Korean dramas, aka K-dramas, have become immensely popular worldwide thanks to their excellent scripts and high-quality production. Some phenomenal dramas, such as the 2021 hit show Squid Game, also have helped propel this ongoing Korean Wave.
If you wish to watch K-dramas online free with English subtitles, this article will guide you through the top streaming services available. With these best K-drama websites, you can browse and watch both new and classic Korean dramas, with the option to download them for offline viewing.
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In a nutshell, K-drama sites can be sorted into 2 types, one is the legal websites that feature licensed content and original shows etc. The other is the free sites that provide totally free streaming services. Both types of K-drama websites are included in this article.
Let’s first get to know their relative pros and cons with the table below. You can click on the site name to quickly jump to the details.
| Advantage | Disadvantage | Top Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legit Streaming Service |
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| Free Website |
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Rakuten Viki is considered as the best legal site for streaming of Korean dramas. Dedicated to Asian dramas and movies, Viki offers a wide selection of free and premium K-dramas, as well as Chinese and Japanese content. You can watch hundreds of free K-dramas on Viki, or upgrade to Viki Pass to unlock “STANDARD” and “PLUS” shows, like My Lovely Liar and The Real Has Come. Another unique feature of Viki is that it allows users to subtitle content in over 100 languages. So it’s also a great option for multilingual learners and enthusiasts!
Quick access: www.viki.com
Price: Free; $5.99/month for Viki Pass Standard; $9.99/month for Viki Pass Plus
MyAsianTV is one of the most popular free drama streaming sites where you can watch new Korean dramas, TV shows plus other Asian dramas from China, Japan and more. This K-drama site ranks top among its type as it maintains a relatively low ad frequency, which provides users a more seamless viewing experience. What’s more, it offers up to 1080p full HD video quality and free download links to save the video for offline watch.
Quick access: ww3.myasiantv.ru
Price: Free
Kocowa is a legit streaming site specializing in Korean content, including dramas, movies, variety shows and K-pop programs . As a joint venture with the top three Korean broadcast networks, KBS, MBC and SBS, Kocowa can provide you access to airing Korean dramas within 6 hours after being broadcast in Korea. It doesn’t have as many K-dramas as Viki does, but it’s mostly free as long as you logged in.
Kocowa is only available in regions inside North and South America. So if you’re a fan of Korean dramas and variety shows living in the America, Kocowa is an ideal choice.
Quick access: www.kocowa.com
Price: Free with pre-roll ads , or $6.99/month for ad-free and priority access
ViewAsian is perfect choice if you want to watch K-dramas online without paying subscription. This free Asian drama streaming site has a surprising beautiful interface and few intrusive ads, contributing to an enjoyable watch experience. You can browse all the dramas by genre and country and watch both new and older K-dramas in full HD with embedded English subtitles. ViewAsian also allows users to leave comments on drama page to discuss their favorite dramas with others!
Quick access: https://viewasian.co/
Price: Free
KissAsian is another website that offers a huge catalog of K-dramas and other Asian shows. You can browse all the dramas by genres and popularity, and watch full episodes online for free in 1080p full HD. In addition, this free site also provides free download links for most K-drama episodes. You can also log in to add dramas to your favorites list for viewing next time. However, like most free streaming sites, KissAsian has annoying pop up ads and potential security risks.
Quick access: https://kissasian.fm/
Price: Free
Netflix has been investing billions in Korean shows in recent years, cultivating many popular K-dramas like Squid Game and Sweet Home. This world-leading streaming giant is available around the world, but subscription remains mandatory to access all its content and originals. In terms of video quality, the basic ad-supported plan and standard plan both permit resolutions up to 1080p full HD. Meanwhile the Premium subscribers can enjoy the best video quality up to 4K HDR.
Quick access: www.netflix.com/browse/genre/2638104
Price: from $6.99 to $19.99/month for different plans
YouTube is also a good option to watch full K-dramas for free as some networks and personal users often upload older Korean dramas on their YouTube channels. You can just search for the K-drama you want or “Kdrama full series" to find your favorite dramas. Popular full K-dramas on YouTube includes The Heirs, Reply 1988, etc. You can watch online in high quality or download them easily for offline viewing with a dedicated downloader.
