Korean dramas and movies over the years have entertained people thoroughly. With Korean waves taking over the world almost every few years, fans and viewers have come across many Korean movies and dramas with time. One of the biggest stereotypes related to Korean movies and dramas has always been the fact that they are always dramas that show fairytale love stories. But, that’s far from the truth, just like every other industry, the Korean film and drama industry too has an ample amount of movies for fans of thrillers, crime, horror and so much more.
So, here we have curated a list of 40 Korean thriller movies and series across all platforms, that every movie buff and series lover should definitely watch.
40. Time To Hunt (2020): Netflix
The movie stars Parasite star Choi Woo-sik, along with Lee Je-hoon, Park Hae Soo, and Ahn Jae-hong in the lead. The movie is set in a dystopian South Korea, Jun Seok is out of prison. He comes out and sees the Korean Won has crashed massively, making the amount of their last job worthless. Jun Seok proposes one last heist to his best friends for the trio to escape from their miserable situations. Their target is an illegal gambling house, which stores US dollars in stacks. The trio recruits a friend who has been working in the gambling house. After getting firearms that are mostly not available in South Korea, the quartet proceeds with the heist. They take a large sum of cash and the heist is successful. Now, with the gambling house looted, the gangster wants to get back and recruits a bounty hunter to catch them. But, interestingly, it is not the money they stole that has put the target on them but something else that they stole along with the money.
39. #Alive (2020): Netflix
The movie is a complete zombie delight. Starring Park Shin-hye and Yoo Ah-in in lead roles, the movie follows the journey of a young boy named Joon-woo, who is a gamer and is trapped inside his house, as the city he lives in starts getting infected by a deadly virus turning people into zombies. While being cut off from the world, with nothing left, he finds hope in his neighbor who is alone in her home and battling the zombies. They reach each other somehow and decide to escape, but only to get attacked by zombies. The movie seemingly looks like it will have a happy ending when the military starts to intervene and shoots off the zombies, but in this chaos will the two lone survivors successfully make it out?
38. The Chase (2012): Netflix
The movie stars veteran actors Baek Yoon-sik and Sung Dong-il in the lead. The movie follows Sim Deok-soo, a grumpy landlord running a run-down apartment complex. He is a war veteran and doesn’t know anything about sympathy and empathy; he just wants his tenants to pay the rent on time, without any fuss. Suddenly, things start turning ugly as his tenants begin disappearing under suspicious circumstances, while some are being murdered in a gruesome manner. The tenants start blaming the landlord, mostly due to the attitude he has shown over the years, but it is his friend and ex-detective partner Pyung-dal who believes him. The two get back together, to find out who is behind all these and with the help of their research, they notice that a murderer from 30 years back has now returned to commit more grisly crimes.
37. Wanted (2016): Rakuten Viki
The series stars Kim Ah-joong, Ji Hyun woo, and Uhm Tae woong in the lead. The story follows one of Korea’s top actresses, who finds out that her son is now kidnapped. She meets up with a detective and his partner to find out the truth. But, the kidnapper wants something more from her. She has to find out about her son only by participating in a live reality show. She struggles to carry out the mission but must do what the kidnapper asks her to do. With her trusted friends by her side, she takes the mission up to find out who is the one behind the kidnapping of her son.
36. Call (2020): Netflix
The movie is based on the 2011 British & Puerto Rican film “The Caller” and stars Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-soo, and Kim Sung-ryung in the lead. The movie tells the story of two people who live in different times. Seo-yeon is the one who lives in the present and Young-sook lives in the past. While Seo-yeon comes across a phone call, she is connected to Young-sook from the past. That phone call turns their upside down, as they both talk to each other back and forth and try to keep changing their reality one by one. But, things don’t stay the way they want it to be as changing the reality makes one of them become a murderer and come for the other in the present. This is all because of a phone call that connected the past and the present and turned everything around for the worst.
