9 Top Song Hye-kyo K-dramas & Shows To Watch (2024)

With an illustrious career that’s spanned 27 years, Song Hye-kyo is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses in the South Korean entertainment industry. The actress first got into the media scene in 1996 as a model for a uniform brand after winning a contest. Since then, she’s gone on to star in hit K-dramas, graced numerous covers, and landed campaigns and deals with some of the biggest brands. She celebrates her 42nd birthday on Nov 22, 2023, and to mark the occasion, we’ve rounded up some of Song Hye-kyo’s K-dramas and other works to add to your to-watch list.

1. Descendants of the Sun

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of Hye-kyo, you’ve probably heard of Descendants of the Sun. After all, the drama took the world by storm when it was released in 2016. If you like a good love story, you’ll enjoy this drama. But be prepared to go on an emotional rollercoaster ride as you watch the army captain (Song Joong-ki) and the doctor (Hye-kyo) try to conquer all odds to be together. The supporting actors also have impeccable chemistry, and you’ll find many familiar faces in this drama, such as Ahn Bo-hyun and even SHINee’s Onew. This drama is available on Netflix, so hit the + sign to add to your list!

Available on Netflix.

2. The Glory

Unless you haven’t been on the K-drama side of social media for the past two years, it’s impossible not to know about this Netflix series. This highly-acclaimed drama follows the story of a woman’s quest for revenge against her high school bullies. Caution: some scenes may make you uncomfortable. The drama includes references to real-life bullying incidents, such as a 2006 case in Cheongju, where three ninth-grade students burned their classmate’s skin with a curling iron, and inflicted other injuries. Hye-kyo earned a Grand Prize Award at the Blue Dragon Series Award 2023 for her performance in this drama.

Available on Netflix.

3. Now, We Are Breaking Up

While this drama had mixed reviews, I actually quite enjoyed it for both the fashion and storyline. Even if you’re not sold on the love story, the plot of everyday work politics will surely reel you in. The drama centres on the story of the team leader of a design department in a fashion company (Hye-kyo), and a freelance photographer (Jang Ki-yong) whose history with her is more entwined than she thought. If you’re not a fan of slow burn, you might not enjoy this drama as much as the others.

Available on Viu.

4. Autumn in My Heart

This drama, which was my first Korean drama more than two decades ago, still tops my list as one of the best ones I’ve watched. But I haven’t rewatched it because 1) the series is quite hard to find online, and 2) it is one of the saddest drama I’ve watched. The plot revolves around the love story between Hye Kyo and Song Seung-heon, who grew up as siblings after Hye Kyo was switched at birth with another girl. She went back to her birth family when she was a teenager, then met her, uhh, ex-brother as an adult and fell in love. The plot is a bit sus, but you will cry your eyes out at the start and towards the end of the series. And oh, it also stars Won Bin. Surely that’s a plus! If you enjoyed Winter Sonata, you’ll definitely love this.

5. Full House

There is a reason why this drama revived the Hallyu wave. Not only did it feature the two top actors at the time, Hye Kyo and Rain, but it’s also captivatingly funny. A top star (Rain) enters a marriage contract with a woman who was scammed into selling her house to him (Hye Kyo). The result? Sixteen episodes of pure comedy with a dash of heartbreak. Hye-kyo performing the Three Bears kids’ song still remains one of the most iconic scenes in K-dramas, in my opinion. Watch this if you’re looking for a good laugh, but prepare a pack of tissue paper just in case, because there are a couple of tear-jerking scenes.

Available on Netflix and KBS World’s official YouTube channel.

6. That Winter, The Wind Blows

In this drama, Jo In-sung stars as a gambler and conman who pretends to be the long-lost brother of a blind heiress (Hye Kyo) to steal her money. Then they fell in love. Again, the plot sounds a bit sus, but there’s a reason why it was one of the top dramas at the time. Hye Kyo and In Sung make for a killer combo that promises good acting and chemistry. Even if you haven’t watched the drama, you’d probably know of the iconic cotton candy scene that saw everyone and their neighbour emulating it at the time. This drama, which was adapted from Japanese drama Forget Love, was written by the same writer who wrote Our Blues and It’s Okay, That’s Love.

Available on Netflix.

7. Hotelier

While Hye-kyo didn’t play the lead role in this drama, it’s a good one to add to your to-watch list nonetheless. As its title suggests, it tells the story of a power struggle after the CEO of a hotel passes away. The hotel goes to his wife, but a businessman has his eye on the hotel. Hye-kyo acts as the businessman’s daughter who falls for a hotel manager. This drama has a star-studded list of actors, including Bae Yong-jun of Winter Sonata fame. You’d love this if you like a plot with twists and turns.

8. All In

All In is like your textbook K-drama plot that was popular in the early 2000s: boy falls in love with girl, has a love rival, went through hardships, got separated from girl, reunited with girl as an adult, almost had a happy ending, went through more hardships. Hye Kyo plays the lead role in this drama, alongside Lee Byung Hun. You might also recognise Ji Sung in this show! All In won many accolades, and Hye-kyo even bagged the Top Excellence Award, Actress at the 2003 SBS Drama Awards for her role in this.

9. Bonus: My Brilliant Life

Though this is not a K-drama, this movie will definitely tug on heartstrings, especially among parents. It follows the story of a teenage couple (Hye Kyo and Kang Dongwon) who find out their son has progeria, an extremely rare genetic disorder that causes him to age prematurely and rapidly. When he turned 16, he realises he didn’t have much time left in the world as his body is that of an 80-year-old. He decided to write a story on how his parents fell in love, how he came to be, and how they overcame the odds – it would be his gift to them on his seventeenth birthday. If you’re looking for something different from your usual romance drama or movie, this would be a good one to watch.

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