The K-Drama Of The Year, Chosen By 200 Industry Insiders

A popular Korean entertainment magazine, Joy News 24, recently conducted a survey to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Participants were asked about the best K-dramas, actors, singers, and so on in 2024.

The survey, which took place from September 30 to October 8, was conducted among 200 industry insiders, which included entertainment agency employees, people working at major broadcasters, producers, and entertainment reporters. The participants voted as follows:

4. “Snow White Must Die”, “Korea-Khitan War”

The two shows each received seven votes, tying at the fourth place. Fun fact: both series are book adaptations. The former, an MBC series, is based on German mystery crime writer Nele Neuhaus‘s 2010 international bestseller Snow White Must Die. The latter, a historical drama aired on KBS2, is based on the 2018 South Korean novel Goryeo–Khitan War: Sweet Rain in the Winter by Gil Seung Soo.

3. “Connection”, “The Whirlwind”

Though the two shows got eight votes each, their content couldn’t be more different from one another. Connection, which aired on SBS TV, is a psychological crime thriller, while The Whirlwind, a Netflix original series, is a political drama.

2. “Good Partner”

This Jang Na Ra and Nam Ji Hyun-starrer aired on SBS TV from July 12 to September 20, securing high viewership ratings in Korea. Among the 200 industry insiders, 19 chose this legal drama as their favorite.

1. “Queen of Tears”, “Lovely Runner

With 60 votes each, these two dramas shared the crown of the best K-Drama of 2024. Both romance melodramas took the internet by storm this year, breaking viewership records and gaining recognition both in Korea and internationally. For both the shows, the chemistry of the lead pairs played a major role in their success.

Apart from the abovementioned K-Dramas, Pachniko 2, The Judge from Hell, A Killer Paradox, The Pyramid Game, Love Next Door, and No Gain No Love are some of the shows that ranked high on the survey.