35. Sisyphus: The Myth (2021): Netflix
Sisyphus stars Korean stars Park Shin-hye and Cho Seung woo in the lead. The series follows the life of Han Tae-sul, a genius and unconventional engineer who tries to discover the existence of hidden life in our world, and a girl, trained warrior Kang Seo-hae, who has made a long and dangerous journey for him. One day, Han Tae-sul learns the truth behind his brother’s death that happened 10 years ago. He begins his journey with Kang Seo-hae, to find more about it. Seo-hae is no ordinary girl because she is someone who has traveled from the future to meet him because Tae-sul is the answer to many of her questions and she needs to save him in any way possible.
34. Search (2020): Rakuten Viki
Search, a thriller series shows the lives of military search troop members, that includes Koo Dong-Jin and Son Ye-Rim. They are posted near the infamous Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) but try to get away and as far as possible from it. While they do that they fight against a mysterious creature and struggle to get away from the DMZ. In such intense situations, they are still able to build camaraderie through their struggle. While Koo Dong-Jin is a sergeant with only a little time left in the army, the story shows Son Ye-Rim as an elite officer who has perfectly hidden a secret about her birth from everyone else.
33. Sweet Home (2020): Netflix
A Netflix original, Sweet Home follows the story of Hyun, a loner high school student who lost his entire family in a freak accident. He is forced to leave his home and has to face a new reality. He moves into a new home which is torn down and its own set of issues with all the neighbors he is surrounded by, all of them who have their issues. Things as if weren’t weird enough; the nation has been going through a rough face as threats of monsters have come in. The people in the building start getting attacked but the ones surviving form a group and try to escape the dark reality, but sadly losing people on their way. While they have no time left, it is almost against time as they try to save humanity from these monsters that are a combination of everything dark, evil, and zombie-esque.
32. Awaken (2020): Netflix
Awaken is a very recent thriller that has a touch of romance in it. The series follows mysterious cases that take place around the town in the present day. But, the officers involved suddenly realize that these mysterious cases are connected to cases that took place 26 years ago, which went on unsolved. Detectives Do Jung-Woo and Kong Hye-Won, who are put on the case, go through all kinds of hell to try to uncover the secret behind the cases from 26 years ago and the present-day cases and see how they are connected even after so many years.
31. The Wailing (2016): Amazon Prime Video
The story is set in a small mountainous village called Goksung in South Korea. The movie follows police officer Jong-Goo who is here to investigate the weird murders caused by a mysterious disease. His partner from the village brings in the news that a Japanese stranger, living in the mountains, is behind all the tragedies. They decide to visit the stranger along with a young priest who speaks Japanese. They find a bizarre scene with a goat head, pictures on the walls of the infected people that died, and an attacking guard dog. Jong-Goo finds one shoe of his only daughter, Hyo-jin, in the house of the stranger, and soon she ends up sick. His mother-in-law summons a shaman to save her granddaughter. As the villagers get sicker and sicker and the death toll starts rising, Jong-goo comes across a mysterious woman who makes him question if the stranger is responsible or are there evil forces at work in the village.
30. Forgotten (2017): Netflix
Forgotten, is a psychological thriller that without doubt has one of the best twists in the story. The movie follows the story of two brothers. A happy family, the brothers Jin and Yoo seok got along really well, but one night the elder brother gets abducted. 19 days later, he returns but things aren’t the same as he left. While the older brother realizes this isn’t his family but imposters, he goes to the police only to understand that everything around him has changed. Not only is his family the same, but the entire world he is in isn’t the same anymore, but he is determined to find out what happened in these 19 days that changed the entire world completely.
29. Train To Busan (2016): Amazon Prime Video
Train To Busan is one of Korea’s undoubtedly most famous movies that went on to receive much recognition. The story follows a businessman, Seok-woo in Seoul, who lives with his daughter, Soo-an, and his mother. Seok-woo is shown to be a selfish man and neglects Soo-an, but on her birthday, he promises to take her to her mother in Busan. They board a KTX train to Busan, which is also boarded by a sick woman. The train journey soon turns into a nightmare as a virus starts spreading from coach to coach, and Seok-woo, his daughter along with few others tries to find a safe place, till it reaches Busan, which is said to be safe from the virus outbreak. But as the remaining passengers fight the zombies, they also have to fight the selfishness and greediness of the ones alive, to keep themselves alive.
