Love stories are an important staple of the global phenomenon that is the Korean drama. Unparalleled in their ability to evoke emotion, K-dramas captivate their audiences with deeply involving stories where unusual premises, heart-rending dilemmas, and quirky genre mixes are standard fare. And as beautiful as K-drama romances can be, those centered around forbidden love are especially compelling.
Forbidden love is a universal theme that is found in stories of all cultures. But K-dramas explore this theme in a way that is simply masterful, crafting elaborate scenarios and pitting their characters against extraordinary challenges to tell unforgettable stories about passion and fate. Here are the 10 best K-dramas about forbidden love.
10 On the Way to the Airport
A well-regarded K-drama about forbidden love is On the Way to the Airport, a series that follows two people who develop feelings for each other despite already being married. Kim Ha-neul stars in the series as Choi Soo-ah, a veteran air stewardess married to an emotionally unavailable pilot. Soo-ah comes in contact with the architect Seo Doo-woo (Lee Sang-yoon) when the latter’s daughter, best friends to Soo-ah’s own child, passes away in an accident.
A friendship begins as Soo-ah comforts and supports Doo-woo following the tragedy. But sparks inevitably fly as both characters feel trapped in loveless marriages, and the two begin to navigate their feelings while trying to stay faithful to their spouses. On the Way to the Airport, however, is no steamy drama about infidelity and spends its time following the leads’ emotional negotiations with each other, and their reflections upon their own marriages.
9 The Time We Were Not in Love
A remake of a Taiwanese series titled In Time with You, The Time We Were Not in Love is a perfect example of the friends to lovers trope that is so endeared by K-drama fans. The series stars Ha Ji-won and Lee Jin-wook as best friends of 17 long years; they’ve grown up together, and have been there to witness all the major milestones of each other’s lives.
Somewhere along the line, the two have developed feelings for each other, but the timing never seems right. When Jin-wook’s character begins to get close to a female co-worker, Ji-won’s character is consumed by feelings of jealousy. Startled at her own response, she seeks to distract herself by getting back together with her ex.
8 Love Affairs in the Afternoon
Love Affairs in the Afternoon is another cross-language remake on this list, this time of an acclaimed Japanese series called Hirugao. Released in 2019, this series is an examination of the emotional fallouts of marital infidelity, and it does so in a particularly hard-hitting manner. It opens with Park Ha-sun as a housewife whose passion for life is suddenly reignited after meeting a local school teacher, played by Lee Sang-yeob. The series follows its characters as they struggle with loneliness, temptation, and guilt in equal measure.
7 Love in the Moonlight
Love in the Moonlight is a spectacular period drama that became a national phenomenon when it released in 2015. Based on the web novel Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, it is set during the 19th Century and stars Kim Yoo-jung as a successful love counselor who lives her life disguised as a man. A series of incidents force her to live in the royal palace, employed as a eunuch, and there she meets the crown prince, played by Park Bo-gum. Amidst many comedic encounters, the two gradually become closer. All the while, the prince has to navigate the dangerous politics of the court.
Love in the Moonlight was universally acclaimed for its rousing narrative that is devoid of any slow moments. From comedy, to romance, to thrilling reveals, the series is full of excitement and entertains with its many stakes.
6 Crash Landing on You
One of the most popular K-dramas of recent years, Crash Landing on You brings romance, corporate politics, and the conflict between North and South Korea to the fore in telling its story. The series stars Son Ye-jin as a successful entrepreneur and heiress to a major corporation in South Korea. A freak accident during a paragliding adventure leads her to crash-land in the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea, where she is found by a North Korean Army captain, played by Hyun Bin.
Hyun Bin elects to help her get back home, but the journey is an arduous one and the two fall in live in the course, despite knowing that they will never be together. And the challenges do not end there for the two leads, as conspiracies await Ye-jin’s character back home.
5 Something in the Rain
Son Ye-jin also appeared as the lead in another Korean drama about forbidden love in 2018, titled Something in the Rain. Also known as Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, the series was adored for its touching exploration of various relationship taboos, often utilizing typically Korean cultural nuances to do so. Ye-jin appears in the series as a café supervisor in her mid-30s, who has so far had little success in her romantic life. Things begin to change when an old acquaintance, played by Jung Hae-in, enters her life.
Hae-in plays the younger brother of Ye-jin’s best friend, and as such a romantic relationship is scarcely on the cards. But she finds in the grown-up Hae-in a sense of comfort that she has been looking for all her life. The series doesn’t just examine the romantic age-gap angle, but also delves into other obstacles like parental opposition and class differences.
4 The Princess’ Man
The Princess’ Man is a period Korean drama set during the 15th Century, and follows the forbidden relationship between two people of rival families. The story begins with the Grand Prince Suyang sending a marriage proposal between his daughter, Lee Se-ryung, and the prime minister’s son, King Seung-yoo. Upon hearing the news, Se-ryung decides to meet her prospective husband masquerading as someone else, and the two quickly fall in love.
But their fates take a different turn when the king announces that Seung-yoo will be the new prince consort. Amidst mistaken identities, political machinations, and dangerous assassins lurking in every corner, the two leads try their best to balance love and responsibility.
3 The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes is the kind of story that could only have come out of the Korean film industry, presenting a unique dilemma as its premise that is so typical of K-dramas. It focuses on the budding romantic relationship between Kim Moo-young (Seo In-guk) and Yoo Jin-kang (Jung So-min). While all seems well on the surface, Moo-young is seemingly hiding a dark secret that comes to the fore when he finds himself in the crosshairs of police detective Park Sung-woong (Yoo Jin-gook), who also happens to be Jin-kang’s elder brother.
When the detective finds that her own sister is dating a possible psychopath, he does everything he can to protect his own, but things are far more complicated than they initially seem as all three characters have a mutual connection in the past that none of them are aware of.
2 A Love to Kill
A Love to Kill is a truly emotional ride and can leave viewers feeling conflicted over its portrayal of forbidden love. The series features Jung Ji-hoon as professional kickboxer Kang Bok-gu, a loner who reconciles with his elder brother after many years of separation. But soon after making up with each other, his brother commits suicide because his ex-girlfriend is engaged to someone else.
The ex-girlfriend is up-and-coming actress Cha Eun-suk, played by Shin Min-ah. Bok-gu sets off on a campaign of revenge against the actress, entering her life as a bodyguard and romancing her successfully. He soon learns that Eun-suk is innocent of everything he blamed her of, but he cannot take back the things he has done.
1 Secret Affair
Secret Affair deals with forbidden romances through a number of angles: age differences, infidelity, and even social power differences. Lee Sun-jae (Yoo Ah-in) is a 20-year-old man who struggles to make a living for himself despite being a talented pianist. A bonafide musical genius, he has never taken music classes and his potential remains undeveloped until he meets Oh Hye-won (Kim Hee-ae), the 40-year-old director of the Seohan Arts Foundation.
Hye-won is a confident and successful career woman married to a piano professor, and takes Sun-jae under her wing after noticing his potential. But what begins as a simple mentor-mentee relationship soon turns into something else, and the two risk everything in their lives to pursue a romance despite numerous obstacles.
