If you're a TV fan who recently got their first glimpse at the world of Korean entertainment, odds are it came courtesy of an edge-of-your-seat thriller. South Korea has been known for its spine-chilling suspense and horror films for decades, and recently its TV industry has fully embraced global audiences' hunger for gripping tales of serial killers, zombies, and dystopian death games. Since Squid Game took over the globe in 2021, Korean broadcasters and streaming channels have followed the wave of exciting thriller K-dramas, allowing filmmakers to depict darker societal themes than traditional romance or historical drama.
Read on for our selection of the best thriller K-dramas to watch, from terrifying horror series to psychological crime dramas to the best superhero show we've seen in years. (Once you've dipped your toes in, check out our list of the best K-dramas to watch on Netflix.)
'All of Us Are Dead' (2022– )
In this zombie drama, the devastating outbreak begins within the Korean city of Hyosan, as a high school science teacher (played by Kim Byung-chul) experiments with a mysterious new virus. Once the chaos starts, the students of Hyosan High quickly begin transforming into flesh-eating monsters, leaving the remaining human teens to try to survive while still dealing with romantic angst, school bullying, and wealth inequality. Leading the group are childhood friends Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young) and On-jo (Park Ji-hu), popular kid Su-hyeok (Lomon), and class president Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun).
'A Shop for Killers' (2024– )
This action thriller begins when new college student Ji-an (Kim Hye-jun) receives word that her reclusive uncle and caretaker, Jeong Jin-man (Lee Dong-wook), had committed suicide. Once she returns to her childhood home, Ji-an is ambushed by gunfire, left to fend for herself against teams of highly-skilled assassins. She has no idea why she is being attacked, but it's clear that it has something to do with Jin-man's mysterious job, which he ran out of a hi-tech bunker underneath their home. As she uncovers her uncle's secrets, Ji-an has to lean on the survival skills he taught her to make it out of her home alive.
'Beyond Evil' (2021)
Korean film fans should check out this cinematic, psychological-crime thriller, following two unlikely partners investigating a cunning serial killer. Lee Dong-sik (Shin Ha-kyun), a washed-up former detective who now works as an average cop, is paired with Han Joo-won (Yeo Jin-goo), the son of a city police captain who's surprisingly transferred to the rural town of Manyang. When they discover a corpse with connections to a 20-year-old cold case (where a young Dong-sik was once considered a suspect), the detectives become determined to stop the murderer no matter what, even if it means becoming monsters themselves.
'Bloodhounds' (2023– )
This action-packed series takes place during the height of the COVID pandemic in Seoul when struggling local businesses find themselves at the mercy of corrupt gangsters. Rookie boxer Kim Geon-woo (Woo Do-hwan) works several jobs to help his family stay afloat, but his mother's café is struggling. When she signs up for a hefty loan, the pair discover that she's been targeted by Smile Capital, a ruthless loan-shark business led by crime boss Kim Myeong-gil (Park Sung-woong). Geon-woo teams up with fellow boxer Hong Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi) to take down the loan sharks, with the help of a benevolent money lender (played by Huh Joon-ho).
'Death's Game' (2023–2024)
Adapted from the Naver webtoon of the same name (and sporting a truly all-star cast), this fantasy thriller centers on Choi Yi-jae (Seo In-guk), a graduate who's been struggling to find stable employment for the past seven years. Filled with despair, Yi-jae throws himself off a roof and finds himself face-to-face with Death (played by Parasite's Park So-dam). As punishment for wanting to end his own life, Death makes Yi-jae play a fatal game: He will be reincarnated 12 times, taking over the bodies of other people who are about to die. If he can prevent any of those deaths, Yi-jae may continue to live as that person instead of going to Hell.
'D.P.' (2021–2023)
This multi-season Netflix drama explores South Korea's 18-month mandatory military service, focusing on cases of desertion prompted by hazing and intense bullying. (It's even inspired by real-life incidents.) After impressing his superior Park Bum-gu (Kim Seong-gyoon), an empathetic private named Ahn Joon-ho (Jung Hae-in) is assigned to the D.P. ("deserter pursuit") unit, which is tasked with bringing back rogue soldiers. As he and D.P. Han Ho-yul (Koo Kyo-hwan) face difficult cases, they have to grapple with the toxic cycles of abuse within the military.
