Some K-dramas have a unique way of escaping the hustle and bustle of the big cities, moving to a smaller locale with a tight-knit community and unmatched, idyllic scenery. From mystery thrillers to rom-coms, here are the top 20 small-town K-dramas you should definitely check out.
20. Beyond Evil (2021)
This procedural psychological thriller takes a look at a small town in Gyeonggi Province shaken to its core by a serial killer. A pattern of gruesome killings occurs that is oddly reminiscent of a cold serial murder case from 20 years ago. Detectives Lee Dong-sik and Han Joo-won begin their investigation but soon start to question everyone and everything, including themselves.
Related: Top 10 K-Dramas That Prove Revenge Is Best Served Cold And Bloody
19. The Potato Lab (2025)
This K-drama is about a woman who is crazy about potatoes, and a man who is crazy like the famous Korean tornado potatoes. While the cheesy premise might make many easily dismissive of it, it is a surprisingly refreshing feel-good romance. The drama is set in a potato research centre in a mountain valley. Here, we follow the passionate researcher Kim Mi-kyung, who is a devoted potato lover, and her encounter with the strict and principled director So Baek-ho.
18. Diary Of A Prosecutor (2019-2020)
While most legal K-dramas are always set in the hustle and bustle of Seoul with a complicated plot at its centre, ‘Diary of a Prosecutor’ is a slice-of-life drama set in the fictional small town of Jinyoung. It depicts the mundane daily routine of its overworked prosecutors and the different cases they have to tackle. It is a healing drama but also manages to sneak in a mystery plot, social commentary, and some very lovable characters.
17. 100 Days My Prince (2018)
After an attempt on his life, Joseon-era Crown Prince Yi Yul finds himself severely injured and stranded in a random village. He suffers from temporary amnesia and winds up in the care of the Hong family. When the royal law forces the Hong family daughter, Hong Sim, to get married or face severe punishment, Yi Yul offers to enter a fake engagement with her. The light-hearted period drama follows their budding romance as it clashes with Yi Yul’s slow but gradual recovery from amnesia.
16. Save Me (2017)
Starring an all-time stellar cast, including Seo Yea-ji, Ok Taec-yeon and Woo Do-hwan, ‘Save Me’ is a K-drama like no other. It follows a young girl named Sang-mi and her family, who move to the village of Muji-gun after their father’s failed business pushed them into a debilitating financial crisis. With no friends or relatives in this place, the family soon finds themselves getting acquainted with the Spiritual Father Baek Jung-ki. They end up getting sucked into his pseudo-religious cult. Sang-mi and her new friends try their best to save the family from its clutches.
15. Chocolate (2019-2020)
Despite having such a sweet title, ‘Chocolate’ has a reputation for being quite a tear-jerker. It opens in the small seaside town of Wando, where a boy meets a hungry girl and prepares a warm meal for her. 20 years later, the two lost souls meet once again as they start working for the same hospice. Moon Cha-young is a chef who cooks for the patients treated by neurosurgeon Lee Kang. Through depiction of their daily lives, we see them confronting their emotional scars.
14. Crash Landing On You (2019-2020)
South Korean heiress Yoon Se-ri gets swept away into a tornado while paragliding and drops right across the border into the arms of a North Korean army officer, Ri Jeong-hyeok. He decides to help Se-ri hide and make it safely back home without anyone knowing. While the series goes way beyond borders, some of the most memorable parts take place in a small North Korean village setting. Se-ri ends up living with Jeong-hyeok in his village, growing closer to the tight-knit community who live there.
13. Lovestruck In The City (2020-2021)
As its title suggests, ‘Lovestruck in the City’ is essentially about love stories that occur amidst the challenges of a bustling city. It is told by six individuals in the form of mockumentary interviews. But a large part of the narratives takes place in the small-town beachside setting of Yangyang, where the main couple fall in love before coming back to the city and getting hit by reality. Exploring the dynamic of both settings and with such a close-knit group of characters, it is a must-watch for anyone looking for a unique small-town K-drama.
12. My Liberation Note (2022)
Another drama that goes back and forth between the city and the small-town setting, ‘My Liberation Note’ tells the story of people living in the Seoul suburb of Sanpo, where more people leave than remain. Here, we follow the three Yeom siblings and the mysterious stranger who works for their father as they try to escape their dead-end lives, class differences, and other skeletons in their closets.
11. Welcome To Samdal-ri (2023-2024)
This friends-to-lovers and second chance romance is set against the beautiful backdrop of Jeju Island, following childhood friends Cho Yong-pil and Cho Sam-dal. While Yong-pil stayed in their hometown to become a weather forecaster, Sam-dal moved to Seoul to pursue her dreams of becoming a successful fashion photographer. When her city life suddenly falls apart, Sam-dal is forced to move back home and confront her unresolved baggage with Yong-pil.
