Hello Friends, we're back to revisit the highest-rated Korean dramas of 2023, adding more titles to our top 20 list, so stick around to see if your recent favorites are here, and let us know how you are enjoying what 2023 has brought so far.
20 Most Highest Rated K-dramas of 2023
Number 20. Divorce Attorney Shin
A multi-talented lawyer who's known for thinking outside the box. He's a strong contender and wins many cases that might seem almost impossible. Supported and backed up by his best friends, the bond of these besties had viewers resonating and rooting for them, not to mention laughing out loud.
From their lowest points to their successes, our male lead will be acquainted with some new staff, who will then add to his daily shenanigans as he takes on new clients and even more challenging cases, including one that hits close to home.
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Number 19. King the Land
The sought-after romantic hotel drama brought us a diligent, hard worker who gained a higher position with her talent and ambition. We also have an icy, rich male lead who is a little arrogant, but he has his own ties to the famous hotel and the wealthy established King Group.
This sets the stage for our female leads workplace. The drama covers their romance, building a story that initially started out with a misunderstanding, leaving them both with a poor impression of each other through somewhat predictable encounters of that familiar rom-com formula.
It's TV magic, so maybe it never gets old and we like seeing it. The drama stars Lee Jun Ho and Im Yun Ah as our OTP.
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Number 18. The Uncanny Counter Season 2
The counters are back after a successful season 1, and they continued to receive even more high ratings and viewership in season 2. Known as CounterPunch, our favorite team continues its fight against evil spirits who came back to Earth from the afterlife and caused havoc with each of our leads, using their unique powers and abilities to thwart this evil.
The action comedy is also known as Amazing Rumor from its popular webtoon. The talented cast were definitely memorable in their roles, and viewers were happy to see them back on their screens.
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Number 17. A Time Called You
A drama with more than a pinch of time travel. Our young female lead grieving the loss of her boyfriend, she is suddenly transported back in time and finds herself in the body of a high schooler. Not to mention she'll come into contact with a doppelganger of her boyfriend.
Pretty spot on for the look, but now she's back in the late 90s. She is surprised by the resemblance of the lookalike, and it would seem that our male lead friend develops a crush on her, but he's more shy and reserved in expressing himself.
So it's actually our male lead who gets closer to her. So romance or even a love triangle is sure to follow. Inspired by the Taiwanese someday or one day, a time called you delivered a mystery romance. Fantasy.
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Number 16. Crash Course In Romance
It seems like just yesterday we were tuning in weekly for the new episodes about a former Olympic athlete who ended up becoming a side dish shop owner, and her brewing romance with a popular and trending genius math instructor who's pretty much as famous as any celebrity.
After some mishaps, this older pairing starts to fall for one another as they try to work out the equation of their feelings for each other and those in their close circles and daily lives.
Viewers were touched by the rom-com, which also served up some surprising thrills with multiple character storylines. The focus on a love story between older adults was a fresh take on the K-drama romance genre.
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Number 15. See You In My 19th Life
The popular webtoon which then inspired this live-action drama, caught the attention of drama fans and new viewers with its reincarnation concept and story of a girl who remembers her past lives and those whom she encountered.
However, those in her 18th life are the ones she most wishes to reconnect with, but her appearance in each reincarnation is different, and they simply do not recognize her. As she sets out to find those she was closest to and try to reconnect, the drama will deliver a touching slice of life story. Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun star as our leads.
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Number 14. The First Responders Season 2
This season picks up and follows where we left off in season one, once again showing the joint operations teamwork between a police station and a fire station that are side by side.
However, paramedics are also on the scene once more, as well as bravery and courage are displayed by these first responders in various instances. Our leads also had their own personal lives and struggles, yet they persisted in doing what they do best helping those in need.
We are given action and thrills in those intense emergency moments, but also a slice of life and some mystery woven into the drama's story. The cast really shines in these roles.
