15 Award-Winning Korean Dramas on Netflix You Should Watch
Looking for an award-winning Korean drama on Netflix that is actually worth your time? Korean television has produced everything from sweeping historical romances and emotional family stories to courtroom dramas, military thrillers and survival series that became worldwide sensations.
The appeal of K-dramas has never been limited to one genre. Some shows win audiences with unforgettable romances, others tackle social issues, while the best of them combine strong writing, memorable performances and characters that stay with you long after the final episode.
Netflix has played a major role in taking Korean dramas to international audiences. And several of the titles available on the platform have gone beyond popularity to receive major recognition at awards ceremonies in Korea and internationally.
From The King’s Affection and Extraordinary Attorney Woo to Squid Game, The Glory, Crash Landing on You and Reply 1988, these are some of the best award-winning Korean dramas to add to your Netflix watchlist.
The Best Award-Winning Korean Dramas on Netflix
1. The King’s Affection
The King’s Affection blends palace politics, forbidden romance and mistaken identity into a historical K-drama that keeps its central secret at the heart of the story.
The drama follows twins born to a Joseon-era crown prince. Because having a daughter is considered an ominous sign, the girl, Dam-yi, is initially marked for death. Her mother secretly saves her, but years later circumstances change dramatically when her twin brother dies. Dam-yi is eventually forced to return and take his place, living under the identity of a prince.
That becomes increasingly complicated when she grows closer to her tutor, Jung Ji-woon, played by Rowoon.
Park Eun-bin anchors the drama with a performance that balances the character’s emotional isolation with the pressure of maintaining a dangerous secret. The series won the Best Telenovela award at the 2022 International Emmy Awards, while writer Han Hee-jung received the Best Writer honor at the 2022 Seoul International Drama Awards.
Cast: Park Eun-bin, Rowoon, Nam Yoon-su, Choi Byung-chan, Bae Yoon-kyung and Jung Chae-yeon
Episodes: 20
Release: October 11, 2021
Best for: Historical romance, palace drama and secret-identity stories.
2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Few courtroom dramas approach their central character quite like Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Park Eun-bin plays Woo Young-woo, a brilliant lawyer whose exceptional memory and creative approach to legal problems make her an unusually capable attorney. At the same time, navigating workplace relationships and everyday social situations presents challenges that her professional intelligence cannot simply solve.
That contrast is what gives the series much of its emotional appeal. The courtroom cases provide the weekly drama, but the larger story is about Young-woo finding her place in a professional environment that isn’t always designed with someone like her in mind.
The series became one of the most acclaimed Korean dramas in the source’s list, winning the Grand Prize – Television at the 2023 Baeksang Arts Awards, along with honors at the Busan International Film Festival, Korea Drama Awards, Kinolights Awards and Seoul International Drama Awards.
Cast: Park Eun-bin, Kang Tae-oh and Kang Ki-young
Episodes: 16
Release: June 29, 2022
Best for: Legal dramas, character-driven stories and emotional workplace K-dramas.
3. Squid Game
Few Korean series have had an impact comparable to Squid Game.
The premise is brutally simple. Hundreds of people facing severe financial problems are invited to participate in a mysterious competition based on familiar children’s games. The winner receives an enormous cash prize, but losing comes with deadly consequences.
What initially appears to be a survival thriller gradually becomes a much broader story about inequality, desperation, debt and the lengths people will go to when they believe there is no other way out.
Lee Jung-jae leads the ensemble as Seong Gi-hun, surrounded by characters whose personal circumstances make the competition increasingly difficult to view as a simple game.
The series received 12 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, becoming the first Korean title to receive that recognition. It also won awards from the Critics Choice Super Awards, Gotham Awards, Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards, People’s Choice Awards and other institutions.
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi and Kim Joo-ryoung
Episodes: 9
Release: September 17, 2021
Best for: Survival thrillers, social commentary and high-stakes storytelling.
4. Crash Landing on You
If you’re looking for an award-winning Korean romance on Netflix, Crash Landing on You remains one of the safest recommendations.
