Korean dramas have gained immense popularity worldwide with their exciting plots, handsome actors, beautiful cinematography, and romance. Kdramas are also known for their unexpected plot twists and tropes.
Besides romance, the most popular genres of dramas are thrillers and mysteries. Thriller Kdramas have a unique storyline, excellent cinematography, suspense-building background music, and plot twists.
They also include detectives or police who solve crimes and catch the culprit. If you like to watch this type of drama, then you need to add all these dramas to your watchlist. They are the best dramas about solving crimes.
1. Life On Mars
Hangul: 라이프 온 마스
Year: 2018
One day, Tae Joo has an accident while he is looking into a case. When he wakes up, he is in the winter of 1988. He is now a detective who works at a small city’s police station. He tries to solve the case so that he can get back to the present.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jung Kyung Ho as Han Tae Joo
- Park Sung Woong as Kang Dong Cheol
- Go Ah Sung as Yoon Na Yeong
- Oh Dae Hwan as Lee Yong Gi
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
2. Through The Darkness
Hangul: 악의 마음을 읽는 자들
Year: 2022
The drama will tell the story of South Korea’s first criminal profiler and how hard it was for him to look inside the minds of serial killers when the word “profiling” did not exist. It is based on a book that came out in 2018 with the same name.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Nam Gil as Song Ha Young
- Kim So Jin as Yoon Tae Goo
- Jin Seon Kyu as Kook Young Soo
- Ryeoun as Jung Woo Joo
No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
3. Signal
Hangul: 시그널
Year: 2016
Park Hae Yeong watches a girl being taken away 15 years ago. Hae Yeong is now a police cop and a criminal profiler. One day, he finds a walkie-talkie that links him with Detective Lee Jae Han from the past. Together, they solve a string of killings.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Je Hoon as Park Hae Yeong
- Kim Hye Soo as Cha Soo Hyun
- Jo Jin Woong as Lee Jae Han
- Kim Won Hae as Kim Gye Cheol
No. Of Episodes: 16 (75 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
4. Beyond Evil
Hangul: 괴물
Year: 2021
The story of Lee Dong Shik and Han Joo Won, two brave police officers who break the law to catch a serial killer. As they try to figure out who did it, they start to doubt the innocence of everyone involved, including themselves.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Shin Ha Kyun as Lee Dong Shik
- Yeo Jin Goo as Han Joo Won
- Choi Dae Hoon as Park Jung Je
- Choi Sung Eun as Yoo Jae Yi
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
5. Duel
Jang Deuk Cheon is a detective cop whose daughter gets kidnapped. He begins his investigation to find his daughter before it is too late. He starts to hunt down the suspect using the one clue he has: Two men with the same face were at the crime scene.
Cast –
- Jung Jae Young as Jang Deuk Cheon
- Kim Jung Eun as Choi Jo Hye
- Yang Se Jong as Lee Sung Joon
- Seo Eun Soo as Ryoo Mi Rae
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Free Streaming Sites
6. Shadow Detective
Taek Rok has been a detective for a long time. An old friend frames him for murder and then threatens to help him commit more crimes. To clear his name and stop his friend from killing again, Taek Rok works with a young detective.
Cast –
- Lee Sung Min as Kim Taek Rok
- Jin Goo as Kook Jin Han
- Kyung Soo Jin as Lee Sung Ah
- Lee Hak Joo as Son Kyung Chan
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Disney+
7. Voice
Hangul: 보이스
Year: 2017
After his wife dies, Detective Moo Jin Hyuk works with professional voice profiler Kwon Joo, whose father also died, to solve a different crime while looking for the serial killer who killed their family members.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Hyuk as Moo Jin Hyeok
- Lee Ha Na as Kang Kwon Joo
- Baek Sung Hyun as Shim Dae Shik
- Son Eun Seo as Park Eun Soo
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
8. Blind
The drama centers around detectives, judges, law school students, and jurors and depicts the story of people who have unfairly become victims because they are ordinary and perpetrators who turn a blind eye to uncomfortable truths of the world.
Cast –
- Ok Taec Yeon as Ryu Sung Joon
- Ha Seok Jin as Ryu Sung Hoon
- Jung Eun Ji as Jo Eun Gi
- Park Ji Bin as Jung In Sung
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch – Free Streaming Sites
9. Stranger
Hangul: 비밀의 숲
Year: 2017
Hwang Shi Mok, a prosecutor finds him in a murder case. He meets Police Lieutenant Yeo Jin at a murder crime scene. They work together to wipe out corruption at the prosecutor’s office and solve a serial murder case.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jo Seung Woo as Hwang Shi Mok
- Bae Doo Na as Han Yeo Jin
- Lee Joon Hyuk as Seo Dong Jae
- Shin Hye Sun as Young Eun Soo
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
10. The Veil
Hangul: 검은 태양
Year: 2021
The best agent at the National Intelligence Service, Ji Hyuk, gets caught up in a situation that puts NIS in a very tough spot. As he tries to find the employee who betrayed him and caused him to lose his job, he runs into a much bigger enemy behind the organization.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Namgoong Min as Han Ji Hyuk
- Park Ha Sun as Seo Soo Yeon
- Kim Ji Eun as Yoo Je Yi
- Jang Young Nam as Do Jin Suk
No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
11. Tell Me What You Saw
Hangul: 본대로 말하라
Year: 2020
Hyun Jae used to be one of the best at profiling criminals. After the death of his fiancee, he disappears. Soo Young works as a police officer out in the country. She will work with Hyun Jae as a newbie detective. They work together to solve crimes.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Hyuk as Oh Hyun Jae
- Choi Soo Young as Cha Soo Young
- Jin Seo Yun as Hwang Hwa Young
- Jang Hyun Sung as Choi Hyung Pil
No. Of Episodes: 16 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
12. Watcher
Hangul: 왓쳐
Year: 2019
A tragic crime occurs 15 years ago, altering the lives of Do Chi Kwang, a senior investigator, Han Tae Joo, a former prosecutor, and Kim Young Goon, a police officer. They join an internal affairs investigative team to find out the truth.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Seo Kang Joon as Kim Young Goon
- Han Seok Kyu as Do Chi Kwang
- Kim Hyun Joo as Han Tae Joo
- Park Joo Hee as Jo Soo Yeon
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
13. Brain Works
The drama follows the story of two men, Shin Ha Ru and Geum Myung Se, who cannot stand each other, as they partner up to solve a criminal case involving a rare brain disease with the help of hypnotic investigator Seol So Jung.
