Korean dramas are worldwide popular for their romance. But it also has fans who watch thrillers. These thriller dramas have a lot of suspense, mystery, and unexpected plot twists. You’ll be hooked until the final episode.
When you start watching Kdramas, you’ll feel at ease and forget all your worries. Watching them at night or on weekends is perfect. Though there are many tropes to choose from, one of the most common is time travel.
The dramas with the time travel trope include the main lead mysteriously traveling in the future or past, reincarnation, and storyline switching between various time periods. If you’re into this genre, here are the best time travel dramas to watch.
1. Mr. Queen
Hangul: 철인왕후
Year: 2020
Bong Hwan works as a chef at the Blue House in the present day. He has a free spirit, but his spirit ends up in Queen So Yong’s body in the Joseon period. So Yong will find out that her husband has some secrets and is not as kind as he seems.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Shin Hye Sun as Kim So Yong
- Kim Jung Hyun as King Cheoljong
- Bae Jong Ok as Dowager Sunwon
- Kim Tae Woo as Kim Jwa Geun
No. Of Episodes: 20 (75 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
2. 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.
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):
3. Chicago Typewriter
Hangul: 시카고 타자기
Year: 2017
The drama features three resistance warriors who lived during Japan’s conquest of Korea in the 1930s and are reincarnated as a best-selling writer, a fan, and a ghostwriter in the present. It is an epic story of friendship, love, and betrayal.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Yoo Ah In as Han Se Joo
- Im Soo Jung as Jun Seol
- Go Kyung Pyo as Yoo Jin Oh
- Kwak Shi Yang as Baek Tae Min
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
4. 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.
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):
5. Moon Lovers
When a total eclipse of the sun takes place, Ha Jin is transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty. She soon befriends several of the princes and meets the 4th Prince, Wang So. She finds herself caught up in palace politics and the rivalry among the princes as they fight for the throne.
Cast –
- Lee Joon Gi as Wang So
- IU as Go Ha Jin / Hae Soo
- Kang Ha Neul as Wang Wook
- Hong Jong Hyun as Wang Yo
No. Of Episodes – 20
Watch On – Viu
6. My Perfect Stranger
Hangul: 어쩌다 마주친, 그대
Year: 2023
Hae Joon and Yoon Young go back in time to 1987. There, Hae Joon attempts to uncover the truth about the murder case, while Yoon Young attempts to keep her parents from marrying. They soon learn that their goals are intertwined.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Kim Dong Wook as Yoon Hae Joon
- Jin Ki Joo as Baek Yoon Young
- Seo Ji Hye as Soon Ae (1987)
- Lee Won Jung as Hee Seop (1987)
No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
7. Reborn Rich
Hangul: 재벌집 막내아들
Year: 2022
Yoon Hyun Woo dies after the Sunyang Group family, which he had always been loyal to, frames him for theft. He is reborn as Jin Do Joon, the youngest son of the family, and tries to take over the company to get his payback.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Song Joong Ki as Do Joon / Hyun Woo
- Lee Sung Min as Jin Yang Chul
- Shin Hyun Bin as Seo Min Young
- Yoon Je Moon as Jin Young Ki
No. Of Episodes: 16 (75 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
8. Go Back Couple
Hangul: 고백부부
Year: 2017
When a 38-year-old married couple reaches a breaking point in their relationship, they wake up to find themselves as 20-year-old college students when they first met. They decide to have fun and do things differently than the first time.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jang Na Ra as Ma Jin Joo
- Son Ho Jun as Choi Ban Do
- Heo Jung Min as Ahn Jae Woo
- Han Bo Reum as Yoon Bo Reum
No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
9. A Time Called You
Hangul: 너의 시간 속으로
Year: 2023
One year ago, Jun Hee’s boyfriend died. She still can’t get over his death. One day, she somehow goes back in time and finds herself in 1998 as a high school student. She meets a student there who looks a lot like her late boyfriend.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Jeon Yeo Been as Han Jun Hee / Min Joo
- Ahn Hyo Seop as Ko Yeon Jun / Nam Si Heon
- Kang Hoon as Jung In Kyu
- Lee Min Goo as Kwon Do Hun
No. Of Episodes: 12
Streaming Options (region-specific):
10. 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.
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):
11. God’s Gift: 14 Days
Soo Hyun’s daughter gets kidnapped and murdered. Due to a mysterious event where time was turned back exactly 14 days before the event, she is given a second chance to expose the kidnapping plot and save her daughter before she dies all over again.
12. Again My Life
Hangul: 어게인 마이 라이프
Year: 2022
The story of Hee Woo, a young & enthusiastic prosecutor who wakes up and finds himself alive again after getting killed. He gets a second chance to get justice after failing to bring down a politician named Tae Seob and discover the truth.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Lee Joon Gi as Kim Hee Woo
- Lee Kyung Young as Cho Tae Seob
- Kim Ji Eun as Kim Hee Ah
- Cha Joo Young as Han Ji Hyun
No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
13. Rooftop Prince
Hangul: 옥탑방 왕세자
Year: 2012
After his wife passes away, a crown prince travels 300 years into the future. He encounters a lady who bears a likeness to the late princess, in Seoul in the twenty-first century. He’s committed to unravelling the truth of her death.
Main Cast (Characters):
- Park Yoo Chun as Yong Tae Yong
- Han Ji Min as Park Ha
- Jung Yoo Mi as Hong Se Na
- Lee Tae Sung as Yong Tae Mu
No. Of Episodes: 20 (65 min. each)
Streaming Options (region-specific):
14. Sisyphus: The Myth
The drama is about a genius engineer named Han Tae Sul who is trying to find out what happened to his older brother and a mysterious woman named Gang Seo Hae who goes back in time to help him save the world from an impending threat.
Cast –
- Cho Seung Woo as Han Tae Sul
- Park Shin Hye as Kang Seo Hae
- Kim Byung Chul as Seo Won Ju
- Sung Dong Il as President Park
No. Of Episodes – 16
Watch On – Netflix
15. Familiar Wife
Cha Joo Hyuk works at a bank and has been married to Seo Woo Jin for five years. When a strange incident happens, he makes a decision that impacts his life and those around him in unexpected ways. Suddenly, he is leading a very different life.
Wrapping Up
So, these are some good and recommended Korean dramas with time travel plots that will make you think more. Have fun streaming these mind-bending shows on your favorite streaming site.
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