The year 2017 has given some of the best Kdramas to us. These dramas have got great ratings from the audience & we got new actors. It is one of the best years of dramas.
Kdramas are becoming more popular due to increased access to Korean content on platforms like Netflix, Viki, Viu, etc. The hallyu wave is also responsible for this. Korean dramas are addicting.
Dramas have great plot, acting, romance, comedy & suspense. They are quite good to watch with family too. If you are looking for some good Kdrama recommendation, read on.
Best Korean Dramas Of 2017
If you are looking to binge-watch some kdramas, 2017 has given us a lot of good dramas. Here are 18 of them you can watch to take a break from your daily life.
This list includes Korean dramas that have been watched by maximum viewers and have high ratings on IMDB & other drama sites. Most of them are available to watch on Netflix & Viki.
1. Prison Playbook
Hangul: 슬기로운 감빵생활
Year: 2017
A compelling drama about the lives of prisoners, their families, and the duty officers who work in the prisons. Kim Je Hyuk, a famous baseball pitcher, is convicted of assault after he saves his sister and goes to jail.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Park Hae Soo as Kim Je Hyuk
- Jung Kyung Ho as Lee Joon Ho
- Krystal Jung as Kim Ji Ho
- Im Hwa Young as Kim Je Hee
No. Of Episodes: 16 (90 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
2. Stranger
Hangul: 비밀의 숲
Year: 2017
Hwang Shi Mok, a prosecutor finds him in a murder case. He meets Police Lieutenant Yeo Jin at a murder crime scene. They work together to wipe out corruption at the prosecutor’s office and solve a serial murder case.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jo Seung Woo as Hwang Shi Mok
- Bae Doo Na as Han Yeo Jin
- Lee Joon Hyuk as Seo Dong Jae
- Shin Hye Sun as Young Eun Soo
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
3. Defendant
Hangul: 피고인
Year: 2017
Park Jung Woo is a lawyer who has lost his memory and finds out that he is already on death row. He has no choice but to race against time to find out what caused his situation and prove that he is not guilty.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ji Sung as Park Jung Woo
- Uhm Ki Joon as Cha Sun Ho
- Kwon Yu Ri as Seo Eun Hye
- Oh Chang Seok as Kang Joon Hyuk
No. Of Episodes: 18 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
4. Chicago Typewriter
Hangul: 시카고 타자기
Year: 2017
The drama features three resistance warriors who lived during Japan’s conquest of Korea in the 1930s and are reincarnated as a best-selling writer, a fan, and a ghostwriter in the present. It is an epic story of friendship, love, and betrayal.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Yoo Ah In as Han Se Joo
- Im Soo Jung as Jun Seol
- Go Kyung Pyo as Yoo Jin Oh
- Kwak Shi Yang as Baek Tae Min
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
5. While You Were Sleeping
Hangul: 당신이 잠든 사이에
Year: 2017
A prosecutor named Jae Chan chooses to change the course of events, which saves the lives of Hong Joo and Woo Tak. When they start dreaming about each other, they understand that their lives are now tied together in some way.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Bae Suzy as Nam Hong Ju
- Lee Jong Suk as Jung Jae Chan
- Jung Hae In as Han Woo Tak
- Lee Sang Yeob as Lee Yu Beom
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
6. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
Hangul: 힘쎈여자 도봉순
Year: 2017
Do Bong Soon is a girl who doesn’t have a job but has superhuman abilities. Ahn Min Hyuk, the CEO of a gaming company hires her to be his bodyguard. As they get to know each other better, they realize that their relationship goes beyond work.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon
- Park Hyung Sik as Ahn Min Hyuk
- Ji Soo as In Gook Doo
- Jun Suk Ho as Secretary Kong
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
7. Tunnel
Hangul: 터널
Year: 2017
Park Kwang Ho is a detective in 1986. During his investigation, he walks through a tunnel that works as a time portal and takes him to Seoul in the present day. He meets Kim Sun Jae, a new partner and tries to find the serial killer to return to the past.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Choi Jin Hyuk as Park Kwang Ho
- Yoon Hyun Min as Kim Seon Jae
- Lee Yoo Young as Shin Jae Yi
- Jo Hee Bong as Jeon Seong Shik
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
8. My Father is Strange
Hangul: 아버지가 이상해
Year: 2017
This drama is about a family that lives on the outskirts of Seoul. Han Soo is the father who lives with his wife & his three daughters and one son. One day an actor shows up and says that he is the son of the family. He begins to live with them.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Yeong Cheol as Byun Han Soo
- Kim Hae Sook as Na Young Shil
- Ryu Soo Young as Cha Jung Hwan
- Lee Joon as Ahn Joong Hee
No. Of Episodes: 52 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
9. Go Back Couple
Hangul: 고백부부
Year: 2017
When a 38-year-old married couple reaches a breaking point in their relationship, they wake up to find themselves as 20-year-old college students when they first met. They decide to have fun and do things differently than the first time.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Na Ra as Ma Jin Joo
- Son Ho Jun as Choi Ban Do
- Heo Jung Min as Ahn Jae Woo
- Han Bo Reum as Yoon Bo Reum
No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
10. Just Between Lovers
Three young people who each lost a loved one in the same building collapse attempt to navigate their relationships through the pain of the tragedy while helping to construct a replacement building. They move forward and find a new will to live and embrace the future.
