One of my favorite things about Kdramas (and Cdramas, for that matter) is the OST (Original Soundtrack) that goes along with the shows. Frequently, a song will act as a thread bringing the whole show together from episode to episode (one notable example is 2018’s “Something in the Rain,” a noona* romance starring Son Ye Jin and Jung Hae In, which so heavily featured Tammy Wynette’s song “Stand By Your Man” to the point that by the end of the 16-episode run I wanted to never hear the song again). As such, in many cases an OST for a popular show can take on legendary status, and in a few cases the OST can bolster a show from good to great.
Below you’ll find my Top 10 Kdrama OST Songs (as of December 2024) that are on heavy rotation for me. Now, I’ll add that I’ve not watched nearly as many Kdramas as other fans – I’m only about 250 in at this point – so this list shouldn’t not be considered the end-all, be-all list of OSTs. It’s literally just my own personal favorites. Feel free to comment and add your own favorites to the conversation!
10. I See You – Lee So Ra (The Atypical Family)
It would make sense that a song about an atypical family would have an atypical song in its OST. The song’s melody and instrumentation is not a typical kpop song, and features no major drum line and mostly plucky strings along with a delightful vocal by Lee So Ra. The entire song has a slightly otherworldly sound to it, which makes sense as it is the feature song in a show about people with superpowers. I highly recommend “The Atypical Family” (Netflix), by the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
9. Boyfriend – Yeonjun (Cinderella at 2 a.m.)
This song was one of the best two things to come out of “Cinderella at 2 a.m.” (Rakuten Viki) which was a 2024 show that started out with a great rom-com premise but (for me) fizzled out about halfway through its airing. But what it accomplished: 1) solidified Moon Sang Min as a true up-and-comer in the rom-com genre, 2) made me fall in love with two new songs. One was a ballad called “Shining You” by Sam Kim and the other was this fun, catchy song by TXT’s Yeonjun.
8. Bong Hwan A – Horazo (Mr. Queen)
One of the best kdramas to come out of 2020 was “Mr. Queen” (Netflix) which is on Netflix and is one I highly recommend. It is so incredibly funny and well-done. In a nutshell, this time-travel/body-swap show is about a modern-day womanizing chef who suffers an injury and upon waking up finds himself trapped inside the body of a queen from the Joseon era. The chef/queen was skillfully portrayed by one of my favorite female Kdrama stars, Shin Hye Sun. Thanks to the time-travel/body swap plot the show was able to have a very modern sounding OST, and Horazo’s song was my favorite to come out of that.
7. Close Your Eyes – Isaac Hong (The Uncanny Counter)
The first of two Isaac Hong songs to appear on my list, while I didn’t love “The Uncanny Counter” (Netflix) I did love this song which has a rock music vibe and powerful vocals. Hong is on record in a 2023 interview as saying this was the most fun OST to record. The show, about a group of supernatural ghost hunters fighting against evil spirits, required a strong, harder-edged OST, the here Hong succeeds tenfold. The mildly unsettling melody, electric guitar thread and intense vocal all lend gravity and intensity needed for the show.
6. Confess to You – Lil Kim (King the Land)
Netflix’s “King the Land” (which will get a rewatch and review at some point) is one of my Top 10 Kdramas of all times. Fluffy, fun, and romantic this show was actually my introduction to actor Lee Jun Ho and upon watching this I did a deep-dive into his other shows and I now consider him to be one of the all-time great kdrama actors who can do anything – comedy, heavy drama, romance, thriller. He’s so, so good. Lil Kim’s “Confess to You” is much like the TV show it features in: fluffy and fun, with a lighthearted melody and easy-going vocal to perfect encapsulates one of my favorite rom-coms of 2023.
5. Closer Than the Stars – Fromm (What Comes After Love)
“What Comes After Love” (Rakuten Viki) is one of the best kdramas of 2024, and if you missed the slow burn drama about a couple (she from Korea, he from Japan) that meets again five years after their painful breakup. The show is quiet, contemplative, emotional and powerfully good. The two leads, Lee Se-young and Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi, are very good together and allow the story to painstakingly unfold around them in both present day and in their past. Along with that, Fromm’s song “Closer than the Stars” is just as quiet, contemplative and emotional as the show. It’s a gorgeous song with a gorgeous vocal and I’m so in love with it.
