5 K-Dramas where friendships healed the heart more than romance: Goblin to Thirty-Nine

The friendship between a Goblin (a deity) and the Grim Reaper was so winsome and overwhelming that sorry, but the romances as sweet as they were, came in second. Lee Dong-wook and Gong-Yoo played two grumbly supernatural deities compelled to share a mansion, dealing with roommate woes while going around their morose work…of well, surviving and unfortunately, transporting others to heaven. It was a brotherhood that set the benchmark for other K-Drama friendships. And, well, Dong-wook’s Goblin song will always be in our minds.

And, Kim Go-eun's Eun Tak had a very emotional friendship with the Grim Reaper later; that scene where he sees her fate...still is a knife to the heart.

This was truly, one of the most beautiful friendships portrayed on screen. The story focuses on Shim Deok-chul, a man in his 70s, who decides to learn ballet, ignoring the cynicism of society and his own body that is filled with aches and pains. That’s the Navillera, which means butterfly, free, untethered---a person who can grow wings even as he approaches his last days. He meets Song Kang’s 23-year-old Chae-rok. And the two start a close, unlikely friendship, with Chae-rok learning from Deok-chul, who is gradually losing a sense of himself as Alzheimers takes over. The illness might have won the battle, but it’s the friendship that wins the war.

Be Melodramatic follows three inseparable besties in their 30s—Lim Jin-joo (Chun Woo-hee), Hwang Han-joo (Han Ji-eun), and Lee Eun-jung (Jeon Yeo-been)—all juggling careers in the entertainment world as a screenwriter, marketer, and documentary director. But this isn’t just a friendship fest. The trio navigate messy workplaces, tricky romances, and mental health struggles, all while life hilariously and heartbreakingly keeps throwing curveballs. Think of it as a show within a show that proves adult friendships are messy, real, and completely unskippable.

This might have had several mixed to negative reviews, but if there’s one thing that people praised, was the sweet friendship between three women. Starring Son Ye-jin, the series dives into the ups and downs of three women juggling work, love, and their unbreakable bond. True to classic K-drama friendships, the connections in Thirty-Nine are lighthearted, relatable, and perfectly capture the

Welcome to Waikiki is a hilarious K-drama about three struggling friends—Dong-gu, Joon-ki, and Ki-bong—who run a small guesthouse called Waikiki. Their dreams of success are constantly derailed by chaotic mishaps, failed relationships, and absurd situations. Amid the comedy, the series also explores friendship, resilience, and chasing dreams despite constant setbacks.