TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025
- Caitlin Connolly
- 6 hours ago
- 8 min read
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! We are in January 2026 which means it is time to look at my top dramas of 2025. If you guys have listened to the Tea and Soju - A C-drama Podcast for The Drama Trio's End of the Year Wrap Up episode, some of these Kdramas will be familiar. If you have not listened to that episode or any of the other Drama Trio episodes on the podcast, you can listen to the podcast here.
As per usual, just like other years, I have split this list into 2 blogposts. This blogpost is all about Kdramas. The next blogpost will be all of the non-Korean dramas I loved from 2025. NOW, we know how bad 2025 was for me both personally and drama watching wise. I don't have a top 10 for 2025. If I included ratings that are under 9, I would have a top 10 but I decided not to do that. There will be some honorable mentions at the end of blogpost to include these dramas though. I also did not include rewatches on this list. I would have had a top 10 if I included those as well. The rewatches will be mentioned in my honorable mentions as well. I just want not in a good space mentally/personally in 2025 which affected my dramas watching. I also don't think Kdramas were very strong in 2025. I have seen better years. That being said, I still watched some amazing Kdramas in 2025 that deserve to be talked about and recognized. I am SURE my list is going to look VASTLY different than other people's lists for 2025.
Disclaimer (as always), my list of Kdramas of 2025 is in no particular order and the dramas are not ranked EXCEPT THE TOP 3. I just had to watch them and complete the dramas in 2025. Most of the dramas I will be talking about though are 2025 dramas. If your favorites aren't on this list, it PROBABLY means I never watched them. I know I missed A LOT of Kdramas from 2025. Let me know what your favorite Kdramas of 2025 were? I am curious if any of mine are on your top Kdramas of 2025 list. I make these lists to suggest some good dramas for you to watch in the future that you might have missed when they aired OR to try out a new genre or type of Kdrama.
MY TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025!!
Episodes: 10 (VIKI)
This Kdrama and The Trauma Code could have switched spots. They are both rated 10/10 and are my top Kdramas of 2025. STUDY GROUP IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE KDRAMAS EVER! 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)
As I said, The Trauma Code could be switched with Study Group and take the number 1 spot on this list. They are VERY CLOSE for me. There was really nothing I disliked about this Kdrama. I AM SO GLAD WE ARE GETTING MORE SEASONS!! I can't wait to revisit this cast. This is a fantastic binge. 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. Ju Ji Hoon was great in this drama and delight to watch. I thought the cast did quite well and had great chemistry. You really become attached to these characters. I loved that you got growth with a bunch of characters. I thought it had some great comedy. I thought it had a good balance of hospital politics and character stories. Yes, it was a bit unrealistic, but I was ok with that. 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: 6 (NETFLIX)
This is nearly a perfect drama for me. This was an example of a masterclass in writing. The twists & connections were insane! The cliffhangers were a lot of fun. It took a couple of episodes to get into, but the ending was SUPER satisfying. Also, you will hate almost everyone in this drama, very few people are likable. The fact that you dislike almost everyone in this Kdrama also is an example on how good the acting is in this Kdrama. When everything was revealed, it blew my mind how everything was connected by the end. No threads were left not tied up. Karma being the title was very fitting, and you will understand by the end of the drama. I know not a lot of people watched this due to the amount of violence that is in this Kdrama. You are really missing out on an amazing Kdrama that I felt is very underrated for 2025. TW: gore & violence
RATING: 9.5/10
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: 7 (NETFLIX)
This Kdrama is not for everyone. MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING for Violence and Gore. There is a lot of it. I love that this kdrama was unapologetically a straightforward revenge plot. It did not have a lot of depth, but it didn't need a lot of depth. Sometimes you just want to watch a guy beat up a bunch of other people. It had FANTASTIC fight choreography. I also loved the camera work during a lot of the fight scenes. The drama tried some interesting things to make the fight scenes stand out. That did not go unnoticed. It is not a perfect drama. Some things at the end disappointed me especially with the outcome of some characters but OVERALL, I enjoyed this one. So Ji Sub really stood out in this role, and I am glad to see him back on my screen in 2025. I already can't wait to see him in his new drama in 2026. I also like to give shoutout to Choo Young Woo and Gong Myung. I thought they both knocked it out of the park with their villain roles.
RATING: 9/10
Movie (NETFLIX)
I know this is not a drama, but I had to mention it anyway. I was late to watching this movie because I almost didn't watch it. THANKS TO BECKY (Don't Sue Rebecca on Tiktok) (who you have heard on the podcast before), I finally watched this movie after like 2 months of avoiding it. I now have watched it at least 3 times. Becky and I even did a podcast review of this movie on the podcast which you can go listen to now. This was a lot better than I thought it would be. I loved the concept. The music is catchy. I listened to the soundtrack a lot in 2025. I loved that they went all in with choreo & the kpop world. I loved seeing all of the Korean culture. I loved the references to kdramas. It is downrated because I had lots of unanswered questions by the end & the pace was really fast to me. Too fast in my opinion.
RATING: 9/10
Episodes: 16 (AMAZON PRIME)
This is a Kdrama that I don't think a lot of people watched. I think this is underrated for 2025. Even though this Kdrama was one of my most anticipated Kdramas of 2025, I liked this more than I thought I was going too. I went into the Kdrama thinking it was just going to be a comedy crime Kdrama. It was - some parts of the Kdrama were HILARIOUS! Other parts of the Kdrama were TRAUMA GALORE! Park Bo Gum’s acting is brilliant. I LOVED the villain. One of the best Villains I watched in 2025. Also, some of the support villains were a lot of fun to watch as well. It could have trimmed some episodes & fluff off. The K Trauma was not resolved how I wanted it to be. People might be mad that it could have a Season 2 if the Kdrama wanted to make one, but it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. I loved the found family. THE FOUND FAMILY WAS SO GOOD IN THIS KDRAMA! Let me tell you, the characters needed the found family as well because they all had baggage in this drama. I just have to ask - WHERE HAS LEE SANG YI BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!
RATING: 9/10
HONORABLE MENTIONS
These are my honorable mentions for 2025. Dramas that were not rated 9-10 and also dramas that were rewatches/older dramas aka not 2025 dramas.
Buried Hearts (2025) - 8.5/10 (In Hindsight, this should be more like an 8 or maybe even a 7.5)
When The Phone Rings (2024) - 8.5/10 (In Hindsight, this should be more like an 8 or maybe even a 7.5)
Unmasked (2025) - 8.5/10
Connection (2024) (rewatch) - 9.5/10
Flower of Evil (2020) (rewatch) - 9.5/10
Time Between Dog and Wolf (2007) - 8.5/10
Signal (2016) (rewatch) - 9.5/10
Tempest (2025) - 8.5/10 (In Hindsight, this should be more like an 8 or maybe even a 7.5)
THAT IS MY LIST OF TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025!
I know I said I did not have a good year with drama watching and I still stand with that statement BUT I think I still managed to watch some FANTASTIC Kdramas in 2025.
What are some of your favorite Kdramas of 2025? Did some of my favorite Kdramas made your list?
CHECK OUT MY OTHER LIST - TOP 10 NON - KOREAN DRAMAS OF 2024 WHEN IT COMES OUT!
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