Looking for the best Korean dramas on Netflix? You've come to the right place!
Korean pop culture has never been more widely consumed by international audiences. From K-pop bands like BTS and BlackPink, to Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite and the record-breaking Squid Game, fans are well and truly embracing all the entertainment that South Korea has to offer.
We already know that Squid Game season 2 is going ahead, and Netflix has helped lead the charge of Korean TV over the past few years, allowing audiences to delve into the rich, varied and fascinating world of K-Drama.
So if you're wanting your next bingeworthy Korean drama series, scroll on to find out the best offerings on Netflix...
Squid Game
It’s a phenomenon for a reason. Hwang Dong-hyuk's satirical survival drama tells the story of 456 people engaging in a series of deadly children's games for the chance to win enough money to clear their debts. Its unflinching brutality, tight plotting and scathing indictment of capitalism had audiences worldwide hooked.
We already know season 2 is coming, and Netflix has teased we could even see a third and fourth Squid Game instalment further down the line.
A Killer Paradox
A Killer Paradox is a psychological cat-and-mouse story between an everyday student named Lee Tang (Choi Woo-shik) who finds himself killing evildoers and a detective named Jang Nan-gam (Son Suk-ku) who is trying to bring him to justice.
Throughout the course of eight episodes, Lee's life takes a dramatic turn and he encounters some mysterious figures along the way while trying to evade capture, as his crimes grow in number.
The Silent Sea
Set on a near-future Earth suffering from extreme desertification, measures have been put in place for potable water rationing. This series follows explores taking part in a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, where they're trying to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.
With eight episodes in total, it's perfect for binge-watching and has an ending that seems to tie things up quite nicely. For now at least...
Sweet Home
In this apocalyptic thriller series, we follow Cha Hyun-soo, a suicidal high school student who moves into 1410 in Green Home after his family is killed in a car accident.
Soon after he moves in, monsters begin appearing around the city. People inside the apartment are left trapped inside the building, realizing that monsters are lurking everywhere outside and that it's too dangerous to go there.
As a result of this, Hyun-su and the other Green Home residents shield themselves inside the building in the hope of surviving as long as they can, and the series is certainly a wild ride.
Seasons 2 and 3 are on the way, so there'll soon be more Sweet Home for fans to enjoy.
Money Heist Korea: Joint Economic Area
Money Heist Korea: Joint Economic Area is a must-watch for those who loved the original Money Heist series, and also for those who just love a good crime drama!
The series focuses on Korea’s socio-economic conflict between both sides of the border, hence the title Joint Economic Area. This is the name of the fictional region where the border between North and South is in the real world.
Like the original Money Heist, the Korean adaptation focuses on an elaborate heist led by The Professor, with each member having their own codename.
Hotel Del Luna
In Netflix's Hotel del Luna, we follow the eponymous hotel that caters only to ghosts, while the beautiful but ill-tempered CEO is cursed to manage the hotel due to a terrible crime she committed, but cannot remember.
As well as this, an elite hotelier gets to know the establishment's ancient owner and her strange world throughout the episodes.
Originally released in 2019, it's now available on Netflix and is well worth the watch as it joins this list of best Korean dramas. It's ideal for those looking for action, comedy and drama all rolled into one.
Hellbound
Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) has adapted his own webtoon for this new Netflix, which some fans reckon is even better than Squid Game. Imagine a world where people start receiving messages from supernatural creatures telling them they will soon be dragged to Hell for their sins. As panic set in, a cult leader (Yoo Ah-in) preaches to the country that they should shame the sinners and hope to receive salvation.
The first three episodes, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, revealed a challenging story with an unrelentingly bleak perspective that is nonetheless full of surprises.
The Penthouse
The Penthouse follows the story of a woman who strives to achieve her goal of entering high society by becoming the "queen" in the 100th-floor penthouse in Gangnam, which is the pinnacle of success in her eyes.