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Number 13. Duty After School
A youth drama infused with thrilling sci-fi action. As some students at Seungjin High School who should be preparing for their university admissions, are suddenly fast-tracked into military training, all due to alien monsters that suddenly pose a dire threat to the planet.
After having appeared in the sky one day, everything changes and these students are given their training to protect their country. The vivid storytelling grabbed our attention in that first episode and those special effects.
School is tough enough as it is, but adding a survival scenario was thrilling for viewers. Presented by a youthful and talented cast, Duty After School is based on a webtoon.
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Number 12. Love to Hate You
Romance and action meet in this conflicted love-to-hate chemistry drama where our female lead, a lawyer with a unique set of street fighting skills, will soon cross paths with a celebrity actor.
After believing him to be a jerk, she sets out against him to serve justice as she sees fit, but somehow she ends up teaching him how to combat fight, instead showing him all kinds of talented and unpredictable moves so that he can better portray his next role.
Along the way, they'll find themselves in a chemistry-fueled fake relationship, which of course will blossom into real love. Love to hate you received a lot of attention and positive reviews.
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Number 11. My Perfect Stranger
This Kbs2 16-episode K-drama starring Kim Dong Wook and Jin Ki Joo, tells the exciting, time-altering story about our main leads, a journalist with a very direct approach and a hopeful writer who works in a publishing company.
Fate brings them together, but also transports them back to the past to 1987, where they work together to try and solve the truth behind a serial murder case. They soon realize their goals might be the same, and this connects them.
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Number 10. Bloodhounds
The thrilling adventure of a promising young boxer whose dreams are put on hold when his mother unknowingly gets involved with a loan shark who threatens her business and very life.
Our male lead will use his talent in throwing punches to rise up and defend his mother, as well as others who have been victimized by this notorious crime boss and loan shark.
A once legendary moneylender will come to his aid, along with his newly acquainted best friend, who throws a pretty decent punch as well, not to mention our female lead. They'll team up to stop a strong adversary and his henchmen. This K-drama kind of blew up on Netflix.
Viewers and drama fans alike were thrilled with the fight choreography and the to-the-point storytelling. Woo Do Hwan, Lee Sang Yi, and Heo Jun Ho shined in their performances alongside a largely talented cast. Bloodhounds is based on a webtoon.
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Number 9. Revenant
In this thrilling supernatural horror also known as the Devil, a part-timer who is studying to become a public officer will find herself beginning to change after receiving some items left behind by her late father Mysterious deaths will also begin to take place around her.
Our male lead is from a wealthy background, but he spends his time teaching Korean folklore. He also has the ability to see demons. He happened to witness the tragedy of losing his mother to a demon.
Revenant will also introduce us to a lieutenant from a violent crimes investigation team. These three will become involved in tragic and mysterious cases. The cast is led by Kim Tae RI, Oh Jung Se, and Hong Kyung.
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Number 8. DP Season 2
DP was highly successful in 2021. Viewers had been anticipating the second season release. It will continue to follow the arrest squad and those military deserters and how each different situation is approached.
The story unfolding touched viewers hearts of those chasing down the deserters and what the deserters faced, and those who were fleeing didn't make it easy for our leads, as some of the characters also suffered from PTSD the strong performances resonated with drama viewers.
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Number 7. My Dearest
A romantic historical melodrama, My Dearest brings us stars Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin as our main OTP. The popular MBC drama is still rated very highly among viewers. Set in the 1600s, our main couple will cross paths and a romance will ensue, while our male lead holds a mysterious air about him.
Our female lead is outspoken and might be perceived as a spoiled young woman, as the other ladies might talk about her behind her back, but she brushes off all that negativity our two leads will attract. But with a war arising, this will separate them for a time, which will bring them to make sense of their connection and feelings for each other.
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Number 6. Tale of the Nine-tailed 1938
Handsome leading actor Lee Dong Wook is back in Tale of the Nine-tailed 1938, in his famous gumiho role takes us back in time, where he will encounter one of our leading female characters as played by Kim So-Yeon and also starring celebrated and fan favorite actor Kim Bumv.
