Korean drama (Korean: 한국드라마) refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as Hallyu (Korean: 한류), and also "drama fever" in some countries.^{[citation needed]} Most popular Korean dramas have also become popular in other parts of the world such as Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Generally speaking, there are two main genres of Korean dramas. The first genre resembles western soap operas with shorter, terminating plots, and without the obvious sexual references often found in Western dramas. These dramas typically involve conflicts associated with relationships, money bargaining, relationships between in-laws (usually between the mother and son/daughter in law). As well, they often include complicated love triangles where the female hero usually falls in love with a "bad boy" main character who mistreats her. These dramas last anywhere from 16 episodes to over 100 (most often not exceeding 20).^{[citation needed]}