10. Racket Boys (2021)
This is a beautiful coming-of-age story unfolding against the backdrop of the countryside. City kid Yoon Hae-kang is forced to move to the countryside when his father decides to become a coach for a middle school badminton team. Because of his father, Hae-kang is forced to join the ragtag team that is on the brink of disbandment but eventually falls in love with the sport as well as countryside living itself.
In Case You Missed It: Top 10 Underrated Korean Movies That Deserve Far More Attention
9. The Good Bad Mother (2023)
Single mother and pig farmer Jin Young Soon raised her son Kang Ho all alone, who grows up to be a cold-hearted and emotionally distant prosecutor because of her strict parenting. But when Kang Ho gets in a tragic accident, he is left with the mind of a child and paraglepic. He returns to his village, and the mother-son duo get a second chance at healing their relationship amidst the backdrop of a tight-knit community filled with eccentric characters.
8. When The Camelia Blooms (2019)
Mixing crime thriller with a memorable small-town romance, ‘When The Camelia Blooms’ tells the story of single mother Oh Dong-baek. Dong-baek and her kid move to the small town of Ongsan, where she opens a bar named Camellia and instantly becomes the subject of local gossip. While balancing her life as a single working mother, Dong-baek also becomes the target of a notorious killer. Fortunately, the local police officer is very dedicated to winning her heart and finding this killer.
7. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)
Set at the idyllic seaside village of Gongjin, ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’ tells the story of a city girl and country boy that only gets better with every rewatch. Yoon Hye-jin is an accomplished dentist in the city of Seoul whose career goes awry, and she decides to open up her own practice in the village of Gongjin. Here she meets the charming village handyman and jack-of-all-trades Hong Du-sik, and the two clash with their opposite personalities.
6. Once Upon A Small Town (2022)
Perhaps there is no such thing as too many opposite-attract romances set in a small town. ‘Once Upon A Small Town’ is a wholesome village drama, following the Seoul veterinarian Han Ji-Yul, whose grandparents trick him into running their rural veterinary clinic. Here, he meets Ahn Jae-young, a local police officer and the first person to respond to any call for help from the villagers. As Ji-yul tries to adapt to the rural lifestyle, he develops a connection with Ja-young.
5. Summer Strike (2022)
This slice-of-life drama with a little murder mystery plot is about people who start finding themselves after leaving their complicated lifestyle in the city to move to an unfamiliar place and do nothing. Lee Yeo-reum is a young woman with a promising career in the city and a happy relationship. But it all comes crashing down when her mother dies in an accident. She decides to quit her job and move to the small seaside town called Angok. Here she meets the quiet librarian An Dae-Beom, and they bond over their quest to seek a healing life.
4. When The Weather Is Fine (2020)
While most small-town K-dramas are almost always set in the glistening summer, ‘When The Weather Is Fine’ is a rare winter K-drama set in the snowy town of Hyecheon. Cellist Mok Hae-won decides to move back to her village home out of nowhere and reunites with her former classmate Im Eun-seob, who runs the neighbouring bookstore. In the cold winter, she finds warmth by finding connection with her neighbours and confronting her past emotional wounds.
3. Reply 1988 (2015-2016)
While ‘Reply 1988’ is a period drama set in the city of Seoul, it tells the story of the close-knit community in the Ssangmun-dong neighbourhood. Here in the year 1988, we follow five childhood friends and their families, all of whom rely on each other to get through difficult times in life. We follow the five kids as they get in and out of mischief together, growing up and forming memories that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
2. When Life Gives You Tangerine (2025)
While the setting and timeline of ‘When Life Gives You Tangerine’ keeps varying over the course of the series, at the heart of it all is the main character Ae-sun’s hometown in Jeju Island. The story begins in 1951, when a little girl named Ae-sun is born. She is bold and rebellious but held back by the norms of her time. Across decades, the drama follows her life from childhood, youth, motherhood, to eventually old age in the present time, telling a multi-generational slice-of-life story that is heartwarming and a certified tear-jerker at the same time.
1. Our Blues (2022)
This anthology series is one of the most unique K-dramas of all time. It is set around the bustling shores of Jeju Island, following a group of distinct characters. From a teenage girl to a middle-aged ship captain and even a group of elderly haenyeos – the drama follows the daily lives of the ordinary people living in this village as they face the bitter ups and downs of life. All of them are connected by the stunning backdrop of Jeju Island.
You Might Also Like To Read: Top 25 Best K-Dramas of All Time
