The best K-drama love triangles always offer thrilling romance and twisty storylines that captivate the audience and keep them wanting more. Love triangles in K-dramas are one of the biggest clichés of the genre and sometimes the main source of conflict in the series. In some K-dramas, a new character arrives, even if only for an episode, to confess their love to one of the main characters, creating drama before disappearing again. And in others, the major conflict revolves around who the main character will end up choosing.
Some of the best K-drama love triangles also call into question which of the two lovers is better suited for the main character. This shot adds a level of suspense, intrigue and anticipation as two characters fight for the love and attention of the protagonist. It is a struggle of hearts that comes to a head when the main character realizes his true feelings. For fans of K-dramas, there’s no shortage of content featuring this juicy love triangle cliché.
1- Kang Ha-ram, Han Moo-gang and Oh Man-soo in “Black”
One of the best K-dramas in the supernatural genre, Black, features a particular type of love triangle, but it’s definitely one of the most memorable, as it involves the presence of a reaper of souls. In the K-drama, the protagonist Kang Ha-ram (played by Go Ara) has the gift of seeing people’s deaths. She becomes the servant of a soul reaper named Han Moo-gang (played by Song Seung-heon), who possesses a body to find his runaway assistant. Over time, she begins to make him feel human emotions, which is forbidden, and she herself begins to feel attraction to him.
Of course, there wouldn’t be a love triangle without a third party. A young CEO named Oh Man-soo (played by Kim Dong-jun) is also involved, he is confident in her abilities and helps her. He develops his own feelings, but realizes that she might be in love with someone else. This K-drama generated so much interest that it was even remade in Malaysia.
2- Gong Soo-kwang, Lee Seul-bi and Seon Min-joon in “Jinxed At First”
One of the K-dramas featuring the best love triangles and is also based on a popular Korean webtoon, is “Jinxed at First”. 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 unfortunate event.
Seul-bi, a woman who can see the future by touching someone, and her mother are released from their secret room in the Sam Jung family home by Seon Min-joon (Ki Do-hoon), and Seul-bi searches for Soo-kwang, resulting in a light-hearted enemy-to-lover romance. The only condition is that Seon Min-joon also falls in love with her, which leads to a complicated love triangle that changes all of their lives. The K-drama may not have won any prestigious awards, but the developments of everyone’s characters are captivating to watch.
3- Geum Jan-di, Gu Jun-pyo and Yoon Ji-hoo in “Boys Over Flowers”
“Boys Over Flowers” makes viewers’ hearts skip a beat with one of the best love plots in K-dramas. Based on a Japanese manga, it follows a young woman named Geum Jan-di who becomes embroiled in the wealthy lives of a group of young men at school, including Gu Jun-pyo. Feelings and interactions blossom between Jan-di and Jun-pyo, but Jun-pyo’s friend Yoon Ji-hoo also falls under Jan-di’s spell. However, among all of them, there is one with whom she has an undeniable connection.
“Boys Over Flowers” is critically acclaimed and received accolades at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Asian Television Awards and the KBS Drama Awards. The latter is also known for sparking interest in K-dramas worldwide. It was one of the first K-dramas to garner international demand through streaming.
4- Ahn Jeong-ha, Sa Hye-jun and Won Hae-hyo in “Record Of Youth”
“Record of Youth” is a Netflix K-drama with one of the best love triangles in K-dramas. In the series, a talented makeup artist named Ahn Jeong-ha falls in love with a little-known model named Sa Hye-jun. She has the opportunity to do his makeup for a fashion show and this sparks a friendship, which quickly turns into a romantic relationship, but there is a problem. The model-turned-actor also has a childhood friend named Won Hae-hyo who is also at the peak of his career as a model and actor. Hae-hyo also falls for Jeong-ha.
Both seem like good suitors for Jeong-ha, making her final decision even more thrilling. Love triangles always work best in K-dramas when both sides of the love triangle are equally viable. If it doesn’t, the audience will only root for one character and the love triangle won’t be as compelling.
5- Kim Hye-jin, Ji Sung-joon, Min Ha-ri and Kim Shin-hyuk in “She Was Pretty”
“She Was Pretty” is a K-drama that will make viewers laugh while breaking their hearts with the romance of one of the best love triangles in K-dramas. It all started when Kim Hye-jin canceled her meeting with her childhood friend Ji Sung-joon because he had become gorgeous and she felt inadequate. Instead, she forces her best friend, Min Ha-ri, to take her place.
