The best K-Dramas of 2022 were joined by two brutal teen dramas that premiered earlier this year (we are all dead) and the end (Weak Hero Class One). They frame a year of great Korean drama, so much that it was difficult to narrow it down to just 11 top picks.
Big mouth, juvenile court, business proposal, and Narco Saints were contenders. And had Rich reborn released all of its episodes earlier, I’m pretty sure the Song Joong-ki series would have made it onto this list as well. The list below shows how romantic and charmed, scared and outraged, informed and celebrated – and also made me laugh.
Check out the top K-Dramas of 2022 that should definitely be on your watch list below.
Under the Queen’s umbrella
This saguk — or historical drama — is my favorite K-drama of the year. Kim Hye-soo plays a fair and open-minded queen who serves her king but lives for her wild sons. After her eldest son, the crown prince, falls terminally ill, the battle for succession begins. His title doesn’t automatically pass to her other children, as far as the Dowager Queen (Kim Hae-sook) is concerned. She despises Queen Hwa-ryeong and has plans of her own: have a prince carried to one of the king’s many concubines, rise up the royal hierarchy, kick out (or kill!) Queen Hwa-ryeong, and make the favored concubine the queen new queen of the king. What follows is a crime thriller and a tale of political revenge with a delightful love story thrown in for a bit of levity. As a bonus, the period costumes are beautiful. (Kim Hye-soo also stars in this year’s Superlative juvenile courtplays a no-nonsense juvenile court judge who despises delinquents.) (Netflix)
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Weak hero class 1
Park Ji-hoon is barely recognizable from his Wanna One days. At the helm of this cast, which also includes Choi Hyun-wook (twenty five twenty one) and Hong Kyung (DP), Park is so incredibly good as a bullied boy who uses classical conditioning (Pavlov’s dog) and Newton’s laws of motion to defend himself against his bullies. Unlike most bullied children, Si-eun is not afraid of his pursuers. He sees them as aggressive roadblocks to academic excellence. Not one to feel the need for friends, Si-eun eventually finds himself with class outcast Beom-seok and Soo-ho – the school’s best fighter. There is a plot twist midway through that will leave many viewers shocked and heartbroken. Be warned: the ending is final and grim. Based on a web toon, Weak hero class 1 is one of the few K-Dramas I’m hoping for a second season. (Viki)