MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel launched on 8 August 1969 and owned by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. It is popular for airing period dramas.
MBC is known for its popular Historical Korean dramas that have received one of the best reviews & ratings ever. If you are looking for some of the best dramas aired on MBC, read this article.
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1. The Red Sleeve
Hangul: 옷소매 붉은 끝동
Year: 2021
A historical drama that tells the romance of a royal court between Sung Deok Im, a court lady who wants to protect the life she chose and Yi San, an emperor who believes his duty is to his country first above love.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Jun Ho as Yi San / King Jung Jo
- Lee Se Young as Sung Deok Im
- Kang Hoon as Hong Deok Ro
- Lee Deok Hwa as King Young Jo
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
2. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
Hangul: 역도요정 김복주
Year: 2016
Bok Joo is a weightlifter aiming for the gold medal, but then for the first time in her life, she falls in love. At age 20, can she find a way to have both love and fame? The drama shows how friends grow up and how their relationships change as their lives get busier.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Sung Kyung as Kim Bok Joo
- Nam Joo Hyuk as Jung Joon Hyung
- Lee Jae Yoon as Jung Jae Yi
- Kyung Soo Jin as Song Shi Ho
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
3. Empress Ki
The drama revolves around Ki Seungnyang, a Goryeo-born woman who had to be a servant at the Mongol Yuan court. She rises to power despite the restrictions of the era’s class system, and later marries the emperor of the Mongol empire to become an empress of the Yuan dynasty.
4. Extraordinary You
Hangul: 어쩌다 발견한 하루
Year: 2019
In the drama, a high school girl named Dan Oh finds out that she is just a minor character in a romance manga called “Secret.” She tries to change the fixed story of her love and life by using flashes of storyboard that only she can see.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Hye Yoon as Eun Dan Oh
- Ro Woon as Ha Ru
- Lee Jae Wook as Baek Gyung
- Lee Na Eun as Yeo Joo Da
No. Of Episodes: 32 (35 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
5. Big Mouth
Chang Ho is an underperforming lawyer. He winds up in charge of a murder case that turns him overnight into a genius conman known as “Big Mouse.” In order to survive, he must expose a huge conspiracy among the privileged upper classes.
Cast –
- Lee Jong Suk as Park Chang Ho
- Im Yoon Ah as Ko Mi Ho
- Yang Kyung Won as Gong Ji Hoon
- Kim Joo Heon as Choi Do Ha
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Disney+
6. 365: Repeat The Year
Hangul: 365: 운명을 거스르는 1년
Year: 2020
The story of a group of people who are given the opportunity to relive a year of their lives in order to prevent a tragic accident from happening. Along the way, they uncover hidden truths about themselves and those around them, and must confront their past mistakes.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Joon Hyuk as Ji Hyung Joo
- Nam Ji Hyun as Shin Ga Hyun
- Kim Jee Soo as Lee Shin
- Lee Sung Wook as Park Sun Ho
No. Of Episodes: 24 (35 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
7. Children Of Nobody
Woo Kyung is a child counselor who works at a children’s center. Her life seems perfect. However, her perfect life doesn’t last long, when an accident changes her life. The only person she can rely on is Ji Heon, a detective who is strict toward criminals.
8. Coffee Prince
Han Gyul takes over a rundown old coffee shop. To attract female customers, he only hires good-looking male employees. Eun Chan, a tomboy often mistaken as a boy desperate for money, continues to hide her gender to get a job at Coffee Prince.
9. Gu Family Book
Kang Chi is a half-human and half-mythical-creature who was adopted. Yeo Wool is a martial arts master. They meet and fall in love with each other. He discovers the truth about his origins and searches for the mystical Gu Family Book, which holds the secret to becoming fully human.
10. Heartstrings
The drama revolves around a guy Lee Shin who is the vocalist of a band & a girl named Kyu Won. As her friends are fans of the band, she is forced to go to the band’s concert with them. There she is immediately captivated by Lee Shin.
Cast –
- Park Shin Hye as Lee Kyu Won
- Jung Yong Hwa as Lee Shin
- So Yi Hyun as Jung Yoon Soo
- Song Chang Eui as Kim Suk Hyun
No. Of Episodes – 15
Watch On – Viki
11. 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.
Rating:
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):
12. Jewel In The Palace
The story is about a legendary girl, Jang Geum, who became the first woman to be the royal physician. Despite being a low-class girl in the male-dominated society, she landed herself as a royal cook, later becoming the royal physician, then ultimately the physician in charge of the king.
