'Reply 1988' and 7 Other Best K-Dramas About Teen Life & Love, Ranked by IMDb

Korean dramas about teenage life offer more than just stories of first love. They are veritable time capsules, capturing the most poignant moments of growing up.

These dramas blend tender emotions, bitter disappointments, the complexities of self-identification, and challenging relationships with family and society. The result is a surprisingly honest and poignant portrayal of youth.

8. 'Head Over Heels', 2025

IMDb Score: 7.4/10

Seong-ah is a renowned shaman who can communicate with spirits. In everyday life, however, she's an ordinary high school student. Seong-ah dreams of a simple life without fortune-telling or rituals. However, her studies are failing, and her classmates ignore her.

Everything changes when an old woman and her grandson, Gyeon-woo, become her clients. Using her gift, Seong-ah sees that the boy is cursed and will die in 21 days.

Fate brings them together again: Gyeon-woo transfers to her class. Seong-ah falls in love with him and decides to defy fate by using all her powers to save him from certain death.

7. 'Heirs', 2013

IMDb Score: 7.5/10

Eun-sang is a young girl who was raised in poverty. She works to support her mother and dreams of moving to the US to be with her older sister. However, her attempt ends in failure, and she finds herself homeless in a foreign country.

She is rescued by Kim Tan, the illegitimate son of a Korean businessman who was sent to the US as an involuntary exile. Eun-sang soon returns to Korea, and Kim Tan follows her. But trials await her at home: Kim Tan has a fiancée, and her mother now works for a wealthy family.

Thanks to her mother's influence, Eun-sang transfers to an elite Seoul school attended by the children of high society, including Kim Tan himself, and her simple life shatters.

6. 'Dream High', 2011-2012

IMDb Score: 7.6/10

The story unfolds at Kirin High School, a prestigious institution for young musicians. Talented singer Hye-mi fights hard to earn a spot at the school, hoping to save her family from debt and fulfill her dream of studying in New York.

Meanwhile, two boys vie for Hye-mi's attention: the self-confident dancer, Shi-hyuk, and Sam-dong, a simple-minded boy who accidentally discovered his musical talent.

The determined exchange student Jason also enrolls at the school. For his sake, the shy Pil-sook auditions, too. She has a brilliant voice, but according to the admissions committee, she has an unsuitable appearance.

5. 'Who Are You: School 2015', 2015

IMDb Score: 7.6/10

Eun-bi, a high school student raised in a provincial orphanage, leads a lonely life. She endures bullying from her peers while balancing her studies with part-time jobs. Meanwhile, in Seoul, lives her mirror image: the rich, popular Eun-byul, who has it all.

During a school trip to Eun-bi's city, Eun-byul receives a threatening message from someone who knows her dark secret. She escapes her group, calls the local orphanage to try to find Eun-bi, and then disappears without a trace.

A few days later, Eun-byul is found brutally beaten and claiming to have lost her memory. Her behavior is completely different as if she's been replaced.

4. 'Revenge of Others', 2022

IMDb Score: 7.6/10

Chan-mi lives in an orphanage and spends time with her twin brother, who was adopted as a child. Suddenly, she loses contact with him. Upon arriving in Seoul, Chan-mi receives shocking news: her brother is dead, and the police are ruling his death a suicide.

Unable to accept this theory, Chan-mi decides to investigate her brother's death herself. She transfers to his school and learns that her brother was not the perfect person she remembered him to be.

During her investigation, she meets Soo-heon, a popular but poor student who cares for his ailing mother. Behind his charming facade lies a dark secret: at night, he metes out his own brand of justice, punishing those who have wronged him.

3. 'True Beauty', 2020-2021

IMDb Score: 7.9/10

Ju-kyung had been told she was ugly all her life, and she had resigned herself to the ridicule and humiliation. One day, after being driven to despair by bullying, she considered suicide, but was saved by a stranger.

Her family moved, giving Ju-kyung a chance to start over. Having mastered makeup, she transformed into a confident young woman who effortlessly integrated into her new school community.

However, her idyll is shattered by one person – her savior, who turns out to be a cold and unapproachable classmate. Ju-kyung desperately hopes he will never recognize her as the unhappy girl from the past.

2. 'Twinkling Watermelon', 2023

IMDb Score: 8.9/10

Eun-gyeol is the only hearing member of a deaf family. He secretly pursues his passion for music against his family's wishes, forming a band and performing on the streets at night.

The band gets a chance to perform at a major concert. However, on the most important evening, his father discovers the secret and they have a fight. After running away from home, Eun-gyeol stumbles upon a music store and is transported back to 1995.

There, he meets a young man who dreams of forming a rock band. Eun-gyeol is amazed to realize that this is his own father in his youth, who can both hear and speak.

1. 'Reply 1988', 2015-2016

IMDb Score: 9.0/10

The series is set in 1988 in the Ssangmun-dong district of Seoul. Five close-knit families live in the neighborhood – they celebrate together, share food, and regularly visit each other.

Their children, who are nearly the same age, grew up together. The story focuses on Deok-sun, the only girl in this circle, who serves as the narrator.

While the teenagers experience their first adult crises and romances, their parents grapple with the realities of the country's changing sociopolitical climate.