Highest Rated Korean Dramas of 2023

image featuring Doctor Cha and bearing the text: Highest Rated Kdramas of 2023

[Last Updated on February 24, 2024]

This ranking shows the top Korean dramas with the highest ratings in 2023—based on television viewership data from Nielsen. It reflects the highly popular and most-watched series among South Korean viewers. Read on to see if your favorite has earned a spot on the list.

This is an annual ranking. To see the latest edition, go to the Highest Rated Korean Dramas of 2024.

Highest-Rated Korean Dramas of 2023: Free-to-Air Top 10

Highest-Rated Korean Dramas of 2023: Cable Top 10

Overall Top 10 by Viewers

2023 Viewership in Numbers

The figures presented below are sourced from our up-to-date database and represent the primetime Korean dramas from January to December 2023. Take note that original series from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ are not included in this summary as they are not broadcast on television.

Total Dramas (including those that premiered before Jan. 2023)
Episodes
Premieres
Highest Viewers (Crash Course in Romance)
Highest Rating in Free-to-Air TV (Taxi Driver 2)
Highest Rating in Cable TV (Doctor Cha)
Lowest Rating in Free-to-Air TV (My Lovely Boxer)
Lowest Rating in Cable TV (Oh! Young-Sim)
Average Rating in Free-to-Air TV
Average Rating in Cable TV

Methodology

Our rankings are based on nationwide TV viewership data from Nielsen Korea. We included primetime dramas aired on free-to-air and cable channels, given they meet the following qualifications:

  • The series was broadcast on any of the major channels, including KBS2, MBC, SBS, JTBC, and tvN, as well as Channel A, ENA, MBN, TV Chosun, and OCN.
  • Over half of the drama’s total number of episodes were broadcast in 2023.
  • The drama was aired either once or twice a week, between 9 pm and 12 midnight. In line with this, we did not consider daily dramas and KBS2’s weekend dramas, which typically garner double-digit ratings with ease.

To learn more about how we collect viewership data, go to our K-drama ratings portal.


Did you find these rankings useful? See also our 50-item list of some of the best Korean dramas of all time and the highest-rated K-dramas of all time.