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Pierce Conran

As we approach the halfway point of 2023, we look back over the varied offerings that have populated Korean television schedules over the last six months.
Below are our picks of the 10 best K-dramas aired so far this year.
10. Payback: Money and Power
Lead cast: Lee Sun-kyun, Moon Chae-won
Final Nielsen rating: 11.1 per cent
A shaggy Lee Sun-kyun gallops on horseback through the Mongolian steppe. Back in Korea, a clean-shaven Lee conducts an orchestra of illegal traders as he outfoxes a greedy loan shark.


If these images alone are not enough to whet your appetite, then Payback: Money and Power probably is not for you. But if they are, sit back and enjoy this finance world action-thriller as it rushes through familiar beats with confidence.
With tongue occasionally in cheek, the Parasite actor is a joy to watch in a commanding central performance. Read our early preview | midseason recap
9. Divorce Attorney Shin
Lead cast: Cho Seung-woo, Han Hye-jin
Final Nielsen rating: 9.49 per cent


After the mixed charms of Sisyphus: The Myth, Cho Seung-woo – known for playing eccentric geniuses – explores more grounded territory in the legal drama Divorce Attorney Shin.
Cho’s Shin Sung-han is no ordinary lawyer. He was a piano prodigy and music professor in Germany before switching professions to figure out a way to save his nephew from the clutches of his awful stepmother.
The legal gymnastics are not as spectacular as in other shows, but that is because the main draw here is the charm of the middle-aged male leads and the show’s family-driven heart. Read our early preview | midseason recap | final review
8. Big Bet Part 2
Lead cast: Choi Min-sik, Son Suk-ku


After a rocky first set of episodes, the Philippines-set crime epic Big Bet settles into a much more comfortable register in Part 2.
Choi Min-sik, in his first television role in over two decades, leads a who’s who of Korean screen veterans as a wily Korean entrepreneur who builds up a casino empire in Southeast Asia. Son Suk-ku is the police officer trying to take him down.
There is nothing new in the up-and-down kingpin trajectory, but crime saga fans will find much to appreciate in this compelling actors’ showcase. Read our early preview | final review
7. Queenmaker
Lead cast: Kim Hee-ae, Moon So-ri


Kim Hee-ae is the titular “queenmaker” in this Netflix original about an embittered corporate fixer who seeks to get back at her former power-hungry employers by becoming the unlikely campaign manager for the opponent to their pick for Seoul mayor.
She joins the camp of Moon So-ri’s human rights activist, herself an unlikely Seoul mayoral candidate.
The sly electoral machinations and bitter ideological stand-offs are great fun to watch, even if they occasionally get repetitive over the course of the show’s 11 episodes. Read our full review
6. The Glory Part 2
Lead cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon


The violent cycle of retribution and redemption in The Glory comes to a cathartic close in this year’s Part 2.
The early stretch in this new batch of episodes is a little slow going, since there is not much tension left after the exhilarating and extended set-up of Part 1.
Song Hye-kyo’s bullied protagonist was so shrewd and successful in setting up her massive vendetta that there is never any question of the villains getting the better of her.
Still, the climax we longed for since the start of the show is so satisfying that it is more than worth the wait. Read our early preview | final review
5. Queen of Masks
Lead cast: Kim Sun-a, Oh Yoon-ah, Shin Eun-jung, Yoo-sun
Final Nielsen rating: 3.35 per cent


At first, prime time soap opera Queen of Masks seems like a cheap and minor addition to the melodrama genre. Over time, however, it becomes clear that it is more consistent and engaging than many of its flashier peers.
The story is of four high-society women surrounded by dangerous men and secret societies, and the show’s writers know what they are doing. There is respect for the narrative, but also indulgence in appropriately tacky melodramatic highs to keep things juicily entertaining throughout. Read our early preview | midseason recap | final review
4. One Day Off
Lead cast: Lee Na-young


Lee Na-young stars in the healing drama One Day Off, a charming travelogue that follows her high-school teacher character’s weekend trips around Korea.
Escaping the stresses, pressures and expectations of work and life back home, Lee’s character follows her own desires and allows her eccentricities to guide her as she discovers new places, samples new food and encounters colourful characters during her brief trips.
Little Forest fans, in particular, should take note. Read our early preview
3. Crash Course in Romance
Lead cast: Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Kyung-ho
Final Nielsen rating: 17.04 per cent


In this heart-warming education-themed romantic comedy, Korean screen doyen Jeon Do-yeon plays a former handball player trying to provide for her teenage niece, who collides with a star academy instructor played by Hospital Playlist’s Jung Kyung-ho.
The show has all the usual K-drama romcom beats, with the romantic leads beginning at loggerheads before transitioning into tender romance, but is elevated by its cast and its compelling social themes that reflect upon South Korea’s ultra-competitive society. Read our early preview | final review
2. Dr. Romantic 3
Lead cast: Han Suk-kyu, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung
Final Nielsen rating: 16.8 per cent


Han Suk-kyu’s Master Kim returns for an action-packed season of medical emergencies in his brand new Doldam Trauma Centre.
His current protégés are joined by several older ones as a number of familiar faces filter back into the show, steadily making his dream surgery team a reality.
Each character has a bit of their own drama going on, but the focus rightly remains on the life-saving surgery as the heroic Doldam team assemble time and again for breathless large-scale emergencies. Read our early preview | midseason recap | final review
1. Bloodhounds
Lead cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi


A pair of fresh-faced pugilists take on a despicable loan shark in Jason Kim’s thunderous action-crime drama Bloodhounds, the most exciting and impressive Korean Netflix original since the streaming platform’s golden late 2021 run of D.P., Squid Game and Hellbound.
Owing to some off-screen drama involving co-star Kim Sae-ron, the show’s last two episodes, which were rewritten on the fly, drop the ball somewhat. But the thrilling midseason stretch of Bloodhounds gets the heart pumping like few shows have in the past. Read our full review
For the 15 best K-dramas of 2022, read our ranking here.


