The best of K-Dramas 2024: ‘Squid Game 2’, ‘Lovely Runner’, ‘The Atypical Family’, and more

The massive success of ‘Squid Game 2’ wraps up a year that saw hits such as ‘Lovely Runner’, ‘Queen of Tears’, ‘The Judge From Hell’ and ‘Marry My Husband’

In recent years, it has been easy to identify a standout genre or a distinctive storytelling choice that defined K-Drama releases each year. 2024 however, has truly been a mixed bag; of shows that came in with immense hype, smaller shows that became standout hits, and great ideas that were let down once again by unfocussed writing. 

Among the biggest global hits this year on Netflix, Queen of Tears starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won had nearly everything going for it. Crash Landing on You’s writer Park Ji-eun, great lead actors backed by a solid ensemble cast, top-notch production values and a fitting musical score to boot. While the drama viewers across the world, including Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were glued to the screen and more often than not, tearing up at the tragedy of beautiful, rich people being plagued by scheming family members and disease, the emotional notes struggled to pull through in the latter half of the show. A surprise contender however emerged later in the year for a global hit,Lovely Runner, starring Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok turned out to be an utterly charming romance about a woman who finds herself able to travel back in time and sets out to prevent a tragedy that involves her classmate who becomes a famous singer. Despite having starred in several shows before this, both Woo-seok and Hye-yeon emerged overnight stars, with Woo-seok having become a household name now. 

Time travel once again struck big with Marry My Husband, a revenge drama which had K-Drama favourite Park Min-young travel back in time to take revenge on her best friend and fiance, both of whom she realises would be the eventual cause of her ruin. The often over-the-top, yet tightly scripted drama was entertainment at its best – there’s honestly no better feeling than to see a carefully plotted revenge scheme satisfyingly play out. 

If these were the obvious successes, a personal underrated favourite from 2024 has to be The Atypical Family. It is hard to pigeonhole this 12-episode show which delved into romance, relationships, family ties and friendships as it followed the members of a family who have seemingly lost their superpowers. Jang Ki-young, Chun Woo-hee and Claudia Kim essayed layered, well-written characters in this smartly written show that definitely deserved more love and visibility. 

The other fantasy that made a mark, surprisingly chose to go the police procedural route. In The Judge From Hell, we had Park Shin-hye play a demon disguised as an unhinged protector of the law with an endearing detective played by Kim Jae-young hot on the trail of her vigilante justice. This year truly belonged to Park Shin-hye, who stood out as a maniacal demon in this show and had a completely contrasting role as a burnt-out overachiever in Doctor Slump. 

Romantic comedies were few and far between this year, and No Gain No Love, starring Shin Min-ah and Kim Young-dae was a refreshing, short and snappy K-Drama that delivered well on the romance, comedy, and female friendships front. Sure, we’ve seen enough and more of contract marriages, but No Gain No Love also bravely explored the women’s lives at its centre, their relationships and careers, something we only need to see more of. 

A remake of the much-loved Chinese drama Go Ahead, Family By Choice stood out as a wholesome, sweet show at a time when there seemed to be an avalanche of thriller releases. The show, starring Hwang In-yeop, Jung Chae-yeon and Bae Hyun-Sung made for the perfect, wholesome watch with guaranteed smiles, tears and swoons. We don’t have enough of these shows any more and could do with a lot more of these warm shows with immensely likable characters and relationships.