While romantic K-Dramas definitely create more vocal online fandoms, the best K-Drama thrillers are equally popular. Besides the popular romantic K-dramas and melodramas, South Korea also creates thriller series that will have audiences on the edge of their seats. K-dramas continue to dominate streaming platforms, from the gripping family drama Little Women to the nail-biting revenge show My Name. The genre is also known to feature a variety of thrilling narratives and stories, from cat and mouse stories involving serial killers to shows with creepy cults.
Thanks to the ever-expanding libraries of platforms like Netflix and Rakuten Viki, viewers can easily binge K-Drama thrillers with riveting plots. What makes Korean drama series so interesting is they usually aren’t bound by the same confines as their American counterparts. Many of the best K-Dramas contain supernatural or fantasy elements, while others are beautiful period pieces that contain both fact and fiction, and K-Drama thrillers are no different. K-Dramas are also usually more aesthetically pleasing than American programs, with attention to the smallest details being the name of the game. These are the best K-Drama thrillers, ranked from worst to best.
20 Dark Hole (2021)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
One of the best K-Drama thrillers is Dark Hole, which will have viewers on the edge of their seats with a mystery, thriller, and dark fantasy story. Lee Hwa-Sun is a detective in Seoul whose life is turned upside down when she’s called by her husband’s murderer. She’s told to go to Mujishi, but there’s a problem. The residents of the town are closed off as many transformed into heinous mutants after breathing in mysterious dark smoke from a sinkhole. With a dire need to catch Lee Hwa-Sun’s (played by Kim Ok-vin of the hidden gem The Villainess) husband’s killer, she ventures to Mujishi and joins forces with a former cop-turned driver.
19 Possessed (2019)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Among the best Netflix K-Drama thrillers for supernatural mystery is Possessed. Sometimes ghosts and the paranormal world make for a more interesting storyline and series. In Possessed, two unlikely individuals meet and team up to solve crimes, leading to some nail-biting sequences. Kang Pil-Sung (Song Sae-Byeok) is a good detective but is somewhat crude and can be a bit lazy. He meets Hong Seo-Jung (Koh Joon-Hee), a woman who hides her psychic abilities from others. In the supernatural K-Drama, they partner up and take on a difficult case involving the ghost of a murderer from 20 years ago.
18 Rugal (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
A sci-fi entry to the mix of K-Drama thrillers is available on Netflix — Rugal, a mix between thriller and artificial intelligence. An elite detective’s world crumbles when he comes home to find his wife murdered by a group of men from a criminal organization. As it turns out, the detective got too close to investigating a group called Argos, and as a form of retaliation, Argos sends masked men to gouge out his eyes — and so he gets equipped with artificial eyes by a group called NIS. Like most common storylines, the detective Kang Gi-beom (Choi Jin-hyuk) then becomes part of a special team that seeks to take down Argos and organized crime.
17 Tell Me What You Saw (2020)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
In Tell Me What You Saw, Oh Hyun-Jae (Jang Hyuk) was once highly regarded as a criminal profiler known for solving uncrackable cold cases. His world shattered when his fiancée is killed in an explosion set by a serial killer. Unable to deal with the grief, he isolates himself, until a new serial killer emerges with the same MO. While another detective is on the case, he meets Cha Soo-Young (Choi Soo-Young), a detective with a photographic memory. She teams up with Hyun-Jae to seek retribution for his fiancée and stop the killer. A good serial killer storyline is always intriguing to watch, which is probably why Tell Me What You Saw has such a strong following.
16 Watcher (2019)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
Watcher is a crime series and one of the most interesting K-Drama thrillers from 2019. The storyline is based on a crime that was committed 15 years prior. Kim Yeong-Goon’s (Seo Kang-Joon) mother was heinously murdered, and the police suspect his father of the crime. Following one of the best K-Drama tropes, his father is eventually convicted, but fifteen years later, Yeong-goon is now an officer, and along with the original detective and lawyer of the case, they meet again. The two band together to uncover what really happened all those years ago. Thanks to its many cliffhangers and binge-able nature, Watcher is still widely discussed years after release.