Our Movie: Disney+ K-drama with Namkoong Min, Jeon Yeo-been shows filmmaking’s tender side

Netflix K-drama Tastefully Yours review: happy ending for delectable if formulaic romcom

K-drama Oh My Ghost Clients: Jung Kyung-ho defends the dead in socially aware legal comedy

Amazon Prime K-drama Good Boy: Park Bo-gum plays a former boxer in police action-comedy

Korean drama reviews

The 10 best K-dramas of 2023 … so far, from The Glory and Bloodhounds to Dr. Romantic 3

Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun in a still from “The Glory”. Photo: Graphyoda/Netflix

Woo Do-Hwan (left) as Kim Gun-woo and Lee Sang-Yi as Hong Woo-jin in a still from “Bloodhounds”, one of our top 10 K-dramas aired so far in 2023. Which other series make our cut? Photo: Soyun Jeon, Seowoo Jung/Netflix

Who is Han So-hee, Korean actress and star of K-dramas My Name and The World of the Married who enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of show business?

Han So-hee in a still from “My Name”. Photo: Netflix

Han So-hee is one of South Korea’s leading actresses. We take a look at her fairy-tale-like rise to stardom. Photo: Netflix

Han So-hee in a still from “My Name” (2021). Photo: Netflix

Han So-hee in a still from “The World of the Married” (2020).

Han So-hee in a still from “Nevertheless” (2021).

Han So-hee (left) and Park Hyung-sik in a still from “Soundtrack #1” (2022). Photo: Disney+

Han So-hee in a still from the film “Heavy Snow”.

Han So-hee (left) and Park Seo-joon in a still from “Gyeongseong Creature”.

The 10 most famous K-drama actors of all time, including Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun, Train to Busan’s Gong Yoo and Hyun Bin

From Lee Byung-hun to Gong Yoo to Hyun Bin (pictured), we rank the 10 greatest male K-drama actors of all time. Photo: Instagram/@hyunbinactor_

Ji Chang-wook in a still from “If You Wish Upon Me” (2022).

So Ji-sub in a still from “Doctor Lawyer” (2022).

Kim Soo-hyun in a still from “One Ordinary Day” (2021). Photo: Viu

Lee Jong-suk in a still from “Big Mouth” (2022).

Gong Yoo in a still from “The Silent Sea” (2021). Photo: Netflix

Kim Minha (left) and Lee Min-ho in a still from “Pachinko” (2022). Photo: Apple.

Song Joong-ki in a still from “Reborn Rich” (2022).

Bae Yong-joon (right) and Choi Ji-woo in a still from “Winter Sonata” (2002).

Hyun Bin (right) and Son Ye-jin in a still from “Crash Landing on You” (2020).

Lee Byung-hun in a still from Our Blues.

8 new Korean dramas to watch in June 2023: Netflix’s Bloodhounds, Lies Hidden in My Garden, See You in My 19th Life and more

Kim Tae-hee (front) and Kim Sung-oh in a still from “Lies Hidden in My Garden”.

Lim Ji-yeon in a still from “Lies Hidden in My Garden”, one of eight series on our list of the best K-dramas to watch in June. 

Who is Park Seo-joon, Korean actor in The Marvels, K-drama sensation Itaewon Class – and even the Oscar-winning film Parasite?

Korean actor Park Seo-joon in the Netflix Korean drama “Itaewon Class”. Park will make his Hollywood debut later this year in “The Marvels”, alongside Brie Larsen.

Park Seo-joon in a still from “Dream” (2023).

Park Seo-joon in a still from “Parasite” (2019).

Park Seo-joon as a martial arts exponent in “The Divine Fury” (2019).

Park Seo-joon in a still from “She Was Pretty” (2015).

Kang Ha-neul (left) and Park Seo-joon in a still from “Midnight Runners” (2017).

Park Seo-joon in a still from “Itaewon Class”. Photo: Netflix

Park Seo-joon (right) in a still from “The Chronicles of Evil” (2015).

9 new Korean dramas to watch in May 2023: Netflix’s Black Knight, Disney+ office drama Race, My Perfect Stranger, and more

Esom as Seol-ah in a still from “Black Knight”. Photo: Kim Jin-young/Netflix

Kim Woo-bin as 5-8 in a still from “Black Knight”, one of nine must-watch Korean drama series launching in May. Photo: Kim Jin-young/Netflix

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Which Korean drama series have had you on tenterhooks for the next episode to drop, or binge-watching, in the first half of 2023? We’ve ranked our top 10
Included are medical drama Dr. Romantic 3, crime epic Big Bet Part 2, political drama Queenmaker and revenge drama The Glory Part 2 – but where do they rank?


From The Glory and Bloodhounds to Dr. Romantic 3, we rank our 10 favourite K-dramas of the first half of 2023. See if you agree with our picks and the order we put them in.
