15 K-Dramas With Perfect Endings, Ranked

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Barbara James is a writer for Collider and a content creator. Currently, she works at Screen Rant as an Video Game Features Writer. As a graduate with a major in English, Barbara has worked as an editor for digital platforms for three years. Outside of digital media, she has edited professionally for six years. Meanwhile, she has written creatively for 10+ years and professionally for four years. She enjoys watching films and TV shows of a wide variety. Some genres she considers herself an expert in include K-dramas, anime, horror, and disaster films.

Barbara knows the struggle of wanting to find a good show or film to watch, but with the ever-expanding industry and endless content to choose from, she understands how difficult it can be to pick a good show out of the masses. She writes to help others find the right show that is worth the watch.

Korean dramas feature a variety of different topics and themes, some that are relatable and others not so much. Still, as fans and viewers of K-dramas, we are always rooting for the lead or leads; this means the main character or the main couple, both of which go through various, hardships that viewers tend to feel tense or on edge over. In some such cases, main couples in these dramas are usually fighting to stay together (e.g., Crash Landing on You) or the protagonists are simply trying to stay alive (Sweet Home).

However, like most stories, Korean dramas come to an end. Sometimes the ending is bittersweet (Hymn of Death), and sometimes the ending is completely happy (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo). What's important is whether the ending feels deserved, and sometimes, it doesn't. Other times, the ending is deserved, but it just doesn't hit the same as a K-drama with a perfect ending. There are plenty of K-dramas out there, but which are the ones with perfect endings that viewers will love through tears and smiles?

15 'The Great Doctor' (2012)

Transported to the Goryeo dynasty, plastic surgeon Eun-soo (Kim Hee-sun) has to serve the king and save the queen from a grave injury. In the meantime, Choi Young (Lee Min-ho), the king’s general, has to protect Eun-soo from the dangers of these ancient times. Though in the end, when Eun-soo attempts to travel back and forth in time to be with Choi Young, she ends up going back too far into the past. Despite this and the constant time traveling, eventually, Eun-soo reunites with Choi Young, who was waiting for her return.

Otherwise known as Faith, The Great Doctor blends the medical and historical genres seamlessly, creating an emotional experience between a character who doesn’t belong in the past. For many viewers, the first watch may be confusing at first. However, this deeply-layered drama proves that love, patience, and faith will always lead one back to the one you want to be with most, and it is worth every second being apart. Though the ending was a bit high-stakes, it was very satisfying to see Choi Young and Eun-soo reunite with each other, as their love for one another led them back to each other.

14 'You're Beautiful' (2009)

The cast float in clouds in a promo image for You're Beautiful.

Nun-in-training Ko Mi-nyeo (Park Shin-hye) has to disguise herself as her brother Ko Mi-nam when he finds himself stuck in the U.S. and needs someone to cover for him in his band. While trying to keep her identity hidden, she finds love in odd places, including that of the grumpy lead singer of the band, Tae-kyung (Jang Keun-suk). Though at the end, Mi-nyeo has to return to her old life and decides to travel to Africa to work as a nun, Tae-kyung promises that he will always love her and will wait for her return.

You’re Beautiful is a truly beautiful love story featuring a rivals-to-lovers romance that viewers will find themselves giggling over. Though Tae-kyung and Mi-nyeo have to pursue their own careers in different parts of the world, Tae-kyung’s declaration at the end proves that even with time and distance, their love can only grow stronger. More specifically, even though our favorite pairing have to go their own way, this is temporary, and they will find their way to each other again, providing hope for the viewers.

13 'Emergency Couple' (2014)

Having divorced five years ago, Oh Chang-min (Choi Jun-hyuk) and Oh Jin-hee (Song Ji-hyo) are divorcees who reunite as interns in the same emergency room at the same hospital. Though hateful and spite-filled, Chang-min and Jin-hee begin to fall for each other a second time, having matured and grown since their divorce.

Emergency Couple is a comedic medical drama that features a rather unique premise. As opposed to falling in love for the first time, two stubborn characters have to learn to love each other again after a nasty split. The ending of Emergency Couple is rather hopeful. As opposed to having them remarry, the drama instead shows promise: it reveals that there is always an opportunity to make amends and love again. It also proves that sometimes people fall in love at the wrong time in their lives. That doesn’t mean they will never be right for each other, as viewers will see in Chang-min and Jin-hee as they mature.

12 'Squid Game' (2021–2025)

In a dystopian world, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) competes in a competition called Squid Game with hundreds of others so that they might win the large cash prize that will relieve their debts. However, what they don’t realize is that competition will kill all but one. The first season of Squid Game ends with Gi-hun competing against his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), and Sang-woo sacrificing himself so that Gi-hun can walk away unharmed. Although Gi-hun wins, he's tormented by the idea of the tournament, so he returns, ultimately sacrificing himself just like his childhood friend did for the sake of another player. To end the vicious cycle, Gi-hun's death was the ultimate ending.

Squid Game was a perfect culmination of horror, comedy, and tragedy. Many who played the games were forced into it by an incredible debt, and plenty were killed off in tragic ways. When Gi-hun doesn’t board the plane in Season 1, he decides that he is not quite done, and he goes back for revenge. Gi-hun will always be a flawed character; he will never be the perfect dad, and that is okay. It’s perfect in that Gi-hun has grown enough to understand that some things are bigger than him, and that the ultimate sacrifice is the right solution.

