Top 20 Best Korean Dramas With Less Than 10 Episodes

Korean dramas are the best to relieve stress & have some fun. They are addicting because of their great storyline, heart-melting romance & funny moments. Kdramas are fun to watch.

Almost 90% of the Kdramas are of 16 episodes. Some of them may go up to 20 episodes. While daily shows tend to go more than 100 episodes. Kdramas normally runs for an hour per episode.

Recently, Netflix is releasing its original dramas that doesn’t have more episodes. These are perfect to binge-watch over the weekend and are time-saving.

Kdramas With Less Episodes

While some dramas fill out all the 16 episodes, some of them are better off with a few episodes. Slow-moving dramas are likely to get dropped. There may be some dramas that are stretched to more episodes.

If you are tired of watching long dramas or if you don’t have many days to complete them, here are some Kdramas that have less than or equal to 10 episodes. You can finish watching them within a few days.

This list comprises dramas that have 10 or fewer episodes. The runtime of all the dramas is more than 20-30 min. Some of them extend to an hour per episode. Don’t forget that you will get entertained even if they have only a few episodes.

1. Move To Heaven

Geu Roo works for his father’s business “Move To Heaven.” One day, his father dies. His uncle now becomes his guardian. They work as trauma cleaners, clearing out the possessions of dead people, uncovering the stories they left behind, and telling them to loved ones.

Cast –

• Lee Je Hoon as Cho Sang Gu
• Tang Jun Sang as Han Geu Ru
• Hong Seung Hee as Yoon Na Mu
• Jung Suk Yong as Yoon Young Soo

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Netflix

2. Sweet Home

Cha Hyun Soo decides to leave his home. His quiet life is soon disturbed by strange incidents that start occurring in his apartment, and throughout Korea. As people start to turn into monsters, Hyun Soo and the other residents try to survive.

Cast –

• Song Kang as Cha Hyun Soo
• Lee Jin Wook as Pyeon Sang Wook
• Lee Shi Young as Seo Yi Kyung
• Lee Do Hyun as Lee Eun Hyuk

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Netflix

3. Squid Game

The story of people, who are otherwise failures in their life plays a mysterious survival game named ‘Squid Game’. The stake is high, ₩45.6 billion, so is the risk, life is at stake. The men in pink overalls and masks are watching every move. There will only be one winner.

Cast –

• Lee Jung Jae as Seong Gi Hun
• Park Hae Soo as Sang Woo
• Heo Sung Tae as Duk Su
• Wi Ha Joon as Joon Ho

No. Of Episodes – 8

Watch On – Netflix

4. D.P.

The story of a team of Korean military police with the mission to catch deserters. Private Joon Ho and Corporal Ho Yul both team up to find the deserters. The drama reveals the painful reality endured by each enlistee during his compulsory call of duty.

Cast –

• Jung Hae In as Ahn Joon Ho
• Koo Kyo Hwan as Han Ho Yul
• Kim Sung Kyun as Park Bum Goo
• Son Seok Koo as Im Ji Sup

No. Of Episodes – 6

Watch On – Netflix

5. One Ordinary Day

The drama explores the criminal justice system through the story of an ordinary college student who suddenly becomes a prime suspect in a murder case of a woman & a lawyer who barely passed the bar exam trying to help him.

Cast –

• Kim Soo Hyun as Kim Hyun Soo
• Cha Seung Won as Shin Joong Han
• Lee Seol as Seo Soo Jin
• Yang Kyung Won as Park Doo Shik

No. Of Episodes – 8

Watch On – Viu

6. My Name

Yoon Ji Woo, who is part of a drug ring, joins the police to find out what happened to her father. She does this by becoming a mole for the drug group. She works in the police department’s unit that looks into drug crimes.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Han So Hee as Yoon Ji Woo
• Ahn Bo Hyun as Jeon Pil Do
• Park Hee Soon as Choi Moo Jin
• Kim Sang Ho as Cha Gi Ho

No. Of Episodes: 8 (50 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Short Review: The story’s direction and pace are interesting because they keep the intensity, tension, and suspense going all the way through. The plot devices and twists, as well as the ending, are well thought out and done well, so there aren’t any major problems.

7. The Most Beautiful Goodbye

An ordinary middle-aged woman has devoted her life to her family. She is diagnosed with terminal cancer and prepares to say goodbye to her family. Her illness brings her family together for the first time, to support her at the very end of her life.

Cast –

• Won Mi Kyung as Kim In Hee
• Yoo Dong Geun as Jung Cheol
• Choi Ji Woo as Jung Yeon Soo
• Choi Min Ho as Jung Jung Soo

No. Of Episodes – 4

Watch On – Free Streaming Sites

8. Extracurricular

This drama is about three high school students named Ji Soo, who is a model student, his friend and classmate Gyu Ri, and the school bully Min Hee, who start committing crimes to make money and pay for college. As a result, they face unpredictable dangers.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Kim Dong Hee as Oh Ji Soo
• Park Joo Hyun as Bae Gyu Ri
• Jung Da Bin as Seo Min Hee
• Nam Yoon Su as Kwak Ki Tae

No. Of Episodes: 10 (55 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Short Review: It’s not your ordinary school drama. The story is dark and interesting, the characters are complicated. The drama looks at the effects of actions and the pressures young adults face in a society that often puts success ahead of doing the right thing.

