Top 10 Crime Thriller Korean Drama List
Korean dramas are not all about romances where the
perfect-looking leads ultimately end up together after overcoming a series of
obstacles. There are many thriller Korean dramas out there with enthralling
storylines that will have you glued to the screen while you chomp away on a
huge bag of chips.
If you’re up for some
suspense-filled dramas – from gruesome murder cases to unimaginable large-scale
corruption plots – here are 10 thriller Korean dramas you need to have on your
must-watch list.
1. Hellbound (2021)
Main Cast:
- Yoo Ah-in as Jung Jin-su
- Kim Hyun-joo as Min Hye-jin
- Park Jung-min as Bae Young-jae
- Won Jin-ah as Song So-hyun
- Yang Ik-jun as Jin Kyung-hoon
IMDb: 6.6/10
Genres: Dark fantasy, Drama, Thriller
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
A society trembles with fear
after three executors of hell appear to kill those
who received a death decree sent by an angel.
An astute religious group known
as the “New Truth Society” begins to gain widespread support as people believe
that the leader, Jung Jin-su, prophesied the mayhem in the past.
Together with an extremist cult
called “Arrowhead”, the New Truth Society condemns people according to their
own religious principles. However, not everyone is a follower – there are some
who take their guidance and control of the society with a pinch of salt.
Min Hye-jin is a lawyer who
works to the best of her ability to reveal the corrupt nature of the New Truth
Society. She gets a married couple, Bae Young-jae and Song So-hyun, to fight
against the New Truth Society and Arrowhead.
2. Flower of Evil (2020)
Main Cast:
- 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
IMDb: 8.7
Genres: Korean drama, Romance, Thriller, Mystery
Where to watch: Netflix, Voot (free), Prime Video, Viki (free), MX Player (free)
Storyline:
Hee-sung and Ji-won are a
happily married couple with a stable career and a beautiful child. Their
marriage is smooth sailing until Hee-sung begins to show patterns of unusual
behaviour that create a gap between him and his wife.
Since Ji-won works as a homicide
detective, she’s quick-witted and perceptive. After she observes her husband’s
change in behaviour, she learns more about his hidden identity. While doing so,
she finds out that her husband is connected to a serial murder case that
occurred 15 years ago.
3. Awaken (2020)
Main Cast:
- Nam Goong-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
IMDb: 7.5
Genres: Korean drama, Action, Mystery
Where to watch: Netflix, Viki (free)
Storyline:
More than three decades ago, a
small village was thrown into chaos due to a perplexing phenomenon that was
buried with neither a clear explanation nor proper closure.
36 years have passed since
then, and the same village is now plagued with a new series of mysterious
events. Do Jung-woo, also known as one of the most competent leaders at the
National Police Agency, begins to investigate the strange occurrences?
Jung-woo works closely with
Officer Hye-won, as well as Detective Jamie from the FBI. They go out of their
way to unravel the mystery, only to find out that the present events are
intertwined with the incidents that took place more than three decades ago.
4. Sweet Home (2020)
Main Cast:
- Song Kang as Cha Hyun-soo
- Lee Jin-wook as Pyeon Sang-wook
- Lee Si-young as Seo Yi-kyung
- Lee Do-hyun as Lee Eun-hyuk
- Kim Nam-hee as Jung Jae-heon
- Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yoo
IMDb: 7.3
Genres: Korean drama, Korean horror, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Drama
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
Cha Hyun-soo is a high school
student who loses his family in an accident. Following the unexpected loss of
his family, he moves to a dilapidated apartment and lives there by himself.
His dream of living a quiet
life is crushed when an inexplicable occurrence takes place – humans begin to
turn into monsters, and these monsters prowl about Hyun-soo’s apartment.
As a result, the residents –
including Hyun-soo – are confined to the apartment. They team up against the
monsters and fight for their lives.
5. Strangers from Hell (2019)
Main Cast:
- Lee Dong-wook as Seo Moon-jo
- Im Si-wan as Yoon Jong-woo
IMDb: 8.7
Genres: Korean drama, Psychological thriller, Thriller
Where to watch: Prime Video
Storyline:
Yoon Jong-woo decides to move
from the countryside to Seoul in order to clinch a job offer. Since he’s on a
budget, he looks for a cheap residential facility.
He has no choice but to stay in
a goshiwon, which is a cheap boarding house. Renters typically get
a small, furnished room with a bed, study desk, and a chair. Fancier goshiwon rooms
come with ensuite bathrooms and proper closets, and some places even provide
free rice and kimchi.
But that’s not the case with Jong-woo, as he settles for a decrepit goshiwon.
On top of that, his neighbours are unsavoury characters, but he has to endure
the next six months so that he can afford a better place.
During his time at the goshiwon,
Jong-woo comes across strange residents such as Seo Moon-jo, who works as a dentist.
