The 15 best K-dramas of 2024 ranked, from Queen of Tears to LTNS and Squid Game season 2

From a vigilante thriller to a period political drama, and Korea’s most awaited sequel, here is our pick of the top 15 K-dramas of 2024

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Lee Jung-jae in a still from Squid Game season 2, the most anticipated Netflix series of the year and the best K-drama show of 2024. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix

Published: 4:15am, 21 Dec 2024Updated: 7:12am, 21 Dec 2024

The year 2024 saw the Korean drama industry go back to basics, with traditional cable TV offerings largely outshining bigger-budget streaming productions.

There were a few notable exceptions, however, including the return of the biggest K-drama of all time.

Here is our pick of the best Korean dramas of 2024, ranked from good to great.

15. A Shop for Killers

Lead cast: Lee Dong-wook, Kim Hye-joon

Web novel adaptation A Shop for Killers opens with a bang, with a young woman (Kim Hye-joon) returning to the countryside for her uncle’s funeral, only to be besieged on all sides by mercenaries hell-bent on accessing the store of weapons under her house.

Since the uncle is played by star Lee Dong-wook (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God), much of the story is played out in flashback, teasing out how the woman found herself in her predicament.

The show eventually experiences some narrative hiccups, but the action never lets up and we can surely expect an explosive follow-up for the confirmed second season. Read our early preview | final review

14. Queen of Tears

Lead cast: Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Ji-won