Breaking Down the Best K-Dramas of 2024 Thus Far

The K-drama world continues to bring us a steady stream of fantastic productions that cross genres and offer stimulating, very immersive, vivid narratives. Here’s a breakdown of the best K-dramas of 2024 thus far (in order of their release).

Marry My Husband

In Marry My Husband, Park Min-young left me in awe of how she goes about method acting. Rife in deceit, revenge, and romance, the drama has Kang Ji-won (Park), trapped in a wrong marriage and family chores. Worse, cancer is weighing on her alongside a cheating husband in an affair with her bestie.

One fatal night, Ji-won catches them in her bedroom and is killed. With a hint of another shot at life, the picture switches to Ji-won awakened in the past yet remembering the present. She pledges vengeance and counts on a colleague—Yoo Ji-hyeok (Na In-woo)—her strongest ally. A vivid portrayal helps flesh out the story, and Park’s Ji-won is just on fire, ready to go above and beyond what one may have ever [never] imagined of her.

Gyeongseong Creature (Part Two)

In a ghastly epic saga set in the days of Japanese rule in Korea (the spring of 1945), Gyeongseong Creature distills the dark and deadly ingredients that make up a good horror. As Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon) and Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee) navigate the Ongseong Hospital in Gyeongseong (the old name for Seoul), they have to crack secrets and face a bizarre, unimaginable beast.

Given a cinematic treatment, it evokes this gory yet tragic tale of the beast born of greed and evil intentions—a tale of love, loyalty, and relationships striving to live through horror and gloom. While perplexing cliffhangers are revealed in the first season’s finale, there are still more secrets to uncover in the next chapter.

A Shop for Killers

With Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun leading this madcap roller coaster of guns, wildfires, panic, and intrigue, A Shop for Killers is surely one of the best K-drama titles of the year. The gritty action series has no dull moment; it centers on Jeong Ji-an (Kim), who falls prey to lethal assassins who also seem to be her uncle Jeong Ji-man’s (Lee) clients. Ji-an is shocked to learn that she’s on the hit list because she had no inkling what her uncle was getting into from operating his online store. She goes back to his residence in utter perplexity to figure out more—a dangerous past.

I love the distinctive style that A Shop for Killers presents in the narrative—the plot elements, the sequences of events, the explosive pacing, and the excellent acting—are every bit spot on! I just have words of praise. Moreover, Lee Dong-wook’s impassive, stony enigma leaves no stone unturned in drawing attention.

Flex X Cop

Ahn Bo-hyun plays a third-generation Chaebol and smart sleuth stealing the show in the crime action rom-com, Flex X Cop.

Ahn’s Jin Yi-soo is living at ease until a mishap lands him as a detective among the cops in the violent crime unit. Fun-loving and too smart to be screwed, he makes good use of his riches, reputation, influence, and skill set to easily apprehend criminals.

His “flex investigation technique” is one of the show’s main draws, but his character is what really stands out—he’s the sexiest, smoothest cop detective!

Doctor Slump

Park Hyung-sik, co-starring with Park Shin-hye, builds an engaging love story in this medical romance drama. It’s another enemies-to-lovers narrative, but a more mature one seen through the lives of two old competitors, now excellent doctors but stuck in a sudden quagmire. Nonetheless, as fate has it, Yeo Jeong-woo (Park Hyung-sik) rents a piece of Nam Ha-neul’s (Park Shin-hye) house, bringing them face-to-face years later. 

An epiphany—a moment of clarity—is marked by this coincidence. In time, they grow closer, backing each other and inevitably feeling that unspeakable “love” that helps them break out of their “slump” and heal.

Doctor Slump is a charming love story of fulfilling moments; as is apparent, “romance” is one of the actors’ strong suits.

A Killer Paradox

Suddenly throwing things into chaos—morals, fear, and judgment are called into question—in Lee Chang-hee’s multi-layered mind-bending murder mystery—A Killer Paradox, starring Choi Woo-shik, Son Suk-ku, and Lee Hee-joon.

Part-time convenience store worker Lee Tang (Choi) accidentally kills a hostile, drunk man in a brawl. When the victim turns out to be a serial killer on the run, Lee Tang begins to see just how good he is at spotting criminals and starts eliminating them, despite his initial concern that his life is in doom. As he turns into an evil device, expert detective Jang Nan-Gam (Son) arrives on the scene to investigate, while Song Chon (Lee Hee-joon), a former detective, is also chasing after him.

The show is unique in its dark humor and psychologically gripping episodes, especially with its intricate handling of the premise.

Wonderful World

Esteemed psychology professor Eun Soo-hyeon’s (Kim Nam-joo) world comes crashing down upon losing her only child and resolves revenge on the culprit when he’s officially freed and justice denied. As she works to solve the case, an elusive Gwon Seon-yul (Cha Eun-woo) keeps running into her, adding to the mystery.

The plot twists, nuances, and disclosures make Wonderful World a winning revenge drama. It’s also deeply poignant and full of insightful life lessons—to take things in stride, fight for fairness, and never let go. Amid stellar performances, Cha Eun-woo rises as Seon-yul, a role we aren’t used to seeing him play.

Queen of Tears

Queen of Tears swings and slides through emotions of joy and sorrow, enhanced by poignant overarching music. The perceptive portrayals of Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won, featuring husband and wife Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in, add realism to their characters’ journeys of falling in and out of love, rediscovering love, and sticking by each other through challenging seasons. 

Even with a failing marriage and inevitable divorce on the horizon, love blooms afresh as crisis strikes Hae-in’s family, culminating in her diagnosis of a life-threatening ailment.

The drama is a heart-stopping romance, awash in crushing emotions and meaningful observations about the road ahead in the fleeting moments of Hyun-woo and Hae-in’s relationship.

Lovely Runner

Lovely Runner is romance, emotions, and fantasy thrown in good measure with Im Sol (Kim Hye-yoon), a die-hard fan of superstar Ryu Sun-jae (Byeon Woo-seok). She suffers a severe injury and turns to his music for comfort. However, Sun-jae dies suddenly, leaving Sol wrecked. Inexplicably, fifteen years in the past, she awakens in a classroom and realizes this is her only chance to change fate and save the guy.

His and Sol’s love transcends past and present, and while he continues to risk his life for Sol, she manipulates events by slipping back and forth in time. 

Byeon Woo-seok grabs the spotlight. His gorgeous, impassioned looks, arresting on-screen presence, and the tender scenes he builds with Kim cement his viability as a romantic hero.

The Atypical Family

Jang Ki-yong has Bok Gwi-ju, who can return to happier times in the past. He hails from a lineage of superhuman beings who’ve lost their powers [almost] in reaction to the stress of their immediate surroundings. But things turn around when a mysterious woman, Do Da-hae (Chun Woo-hee), enters their lives.

It revolves around Gwi-ju and Da-hae’s courtship. Despite her initial plan to marry him for fortune, they end up falling in love while time travel, emergencies, and familial tensions complicate things. With a superb story and execution, I do think The Atypical Family is an anomaly fantasy K-drama—its characters beautifully blossom and evolve, finding the fulfillment they were looking for.