2024 was a year of cutesy, cuddly, can’t-get-enough-kisses couples. It was also a year for intense pining that saw some couples repel like same-pole magnets the more they tried to get near each other. In both cases, 2024 produced a group of memorable romantic duos that will stay with me well into the future. And the year wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t show some love in honor of my favorites — because if there’s one thing these couples know how to do, it’s show love.
The couples on this list differed in many ways, but they also have a lot in common. Top of the list? Chemistry. Whether they were adorably close or longingly distant, the space in between these couples was filled with fire. We watched them sacrifice and support one another, move from enemies to friends to lovers, and become each other’s greatest allies. Even if romance didn’t always lead to the happiest of endings, these couples impacted each other’s outlooks on life in major ways. And while none was especially strong in the communication department, they sure didn’t need any help in the kissing department.
And so, as we kiss 2024 goodbye, let’s also reminisce about the couples that stomped on our hearts, made us squeal, and turned up the heat.
Call It Love
Shim Woo-joo and Han Dong-jin
Just going back through the screencaps of this drama has turned me into a pile of mush again. These two have chemistry coming out their eyeballs. And looking at their pained faces breaks my heart all over.
Woo-joo and Dong-jin are tough to beat when it comes to this year’s couples. The longing, the heartache, the forbidden love — these two get the Feels Award. They spend very little time actually being a couple, but of course that’s the beauty of it. They’re isolated people with painful pasts that could help each other heal, if only they were allowed to be together. The injustice of it all had me gripping my heart and grabbing for the tissues.
Beyond that, the changes that these two characters go through to even get to the forbidden love stage make them impossible not to root for. Woo-joo is a gutsy heroine who begins with passionate hate and a desire for revenge, which gets funneled into affection for our male lead — with just as much passion. And Dong-jin, who starts out reserved, jilted, and slump-shouldered, becomes a source of strength as he opens up. Watching the alchemy as they go from cold encounters to palpable attraction is painful and cathartic in the hurts-so-good kind of way.
By the time they move into the physical phase of their relationship, it’s like getting hit with a fireball. And when they’re finally forced apart after that, the implosion is just as strong. Although I would have liked to see them happier, every second was worth it to watch them heal.
King the Land
Chun Sa-rang and Gu Won
Made for us to love them, Sa-rang and Won delivered the buddy comedy I always wanted — if the buddies were also bent on kissing whenever they could. I love these two for their easy charm, their flirtatious nature, and their willingness to forego all the high drama in the name of living the lives they want. They may be from different social strata, but never have a chaebol heir and a hardworking heroine had it so smooth. The solution: let each other be who they are.
While it’s true that I barbed this show a bit in the weecaps for its lack of conflict, in the end, I liked the resolution for this couple. Our hero gets to keep his high-luxury life, while our heroine achieves her good-life goals as well — and they meet in the middle where it makes sense. Rather than taking us on an end-driven journey, this drama brought out the squee-inducing moments in volume, and I was happy to just revel in a couple being happy.
Also, let’s just come out with it, these two know how to get down to business. Pools, kitchen counters, bus stops, rooftops, they’re not picky when it comes to kissing and cuddling — and that first kiss under the sprinkler system was one for the books. Happy couples who help each other — and look mighty fine while they’re at it? Yes, please!
Destined With You
Lee Hong-jo and Jang Shin-yu
If lovey-dovey had a face it would look like this pair. Possibly my favorite couple in the comedy arena, I couldn’t get enough of Hong-jo and Shin-yu’s adorable chemistry. They’re so obviously suited for each other that the love spell gag — which has our male lead unabashedly adoring our heroine while wanting to “break the spell” — is all the funnier. She’s charming, he’s goofy, and fated or not, I can’t think of a better match.
But the drama also gives us a double whammy of romance with a past life storyline that’s as heartbreaking as the present-day story is playful. Not every couple can pull this off (I sometimes snooze when it comes to past-life love lines), but I would follow these pretty partners anywhere — even into their bloodied past.
And, please, can we talk about the spice? Not only did this couple have so many kisses, but they ran the gamut in tone from comical to sweet to omo (closet scene anyone?). Their adoration beams through the screen at every turn, and I couldn’t help but smile whenever they smiled at each other. Even if the love spell didn’t work in the story, it certainly worked for me.
My Lovely Boxer
Lee Kwon-sook and Kim Tae-young
Unlike the other couples on this list, Kwon-sook and Tae-young are one of my favorites for all their other-than-romance gestures. These two are an unlikely pair, who start in suspect circumstances as athlete and agent, with some lying, harassing, and pressure-filled desperation thrown in. I know, it doesn’t sound like a romantic setup. But what I love about these two is the interplay of vulnerability and support that roots their connection — and goes in both directions.
These characters are tough — but they’ve also had tough lives. And even though she’s a boxing champ, we can see our heroine’s vulnerability from the beginning. The clincher for me is that our hero (or antihero) is ultimately the most vulnerable: he needs her — in fact, not getting murdered by some shady wheeler-dealers depends on it. When he’s at his lowest point, she teaches him to fight. And when it comes down to giving her what she wants and needs in the final round, he puts his life on the line for her.
The chemistry here is outstanding (and the leads are utterly believable in their roles), but more than a romance, this pair is just a rough-and-tumble, ride-or-die duo that I loved watching overcome their burdens together. The age gap initially put me off, but the heroine is so solid, I believe she can handle herself just fine, in the ring or in romance.
The Interest of Love
Ahn Soo-young and Ha Sang-soo
This is a debatable inclusion because this couple was never a couple. But the journey to get to that non-coupledom was one of my favorite stories all year. The passion, pain, and frustration that this drama encapsulates is tough to beat — and that has to do with the leads, doing their best to avoid hurt, but hurting everyone around them in the process.
Soo-young and Sang-soo are frustrated with their lots in life, and frustrating to watch for their all-too-human decision-making skills. They want better for themselves, but they also want each other. The problem is, being together might not be the best choice to get them where they want to go. So, they have a choice: pursue each other out of interest, or pursue a safer path to moving up in the world. What follows is a twisty-turny story of convoluted feelings and motivations — one that left an indelible mark on me.
What I love about this couple, as much as I want to strangle them half the time, is that they’re real. They’re honest in their small advances toward each other, and dishonest (even to themselves) in the ways they move apart. They’re defensive, jaded, and terribly afraid, with bravery that only comes in stops and starts. But when they’re together in the same space, it’s like the air is sucked out of the room. The desire is so intense — but there’s a barrier that they only rarely break, because the social reasons why they shouldn’t be together are intense too.
My complicated feelings about this couple are a reflection of their complicated feelings for each other. And while some of the other couples on this list were easier to get behind, the payoff for this story was worth it when I gave up and just let it carry me — you know, like a K-drama hero and his lady love.