This article discusses best Im Jin-ah (Nana) K-Dramas to watch and does not contain any spoilers. Check out these brilliant recommendations.
The obviously multitalented Im Jin-ah, otherwise known as Nana, is a South Korean actress, model, pop star in the K-pop group After School, and makeup artist who has had myriad roles across Korean television and movies, weaving in and out of both reality TV and scripted drama after debuting in feature-films with 2014’s Fashion King and becoming especially well known for her supporting role in 2016 drama The Good Wife, a Korean remake of the same-titled American series for which she won Best Rookie Actress Award at the 2016 Asia Artist Awards.
This list will highlight some of Im Jin-ah’s best work, ranked according to their audience score on MyDramaList.
Best Im Jin-ah (Nana) K-dramas to watch right now
Oh My Ladylord (2021)
This romantic-comedy melodrama was well-received when it debuted in 2021, but Oh My Ladylord seemed to decline in the ratings across the 16-episode first season, only managing to garner an overall score of 6.7/10.
Official synopsis:
Oh Joo In, a top rom-com actress, has been aiming to repurchase her old family home. The second it goes on sale, she buys it back, but it turns out that Han Bi Soo, an award-winning crime-thriller scriptwriter who has turned Joo In down for several roles, has been living there. As a man of many neuroses; disinfecting his surroundings and making sure everything is at a perfect angle, Han Bi Soo is so used to writing in his designated writing room that he can’t seem to write anywhere else. So he enters into a contract with Joo In, to be allowed to use that room 24/7, on the condition that he calls her master.
Genesis (2021)
Nana had a main role in this 2021 action thriller which only ran for six episodes but was nonetheless well received with an overall score of 7.5/10.
Official synopsis:
A man who digs into his mother’s mysterious death meeting humans with the same faces as him one by one and becoming embroiled in a bigger conspiracy.
Glitch (2022)
Nana co-stars in this proudly weird Netflix series about UFOs, aliens, and religious cults. Glitch hasn’t been out long at the time of writing, but it’s sitting at a score of 7.6/10.
Official synopsis:
About a woman searching for her missing boyfriend, who disappeared one night in a flash of unknown lights. With the help of a community of UFO watchers, she uncovers the truth behind a mysterious secret. Hong Ji Hyo is a “parachute hire” (someone who got hired based on their family connections). She has a steady job and a solid family background. Although they are no longer passionately in love, she also has a boyfriend that she’s dated for four years. The couple is beginning to think of marriage when her boyfriend suddenly goes missing. Heo Bo Ra is an unsuccessful Twitch streamer and a YouTuber with only a few hundred subscribers, whose content is all about mysteries. She’s a warrior who wields a keyboard as her weapon, and she’s a member of the UFO watcher community. She spends day after day inside her room, editing her videos.
Love Through a Millennium (2015)
This 24-episode period drama was only a supporting role for Im Jin-ah, but these kinds of historical romances are exceedingly popular (and generally pretty well-done) in Korea. Love Through a Millennium garnered a score of 7.6/10.
Official synopsis:
Based off the popular Korean drama Queen In Hyun’s Man, this Chinese version tells the same story of a love that happens between two people from different eras. Imperial scholar-official, Gong Ming accidentally time-travels two thousand years into the present where he meets actress Lin Xiang Xiang. Their story is one of love, fate, and commitment.
Justice (2019)
Justice ran for 32 episodes in 2019 and was, by all accounts, a pretty heavy watch. Nana had a leading role in the legal drama which is currently sitting on an overall score of 7.8/10.
Official synopsis:
Lee Tae Kyung is a star lawyer with the best win rate. He is able to win cases by using his sharp logic and intelligent speeches. He amasses power and wealth by dealing with clients who are part of the elite class. His cases are usually referred from Song Woo Yong who is the owner of a construction company. Lee Tae Kyung gets these high class criminals acquitted or at minimum receive probation. He first became a lawyer to get revenge for his younger brother, but has since become focused on money. He changes when he deals with a series of cases involving missing actresses.
Meanwhile, Song Woo Yong has grown his construction company by funneling criminal cases involving wealthy people to Lee Tae Kyung. For his family, he desires even more power. He comes into conflict with Lee Tae Kyung over the cases involving missing actresses.
