10 Best K-Dramas About Forbidden Love

Forbidden love has always been one of the most compelling forces in storytelling, and K-dramas take that particular trope to another level. Though the genre’s romance offerings cover different types of relationships, few are as captivating as watching two people who shouldn’t be together for one reason or another fall deeply in love. When family expectations, social class, royal duty, or even an entire country stands between two people, simply choosing to love each other can become an act of defiance.

The best romance K-dramas are typically multifaceted. Jan-di and Jun-pyo’s love story in Boys Over Flowers, for instance, can also function as an enemies-to-lovers series, but it also has a layer of forbidden romance. The same can be said about other K-dramas that are considered masterpieces. Forbidden love, however, remains irresistible because it is not simply about finding the one, but learning that love isn’t always straightforward and that sometimes, two people have to fight tooth and nail to end up together.

Boys Over Flowers (2009)

For some K-drama fans, Boys Over Flowers is the series that got them hooked on the genre, all thanks to Geum Jan-di and Gu Jun-pyo’s endearing love story. With Jan-di’s family owning a laundromat and Jun-pyo being an heir to Shinhwa Group, the odds were stacked against the show’s main couple right from the beginning. To make matters even more complicated, Kang Hee-soo, Jun-pyo’s mother, viciously opposed their romance, as she believed her son was meant to marry someone from a similar tax bracket.

Jan-di and Jun-pyo do end their relationship a few times in Boys Over Flowers, but they ultimately choose each other. Their love story isn’t, of course, one we haven’t seen play out several times before, as class and power differences in romance are a favorite trope. Still, there is something heartwarming about seeing a man with such privilege choose someone he wouldn't have believed he could spend the rest of his life with.

Encounter (2018-2019)

Encounter blends several tropes that are central to a forbidden love story. Cha Soo-hyun is a wealthy, influential hotel CEO and the daughter of a powerful politician. Jin-hyuk, on the other hand, comes from an ordinary middle-class family and lives a relatively simple life. Soo-hyun is also older than Jin-hyuk, which becomes another source of friction in their relationship.

Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk’s relationship challenges the conventional expectation that the man should be older or that a successful older woman should choose someone from her own social circle. Despite the gossip they endure from naysayers who do not understand their relationship, Jin-hyuk and Soo-hyun rise above it all, even when it nearly tears them apart.

Snowdrop (2021-2022)

Snowdrop begins as a fairly innocent story. Eun Young-ro is a university student who helps an injured man after he appears in her room. While Young-ro believes she is simply doing what any good person would do in that situation, the man she assists turns out to be a North Korean spy. The couple’s political circumstances put them in direct conflict. Young-ro's world and Soo-ho's mission are fundamentally opposed.

Young-ro doesn't stop caring about Soo-ho even after she learns the truth about him. Likewise, Soo-ho gradually becomes willing to put Young-ro's safety above his own mission. The circumstances in their love story are tragic and difficult to navigate. Young-ro and Soo-ho's love isn't powerful because it conquers every obstacle; it's endearing because it proves that love is a choice.

The King's Affection (2021)

Romance K-dramas tend to focus on a man and a woman, so a series like The King’s Affection, which takes a different route, shows just how far the genre has come since it rose to global popularity. After her twin brother's death, Dam-yi is forced to take his place as the Crown Prince and essentially becomes Lee Hwi.

Ji-woon initially believes Hwi is a man. As his feelings grow, he finds himself attracted to someone he believes he cannot possibly love in that way. Hwi, on the other hand, also begins to feel the same way about Ji-woon, but as the Crown Prince, she cannot just leave the palace and ride into the sunset with the love of her life. The way the historical K-drama combines the gender-identity secret with political duty adds an unexpected layer to their relationship, especially because Ji-woon falls for the person he believes is behind the Crown Prince's intimidating exterior.

