Top 10 Crime Thriller Korean Drama List



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)

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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)

 

Crime thriller Korean drama

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

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