11 'All of Us Are Dead' (2022–)

Choi Nam-ra from All of Us Are Dead in green suit looking at the camera

When a virus outbreak occurs within a high school, students must race against time to try to escape the school and protect themselves against the zombies. At the end of Season 1 of All of Us Are Dead, Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) separates herself from her friends and peers, disappearing, and the students manage to reach the military checkpoint for rescue. Four months later, when the law in Hyosan is lifted, the surviving students visit their old high school and join Nam-ra on the roof, and before disappearing again, she lets them know that she is not alone.

Zombie stories tend to end tragically, leaving viewers feeling rather hopeless, but All of Us Are Dead proves that even those who were bitten have a chance at living a normal life and that there are more people like poor Nam-ra, who thought she'd have to live a life of solitude due to the virus that had overtaken her. The hopeful tone with which Season 1 of All of Us Are Dead ends is the perfect way to round out a story, leaving us to keep guessing where the story will lead us further.

10 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' (2016)

After attempting to save a child from drowning, Ha-jin (IU) is transported back into the past, during the Goryeo time period, where she reawakens as a maiden named Hae-soo. Hae-soo must learn the rules of the past, all while falling for the princes that surround her. At the end of the show, despite being in love with Wang So (Lee Joon-gi), Hae-soo settles down with his brother, Wang Jung (Ji Soo) because of the trauma endured in the palace. She gives birth to Wang So’s son and passes away without reconciling with Wang So. She then returns to modern day as Ha-jin, finding herself one day in a history exhibition where she sets her eyes on the portrait of a lonely Wang So.

Not every perfect ending has to be a happy ending. The perfection in Scarlet Heart’s ending is the fact that sometimes, couples cannot be together, no matter how much love they have for one another. Instead of hurting each other by being in each other’s presence, it is better to live separate lives, though the heartache will always live on. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo conveys this feeling and theme perfectly, creating a beautiful yet tragic ending, where Wang So will always look for his true love in every life.

9 'Boys Over Flowers' (2009)

Jun-Pyo & Jan-di sitting together and laughing about being locked in a mall overnight in Boys Over Flowers.

Boys Over Flowers is a K-drama adaptation of a manga of the same name. It follows Jan-di (Ku Hye-sun) as she navigates a prestigious school meant for the wealthy. Like most endings to Korean dramas, Boys Over Flowers ends with a time skip. Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho) goes to America to further his career, and Jan-di stays behind to realize her own dream of becoming a doctor. Four years later, Jun-pyo returns and proposes to Jan-di.

Boys Over Flowers had the perfect ending for a K-drama. It resolved every plot and subplot, and it made all the hardships and heartache worth it when viewers get to see Jan-di and Jun-pyo live their happily ever after. It feels good to have the main cast all remain friends despite the hardships and conflicts between one another. More importantly, Jan-di’s relationship with Ji-hoo was not destroyed; rather, the two seem happy as friends, which is quite fitting for the second lead.

8 'Reply 1988' (2015–2016)

The cast of 1988 eating chicken on a bedroom floor in Reply 1988.

Reply 1988 famously has one of the most perfect endings in K-drama history because it knows what its story is truly about: remembering, the passage of time, and the silent discomfort of growing up. Instead of basing the conclusion on a purely romantic payoff, Reply 1988 shows the reality of every emotion awakened throughout the series. The ending is nostalgic, letting the overall experience sink in for the viewers. It kind of tells us that life doesn't wrap itself up neatly because of unresolved emotions, but because of that, the ending can be both heartbreaking and satisfying.

Reply 1988 follows five friends and their families in a tight-knit neighborhood in Seoul during the late 1980s. As the friend group grows older, their friendships change, first loves fade and endure, and adulthood slowly replaces youth. The final episode travels forward in time, reflecting on how ordinary days are actually the most beautiful in hindsight. Rather than solving every problem, the story finishes by celebrating the memory of the past itself. It ends with gratitude rather than goodbye, which is why it feels complete and emotionally resolved.

7 'My Mister' (2018)

The cast of My Mister all smile for a poster.

Emotional integrity and strong character development are key to the ideal ending of My Mister—the well-written K-drama show never compromises its realistic and relatable premise, tone, or characters. The ending is modest, restrained, and very human, refusing to provide a conclusion that feels like fantasy or melodrama. Instead, it affirms that healing can feel like the ability to breathe again, and that it doesn't just require changing into someone new. The narrative consistency makes the finale feel natural in the most pleasing way possible—nothing spectacular, nothing fake, just earned peace for both protagonists.

My Mister revolves around Park Dong-hoon (Lee Sun-kyun), a middle-aged engineer burdened by responsibility and emotional solitude, and Lee Ji-an (IU), a young woman enduring heavy personal hardship. They form a relationship based on empathy (not a romantic one), which gradually restores their trust in humankind. Dong-hoon and Ji-an are able to move on independently as the story comes to a close, having had a significant impact on one another throughout. Their final conversation, although short, is very important, and it shows how some connections in our lives appear to save us before letting us go on our own.

6 'Uncontrollably Fond' (2016)

Two of the cast hold each other in a snowy landscape in Uncontrollably Fond.

Noh Eul (Suzy Bae) is assigned to film childhood friend and ex-lover Shin Joon-young (Kim Woo-bin). Though the two end on uncertain terms, their love for one another is reignited as they spend more time together. Though their love is one to swoon for, the K-drama's ending is quite tragic, as Joon-young passes away due to a disease that he succumbed to.

Uncontrollably Fond is another beautiful love story that ends in tragedy. What makes it so great is that it reminds viewers that time with one another is often limited. It’s not fair, but love is not always fair. Who people fall in love with is never really a choice, it is something that just happens, and sometimes love is quick, short, and fleeting, just like Joon-young and Noh Eul’s were. Beautifully tragic, Uncontrollably Fond is the kind of drama that hits people in their emotions in just the right way.

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