean military official. The two young people struggle to put their differences aside, but when tragedy strikes, they must unite to save each other.

2. Under the Queen's Umbrella (2022)

Being a mother is hard, and so is being a queen. But being both at once and not slacking in any department sounds impossible! When the South Korean queen realizes the traditional methods don’t work on her mischievous sons, she embarks on a personal quest to turn the two troublemakers into proper crown princes.

1. Autumn in My Heart (2000)

If we had a won for every story that perfectly executed the “switched babies” and “separated childhood friends falling in love years later” tropes at the same time, we’d have exactly one won — but it would be more than enough. Autumn in My Heart does the perfect job of making you root for the main characters and their unlikely relationship.