28. Burning (2018): Amazon Prime Video
The movie stars Yoo Ah-in and Steven Yeun in the lead role and is based on Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning”. The story follows a delivery guy Jongsu, who is out on a job and runs into a girl named Haemi, who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks for his help to feed her cat, while she was away on a trip. As she returns, she brings an enigmatic man, Ben along with her, who tells Jongsu of his awfully unusual hobby. One day, while Jongsu couldn’t find Haemi, he suspects something is wrong and tries to find his answers from Ben. As he does that, he learns new things and ends up doing something that was not something Jongsu could have done.
27. Lawless Lawyer (2018): Rakuten Viki
Lawless Lawyer stars superstar Lee Joon-gi and Seo Ye-ji in the lead roles. The story follows a “gangster lawyer”, Sang-pil who despite being the lawyer doesn’t trust the law and feels free to use his fists whenever he wants to. He takes advantage of the various loopholes in the law and has an excellent, unbreakable win rate. While the other lawyers may consider the legal code sacred, he considers it more like a user manual. He is joined by Jae-yi, who has a temper, which became the reason for her being kicked out of a firm. He and Jae-yi team up to fight against those in absolute power. They work together to solve a certain mystery, while Sang-pil prepares to find the culprit and avenge the death of his mother.
26. Voice (2017): Netflix
A 4 season series, Voice follows the story of Moo Jin-Hyuk, a popular detective who solved major cases, but after his wife was murdered by a serial killer his life turned upside down. He is filled with guilt over the fact that he couldn’t save his wife. Meanwhile, Kang Kwon-Joo, a talented police officer joins the 112 emergency call centers. Working there, she witnesses a brutal murder case that took the life of her father, a police sergeant. She takes time off and as she comes back, she is now a professional voice profiler. She and Jin-hyuk now get together to link the murders and find out who the killer was, who took their loved ones’ lives.
25. Extracurricular (2020): Netflix
A Netflix original, Extracurricular is not your regular K-drama. It follows the story of Ji-Soo, a model high school student. Even with all his talent, he has his issues as he needs to earn to pay for his university tuition fee. To do that and out of desperation, he makes a bad choice, which leads him to a serious crime. Min-Hee and Kyu-Ri, who attend the same high school as Ji-Soo, get to know about his secrets and they also end up getting involved in Ji-Soo’s crime, without knowing how to get out of it.
24. Tell Me What You Saw (2020): Rakuten Viki
A full-on crime thriller, “Tell Me What You Saw” stars Jang Hyuk and Choi Sooyoung in the lead roles. The story follows Oh Hyun-Jae, who used to be a top criminal profiler. He is regarded as an ace in his but an explosion, caused by a serial killer, ended the life of his fiancé. After the tragedy, Oh Hyun-Jae vanished and started living in seclusion. Meanwhile, Cha Soo-Young is a new police officer in a rural area. She has a special ability, which allows her to remember everything that she sees. Her special ability becomes a gift as she is hired as a rookie detective and will informally partner Hyun-jae in a mission to solve his biggest case.
23. The K2 (2016): Netflix
One of the biggest hits of 2016, The K2 stars the enigmatic Ji Chang-wook in the lead along with Im Yoona and Song Yoon-ah. Ji Chang-wook plays the role of Kim Je Ha, who is a former soldier for hire. In his world and circle, he is also known as the K2. He is hired as the bodyguard by Choi Yoo Jin, a respectable woman in elite society. Also, Choi Yoo Jin happens to be the wife of Jang Se Joon, who is running for president. Meanwhile, the person Je-ha has to guard is none other than Go Anna, who is the illegitimate daughter of the to-be president. The reclusive and rebellious daughter makes things hard for Je-ha but as time goes by, they start getting along and try to solve the mysteries surrounding them that include politics that they become a part of indirectly.
