30 Korean Idol Dramas to Binge Watch

Korean idol dramas are very popular watches for both drama and Kpop fans alike. Some idols transition from singing and dancing to acting with ease. Others start with smaller parts and work their way into bigger roles.

Idols like IU who act and sing and perform flawlessly in any context can have acting careers as influential as their singing careers. Other idols like Suzy make acting a permanent career after their groups disband.

What defines Kpop idol dramas?

All of these dramas have at least one Kpop idol playing a main or secondary lead character. Some have a cast of Kpop idols, such as the Dream High series.

Musical idol dramas like Dream High often include ensembles of idols, sometimes from the same group or agency.

100 Days My Prince

A crown prince (EXO’s D.O.), the heir due to a bloody coup, loses his memory during an assassination attempt. He is nursed back to health by a man and his daughter (Nam Ji Hyun). The prince marries the daughter when her life is endangered by one of his father’s laws.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Angel’s Last Mission: Love

Blind ballerina Lee Yeon Seo (Shin Hye Sun) is visited by a precocious angel (L of INFINITE) to help her find love so he can return to heaven.

Where to Watch: Viki

Dream High

Dream High is the first in a series of musical idol dramas. Suzy of Miss A, IU, Jason and Taecyeon of 2PM, Eun Jung of T-ara, and Kim Soo Hyun chase their dreams at a school for the arts in Seoul. The series was sponsored by JYP Entertainment and features JYP in a very funny role!

Where to Watch: Viki

Dream High 2

The Dream High idol dramas series continues with GOT7’s JB and Jin Young, 2AM’s Jin Woon, Sistar’s Hyolyn, T-ara’s Ji Yeon, Kang Sora, and Park Seo Joon. JYP reprises his role from the first season.

Where to Watch: Viki

Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

One of the most popular Korean dramas of all time and one of my favorite fantasy dramas. More commonly known as Goblin, this drama features Yook Seung Jae from BTOB in a secondary role as a spoiled chaebol with a big secret.

Where to Watch: Viki

Gu Family Book

A half-gumiho, or nine-tailed fox, (Lee Seung Gi) falls in love with a martial artist (Bae Suzy of Miss A) as he learns to master his abilities and protect his country.

Where to Watch: Viki

Hi! School – Love On

Two high school boys (Nam Woo Hyun and Lee Sung Yeol of INFINITE) fight over a beautiful girl (Kim Sae Ron) who gave up being an angel to save one of them from death.

Where to Watch: Viki

Hotel Del Luna

A thousand-year-old woman (IU) is condemned to run a hotel for ghosts. She seeks a new human manager (Yoo Jin Goo) to oversee her ghostly staff while some of the ghosts cause trouble for the human world.

Where to watch: Viki

Hwarang

Young men are assembled by the king to become a fighting force called Hwarang, or “Flowering Knights”. They fight over a beautiful servant. A reverse harem drama starring Park Seo Joon, Go Ara, Park Hyung Sik (Z:EA), V (BTS), and Min Ho of Shinee.

Where to Watch: Viki

Imitation

A rookie Kpop idol (Jeong Ji So) accidentally injures a popular boy band member in a celebrity event. A bandmate of the boy band member (Lee Jun Young) thinks she did it on purpose for notoriety. They are thrown together in a drama and have to learn to work together.

Where to Watch: Viki

Inheritors

A lonely high school chaebol (Lee Min Ho) puts the moves on his housekeeper’s daughter (Park Shin Hye) despite a jealous rival (Kim Woo Bin). Also stars Krystal of f(x), Kang Min Hyuk of CNBlue, and Park Hyung Sik of Z:EA.

Where to Watch: Netflix

It’s Okay, That’s Love

A mystery author with OCD (Jo In Sung) is treated by a compassionate psychiatrist who is jaded in her personal life (Gong Hyo Jin). Features D.O. of EXO in a secondary role.

Where to Watch: Viki

Let’s Fight, Ghost

Let’s Fight Ghost is about a man with supernatural abilities (Taecyeon of 2PM). He meets a friendly teen ghost (Kim So Hyun) and they fight evil ghosts together.

Where to Watch: Viki

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

A modern woman (IU) travels back in time during an eclipse to the Goryeo era and ends up in the body of another woman. She meets two princes, one who is gentle (Kang Ha Neul) and another who is fiery (Lee Joon Ki). Palace intrigue creates increasingly dangerous situations for her as the princes fight over her and the throne.

Where to Watch: Viu (only available in certain countries)

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty

Kang Mi Rae (Im Soo Hyang) chooses to get plastic surgery after being bullied most of her life. She manages to reinvent herself at university. Mi Rae encounters a former classmate (Cha Eun Woo of Astro) who knows her past and she helps him with his own issues.

