25 K-Dramas To Celebrate 25 Memorable Years With Soompi
Can you believe it—Soompi is 25 years old!
Soompi first launched in 1998, and we have loved experiencing all the excitement of Korean entertainment with you. Thank you for continuing to support Soompi, and walk down memory lane with us as we celebrate the past 25 years with a drama that aired each year!
1998: “Soonpoong Clinic”
“Soonpoong Clinic” is a legendary Korean sit-com that started in March 1998, the same month as Soompi, and aired every weekday until December 2000 for a whopping 682 episodes. The drama focuses on the stories of Oh Ji Myung (Oh Ji Myung), the director of Soonpoong Clinic, along with his family and other people in their lives. This is the first of several Song Hye Kyo dramas on this list, and it also stars familiar faces including Kim So Yeon, Kim Rae Won, Jung In Sun, and more in the early stages of their careers.
1999: “Trap of Youth”
“Trap of Youth” is a romance drama about a woman who becomes the incarnation of revenge after she is shocked by a man’s betrayal following a promise of marriage. A remake of a drama of the same name from 1978, this 1999 drama stars Shim Eun Ha, Lee Jong Won, Yoo Ho Jung, and Jun Kwang Ryul.
2000: “Autumn in My Heart”
In this romance drama, Yoon Jun Seo (played by Choi Woo Hyuk as a child and Song Seung Heon as an adult) and Yoon Eun Seo (played by Moon Geun Young as a child and Song Hye Kyo as an adult) are brother and sister who grew up in a happy and wealthy family under Professor Yoon. Eun Seo is hospitalized after a car accident one day and learns that she is not the biological daughter of Professor Yoon, and she leaves to find her birth parents. As an adult, Eun Seo meets Tae Seok (Won Bin), the son of the CEO of a hotel who falls in love with her. However, Jun Seo and Eun Seo fall in love with each other when they are reunited.
Watch “Autumn in My Heart” below:
2001: “Taejo Wang Geon”
With 200 episodes that aired over two years, “Taejo Wang Geon” is the longest-running Korea historical drama. The drama follows the story of Wang Geon, who founded the Goryeo Dynasty. Choi Soo Jong leads the drama as the role of Wang Geon, and Kim Young Chul plays Gung Ye. “Taejo Wang Geon” achieved a nationwide rating of 60.2 percent, which is one of the highest ever for a Korean drama.
2002: “Winter Sonata”
Released as the second of KBS2’s “season” dramas following “Autumn in My Heart,” the 2002 drama “Winter Sonata” is one of the first Hallyu K-dramas, especially gaining explosive success in Japan. The drama is about Jun Sang (Bae Yong Joon), a man with a mysterious past who transfers to a new school and meets Yu Jin (Choi Ji Woo) and Sang Hyuk (Park Yong Ha). Jun Sang falls in love with Yu Jin but gets in a car accident. 10 years after Jun Sang’s passing, Yu Jin is engaged to Sang Hyuk but encounters Min Hyung, who looks just like Jun Sang.
Watch “Winter Sonata” below:
2003: “Stairway to Heaven”
“Stairway to Heaven” tells the emotional love stories of four men and women struggling with hopeless romance. Cha Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo) and Han Jeong Seo (Choi Ji Woo) who have lost a father and a mother, respectively, spend their childhood together like real siblings (played by Baek Sung Hyun and Park Shin Hye as children), relying heavily on each other. However, after Jeong Seo’s father marries Tae Mi Ra (Lee Hwi Hyang), Mi Ra and her daughter Yu Ri (Kim Tae Hee) keep harassing Jeong Seo out of jealousy.
Watch “Stairway to Heaven” below:
2004: “Full House”
“Full House” is a classic rom-com about Han Ji Eun (Song Hye Kyo), who owns a house built by her late father, and famous actor Lee Young Jae (Rain). When Ji Eun’s friends scam her by secretly selling her house to Young Jae and taking all of the money, Ji Eun and Young Jae end up inevitably living together. They do not start out on a positive note as housemates, but their relationship soon begins to develop in an unexpected way.
