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Korean content surged in popularity in the U.S. over recent years, from the zombie flick Train to Busan and Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning satire Parasite to the dystopian drama that took over the world in 2021, Squid Game. Luckily for anyone who saw Squid Game and wants to check out more Korean television dramas, a.k.a. K-dramas, Netflix has one of the largest streaming libraries of the best Korean dramas and films.
From action to romance to mystery, melodrama, and even more dystopia, there's a K-drama out there for everyone's TV taste. We can also expect several highly-anticipated new Korean TV shows on Netflix in 2024, but that doesn't mean you have to wait to dive into some beloved dramas. These are the best shows to check out immediately. Just prepare yourself to get very invested in a 16-episode season. (If you need more recommendations, see our guide to the best K-dramas on Hulu.)
This beloved romantic K-drama takes the "lovers from two different worlds" trope to a new level. South Korean heiress Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) gets in a paragliding accident and lands in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. She's rescued by Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun Bin), a North Korean Special Forces captain, who has to take her in and help her return home. In addition to the heartwrenching romance, the show includes a multifaceted portrayal of life in North Korea and a stellar supporting cast. Plus, the two A-list leads began dating IRL after filming the drama and just got married (!!!).
The Glory is an intense revenge drama that follows Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo), a former victim of severe school bullying who was left mentally and physically scared by her wealthy group of assailants. After dropping out of high school, Dong-eun spent the next two decades planning revenge, as her bullies went through life unscathed and unrepentant, led by the now-famous weather forecaster Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon). 16 years later, Dong-eun begins dismantling the bullies' lives through her intricate schemes, making for an impossible-to-look-away series.
The best melodramas are both mesmerizing and enraging by shining a light on an important social issue. And by "the best melodrama," we mean SKY Castle. This 2018 smash-hit (as in second highest ratings in Korean cable network history smash-hit) follows a group of ultra-wealthy families obsessed with gaining admission to the most prestigious universities in South Korea for their high school-aged kids. With the uber-competitive environment leading to mental breakdowns, estrangement, and even death, this satire shines a light on whether that amount of parental pressure is beneficial at all for kids.
The most-watched Netflix show of all time is a brutal, realistic thriller about the depths that everyday people can be pushed to when they're truly desperate. A group of people, from a deadbeat dad threatened by loan sharks to a North Korean refugee seeking a better life for her little brother, are invited to play a series of popular children's games, competing for billions of Korean won (millions in US dollars). The catch is that when they lose, they die.
K-dramas are known for their "just trust me on this" premises, but this time-jumping historical comedy may be the wildest you'll hear. Jang Bong-hwan (Choi Jin-hyuk) is the arrogant, womanizing head chef at South Korea's presidential residence, the Blue House. After he gets in an accident and nearly drowns in his apartment's swimming pool, he wakes up in the body of the queen of Joseon, Kim So-yong (Shin Hye-sun). As the time traveler gets used to his new identity and 19th-century palace politics, they also need to contend with their now-husband King Cheoljong (Crash Landing on You's Kim Jung-hyun), who's hiding some secrets of his own.
This historical fantasy is more action than comedy (though, like all the great dramas, it has a bit of both). Alchemy of Souls is set in the fictional world of mages, who live as nobles and warriors among other mortals. Elite warrior Nak-su has evaded authorities using the forbidden titular spell, which allows her to switch bodies. When she jumps into the weak body of Mu-deok (Jung So-min), she has to lay low as she rebuilds enough strength to wield her powerful sword. So she takes a position as a servant for Jang-uk (Lee Jae-wook), a noble mage who needs a teacher to help him unbind his magic.
This crime series is both a thrilling mystery and a moving love story. Detective Cha Ji-won (Moon Chae-won) has an ideal family with her devoted husband Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi) and an adorable daughter. However, Ji-won's perfect life is thrown into turmoil as her latest investigation into a serial killer directs her towards Hee-sung himself, who has been hiding a mysterious past after assuming a new identity. As Ji-won's case gets more complex, the detective has to reckon with Hee-sung's past and her love for a potential murderer.
Kill Boksoon's Jeon Do-yeon and Hospital Playlist's Jung Kyung-ho star in this rom-com and murder mystery set within the competitive world of Korean education and private tutoring. Nam Haeng-soon (Jeon) is a former athlete turned grocery shop owner, and a devoted guardian to her niece, Hae-e (Roh Yoon-seo). When the high school student shares her determination to become a student of renowned tutor Choi Chi-yeol (Jung), Haeng-soon and Chi-yeol's lives become intertwined, as the pair find what's missing in their lives in each other.
