Korean pop culture has never been so consumed by an international audience. K-pop bands like BTS and Black Pink, Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar winners Parasite , and Squid Game’s recent debut resulted in the world embracing Korean film, television, and music wholeheartedly.

Netflix has helped take the lead in Korean television in recent years, allowing audiences to immerse themselves in the rich, varied, and fascinating world of K-drama.

If you are looking for a new K-drama to dive headfirst into, we have an option for you.

Squid game

It’s a phenomenon for a reason. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s satirical survival drama tells the story of 456 people who participate in a series of deadly childhood games to earn enough money to pay off their debts. His fearless brutality, his tight-knit conspiracy, and his crushing indictment of capitalism have captivated audiences around the world. Squid Game Season 2 is in the works. Get the hit of the year now.

Hellbound

Netflix

Yeon Sang-ho ( Train to Busan ) has adapted his own webtoon for a new Netflix series premiering on November 19. Imagine a world where people receive messages from supernatural creatures telling them that they will soon be dragged to hell for their sins. As panic breaks out, a cult leader (Yoo Ah-in) preaches to the country that they should shame sinners and hope for salvation.

The first three episodes, shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, revealed a challenging story with a relentlessly courageous perspective that is nonetheless full of surprises.

Tramp

Netflix

2019 Tramp 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 dies in a plane crash. But then strange things happen, and Dal-gun finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy involving undercover agents, terrorists, and the government. He teams up with a National Intelligence Service agent to uncover the truth and a cover-up that extends to the highest levels of power. He envisions Lost with a big revenge action subplot and you’re halfway there.

Kingdom

Netflix

Set during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, the first season of Kingdom tells the story of Crown Prince Lee Chang, who, while investigating conspiracies against his family, discovers a plague that brings the dead back to life. Coping with the threat of betrayal and political deceit is hard enough, but when he adds a ravenous zombie location, his problems worsen, especially if the Crown Prince’s own father has been infected by the mysterious disease. Kingdom is an extremely entertaining mix of historical drama, zombie horror, and political intrigue.

Weird

Netflix

Voted one of the best TV shows of 2017 by the New York Times, Stranger stars Bae Doona ( Sense8 ) as a detective who teams up with a brilliant but ruthless prosecutor to solve a murder. The prosecutor lost his empathy after the corrective surgery, which makes his deductive skills unbeatable, but makes his job more difficult. Together they discover a bigger secret behind the murder and a huge corruption scandal that reaches to the heart of the nation.

The creepy accountant

Netflix

Premiering last November, The Creepy Accountant became the highest-rated series on OCN in Korea. Jo Byung-gyu stars as So Mun, a disabled high school student who is part of the Accountants, a group of paranormal hunters who seek out and drive away evil spirits that have escaped from the afterlife and have human hosts.

Hyena

The Song and Kim Law Firm only recruits the most elite and wealthy clients. For just the right amount of money, this team of fiery lawyers will do anything, regardless of the law or human decency. Jung Geum-ja and Yoon Hee-jae are rivals to Song and Kim, their impulses for self-control being exceeded only by their desire to crush each other for supremacy in the company. However, sometimes the best offense is to band together and take over the world.

A korean odyssey

Inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West , A Korean Odyssey is a modern story with roots in legends of the past. Seon-mi is a girl born with the ability to see ghosts and spirits who was lured into a deal with the Monkey King as a child so she could call him if she ever needs help. That moment comes when she grows up, but now she’s locked in a battle for immortality involving the Old Gods and her little tricks.

Black

The number 444 is a grim reaper, a ruthless agent of death whose job is to collect souls from earth and take them to the afterlife. After his partner goes rogue and disappears into the human world, 444 must find him and take care of the body of a recently murdered police detective. However, when 444 is drawn to a young human woman who can foresee death, he is ready to break the rules of love with a living soul.

Major State Boss

Often called Koreas House of Cards , Chief of Staff stars Lee Jung-jae ( Game of Squid ) as Jang Tae Joon, a dynamic chief of staff who dreams of eliminating corruption at the heart of the world in which he works. He wants to reform the system, but he believes that the only way to gain enough power to make such changes is to adopt the same crooked behavior that his peers indulge in.

Tight

Seo Hi-soo is a former actress who rose to the top of her field but married into one of the most powerful business families in the country. At the family’s sprawling villa, Seo Hi-soo and her new sister-in-law Jung Seo-hyun discover that their expectations are very different from their previous lives. The two women try to find their true identities as a mysterious new teacher arrives with a secret plan that could ruin the entire family.

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