Watch “Full House” below:
2005: “My Lovely Sam Soon”
Another legendary K-drama rom-com, “My Lovely Sam Soon” is about Kim Sam Soon (Kim Sun Ah), a brash yet talented pastry chef, and Hyun Jin Heon (Hyun Bin), the owner of a French restaurant. Jin Heon hires Sam Soon to work at his restaurant, and he also begins a contract relationship with her to avoid nagging from his mother. Being completely opposites, the two do not get along so well at first, but they slowly find themselves falling for each other.
Watch “My Lovely Sam Soon” below:
2006: “Princess Hours”
“Princess Hours” is a rom-com following an alternate fictional history with the reinstatement of the Korean monarchy. Average high school girl Shim Chae Kyung (Yoon Eun Hye) ends up in an arranged marriage with Crown Prince Lee Shin (Joo Ji Hoon), who is dating Min Hyo Rin (Song Ji Hyo) because of an old promise and becomes the Crown Princess. When Prince Yul (Kim Jung Hoon) returns to claim the throne, he also ends up falling in love with the Crown Princess.
Watch “Princess Hours” below:
2007: “Coffee Prince”
“Coffee Prince” stars the young faces of the all-star cast including Gong Yoo, Yoon Eun Hye, Lee Sun Gyun, Chae Jung An, Kim Jae Wook, and Kim Dong Wook. Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) ends up working at the cafe run by Han Gyeol (Gong Yoo), a wealthy man from a chaebol family. Han Gyeol thinks that Eun Chan is a man, so his life becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for her.
Watch “Coffee Prince” below:
2008: “Beethoven Virus”
In this rare K-drama about classical music, Mr. Kang (Kim Myung Min) is a notorious orchestra conductor who has genius talent but a straightforward manner of speech. He returns to Seoul and takes charge of an orchestra of a motley crew. Kang Gun Woo (Jang Keun Suk) is a talented trumpet player and conductor, and when he meets violinist Du Ru Mi (Lee Ji Ah) in the orchestra, they share a passion for music and build up an orchestra of harmony.
Watch “Beethoven Virus” below:
2009: “Boys Over Flowers”
In one of the most iconic K-drama rom-coms, Lee Min Ho plays Gu Jun Pyo, an arrogant second-generation chaebol and the leader of the F4, the powerful group of boys at Shinhwa High School also including Yoon Ji Hoo (Kim Hyun Joong), So Yi Jung (Kim Bum), and Song Woo Bin (Kim Joon). Geum Jan Di (Ku Hye Sun) is a girl from a regular family who is accepted to Shinhwa High School with a scholarship by chance. Although Jan Di and Jun Pyo do not get along at first, they end up spending more time together and sharing experiences that are completely new to each other.
Watch “Boys Over Flowers” below:
2010: “Secret Garden”
This beloved fantasy rom-com tells the story of Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a stuntwoman who dreams of becoming a martial arts director, and Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), a rich department store CEO as they unexpectedly find themselves in each other’s bodies. Despite their differences and the bewildering situation, they gradually start to become attracted to each other.
Watch “Secret Garden” below:
2011: “Dream High”
Set at competitive arts school Kirin High School, “Dream High” is a drama that follows the story of six students trying to achieve love and their dreams in the music industry. The drama boasts an incredibly star-studded cast including Kim Soo Hyun, Suzy, IU, 2PM’s Taecyeon and Wooyoung, T-ara’s Eunjung, Park Jin Young, Lee Yoon Ji, Uhm Ki Joon, Bae Yong Joon, and more.
Watch “Dream High” below:
2012: “Reply 1997”
“Reply 1997” tells the story of a group of high school friends navigating their way through life and first loves. The drama is focused on the friendship and romance between Sung Shi Won (Jung Eun Ji) and Yoon Yoon Jae (Seo In Guk), but it also follows Shi Won’s life as a fangirl of H.O.T., the rivalries between H.O.T. and SECHSKIES, Kang Joon Hee’s (Lee Ho Won) crush on Yoon Jae, Shi Won’s father’s baseball career, and more, delivering nostalgic warmth to viewers.