22. He Is Psychometric (2019): Netflix
He Is Psychometric is a thriller that is filled with fun but has its twists and turns. The story follows Lee An, a man who has a special psychometry ability, which he attains after he loses his parents in a tragic accident. His ability allows him to read people’s minds whenever he touches someone. With such power in his hand, Lee An aims to take out all the evil in the world. This is when he comes across Yoon Jae-in, a girl who has her secrets and likes to keep them out from the world. Lee An and Yoon Jae-in form a team, along with An’s foster parent and Jae-in’s colleague. They try to solve mysteries one after the other, while both of them come close to know more about their pasts.
21. Doctor Prisoner (2019): Netflix
Starring Namkoong Min, Kwon Nara, Kim Byung-chul in the lead, the series is set as a medical drama thriller. The series follows the story of Na Yi-Je who is known to be a brilliant and reputable surgeon with excellent skills. He is known all around as not only a good doctor but also a kind person. All of a sudden, his perfect life turns upside down as he gets in a medical accident. Following this, he is kicked out of the hospital. Now, with no more job, he takes up the role of a medical chief in a prison medical clinic. While he comes across various criminals, he also prepares himself to take revenge against the ones who did him wrong.
20. Hell Is Other People (2019): Netflix
Based on a webtoon, Hell Is Other People stars Im Siwan and Lee Dong-wook in the lead roles. It tells the story of a young man, Yoon Jong-woo, who moves to Seoul after landing an internship in a big company. As he looks for a place to stay, he comes across Eden Studio, a strange dormitory but cheap and since he is low on money, he decides to stay. Though, not at all thrilled by the place and especially his next-door neighbor, he is ready to tolerate it while he saves up enough to move. But, this is where things start getting crazy for him. He realizes things aren’t normal in this run-down building and especially with the people living in it. Things start getting more mysterious as strange occurrences start appearing in the studio, making Jong-woo think about the decision he has made.
19. Bad Guys (2014): Netflix
The series stars Kim Sang-joong, Ma Dong-seok, Park Hae-jin, and Jo Dong-hyuk in the lead roles. The series tells the story of Detective Oh Gu-tak who is a ruthless detective and will go to any lengths to catch the criminal, this has been the reason many times he has been suspended. To avoid this, Gu-tak comes up with a plan to assemble his team of bad guys to help him catch the criminals, who have wreaked havoc on their city. He releases three convicts, a genius with an IQ of 165 and degrees in maths and philosophy. Another man, who is a mob boss, crushed his way up to the top defeating the ganglord in just 25 days. Completing the team is a hired hitman, who has never made a mistake but one day confesses to everything and turns himself in. With such a fierce team in place, Gu-tak is now ready to tackle everyone.
18. Missing: The Other Side (2020): Rakuten Viki
The series stars Go-soo and Heo Joon-ho in the lead roles and is a fantasy thriller that tells the story of a village and the villagers. Kim Wook is a conman; he uses his good looks and smooth-talking ways to take money out of people. However, one day, after a certain mishap with some bad guys he messed up with he arrives at Duon Village. It’s not an ordinary village but in fact a very strange one. It’s a place where the dead live, people whose bodies were never found. This village is invisible to the outside world and not at all present to anyone except Kim Wook who for some weird reason, can see the villagers like he sees normal people. As time goes by, he finds himself drawn to these people and end up helping them solve the mystery of their deaths
17. Watcher (2019): Rakuten Viki
“Watcher” is a 2019 Korean drama directed by Ahn Gil Ho, starring Seo Kang-joon, Han Suk-kyu, and Kim Hyun-joo in the lead roles. The story follows a brutal murder committed 15 years ago, that turns 3 lives completely upside down. After all these, fate brings these 3 people together once again. While all of them are successful in what they do, their past still hasn’t left them. They eventually come together and team up. The discussions start occurring as they start connecting everything piece by piece and see what really happened 15 years ago, that has left them traumatized forever. As they try to uncover the truth, they go deeper and deeper and every secret turns even darker and more sinister.