But it's easier said than done, of course, and the series features plenty of secrets, lies and even murder, uncovering a much darker side to the Gangnam district.
All of Us are Dead
In All of Us are Dead, trapped students must escape their high school which has become ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. The series blends coming-of-age drama with horror for a truly gripping Korean series.
Plus, if you love zombies, don't forget to check out the horror film Train to Busan which was directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the creator of Netflix's Hellbound.
Vagabond
2019's Vagabond was one of the most searched dramas in South Korea when it premiered, and it's not hard to see why. Cha Dal-gun is a stuntman whose life is turned upside down when his nephew is killed in a plane crash. But then strange things start to happen and Dal-gun becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving covert operatives, terrorists and the government.
He teams up with a National Intelligence Service agent to reveal the truth and a cover-up that goes all the way to the top echelons of power. Imagine Lost with a big revenge action subplot and you're halfway there.
Kingdom
Set during Korea's Joseon Dynasty, the first season of Kingdom follows the story of Crown Prince Lee Chang, who, while investigating conspiracies against his family, discovers a plague that resurrects the dead.
Dealing with the threat of treason and political subterfuge is tough enough, but add a ravenous zombie hoard on top of that and your troubles are far worse, especially when the Crown Prince’s own father has been infected by the mysterious disease. Kingdom is a hugely entertaining blend of historical drama, zombie horror and political intrigue.
Stranger
Named one of the best TV shows of 2017 by The New York Times, Stranger stars Bae Doona (Sense8) as a police detective who teams up with a brilliant but cold prosecutor to investigate a murder.
The prosecutor lost his sense of empathy after undergoing corrective surgery, which makes his deductive skills unbeatable but means he's tough to work with. Together, they discover a wider mystery behind the murder and a major corruption scandal that runs to the very heart of the nation.
The Uncanny Counter
Premiering last November, The Uncanny Counter became the highest rated series on Korea's OCN. Jo Byung-gyu plays So Mun, a high school student with a disability who finds himself enlisted to be part of the Counters, a group of paranormal hunters who search for and banish evil spirits that escape from the afterlife and possess human hosts.
Hyena
At the law firm of Song and Kim, only the most elite and wealthy of clients are taken on. For the right amount of money, this team of hotshot lawyers will do anything and everything, regardless of the law or basic human decency.
Jung Geum-ja and Yoon Hee-jae are rivals at Song and Kim, and their self-possessed drives are beaten only by their desire to crush one another for supremacy at the firm. Sometimes, however, the best offense is to team up and take on the world.
A Korean Odyssey
Inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, A Korean Odyssey is a modern-day story with roots in the legends of the past. Seon-mi is a young girl born with the ability to see ghosts and spirits, who as a child was lured into a deal with the Monkey King, allowing her to call upon him should she ever need any help.
That moment comes when she is grown up, but now she's stuck amid a battle for immortality involving the ancient gods and their petty trickery.
Black
Number 444 is a Grim Reaper, a heartless agent of death whose job is to collect souls from earth and bring them to the afterlife. After his partner goes rogue and disappears among the human world, 444 must find him, taking over the body of a recently killed police detective. However, when 444 finds himself drawn to a young human woman who can foresee death, he is ready to break the rules for love with a living soul.
Chief of Staff
Often called Korea's House of Cards, Chief of Staff stars Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) as Jang Tae Joon, a dynamic chief of staff who dreams of washing away the corruption at the heart of the world he works in. He wants to reform the system but believes the only way for him to gain enough power to make such changes is by engaging in the same crooked behavior his colleagues revel in.
Mine
Seo Hi-soo is a former actress who rose to the top of her field but she has married into one of the most powerful business families in the country. Inside the family's vast mansion, Seo Hi-soo and her new sister-in-law Jung Seo-hyun find the expectations for them are very different from their old lives. The two women try to find their true identities, all while a mysterious new tutor arrives with a secret plan that could upend the entire family.
