This year, we all collectively wept. We cried, smiled, and had our heartstrings tugged as Ae-sun and Gwang-sik stumbled through life, cared for their children and had their unshakable belief in love tested as the seasons and years went by in When Life Gives You Tangerines.
2025 might have been the year that saw the release (and subsequent fading away) of some highly anticipated shows and eagerly awaited comebacks by actors. However, it also ultimately belonged to the quieter, slice-of-life goodness that K-Dramas have always excelled in. An expansive tale chronicling mothers and daughters and their fight to break generational cycles, When Life Gives You Tangerines featured standout performances by Moon So-ri, IU, Park Hae-joon, and Park Bo-gum; a masterpiece of a show that will be remembered and celebrated for years to come.
A still from ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’
If that show took viewers to the past, through some of South Korea’s rapidly evolving years, another gem of a show, Typhoon Family, was set against the backdrop of South Korea’s 1997 financial crisis. Led by an excellent Lee Jun-ho and Kim Min-ha, the show chronicled a young, carefree CEO who is forced to take over his father’s business and face several stumbling blocks. A heartfelt tale of resilience and most importantly hope, this was a period drama made immensely watchable by its cast and their earnestness.
A still from ‘Typhoon Family’
What do you do when the pressures of modern-day living threaten to overwhelm your existence? In the very affecting Our Unwritten Seoul, a fantastic Park Bo-young essayed a double role, playing twin sisters who decide to swap places for a few months. The show’s sensitive, nuanced writing explored the many complexities of dealing with grief and the path to healing and acceptance.
Park Bo-young in a still from Our Unwritten Seoul
Then came the big, bombastic hits that were favourites. The medical drama Trauma Code: Heroes On Call had Ju Ji-hoon starring as the bratty, fearless and charismatic Dr Baek Kang-hyun, who takes over a ragtag, cash-strapped trauma team. Over eight thoroughly entertaining episodes, Dr Baek defied authority, fiercely stood for his ideals, and bossed around his starry-eyed yet harassed protegee (a flustered Choo Young-woo).
In Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, a tyrant (Lee Chae-min) from the Joseon era — who is dealing with trauma, politics and consumed by revenge — finds food, of all things, taking over his life courtesy a time-travelling chef from the present (Im Yoon-ah). The dramatic, yet detailed stretches showcasing the female lead’s cooking prowess made for the best parts of the show; who doesn’t love the coming together of a cooking show and a K-drama?
A still from ‘Trauma Code: Heroes on Call’
The final season of the smash-hit dystopian thriller Squid Game arrived mid-year, fuelled by fan theories, predictions and heated discussions. Despite the chaos, gore, and gripping final moments that rounded off the series, the show will always be remembered by the benchmark its first season set.
The rocky road to romance
This was a rocky year for romance, and the absence of breezy, charming rom-coms of the simple, uncomplicated variety was felt strongly. While the recently concluded Dynamite Kiss, starring a very charming Jang Ki-yong and Ahn Eun-jin, began with much promise, the show failed to pass muster beyond its crackling initial episodes. My Dearest Nemesis, starring Choi Hyun-wook and Moon Ga-young, got its predictable beats mostly right, with a story about a bratty, young CEO who falls for his employee. The laugh-out-loud premise of Head Over Heels followed a high schooler (Choi Yi-hyun) who moonlights as a shaman and falls for a classmate (Choo young-woo) plagued by misfortune.
The clear winner here, however, came early in the year and set the benchmark high. Love Scout, a mature, well-written office romance, featured a successful CEO (Han Ji-min) falling for her kind, hard-working assistant (Lee Jun-hyuk). The show put a refreshing spin on the typical workplace romance K-Dramas by subverting gender roles, and followed through with consistent, mature writing. Yet another show that hit the mark was Melo Movie, starring Park Bo-young and Choi Woo-shik, which chronicled relationships through grief and a shared love for the movies.
A still from ‘Love Scout’
The underrated gems
Maybe the simplicity of a simple, old-fashioned Bollywood entertainer amidst all this pan-India chatter is much missed, but K-Dramas brought in some of this magic through two shows this year.
One is the action-comedy Undercover High School; a sparkling Seo Kang-joon, a special agent, goes undercover as a student at the local high school in the hope of unearthing a hidden treasure of gold bars. He has a bumbling team of agents assisting and a teacher in the school who is suspicious, but later becomes an ally. Think Main Hoon Na meets 21 Jump Street.
The second show reaffirmed that stories of ragtag sporting teams tasting success never lose their appeal. In The Winning Try, a below-average rugby team who have terrible luck and skills at the sport find its fortunes slowly change when an eccentric yet brilliant former rugby player (Yoon Kye-sang) takes over.
A still from ‘The Winning Try’
2026: What to expect
This year, K-Drama viewers in India missed out on shows that streamed internationally on Disney+, including Ji Chang-wook’s The Manipulated, Jun Ji-hyun and Gang Dong-won’s comeback show Tempest, the thriller Nine Puzzles, starring Son Suk-ku and Kim Da-mi, Hyun Bin’s Made In Korea, and the romantic-comedy Would You Marry Me.
It is yet to be seen if India will miss out on more shows in 2026, but the coming year promises a lot of interesting titles. The slate begins with a bang for the romance genre, with the much-hyped Can This Love Be Translated, starring Kim Seon-ho and Go Yung-jung, as well as Spring Fever, starring Ahn Bo-hyun and Lee Joo-been, in January. In March, Byeon Woo-seok and IU will come together for a modern-day romance featuring the monarchy titled Perfect Crown.
From the upcoming show ‘Can This Love Be Translated’
Our wishlist for 2026? Simple, charming romantic comedies, a lot more slice-of-life titles, and the promise of consistent writing from start to finish.
Published – December 29, 2025 01:39 pm IST