Watch “Reply 1997” below:
2013: “Heirs”
Focused on the love story of chaebol heir Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho) and his family’s housekeeper’s daughter Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), “Heirs” is about elite high schoolers and also those who get involuntarily embroiled in their lives. The star-studded cast includes Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Krystal, Kim Ji Won, Kang Min Hyuk, Kang Ha Neul, Park Hyung Sik, and more.
Watch “Heirs” below:
2014: “My Love From the Star”
“My Love from the Star” is a sweet and lively romance drama which tells the story of alien Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun) who has been stuck on Earth since 1609 and meets top actress Cheon Song Yi (Jun Ji Hyun) 400 years later. Although Do Min Joon has been alive for so long, he cannot stop himself from falling in love with his new neighbor Cheon Song Yi, who always brings him trouble.
Watch “My Love from the Star” below:
2015: “Reply 1988”
The third installment of the “Reply” series, “Reply 1988” tells the warm and funny stories of five families living in the neighborhood of Ssangmun in 1988, with the main focus on the high schoolers Sung Deok Sun (Hyeri), Kim Jung Hwan (Ryu Jun Yeol), Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum), Sung Sun Woo (Go Kyung Pyo), and Ryu Dong Ryong (Lee Dong Hwi).
Watch “Reply 1988” below:
2016: “Descendants of the Sun”
In the worldwide hit “Descendants of the Sun,” Song Joong Ki stars as special forces unit captain Yoo Shi Jin who falls in love with the doctor Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo). As they begin their love story, they struggle with differences in their occupational backgrounds and values, and they unexpectedly find themselves working together in a foreign land, running into dangerous situations along the way.
Watch “Descendants of the Sun” below:
2017: “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God“
“Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” follows the story of goblin Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) who needs a human bride to end his immortal life. Along the way, he meets an amnesiac grim reaper (Lee Dong Wook) and a girl named Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun) with a strange fate. Ji Eun Tak also works part-time at a chicken restaurant owned by Sunny (Yoo In Na), who ends up falling for the grim reaper.
Watch “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” below:
2018: “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim”
In this webtoon-based hit rom-com, Park Seo Joon plays Lee Young Joon, the narcissistic vice president of his family’s company, while Park Min Young is his personal secretary Kim Mi So. When Kim Mi So announces her resignation, Lee Young Joon suddenly realizes that he can’t live without her and makes several proposals to try to make her stay, and this begins an unexpected love story with a hidden secret of the past.
Watch “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim” below:
2019: “Hotel Del Luna”
“Hotel Del Luna” is a fantasy horror rom-com that revolves around a hotel made solely for ghosts, which has been run by hot-tempered CEO Jang Man Wol (IU) for over 1000 years. Things take an interesting turn when Goo Chan Sung (Yeo Jin Goo) shows up as a manger. They are joined by bartender Kim Seon Bi (Shin Jung Geun), hospitality manager Choi Seo Hee (Bae Hae Sun), frontman Ji Hyun Joong (P.O), and more.
Watch “Hotel Del Luna” below:
2020: “True Beauty”
Based on a hit webtoon, “True Beauty” is a romantic comedy about Lim Ju Gyeong (Moon Ga Young), who zealously uses makeup to hide her bare face and combat her insecurities about her looks. After she meets Lee Su Ho (ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo), a popular student who has his own emotional wounds, they share each other’s secrets and learn to heal through love. Hwang In Yeop co-stars as Han Seo Jun, Lee Su Ho’s friend who has a crush on Lim Ju Gyeong.
Watch “True Beauty” below:
2021: “The Red Sleeve”
“The Red Sleeve” is a historical drama about the imperial romance between crown prince Yi San (2PM’s Lee Junho), who later becomes emperor, and the strong-willed court lady Seong Deok Im (Lee Se Young). Despite their differences in class and status, the two engage in a deep romance while trying to fight for their nation.
Watch “The Red Sleeve” below:
2022: “Reborn Rich”
“Reborn Rich” is a fantasy drama starring Song Joong Ki as Yoon Hyun Woo, a loyal secretary to a chaebol family. When he dies after being framed for embezzlement by the very family that he had faithfully served, he is reborn as the family’s youngest son Jin Do Joon, and he plots to take over the company in order to exact revenge.
Watch “Reborn Rich” below:
Which of these 25 dramas have you enjoyed watching? Let us know by voting in the poll above!
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