16. Remember (2015): Rakuten Viki
Remember is a miniseries that stars Yoo Seung-ho, Park Min-young, and Park Sung-woong in the lead. The story follows Seo Jin-woo, who has a special condition that allows him to remember almost every day in perfect detail. While his father, Seo Jae-hyuk on the other hand is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Seo Jae-hyuk was in an incident wrongfully convicted of murder and was sent to prison. Jin-woo vows to prove the innocence of his father and four years later, he becomes a successful lawyer. As he gets ready to fight and find the real culprit and put him behind bars, he realizes it won’t be an easy task. This becomes a major issue because issues like bribery, corruption, and betrayals are in no way paving an easy way for him to get justice for his father.
15. Save Me (2017): Netflix
Save Me is a series that stars Seo Ye Ji, Ok Taecyeon, Woo Do-hwan, and Jo Sung-ho as the leads. The story follows the Im family, who move to a small village after their father’s business fails. They have nothing left besides each other. As the Im Sang-mi and Im Sang-mi and Im Sang-jin, her brother join a new school, Sang-jin is mercilessly bullied driving him to the point where he commits suicide. Their family is torn apart, but Sang-mi believes it’s the religious cult that their parents have been religiously following doing all the work. It might look like a normal prayer group, but deep down it is a notorious cult. Things get tense, and the only thing Sang-mi has left is her friends to whom she whispers “save me”. This is the moment they believe they can do something good in their lives and decide to go after the cult that has been destroying lives.
14. Train (2020): Rakuten Viki
Train stars Yoon Shi-young, Kyung Soo-jin, and Shin So-yul in the lead roles. The series follows a detective who fearlessly dives into his work; Seo Do-won is fierce when it comes to bringing criminals to justice. He is known to take all the cases that come his way and make sure he solves them all, but things take a different turn when the love of his life is killed in a murder. Somehow, he comes across a portal where he sees that he exists and the people he knows exist too. This is the action of a parallel universe. Do-won now lives in both worlds but with different lifestyles. While he has lost his love in this world, he comes to know that she still exists in the other world. Now, he takes it upon himself to protect her in the other world. While he vows to do that, he cannot forget the murder and hence he sets out on a mission to catch the culprit, with the help of his colleague in both the worlds, before he loses her again.
13. Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019): Netflix
The series is based on the original American series “Designated Survivor” from Netflix. The series stars Ji Jin-hee and Kim Kap-soo in the lead. The series follows Park Mu-jin, the South Korean Minister of Environment, who has little ambition as a politician. After a diplomatic incident involving free trade negotiations with the United States, and Park’s dispute over numbers provided by its Environment Protection Agency about pollution caused by imported cars, President Yang Jin-ma, gets furious and dismisses him from the office. The very next day, the President announces to the National Assembly that he is making peace with North Korea, and all of a sudden, the building explodes, killing all of the South Korean people who were in line of succession for the Presidential position. Park Mu-jin, whose resignation had yet not arrived, survives the accident miraculously. Now, he is sworn in as Acting President for 60 days, and he wastes no time as he starts uncovering the truth behind the bombing and everything that has been going on in the country.
12. Beyond Evil (2021): Netflix
Beyond Evil follows the story of two fearless men, played by Shin Ha-kyun and Yeo Jin-goo, who end up breaking the law to catch a serial killer. Lee Dong-sik who is a sergeant at Manyang Police Substation of Munju Police Station located in the western part of the Gyeonggi Province was once a capable detective. For various reasons, he has been demoted to doing all the menial and tedious tasks now. On the other hand, Han Joo-won is an elite detective from the International Crime Investigation Team at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who is transferred to the Manyang Police Substation. He has a good appearance, high capability, and comes from a strong background. As they get on with a certain case, in the course of uncovering the culprit’s identity, they start questioning the innocence of everyone involved in the case, including themselves.
