Summary

• K-drama love triangles bring suspense, intrigue, and anticipation.
• Some love triangles involve new characters who create drama before immediately disappearing from the storyline.
• Love triangles make viewers question which love interest is better suited for the main character.

The best K-drama love triangles always feature heart-pounding romance and twisty narratives that keep audiences coming back for more. Love triangles in K-dramas are one of the biggest tropes in the genre and sometimes the main source of conflict in the series. In some K-dramas, there is a new character who comes in, even if it's for one episode, to confess their love to one of the main characters, causing drama before they disappear again. And in others, the major conflict revolves around whom the main character is going to end up with.

Some of the best K-drama love triangles also bring into question which of the two love interests is better suited for the main character. This trope adds a level of suspense, intrigue, and anticipation as two characters fight for the love and attention of the protagonist. It's a tug-of-war of the heart that all comes to a head when the main character realizes their true feelings. For K-drama fans, there is no shortage of content featuring the juicy love triangle trope.

21 Black (2017)

Kang Ha-ram, Han Moo-gang & Oh Man-soo

One of the best supernatural-fantasy K-dramas, Black is a peculiar type of love triangle, but definitively one of the most memorable since it involves a grim reaper. In the series, protagonist Kang Ha-ram (Go Ara) has the ability to see someone's death. She becomes the lackey to a grim reaper named Han Moo-gang (Song Seung-heon), who possesses a body to get back his rogue assistant. Along the way, she starts to make him feel human emotions, which are forbidden, and she starts to feel an attraction toward him.

There was so much interest in this series that it actually got a Malaysian remake as well.

Of course, it wouldn't be a love triangle without a third party. Also intermixed is a young CEO named Oh Man-soo (Kim Dong-jun), who trusts her abilities and helps her. He develops feelings of his own but sees she might be in love with someone else. There was so much interest in this series that it actually got a Malaysian remake as well.

Black is not currently available to stream.

20 Jinxed At First (2022)

Gong Soo-kwang, Lee Seul-bi & Seon Min-joon

One of the shows that features the best K-drama love triangles is also based on a popular K-drama webtoon, Jinxed at First. The poor and unlucky Gong Soo-kwang (Na In-Woo) is haunted by dreams of the mysterious Lee Seul-bi (Girls Generation member Seohyun), but these dreams always precede an unlucky event.

Seul-bi, a woman who can see the future by touching someone, and her mother are let out of their secret room in the Sam Jung family home by Seon Min-joon (Ki Do-hoon), and Seul-bi seeks Soo-kwang out, resulting in a light enemies-to-lovers romance. The only catch is that Seon Min-joon falls for her too, leading to a complicated love triangle that changes all of their lives. The series might not have won any prestigious awards, but the character arcs of everyone are compelling to watch unfold.

Jinxed At First is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

19 Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Geum Jan-di, Gu Jun-pyo & Yoon Ji-hoo

Boys Over Flowers makes viewers' hearts leap over one of the best K-drama love triangles. Based on a Japanese manga, it follows a young woman named Geum Jan-di who gets mixed into the wealthy lives of a group of young men at school, namely Gu Jun-pyo. Feelings and interactions blossom between Jan-di and Jun-pyo, but Jun-pyo's friend, Yoon Ji-hoo, also becomes smitten with Jan-di. However, out of all of them, there's one that she has an undeniable connection with.

Boys Over Flowers is critically acclaimed and has garnered accolades at the Baeksang Arts Awards, Asian Television Awards, and KBS Drama Awards. The series is also known for helping to bring interest in K-dramas around the world. It was one of the first K-dramas to see an international demand through streaming.

Boys Over Flowers is available to stream on Netflix.

18 Record Of Youth (2020)

Ahn Jeong-ha, Sa Hye-jun & Won Hae-hyo

Record of Youth is a Netflix K-drama with one of the best K-drama love triangles. In the series, a talented makeup artist named Ahn Jeong-ha has a crush on a lesser-known male model named Sa Hye-jun. She gets the opportunity to do his makeup for a show and sparks a friendship, which soon turns into a relationship, but there's one problem. The model-turned-actor also has a childhood friend named Won Hae-hyo who's also at the top of his career as a model-actor. Hae-hyo also becomes smitten with Jeong-ha.

Both seem to be a good match for Jeong-ha, making her final decision all the more heart-pounding. Love triangles always work better in K-dramas when both sides of the love triangle are equally viable. If they aren't, the audience is only going to root for one character and the love triangle isn't nearly as compelling.

Record Of Youth is available to stream on Netflix.

