K-Drama Hidden Gems: 15+ Shows To Watch For Viki's K-Drama Day
Looking for a K-drama that might have flown under your radar? Celebrate this year’s K-Drama Day by exploring the K-Drama Hidden Gems collection on Rakuten Viki!
As part of the International K-Drama Day celebration, Viki has curated collections to help fans discover dramas across different genres and themes. From underrated romances to compelling stories that deserve more attention, here are some hidden gems to add to your watch list:
In no particular order.
“Knight Flower”
Set in the Joseon era, “Knight Flower” is an action-comedy drama about Jo Yeo Hwa (Lee Ha Nee), a woman who has lived a quiet and modest life as a virtuous widow but is secretly leading a double life—at night, she valiantly sneaks out to help those in need. When she meets military officer Park Soo Ho (Lee Jong Won), they end up forming an alliance.
Watch “Knight Flower”:
“Love in the Big City”
Based on a novel by Park Sang Young, “Love in the Big City” is a carefully crafted drama that blends comedy, classic romance, and romantic comedy. The series follows young writer Go Young (Nam Yoon Su) as he navigates the ups and downs of life and love.
Watch “Love in the Big City”:
“The Scarecrow”
“The Scarecrow” follows detective Kang Tae Joo (Park Hae Soo), who is investigating a series of murders and is forced into an unlikely partnership with prosecutor Cha Si Young (Lee Hee Joon), a man he despises. Set between 1988 and 2019, the suspenseful story tracks the two men bound by misfortune and an uneasy alliance of hatred as they chase the truth across 30 years.
Watch “The Scarecrow”:
“Strangers From Hell”
Moving to urban Seoul for his career prospects, a young man named Yoon Jong Woo (Yim Si Wan) decides to move to an eerie and derelict dormitory called Eden Studios as he is on a strict budget. However, regret soon hits when he meets the other residents of the dormitory and gets a trickling sense of dread that there is something terribly off with them.
Watch “Strangers from Hell”:
“Extraordinary You”
Eun Dan Oh (Kim Hye Yoon), a high school student, discovers she is a character in a comic book with a predetermined storyline. When she defies her fate and falls for Haru (Rowoon), a character she is not meant to be with, they join forces with other characters to break free from the comic world’s constraints.
Watch “Extraordinary You”:
“Lovers of the Red Sky”
Set during the Joseon era, talented painter Hong Cheon Gi (Kim You Jung) becomes the first female artist at the Royal Academy of Painting and dedicates her life to art. She meets Ha Ram (Ahn Hyo Seop), a skilled astronomy officer who lost his sight, and the two unexpectedly fall for each other.
Watch “Lovers of the Red Sky”:
“Suspicious Partner”
In “Suspicious Partner,” Ji Chang Wook plays a successful lawyer named No Ji Wook who helps a young woman named Eun Bong Hee (Nam Ji Hyun). Bong Hee is trying to get off a murder case that she is wrongfully accused of. Despite their completely opposite personalities and Ji Wook being a bit repulsed by her in the beginning, the two end up falling in love.
Watch “Suspicious Partner”:
“Spirit Fingers”
“Spirit Fingers” is a webtoon-based healing youth romance drama that follows members of a drawing club including Song U Yeon (Park Ji Hu) and Nam Gi Jeong (Cho Jun Young) as they embark on a colorful journey to discover their true colors.
Watch “Spirit Fingers”:
“Do You Like Brahms?”
“Do You Like Brahms?” follows the story of Chae Song Ah (Park Eun Bin), a former business student who decides to chase her passion of violin, and Park Joon Young (Kim Min Jae), a talented but lonely pianist. They start out as friends as they connect through music, but their relationship starts taking an unexpected turn.
Watch “Do You Like Brahms?”:
“Duty After School”
“Duty After School” tells the story of high school students who are called upon to join the world’s first war against extraterrestrial forces. When mysterious alien spheres start invading, the Department of Defense offers college admission incentives to get the students to sign up for the reserved forces.
Watch “Duty After School”:
“Good Partner”
Written by an actual divorce attorney, “Good Partner” depicts the struggles of two very different divorce lawyers: Cha Eun Kyung (Jang Nara), a star lawyer for whom divorce is her calling, and Han Yu Ri (Nam Ji Hyun), a rookie lawyer who is still new to divorce.
Watch “Good Partner”:
“At a Distance, Spring is Green”
“At a Distance, Spring Is Green” is a drama about the realistic lives of university students Yeo Joon (Park Ji Hoon), a popular student from a wealthy family, Kim So Bin (Kang Min Ah), an ordinary student struggling to reach her goals, and Nam Soo Hyun (Bae In Hyuk), a notoriously cold loner.
Watch “At a Distance, Spring is Green”:
“My Strange Hero”
“My Strange Hero” tells the story of Kang Bok Soo (Yoo Seung Ho), who is expelled from his high school on allegations of school violence and bullying, as he returns to the school nine years later to enact his revenge. However, his plans are cut short when he gets involved in a love triangle with Son Soo Jung (Jo Bo Ah) and becomes enemies with Oh Se Ho (Kwak Dong Yeon), the school’s board director.
Watch “My Strange Hero”:
“The K2”
Former soldier Kim Je Ha (Ji Chang Wook) becomes a bodyguard for the powerful wife of a presidential candidate. His life begins to change when he meets Go An Na (Lim Yoona), the hidden daughter of the candidate who has spent years living in isolation.
Watch “The K2”:
“1% of Something”
Lee Jae In (Ha Seok Jin) is forced to be in a relationship with Kim Da Hyun (Jun So Min) in hopes of attaining his grandfather’s inheritance. The two are total opposites in character, but they decide to go through with a six-month contract relationship with some added requests. They bicker, fight, and can’t see eye to eye on most things, but they somehow manage to find a way into each other’s hearts.
Watch “1% of Something”:
Which of these K-dramas will you be watching on K-Drama Day? If you want to explore more options, check out Viki’s K-Drama Hidden Gems collection here!