'Flower of Evil' (2020)
Fans of both romance and thrillers will find themselves engrossed in this gripping mystery. Police detective Cha Ji-won (Moon Chae-won) and her loving husband Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi) appear to be the perfect family with an adorable young daughter. However, while investigating a series of murders, Ji-won's sleuthing begins to point to Hee-sung himself, who has been hiding his past and living under a new identity. As the case goes on and she discovers more about her husband's history, Ji-won has to reckon with the possibility that she may be in love with a serial murderer.
'The Glory' (2022–2023)
South Korea is known for its mind-bending revenge tales, and this thriller-melodrama from writer Kim Eun-sook is the latest tale of vengeance to take over the K-drama world. When she was a teenager, Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) was a victim of severe school bullying and was left mentally and physically scarred by her wealthy assailants. The abuse even led her to drop out of school, leading her to dedicate the rest of her life to taking down the group, led by queen bee Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon). 20 years later, Dong-eun's ready to finally enact her intricate plot, with the help of Yeon-jin's housekeeper Kang Hyeon-nam (Yeom Hye-ran) and lovestruck doctor Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun).
'Happiness' (2021)
Like all the best zombie stories, this modern thriller set in the aftermath of the pandemic lockdowns examines how everyday people act when put in desperate circumstances. When special ops officer Yoon Sae-bom (Han Hyo-joo) learns of a homeowner assistance program, she jumps at the chance to move into a high-rise with her high-school friend, Detective Jung Yi-hyun (Park Hyung-sik). Soon after they move in, an infectious disease sweeps the country, with those infected getting a craving for human blood. The apartment building ends up quarantined, with Sae-bom and Yi-hyun trying to keep the peace among the eccentric tenants as wealthy inequality and paranoia tears through the building faster than the virus.
'Hellbound' (2021– )
This horror-thriller from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho takes place in an alternate Korea where people receive hallucinations with the exact times of their death, and otherworldly, smoky monsters materialize to incinerate the chosen victims. Split between the first discovery of the phenomenon and five years later, Hellbound's first season chronicled the rise of the New Truth Society, a cult that rose to power by preaching that everyone afflicted by the hellbound decree are sinners. Meanwhile, lawyer Min Hye-jin (Kim Hyun-joo) becomes determined to take down the cult.
'Mask Girl' (2023)
This wild, stylish thriller follows the life of Kim Mo-mi, a quiet, plain-faced office worker who has always dreamed of the spotlight. Though she has been bullied and disrespected all her life for not being "beautiful," she finds joy in her double life, where she moonlights as a mask-wearing camgirl. When her online persona is discovered by a co-worker with a one-sided crush (played by Ahn Jae-hong), Mo-mi's life takes several chaotic, dangerous turns. One big hint that this drama is not what it seems: Mo-mi is played by three actresses throughout the series: newcomer Lee Han-byeol, Queen Seondeok star Ko Hyun-jung, and former Orange Caramel member Nana.
'Moving' (2023– )
This award-winning superhero series racked up tons of awards (and a Critics' Choice nomination) last year, and was named "the next breakout hit from Asia after Squid Game." The contemporary series follows a group of super-powered parents with ordinary jobs (played by Zo In-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Ryu Seung-ryong, and Kim Sung-kyun), who have passed their abilities down to their high-school-aged children (Go Youn-jung, Lee Jung-ha, and Kim Do-hoon). Jumping back and forth between flashbacks of the parents' backstories and their kids' attempts to control their powers, the big conflict of the series comes with the present-day arrival of Frank (Ryoo Seung-bum), a vicious Korean-born American spy operative who begins hunting the heroes down.
'Parasyte: The Grey' (2024– )
Based on Hitoshi Iwaaki’s sci-fi manga series Parasyte, this series from Yeon Sang-ho follows the aftermath of an invasion of parasitic life forms that live off human hosts. As the aliens begin taking over bodies, grocery clerk Jeong Su-in (Jeon So-nee) unexpectedly develops a bond with a parasite who fails to fully inhabit her brain. Meanwhile, gangster Seol Kang-woo (D.P.'s Koo Kyo-hwan) searches for his sister, who disappeared around the time of the invasion. The series splits its time between the unlikely pairing of Su-in and Kang-woo, and the activities of a military unit tasked with eliminating all the parasites, led by Choi Jun-kyung (Lee Jung-hyun).