17 She Was Pretty (2015)

Kim Hye-jin, Ji Sung-joon & Min Ha-ri & Kim Shin-hyuk

She Was Pretty is a K-drama that will have viewers simultaneously laughing and having their hearts break from the romance of one of the best K-drama love triangles. It all started when Kim Hye-jin backed out of meeting her childhood friend Ji Sung-joon due to him becoming gorgeous and her feeling inadequate. She instead forces her best friend, Min Ha-ri, to take her place.

She Was Pretty is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

When Hye-jin is given a new job by accident at a fashion magazine, she then discovers Sung-joon is the new editor of the magazine, hence her new boss, making this one of the best K-dramas about falling in love with the boss as well. However, two love triangles occur. The incredibly charming Kim Shin-Hyuk starts to fall in love with Hye-jin just as her boss starts to remember who she is. All the while, Ha-ri, who pretended to be her at the first meeting, starts to fall for Sung-joon too. Mistaken identity plays a great role in this story.

16 Cinderella And The Four Knights (2016)

Eun Ha-won, Kang Ji-woon, Kang Hyun-min & Kang Seo-woo

Cinderella and the Four Knights has the most complicated, but also one of the best, K-drama love triangles to appear on television. Like She Was Pretty, it's not a love triangle but a love quadrangle. Hopeful high school senior Eun Ha-won is forced to take up many part-time jobs to pay for college. She meets an old man who convinces her to move into his home and finds herself living with billionaire cousins Kang Ji-woon, Kang Hyun-min, and Kang Seo-woo — all of whom are equally handsome.

The complicated love drama, naturally, begins as each of the cousins starts to develop feelings for her. The series garnered a lot of comparisons to the legendary K-drama Boys Over Flowers when it premiered. The series was inspired by a web novel, just as so many today have been inspired by webtoons. It snagged the Global Star Award for Ahn Jae-hyun at the Korea Drama Awards.

Cinderella And The Four Knights is available to stream on Netflix.

15 Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016)

Kim Bok-joo, Jung Joon-hyung & Jung Jae-yi

Another one of the best K-drama love triangles is featured in Weightligting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. Kim Bok-joo and Jung Joon-hyung had been childhood friends, went to the same school, and even saved each others' lives within the first episode. The only issue was that Kim Bok-joo was in love with Jung Joon-hyung's older brother, Jung Jae-yi, who is a doctor.

This love triangle was cute and innocent, as Bok-joo seems to have a naive crush on Jae-yi, who doesn't reciprocate her feelings. Instead of making a move on Bok-joo before she got over her crush, Joon-hyung comforted her through her first heartbreak, became best friends with her, and later confessed his feelings. The series' cast was recognized for their performance at the MBC Drama Awards.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

14 Romance Is A Bonus Book (2019)

Kang Dan-i, Chan Eun-ho, Song Hye-rin & Ji Seo Joon

Romance is a Bonus Book features another love quadrangle rather than a love triangle, and each member ends up happy in an adorable couple by the end. It also features one of the best K-drama love triangles. The show has been recognized at the Baegsang Arts Awards and its soundtrack is critically acclaimed. In Romance is a Bonus Book, Kang Dan-i is best friends with Chan Eun-ho and has been in love with her for years and years.

However, this author and editor is pretty popular with the ladies himself and had a casual fling with his coworker, Song Hye-rin, before he found out that Dan-i was single and unhoused. To add even more drama, famed book cover artist, Ji Seo-joon, also liked Dan-i and was attempting to win her over, as well.

Romance Is A Bonus Book is available to stream on Netflix.

13 Love Alarm (2019)

Hye-yeong, Kim Jo-jo & Hwang Sun-oh

Lee Hye-yeong is in love with Kim Jo-jo and has been for some time now.

This drama, based on a popular webtoon, features a fairly complex love triangle that raised a lot of eyebrows but is still one of the best K-drama love triangles. Lee Hye-yeong is in love with Kim Jo-jo and has been for some time now. He wants to confess to her but also enjoys just watching and helping her from afar, acknowledging that he doesn't want to make her life messy. However, everything changes when Hye-yeong's best friend comes back and learns about his crush.

Hwang Sun-oh sees that Hye-yeong is crushing on Jo-jo and encourages him to tell her, but all the while he begins falling for her too. Because Sun Oh is more open about his feelings, he kisses Jo-jo, sparks immediately begin to fly, and the two begin dating shortly after, all the while with Jo-jo still not knowing that Hye-yeong had feelings for her. Love Alarm is also one of the best K-dramas with more than one season, giving audiences a long-lasting love triangle.

Love Alarm is available to stream on Netflix.