Cast –
- Jung Yong Hwa as Shin Ha Ru
- Cha Tae Hyun as Geum Myung Se
- Kwak Sun Young as Seol So Jeong
- Ye Ji Won as Kim Mo Ran
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Viki
14. The Good Detective
The drama is about two detectives, Oh Ji Hyuk and Han Yeo Jin, who work together to solve a series of murders that don’t seem to be connected. As they get closer to finding the truth, they find out about a dark conspiracy that could ruin their lives.
15. Awaken
Hangul: 낮과 밤
Year: 2020
Jung Woo, the leader of a special task force, ends up investigating a series of murders. Together with his team, they uncover clues that these crimes are somehow related to a tragic event that happened 28 years ago.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Namgoong Min as Do Jung Woo
- Kim Seol Hyun as Gong Hye Won
- Lee Chung Ah as Jamie Layton
- Yoon Sun Woo as Moon Jae Woong
No. Of Episodes – 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
16. 365: Repeat The Year
Hangul: 365: 운명을 거스르는 1년
Year: 2020
The story of a group of people who are given the opportunity to relive a year of their lives in order to prevent a tragic accident from happening. Along the way, they uncover hidden truths about themselves and those around them, and must confront their past mistakes.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Joon Hyuk as Ji Hyung Joo
- Nam Ji Hyun as Shin Ga Hyun
- Kim Jee Soo as Lee Shin
- Lee Sung Wook as Park Sun Ho
No. Of Episodes: 24 (35 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
17. Less Than Evil
The drama centers on the psychological battle between a psychopathic murderer and a hot-headed, justice-driven detective but tormented by the crimes he solves, who is unable to arrest the murderer due to a lack of evidence.
Cast –
- Shin Ha Kyun as Woo Tae Seok
- Lee Seol as Eun Sun Jae
- Park Ho San as Jeon Choon Man
- Kim Gun Woo as Jang Hyung Min
No. Of Episodes – 32
Watch On – Viki
18. Nobody Knows
Hangul: 아무도 모른다
Year: 2020
Cha Young Jin works as a detective. She lost a friend to a serial killer 19 years ago. She is still haunted by remorse and trauma from her friend’s death. After 19 years, the serial killer case resumes. Cha Young Jin pursues the murderer.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Seo Hyung as Cha Young Jin
- Ryu Deok Hwan as Lee Sun Woo
- Park Hoon as Baek Sang Ho
- Ahn Ji Ho as Go Eun Ho
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
19. Tunnel
Hangul: 터널
Year: 2017
Park Kwang Ho is a detective in 1986. During his investigation, he walks through a tunnel that works as a time portal and takes him to Seoul in the present day. He meets Kim Sun Jae, a new partner and tries to find the serial killer to return to the past.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Choi Jin Hyuk as Park Kwang Ho
- Yoon Hyun Min as Kim Seon Jae
- Lee Yoo Young as Shin Jae Yi
- Jo Hee Bong as Jeon Seong Shik
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
20. Mrs. Cop
Choi Young Jin is a female detective squad chief. She also raises her daughter. At work, she deals with brutal crimes with her senior detective Park Jong Ho and squad members Do Young, Jin Woo, Jae Deok and Se Won.
21. Chimera
The story of a serial explosion murder case, called Chimera, that happened again after 35 years. Jae Hwan, a detective, Eugene, a criminal profiler and Joong Yeob, a surgeon work together to find the culprit behind the case.
Cast –
- Park Hae Soo as Cha Jae Hyun
- Lee Hee Joon as Lee Joong Yub
- Kim Soo Hyun as Yoo Jin
- Cha Joo Young as Kim Hyo Kyung
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Viki
22. Behind Your Touch
The drama is about people who live in a rural farm village. It tells the story of Ye Bun, a veterinarian who exhibits psychometric powers, and Jang Kyul, a passionate detective. They both become involved in solving minor crimes.
Cast –
- Han Ji Min as Bong Ye Bun
- Lee Min Ki as Jang Yeol
- Suho as Sunwoo
- Park Hyuk Kwon as Shaman
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Netflix
23. Decoy
Hangul: 미끼 파트
Year: 2023
A former lawyer turned detective investigates a string of murders tied to a presumed-dead con artist. On this investigation, he collaborates with a reporter, but they quickly realize that they are not the only ones looking for the killer.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Geun Suk as Koo Do Han
- Heo Sung Tae as Noh Sang Cheon
- Lee Elijah as Jeon Na Yeon
- Yoo Sung Joo as Park Sang Do
No. Of Episodes: 12 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
Wrapping Up
So these are some recommended dramas about detectives solving murder cases and crimes. These shows will keep you hooked and encourage you to watch them till the end.
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