Netflix

37 best Korean dramas to binge-watch on Netflix, from psychological thrillers to murder mysteries

Trust us, you'll be hooked.

By Ore Agbaje-Williams, Ali Pantony, Sheilla Mamona and Charley Ross

19 March 2024

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Remember when Squid Game dropped, and the world collectively lost it? Well, there are plenty more Korean dramas on Netflix that are deserving of our attention. In fact, we've done the hard work and rounded up some of the very best Korean dramas that Netflix has to offer – yep, it's a tough old job.

If you need a new high-drama TV show to binge on, we suggest the likes of Love To Hate You and The Good Bad Mother, which is about a mother and son's relationship having a second shot after years of trauma. Or how about Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce), which follows three women who are all thriving in their careers as they navigate the highs and lows of their rocky romantic relationships? Something else that is similarly a light-hearted watch is Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, which sees an intelligent dentist meet a handsome stranger after moving to a seaside town. We're sold!

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However, if apocalyptic horror is more your ~vibe~, you'd be better suited to watching Sweet Home: a thriller that sees the baffled residents of an apartment complex join forces to fight a literal monster invasion. Or how about hunting down a villainous drug lord in Narcos-Saint?

Spoiled for choice? We thought so – here's our round-up of the 37 best Korean dramas currently on Netflix.

However, if you're looking for the best period dramas, click here. For the best sad movies, click here. For the best new television series, click here. For the best television series ever, click here. For the best thriller movies, click here. For the best date night movies, click here.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Who: Starring Park Eun-bin, Kang Tae-oh, Kang Ki-young, Jeon Bae-soo, Ren Hanami, Ha Yoon-kyung
What: Woo Young-woo is a brilliant female rookie attorney. When she is hired by a major law firm in Seoul, she must tackle challenging legal cases alongside even more complicated obstacles in her personal life. It's seriously endearing and smart, just like its protagonist.
Why: Well first of all, who doesn't love a legal drama? The difference with this one is it's done with sensitivity, love and representation for those who are neurodivergent.
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The Glory
Who: Starring Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Kim Hieora, Park Sung-hoon, Jung Sung-il
What: A serious revenge K-drama. Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) seeks revenge on her high school bullies, having concocted an elaborate plan for making her abusers pay for what they did to her. Most definitely not for the faint of heart.
Why: Great character arcs and a really clever interrogation of the impact of revenge and trauma.
Love to Hate You
Who: Starring Kim Chi Hun, Kim Ok-vin, Kim Ji-hoon, Go Won-hee, Lee Joo-bin
What: Yeo Mi-ran is a lawyer who gets justice by breaking men's hearts, while Nam Kang-ho is a woman-hating actor. The pair cross paths when Mi-ran nabs a job at the firm representing Kang-ho. Soon, the warring pair are forced to date each other and begin the tumultuous ride from enemies to lovers.
Why: This series also shines a critical light on various other workplace issues, such as societal misogyny and toxic workplace culture.
The Good Bad Mother
Who: Starring Lee Do-hyun, Ahn Eun-jin, and Ra Mi-ran
What: A tragic accident accident leaves a successful prosecutor with the mind of a child. This, in return, forces his mother to have a new chance at motherhood and undo the trauma she put him through during his life.
Why: A heart-wrenching and emotional series about the challenges of having a second chance in life.

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The Silent Sea
Who: Directed by Choi Hang-yong, this sci-fi horror stars a talented cast of Bae Doona, Gong Yoo, Lee Joon, Kim Sun-young, Kim Si-a, and Lee Moo-Saeng.
What: A group of space explorers embark on a highly dangerous 24-hour mission to the moon to retrieve available samples from an abandoned research facility, which was the location of a past tragedy.
Why: You'll be on the edge of your seats with this critically-acclaimed series, as it is full of twists, turns and betrayals. And who doesn't love a good space-themed series?
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Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Who: Shin Min-A, Kim Sun-Ho, and Lee Sang-Yi star in this feel-good watch, which is developed by Kim Je-hyeon.
What: This is a nice, light-hearted watch for all of you who don't want anything too serious. Based on the 2004 South Korean film Mr.Handy, Mr. Hong, the show follows a dentist who moves to a seaside village where she meets a handyman intent on helping his neighbours and her after she unexpectedly loses her job.
Why: The chemistry between the leads is enough to keep you occupied!
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Narcos-Saints
Who: Starring Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min, Park Hae-soo, Jo Woo-jin. Directed by Yoon Jong-bin.
What: Drawing similarities to the shows Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, this show follows the journey of an ordinary entrepreneur who joins a secret government mission to capture a Korean drug lord operating in South America.
Why: Despite its bizarre turn of events, Narcos-Saints is actually based on a shocking true story!
Squid Game
Who: Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a macabre invitation to compete in traditional children's games for a cash prize – but they risk their lives by doing so. The cast includes Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, HoYeon Jung, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Joo-ryoung, Anupam Tripathi and Lee Yoo-mi.
What: Like The Hunger Games but even darker, Squid Game is all about survival – set in present-day South Korea. The stakes are high as the characters risk death to win the cash prize of W45.6 billion ($38.5 million). As you can imagine, things quickly take a dark turn.
Why: Stomach-turning, gripping and heart-wrenching at times, it's an eye-opening exploration of what people will do for money, with some relatable social dilemmas thrown in there too – though with much higher stakes, of course.