12 The Heirs (2013)

Cha Eun-sang, Kim Tan & Choi Young-do

The Heirs, much like Boys Over Flowers, is an iconic drama that features one of the best K-drama love triangles that had audiences rooting for both of the boys. In the series, Cha Eun-sang was a normal girl who got to attend an ultra-rich school. Her main love interest, Kim Tan, loved her a lot and tried to help her fit in, but it didn't always work out so well.

The Heirs is available to stream on Netflix.

However, things get complicated when troublemaker Choi Young-do enters the scene. Young-do was Tan's closest friend before they had a big fallout. Initially, he tried getting close to Eun-sang to get revenge on Tan, but over time, he developed genuine feelings for her and comforted her in times when Tan couldn't understand. The show has won a slew of awards, including at the SBS Drama Awards, the Baeksang Arts Awards, and the APAN Star Awards.

11 Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Of Youth (2016)

Ah-ro, Moo-myung & Sam Maek-jong

Hwarang has a bit more of a confusing love triangle with one person pretending to be another, but nonetheless, the romance is one of the best K-drama love triangles. In one of the best historical K-dramas, Ah-ro meets Moo-myung, who pretends to be her long-lost brother who actually passed away in the first episode. Moo-myung and Ah-ro's brother were close friends, and Moo-myung swore to protect her before the brother died.

Around the same time, Ah-ro meets the young king Sam Maek-jong, who loves how feisty and stubborn she is. Things get complicated and weird when Moo-myung and Ah-ro start developing feelings for each other. Ah-ro thinks she is in love with her brother and tries to block out her emotions. Eventually, she learns the truth and chooses which boy she likes more. The series is critically acclaimed and has received honors at the KBS Drama Awards, Melon Music Awards, and Soompi Awards.

Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Of Youth is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

10 Oh My Ghost (2015)

Na Bong-sun, Kang Sun-woo & Soon-ae

Oh My Ghost features another complicated love triangle, but it certainly has one of the best in the K-drama genre. Na Bong-sun is a shy and quiet chef who can see ghosts. She isn't too noticeable to her boss, Kang Sun-woo, whom she has a crush on. That all changes when the loud, flirty, and eccentric ghost of Soon-ae possesses her body.

Sun-woo's old crush, who didn't share his feelings for him, comes back into the picture and confesses that she had been wrong to reject him.

This love triangle gets confusing because viewers never really know which girl Sun-woo likes until the end. The girls switch places pretty often and, over time, Bong-sun opens up and becomes more like the ghost within her. To make matters more complex, Sun-woo's old crush, who didn't share his feelings for him, comes back into the picture and confesses that she had been wrong to reject him. Oh My Ghost was so popular it got a Thai remake and won awards at the tvN10 Awards, DramaFever Awards, and APAN Star Awards.

Oh My Ghost is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

9 Cheese In The Trap (2016)

Hong Seol, Yoo Jung & Baek In-ho

Cheese in the Trap is another drama based on a webtoon and has one of the biggest cases of "Second Lead Syndrome" in any K-Drama as well as one of the best K-drama love triangles. The idea of this syndrome is that viewers typically want the girl to end up with the second guy because of how much better he is, as a character, and for her. Such is the case in this drama as Hong Seol likes Yoo Jung, but Yoo Jung is reserved and quiet, and no one can really tell what he's thinking.

The two quickly start dating with a ton of ups and downs. All the while, Hong Seol is becoming closer to Yoo Jung's ex-best friend, Baek In-ho. In-ho is loud and eccentric but comforts Seol and knows how to put a smile on her face. Over time, he develops feelings for her, but she's already too invested in Yoo. The K-drama was adapted into a movie of the same name, which was released in 2018, and has garnered acclaim from the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Asia Artist Awards, and the Korean Cable TV Awards.

Cheese In The Trap is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

8 My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho (2010)

Cha Dae-woong, Gu Mi-ho & Park Dong-joo

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One of the best K-drama love triangles involves Korean lore and can be seen in the romance comedy series My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. College student Cha Dae-woong has ambitions to become an action star, but accidentally unleashes a gumiho (a fox with nine tails in Korean mythology) named Gu Miho, who saves Dae-woong from a fall. Though scared that she will eat his liver like gumihos of legend, he takes Mi-ho in and keeps her identity a secret, slowly falling in love with her.

However, things get complicated when a half-human half-supernatural being posing as a veterinarian named Park Dong-joo enters the scene. He tells Mi-ho of a process that will allow her to become human for good, but completely neglects to tell her that it will kill Dae-woong in the process, as he wants her for himself. The series sparked critical acclaim and has won accolades at the SBS Drama Awards, DramaBeans Awards, and Style Icon Awards.

