Thriller shows are one of the most-watched genres around the world. They are packed with action and twists you never think of. South Korean thrillers are on the next level.
The two things that keep you watching thriller shows are their gripping storyline & flawless acting with some action-packed scenes that keep you engaged. If you want to watch some of the best thrillers that Korean provides, here are the popular thriller Korean dramas.
1. 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):
2. Flower Of Evil
Hangul: 악의 꽃
Year: 2020
Baek Hee Sung is a carpenter who lives with his wife Cha Ji Won and their daughter. However, he conceals some terrible truths from his wife. His wife is a murder detective who is working on a case involving a psychopath who is very close to her.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Joon Gi as Baek Hee Sung
- Moon Chae Won as Cha Ji Won
- Jang Hee Jin as Do Hae Soo
- Seo Hyun Woo as Kim Moo Jin
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
3. Extracurricular
Hangul: 인간수업
Year: 2020
This drama is about three high school students named Ji Soo, who is a model student, his friend and classmate Gyu Ri, and the school bully Min Hee, who start committing crimes to make money and pay for college. As a result, they face unpredictable dangers.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Dong Hee as Oh Ji Soo
- Park Joo Hyun as Bae Gyu Ri
- Jung Da Bin as Seo Min Hee
- Nam Yoon Su as Kwak Ki Tae
No. Of Episodes: 10 (55 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
4. Strangers From Hell
Hangul: 타인은 지옥이다
Year: 2019
Jong Woo goes to Seoul from the country when his friend Jae Ho gives him a job offer. He finds a cheap hotel while looking for a place to live. He makes the decision to stay there for six months. But strange things start to happen with him.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Im Shi Wan as Yoon Jong Woo
- Lee Dong Wook as Seo Moon Jo
- Lee Jung Eun as Eom Bok Soon
- Ahn Eun Jin as Seo Jung Hwa
No. Of Episodes :10 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
5. Vagabond
Hangul: 배가본드
Year: 2019
The stuntman Cha Dal Gun’s nephew dies in a plane crash. He learns that the plane crash was caused by a huge government scandal, and he and a NIS agent named Go Hae Ri set out to find out the truth and bring those responsible to justice.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Seung Gi as Cha Dal Gun
- Bae Suzy as Go Hae Ri
- Shin Sung Rok as Gi Tae Ung
- Moon Jung Hee as Jessica Lee
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
6. Kingdom
Hangul: 킹덤
Year: 2019
During the Joseon period, the spirit of a recently dead king comes back, and a mysterious illness starts to spread across the country. To find out what is going on and save his people, the crown prince must deal with a new kind of enemy.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Joo Ji Hoon as Lee Chang
- Ryu Seung Ryong as Jo Hak Joo
- Bae Doo Na as Seo Bi
- Kim Sung Gyu as Young Shin
No. Of Episodes: 6+6 (50 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
7. Moving
Hangul: 무빙
Year: 2023
The story revolves around three high school students who acquired superpowers from their parents. It will look at how they learn to use their abilities and conceal them from others, while their parents strive to keep them from being used by others.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ryu Seung Ryong as Jang Joo Won
- Han Hyo Joo as Lee Mi Hyun
- Zo In Sung as Kim Doo Shik
- Cha Tae Hyun as Jeon Gye Do
No. Of Episode: 20 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
8. 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):
9. Save Me
Hangul: 구해줘
Year: 2017
Sang Mi’s family move to Mujigun. There she meets four young men. Later, she and her family are approached by a Spiritual Father who offers to help them. However, they get caught into the pseudo-religious cult and the four young men try to save her.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Seo Yea Ji as Im Sang Mi
- Ok Taec Yeon as Han Sang Hwan
- Woo Do Hwan as Seok Dong Chul
- Jo Sung Ha as Baek Jung Ki
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
10. Death’s Game
Hangul: 이재, 곧 죽습니다
Year: 2023
The story of a man named Cho Yi Jae, who gets more than one second shot at life after facing death, and Death, who sentences him to 12 cycles of life and death just as his first life is about to come to a conclusion.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Seo In Guk as Choi Yi Jae
- Park So Dam as Death
- Go Youn Jung as Jung Ji Soo
- Kim Ji Hoon as Park Tae Woo
No. Of Episodes: 8
Streaming Options (region-specific):
11. 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):
12. 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):
13. Train
Hangul: 트레인
Year: 2020
Do Won is a detective who strives to help Seo Kyung. This drama is divided into two worlds. He travels to the other world on a mysterious train that appears in an abandoned station to track down the serial killer with the help of the other Seo Kyung.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Yoon Shi Yoon as Seo Do Won