Secret Garden (2010-2011)

Though the body-swapping plot is why so many love Secret Garden, it is primarily a forbidden love story between two people who hail from different social classes. Kim Joo-won is a wealthy department-store CEO and heir to a powerful family, while Gil Ra-im is a struggling stuntwoman who lives a modest life. In classic forbidden-romance fashion, Joo-won’s mother is against the couple being together.

Their relationship works because Ra-im refuses to become a different person to fit into Joo-won's world. She maintains her independence and dignity, even when his family makes it clear that they don't consider her good enough for him. In the end, their love story demonstrates that wealth and privilege can’t buy happiness.

Love In The Moonlight (2016)

Love in the Moonlight is another K-drama that breaks the boundaries of typical Korean romance shows. In the series, Hong Ra-on enters the palace disguised as a young eunuch. Lee Yeong, the Crown Prince, initially believes she is a man, so his growing attraction to her creates a complicated romantic tension. Still, it's also heartwarming because he falls for her personality before discovering her true identity.

Of course, because of Lee Yeong's duties as the Crown Prince, there is another reason they can't be together. Ra-on is a commoner, and Lee Yeong can’t just marry whomever he wants because he has obligations that come with being his country’s heir. The main couple’s love story has to overcome many obstacles, from secret identities to royal duties, but they make it work by putting their feelings for each other first.

Secret Affair (2014)

Secret Affair has an interesting plot that is not a conventional love story. Oh Hye-won is a wealthy woman at the height of her career, while Lee Sun-jae is a young pianist who has no idea how talented he is. A romance between an older woman and a younger man isn’t always accepted by society, but Secret Affair is more complicated than that because Hye-won is married.

Against her better judgment, Hye-won begins an affair with Sun-jae, which, if they are discovered, would threaten her marriage, career, and social standing. Even with the risks Hye-won takes by being with Sun-jae, her choice is understandable. For the first time in her life, Hye-won finally knows what it's like to fall deeply in love. Sun-jae makes her feel alive, and to the older woman, that's worth risking everything, consequences be damned.

Love Your Enemy (2024)

The K-drama’s title, Love Your Enemy, aptly describes the relationship between Seok Ji-won and Yoon Ji-yeon. Ever since they were young, their families have been bitter rivals, making a romance between them impossible. The irony is that Ji-won and Ji-yeon once loved each other before they separated because of an enmity that had nothing to do with them.

When they meet as adults, they cannot truly shake off the reason they broke off their relationship, but even their controlling families aren’t enough to keep them apart. Though their blood relatives have spent years treating each other as enemies, Ji-won and Ji-yeon realize that they don't have to inherit that hatred, making their relationship one of the best in enemies-to-lovers K-dramas. Their love becomes a way of rejecting the grudges that have controlled their families for so long.

Mr. Sunshine (2018)

Mr. Sunshine has been widely praised as a great historical drama, but beneath its important themes lies a love story between Squid Game's Lee Byung-hun, who plays Choi Eugene, and Go Ae-shin that could warm even the coldest of hearts. Eugene and Ae-shin couldn’t be more different, even if they tried. Eugene is born into slavery in Joseon but escapes to America and eventually returns to Korea as a U.S. Marine officer. Ae-shin, meanwhile, is an aristocratic noblewoman who secretly trains as a sniper for the Korean resistance.

Eugene and Ae-shin's romance is exceptional because their love is never separated from the historical tragedy surrounding them. The couple’s love story is the perfect example of finding the right person at the wrong time. Though Eugene and Ae-shin find each other at precisely the wrong moment in history, every moment they share feels precious.

Crash Landing On You (2019)

Even now, six years later, Crash Landing On You is considered a remarkable K-drama, and it's easy to see why. A love story about a North Korean soldier and a South Korean heiress does raise some eyebrows, particularly because of the tense political situation between the two countries. Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeok don't just come from different nations; their upbringing was also completely different.

Yet these differences make their romance so appealing. Crash Landing on You takes the classic concept of forbidden love and makes the obstacle much bigger than disapproving parents or social class. Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok are separated by politics, nationality, and an actual border, but they repeatedly risk everything to protect each other in this special K-drama.