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Sweet Home
Who: The residents of an apartment complex including: a loner high school student (Song Kang as Cha Hyun-su), a mistaken gangster (Lee Jin-wook as Pyeon Sang-wook) , a former firefighter (Lee Si-young as Seo Yi-kyeong) and a medical student (Lee Do-hyun as Lee Eun-hyeok) amongst other residents.
What: An apocalyptic horror that follows the residents of an apartment complex, the Green Houses, as they fight to survive a monster invasion, as they battle within themselves whether to team up or go at it alone.
Why: Because we need more fantasy dramas in our lives. As humans turn into savage monsters and wreak terror, a loner teen and his apartment neighbours fight to survive and to hold on to their humanity.
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Lovestruck In The City
Who: Six singletons from different walks of life talking about dating life. Two architects (Ji Chang-wook as Park Jae-won and Kim Min-seok as Choi Kyeong-jun), a marketing associate (Kim Ji-won as Lee Eun-o / Yoon Seon-a) , a job nomad (So Joo-yeon as Suh Rin-i), a novelist (Ryu Kyung-soo as Kang Geon) and a gym teacher (Han Ji-eun as Oh Seon-yeong).
What: Lots of romances developing between the group and also outside of it, with new characters being introduced later on. All the personalities make you want to learn more about how they navigate their careers and their love lives.
Why: It has a reality TV format with interview style shots kind of like Modern Family, or even Love Island?
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Run On
Who: A former sprinter (Im Si-wan as Ki Seon-gyeom) who is working to become a sports agent, falls in love with Oh Mi-joo (Shin Se-kyung), a subtitle translator.
What: Sports agent Ki Sun Gyeom was once a sprinter for the South Korean national team, but due to a controversial legal case, he was forced to quit. Soon after a film translator steps into his life and Ki needs to choose how to follow his pace and heart.
Why: Who doesn’t like a rom-com?
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A Love So Beautiful
Who: A high school student Shin Sol-i (So Joo-yeon) who has a huge crush on a fellow student (Kim Yo-han as Cha Heon). Despite her clumsiness, she continues to confess what appears to be an unrequited love affair – until the new student transfer swimmer (Yeo Hoe-hyun as Woo Dae-seong) arrives, who quickly falls in love with Shin.
What: This coming-of-age drama revolves around the life of three high school students and their friends from youth to adulthood.
Why: A love triangle story with all the teenage angst and high school drama you can expect.