Where to Watch: Viki

My Mister

Three brothers (Lee Sun Kyun, Park Ho San, and Song Sae Byeok) and a woman with a difficult past (IU) learn to overcome their hardships with the help of one another.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Mystic Pop-Up Bar

Weol Ju (Hwang Jung Eum) has been alive for 500 years paying a spiritual debt by settling the grudges of 100,000 souls. She finds people to help by running a pop-up bar, aided by loyal Gwi (Choi Won Young) a former detective of the Afterlife police agency. A cheerful young man (Yook Sung Jae of BTOB) who can make people confess their deepest secrets by touching them starts to work at the bar when Weol Ju promises to take his ability away if he helps her finish paying her debt.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Private Lives

In an effort to escape her past life as a con woman, Cha Joo Eun (Seohyun of Girls Generation) runs a detective agency but uncovers a deep conspiracy to control the Korean government. She is first hindered, then helped, by Lee Jung Hwan (Go Kyung Pyo) who used to be part of the group that wants control.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Reply 1994

Six university students experience life in ’90s South Korea while living in a boarding house together. This drama stars Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon Seok, Kim Sung Kyun, Son Ho Jun, Baro of B1A4, Min Do Hee of Tiny G, Sung Dong Il, and Lee Il Hwa.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Reply 1997

Six adults who went to high school together reunite and reflect on their high school days in a time when Kpop was becoming popular. Stars Jang Eunji of Apink and Seo In Guk, with Hoya from Infinite and Eun Ji Won of Sechs Kiss in the supporting cast. Cameos from G.NA and Eunji’s Apink bandmate Park Chorong.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Rich Man

Also called Rich Man, Poor Woman. Stars Suho of EXO as a tech CEO who can’t recognize faces and is picky about who works at his company. A college grad with a photographic memory from the country (Ha Yeon Soo) tries to get a job as his company.

Where to Watch: Viki

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung

Goo Hae Ryung (Shin Se Kyung) becomes one of the first women to work as a historian in the royal Joseon court. Prince Do Won (ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo) moonlights as a romance novelist, but joins forces with the historians when the king and his councilor start banning books.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Save Me

A group of young men try to rescue a beautiful woman from a cult that also controls the rest of her family. Stars Taecyeon of 2PM and Seo Ye Ji.

Where to Watch: Netflix

She Was Pretty

A woman (Hwang Jung Eum) falls for her handsome boss and childhood friend (Park Seo Joon) while being pursued by her coworker, a famous novelist (Choi Si Won of Super Junior). She has her beautiful friend pretend to be her when her boss no longer recognizes her because of her looks.

Where to Watch: Viki

Shut Up: Flower Boy Band

A merging of idol dramas with flower boy dramas, high school band Eye Candy struggles to get through high school while pursuing their dreams. Stars Sung Joon, Jo Bo Ah, L of Infinite, Jung Eui Chul, Lee Hyun Jae of indie band Mate, reality show audition winner Yoo Min Kyu, and Kim Min Seok.

Where to watch: Dailymotion

Strong Girl: Do Bong Soon

Do Bong Soon, a girl with superpowers (Park Bo Young) secretly uses her powers to help others but a CEO (Park Hyung Sik of ZE:A) with a stalker sees her and hires her to be his bodyguard. Her best friend (Ji Soo) is a detective investigating a serial kidnapper, and his life is also endangered. Can Bong Soon protect them both while stopping the kidnapper from taking his next target?

Where to Watch: Viki

The Liar and His Lover

Based on the Japanese manga Kanojo wa Uso o Aishisugiteru, prodigy songwriter Kang Han Gyul (L of INFINITE) takes on a fake identity as he courts talented vocalist Yoon So Rim (Joy of Red Velvet). As she becomes successful, she realizes Kang Han Gyul is not who he says he is.

Where to Watch: Netflix

The Producers

A black documentary-style comedy about the inside world of Korean media. The Producers stars Kim Soo Hyun, Chae Tae Hyun, IU, and Gong Hyo Jin.

Where to Watch: Viki

Uncontrollably Fond

Former classmates (Kim Woo Bin and Suzy of Miss A) reunite as adults, both in the entertainment industry. They clash on a documentary project, but learn to work together and eventually fall in love.

Where to Watch: Viki

Vagabond

A stuntman (Lee Seung Gi) loses his nephew on a plane crash and suspects the flight was sabotaged. He starts working with an NIS agent (Suzy of Miss A) to find the truth.

Where to Watch: Netflix

While You Were Sleeping

A woman (Suzy of Miss A) who dreams of bad things about to happen meets two men (Lee Jong Suk and Jung Hae In) who also start having similar dreams. Together, they try to stop bad things from happening to those around them.

Where to Watch: Viki

What are your favorite Korean idol dramas?

I counted IU in five of these dramas! Suzy is in four, and they starred together in Dream High.

Do you have a favorite among these or other Korean idol dramas? Share it with us in the comments!