[Last Updated on November 9, 2023]
The rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ paves the way for some Korean dramas to gain international exposure from the get-go. Series like “Alchemy of Souls” and “My Liberation Notes” made the Netflix global charts because of this exposure that contributes to their success and popularity. But that is only one of the many indicators of success for any series.
Television viewership is another one, and we have looked into it in this ranking to grasp the viewing preferences of viewers across Korea. You will find below the Korean dramas with the highest ratings in 2022 or those that pulled in millions of viewers during their broadcast—ranked based on their peak ratings and viewers.
Dramas featuring lawyer characters led the rankings, including the top 3 among non-cable series. A lesser-known cable channel benefited from the unprecedented success of a show about an autistic rookie attorney. But a JTBC blockbuster ultimately secured the no. 1 spot as the highest rated Korean drama of 2022.
This is an annual ranking. To see the latest edition, go to the Highest Rated Korean Dramas of 2024.
Highest Rated Korean Dramas of 2022: Free-to-Air Top 10
The Namgoong Min starrer “One Dollar Lawyer” is no.1 in this category. This plus five others represent SBS in the top 10, making the network the big winner again this year.
2022 saw no clear standout as Lee Jong-suk’s “Big Mouth” took second place by just a small margin. In comparison, 2021 winner “The Penthouse 2” was 11 percentage points ahead of its runner-up “One the Woman.” (See our 2021 Korean drama viewership ranking)
1. One Dollar Lawyer
Peak Rating: 15.2%
Network: SBS
Starring: Namgoong Min & Kim Ji-eun
2. Big Mouth
Peak Rating: 13.7%
Network: MBC
Starring: Lee Jong-suk & Im Yoon-ah
3. Again My Life
Peak Rating: 12.0%
Network: SBS
Starring: Lee Joon-gi & Kim Ji-eun
4. The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won
Peak Rating: 11.7%
Network: KBS1
Starring: Joo Sang-wook & Kim Young-chul
5. Business Proposal
Peak Rating: 11.6%
Network: SBS
Starring: Kim Se-jeong & Ahn Hyo-seop
6. Why Her?
Peak Rating: 10.7%
Network: SBS
Starring: Seo Hyun-jin & Hwang In-youp
7. The First Responders
Peak Rating: 10.3%
Network: SBS
Starring: Kim Rae-won, Son Ho-jun & Gong Seung-yeon
8. Tracer
Peak Rating: 9.0%
Network: MBC
Starring: Im Si-wan & Go Ah-sung
9. Bloody Heart
Peak Rating: 8.9%
Network: KBS2
Starring: Lee Joon, Kang Han-na & Jang Hyuk
10. Through the Darkness
Peak Rating: 8.3%
Network: SBS
Starring: Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu & Kim So-jin
Highest Rated Korean Dramas of 2022: Cable Top 10
The top spot among cable series goes to “Reborn Rich,” marking the return of JTBC in the top 10. The network’s absence in the 2021 ranking is noteworthy considering the fact the that it is home to the highest-rated cable drama in 2020 (“The World of the Married”) and 2019 (“Sky Castle”).
“Reborn Rich” became the fourth cable series in history to surpass the 20% mark in rating, making it Soong Joong-ki’s biggest win since “Descendants of the Sun.” Its peak rating of 27% is second only to “The World of the Married” as of this writing.
But before Reborn did that, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” was the clear winner in ratings as well as online buzz. The series barely logged one percent when its pilot episode aired on ENA but went on to amaze millions of viewers with its unique story and the Baeksang-winning performance of actress Park Eun-bin.
