TVN is one of the famous cable television networks owned by CJ ENM Entertainment Division that has been giving us great K-dramas back to back. It is a known fact that this TV has numerous hit series thanks to their ability to recognize great screenwriters and casts that bring their A-game to delivering the storyline.

If you are truly an ardent lover of K-dramas, definitely TVN is not new to your ears even as an international fan (Unless you’ve not repented from downloading from illegal sites. Don’t worry, I won’t snitch)

Obviously, TVN is a paid cable TV, and the viewership is based on rating which is an advantage for us ‘international fans’ because it helps us to know the hit series that are worth our time, right?

If you are especially a new K-Drama fan, here are 5 top TVN series with the highest ratings that won’t leave you disappointed. As a long-standing K-Drama fan, if these five series are not on your watch list already, we are revoking your K-Drama membership card.

Queen of Tears (24.850%)

Synopsis: The series depicts the crisis and rekindling of love between Hong Hae-in, a third-generation chaebol heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo, the son of farmers from Yongdu-ri, and their three years of marriage.

I am not the only one who was not amazed by the success of this 2024 series, right? I mean, the writer is a guru and the cast is exceptional, so it’s only great that it became the highest-rated series after Crash Landing on You has occupied the space for a long time. I see nothing stopping you from binge-watching this series, and you will definitely fall in love with it all step of the way.

Crash Landing On You (21.683%)

Synopsis: A paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea — and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide.

If I am being honest, this series that aired between 2019-2020 remains my personal best series ever. The unusual storyline does it for me, and let’s not even talk about the cast lineup. Gosh! They ate and left no crumbs (the leads kept eating in real life, if you know what I mean *wink*). CLOY occupied the TVN highest-rated series position for a long time before ‘Queen of Tears’ and that already informs you how great the series was (if you are new here, by the way)

Reply 1988 (18.803%)

Synopsis: A nostalgic trip back to the late 1980s through the lives of five families and their five teenage kids living in a small neighborhood in Seoul. Times may have been a little simpler, and less technological, but still just as challenging to get through a typical day of life in the late 1980s.

The 2015 series Reply 1988 might be the third one of a three-part series, but it sure came to outperform its peers because tell me why it’s the only one on this top 5 list. The storyline is clearly relatable, and the fact that a drama with a 1988 setting is on this list is enough evidence that we are talking about a masterpiece here.

Guardian: The Lonely Great God (18.680%)

Synopsis: When Kim Shin is faced with death instead of honor after fighting a mighty battle, God turns Kim Shin into a goblin instead, tasked with protecting certain people from a life of misery. But immortality is wearing on Kim Shin, and he longs to find the prophesied human bride who can set his soul free.

Don’t tell me you have not seen this series (I am only pardoning you if you are new). I mean, this series is a masterpiece among masterpieces. The plot, the cast, the delivery, the twists, the settings, everything screamed perfection! This 2016 series definitely held our hearts for a long time, and I will say it’s one of those series I can’t get tired of watching even though it’s 2024 already.

Mr Sunshine (18.129%)

Synopsis: Mr. Sunshine centers around Eugene Choi, who was born into slavery in Joseon. After his father is beaten to death and his mother dies protecting him, young Eugene escapes to the United States at the time of the 1871 Shinmiyangyo incident with the help of a Christian missionary.

Excuse me for being biased here, but I must say Kim Tae Ri is a born actress, and she totally stole my heart in this series. Speaking of this 2018 series at large, I must say it earned and deserved its place on this list. It might not be the usual K-Drama we are used to, but the storyline and character development were so realistic. It was definitely worth my time, and it will be worth yours, too.  

A special shout-out to all the writers involved in these projects.

Which of these series is your best? And which one will you watch repeatedly?