This coming-of-age rom-com recently stole viewers' hearts thanks to its determined characters, living through the IMF financial crisis. Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri) is a teenage fencer who refuses to give up after her team shuts down, instead transferring to the team of her idol-turned-rival, Go Yoo-rim (WJSN's Bona). Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk) is the son of a former conglomerate family, now broke and struggling to find a job. The romance between Hee-do and Yi-jin plays out over their teenage years and is both lovely and at times heartwrenching.
This lauded military drama takes place amid South Korea's 18-month mandatory military service and sheds light on cases of desertion stemming from hazing mistreatment by higher-ranking officials. New soldier Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in) joins the D.P. (Deserter Pursuit) team, returning to civilian life to bring back rogue soldiers while understanding what drove the deserters to run. While the harsh depictions of bullying are difficult to watch, the series is propelled by great performances.
All of the best rom-com tropes come up at least once in this drama, following two couples from meet-cute to another type of proposal. Food researcher Shin Ha-ri (I.O.I. and Gugudan's Kim Se-jong) agrees to sabotage a blind date for her wealthy best friend Jin Young-seo (Seol In-ah). As it turns out, the date is with the president of her company, Kang Tae-moo (Ahn Hyo-seop), who has decided to marry the next woman he meets. Meanwhile, Young-seo falls for Tae-moo's childhood friend and assistant, Cha Sung-Hoon (Kim Min-kyu), with the second-lead couple also having great chemistry.
This detective drama takes place across time, with a past-and-present team solving crimes based on well-known criminal cases in Korea. Criminal profiler Park Hae-Young (Lee Je-hoon), who lives in 2015, discovers a mysterious walkie-talkie that allows him to communicate with Lee Jae-han (Choi Jin-woong), a detective from 2000 who's working to solve a cold case that affected Hae-young as a kid. The two cops, and 2015 detective Cha Soo-hyn (Kim Hye-soo), work together to solve cold cases across time.
This show belongs to a genre-mixing category specific to K-dramas, where a heartwarming romance is interspersed with a thriller subplot. Single mother Dong-baek (Kong Hyo-jin) moves to the town of Ongsan with her baby boy to open up a bar, The Camellia. Police officer Hwang Yong-sik (Kang Ha-neul) falls for her at first sight and does whatever he can to win her love, while she's distracted by her ex-boyfriend arriving in town. Meanwhile, a serial killer called The Joker starts killing members of the community.
Before Squid Game and Crash Landing on You, this high school drama was the Hallyu phenomenon that made a generation of global fans into K-drama obsessives. A normal girl named Geum Jan-di (Ku Hye-seon) gets to study at a prestigious private high school after saving another student's life. Once there, she gets the attention of the infamous F4, a group of gorgeous rich boys who bully people for their entertainment. Though Jan-di starts as the F4's target, her feisty spirit as she stands up to the bullying eventually wins them over, especially ringleader Gu Jun-pyo (Lee Min-ho). Debate all you want about whether the drama holds up, but its place in history makes it a great choice for new K-drama fans.
This sweeping historical drama is set in the early 1900s between Korea's (then Joseon's) freedom from Chinese influence and its annexation by Japan. Joseon-born U.S. Marine Eugene Choi (Squid Game's Lee Byung-hun) returns to his home country after fleeing to escape slavery as a child. There he meets Ae-shin Go (Twenty Five, Twenty One's Kim Tae-ri), a noblewoman secretly part of a militia working against a plot to colonize the country. Eugene soon has to choose whether to keep his neutral position as an American diplomat or join the effort to secure the country's independence.
Fans of hospital shows like Grey's Anatomy and E.R. should try out this comforting multi-season drama, which is also more about the relationships between hospital workers and the patients and families they help. The series centers on five doctors who have been friends since med school and play in a band together in their spare time. As they deal with difficult work situations and romances, the group is always there to comfort each other.
South Korea is known for its excellent zombie content. This drama sees the zombie drama take over a high school when the science teacher accidentally unleashes a virus that quickly takes over the school and town. A group of students, including friends Lee Cheong-San (Yoon Chan-young) and Nam On-Jo (Park Ji-hu), jock Lee Su-Hyeok (Lomon), and class president Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), band together to fight their way out, learning along the way that humans can be more monstrous than the actual monsters.
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