TOP KDRAMAS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2025
- Caitlin Connolly
- Jul 9
- 9 min read
It is July again which means WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE KDRAMAS I LOVED FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2025! I will be spending the month of July talking about my favorite dramas that I watched in the first half of 2025. That means the July podcast episodes will also be about my favorite dramas from the first half of 2025. This week it is all about Korean dramas. So, if you don't see a favorite of yours, it probably means I have not watched it yet OR I watched it, but it wasn't a favorite of mine.
This is just a list of Kdramas I liked and would recommend watching if you have not seen them yet. This list might change by the end of 2025, but it also might not, WE WILL SEE! This list also is the Kdramas that I completed in the first half of 2025 (January to June), so it does not just mean these Kdramas had to premiere and/or air in 2025. It will also not include any Kdramas I have completed this month (July) because this month is in the 2nd half of 2024. This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER and NOT RANKED!
We know FULL WELL how 2025 is going for me. SPOILER ALERT - it is not going well for me. This list was hard for me to make because I have not watched a lot of dramas in 2025 AND did not watch a lot of Kdramas for that matter. So, this list will be on the shorter side because there is just not a lot to choose from. It has been SLIM PICKINGS over here! I am sure people will not agree with me on some of the kdramas that are on this list but they are rated lower than what I normally put on this list because I didn't have many choices. I am hoping I can watch more Kdramas in the second half of 2025 to change this list around.
ALRIGHT HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE KDRAMAS I HAVE WATCHED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2025!
EPISODES: 8 (NETFLIX)
If I had watched and completed this drama in 2024, This Kdrama would have EASILY made my top Kdramas of 2024 list. This Kdrama definitely was not what I thought it was going to be. The trailer gave off a crime drama which I would say, that was a small part of this Kdrama. You watched this for the leads, characters and the relationships and it paid off. I loved how flawed the characters were. This was a character led drama, and I loved the exploration of these flawed characters. I loved the messaging of the drama. I loved the music and cinematography. I did think 1 storyline was not needed. I also wanted more context with some characters and story points but still a GREAT Kdrama. I am glad I got around to this one early in the year and didn't let it go to the wayside and not watch it. The use of color in this Kdrama was brilliant as well. I did a review off this Kdrama on the Daebak K Rambles Podcast as a Drama Trio episodes, so, you can go and listen to that now.
RATING: 9/10
EPISODES: 12 (NETFLIX)
This was not a perfect drama, but I still wanted to put it on this list. I MEAN THIS WAS A PHENOMENON WHEN IT WAS AIRING! Even with its faults, I still enjoyed the drama. The chemistry between the leads and the leads themselves were everything. I loved the makjang elements of this drama even if it didn't make sense. If you go into this Kdrama, not having expectations and just there for the fun, you will enjoy this Kdrama a lot. It definitely had its plot holes. I will say, I did not dislike the last episode as much as I thought I would. The pacing suffered later in the drama as well. I was heavily spoiled on this Kdrama because I was very late finishing this drama. So, that also affected my rating a bit because I was so spoiled on everything and I was EPISODES behind! There were also some unanswered questions by the end of the Kdrama for me. I still will recommend this drama to people even with its faults. I did a podcast review of this Kdrama on the Tea & Soju Podcast earlier in the year, so you can go check that out now.
RATING: 8.5/10
EPISODES: 10 (VIKI)
ONE OF MY FAVORITE KDRAMAS OF 2025 HANDS DOWN! I knew I was going to like this Kdrama a lot just with the trailer and the fact that I am a HUGE fan of Hwang Min Hyun. I did not anticipate HOW MUCH I WOULD LOVE THIS DRAMA! Hwang Min Hyun's character was a highlight of this drama for me. IT IS A FANTASTIC KDRAMA! I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Per usual, I loved the found family. The duality of Hwang Min Hyun's character was a lot of fun to watch. I loved rooting for the underdogs and watching them progress and improve. The support characters also added a lot of fun into the drama. I loved that Hwang Min Hun's character was basically collecting people like they were Pokémon for this study group but also how him and the other people in this study group affected and changed the other students at the school. I loved that the drama still kept some of its manhwa feel with the special effects, fight scenes and Male lead’s “super” fighting ability. The cinematography was fantastic! Trigger Warning because it is very violent, and some people might not like that.
RATING: 10/10
EPISODES: 8 (NETFLIX)
This is going to be a short review of this Kdrama because I had no dislikes for this Kdrama. It was a Kdrama right up my alley and I loved all of it. I AM PRAYING WE GET A SEASON 2! This is a fantastic binge. Another Kdrama that I am glad I managed to stick this in early 2025. I can't believe I almost did not watch this drama because it is a medical drama. I usually skip medical drama. You got found family. You got action balanced well with comedy. You care about the characters and cases. I thought the cast did quite well and had great chemistry. You really become attached to these characters. I would love to see a Season 2 and Season 3 of this drama. It didn’t even end on a cliffhanger. I do have to put a trigger warning in here for surgery scenes and wound scenes. That might be one negative for some people. You see a lot of details with both the surgery scenes and wound scenes like organs and blood. I highly recommend this!