15 Awaken (2020)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
Secrets from the past reappear in one of the best K-Drama thrillers, Awaken. In the series, a task force created by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency including the special team leader, Do Jung-Woo (Namkoong Min) and Gong Hye-Won (Kim Seol-Hyun), are joined by Jamie Leighton (Kwon Ye-Eun), an FBI investigator as they try to figure out who is behind a string of murders. Containing some great female-led K-Drama moments, the groups begins to learn that the murders are tied to an event 28 years ago prior. The K-drama features a thrilling game of mental chess between the task force and the villains that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
14 Tunnel (2017)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
Aside from being one of the best K-Drama thrillers, Tunnel also employs time-travel as a narrative device. Detective Park Gwan-Ho (Choi Jin-Hyuk), in 1986, goes through a tunnel to go after a serial killer. When he emerges on the other side of the tunnel, he finds himself in the year 2017 — and the serial killer is still on the loose in the time-traveling K-Drama. While the show did have an overarching storyline, Tunnel also kept viewers tuned in for every episode as it focused on a different case as it progressed. Tunnel was so well received it prompted an Indonesian remake starring Donny Alamsyah and Hana Malasan.
13 Save Me (2017)
- Available to stream on Amazon Prime
Save Me is a must-watch K-Drama for its spine-chilling thriller storyline. The show would give anyone the creeps and plays upon a common storyline fear. A family moves to a suburban town after their business fails. They soon meet the followers of a religious cult posing as a church, show soon hypnotize the parents. After the suicide of the family’s son, things spiral out of control, and the cult takes advantage. Years later, deeply rooted in the cult, the daughter wants out and gets the attention of four classmates she met on her first day in town. Save Me was nominated for a Best New Actor award (Woo Do-hwan) at the 54th Baeksang Arts Awards, but unfortunately didn’t win.
12 Happiness (2021)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
Despite its title, the K-drama Happiness is anything but happy — it is, however, one of the best K-Drama thrillers out there despite no happily ever after. The show is also very timely, as Happiness focuses on the residents of a high-rise apartment who have been sealed off from the rest of the world as a disease breaks out. The dystopian high-rise drama showcases a microcosm inside the building as betrayal and distrust blossom among the survivors. Viewers who want to see people’s humanities tested by a deadly crisis should definitely check out Happiness. In addition, the series was nominated for two awards — Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress — but sadly didn’t win.
11 Hell Is Other People (2019)
- Available to stream on Amazon Prime
Hell Is Other People is also known by the name, Strangers from Hell. The psychological thriller K-Drama is based on a popular webtoon and even mimics certain scenes from the illustrated pages. One of the best K-Drama thrillers, the show revolves around a young man in his 20s who moves to Seoul. Still struggling financially, he can only afford accommodations in a skeptical and cheap dormitory called Eden Studio. During his stay, he gets an eerie feeling that the tenants who reside there have a dark secret. The series sees characters spiraling into slight madness due to the bizarre occurrences that take place. The webtoon-inspired K-Drama was incredibly well-received, even winning a Grand Prize at the Cable TV Broadcasting Awards.
- Available to stream on Netflix
Now available on Netflix and one of the best K-Drama thrillers, Extracurricular revolves around making the wrong decision that leads to heinous consequences. The Netflix South Korean thriller is dark, eerie, and worth a watch. While the concept isn’t new, the way the show’s story is structured and how it escalates will catch audiences’ attention. A model high school student leads by good example. He has solid grades, is well-mannered, and liked by teachers — but he lives a double life of crime. When a classmate takes an interest in his secret, things spiral beyond control. Thanks to its unique storyline, Extracurricular was nominated for three awards at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards and ended up winning Best New Actress for Park Ju-hyun.
9 Mouse (2021)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
The intriguing part about most K-Drama thrillers is that they don’t need a romantic element like most K-Dramas to keep viewers’ attention. The 2021 drama, Mouse is anything but flowers and sunshine as it revolves around a heinous serial killer with ties to one of Korea’s more infamous murderers. The rise of this new gruesome serial killer has a steadfast cop and police detective on the hunt for a suspect. As they follow the bloody path of the killer, they never expected an even greater evil to be lurking in the shadows. Exploring whether a killer is born or created, along with many twists and turns, won Mouse the Grand Prize at the 2021 Asia Artist Awards.
8 Nobody Knows (2020)
- Available to stream on Kocowa
Nobody Knows, has many thrilling elements that will have audiences hooked with shocks that feel right out of a Stephen King book. Cha Young-Jin (Kim Seo-Hyung) has lived for 19 years trapped by guilt and regret over the murder of her best friends by Stigmata — an infamous serial killer. Vowing to get justice for her friend and knowing the killer will one day come after her, she joins the police force and becomes a diligent detective. After years the killer returns, and Young-jin must stop him before it’s too late and goes after someone she cares about. With its cat-and-mouse storyline and stunning visuals, the female-led K-Drama Nobody Knows won twice at the SBS Drama Awards.