When Hye-jin mistakenly gets a new job at a fashion magazine, she discovers that Sung-joon is the magazine’s new editor-in-chief, and therefore her new boss, making it one of the best K-dramas about falling in love with your boss too. However, two love triangles form. The charming Kim Shin-Hyuk begins to fall for Hye-jin just as her boss begins to remember who she is. Meanwhile, Ha-ri, who pretended to be her when they first met, also begins to fall for Sung-joon. Mistaken identity plays an important role in this story.
6- Eun Ha-won, Kang Ji-woon, Kang Hyun-min and Kang Seo-woo in “Cinderella And The Four Knights”
“Cinderella and the Four Knights” features one of the most complicated, but also one of the best, love triangles to appear on Korean television. Much like “She Was Pretty,” it’s not a love triangle but a love quadrilateral. Eun Ha-won, a hopeful high school student, finds herself forced to work several part-time jobs to pay for her studies. She meets an old man who convinces her to move in with him and finds herself living with billionaire cousins Kang Ji-woon, Kang Hyun-min and Kang Seo-woo, each as attractive as the last.
The complex love drama begins naturally when each of the cousins begins to develop feelings for her. The K-drama garnered many comparisons to the legendary K-drama “Boys Over Flowers” when it first aired. The K-drama was inspired by an online novel, just like many others today are inspired by webtoons. He won the “Global Star Award” for Ahn Jae-hyun at the “Korea Drama Awards”.
7- Kim Bok-joo, Jung Joon-hyung and Jung Jae-yi in “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo”
Another one of the best K-drama love triangles is featured in “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo.” Kim Bok-joo and Jung Joon-hyung were childhood friends, went to the same school, and even saved each other’s lives in the first episode. The only problem 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 seemed to have a naive crush on Jae-yi, who didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Instead of taking a chance on Bok-joo before she got over her crush, Joon-hyung comforted her during her first romantic disappointment, became her best friend, and later confessed his feelings to her. The K-drama’s cast was recognized for their performance at the ‘MBC Drama Awards’.
8- Kang Dan-i, Chan Eun-ho, Song Hye-rin and Ji Seo Joon in “Romance Is A Bonus Book”
“Romance is a Bonus Book” features another love quadrangle rather than a love triangle, and each member ends up happy as an adorable couple in the end. It also features one of the best K-drama love triangles. The series was recognized at the Baegsang Arts Awards and its soundtrack is critically acclaimed. In “Romance is a Bonus Book”, Kang Dan-i is Chan Eun-ho’s best friend and has been in love with him for years.
However, this author and editor is quite popular with the ladies himself and had a fleeting relationship with his colleague, Song Hye-rin, before discovering that Dan-i was single and homeless. To add even more drama, famous book cover artist Ji Seo-joon was also interested in Dan-i and was trying to seduce her.
9- Hye-yeong, Kim Jo-jo and Hwang Sun-oh in “Love Alarm”
This K-drama, based on a popular webtoon, features a fairly complex love triangle that has generated a lot of interest, but remains one of the best love triangles in K-dramas. Lee Hye-yeong has been in love with Kim Jo-jo for some time now. He wants to confess his feelings to her, but he also enjoys simply observing and helping her from afar, recognizing that he doesn’t want to complicate her life. However, everything changes when Hye-yeong’s best friend returns and discovers his crush.
Hwang Sun-oh sees that Hye-yeong is infatuated with Jo-jo and encourages her to confess her feelings, but at the same time, he too begins to fall in love with her. As Sun Oh is more open about his feelings, he kisses Jo-jo, sparks immediately igniting, and the two begin dating soon after, with Jo-jo still unaware that Hye-yeong had feelings for her. “Love Alarm” is also one of the best K-dramas with more than one season, providing viewers with an enduring love triangle.
10- Cha Eun-sang, Kim Tan and Choi Young-do in “The Heirs”
“The Heirs,” just like “Boys Over Flowers,” is an iconic drama that features one of the best love triangles in K-dramas, making audiences thrill for each of the boys. In the series, Cha Eun-sang was an ordinary girl who was lucky enough to attend an ultra-rich school. His main love interest, Kim Tan, loved him very much and tried to help him fit in, but it didn’t always go very well.
However, things get complicated when troublemaker Choi Young-do enters the picture. Young-do was Tan’s best friend before they had a fight. At first, he tried to get close to Eun-sang to get revenge on Tan, but over time he developed genuine feelings for her and comforted her when Tan didn’t understand. The K-drama has won a multitude of awards, including the SBS Drama Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, and APAN Star Awards.
Which K-drama would you add to this list?