RATING: 10/10
EPISODES: 12 (HULU/DISNEY +)
This is another drama that had unexpected results for me. I DEFINITELY clicked play on this drama once I saw that Kim Hye Soo and Jung Sung Il were part of the cast. Jung Sung Il NEEDS to part of a proper mature romance already! These 2 had AMAZING chemistry together! Of course, this drama is another case of a crime Kdrama with no romance, where you want romance because of the chemistry. THIS KDRAMA WAS ADVERSTISED WRONG! It was advertised as a comedy BUT MY GOD WAS IT DARK! It was a little chaotic in the beginning but found its footing. As I said great chemistry with the cast. The acting in this was superb, especially from the villains. The villains stood out a lot to me in this drama. I wish we got more background of the main cast - seemed to skim over it a bit. It DEFINITELY left it open for a season 2 which might not be a plus for everyone. I would watch a season 2 though.
RATING: 8.5/10
CONNECTION (2024) (REWATCH)
EPISODES: 14 (VIKI)
Another Kdrama I am not going to spend too much time talk about again. This was one of my favorite Kdramas of 2024. You can go back to that list and read my thoughts on that. This was a rewatch for me. It holds up and still one of my favorite Kdrama SO, it needed to be on this list again. I said that this was a nearly PERFECT Kdrama for me. I still stand by that statement with the rewatch. It is still my favorite role of Jisung's that I have watched. The acting is still PHENOMENAL! I still say that a tiny twist at the end, I did not agree with, and I believe should not have been included in the Kdrama. It is written well with LOTS of tension and good twists. I still loved the found family in this. Basically, I agree with my review and rating of this crime Kdrama from when I first watched it. One of my favorite crime Kdramas ever. I also did a podcast review for this over on the Daebak K-Rambles podcast so, you can check that out now.
RATING: 9.5/10
FLOWER OF EVIL (2020) (REWATCH)
EPISODES: 16 (VIKI)
Another Kdrama I am not going to spend too much time on because I have talked about this Kdrama COUNTLESS TIMES! I also rewatched this for a podcast review episode on my own podcast so, you can go listen to that now. LISTEN - there is a reason why I have rewatched this 4 times now. IT IS AMAZING! I have a few quibbles with it but nothing that derails it. I still had my same issues that I had with the ending as I always do. I am really curious about the cdrama remake of this drama so, I plan to watch it. That drama is called Yin Man Zhi Shi. I just love this Kdrama. I love the acting and I think it is a great intro into crime Kdramas.
RATING: 9.5/10
EPISODES: 16 (VIKI)
I liked this Kdrama more than I thought I would. I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely not what I got. I think my expectations were low just because it is such an older drama but I pleasantly surprised. If you like Kdramas like The Worst of Evil, you will like this one. This drama also had more depth to it than I assumed it would. If you like dramas about undercover missions and revenge, this is the drama for you! You have drama and light makjang. It does have some over the top acting but also moments where the acting is great. I loved the bromance in this drama. I also thought the characters were complicated and were not one note. It just was so surprising, and I am really glad I checked this one out. I also loved this dramas makjang tendencies. I did a podcast review episode for this Kdrama on my own podcast so, you can check that out now.
RATING: 8.5/10
EPISODES: 16 (HULU/DISNEY +)
I should have finished this a while ago. It STARTED OFF STRONG, but I had issues with the ending. This is definitely one of my favorite Park Hyung Sik roles. The entire cast acted well. I LOVED the main villain but there were too many villains eventually. The romance was nice at times but also stopped halfway through and wasn’t needed. Some outcomes of characters were predictable and anticlimactic. The OSTs are great. It is CLEARLY set up for S2 which I would watch. I know not everyone will agree with me on this one but I sort of understood why the ending went how it went but I also was mad about it. I still enjoyed it - especially Park Hyung Sik.
RATING: 8.5/10
EPISODES: 7 (NETFLIX)
I liked this Kdrama a lot! It isn't for everyone of course. TW FOR VIOLENCE & GORE (a lot) A straight forward revenge plot that didn’t have much depth, but did it need depth to be good? It has FANTASTIC fight choreography. It had FANTASTIC fight cinematography. A few things at the end disappointed me especially with the outcome of some characters but not a lot - ENJOYED THIS ONE! So Ji Sub really stood out in this role, and I am glad to see him back on my screen.
RATING: 9/10
And there you have it - my list for my TOP KDRAMAS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2025!
If you want to look at my list for the first half of 2024, you can read it here.
I know this list is not what is normally is like. In other years, it was a lot harder to make this list because I had watched twice as many dramas by June than I did in 2025. I was sort of stretching what I wanted to put in this list for 2025 because I didn't have a lot to choose from. I already know this list will change by the end of 2025 because I already finished 1 kdrama in July that would be on this list if I had completed it in June. We will see how this list looks at the end of 2025 and how I feel about the entire year as a whole. My entire watching style has been impacted in 2025 so, 2025 is going to look very different in what I complete and like by the end of the year.
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