The Good Wife (2016)
As mentioned above, this version of The Good Wife was a South Korean remake of the American original, and Nana won an award for her supporting role in it. The series currently has a score of 8.1/10, making it one of the best Nana K-dramas.
Official synopsis:
A husband works as a successful prosecutor and his future appears bright, but he gets arrested for corruption in a political scandal. His wife who worked as an attorney prior to their marriage, now resumes her career after a 13 year hiatus. She begins to find her true identity.
Love in Contract (2022)
Believe it or not, one of the best Nana K-dramas (at least according to rating) is a one-episode guest role in the comedy-drama Love in Contract, which at the time of writing is still airing and sitting on an overall score of 8.2/10. Even though Nana isn’t in the show very much, it’s a well-received outing that might be worth your time all the same.
Official synopsis:
Undeniably attractive, talented, and charming, Choi Sang Eun is the living definition of the perfect partner. This is exactly why instead of marrying, she chooses to employ her skills as a contract marriage master. Transforming herself into the perfect partner for each of her clients, Sang Eun allows those who employ her services to live the perfect single life, without having to agree to a committed, life-long relationship. A long-term client, Jung Ji Ho has been using Sang Eun’s services every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for the past five years. A man shrouded in mystery, Sang Eun knows virtually nothing about Ji Ho but that doesn’t stop her from developing some rather unexpected feelings for him. Making her life even more difficult are the equally unexpected feelings she’s recently developed for one of her newest clients, Kang Hae Jin. A popular actor who employs her services on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Hae Jin often makes Sang Eun’s heart flutter. Torn between her professional obligations and the feelings she harbors for both Ji Ho and Hae Jin, Sang Eun finds herself in an unexpected predicament. How can she possibly maintain her professionalism when her heart is leading her in two different directions?
Into the Ring (2020)
Nana starred in this eccentric comedy-drama across its 32-episode run, and seems to have been a primary selling point for viewers who didn’t know what the show was about. Into the Ring currently has a score of 8.2/10.
Official synopsis:
Seo Gong Myung is an efficient and hard-nosed elite civil servant, who can multi-task with ease and is titled the ‘Number One Handsome Man’ on the District People’s Committee. However, he is a cold, rigid, and independent person, who is deemed prickly and unapproachable at the best of times. Seo Gong Myung is guided by his moral convictions, which he staunchly adheres to, opting to do everything ‘by the book’. His lack of flexibility and his penchant for criticizing all those who enter his domain, not only serve to earn him the nickname ‘Great Lucifer’, but more enemies than friends. Goo Se Ra is a lower-class woman with little education or money, but can still talk a good game and punch well above her own weight. Known as the ‘Queen of Civil Complaints’, she’s a force to be reckoned with! She’s held many positions in the past, none of which have materialized into a stable source of income. Small wonder the opening on the District People’s Council, with an annual salary of 50 million won for a mere 90 working days, could be just the ticket she needs to better her circumstances. The sparks start flying as the newly-demoted Seo Gong Myung and newbie Council member Goo Se Ra join forces to penalize corrupt politicians.
Kill It (2019)
Nana had a starring role in Kill It, a very well-regarded crime drama about a professional killer. It currently has a score of 8.2/10. As this score is taken from the highest number of reviews, Kill It is technically the best Nana K-drama.
Official synopsis:
Will a killer-turned-veterinarian and a detective find common ground? Kim Soo Hyun is a veterinarian who is also a professional killer. Many individuals and organizations hire him for large sums of money. Nobody in the public knows anything about him as a killer, including his age, name, and race. Animals are his only companions, but deep inside, he constantly yearns for love. He struggles to develop and maintain any pure relationships around him. One day, a client asks him to kill in exchange for information regarding his mysterious past and a conspiracy involving his birth. Do Hyun Jin was once a ballerina, but now she is a detective working in Seoul, who graduated from police academy as the most excelled. Although she looks cold and stern on the outside, she is, in fact, a very sympathetic individual. Hyun Jin trusts her instincts and isn’t afraid to rely on the things around her to make a decision to the best of her abilities. She has suffered trauma but still keeps pushing forward. She starts to chase after Kim Soo Hyun as she believes he is a serial killer. What happens when both get to know that the connection between them has started years ago?
And that’s our list of the best Im Jin-ah (Nana) K-Dramas to watch right now. Do you have any other recommendations for Nana K-dramas? Let us know!
