Song Hye-Kyo’s 5 Best K-Dramas To Watch: From The Glory To Full House

Song Hye-kyo was cast as a model after winning a contest when she was only 14 years old, which kick-started her career as an actor. She was cast in several K-dramas before her breakout in 2000’s Autumn in My Heart, alongside Song Seung-heon and Won Bin, which became popular outside South Korea as well.

What followed was a string of successful dramas, including Full House with Rain, right up to 2023’s The Glory, cementing her status as the most successful K-drama superstars, and one of the ‘Troika’ (aka ‘Tae-Hye-Ji) of female actors; Kim Tae-hee, Song Hye-kyo, and Jun Ji-hyun.

While she has acted in films in Korea and beyond (including a project with Wong Kar-wai), her acclaimed Korean dramas are what truly made her a household name among global K-drama fans. Let’s look at the best dramas with Song Hye-kyo, ranked according to their IMDB ratings!

1. The Glory (2022-23)

• IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
• Streaming On: Netflix
• Director: Ahn Gil-ho

Plot: Talking about the best roles of Song Hye-kyo without mentioning The Glory would be a travesty, and at least 41K viewers agree. A formerly bullied teenager, Moon Dong-eun (Hye-kyo) grows up to be a vengeful adult, seeking to ruin all those who put her through hell during her high school days. With several players and a game of Go involved in her path, will Dong-eun be able to get revenge for the pain she faced in her teens?

The beauty of The Glory is as much in its writing as it is in the faultless execution by the cast. While Song’s Dong-eun is immaculate and steadfast, it is Lim Ji-yeon as Park Yeon-jin, the ruthless and hard-hearted leader of the bullies, who gets under the viewer’s skin. A series that keeps one on the edge of their seat, this one is not to be missed.

Trending

Netflix Fans Are Hooked On This Powerful New Series Dominating The Charts With 19M Viewing Hours In First Week — Have You Watched It Yet?

Dynamite Kiss Episode 3: Release Date, Preview, What To Expect, & All You Need To Know

2. Descendants of the Sun (2016)

• IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
• Streaming On: Netflix, Viki, Channel K (Prime Video)
• Director: Lee Eung-bok, Baek Sang-hoon

Plot: Song Hye-kyo stars opposite her former husband Song Joong-ki in this masterful K-drama about a doctor falling in love with a soldier on the frontlines. Despite their diametrically opposite personalities and values, Yoo Si-jin (Joong-ki) and Dr Kang Mo-yeon (Hye-kyo) form a close bond that carries them through a difficult evacuation in the fictitious Uruk. Will their love be able to last when Si-jin is sent on a classified operation with no way to contact Mo-yeon?

This drama won hearts, multiple awards for the two Songs’ chemistry, and fans got to see a real-life love story play out alongside. The Song-Song couple may have broken up, but Descendants of the Sun remains one of the early proponents of the Hallyu wave around the world.

3. Full House (2004)

• IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
• Streaming On: Netflix
• Director: Pyo Min-soo

Plot: Cliches are not the end of the world, and if executed well can lead to charming characters and plotlines that have longevity and cult following. In Full House, Lee Young-jae (Rain) is a well-known actor who must share his house with naive but tenacious budding writer, Han Ji-eun (Song).

Song Hye-kyo’s iconic rendition of ‘Three Bears’ (곰 세 마리) gets brought up to date, 21 years since the K-drama first aired. The legendary house that gave Full House its name was specially constructed in Incheon’s Gwangyeok-si, and still exists as a tourist attraction. A true classic, this series catapulted Song Hye-kyo to stardom throughout Asia.

4. Encounter (2018-19)

• IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
• Streaming On: Netflix, Viki
• Director: Park Shin-woo

Plot: Kim Jin-hyuk (Park Bo-gum) encounters Cha Soo-hyun (Song Hye-kyo) in Cuba, and helps her out in a moment of weakness. At the orientation for his new job, he finds that she is the director of his company. With external forces and an unavoidable power imbalance threatening to rip them apart, will this couple find happiness?

Having played green-flag characters long before he starred in 2025’s When Life Gives You Tangerines, Park Bo-gum brings a vulnerability to Jin-hyuk, encouraging Song’s Soo-hyun to let go of expectations. Their chemistry worked wonders, and Encounter had one of the highest ratings among K-dramas in history.

5. That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013)

• IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
• Streaming On: Netflix, Viki
• Director: Kim Kyu-tae

Plot: That Winter, the Wind Blows features the unique intersection of a blind heiress and a conman who is looking to inherit her wealth by pretending to be her brother. Will these two broken people be able to heal one another?

Starring Zo In-sung in his first role since military service and Song Hye-kyo in a never-before-seen avatar, this K-drama was highly successful. Invested in accessibility following her interactions with the blind, Song sponsored 1000 copies of Independence Memorial Hall Tour Guides in braille for visually-impaired visitors.

Before her cameo in Genie, Make a Wish, Song Hye-Kyo’s last major project was the movie Dark Nuns as Sister Junia, who attempts to save a possessed boy from an evil spirit. She will star alongside Gong Yoo in an upcoming Netflix drama, Show Business, mapping the history of the South Korean entertainment industry since the 1960s.

Check out our recommendations on What to Watch

Must Read: Kim Hieora’s Rise To Fame & Her 5 Best K-Drama Performances

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News