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Sisyphus
Who: A genius engineer (Cho Seung-woo as Han Tae-sul), who tries to uncover the truth behind his older brother's death, and an elite warrior (Park Shin-hye as Kang Seo-hae), who travels back in time to help him.
What: During his travels, the engineer Han Tae-Sul plane is struck and the pilot dies. Tae-Sul moves to the cockpit and saves the plane from crashing. This makes the people around him become fond of him. But the forthcoming events bring some really big changes in his life...
Why: This story shows a world where the future and present collide as we are able to see what Korea looks like in 2035!
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My Holo Love
Who: A young woman (Ko Sung-hee as Han So-yeon) who suffers from face blindness disorder, an artificial intelligence character named Holo (Yoon Hyun-min as Go Nan-do/Holo) and their love story.
What: Main character Han lives a reclusive life due to her face blindness disorder. This quickly changes when she starts using the AI program, and falls in love with an AI beta model named Holo. After learning to rely on Holo, she discovers that his appearance is actually based on his creator.
Why: It’s an odd yet epic blend of sci-fi, romance and light espionage and honestly, that alone sold it to us.
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Vincenzo
Who: A Korean-Italian lawyer (Song Joong-ki as Vincenzo Cassano) and consigliere for the Mafia, visiting the motherland and his love interest, lawyer Hong Cha-young (Jeon Yeo-been).
What: Is Vincenzo on the side of the law or against it? This lawyer/mafia boss advisor, helps a tycoon hide his gold in a mafia-secured vault within the complex, but the tycoon then dies. Without anyone knowing about the vault, he planned to recover the gold to fuel his quest for revenge. No drama is complete without a love story, so enter Vincenzo love interest lawyer Hong Cha-young.
Why: A mash-up of dark comedy and crime thriller, with a bit of danger yet cutting storyline that will keep you hooked for the next coming weeks.
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The Uncanny Counter
Who: A disabled high school boy (Jo Byung-gyu as So Mun) who is enlisted to be part of the Counters, and a group of paranormal-hunters who search for and fight against evil spirits that escape from the afterlife to prey on humans.
What: Set in the fictional city of Jungjin, a group of five demon-hunters known as the Counters disguise themselves as employees of a popular local noodle restaurant and set up a secret search party to find and banish evil spirits that escape from the afterlife to gain immortality.
Why: Because supernatural dramas are so in. Also K-Pop fans will be excited to see I.O.I singer Kim Se-jeong make another k-drama appearance outside of music.

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Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)
Who: Three married couples, each in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
What: Three women who work on the same radio show — host Boo (Lee Ga-ryeong as Boo Hye-ryoung) , producer Sa (Park Joo-mi as Sa Pi-young), and writer Lee (Jeon Soo-kyeong as Lee Si-eun) are all in various stages of marriage, the story follows how they all handle their relationship issues.
Why: Everything ain’t what it seems. What from the outside looks like a happy marriage can come with a lot of problems and this story follows the reality of marriage. Although a lot of the themes surround traditional gender roles more prominent in Korea, they are issues that are also seen in western society.
Something in the Rain
Who: Two people (Son Ye-jin as Yoon Jin-ah and Jung Hae-in as Seo Joon-hee) with perfect skin, great coats and meddling families.
What: Falling in love with your best friend’s little brother was never going to be easy, especially when your mother is insane, your own little brother has no manners and the company you work at is wildly sexist.
Why: This was the first K drama I watched and is the perfect way to ease you in, but you need to be committed. Most K dramas are slow burners and require serious loyalty, especially this one – there are over 20 episodes that are at least one hour and 20 mins long…
Romance is a Bonus Book
Who: Two old friends (Lee Na-young as Kang Dan-i and Lee Jong-suk as Cha Eun-ho) reunited in the strangest of circumstances.
What: Dani’s life is pretty awful because she’s homeless, her husband left her, she never gets to see her daughter because she’s away at boarding school, and no one will hire her because she’s been out of work for too long. So reconnecting with her old friend, who happens to work at a fascinating publishing house, is just the pick-me-up she needs.
Why: Gossip, romance, secrets, comedy and all the usual ingredients of a great K drama are here. Plus: more great coats.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo
Who: College students (Lee Sung-kyung as Kim Bok-joo, Nam Joo-hyuk as Jung Joon-hyung and Kyung Soo-jin as Song Shi-ho) being college students with their messy selves.
What: Female weightlifter Kim Bok-Joo (the greatest K drama character of all time) used to be awkward and eat too much chicken – and she still does, but now she’s a top college prospect, with the weight of the world (and the expectations of her popular chicken-shop owning dad) on her shoulders, a wildly inappropriate (and super childish) crush on her doctor, and one of the (very cute) boys on the swimming team after her attention.
Why: Food! Weightlifting! Hot doctors! College girls being petty!