- Kyung Soo Jin as Han Seo Kyung
- Shin So Yool as Lee Jung Min
- Lee Hang Na as Oh Mi Sook
No. Of Episodes: 12 (60 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
14. Defendant
Hangul: 피고인
Year: 2017
Park Jung Woo is a lawyer who has lost his memory and finds out that he is already on death row. He has no choice but to race against time to find out what caused his situation and prove that he is not guilty.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ji Sung as Park Jung Woo
- Uhm Ki Joon as Cha Sun Ho
- Kwon Yu Ri as Seo Eun Hye
- Oh Chang Seok as Kang Joon Hyuk
No. Of Episodes: 18 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
15. Kairos
Hangul: 카이로스
Year: 2020
The drama revolves around two people – a guy whose daughter has been abducted, and a lady whose mother has gone missing. They call each other and help each other, but they are a month apart in time and can only speak for one minute.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Shin Sung Rok as Kim Seo Jin
- Lee Se Young as Han Ae Ri
- Ahn Bo Hyun as Seo Do Gyun
- Nam Gyu Ri as Kang Hyun Chae
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
16. The Guest
Hangul: 손: The Guest
Year: 2018
Yoon Hwa Pyung is a psychic born to a shaman family. Choi Yoon is a catholic priest known for exorcisms & Kang Kil Young is a detective. They meet each other and try to fight against crimes caused by mysterious powers.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Dong Wook as Yoon Hwa Pyung
- Kim Jae Wook as Choi Yoon/Matthew
- Jung Eun Chae as Kang Gil Young
- Lee Won Jong as Yook Gwang
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
17. 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):
18. 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):
19. Mouse
Hangul: 마우스
Year: 2021
Ba Reum is a police officer whose life changes when he encounters a psychopathic killer. This drives him and his partner to unveil the truth behind psychopathic behaviours. A drama that asks the question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?”
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Seung Gi as Jung Ba Reum
- Lee Hee Joon as Ko Moo Chi
- Park Joo Hyun as Oh Bong Yi
- Kyung Soo Jin as Choi Hong Joo
No. Of Episodes: 20
Streaming Options (region-specific):
20. The Worst Of Evil
Hangul: 최악의 악
Year: 2023
Set in the 1990s, the drama follows undercover police investigators Joon Mo and his wife, Ui Jung, as they infiltrate a large criminal organization that runs the illegal drug trade between Korea, China, and Japan.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Ji Chang Wook as Park Joon Mo
- Wi Ha Joon as Jung Ki Chul
- Im Se Mi as Yoo Eui Jung
- Bae Myung Jin as Bae Yong Dae
No. Of Episodes: 12
Streaming Options (region-specific):
21. 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):
22. Taxi Driver
Hangul: 모범택시
Year: 2021
Do Gi is a taxi driver for a company that offers a service called “revenge call” to its customers. It is a secret group that takes care of people whom the law failed to protect. Do Gi and his coworkers will take revenge for customers who ask them to.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Gi
- Esom as Kang Ha Na
- Kim Eui Sung as Jang Sung Chul
- Pyo Ye Jin as Ahn Go Eun
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
23. Happiness
Hangul: 해피니스
Year: 2021
In the near future, a new apartment building has been built. The people who live there come from different places, but a new disease spreads quickly. It shows the psychological battle and the way that people from different classes treat each other.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Han Hyo Joo as Yoon Sae Bom
- Park Hyung Sik as Jung Yi Hyun
- Jo Woo Jin as Han Tae Seok
- Park Joo Hee as Ji Soo
No. Of Episodes: 12 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
24. My Name
Hangul: 마이 네임
Year: 2021
Yoon Ji Woo, who is part of a drug ring, joins the police to find out what happened to her father. She does this by becoming a mole for the drug group. She works in the police department’s unit that looks into drug crimes.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Han So Hee as Yoon Ji Woo
- Ahn Bo Hyun as Jeon Pil Do
- Park Hee Soon as Choi Moo Jin
- Kim Sang Ho as Cha Gi Ho
No. Of Episodes: 8 (50 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
25. Tomorrow
Hangul: 내일
Year: 2022
The drama tells the story of Joon Woong, who crosses paths with grim reapers, who are on a special mission of suicide prevention, and works with them as the youngest contract worker in the crisis management team of death angels.
Rating:
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Hee Sun as Goo Ryun
- Rowoon as Choi Joon Woong
- Lee Soo Hyuk as Park Joong Gil
- Yoon Ji On as Im Ryung Goo
No. Of Episodes: 16
Streaming Options (region-specific):
Wrapping Up
There are many more to discover & watch. So, pick any one or all of them & get ready to binge-watch.
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