Korean dramas have mastered high school love and youthful romance, often mixing it with friendship, family drama, comedy, and plot twists. Some of these high-school Kdramas are pure feel-good romantic series like True Beauty, Moment Of Eighteen, and Twenty One Twenty Five.

Other Korean shows use first love to explore insecurity, social pressure, and the difficulty of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, like Hierarchy and Inheritors.

If you're looking for Kdramas that bring back those first-crush butterflies and nostalgic school-life feels, here are 10 titles to add to your Netflix watchlist.

Top 10 high-school romance K-dramas on Netflix

1. True Beauty

Cast: Moon Ga-Young, Cha Eun-woo, Hwang In-you

Plot: True Beauty follows the story of Lim Ju-kyung, a teenager who becomes highly conscious of her appearance after being bullied at school. She uses makeup as her shield when she transfers to a new school.

Hiding her insecurity becomes difficult for her when she catches herself between two very different boys.

Why Watch It: True Beauty is perhaps the easiest recommendation for those looking for classic high-school K-drama romance. It has a feel-good storyline, school friendships, comedy, emotional baggage, and a love triangle.

True Beauty (Image Credit: Instagram @kdloversworld)

2. Twenty Five Twenty One

Cast:  Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim Ji-yeon

Plot:  Set in the late 1990s, Twenty Five Twenty One is about aspiring fencer Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin, a young man whose family has fallen on hard times. Both of them meet at the lowest point of their lives and eventually fall in love.

Why Watch It:  Twenty Five Twenty One very beautifully captures the bittersweet side of first love. Hee-do and Yi-jin’s relationship grows alongside personal ambitions, making the romance feel rooted in the characters rather than simply inserted into the plot.

Twenty One Twenty Five (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

3. A Love So Beautiful

Cast: Kim Yo-han, So Ju-yeon, Yeo Hoi-hyun

Plot: A Love So Beautiful is the Korean adaptation of the popular Chinese series of the same name. This Kdrama follows a cheerful teenager, Shin Sol-i, and her long-time crush, Cha Heon.
Their relationship develops gradually as they navigate school, friendship, and the complicated process of growing up.

Why Watch It: This romantic K-drama is the best pick for anyone who has had a hopeless school crush. Less emotionally intense than other Kdramas, this heartfelt series shows innocent love and pure friendships during high school times.

A Love So Beautiful (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

4. Love Alarm

Cast:  Kim So-hyun, Song Kang, Jung Ga-ram

Plot:  Just like Tinder matches you with people close to you, in Love Alarm, there is an app that notifies you whether someone within a certain distance has romantic feelings for you. In this series, the relationships of teenagers are decided by technology.

Why Watch It:  Love Alarm takes the familiar high-school love triangle and gives it a distinctly modern twist. The relationship between the characters provides the central emotional conflict, while the technology-driven premise gives the drama an identity of its own.

Love Alarm (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

5. Hierarchy

Cast:  Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min, Kim Jae-won

Plot:  Kang Ha transfers to Jooshin High School, where the children of Korea’s wealthiest families occupy the top of the social hierarchy. Her arrival disrupts the order in the school and reveals some shocking truths.

Why Watch It:  Hierarchy is the best Kdrama choice for anyone looking for high school romance with more mystery, drama, and social conflict. Unlike the softer, swoonworthy Kdramas, this series places the relationships in the real world.

Hierarchy (Image Credit: Instagram @koreandraaamas)

6. Boys Over Flowers

Cast:  Lee Min-ho, Ku Hye-sun, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Bum

Plot:  Boys Over Flowers is about Geum Jan-di, who receives a scholarship to an elite school. There, she finds herself struggling with a group of wealthy students who effectively rule the campus. Later, the clashes eventually turn into a romantic entanglement.

Why Watch It:  Boys Over Flowers is a great choice for anyone who is looking for old-school Kdramas. Although it may seem melodramatic at first, the dramatic confrontations and a messy love triangle compensate for it.

Boys Over Flowers (Image Credit: Instagram @kdrama_salanghae)

7. Inheritors

Cast:  Lee Min-ho, Park Shin-hye, Kim Woo-bin

Plot:  Inheritors follows students from wealthy families who attend an elite school, where social status and family expectations shape almost every aspect of their lives. Cha Eun-sang finds herself drawn into that world after crossing paths with Kim Tan.

Why Watch It:  If you are looking for a classic rich-heir-meets-outsider romantic Kdrama, then Inheritors is a great choice. You will see how a beautiful love relationship between the students unfolds amid class differences, family pressure, and school rivalries.

Inheritors (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

8. Moment Of Eighteen

Cast:  Ong Seong-wu, Kim Hyang-gi, Shin Seung-ho

Plot:  Moment of Eighteen is about Choi Jun-woo, a quiet teenager who has recently transferred to a new school. There, he experiences first love as he navigates a new environment, friendships, family problems, and academic pressure.

Why Watch It:  Moment of Eighteen is a better choice for people looking for a more grounded version of teenage romance rather than a melodramatic one. There are no fantastical premises. Instead, the drama focuses on small but significant experiences of adolescence.

Moment Of Eighteen (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

ALSO READ: From Happiness To Vincenzo: Best Kdramas On OTT That Perfectly Blend Romance And Thriller

9. Who Are You: School 2015

Cast:  Kim So-hyun, Nam Joo-hyuk, Yook Sung-jae

Plot:  Who Are You: School 2015 is about two identical twins, Eun-bi and Eun-byul. When one of the sisters suddenly disappears, the other finds herself living her sister's life.

Why Watch It:  Unlike a straightforward high school rom-com, Who Are You: School 2015 has teen romance combined with mystery and a much heavier school storyline. This Kdrama series has high school romance with an emotional pull with ground reality.

ALSO READ: 5 Kdramas To Watch On Netflix Similar To Kim Ji-won’s Upcoming Series Doctor X Age Of The White Mafia

Who Are You: School 2015 (Image Credit: Instagram @socialketchupbinge)

10. Twinkling Watermelon

Cast:  Ryeoun, Choi Hyun-wook, Seol In-ah, Shin Eun-soo

Plot:  In Twinkling Watermelon, a musically gifted teenager travels back in time and meets his father as a high school student. What follows is a story about music, family, friendship, first love, and the choices that shape people's lives.

Why Watch It:  Twinkling Watermelon takes the high-school romance formula somewhere much more imaginative. The time-travel premise gives the drama a fantasy hook, but its emotional core remains firmly rooted in teenage friendships and first love.

Twinkling Watermelon (Image Credit: Instagram @kdloversworld)

Every Kdrama fan knows how South Korea can make great, swoonworthy love stories. So, if you are looking for something fresh and innocent, these high school Kdramas on Netflix could be your next binge-worthy series.

FAQ

Q1. Which is the best high school romantic Kdrama on Netflix?

A1. True Beauty is a popular pick for fans of school romance, love triangles, comedy, and first-love stories.

Q2. Which are the best short Kdramas to watch on Netflix?

A2. Love Alarm, A Love So Beautiful, and Moment of Eighteen are good options for viewers looking for relatively easy-to-binge romantic Kdramas.