The 12-episode addition to the series aired back in May 2023. The drama gives us new twists and characters, mixing the time period with fantasy. Tale of the Nine-tailed continues to steadily amass large popularity and is always on viewers' watch lists.
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Number 5. Taxi Driver Season 2
The exhilarating story concept of Taxi Driver, having originally aired its first season back in 2021, it brought webtoon fans the live-action adaptation of the Deluxe Taxi, where an honest Special Forces officer who lost his mum to a serial killer struggles to bear his grief.
He'll soon cross paths with Rainbow Taxi, a service that provides more than just a drive to a destination. They carry out justice and satisfying revenge against those committing criminal actions while protecting victims.
The story concept was so engaging viewers were more than ready for season two. After following our male lead gets his desired revenge. With the taxi crew having disbanded, they'll soon team up to serve more justice.
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Number 4. The Good Bad Mother
This offbeat slice of life with a fair bit of comedy stars Ra Mi Ran, Lee Do Hyun, and Ahn Eun Jin in the leading roles, where an overly strict mother is later disconnected from her son.
But when he suffers from an accident, he'll find himself back in his mother's care in the small village of his childhood, where his childhood love also makes an appearance in his life, they'll try to uncover a plot that could be linked to his accident.
Our leads and supporting cast members gave enjoyable and heartwarming performances and some solid backstories. The drama focused on community and finding your path.
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Number 3. Doctor Romantic Season 3
The medical and slice-of-life drama received much critical acclaim and went on to gain more seasons. Romantic Doctor teacher Kim was well received in its third season, where viewers will continue to follow Doctor Kim and his staff in Doldam Hospital.
Familiar stars reprised their roles and continued the journey of their medical team. Together, they face new challenges and try to provide efficient care. When a North Korean ship drifts into South Korean waters, many complications arise, but getting those on board the help they need will become a priority.
Our doctor, Kim, will also have a medical rival which will stir up the drama in this next chapter. Doctor Romantic stars Han Suek Kyu, Lee Sung Kyung, and Ahn Hyo Seop.
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Number 2. The Glory Part 2
The follow-up of the record-breaking and globally discussed K-drama The Glory, where undisciplined youth are the main villains of this story and actually flourished until they were served with a strong hand of justice.
Our female lead encountered severe trauma at the hands of her school bullies, and with no help from teachers, she was targeted repeatedly and was not their only victim.
Later in life, and through a calculated series of events, our female lead played by Song Hye Kyo, delivered a phenomenal performance that gripped audiences around the world as the drama landed in the top 10 on Netflix in many countries.
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Number 1. Moving
This highly-rated drama inspired by the equally highly-rated webtoon Moving brings us an exciting supernatural action thriller focusing on the lives of high school students, those most in particular who are gifted with superhero-like abilities, and the adults who wish to use them for their powers.
Despite doing their best to hide and conceal these gifted powers, three students will come to rally together their secret, as will their parents, who do their diligence to protect them and keep that secret from those who have dark and malicious purposes. The strong cast and performances took on a wide audience base and received many positive reviews.
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Bonus Mentions
- A good day to be a dog
- My lovely boxer
- Queen maker
- Strong Girl, Nam Soon
- Matchmakers
Also Read:
Top 10 Must-Watch High School & University K-Dramas
Top 10 K-Dramas With Uniformed Main Leads
Top 11 Highly Anticipate Korean Dramas To Watch in January 2024
Top 18 Most Anticipated Korean Dramas of the First Quarter Of 2024
14 'Rich Guy, Poor Girl' Best Korean Dramas Ever Made
12 BEST Korean RomCom Movies That Will Remove Your Loneliness
Wrapping Up
So Friends, which highest-rated Korean drama from 2023 is your favorite, and have you seen them all? You can let us know in the comment section below.
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