Trying to find something to get hooked into.... there are so many good dramas out there and I know I have only scratched the surface... so I wanted to ask others,... What is your all time favorite drama? What is the show that you think should go on a "have to watch this" list? I'm up for anything.. I love fantasy dramas but don't limit answers to that... Thanks!

My all time favourites:

Descendants of the sun

Healer

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo 

Lookout

Bad Guys

Secret Garden

Hwarang

Strong woman Do Bong Soon

Recently - While You Were Sleeping

those are great ones! those do have great osts! it always surprises me how ingrained theme songs are.. if someone were to ask me to name some of the songs i probably couldn't.. but if you play a bit of it i can probably tell you the name of the drama :) thanks

If you love fantasy

Ashes of Love

Lost Love in Times

Moon embracing the sun - the fantasy aspect is not a much as the two I recommended first


Non-fantasy historical

Rise of the Phoenixes - I haven't even finished watching it yet but it's already part of my all time fave lmao


Sci-fi

Circle - Hands down one of the best drama ever made and I don't even like sci-fi

thanks! I have been thinking of starting Ashes or Rise.. i will look into Circle as well.

if u say fantasy then I must say bloody romance is unrivalled. yea ten miles of peach blossoms who? ashes of love who? yea even legend of fuyao who? (the ost is so beautiful and the drama was Aesthetic af)

Circle is probably the best scifi Asian drama ive seen. 

life on mars is another unique watch with it's mindbending psychedelic 80s dreamscape-reality drama vibe. a strong female lead. well written characters and plot dayum.

miss Hammurabi. man ive never seen anything that portrays all issues so perfectly. genuine in it's execution shows both sides of the story. the good, the bad and the inbetween no prejudice involved. I spent the first half debating who's gonna be the 'villain' but turns out it's just our own prejudices all along. and there are just so many sides to a story. I could go all day long with this one.

in time with you. I started this drama not expecting much other than the usual clichés old dramas would have but damn who knew this would turn out to be a perfect 10 way ahead of it's time and ours too, perfectly handles the issue of ageism and coming to terms with ourself and the first drama that has the biggest hand in shaping my view of healthy relationships. like seriously what are u even doing if u haven't watched it. lin ariel and chen bo lin are exploding with chemistry. forces to be reckoned with id say.

romantic doctor, teacher kim. another drama that altered my view. or rather showed me what I knew in my subconscious but couldn't put a finger on. that aside this has the best romance ever and it's also hilarious. the side characters are fav and whole cast of badass characters. I hate rewatching anything but this one still has the same perfection as the first time I watched it <3

Seconding Rise of Phoenixes

also... Nirvana in Fire. I didn't know what a good drama was before I watched it. 

Something Korean:

Stranger 

Chief Kim (I don't like comedies, but I laughed a lot while watching it)

because this is my first life & another miss oh - favorite romcom, i couldnt enjoy that genre as much as before thanks to those two

stranger/secret forest - favorite mystery/investigation thriller, well written story, distinct and strong character, good cast

save me - superb psychological suspense thriller, its so dark and depressing you feel like you are going nut. also i dont think anyone could have played the female leads better

my mister - plot is nothing grand but you would wonder how humane the characters behave, everyone were just trying to live their life

mother - a touching story of mother and daugther. is blood always thicker than water ??

byakuyako - a tragic love story 


special mentio : on the way to airport - love story between two married couple

Come and hug me

Gap Dong

Emergency Couple

Healer

The Innocent Man

King2Hearts

Signal

The Girl Who Sees Scents

Kazoku game

Empress Ki 

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions! I'm looking forward to exploring them!

Bloody Romance  --- wuxia & romance

Nirvana in Fire  --- historical & plot-heavy

The Vigilantes in Masks  --- wuxia & friendship

The Mystic Nine  --- friendship & fantasy/ supernatural

Signal-----detective,time traveling

Kill me Heal Me-------male lead has multiple personality disorder , but dont worry series  is a comedy

Cruel City----crime/undercover

Reply 88----childhood friends

Misaeng------office life

My Mister------drama/life

Defendant----law/suspense

Secret forest-----law/suspence

different genres none of them is Fantasy but I think all are a MUST to watch.