Not my absolute favourites, but still pretty darn good

"Fame. Money. Power. One young woman fights to become the next hottest celebrity in the glamorous yet scandalous world of influencers in Seoul."

An intriguing (and kind of dark) commentary on social media from the consumer and the celebrity side. If you like thrillers and mysteries, this is for you.

"This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras: one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. "

A quite unique reincarnations story, where 3 people have both connections in the past and the present. I'll also say that one of the best thing about this show is both the OST and the music score itself. It elevates the story.

"Private soldier Jun Ho is a confused youth who served in the military normally like other Koreans. One day, he suddenly becomes a member of the military defector arrest team. As such, he is tasked with capturing deserters and must grapple with the more troubling cases of why some soldiers feel they have no other choice but go absent without official leave."

Inspired by real events. A look on social issues in Korea when it comes to military. If you like action, military stuff, deep thoughts/issues and/or social commentary, this show is for you.

"Jung Da Eun works as a nurse. She is transferred to neuropsychiatry from the internal medicine department. This is her first time working in neuropsychiatry, so everything is difficult and awkward for her. Nevertheless, Jung Da Eun tries her best to deal with the patients and she grows as a nurse with the help of Chief Nurse Song Hyo Jin.  Dong Go Yoon works as a doctor and specializes in proctology. Watching Nurse Jung Da Eun and her pure ways, Dong Go Yoon realizes that he smiles when seeing her and is even healed by her. Meanwhile, Jung Da Eun is friends with Song Yoo Chan. He looks like a very bright person, but he holds pain inside that nobody knows about. "

This show is very well-done when it comes to showcasing different mental disorders. And especially certain almost taboo topics. It's definitely an heavy watch. I personally couldn't stand one of the main characters and it heavily impacted my score but the show overall is heavily recommended.

"Kim Sa Bu was once a famous surgeon at the peak of his career at a major hospital. But he suddenly gives it all up one day to live in seclusion and work as a neighborhood doctor in a small town. He now goes by “Teacher Kim” and refers to himself as the “Romantic Doctor”". 

You follow a few doctors who ends up on this more secluded hospital and working under Kim Sa Bu.

Dr.Romantic is one of the most well done medical shows I've ever seen. The later seasons are better than S1, but the first season is a must watch to truly appreciate the later seasons.

"Arisu Ryohei—a listless, jobless and video-game-obsessed young man—suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive."

A solid action thriller with game aspects. The show is also heavy on psychological manipulation. So if you like more violent, kind of disturbed action shows? This is your show. Especially with S2.

"A major accident takes the lives of 48 people. The lives of the survivors, those who lost loved ones and those connected to the parties blamed for the tragic event are also marked forever. "

We follow the main leads, who both was involved in an accident and it showcases how that event have shaped and affected them in adult years.

Inspired by real events, this show is for the ones who like a  good romance story with a bit of tears.

"Xu Hong Dou is a woman who has worked in the hotel industry for most of her adult life. She is every inch the big-city woman, but her life hits a sudden bump in the road. Her work starts to suffer. Rather than continue to soldier on in the city, she decides to take a break from the fast-paced urban lifestyle in a remote village. She heads out to the village of Yun Miao, near Dali, in Yunnan Province – in search of peace and quiet."

This show is one of my personal comfort shows. It's very slow burn but the side characters and the leads are all worth it. You start to love the village together with Hong Dou. If you like a feel good and life focused romance drama, this is for you.

"A suspenseful story that asks the key question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?” "

The less you know about this show the better it is. Just know that if you like ethical and morality discussions and/or mystery thrillers, this show is for you.

"Han Geu Roo is an autistic 20-year-old. He works for his father’s business “Move To Heaven,” a company that specializes in crime scene cleanup, where they also collect and arrange items left by deceased people, and deliver them to the bereaved family.
When Geu Roo's father dies, Geu Roo's guardianship passes to his uncle, ex-convict Cho Sang Gu, who is a martial arts fighter in underground matches. Per the father's will, Sang Gu must care for and work with Geu Roo in “Move To Heaven” for three months to gain full guardianship and claim the inheritance. Eying money, Sang Gu agrees to the conditions and moves in."