Quick access: www.youtube.com
Price: Free; or get YouTube Premium for no ads
Viu is another free and legit K-drama site available in English and other several Asian languages. This Hong Kong-based streaming service allows you to watch its huge collection of Korean dramas, including its originals, for free in SD quality or lower. You can also upgrade to Viu Premium to get HD quality and unlimited access to selected K-dramas. The downside is that Viu is only available in 16 countries across Asia and Africa. So you may need a VPN or proxy to access it outside these regions.
Quick access: www.viu.com
Price: Free with ads; Viu Premium starts from $9/month
Dramacool is another popular free K-drama website out there you probably have heard of. It collects all currently airing and classic K-dramas and K-shows, such as Heartbeat released 2023. Much like Kissasian, Dramacool lets you watch and download K-dramas with English subs for free, but only some of the K-dramas have download links.
Quick access: https://dramacool.city/home/
Price: Free
Newasiantv is another free source to watch Asian dramas, movies and TV shows available in English. This site also has an extensive Korean drama library is up to date, but it also lacks some popular Netflix originals that you may want to watch. Similar to KissAsian, it takes a dark mode and a simple interface, and lets you watch latest K-dramas in high quality. In addition, this K-drama site reaches a balance with ads by setting fixed ad blocks on its layout.
Quick access: ww1.newasiantv.in
Price: Free
While you can watch K-dramas online with these sites, being able to download them for offline viewing can be useful when there is no internet or Wi-Fi available. Free K-drama websites sometimes provide direct download links, but as we noticed, the quality and reliability can vary. And sites like Viki usually don’t allow direct downloads. So if you want to save your favorite K-dramas for offline watch, using a video downloader is a hassle-free suggestion.
iFunia YouTube Downloader is a great software for downloading full K-dramas or selected episodes from a wide range of video streaming sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Twitter, Facebook, VK and many more.
Step 1. Download and install iFunia YouTube Downloader.
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Step 2. Copy the video URL of the K-drama episode you want to download, and paste it into iFunia. Hit Enter on your keyboard or the “+” button to parse the link. You can add more videos by repeating this step.
Step 3. Choose a video format and quality you want to save from the Format list, like MP4 - 1920 x 1080p or higher available.
Step 4. Start downloading selected videos to your computer by clicking the Download 
icon.
That’s it, now you can build your own K-drama library and watch your favorite episodes anytime.
Which Korean dramas are trending in 2023? In this section, let’s take a look at some of the best K-dramas of 2023 so far that you'll get obsessed with. You can find them on the recommended websites above.
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IMDB: 8.6/10 Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Three innocent teenagers with superhuman abilities go head-to-head with a mysterious organization that try to hunt them down one by one. |
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IMDB: 8.1/10 Genre: Thriller, Drama The part 2 of the awesome series The Glory was released in March 2023. It’s about how a woman takes absolute revenge against her high school bullies after 18 years. |
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IMDB: 8.4/10 Genre: Family, Comedy A tragic accident leaves an ambitious prosecutor with the mind of a child, forcing him and his mother to embark on a journey to heal their relationship. |
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IMDB: 8.3/10 Genre: Romance, Life The story of three siblings and a mysterious man who wants to seek freedom from their frustrating lives. This K-drama was released in 2022 but still dominate discussions in 2023. |
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IMDB: 8.2/10 Genre: Crime, Military drama A young soldier’s missions to catch army deserters reveals the painful reality endured by every enlistee during compulsory call of duty. |
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IMDB: 7.9/10 Genre: Romance, Law, Fantacy A successful lawyer bound by a family curse becomes entangled with a civil servant who holds the key to his freedom - igniting an unexpected romance. |
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IMDB: 8.0/10 Genre: Action, Crime A new season to the popular K-drama Taxi Driver. The story of a deluxe taxi driver who gets revenge on behalf of his passengers. |
This article covers the best websites to stream Korean dramas for free online. Viki and MyAsianTV are most recommended for a comprehensive collection of K-dramas. YouTube is also a handy option for older titles. To watch K-dramas offline, you can download videos directly from sites using a powerful video downloader like iFunia YouTube Downloader.
I hope this post gives you a good overview of the best options to choose from when looking for free websites to watch your favorite Korean dramas online or offline.
Cheryl has been writing tutorials, reviews, and how-to articles on consumer apps since 2016. She specializes in multimedia products and is always testing on Mac, PC, and various devices.