Cast –
- Lee Jun Ho as Lee Kang Doo
- Won Jin Ah as Ha Moon Soo
- Lee Ki Woo as Seo Joo Won
- Kang Han Na as Jung Yoo Jin
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Viki
11. Save Me
Hangul: 구해줘
Year: 2017
Sang Mi’s family move to Mujigun. There she meets four young men. Later, she and her family are approached by a Spiritual Father who offers to help them. However, they get caught into the pseudo-religious cult and the four young men try to save her.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Seo Yea Ji as Im Sang Mi
- Ok Taec Yeon as Han Sang Hwan
- Woo Do Hwan as Seok Dong Chul
- Jo Sung Ha as Baek Jung Ki
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
12. Because This is My First Life
Nam Se Hee, an IT employee and socially awkward marries Yoon Ji Ho, a homeless writer by signing a contract of two years. Both agree to the terms and conditions of being just landlord and tenant. They plan to share the flat without any feelings involved.
13. Fight For My Way
Hangul: 쌈 마이웨이
Year: 2017
Dong Man wants to be a taekwondo star when he grows up. Ae Ra wants to be a news anchor on TV. Joo Man and Seol Hee face a new threat to their relationship. Even though they don’t have much education, can they still reach their goals?
Main Cast (Characters):
- Park Seo Joon as Ko Dong Man
- Kim Ji Won as Choi Ae Ra
- Ahn Jae Hong as Kim Joo Man
- Song Ha Yoon as Baek Seol Hee
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
14. Voice
Hangul: 보이스
Year: 2017
After his wife dies, Detective Moo Jin Hyuk works with professional voice profiler Kwon Joo, whose father also died, to solve a different crime while looking for the serial killer who killed their family members.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Hyuk as Moo Jin Hyeok
- Lee Ha Na as Kang Kwon Joo
- Baek Sung Hyun as Shim Dae Shik
- Son Eun Seo as Park Eun Soo
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
15. I’m Not A Robot
Hangul: 로봇이 아니야
Year: 2017
Ji Ah receives a phone call from her ex-boyfriend, who developed a robot that looks exactly like her, but it was shattered in an accident. He offers her money in exchange for going to the home of a shareholder and pretending to be a robot.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Yoo Seung Ho as Kim Min Kyu
- Chae Soo Bin as Jo Ji Ah
- Uhm Ki Joon as Hong Baek Gyun
- Park Se Wan as Pi
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
16. Suspicious Partner
Hangul: 수상한 파트너
Year: 2017
Ji Wook is a perfect prosecutor. Bong Hee is a trainee and assigned to work under him. They work together on a mysterious case involving a psychopath murderer. As they’re working as a team, they develop affection between them.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ji Chang Wook as Noh Ji Wook
- Nam Ji Hyun as Eun Bong Hee
- Choi Tae Joon as Ji Eun Hyuk
- Kwon Na Ra as Cha Yoo Jung
No. Of Episodes: 40 (30 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
17. A Korean Odyssey
Hangul: 화유기
Year: 2017
In 2017, Oh Gong and Ma Wang conflict with each other as they look for a true light in a dark world. Having made a contract with Seon Mi 25 years ago, entitling her to seek help whenever she calls him, the two meet again in a fateful encounter.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Seung Gi as Son Oh Gong
- Oh Yeon Seo as Jin Seon Mi/ Sam Jang
- Cha Seung Won as Woo Ma Wang/ Woo Hwi
- Lee Hong Ki as Jeo Pal Kye/ P.K.
No. Of Episodes: 20 (80 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
18. Black
A grim reaper is forced to track down his fugitive partner. In this process, a detective gets possessed by the grim reaper. She can see shadows of death. These two struggle to save the lives of people, breaking the rules of heaven.
Cast –
- Song Seung Heon as Moo Gang
- Go Ah Ra as Kang Ha Ram
- Lee El as Yoon Soo Wan
- Kim Dong Jun as Oh Man Soo
No. Of Episodes – 18
Watch On – Netflix
Wrapping Up
These were the best Kdramas of 2017 you can watch to relieve yourself from stress. You can pick any of them, whatever genre – thriller, romance, suspense, fantasy, all are included in this list.
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