Rakuten Viki's top K-dramas of 2025 - From Dear X's dark ambition to Study Group's fight for hope, the must-watch series of the year

As 2025 draws its final curtain, the year leaves behind a trail of unforgettable emotions, shocking twists, and characters that refused to be forgotten. From ruthless ambition and twisted love to bloody mysteries and youth caught in survival mode, Rakuten Viki's 2025 K-drama lineup delivered spectacle after spectacle.

Here's a completely reimagined, dramatic deep dive into the most talked-about Korean dramas of the year - stories that defined 2025 and dominated conversations long after the credits rolled.

Cast: Han Ji Min, Lee Jun Hyuk, Kim Do Hoon, Kim Yoon Hye

Also streaming on: Apple TV, Wavve, Lemino



At the top of the corporate food chain stands Kang Ji Yun - brilliant, ruthless, and terrifyingly competent. As the CEO of a high-stakes headhunting firm, she lives and breathes success, sacrificing everything else in the process. Personal life? Social skills? Domestic basics? Completely nonexistent.

Enter Yoo Eun Ho, her impossibly warm and capable secretary - a single father who balances work, parenting, and emotional intelligence with ease. Where Ji Yun is cold precision, Eun Ho is quiet compassion. What begins as a strictly professional relationship slowly unravels into something far more dangerous: emotional dependence, vulnerability, and a romance that threatens Ji Yun's carefully built empire. Love Scout thrives on the tension between power and intimacy, asking one haunting question - what happens when control finally slips?

Cast: Kim You Jung, Kim Young Dae, Kim Do Hoon, Lee Yeol Eum

Also streaming on: TVING, HBO Max



Baek A Jin is not the heroine you root for - she's the one you fear. Scarred by years of domestic abuse, she learned early that emotions are weapons and people are tools. Behind her angelic smile lies a calculating survivor who clawed her way to the top of the entertainment industry.

As A Jin ascends to superstardom, her past refuses to stay buried. Yun Jun Seo, her closest confidant and emotional anchor, slowly transforms from protector to executioner of her downfall. Kim Jae O, bound to her by shared trauma, clings to her as his only reason to exist. And rival actress Im Re Na - once an idol, now a threat - adds jealousy, desire, and rivalry into an already volatile mix. Dear X is a chilling psychological drama that dissects fame, trauma, and the terrifying cost of wanting everything.

Cast: Mun Ka Young, Choi Hyun Wook, Im Se Mi, Kwak Shi Yang

Also streaming on: TVING



Sixteen years ago, Baek Su Jeong fell for an online gaming legend known as "Black Dragon" - only to be publicly humiliated when he turned out to be an awkward middle schooler. The embarrassment never faded. Neither did the resentment.

Fast-forward to the present: Su Jeong is a sharp, capable professional at Yongseong Department Store, when fate delivers its cruelest joke. Her new boss, Ban Ju Yeon - head of strategic planning - is none other than Black Dragon himself. Old wounds reopen, power dynamics flip, and unresolved emotions simmer beneath corporate politeness. Equal parts romantic tension and emotional revenge, My Dearest Nemesis proves that the past doesn't just haunt you - sometimes, it gets promoted above you.

Cast: Hwang Min Hyun, Han Ji Eun, Cha Woo Min, Lee Jong Hyun, Shin Su Hyun, Yoon Sang Jung

Also streaming on: TVING



Yusung Technical High School is notorious for violence, failure, and broken dreams. Yun Ga Min knows this better than anyone. Academically weak but physically unstoppable, he wants only one thing - to go to college. His solution? Form a study group.

But survival comes before studying. When bullies, gangs, and corruption threaten his friends, Ga Min's fists become shields. Standing beside him is Lee Han Gyeong, a temporary teacher with secrets of her own, determined to rewrite the school's destiny. Study Group blends raw action with heart-wrenching youth drama, turning classrooms into battlegrounds and education into an act of rebellion.

Cast: Go Hyun Jung, Jang Dong Yoon, Cho Seong Ha, Lee El

Also streaming on: Netflix, Wavve, Prime Video, Kocowa



Twenty years ago, Jung I Sin earned the name "Mantis" - a serial killer who brutally murdered five men and vanished into infamy. Her son, Cha Su Yeol, grew up hating the woman who destroyed his life. Now a police officer, he believes that chapter is closed.

Until the killings start again. When a new murder mirrors the Mantis' signature brutality, Su Yeol is forced into an unthinkable alliance: working with his imprisoned mother to catch a copycat killer. As secrets surface and truths blur, Queen Mantis becomes a haunting exploration of inherited sin, moral corruption, and the thin line between justice and monstrosity. This is not just a crime thriller - it's a psychological nightmare that lingers long after the final scene.