7 Flower Of Evil (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Lee Joon-Gi and Moon Chae-Won from the Korean adaptation of the crime procedural show Criminal Minds are paired again in one of the best K-Drama thrillers, Flower of Evil. A seemingly perfect family that starts to fall apart once the wife discovers her husband’s possible connection to a series of murders. Often compared to the Netflix hit series You, as it shows how far some violent men will go to hide their true nature, Flower of Evil goes notably deep with character exploration. The thrilling show is critically acclaimed and was nominated for a whopping 12 awards, winning three at the Asia Artist Awards and the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.
6 Kingdom (2019)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Kingdom is a 2019 political horror thriller and by far one of the best K-Drama thrillers out there. The show is the first Netfix-produced K-drama and an example of Netflix’s excellent original content. Based on a webtoon series titled The Kingdom of Gods, the lauded storyline takes place back during the 1590s and opens up with the crown prince uncovering a political conspiracy, conducting his own investigation into the death of his father, and trying to find the origin of a mysterious plague — one that brings people back from the dead as blood-thirsty monsters. A K-Drama with horror elements, Kingdom‘s visual effects garnered critics’ attention, even winning it an award, along with two others at the 2nd Asia Contents Awards.
5 Hellbound (2021)
- Available to stream on Netflix
In one of the best K-Drama thrillers, Hellbound, viewers will get to experience a thrilling dark fantasy drama that features a storyline that explores themes such as religion, spirituality, and humanity. In the K-Drama Hellbound, strange beings known as angels suddenly appear to judge whether their victims deserve to go to hell. This is only made more horrifying when three giant entities appear and start brutalizing those condemned. As panic spreads, two organizations slowly gain power by taking advantage. Hellbound has been well-received for its inventive screenplay that discusses morality and sin. Because of the show’s success, Netflix renewed the K-drama for another season and won actress Kim Shin-rok three Best Supporting Actress awards.
4 Vagabond (2019)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Vagabond balances romantic elements with intense thriller action — making it one of the best K-Drama thrillers. One of the few K-dramas with a vampire storyline, Vagabond is a story of loss, conspiracy, and corruption. Cha Dal-Geon (Lee Seung-Gi) once dreamed of being a successful actor while taking care of his nephew. His life changes when the plane his nephew is on suddenly crashes. Riddled with grief, he stumbles upon a passenger who was meant to be on the plane, so joins forces with NIS agent Go Hae-Ri (Bae Suzy) to uncover a sinister truth. Doing a nominations sweep at the 2019 SBS Drama Awards, Vagabond was nominated for a staggering 16 awards, winning five overall.
3 Sweet Home (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
One of the best K-Drama thrillers out there gained mass popularity on Netflix for its apocalyptic storyline and grotesque monsters. Based on the eponymous Naver webtoon, Sweet Home sees the tenants of a building locked in and fearing the outside world. Overnight, the world descended into chaos with a deadly disease that turned humans into monsters. The building’s tenants must learn to survive while also keeping watch as anyone can turn. In the midst of it all is the depressed and distraught Cha Hyun-soo, who has all the abilities of a monster but struggles to keep his humanity. Sweet Home resonated with critics and audiences alike, garnering 18 award nominations and winning six.
2 Defendant (2017)
- Available to stream on Kocowa
One of the best K-Drama thrillers, this legal K-Drama will have people hooked on a thrilling journey to prove a man’s innocence. Defendant follows the story of Park Jung-Woo (Ji Sung), a leading prosecutor and head of the violent crimes investigative division. He has a reputation for never losing a case — until he wakes up finding himself in prison, convicted on death row. The problem is he has no idea how he got there due to suffering from amnesia. It’s a race against time to prove Jung-woo’s innocence and uncover the truth. Defendant dominated the 2017 awards season, receiving 17 nominations and seven wins.
1 The Penthouse: War In Life (2020)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
The Penthouse: War In Life became one of Korea’s top-watched dramas and ranked in the Top 50 Korean television series per nationwide viewers, is arguably the best K-Drama thrillers around, and one of the few K-Dramas to have more than one season. The thriller provides the apex of K-Drama mystery, suspense, crime, and revenge as it tells a deadly story. The drama takes a look at a group of wealthy families living in the same building complex. Each character has their own dark past, deadly demons, and thirst for ambition. When a tragic death occurs during a party, the families and the matriarchs will do whatever is necessary to protect their children and image. The series was nominated for a staggering amount of awards, 45 to be exact, and ended up raking in 19 of those nominations.