She Was Pretty
Who: A messy (physically – slightly unkempt, emotionally – also unkempt) woman, who was once rich, popular girl, and an intelligent attractive man (Park Seo-joon as Ji Sung-joon) who was not always so attractive.
What: Former popular girl is the typical high school sob story: used to be put together, now a hot mess. She gets a job at a top fashion magazine, only to discover that the new editor is a guy from her school who is used to be poor, awkward and lowly and is now very attractive and successful. A reversal of fortunes in the most light-hearted and yet dramatic way possible.
Why: It’s like Ugly Betty but with fewer resurrections and psychopaths.
Fight for My Way
Who: A quartet of awkward youngsters living in the same apartment complex finding their way in the world. (Park Seo-joon as Ko Dong-man, Kim Ji-won as Choi Ae-ra, Ahn Jae-hong as Kim Joo-man, Song Ha-yoon as Baek Seol-hee)
What: Stale relationships, retired MMA fighters, aspiring TV presenters, family secrets, more hot people (specifically the MMA fighter), more binge drinking, more excellent one-liners, and a decades-long friendship that finally might have the chance to be something more…
Why: Did I mention the super-hot MMA fighter? And the family secrets? And of course the very important female friendships and countless examples of women standing up for themselves and not taking anyone’s BS?
Itaewon Class
Who: A group of misfits. (Park Seo-joon as Park Sae-ro-yi, Kim Da-mi as Jo Yi-seo, Yoo Jae-myung as Jang Dae-hee, Kwon Nara as Oh Soo-ah)
What: A bunch of unlikely friends try to make their restaurant no.1 in the country (including the first black person I’ve ever seen in a K drama) whilst trying to fight injustices in their dangerous neighbourhood.
Why: Actor who is known as the Korean Ryan Gosling. Gangsters. Cutting jokes. Serious issues dealt with in a funny way. It trended in the UK for a hot minute, for a reason.
Descendants of the Sun
Who: Soldiers (Song Joong-ki as Captain Yoo Si-jin, Jin Goo as Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young and Kim Ji-won as First Lieutenant Yoon Myung-ju) and Doctors (Song Hye-kyo as Doctor Kang Mo-yeon) must come together to stabilise a foreign country amidst a medical and then humanitarian crisis.
What: No-nonsense having female doctor meets overconfident charmer of a male soldier, does not fall for his charms, then does, then he has to leave to go and stabilise previously mentioned (fake) foreign country, then she’s sent there too, then there’s the longest will-they-won’t-though that mankind has ever seen. Thankfully there are plenty of laughs, amongst other excitement in between the waiting.
Why: The soldier and his friend are hilarious, the doctor and her friends are equally hilarious, plus there are gangsters from said fake foreign country who have a history with the soldiers. Action + drama + romance = perfection.

Crash Landing on You
Who: Billionaire female entrepreneur (Son Ye-jin as Yoon Se-ri) with perfect skin and hair meets male soldier (Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-hyeok) with perfectly chiselled jaw and equally perfect hair.
What: Billionaire accidentally paraglides from South Korea to North Korea after a freak tornado, and chiselled jaw do-gooder North Korean soldier hides her from the authorities whilst both are holding onto painful memories from the past and battling enemies from both within and outside their families.
Why: Beautiful people fall in love with some military uniforms thrown in – are you not entertained?!
Inheritors
Who: Spoiled rich kids in a private school + one not-so-spoiled-or-rich kid = what could possibly go wrong? (Lee Min-ho as Kim Tan, Park Shin-hye as Cha Eun-sang, Kim Woo-bin as Choi Young-do).
What: Mega-poor but super-smart and beautiful girl gets a free ride to an exclusive private school full of rich kids, whilst a former mega-rich student returns after a mysterious absence. Old rivalries bubble up to the surface, social class lines are drawn and a Romeo-and-Juliet type romance throws relationships into disarray.
Why: This is an old one so the hairstyles are embarrassing and the outfits are even worse but it’s just SO ADDICTIVE.
Uncontrollably Fond
Who: Sad helpless poor people vs. evil powerful rich politicians with dark secrets vs. very attractive pop star. (Kim Woo-bin as Shin Joon-young, Bae Suzy as Noh Eul, Lim Ju-hwan as Choi Ji-tae and Lim Ju-eun as Yoon Jeong-eun.)
What: Popstars, poor people and corrupt government officials come together in this drama-filled story of long-buried secrets, social hierarchies and very dysfunctional family relationships. Plus, y’know, romance.
Why: Drama. Numerous emotional rollercoasters. Drama. Sad attractive people. Drama. Drama. And then, more drama.
Kingdom
Who: In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious plague spreads to turn the infected into monsters. (Ju Ji-hoon as Lee Chang, Bae Doona as Seo-bi, Kim Sung-kyu as Yeong-shin, Jeon Seok-ho as Cho Beom-pal, Ryu Seung-ryong as Lord Cho Hak-ju, Kim Hye-jun as Queen Consort Cho). Very Walking Dead.
What: The crown prince, framed for treason and desperate to save his people, sets out on a journey to 'unveil what evil lurks in the dark'. Set during Korea's Joseon period a few years after the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), it's full of gore, life-threatening political conspiracy and tonnes of blood.
Why: Who doesn't love a gory thriller?

