Whenever we think of high school dramas, budding young love, amazing friendships, a few deceptions, and some angry teachers pop up in our minds. And let’s be honest here–all of us LOVE those high school dramas.
And the streaming companies are well aware of how popular high school dramas are getting amongst the audience with every passing day. So, they have churned out masterpieces like Elite, 13 Reasons Why One of Us is Lying, etc.
All these shows have scaled the charts to become some of the biggest hits in the world. While Korean dramas were a little late to catch up on the High-School-Drama game, they have produced some amazing shows that you have to take a look at!
Today’s article will focus on all the amazing Korean school dramas that are set at a high school. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Best Korean School Dramas
25. Hi! School: Love On
This cutesy rom-com is one of the best fantasy-and-high-school dramas out there right now. Its main character, Shin Woo Hyun, is a popular guy at the school but he is very cold and distant towards others.
And then there’s this angel Lee Seul Bi, who accidentally saved a kid from danger at the school and now she has to pose as a human student there. Lee Seul Bi grabs this opportunity to interact with humans and learn more about them.
24. Moorim School
If you like K-dramas filled with fantasy, this series is the best choice for you. Fantasy high school dramas are hard to come by, and on this list, we have only two names that fit the description.
Moorim School is one of them. Some might say this K-drama is a bit cheesy, but then again, who doesn’t like cheesy? So, pack up your bags and embark on the journey to the Moorim School for the “especially different” people and each has its own stories.
23. Dream High
You have probably already watched Dream High since it is one of the most popular K-dramas based in a school backdrop right now. The series has an ensemble cast and all the members of this cast have gone on to become amazing K-drama actors and actresses later in their lives.
It is the story of six students at the Kirin Art High School. They come from different backgrounds, and all of them have their own stories. The only thing that’s common to all of them is that they dream of making it big in the Korean music industry.
22. Love Alarm (available on Netflix)
This show is a relatively new addition to the list of the top High school Korean Drama series and it is a Netflix production. And of course, the story revolves around a mobile application by the name of ‘Love Alarm’.
The rich storytelling and the diverse backdrops are what make Love Alarm one of the most widely loved K-dramas out there.
21. Secret Campus
Secret Campus started with a cast full of newbie K-drama artists who have now gone on to become huge K-drama stars because of their phenomenal acting skills. This story begins with Seung Jae, a high school student, who succumbs to death after a traffic accident.
Su Ah, a fellow student, whom he was dating at the time of the accident, gets some emails about the secrets of Seung Jae, a year after his death. And the rest, as they say, is history!
20. Hello My Teacher
This series is also popular as Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy. It is relatively new and has already become widely popular. It tells the tale of an aspiring teacher, Na Bori, who is laid off from her high school teaching job because of a faculty misunderstanding.
Then she gets a GED and starts getting offers from other schools but she is bent on getting to work alongside her high school crush at her former school. We don’t get too many high school dramas that focus on the teachers but this show has done the trick!
19. Moment at Eighteen
We all know that 18 is that time in our lives when we have had to make many life-changing decisions, be it in our career paths, our personal lives, and every other aspect. Moment at Eighteen has tried to depict exactly that thing and has excelled in doing so.
It shows how some 18-year-olds have taken a hardheaded view into the moments of their lives. It starts with 18-year-old high school student Jun Woo transferring to a new school and trying to adapt to the new environment. It is a slow-paced series but you would love it if you like series with beautiful stories behind them.
18. Shut Up: Flower Boy Band/ Flower Boy Band
Friendship is one of the few things about high school life that we all remember, right? While there might be dramas, competitions, relationship changes during high school, we have also made some lifelong friends who have stayed with us ever since we left that place.
Flower Boy Band explores the friendships we make at high school with a bit of comedy, drama, and romance too. And trust us on this–this drama will make you *think* for a long time even after you’ve finished watching it.
17. Boys Over Flowers
If you’re a K-drama fan like we are, chances are that you have already watched Boys Over Flowers before reading this list. This cult classic literally paved the way for high school dramas in the K-drama field.
Yes, it might be a decade old, but that has not stopped it from being relevant even now. You might think Boys over Flowers is overhyped, but it deserves all the hype that it gets from the K-drama fans!
16. Playful Kiss
This Korean drama was adapted from a popular Japanese shoujo manga. Oh, Ha Ni is a clumsy high school student who falls for the all-too-perfect Baek Seung Jo. However, Ha Ni got rejected, and all she received was a cold shoulder.
But bad times don’t seem to end for her as her house collapses and she has to move with her father into her father’s old friend’s place. Coincidentally, Seung Jo also lives in this house. This allowed Ha Ni to get close to the guy she likes. If this story has intrigued you already, give it a watch right now!
15. Adolescence Medley
If you want a short series to just pass some time, Adolescence Medley is the one for you. This cutesy high school K-drama finishes in a little less than 5 hours.
The story is about a student who goes to a high school in the village where Choi Jung Woo is a tutor. He gets flashbacks of his time as a student at that school and the whole reminiscence is what makes this series so special!
14. Sassy Go Go/ Cheer up!
This is another sweet (and sassy!) high school drama set in a highly competitive school that drives the students to excel at studies above everything else.
This drama has shown us the skeleton of an erroneous educational system and what it can do to the young minds of the students. There’s friendship, jealousy, competition, brotherliness–basically all the elements you would remember your own high school days for!
13. Goong/ Princess Hours
This show has been adapted from a popular manhwa with the same name. This tells the story of Chae Gyeong, who is just another high school student with a special love for the arts.