Cast –
- Lee Young Ae as Seo Jang Geum
- Ji Jin Hee as Min Jung Ho
- Hong Ri Na as Choi Geum Yeong
- Im Ho as King Jung Jong
No. Of Episodes – 54
Watch On – Viki
13. Kill Me, Heal Me
Hangul: 킬미힐미
Year: 2015
The story is about an heir to a business who has severe dissociative identity disorder. He asks a psychiatrist for help to get his life back under control, but she ends up falling in love with one of his personalities. Her brother looks into him and his family.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ji Sung as Cha Do Hyun
- Hwang Jung Eum as Oh Ri Jin
- Park Seo Joon as Oh Ri On
- Kim Yoo Ri as Han Chae Yun
No. Of Episodes: 20 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
14. Tomorrow
Hangul: 내일
Year: 2022
The drama tells the story of Joon Woong, who crosses paths with grim reapers, who are on a special mission of suicide prevention, and works with them as the youngest contract worker in the crisis management team of death angels.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Hee Sun as Goo Ryun
- Rowoon as Choi Joon Woong
- Lee Soo Hyuk as Park Joong Gil
- Yoon Ji On as Im Ryung Goo
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
15. Partners For Justice
Hangul: 검법남녀
Year: 2018
Baek Beom is an excellent forensic doctor working for 10 years, but does not open his mind to other people. Eun Sol is a rookie prosecutor with a bright personality and comes from a wealthy family. They both try to catch a serial killer.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jung Jae Young as Baek Beom
- Jung Yoo Mi as Eun Sol
- Lee Yi Kyung as Cha Soo Ho
- Park Eun Seok as Kang Hyun
No. Of Episodes: 32 (35 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
16. Personal Taste
Jin Ho is a very stylish young man with the perfect looks, self-centered and obsessed with cleanliness. He then comes across Gae In Park, a woman hurt by love and is now looking for a gay roommate. Jin Ho wanting to live with the woman then pretends to be gay.
Cast –
- Lee Min Ho as Jeon Jin Ho
- Son Ye Jin as Park Gae In
- Kim Ji Suk as Han Chang Ryul
- Wang Ji Hye as Kim In Hee
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Viki
17. She Was Pretty
Hangul: 그녀는 예뻤다
Year: 2015
When young, the beautiful Hye Jin often rescued shy and unappealing Sung Joon from awkward situations. Years later, the tables have turned and the now handsome and dashing Sung Jun looks to return the favour to his first love.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Hwang Jung Eum as Kim Hye Jin
- Park Seo Joon as Ji Sung Jun
- Go Joon Hee as Min Ha Ri
- Choi Si Won as Kim Shin Hyuk
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
18. Two Weeks
Hangul: 투윅스
Year: 2013
The story of a man who is wrongly accused of a crime and given only two weeks to prove his innocence and save his daughter’s life. He must find the truth in a corrupt system before it’s too late. The clock is ticking, and danger is around every corner.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Joon Gi as Jang Tae San
- Kim So Yeon as Park Jae Kyung
- Ryu Soo Young as Im Seung Woo
- Park Ha Sun as Seo In Hye
No. Of Episodes – 16 (68 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
19. My Dearest
The drama takes place in Joseon Dynasty and tells the story of a man named Jang Hyun, who has declared that he will not marry. He falls in love with a woman named Gil Chae who dreams of love again even after two failed marriages.
Cast –
- Namkoong Min as Lee Jang Hyun
- Ahn Eun Jin as Yoo Gil Chae
- Lee Hak Joo as Nam Yeon Jun
- Lee Da In as Kyung Eun Hae
No. Of Episodes – 10
Watch On – Viki, Prime Video
20. The Veil
Hangul: 검은 태양
Year: 2021
The best agent at the National Intelligence Service, Ji Hyuk, gets caught up in a situation that puts NIS in a very tough spot. As he tries to find the employee who betrayed him and caused him to lose his job, he runs into a much bigger enemy behind the organization.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Namgoong Min as Han Ji Hyuk
- Park Ha Sun as Seo Soo Yeon
- Kim Ji Eun as Yoo Je Yi
- Jang Young Nam as Do Jin Suk
No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
21. W: Two Worlds
Hangul: 더블유
Year: 2016
When Yeon Joo starts to read “W,” a webtoon written by her father, she is pulled into the world of “W.” While she is in the webtoon, she saves Kang Cheol and becomes involved in a murder case.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Han Hyo Joo as Oh Yeon Joo
- Lee Jong Suk as Kang Cheol
- Kim Eui Sung as Oh Sung Moo
- Lee Tae Hwan as Seo Do Yoon
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
These were the 21 dramas aired on the channel MBC till the beginning of the year 2024. Looking at the list, it is true that MBC has given some of the best dramas from different genres to watch. You can watch other dramas too aired on MBC channel.
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