--- title: How 'Dynamite Kiss' Became the Year's Rom-Com Breakout description: The K-drama has made a splash by breaking all the rules of the format canonical: https://time.com/7341830/dynamite-kiss-romantic-k-drama/ author: Kayti Burt article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-12-24T12:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:42:14.329Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How 'Dynamite Kiss' Became the Year's Rom-Com Breakout og:description: The K-drama has made a splash by breaking all the rules of the format og:url: https://time.com/7341830/dynamite-kiss-romantic-k-drama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4633537db4cd1529/6998cc777323afd1e02bd1fa/dynamite-kiss-3.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: dynamite-kiss-3 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How 'Dynamite Kiss' Became the Year's Rom-Com Breakout twitter:description: The K-drama has made a splash by breaking all the rules of the format twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4633537db4cd1529/6998cc777323afd1e02bd1fa/dynamite-kiss-3.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How K-Drama _Dynamite Kiss_ Became the Year's Rom-Com Breakout > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Kayti Burt](https://time.com/author/kayti-burt/) ## Kayti Burt Burt is a contributor for TIME. Dec 24, 2025 12:00 PM UTC  Dynamite Kiss Dynamite KissCourtesy of Netflix by [Kayti Burt](https://time.com/author/kayti-burt/) ## Kayti Burt Burt is a contributor for TIME. Dec 24, 2025 12:00 PM UTC The Korean TV industry is known globally for violent thriller series like [_Squid Game_](https://time.com/7298235/squid-game-vips-season-3/), historical epics like _Mr. Sunshine_, character-driven procedurals like _Extraordinary Attorney Woo_, and slice-of-life dramas like [_When Life Gives You Tangerines_](https://time.com/7265810/iu-interview-when-life-gives-you-tangerines/)—but straight-forward [romance](https://time.com/7221413/best-romantic-k-dramas-netflix/) remains the cultural export’s genre backbone. Hallyu, or the Korean wave, [was built on rom-coms ](https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/23964539/k-drama-history-american-korean-popularity-success-hallyu/)like _Full House_, _Coffee Prince_, and _Boys Over Flowers_. The genre continues to be vital, which is why it was disappointing that there was yet to be a big K-drama rom-com hit in 2025… until _Dynamite Kiss_ came along. With its mid-November Netflix debut, _Dynamite Kiss_ made a big splash by breaking all of the K-drama rom-com rules. Traditionally, the format follows a tried-and-true formula: The first episode or two involves a meet-cute (or meet-hate, in the case of an enemies-to-lovers tale). The middle chunk of episodes follow the development of the will-be couple’s relationship, usually made more entertaining by a series of hijinks, misunderstandings, and solvable complications. The two characters will get together about two-thirds through the series’ run, break up in the penultimate episode, and reunite for a happy ending in the finale. It’s a good formula, and has produced some of Korean drama’s biggest hits. That being said, a few decades into building a loyal K-drama audience, it doesn't hurt to switch it up a little. _Dynamite Kiss_ initially speedruns the main characters’ romantic relationship. Chaebol heir Gong Ji-hyeok (_Atypical Family_’s Jang Ki-yong) meets chronically unemployed Go Da-rim (_My Dearest_’s Ahn Eun-jin) in [vacation hotspot Jeju](https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/can-fandom-make-us-better-tourists). By the end of the first episode, they are kissing. By the end of the second episode, they have gone on their first date and fallen into bed together. If Da-rim’s mother hadn’t ended up in the hospital, they might have become a happy couple. Instead, Da-rim disappears while Ji-hyeok is in the shower. He spends the following episode looking for her, while she spends the same time trying to figure out how she is going to pay her mother’s hospital bills and her sister’s loan shark debt. After this unconventional start, _Dynamite Kiss_ falls back into a familiar structure. In an unabashedly contrived setup, the two meet in an office setting. Ji-hyeok, desperate to help his mentally ill mother divorce his controlling father, agrees to take a position at the family corporation, baby products company Natural BeBe. Da-rim, desperate for a job and without much experience, applies for a job at the same company—not knowing her recent love connection is also connected to the company. The role Da-rim applies for is part of a newly formed team of working mothers. Da-rim—not actually a mother—lies, asking her best friend, a single father named Seon-u (_My Dearest_’s Kim Mu-jun), to pretend to be her husband. His young son, Jun, knows Da-rim as an aunt. When Da-rim gets the job and shows up for her first day, she discovers the man she met in Jeju is her boss. And Ji-hyeok believes that the woman he fell for is married with a child, and lied to him about it during their life-changing first date. [This year in K-drama](https://time.com/7340988/best-k-dramas-2025/) has been an underwhelming one for romantic comedy. The most anticipated rom-coms of 2025, including _Potato Lab_, _Would You Marry Me_, and _Nice to Not Meet You_, didn’t quite land, due to a lack of chemistry, faulty concepts, or some combination therein. The rom-coms that have told a rewarding story, including _Love Scout_ and _My Dearest Nemesis_, haven’t created quite the same excitement as _Dynamite Kiss_, perhaps in part because _Dynamite Kiss_ is the only one of the titles widely available on Netflix. (_Love Scout_ is available in select regions via Netflix, but is available in the U.S. on Viki.) But _Dynamite Kiss_’s buzz goes beyond its accessibility on [the world’s biggest streamer](https://flixpatrol.com/streaming-services/subscribers/). Driven by the series’ bold start and the chemistry between Jang and Ahn, the series has been a much-needed rom-com hit in a year otherwise defined by suspense thrillers, action comedies, and slice-of-life dramas. It represents a kind of K-drama that, while far from endangered, is perhaps at risk of becoming less common in a TV industry [at a crossroads](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-05-16/entertainment/television/For-Kdramas-Netflix-is-a-rose-with-a-thorn-delivering-massive-audiences-rising-production-costs/2297503) due to the arrival of foreign OTT giants. As more money is [pumped into the industry](https://time.com/6289170/netflix-invests-south-korea-content-k-dramas/), and the expectations for global viewership grows with it, we’re seeing more of it funnelled into action, superhero, and crime drama—genres typically associated with male viewers. Genre diversity isn’t a bad thing, and Korean dramas have long been adept at blending seemingly disparate genres in unexpected and entertaining ways. But in the pursuit of big hits like _Squid Game_, there is a risk of losing the romance focus—traditionally [more popular with female viewers](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/k-drama/k-drama-popularity-explained-romance-tv-shows), and underserved by Hollywood—that made K-dramas so popular in the first place. The best rom-coms aren’t ashamed to be romantic and sentimental. In the U.S., unabashedly romantic tales are mostly relegated to the Christmas season. In Korea, they rule year-round. As with all Korean dramas, and TV series more broadly, a great start is hard to sustain. It’s the rare K-drama that fully lives up to its initial promise. _Dynamite Kiss_ will wrap up its 14-episode run next week, with the final two episodes dropping on Dec. 24 and 25\. Whether it comes to a satisfying conclusion or not, the romantic comedy has brought a light, romantic, much-needed escapism to the end of 2025\. 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