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Love Alarm
Who: Disruptive technology that informs you of romantic interests within a 10-metre radius. Sound somewhat familiar? Mm. (Kim So-hyun as Kim Jo-jo, Jung Ga-ram as Lee Hye-young and Song Kang as Hwang Sun-oh.)
What: Kim Jojo navigates love and life through an app that lets you know if someone in a 10-metre radius is a potential romantic interest.
Why: It ranked as one of Netflix's top releases.
It's Okay Not To Be Okay
Who: An orphaned caregiver (Kim Soo-hyun as Moon Gang-tae), a popular children's book author (Seo Yea-ji as Ko Moon-young), Moon's older brother who is autistic (Oh Jung-se as Moon Sang-tae), and a nurse.
What: Selfless Moon Gang-tae works on a psychiatric ward and is entirely dedicated to the job, while Ko Moon-young is a children's book author who has never known love. When they cross paths, their lives will never be the same again.
Why: Because sometimes you just need a good sob-fest. Just come armed with tissues and ice cream.
Stranger
Who: Cho Seung-woo as Hwang Si-mok, Bae Doona as Han Yeo-jin and Lee Joon-hyuk as Seo Dong-jae.
What: A fearless female detective teams up with a prosecutor who has lost the ability to show emotions due to a childhood surgery, to tackle a murder case amid political corruption.
Why: Delves deep into our psyche, with a seriously amazing female lead.
Memories of the Alhambra
Who: The CEO of an investment company.
What: After a heartbreaking betrayal, Yoo Jin Woo travels to Spain where he finds himself embroiled in a mysterious incident alongside a hostel owner who was formerly a talented guitarist.
Why: If you love a bit of sci-fi and fantasy mixed in with your drama, Memories of the Alhambra is for you.

StartUp
Who: Bae Suzy as Seo Dal-mi, Nam Joo-hyuk as Nam Do-san, Kim Seon-ho as Han Ji-pyeong, Kang Han-na as Won In-jae/Seo In-jae.
What: This new show follows young entrepreneurs following their dreams in the highly competitive world of Korea's high-tech industry.
Why: Serious tech bro and gal vibes – it's the future, right?
Empress Ki
Who: The Empress (Ha Ji-won – Empress Ki), King Goryeo (Joo Jin-mo – Wang Yoo), Emperor of Yuan (Ji Chang-wook - Toghon Temür / Ta Hwan), Wife of Toghan Temür (Baek Jin-hee – Tanashiri (Danashiri).
What: The story of a girl born in Korea who must navigate her way through love, war and societal pressures to become a powerful empress in another land.
Why: For those who love period dramas.
Dr. Romantic
Who: An Internal Medicine specialist (Kim Hong-pa as Yeo Woon-young), a head nurse (Jin Kyung as Oh Myung-sim), the hospital manager (Im Won-hee as Jang Gi-tae), a freelance anesthesiologist and owner of a restaurant (Byun Woo-min as Nam Do-il), a nurse (Kim Min-jae as Park Eun-tak) and another staff member at Doldam hospital (Seo Eun-soo as Woo Yeon-hwa).
What: This drama follows triple-board certified surgeon Boo Yong-joo who used to work at Seoul's top medical centre, Geosan University Hospital. But after a traumatic incident, he disappears, changes his name, and starts working at a small hospital in Gangwon Province. There, he guides younger doctors by teaching them the true value of saving a life.
Why: This isn't just your standard medical drama; you'll be hooked on the characters from the get-go.
Private Lives
Who: A veteran swindler (Seohyun as Cha Joo-eun), a GK Technology Development Team 2's Team Manager (Go Kyung-pyo as Lee Jung-hwan), a former announcer (Kim Hyo-jin as Jeong Bok-gi/Sophia Chung), and a swindler from GK Technology (Kim Young-min as Kim Jae-wook/Edward Kim).
What: Gripping drama Private Lives follows a group of con artists who stumble upon a secret surveillance scheme that could harm the nation. They must use their swindling skills to go up against a massive greedy corporation.
Why: Serious con man/women hi-jinks!

The Good Detective
Who: The detectives (Son Hyun-joo as Kang Do-chang, Jang Seung-jo as Oh Ji-hyuk), a veteran reporter (Lee Elijah as Jin Seo-kyung), a businessman (Oh Jung-se as Oh Jong-tae) and the head of Junghan Daily's social affairs department (Ji Seung-hyun as Yoo Jung-seok).
What: Two very different detectives must work together to discover the hidden truths behind a five-year-old murder conviction.
Why: This is definitely one for the crime drama fans. The suspense will have you on the edge of your seat.