Netflix’s Top Korean Dramas

Korean culture had been progressively gaining global appeal before Parasite became a worldwide success and won practically every major film award, including the top honours at the Oscars in 2020. You may have heard of the boy band BTS as part of the Korean Wave, often known as Hallyu. Perhaps Michelin-starred restaurants like Cote and Atomix have given you a taste for high-end Korean cuisine. Perhaps you have a shelf full of Korean beauty items for your nightly 10-step skincare routine? Korean television dramas, while lacking in critical acclaim compared to the country’s film production, are an essential part of the cultural fabric—and several of the best are available on Netflix.
From a magnificent period, piece to adorable romantic comedies to more than a few zombie thrillers, here are the most enjoyable K-dramas to watch on the streaming service.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
A lovely, nostalgic coming-of-age tale set across a decade is the newest romantic comedy everyone can’t stop talking about (or watching). Beginning in the late 1990s, Twenty-Five Twenty-One depicts how the Asian financial crisis affects the lives (and eventual love story) of its central protagonists, high school fencing prodigy Hee-do (Mister Sunshine’s Kim Tae-ri) and erstwhile chaebol scion Yi-jin (Start-Nam Up’s Joo-hyuk).
Thirty – nine
Thirty-Nine is a melodramatic remake of Sex and the City that follows three closest friends as they deal with life, love, job, and grief as they approach their forties. Mi-jo (Crash Landing on You’s Son Ye-jin), acting coach Chan-young (Jeon Mi-do), and department store cosmetics manager Joo-hee are the members of the trio (Kim Ji-hyun).
Our Beloved Summer
Two former lovers were the focus of a documentary series set in their high school when they were teenagers. Their romance didn’t work out, but the documentary did. It goes viral ten years later, prompting the ex-couple—who had swore they’d never see each other again—to reconcile and grapple with their feelings, past, and how much they’ve evolved.
All of us are dead
Because of its high school setting, All of Us Are Dead gives the zombie horror premise a coming-of-age twist. A botched science experiment causes an outbreak, trapping students on campus and leaving them to fend for themselves. Season 1 premiered in January and quickly rose to the top of Netflix’s Global Top 10 list, garnering accolades for its allegories to both global (Covid) and Korean society-specific issues (the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, intense academic stress). Fans will be pleased to learn that a second season is in the works.
My Name
A 17-year-old girl seeking vengeance after witnessing her father’s murder seeks the help of the brutal drug lord for whom he worked. She is taken under his wing to become the newest member of his crime syndicate, and after four years of training, she is ready to carry out the plan: join the police force as a cop in the narcotics unit in order to uncover her father’s killer while also proving her loyalty.
D.P.
All men between the ages of 18 and 35 in Korea have been required to serve in the military for at least 18 months since 1957. And it’s long been known that excessive hazing and bullying are commonplace in the military. D.P. is a fictitious account of what truly happens in the ranks and chronicles the narrative of a team of military police whose mission it is to catch deserters. It is one of the most daring Korean productions of recent times.
Squid Games
Last October, this intensely dystopian thriller—think Hunger Games meets Parasite, but with a lot more violence—became Netflix’s most-watched drama ever, surpassing Bridgerton. The bizarre premise: 456 people who are poor and in need of money are invited to play a variety of popular children’s activities. While the final winner is offered a large cash prize, the participants have no idea that losing a game will cost them their lives. (Plan on watching the entire first season in one sitting.
Hellbound
Hellbound was a respectable addition to the dystopian genre, even if it didn’t quite attain the viral success of Squid Game. The show describes a civilization in which “sinners” are given spooky notice of when they will die, and when that time arrives, animals from the underworld appear to hunt them down and forcibly send them to hell. What good is a dystopian story without a mystery religious cult leader at its centre?
Sweet Home
Another zombie show, yes. Because of its character and plot development, as well as graphic edge-of-your-seat action sequences, the classic apocalyptic survival trope—residents trapped inside an apartment building band together to combat flesh-eating, humanity-threatening monsters outside—feels fresh here.