11. Defendant (2017): Rakuten Viki
Defendant is a series that stars Ji-sung in the lead supported by Um Ki-joon, Kwon Yu-ri, Oh Chang-seok, and Uhm Hyun kyung. Park Jung-woo, played by Ji-sung is a prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. He is a successful prosecutor, who has everything sorted but one day; he wakes up and finds himself a convict on death row. Now, suffering from temporary amnesia, Jung-woo has no idea what happened to him, what made him, a prosecutor himself, end up not only in prison but on death row. While he has very little time left, he needs to do all he can as he struggles to recover his memory and clear his name from the case as soon as possible.
10. Vagabond (2019): Netflix
Vagabond has been one of the most successful Korean series on Netflix. It stars Lee Seung-gi and Bae Suzy as the stars of the series. The story follows Cha Dal-gun, who works as an underrated stuntman while taking care of his orphaned nephew, Cha Hoon. Even though they share a loving relationship, Cha hoon fights with his uncle before going to Morocco for a competition. But before his flight he shares a loving message for his uncle. Little did the kids in the flight know that they would fall prey to an evil plan and the flight crashed with none of the kids surviving. Dal-gun goes to Morocco along with the other bereaved families to attend the funeral arranged by the Korean embassy there. This is where he comes across Go Hae-ri and they hit off as they believe that this wasn’t an accident but much bigger than that. The two get together and go through hell to get the truth out, only to find that this isn’t a simple case of hijack, but a conspiracy that involves a tangled web of corruption and also a threat to the nation’s security.
9. Taxi Driver (2021): Rakuten Viki
The crime phenomenon in Taxi Driver is based on the actual heinous crimes committed in Korea. The series stars Lee Je-hoon, Esom, and Kim Eui-sung in lead roles. Kim Do Gi is an honest officer of the Special Forces. But, when a serial killer murders his mother, his world takes a whole new turn. This is when Do Gi is recruited by Jang Sung, to work for his company, Rainbow Taxi, which in no way is similar to any Taxi company. The sole purpose of this service is to avenge the victims, who the law couldn’t protect. They offer a “revenge-call” service to its clients and within no time Do-gi becomes a star driver, who delivers the clients’ demands. But, Kang Ha Na is a prosecutor who despises the service and wants to investigate it. She gets orders not to do so but carries on with it. When she realizes what they do, she could sense the righteousness in it. This leads Kang Ha-na, now to join the service, offers her help to avenge even more people, who never got their justice.
8.Tunnel (2017): Netflix
Tunnel stars Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min, and Lee Yoo-young as the lead of the series. The series was inspired by the Hwaesong Serial Murder Cases. In 1986, Park Gwang-ho worked as a successful detective. However, his life changes when he takes the lead in a homicide case and when he passes through a tunnel while chasing the murderer. This tunnel leads him into a time travel portal as he reaches 30 years into the future, 2016. This is where he meets a new partner, Kim Seon-jae, an elite detective that has a high ability in investigations. When the serial killer continues his events even in this era, the detective duo comes together. Now with the help of a criminal psychologist, Professor Shin Jae-yi they try to solve the unsolved murders and to catch the murderer if they can.
7. Partners For Justice (2018): Netflix
With two seasons, Partners For Justice has been a very popular series in South Korea and for people loving crime dramas. The series stars Jung Jae-Young and Jung Yu-mi in the lead. The story revolves around Baek Beom, who has worked as a forensic doctor for 10 years. He is known to have a bad personality, but he is appreciated as he is excellent with his work. Baek Beom does not open his mind to other people. Eun Sol is a rookie and clumsy prosecutor with a warm heart, something that is opposite to the person she will be working with. As she comes across cases, she keeps on meeting the forensic doctor, and with time they form a team, as they get together to solve the cases with medical help as well as with the law involved.
