TOP NON-KOREAN DRAMAS OF 2025
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
This is PART 2 of looking back at 2025 and talking about my favorite dramas in 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 the NON - KOREAN dramas I watched in and loved in 2025. If you have not read my TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025 blogpost, you can read it here. NOW, as I said in my TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025 blogpost, we know how bad 2025 was for me both personally and drama watching wise. I don't have a top 10 for 2025 just like with my Kdramas of 2025. I didn't even watch 10 2025 NON-KOREAN dramas in 2025. Just like my Kdramas list, I decided to just keep the dramas that were rated between 9-10 in my list. There will be some honorable mentions at the end of blogpost to include dramas that were rated 8.5. I also did not include rewatches on this list. I MIGHT have had a top 10 if I included those. The rewatches will be mentioned in my honorable mentions as well. I just was not in a good space mentally/personally in 2025 which affected my dramas watching. I wanted to explore more of the 2025 NON-KOREAN dramas of 2025. GOD KNOWS, I have a list a MILE LONG of 2025 Non-Korean dramas I still need to watch. I DEFINITELY have had better years. That being said, I still watched some amazing dramas 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 NON-KOREAN of 2025 is in no particular order and the dramas are not ranked EXCEPT THE TOP 2. 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 non-Korean dramas from 2025. Let me know what your favorite non-Korean dramas of 2025 were? I am curious if any of mine are on your top non-Korean dramas 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 new country.
TOP NON-KOREAN DRAMAS OF 2025!!
Episodes: 10 (AMAZON PRIME)
I probably have talked about this Jdrama a MILLION times at this point. I LOVED that this version was darker than the Kdrama version. I definitely liked this version more especially since it took out the one part of the Kdrama version I didn’t like. This drama had great chemistry with leads. It had great acting especially the villains. This Jdrama had some comedy but overall had a lot more serious tone which I appreciated. I loved the OSTs. The villains were more insane and darker, and I love a good villain. I loved the changes that this version did which made it uniquely their own. I had a few minor issues with the drama, but I could ignore those and give it a 10/10. I hope that Japan keeps these collabs up because they are fun to watch.
RATING: 10/10
Episodes: 36 (VIKI)
I can see why people are saying this cdrama is their drama of the year. I loved the lead couple. I loved how they complimented each other and their banter. I loved how smart the FL was. I loved how the male lead had a hard exterior but had a kind heart. I loved their relationship and how they opened up eventually together. I loved how the couple became a power couple and supported each other eventually. I loved the Wei brother group around Wei Shao. The ending seemed rushed, and it was too easy to get rid of the villains BUT FANTASTIC DRAMA! I did a cdrama review on the podcast in 2025 so, you can go listen to that right now.
RATING: 9/10
Episodes: 10 (IQIYI)
I loved this Thai drama, but it wasn’t perfect. I wish more people watched this drama because I don't think a lot of people did. I could be wrong though. You watch this for the main couple and that pays off. Their relationship was one of the best things about this drama. The acting was great. I loved the support characters and how much they cheered on the main couple. The secretary and manager were amazing and so funny. I wish there was a second couple, and I felt the revenge could have hit harder. I also had a couple of unanswered questions by the end especially having to do with the time travel and Thada's character. THE MAIN COUPLE WAS AMAZING THOUGH!
RATING: 9/10
Episodes: 5 (NETFLIX)
This Thai drama did not disappoint. I think story/lore wise of Season 2 was just as good as Season 1. The acting was great. I didn’t find it as scary as Season 1 which is probably good for people who don't like this genre, but I still thought the drama was spooky. GREAT DRAMAS TO WATCH IN OCTOBER FOR HALLOWEEN! If you have not watched Season 1 and for some reason watched this because it was on Netflix, I would recommend you go and watch Season 1 as well. I do think the chemistry between the leads was better in Season 1, but it was still good here. NEED S3!
RATING: 9/10
Episodes: 10 (NETFLIX)
I WAS OBSESSED WITH THIS SHOW WHEN I WAS WATCHING IT WHEN IT WAS AIRING! I know this is not a drama BUT I needed to talk about. I ADORE THIS JAPANESE REALITY TV SHOW! I am PRAYING we get a Season 2! It was adorable and sweet and just the perfect show to binge. I got very invested in certain people and potential couples. It is downrated because I soured on one guy after something he did and sometimes I did not like the host panel as much as I did with other shows. Also, not all of my favorites had happy endings - TOTALLY WORTH THOUGH! I need a second season of this RIGHT NOW! I also need another romance reality show to watch.
RATING: 9.5/10
HONORABLE MENTIONS
These are my honorable mentions for 2025. Dramas that were not rated 9-10 (just 8.5 so almost 9) and also dramas that were rewatches/older dramas aka not 2025 dramas.
Our Dining Table (2023) - 10/10
Scarlet Heart (2011) - 9/10
Love and Destiny (2019) - 8.5/10
Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective (2025) (Anime) - 9/10
Kaiju No. 8 Season 1 (2024) (Anime) - 9/10
Solo Leveling Season 2 (2025) (Anime) - 9/10
Zenshuu (2025) (Anime) - 9/10
Erased (2017) (rewatch) - 9/10
Love Like the Galaxy (rewatch) - 8.5/10
THAT IS MY LIST OF TOP NON-KOREAN DRAMAS 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 dramas from other countries in 2025.
What are some of your favorite non-Korean dramas of 2025? Did some of my favorite non-Korean dramas make your list?
CHECK OUT MY TOP KDRAMAS OF 2025 LIST WHEN YOU HAVE A SECOND!
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