1. Reborn Rich
Peak Rating: 26.948%
Network: JTBC
Starring: Song Joong-ki & Lee Sung-min
2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Peak Rating: 17.534%
Network: ENA
Starring: Park Eun-bin & Kang Tae-oh
3. Under the Queen’s Umbrella
Peak Rating: 16.852%
Network: tvN
Starring: Kim Hye-soo, Kim Hae-sook & Choi Won-young
4. Our Blues
Peak Rating: 14.597%
Network: tvN
Starring: Lee Byung-hun & Shin Min-a
5. Twenty Five Twenty One
Peak Rating: 11.513%
Network: tvN
Starring: Nam Joo-hyuk & Kim Tae-ri
6. Little Women
Peak Rating: 11.105%
Network: tvN
Starring: Kim Go-eun, Nam Ji-hyun & Park Ji-hu
7. Love (Ft. Marriage And Divorce) S3
Peak Rating: 10.395%
Network: TV Chosun
Starring: Park Joo-mi & Lee Ga-ryeong
8. Military Prosecutor Doberman
Peak Rating: 10.081%
Network: tvN
Starring: Jo Bo-ah & Ahn Bo-hyun
9. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow
Peak Rating: 9.651%
Network: tvN
Starring: Lee Jae-wook & Go Yoon-jung
10. Uncle
Peak Rating: 9.329%
Network: TV Chosun
Starring: Oh Jung-se, Jeon Hye-jin & lee Kyung-hoon
Overall Top 20 by Viewers
In terms of most viewers in a single episode, cable and tvN reign supreme when we look at the top 10 alone. However, JTBC’s “Reborn Rich” is the overall no. 1 with 6.28 million viewers, making it the third most watched cable drama episode since 2018—next only to “Crash Landing on You” (6.34 million) and “Sky Castle” (6.51 million) as of this writing.
| RANK | DRAMA | CHANNEL | PEAK VIEWERS | DATE AIRED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reborn Rich | JTBC | 6,277,000 | Dec 25, 2022 |
| 2 | Extraordinary Attorney Woo | ENA | 4,449,000 | Aug 18, 2022 |
| 3 | Under the Queen’s Umbrella | tvN | 4,049,000 | Dec 4, 2022 |
| 4 | Our Blues | tvN | 3,419,000 | Jun 12, 2022 |
| 5 | Twenty Five Twenty One | tvN | 3,047,000 | Apr 3, 2022 |
| 6 | One Dollar Lawyer | SBS | 2,933,000 | Oct 22, 2022 |
| 7 | Little Women | tvN | 2,618,000 | Oct 9, 2022 |
| 8 | Big Mouth | MBC | 2,527,000 | Sep 17, 2022 |
| 9 | Alchemy of Souls | tvN | 2,410,000 | Aug 28, 2022 |
| 10 | Military Prosecutor Doberman | tvN | 2,279,000 | Apr 26, 2022 |
| 11 | Again My Life | SBS | 2,214,000 | May 27, 2022 |
| 12 | Business Proposal | SBS | 2,149,000 | Mar 29, 2022 |
| 13 | Love (Ft. Marriage And Divorce) S3 | TV Chosun | 2,060,000 | May 1, 2022 |
| 14 | The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won | KBS1 | 2,048,000 | Jan 16, 2022 |
| 15 | Uncle | TV Chosun | 2,042,000 | Jan 23, 2022 |
| 16 | The First Responders | SBS | 1,959,000 | Dec 30, 2022 |
| 17 | Ghost Doctor | tvN | 1,947,000 | Feb 22, 2022 |
| 18 | Why Her? | SBS | 1,855,000 | Jul 23, 2022 |
| 19 | Forecasting Love and Weather | JTBC | 1,844,000 | Mar 13, 2022 |
| 20 | The Good Detective 2 | JTBC | 1,774,000 | Sep 18, 2022 |
Methodology
Our rankings are based on television viewership data from Nielsen Korea. We included 28 free-to-air and 42 cable dramas in our analyses, all of which meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The drama aired on any of the major networks—KBS2, MBC, SBS, JTBC, and tvN—as well as Channel A, ENA, MBN, TV Chosun and OCN. Exclusively web- or streaming-based shows like Netflix’s “The Glory Season 1” and Coupang Play’s “Anna” do not meet this requirement.
- It aired more than half of its total episode count in 2022. A series that aired exactly half of its episode count in 2022 still qualifies if it premiered within that year. However, the analysis take into account all episodes of the drama.
- The series was broadcast once or twice a week between 9 pm and 12 midnight. Following this rule, we excluded daily dramas as well as KBS2’s Saturday-Sunday dramas that usually easily enjoy double-digit ratings.
Unlike in the 2021 ranking, this year’s edition of our annual Korean drama viewership rankings are based on peak performance. We decided not to look at averages and focus instead on the numbers that best represent the achievement of the show.
Did you find these rankings useful? See also our definitive list of the 50 best Korean dramas since 2009 and the highest-rated K-dramas of all time.