To make matters worse, a series of mysterious events unfold at the goshiwon,
which causes Jong-woo to be fearful and wary of the residents.
6. Kingdom (2019)
Main cast:
- Ju Ji-hoon as Lee Chang
- Bae Doo-na as Seo Bi
- Ryu Seung-ryong as Jo Hak-joo
- Kim Sung-kyu as Young-shin
- Kim Hye-jun as Queen Consort Cho
- Kim Sang-ho as Moo-young
IMDb: 8.3
Genres: Korean drama, Horror
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
Set in the Joseon period, the
drama follows the crown prince, Lee Chang, on his journey to uncover the truth
behind a mysterious disease plaguing the king. Together with his guard
Moo-young, they head off to a faraway province, Dongnae, in search of a
physician.
To their horror, they arrive at
the clinic only to find it in ruins with dead bodies piling up under the
building. They meet Seo Bi, the only survivor from the clinic, who
tells them that the people are not dead and will begin their killing rampage
once the sun sets.
With the zombie disease
spreading fast across the Southern provinces, they’ll have to find a remedy,
fast.
7. Rugal (2020)
Main cast:
- Choi Jin-hyuk as Kang Ki-beom
- Park Sung-woong as Hwang Deuk-gu
- Cho Dong-hyuk as Han Tae-woong
- Jung Hye-in as Song Mi-na
- Han Ji-wan as Choi Ye-won
- Park Sun-ho as Lee Gwang-cheol
- Kim Min-sang as Choi Geun-cheol
IMDb: 6.3
Genres: Action, Science fiction
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
Detective Kang Ki-beom was
working on a case involving a criminal organisation, Argos, when he returns
home to find his wife murdered by their men. While still in disbelief, they
take the chance to knock him out and remove both of his eyeballs.
When he wakes up at the
hospital, not only has he lost his eyesight, but he is also framed for his
wife’s murder.
The National Intelligence
Service (NIS) offers him a chance at revenge by being part of Rugal, a special
team to hunt down the organisation. After regaining his sight
thanks to artificial eyeball implants, Ki-beom and his team set out to bring
Argos down.
8. Innocent Defendant (2017)
Main cast:
- Ji-sung as Park Jung-woo
- Um Ki-joon as Cha Sun-ho/Cha Min-ho
(twins)
- Kwon Yu-ri as Seo Eun-hye
- Oh Chang-seok as Kang Jun-hyuk
- Uhm Hyung-kyung as Na Yeon-hee
IMDb: 8.2
Genres: Korean drama, Thriller, Legal drama
Where to watch: Viki (free)
Storyline:
The only thing worse than
having a nightmare is not waking up from one. That’s what
happens to Prosecutor Park Jung-woo, who wakes up one day to find
himself on death row for killing both his wife and daughter.
Unable to recall what exactly
happened on the day of the incident, he struggles to produce a credible alibi
to clear his name. And as a prosecutor who has spent most of his life trying to
uncover truths, trying to find an answer while stuck behind bars will require
great resolve.
9. Memories of the Alhambra
(2018)
Main cast:
- Hyun-bin as Yoo Jin-woo
- Park Shin-hye as Jung Hee-joo
IMDb: 7.8
Genres: Korean drama, Romance, Thriller, Action fiction, Science fantasy
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
Memories of the Alhambra was a highly anticipated drama
in 2019 starring big names such as Hyun-bin and Park Shin-hye. Set in Granada,
Spain, a newly invented AR game starts to blur the lines between the
real world and the virtual world.
When a CEO of an investment
company, Yoo Jin-woo, decides to head to Hostel Bonita in Granada to seal a
deal with the game’s developer, Jung Se-joo, the latter goes missing without a
trace. Jin-woo instead meets Se-joo’s sister, Hee-joo, who happens to be the
owner of the hostel.
But as the leads fall in love
with each other, a series of mysterious occurrences keep happening, making it
hard for them to snap out of virtual reality and keep the relationship
going.
10. Vagabond (2019)
Main cast:
- Lee Seung-gi as Cha Dal-geon
- Bae Suzy as Go Hae-ri
- Shin Sung-rok as Gi Tae-ung
IMDb: 8.1
Genres: Action, Romance, Action fiction, Thriller, Crime film, Spy
Where to watch: Netflix
Storyline:
You know a drama is going to be
a hit from the get-go when it has some of the best actors like Lee Seung-gi and
Bae Suzy starring in it.
Seung-gi plays Cha Dal-geon,
who works as a stunt man to make ends meet and bring up his nephew, Cha Hoon.
But when Hoon’s flight to Morocco for a taekwondo competition crashes
with all the people on board losing their lives, Dal-geon puts his life on
the line in an attempt to search for an answer.
Teaming up with Go Hae-ri, a National Intelligence Service agent stationed at the Korean embassy in Morocco, they dig deeper into the case to uncover corruption at a scale that’s far beyond their imagination.