4. Christmas Tree – V (Our Beloved Summer)
2021’s “Our Beloved Summer” (Netflix) was one of the first kdramas I watched when I began watching them in early 2023. The show revolves around two students that had been featured in a documentary while in high school coming back together for a filmed reunion years later, forced back into each other’s lives after a bad breakup. When watching this I had no idea that Choi Woo Shik was the same actor that I had seen previously in 2019’s “Parasite.” This song became an obsession before I even knew who V was or that he was part of BTS (don’t worry – I’m full ARMY now, believe you me). But the baritone vocals charmed me, along with this simply lovely ballad.
3. With My Heart – KAI (My Dearest)
No list made by me would be complete with a song from one of my favorite OSTs of all time from one of my Top 2 Kdramas of all time. Not only was My Dearest (Rakuten Viki) one of the greatest Kdramas ever made, but the OST was haunting and beautiful, just like the epic historical romance drama. There are two versions of this song on the OST, with KAI’s being my favorite. This KAI is not the one that is in the kpop musical group EXO, but rather a classically-trained musician and actor who focuses primarily on musical theater productions. Simply put, this song perfectly represents the longing between Gil Chae and Jang Hyun throughout the series. It’s a gorgeous song – and really, the entire OST is outstanding and I highly recommend you seek it out and listen to it. AND WATCH THE SHOW, TOO!!
2. Sudden Shower – Eclipse (Lovely Runner)
Other than “My Dearest”, no show has taken hold of me the way Lovely Runner (Rakuten Viki) did this past spring. And part of the reason I loved it was the OST, which featured both real musicians and the show’s fictional band, Eclipse. The song that became a runaway hit was Eclipse’s song “Sudden Shower” as performed by the lead actor, Byeon Woo Seok. This song was so popular it charted on the Korean music charts, was nominated for some awards and WON a 2024 MAMA award as “Favorite Global Trending Music.” The song weaves a thread through the entire 16-episode series and the lyrics are charming and sweet and exactly the type of song Sun Jae would write and sing to his beloved Im Sol.
1. Fallin’ – Isaac Hong (Queen of Tears)
For 2024, this song became my most listened to track of the entire year, per my Spotify Wrapped report. Featured in Netflix’s “Queen of Tears,” it particularly hit hard at the end of Episode 7 in which Hyun-woo realizes the severity of Hae-in’s illness while they are standing in the rain. That scene gutted me and even though I had heard the song previously (in Episode 5), it moved me to literal tears in Episode 7. It’s such a beautiful love song and the lyrics (as translated into English) perfectly encapsulate Hyun-woo’s feelings for Hae-in when they met, and then Hae-in’s brief moment of clarity as they stood in the rain years later in the midst of their separation (portion below):
You and all those moments
The brightest day for me
There were countless
A lot of time has passed
The only memory is you
It only blooms
my heart
Only on the field called you
I’m fallin’
I’m fallin’
Even at this moment
I fall deeper into you
You said to me
You told me
Never go anywhere from me
I am nothing without you
Isaac Hong is the only artist to appear twice in my current Top 10, and I hope he continues to be chosen to sing OSTs for kdramas. Not only does he have a great voice, but the emotion and power he shows in each of the songs on this list show his versatility to handle any kind of genre of song. I look forward to seeing his name pop up more going forward.
What about you? I know there as so many beloved OST songs not included here on my Top 10 Kdrama OST Songs list – from shows like “Goblin,” or “True Beauty,” or “Boys Over Flowers.” But that’s the beauty about music – different songs appeal to different people and take on unique meanings to each of us. So comment below and share what your own personal favorites are! In the meantime, if you want to hear these songs I’ve listed as well as many more I have saved to my OST playlist, then you can find that here on Spotify.
* “Noona” is a Korean honorific term for older woman. A noona romance is a story involving a younger man and an older woman. This trope is very popular in Kdramas (and many consider “Something in the Rain” to be one of the best ever made).
