If You Loved "Twenty-Five Twenty-One," Try These 12 K-Dramas

This drama is a classic and, dare I say, a cult favorite in the K-drama world. It's a coming-of-age romance drama with the main characters being involved in several sports ranging from gymnastics to weightlifting to swimming. The romance aspect mainly revolves around Kim Bok Joo, a college weightlifting athlete, and Jung Joon Hyung, a college swimming athlete. They meet due to interesting circumstances and start to develop feelings for each other. It's a drama that has a "2016 K-drama vibe": a stereotypical (yet captivating) story line with cringe and humor sprinkled in between.

Fun fact, the character who plays Baek Yi Jin in Twenty-Five Twenty One plays the main male lead!

You can watch the drama on Viki. 

Another sports romance K-drama! This one is really recent and is still airing on streaming platforms. Park Tae Joon, played by Chae Jong Hyeop (yes, from Nevertheless!), and Park Tae Yang, played by Park Ju Hyun, are in a mixed doubles badminton team. The plot revolves around how their relationship develops from friends to romantic lovers. I can't definitely say that this is one of my top favorites because it's still airing, but seeing how it's going so far, it's surely getting there. 

Episodes come out every Wednesday and Thursday. There are currently 4 episodes out, and you can watch it on Viki, in certain regions, or on the KBS channel. 

As with Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, this K-drama is both a cult favorite with similar 2016-ish vibes. It centers around the lives of 4 friends, Ko Dong Man, Choi Ae Ra, Kim Joo Man, Baek Seol Hee, as they navigate their lives with big dreams but undervalued skill sets. It also focuses on the romantic relationships of the two pairs in the friend group: Ko Dong Man and Choi Ae Ra & Kim Joo Man and Baek Sol Hee. The actors and actresses make the whole drama seem so realistic; I honestly thought that they were genuinely best friends because their interactions are so natural and real. If you're looking for a slice-of-life romance drama, this is definitely the one for you. 

All episodes can be found on Viki.

If you haven't watched the Reply series, put it on your watch list ASAP. These 3 K-dramas are all different with separate storylines, but they all fall under the umbrella of Reply. They are set in different years; for example, the 1998 version tells the story of a group of friends living in 1988. Personally, my favorite out of the series was Reply 1988 because of the actors' and actresses' dynamics. But, no matter which version you choose to watch, they're all jam-packed with humor, down-to-earth characters, love, beautiful cinematography, friendship, and life lessons. 

All 3 dramas are available on Viki and Reply 1988 is available on Netflix. 

Our Beloved Summer is a fairly recent K-drama with a bit of a nostalgic vibe to it. The plot is somewhat stereotypical, yet also really refreshing: Two people who were once a couple in their high school/college years meet again during their mid-30s because of an interesting turn of events. As they spend more time together, they begin to rekindle their feelings of love, and you can imagine what happens from there. Hands down, I think this drama has the most beautiful cinematography, and the way the plot cycles through the 4 seasons of the year is so beautiful to watch. 

The drama is available to stream on Netflix. 

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, as the title suggests, is a fun and light-hearted drama for you to watch on all occasions. Want to watch a drama with equal parts community spirit and romantic relationships? This drama is exactly that. Want to watch a drama with a sort of dreamy, small, sea-side village feel to the characters? This drama is loaded with characters with deep and diverse histories. The choice of music is also oddly comforting (especially the introduction music); paired with the occasion sounds of the ocean in the background, it's a perfect lazy Saturday binge. All in all, it's a very well-rounded drama with Kim Seon Ho and Shin Min-Ah starring as the main leads. 

You can watch it on Netflix. 

Honestly, talk about a star-studded cast. This drama is packed with A-list actors and actresses who you know and love; some of them including Kim Woo Bin, Shin Min Ah, Lee Byung Hun, and Han Ji Min. The storyline travels from each character as it explores their life and relationships on Jeju Island. I've been watching this drama recently, and I've never seen anything like it. Each episode focuses on two people on the island and how their lives are intertwined, either romantically or as friends. The drama touches on lots of important topics, such as teen pregnancy, depression, social class, and more, in a really mature and emotional way. I can't say that I haven't shed a couple of tears while watching Episodes 4 and 5. 

This drama is currently airing on Netflix. New episodes come out on Saturday and Sunday.

Cue the tears; I had so many high expectations for this drama, and they definitely delivered. From the characters to storyline to settings, they were all captured in such a heartfelt and compelling way that there wasn't a point in the drama when I wasn't laughing or crying. Although centering this drama in this time period might have been a potentially triggering issue for certain viewers, the director and writer did a wonderful job in making sure that the language was appropriate and scenes were accurate. 

With the setting going back a bit more than in Twenty-Five Twenty One, this K-drama is set in 1980, at the height of the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea.  Hwang Hee Tae, played by Lee Do Hyun, is a medical student who ends up falling in love with Kim Myung Hee, played by Go Min Si, because of an accidental blind date. The story revolves around their hardships maintaining a relationship during that time of political and social activism. If you liked the nostalgic feel and romantic aspect of Twenty-Five Twenty One, you'll love this one. 

The drama is available to watch on Viki. 

There was quite a buzz on TikTok about this K-drama a couple of weeks ago because of the chemistry between the actors and actresses. The show is actually based off of a Webtoon, which makes sense considering its plot arcs and character depictions. Shin Ha Ri, played by Kim Se Jeong, agrees to go on a date with a CEO of a food production company, Kang Tae Moo, played by Ahn Hyo Seop. This drama is a stereotypical one (girl hides her identity, goes on date, tries not to get caught), but I think that's what makes it so alluring. It's a very light-hearted drama that you can watch knowing that the characters will have happily-ever-after endings. 

All episodes are out to stream on Netflix. 

If you loved the friendship dynamics in Twenty-Five Twenty One, you're especially going to love Hospital Playlist. The story revolves around five surgeons who have been best friends since their college years as they navigate their personal lives, romantic lives, and work lives. Though a main portion of the plot is about the medical workforce, the friendship component is definitely present. In fact, the five friends even join together to form a band where they perform songs from the 1990s. 

There's two seasons; the first mainly focuses on friendship, and the second mainly focuses on romantic relationships. I've watched both seasons at least five times, and it's one of my top comfort K-dramas. 

Both seasons are on Netflix. 

I think this drama might be the one most similar to Twenty-Five Twenty One in terms of its structure. The drama goes back and forth from the characters' present lives and their lives as college students who were once in a youthful, romantic relationship. However, the drama does place more of an emphasis on the present-day dynamics with the main characters, Han Jae Hyun, played by Yoo Ji Tae, and Yoon Ji Soo, played by Lee Bo Young, meeting and rekindling their love. Honestly, I can't say that I enjoyed the present-day snippets in the drama more than the flashbacks; I mainly watched for the younger version of the characters, who were played by Park Jin Young and Jeon So Nee.

You can watch the drama on Viki. 

Similar to Hospital Playlist, this drama is perfect if you're looking for one with a focus on friendship. This K-drama focuses on three 30-year-old best friends as they balance their work life and personal life. There are various characters who contribute to this story arc, making it a super relatable and diverse drama. A fair warning, though, there are multiple points in the drama where you're bound to shed a few tears. The actors and actresses do so well truly conveying the emotions of these characters that by the end of the drama, you feel like you've been with them on the highs and lows. Chun Woo Hee, Jeon Yeo Bin, and Han Ji Eun star as the three best friends. 

You can watch this drama on Viki.