6. Kingdom (2019): Netflix
A period political thriller drama, Kingdom is adapted from the webtoon Kingdom of The Gods. The series stars Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seoung-ryong, Bae Doona, Kim Sang-ho as the leads. The series is set during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, three years after the Imjin War. The series follows how the Crown Prince and his subordinates come across a disease, a plague like the situation that brings the dead alive. He starts with his investigation about what this is and how this can be stopped from further spreading. While he continues his struggle he releases the plague and is getting stronger. His struggle becomes even more difficult when the Haewon Cho clan comes into action, but a hidden sinister secret.
The series will have a special episode released that is titled, “Kingdom: The North Of Ashin”
5. Parasite (2019): Amazon Prime Video
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Parasite went on to create history as it became the first South Korean movie to win the Best Film Oscar Award. The movie stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-sik, and Park So-dam in the lead role. The story tells the life of the struggling Kim family. The Kim family sees an opportunity when the son starts working for the wealthy Park family. Soon, all of them find a way to work for the same household and start living a life that wasn’t theirs. To be specific, one cay says, they started living a parasitic life. The movie which is a dark comedy thriller shows the clear differences in class and how someone from the upper caste will and can treat a lower class just because of their status and level they are at.
4. Stranger (2017): Netflix
The series consists of two seasons and stars Cho Seung-woo and Bae Doona in the lead roles. The story follows Hwang Si-mok, an exceptional prosecutor who suffers from hypersensitivity to sound frequencies. As he undergoes surgery for that, he loses his social skills and empathy. While he was investigating a murder, he meets Han Yeo-jin, a police officer who assists him in solving the cases. While they team up, they come across various instances that show something is off in the prosecutor’s office. As they try to gather evidence, they come across a much bigger conspiracy than they both could have imagined and get ready to fight it down.
3. Signal (2016): Netflix
The series stars Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo, and Choi Jin-woong in lead roles. The story follows a criminal profiler who finds a mysterious walkie-talkie while solving a case. This allows a detective in the year 1989 to communicate with a cold case profiler from 2015. The 2015 detective has been looking for her mentor for the past 15 years and as the team communicates with the man from 1989, they come across various cold case murders and make sure to prevent them by altering the entire timeline. While they solve these cases, grave unintended sequences follow them as a result. The series was inspired by real-life criminal incidents in Korea, including the famous Hwaseong Serial Murders. The series is one of Korea’s highest-rated series to date.
2. Mouse (2021): Rakuten Viki
Mouse is, undoubtedly, this year’s best thriller series to release so far. The series stars Lee Seung-gi and Lee Hee-joon in the lead roles. The series shows a scenario, where they show what if psychopaths can feel remorse and guilt for their actions. The series follows Jeong Ba-reum, a smart police officer, whose life takes a turn when he encounters a psychopathic serial killer. This makes him and his partner Go Moo-chi, go to lengths to unearth the truth behind psychopathic behaviors. The series also raises the question, whether it is possible in any way to scan a psychopath in the mother’s womb using genetic testing and if the child in the womb could become a psychopath with killer instincts. This brings up the question of whether it will be wise to have that child. The series brings up a topic that is being considered a very unique concept in Korean society now and this has become the talking point of many Korean netizens, this year. The story is somewhat inspired by the events of the Incheon Elementary School Murder Case, 2017.
1. Flower of Evil (2020): Netflix
One of the best thriller dramas of the year, which received multiple accolades, the series stars Lee Joon-gi and Moon Chae-won in the lead roles. The story follows Baek Hee-sung, a man who hides his identity and his past from his wife Cha Ji-won, a renowned detective. While on the surface, they appear to be the perfect family, a loving couple with a beautiful daughter, things are not exactly what it seems to be. Cha Ji-won and her colleagues have been investigating a series of unexplained murders and as she continues to solve them, she is confronted with harsh truth and even scarier reality. After all, whatever she thought her husband had been might not be the complete truth about him when his past surfaces up.
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