'Pyramid Game' (2024)
If Squid Game took place in an all-girls high school, would it be more or less brutal? This underrated webtoon adaptation takes place at Baekyeon Girls' High School, where a monthly popularity vote determines the social structure. When transfer student Seong Soo-ji (Kim Ji-yeon) arrives in class 2–5 at the school, she lands at the bottom of the pyramid and discovers that the lowest-voted girl becomes the target of vicious school bullying in the next poll. The new arrival becomes determined to abolish the game, coming in conflict with queen bee Baek Ha-rin (Jang Da-ah).
'Signal' (2016– )
This time-traveling crime thriller sees a group of detectives solve crimes across time—nearly three decades to be exact. In 2015, criminal profiler Park Hae-Young (Lee Je-hoon) discovers a mysterious walkie-talkie that allows him to communicate with Lee Jae-han (Cho Jin-woong), a detective in 2000 who's working to solve a cold case that affected Hae-young as a kid. Joined by Hae-young's colleague Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo), the officers work together to solve cold cases inspired by real-life criminal cases in Korea. (The series' writers are reportedly now working on a second season, eight years after Signal's premiere.)
'Squid Game' (2021– )
In case you haven't heard, Squid Game is the dystopian global phenomenon about 456 desperate people who sign up to play deadly children's games for the chance at winning a life-changing fortune. Season 1 centers on Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a divorced dad and gambler who joins the game with the hope of getting custody of his daughter. He competes against a variety of other players—from childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) to North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok (HoYeon Jung) to octogenarian Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su)—while struggling to survive the harsh challenges. We'll avoid spoilers, but the highly-anticipated second season will see [redacted] re-enter the Game to take it down once and for all.
'Strangers from Hell' (2019)
Also known as Hell is Other People, this underrated psychological horror-thriller stars Im Si-wan (who's set to star in the upcoming second season of Squid Game) as Yoon Jong-woo, a young man who moves to Seoul with a dream of becoming a crime writer. Short on funds, Jong-woo moves into an ominous goshiwon (a.k.a. a mini studio) filled with creepy characters. As strange and disturbing occurrences keep happening, Jong-woo grows more and more paranoid about everything, including his new friendship with his next-door neighbor, Seo Moon-jo (Lee Dong-wook).
'Sweet Home' (2020–2024)
Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, Sweet Home follows Cha Hyun-su (Song Kang), a reclusive high school student who moves into an apartment complex called Green Home after a tragic accident kills his entire family. He soon finds himself trapped in the building amid the end of the world, as humans begin transforming into horrific, deformed monsters. As the residents of Green Home team up to survive, Hyun-su and the other survivors have to reckon with their inner demons with the hope of keeping the human race alive.
'Weak Hero Class 1' (2022– )
This action-thriller is another series exploring the dark sides of high school, from school violence to the intense college admissions process. Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon) is a brilliant loner whose only focus is getting into the country's top university. Though he's physically weak, Si-eun refuses to back down to his brutal bullies. When he can no longer survive on his wits alone, Si-eun finds allies, and eventual friends, in fellow class outcast Oh Beom-seok (Hong Kyung), and the school's best fighter An Su-ho (Choi Hyun-wook). The eight-episode season ends with a devastating twist, but don't worry, a second season's in the works at Netflix.
'The Worst of Evil' (2023)
In this 1990s-set crime-thriller, Ji Chang-wook plays Park Jun-mo, a rural police officer who's constantly belittled for being at a lower rank than his wife Yoo Eui-jung (Im Se-mi), a Seoul detective. Hoping for more prestige, Jun-mu agrees to go undercover in a drug ring, intending to befriend Jung Gi-cheul (Squid Game's Wi Ha-joon), a former DJ who rose through the ranks to become head of the organization. Meanwhile, Jun-m0's unaware that Eui-jung has also volunteered for the mission, and that his wife was Gi-cheul's high-school first love. Bibi also stars as Lee Hae-ryeon, a Korean-Chinese drug manufacturer in business with Gi-cheul.
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