Son Ye-jin stars as Yoon Se-ri, a wealthy South Korean heiress whose life changes after a paragliding accident leaves her stranded in North Korea. She is discovered by Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok, played by Hyun Bin, who decides to protect her and help her return home.
What begins as a dangerous situation gradually becomes an unlikely romance.
The drama works because the central relationship isn’t rushed. Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok have to navigate political danger, cultural differences and the constant possibility that their relationship could put both of them at risk.
The series won Outstanding Korean Drama at the 15th Seoul International Drama Awards, Best Drama Series at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards and several other honors, including the Grand Prize at the 2021 Korea Communications Commission Broadcasting Awards.
Cast: Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye and Kim Jung-hyun
Episodes: 16
Release: December 14, 2019
Best for: Romance, comedy, emotional storytelling and star-powered K-dramas.
5. The Glory
For viewers who prefer something darker, The Glory offers one of the most intense revenge stories in modern Korean television.
Song Hye-kyo plays Moon Dong-eun, a woman whose high-school years were destroyed by severe bullying. Instead of allowing the trauma to disappear into the past, Dong-eun spends years preparing a calculated revenge plan.
Her strategy eventually brings her back into the lives of the people who made her teenage years unbearable.
The strength of The Glory lies in the patience of its revenge narrative. Dong-eun isn’t looking for a quick confrontation. She studies her enemies, identifies their weaknesses and carefully positions herself to bring their carefully constructed lives crashing down.
The drama won Best Drama Series at the 2023 Asian Academy Creative Awards, Best Drama at the 2023 Baeksang Arts Awards, Best Drama at the 2023 Kinolights Awards and Best Picture at the Seoul International Drama Awards.
If you have already watched The Glory, Fandomora’s guide to the best revenge K-dramas like The Glory is a natural next read, especially if you’re looking for another revenge-heavy series.
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon and Jung Sung-il
Episodes: 16
Best for: Revenge, psychological drama, school bullying and dark thrillers.
6. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Not every award-winning K-drama needs murder, corruption or life-or-death stakes.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha takes a much warmer approach, following city dentist Yoon Hye-jin after she moves to a seaside town and establishes her own practice.
There she repeatedly clashes with Hong Doo-shik, the local jack-of-all-trades who seems to know everyone and everything about the community.
Their relationship gradually changes as Hye-jin becomes part of village life. The drama’s appeal comes from its ensemble of colorful residents as much as its central romance.
The series won the Hallyu Excellence Award at the 2022 Korea Communications Commission Broadcasting Awards, while writer Shin Ha-eun received a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation at the 2022 Korean Content Awards.
Cast: Shin Min-a, Kim Seon-ho and Lee Sang-yi
Episodes: 16
Release: August 28, 2021
Best for: Romantic comedy, healing dramas and feel-good K-dramas.
7. Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice is considerably heavier than Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and approaches the Korean legal drama from a challenging perspective.
Kim Hye-soo plays Judge Shim Eun-seok, a stern and emotionally distant judge who has little sympathy for juvenile offenders. Her appointment to a juvenile court forces her to confront complicated cases involving young people and the circumstances that brought them before her.
Rather than presenting every case as a straightforward battle between good and evil, the drama examines difficult questions surrounding punishment, responsibility and rehabilitation.
Its screenplay received the Best Screenplay award at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards, adding recognition to what is already one of Netflix’s more serious Korean courtroom dramas.
Cast: Kim Hye-soo, Kim Mu-yeol, Lee Sung-min and Lee Jung-eun
Episodes: 10
Release: February 25, 2022
Best for: Courtroom dramas, serious social themes and crime stories.
8. Descendants of the Sun
Before streaming platforms transformed the global K-drama market, Descendants of the Sun was already helping demonstrate the international power of Korean television.
The romance follows Captain Yoo Shi-jin, a South Korean Special Forces officer, and Kang Mo-yeon, a surgeon at Haesung Hospital. Their demanding careers repeatedly pull them apart, but circumstances eventually bring them together in a war-torn country where they work to protect and treat civilians.
Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo became one of the most talked-about K-drama pairings through the series, which combines romance with military action and humanitarian drama.
The series won the Grand Prize at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, along with Best Drama honors from the APAN Star Awards and Korea Drama Awards. It also received recognition at the Asian Television Awards and WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.
Cast: Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo and Kim Ji-won
Episodes: 19
Release: February 24, 2016
Best for: Romance, military stories and classic Hallyu-era K-dramas.
9. Reply 1988
If your idea of a great Korean drama is something more personal and nostalgic, Reply 1988 deserves a place on the list.
Set in 1988, the series follows five friends and their families living in the same neighborhood. Their lives are closely connected, from casual gatherings and movie nights to the everyday problems that come with growing up.
There isn’t a single giant mystery or villain driving the story. Instead, Reply 1988 finds its drama in family relationships, friendship, first love and the small moments that become important over time.
That understated approach is precisely why the series has remained so beloved.
The drama received the Grand Prize at the 2016 tvN10 Awards.
Cast: Lee Hye-ri, Ryu Jun-yeol, Go Kyung-pyo, Park Bo-gum and Lee Dong-hwi
Episodes: 20
Release: November 6, 2015
Best for: Family stories, nostalgia, friendship and slice-of-life K-dramas.
10. D.P.
D.P. takes viewers inside a very different part of South Korean society: mandatory military service.
The story follows members of the Deserter Pursuit Unit, whose job is to track down soldiers who have gone absent without leave. As the team encounters different deserters, the drama gradually exposes the difficult realities and pressures surrounding military life.
Jung Hae-in leads the cast alongside Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun and Son Suk-ku.
Rather than treating military service simply as an action backdrop, D.P. uses its characters and cases to explore the harsher side of institutional life.
The series won Best Drama at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards and Best Drama at the 2022 Blue Dragon Series Awards.
Cast: Jung Hae-in, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun and Son Suk-ku
Episodes: 12
Release: August 27, 2021
Best for: Military dramas, social commentary and serious character stories.
Which Award-Winning Korean Drama Should You Watch First?
The right choice depends on what kind of K-drama you’re in the mood for.
If you want romance, start with Crash Landing on You, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha or Descendants of the Sun. For something darker, The Glory, Squid Game, Juvenile Justice and D.P. offer considerably heavier subject matter.
Fans of historical Korean dramas should begin with The King’s Affection, while anyone searching for a warm, emotional binge should give Reply 1988 a chance.
And if you’re completely new to K-dramas, Crash Landing on You and Extraordinary Attorney Woo are particularly accessible starting points because they combine strong characters with stories that are easy to become invested in.
Why Are Award-Winning K-Dramas So Popular?
Awards aren’t automatically proof that a show will be your personal favorite, but they can be a useful starting point when a Netflix catalog feels overwhelming.
The dramas on this list demonstrate just how broad Korean television has become. A historical romance can win an International Emmy, a courtroom drama can dominate awards season, a survival thriller can become a global phenomenon, and a quiet neighborhood story can earn recognition for its emotional storytelling.
That variety is one of the biggest reasons K-dramas on Netflix continue to attract viewers who might previously have ignored Korean television.
There is no single K-drama formula.
You can spend one weekend watching a revenge thriller like The Glory and the next getting emotionally invested in the families of Reply 1988.
Final Verdict
The best award-winning Korean dramas on Netflix aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest productions. What connects these shows is the ability to tell a story that gives viewers a reason to keep watching.
Squid Game turned social inequality into a brutal survival game. The Glory transformed trauma into a slow-burning revenge story. Crash Landing on You built an unforgettable romance around an impossible situation, while Extraordinary Attorney Woo found drama in the courtroom and in the everyday challenges of its central character.
For historical romance, go with The King’s Affection. For action and social commentary, try D.P. or Squid Game. If romance is your priority, Crash Landing on You remains an easy recommendation.
And if you simply want a K-drama that feels like spending time with people you genuinely come to care about, Reply 1988 may be the one that stays with you longest.
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