My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

6 Extraordinary You (2019)

Eun Dan-oh, Ha-ru, & Baek Kyung

One of the best teen romance K-dramas is a self-aware story inspired by the world of comic books, and it also has one of the best K-drama love triangles. Extraordinary You sees high school girl Eun Dan-oh discover that she actually lives in a secret fantastical world of comics. She and everyone she knows are characters in a comic called Secret and the omniscient Writer has given her a fate she's unsatisfied with. As a result, she ventures out on her own, forgoing the original setup of being engaged to her long-time crush that despises her and having a terminal illness.

She and Ha-ru, originally an unnamed student, decide to rewrite their destinies, but it could have resounding consequences. Dan-oh and Ha-ru fall in love, but this is complicated when Dan-oh's original lover, Baek Kyung, realizes that it's her illness that he hates and that he actually has feelings for her. Extraordinary You is critically acclaimed and has garnered awards at the MBC Drama Awards, the Grimae Awards, and the Seoul Drama Awards.

Extraordinary You is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

5 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

Hae Soo, Wang So, & Wang Wook

One of the best K-drama love triangles is featured in the 2016 time-traveling K-drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Another complicated love triangle, Scarlet Heart Ryeo has two different brothers — Wang So and Wang Wook — who like Hae Soo. It gets even more complicated due to the fact that the brothers are princes and their father, the king, wants to marry her at one point.

Hae Soo was whisked away from another time and landed in the Goryeo Dynasty as someone else. She falls in love, gets her heart broken, falls in love again, and gets it broken once more. This drama is utterly tragic and viewers shouldn't expect a happy ending when this one is over. The series went on an awards sweep at the SBS Drama Awards, winning seven accolades, and got national attention for actor Lee Joon-gi (Wang So).

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is currently unavailable to stream.

4 Our Beloved Summer (2021)

Choi Ung, Kook Yeon-soo, Kim Ji-ung & NJ

Considered to be Studio N's first original series, Our Beloved Summer spans a decade and features one of the best K-drama love triangles. The coming-of-age tale follows Choi Ung, a talented illustrator who was abysmal in school, and his ex-girlfriend Kook Yeon-soo, who was top of the class and is now a PR expert. The pair's breakup was so devastating it made them swear to one another that they'd never see each other again.

Fate had other plans when 10 years later a documentary about their relationship resurfaces and goes viral. They are forced to face the camera at the behest of their mutual friend and producer Kim Ji-ung, who's had feelings for Yeon-soo since high school. NJ, a pop idol, also enters the scene and develops feelings for Choi Ung. Our Beloved Summer has received honors at the Seoul International Drama Awards and SBS Drama Awards, and received a webtoon adaptation.

Our Beloved Summer is available to stream on Netflix.

3 Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017)

Do Bong-soon, In Guk-doo & An Min-hyuk

The K-drama Strong Girl Bong-soon is fantastic in a number of ways, one being how it handles one of the best K-drama love triangles on television. The series starts with Do Bong-soon, born with superhuman strength, in love with her childhood friend-turned-cop, In Guk-doo, who doesn't really give her the time of day and has a girlfriend. Do Bong-soon ends up being roped into becoming a bodyguard for game company CEO, An Min-hyuk. Min-hyuk thinks Bong-soon is fantastic and attractive, as he likes to say time and time again.

She finds her charge nothing but annoying at first. Eventually, Bong-soon does fall for Min-hyuk and this drama pans out beautifully with a happy ending for the love triangle. An American adaptation of the series was considered and then canceled, and the series got a sequel in Strong Woman Gang Nam-soon. Strong Girl Bong-soon has received accolades at the Seoul International Drama Awards and the Seoul Awards.

Strong Girl Bong-soon is available to stream on Rakuten Viki.

2 Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)

Yoon Hye-jin, Hong Du-sik & Chang Yeong-guk

A show that features one of the best K-drama love triangles is also one of the best K-dramas on Netflix, and it's called Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Perfectionist and dentist Yoon Hye-jin finds her life in Seoul in shambles, leading her to go to the seaside village of Gongjin and open a practice there. She gets to know a handyman in the village that goes by Chief Hong, whose real name is Hong Du-sik, and the two start to foster a budding romance.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha received international acclaim, and critics have praised the series for its simple premise, acting, and aesthetics.

The love triangle occurs when Chang Yeong-guk realizes his first love has moved back into town, and he tries to muster up the courage to admit his long-held feelings for her. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha received international acclaim, and critics have praised the series for its simple premise, acting, and aesthetics. Increased tourism at filming sites was another result of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha's success, and the series was ranked sixth on Variety's list of Best International TV Shows of 2021. It's also won awards at the Korean Content Awards, Seoul International Drama Awards, and APAN Star Awards.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is available to stream on Netflix.