But one fine morning, she gets to know that she has to marry a prince she has never met before, because of a pact between her grandfather and the prince’s. Now, the prince is a rude, cold guy who goes to the same high school as Chae Gyeong. She reluctantly marries him to help her family settle their debts.
While facing several problems in adjusting to the new royal way of life, she meets the prince’s cousin, who becomes her good friend. In the meantime, she also falls in love with her husband, the Prince. And what follows this, is, of course, a love triangle.
12. School 2017
Ra Eun Ho wants to date a boy from the college whom she likes a lot. A brilliant and diligent student who always comes at the top of her class, Ra Eun Ho is also a talented artist who likes to make webtoons.
One day, while looking for some inspiration for her comics, she somehow finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and this lands her in grave trouble as she is marked as a delinquent student. The rest is for you to find out!
11. Jungle Fish 2
This show does not follow the cliche of all the love and hate that relationships in high school commonly consist of, but it shows the dark side of Korea’s high school life.
It shows the struggle of high school students that most of the time gets unnoticed. If you would like some phenomenally good acting to light up your screens, this drama is for you.
10. School 2013
This is a classic K-drama based upon the “High-School-Life”. Of course, we had to add this to this list, or else it would have been incomplete. With a stellar cast and amazing backstory, this drama is a must-watch for all of you.
The drama focuses on a school that ranks as one of the worst of the 178 high schools in Seoul based on academic scores. To improve their performance, the schools appoint a new teacher.
The advent of the newcomer is not taken warmly by many in the school. This series has tried to show every aspect of school life, with the point-of-view switching from the staff to the students more than once.
9. Page Turner
This is the story of Yoo Seul, a student of an art high school. She is a talented pianist and has won several competitions. Yoo Seul’s mother wanted to become a pianist when she was little and now, the daughter is living her mother’s dream–until one day.
Yoo Seul gets caught in an accident. She may never play the piano again because of the accident. What happens after that? Tune in to watch this show and learn about Yoo Seul’s journey!
8. Class of Lies
The K-drama is special because it focuses on the lawyer-aspect as well as the high school aspect. Its unconventional story starts with a great lawyer having it hard at a case and then he decides to take some time off from practising law and begin teaching as a temporary teacher at one of the high schools that have to do something with his case.
There he begins to see the crimes happening all around him. To protect and help victims from their peers, he takes matters into his own hands. The drama will send a stark message to the viewers about sensitive issues like bullying discrimination, teenagers who commit serious crimes, etc.
7. Sweet Revenge
After some unique and almost thrilling high school drama listings, we are back to one of the sweetest web dramas on this topic that you’ll ever find out there. It is super cute and runs for a short time. So, this can definitely be on your list for a weekend binge.
6. To The Beautiful You
This high school drama is a personal favourite of ours! It tells the tale of Goo Jae Hee, a Korean girl who lives in the US. She is attracted to one of the high-jump competitors, Kang Tae Joon after she sees him in a track-and-field competition on TV.
She begins to fantasise about him (and his lithe body!) so much that to help him, she goes to the extent of disguising herself as a boy.
After this, she transfers to his high school, which only admits boys. But a sudden twist in the tale comes when he is met with an accident that could potentially end his career.
5. The Heirs
Here goes another amazing high school K-dramas on the list! This show tells you how the amazing and beautiful female lead gets involved with a super-rich and influential boy. As fate would have it, she ends up at his home where her mother works as a maid.
She also goes to the same school as him, and there, she gets into a love-hate relationship with her peers. The show is complete with a stellar cast, beautiful story, and great acting! So what are you waiting for? Watch this show right away!
4. Extraordinary You
This show is actually pretty new and is one of the latest offerings from K-drama-land in the high-school-drama genre. It is based on a webtoon.
It tells the story of a high school girl Eun Dan-Oh. She attends a prestigious school but has been suffering from a serious heart condition ever since she was only a child. Now, this means she has a very slim chance of living past her teen years. Find out the rest of the story by exploring this show right now!
3. Reply 1988
Of course, we had to add another one from the Reply series by TvN on this list! Here, the story revolves around five childhood friends and their families. All of them live in the same neighborhood.
This drama portrays the daily troubles a lower-middle-class family in the 1980s had to face to earn some bread for every family member. It also shows the difficulties faced by the students of that time.
2. White Christmas
This show tells the story of Susin High School, popularly called “Prison High” by its students. It is an elite school where the top 1% of students in the country go.
Their impeccable test scores and high-achieving lifestyles come as a result of continuous pressure and a disciplinarian system where the students are actually encouraged to avoid any co-scholastic activities.
And then, during the winter break, seven students and a teacher stay back at the school. And a psychiatrist Kim Yo Han, whose car breaks down on the highway and decides to take shelter at the school, also joins them.
During this time of Christmas Eve, students received anonymous letters that raised a curious question–Are monsters created, or are humans born monsters?
1. Reply 1997
And here’s another offering from the Reply series by TvN–Reply 1997. Set in the 1990s, the drama revolves around a female high school student, who is a total fangirl for the boyband H.O.T.
Now that girl and her five female friends, all 33 years old, meet at their high school reunion dinner in 2012. The drama goes back and forth between their past high school days in 1997 and the present reunion dinner in 2012.
Conclusion
These were some highly successful high school Korean dramas that we have handpicked only for you. If you liked the list, please let us know in the comments. Also, check out the other articles on our site. Thanks for reading this and have a great day!
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