This show is quite heavy. It focuses a lot on death. So if you like deep thoughts and a look at life from other sides, this is for you. No romance.

"Mr. Sunshine centers on a young boy born into a house servant's family who travels to the United States during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea). He returns to his homeland later as a U.S. marine officer. He meets and falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter. At the same time, he discovers a plot by foreign forces to colonize Korea. "

As someone who usually does not enjoy period dramas or shows in general taking place in a "past", this show is good. The truly shining part is the music score but the performances of the actors and actresses are phenomenal. Definitely worth a watch!

"A drama that explores the criminal justice system from an extremely popular perspective through the fierce story of two men surrounding the murder of a woman. Hyun Soo, an ordinary college student, suddenly becomes the primary suspect in a murder case. Shin Joong Han is the only lawyer willing to help Kim Hyun Soo. Having just barely passed law school, Shin Joong Han's involvement in Kim Hyun Soo's case eventually takes his unremarkable life to new heights." 

An interesting and a bit thoughtprovoking show about the whole sentiment "guilty until proven innocent". A remake of the british show Criminal Justice.  One of Kim Soo Hyun's best perfomances if you ask me.

"Yoon Hyun Woo is a devoted, hard-working, and loyal secretary to the Soonyang chaebol family. He is ruthlessly betrayed and killed under the orders of an unknown member of the chaebol family. Miraculously he wakes up as a kid inside the body of the youngest member of the family – Jin Do Jun. Now with the knowledge of the future, he plans on taking over the company and punish the ones who betrayed him."

The shining star of this show is the main lead, portrayed by Lee Sung Min. This show was big in Korea, and while Song Joong Ki has turned out to be a little POS , this show is still addicting and I recommend watching it. Especially if you like watching political, family dynamics and/or business related shows.

"Set in the 1990s, the drama centers around a female high school student Shi Won, who idolizes boyband H.O.T, and her 5 high school friends in Busan. As the timeline moves back and forth between their past as 18-year-old high schoolers in 1997 and their present as 33-year-olds at their high school reunion dinner in 2012, where one couple will announce that they're getting married ."

The whole reply trilogy is highly recommended. It starts with 1997 -> 1994 -> 1988. You don't have to watch them in order but there is certain easter eggs and inside jokes that you may miss if you watch in  a different order.

"Choi Joon Woong seeks a job, but it's hard for him to get hired. One night, he witnesses a man trying to end his life and decides to stop him. He gets acquainted with grim reapers Koo Ryeon and Im Ryoong Gu, who belong to a crisis management team. Their purpose is to prevent people from committing suicide. After Joon Woong ends up in a coma and becomes half-human and half-spirit, he is employed by a company of grim reapers as the newest member of the crisis management team."

A big tear-jerker and many of the stories I think about.

"In 2023, Eun Gyeol is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) high-school student, but he has a passion for music. During the day, he is a studious model pupil, but at night, he rocks out as a guitarist in a band. But when he stumbles across a strange yet alluring music store, he goes hurtling back in time to 1995.  Here, he comes face to face with his father, Ha Yi Chan – as a high schooler! Yi Chan takes Eun Gyeol for a lunatic when the latter calls him “dad”. Worse still, it looks like Yi Chan has a crush on an icy cellist named Se Kyeong – not his future mother, Cheong Ah!  In a bid to put things “right,” Eun Gyeol joins a band fronted by his future father. But will this be enough to help Eun Gyeol bring his future parents together... and will he ever get back to the 2020s? "

This show has a lot of hype here on MDL, and it's understandable. The show is a nice and quite a feel-good show, while also having more heavy elements sprinkled in between. I was personally not a fan of the ending but the overall show is good. A good recommendation if you enjoy rom-com from a coming of age story (and with a bit of sci-fi/fantasy sprinkle).