9. The Hymn Of Death

During the Japanese colonial period, Woo Jin, a married stage drama writer falls in love with Shim Deok, the first Korean soprano. She records the song “Praise of Death” which becomes the first Korean pop song in 1926. There is a tragedy.

Cast –

• Lee Jong Suk as Kim Woo Jin
• Shin Hae Sun as Yun Shim Deok
• Park Seon Im as Jung Jum Hyo
• Lee Ji Hoon as Hong Nan Pa

No. Of Episodes – 6

Watch On – Netflix

10. The Silent Sea

Set in the future, where the earth has undergone desertification & suffers from a lack of water and food. The story revolves around members of a special team sent to secure a mysterious sample from an abandoned research facility on the moon.

Cast –

• Gong Yoo as Han Yoon Jae
• Bae Doo Na as Song Ji An
• Lee Joon as Ryu Tae Seok
• Heo Sung Tae as Kim Jae Sun

No. Of Episodes – 8

Watch On – Netflix

11. Anna

Yoo Mi is the woman who tells a small lie and ends up living someone else’s life. Hyun Joo lives her life holding herself above everyone, treating them with neither kindness nor malice. Ji Hoon is Yoo Mi’s husband who is ambitious and future-oriented.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Bae Suzy as Yoo Mi
• Jung Eun Chae as Hyun Joo
• Kim Joon Han as Ji Hoon
• Park Ye Young as Ji Won

No. Of Episodes: 6 (50 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Short Review: This is one of the best performance of Bae Suzy and you can actually feel the intensity of that character and the atmosphere it creates. The whole drama seems like a silent movie, but it’s not boring.

12. Strangers From Hell

Jong Woo moves from the countryside to Seoul after his friend, Jae Ho, offers him a job. While looking for a place to live, he comes across a cheap hostel. He decides to live there for 6 months. But strange things start to happen with him.

Read Strangers From Hell Review

Cast –

• Im Shi Wan as Yoon Jong Woo
• Lee Dong Wook as Seo Moon Jo
• Lee Jung Eun as Eom Bok Soon
• Ahn Eun Jin as Seo Jung Hwa

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Netflix

13. Connect

A human being with a secret ability for quick recovery from any physical injury gets kidnapped by an organ trafficking organization. Then he finds out that one of his eyes has been transplanted into a serial killer who is infamous in Korea.

Cast –

• Jung Hae In as Ha Dong Soo
• Go Kyung Pyo as Oh Jin Seop
• Kim Hye Joon as Lee I Rang
• Kim Roe Ha as Choi Do Hoon

No. Of Episodes – 6

Watch On – Disney+

14. Hellbound

People hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, a death angel appears in front of them and kills them. The drama is about supernatural angels emerging out of nowhere to sentence individuals to hell.

Cast –

• Yoo Ah In as Jung Jin Soo
• Park Jung Min as Bae Young Jae
• Kim Hyun Joo as Min Hye Jin
• Won Jin Ah as Song So Hyun

No. Of Episodes – 6

Watch On – Netflix

15. Love To Hate You

Attorney Mi Ran doesn’t care to be in a relationship and is highly competitive with the men in her life. Kang Ho is a top actor, who despite working in romantic movies, doesn’t trust women. Both of them, who don’t believe in love, fall into a love battle.

Cast –

• Kim Ok Bin as Yeo Mi Ran
• Yoo Teo as Nam Kang Ho
• Kim Ji Hoon as Do Won Joon
• Go Won Hee as Shin Na Eun

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Netflix

16. Pachinko

The drama shows the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations. The tale of forbidden love and depicts a chronicle of war and peace, separation, victory and judgement across Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Cast –

• Youn Yuh Jung as Kim Sun Ja
• Lee Min Ho as Koh Han Su
• Jin Ha as Baek Solomon
• Kim Min Ha as Kim Sun Ja (young)

No. Of Episodes – 8

Watch On – Apple TV+

17. Kingdom

During the Joseon period, the spirit of a recently dead king comes back, and a mysterious illness starts to spread across the country. To find out what is going on and save his people, the crown prince must deal with a new kind of enemy.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Joo Ji Hoon as Lee Chang
• Ryu Seung Ryong as Jo Hak Joo
• Bae Doo Na as Seo Bi
• Kim Sung Gyu as Young Shin

No. Of Episodes: 6+6 (50 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Short Review: Kingdom is one of the best and most exciting shows about zombies. The filming is so good that all the zombies seem real. The story is interesting because it takes place in the past and has a zombie outbreak. Read Kingdom Review.

18. The Fabulous

A story of people who have devoted their lives to the fashion industry and struggle to survive there. Woo Min is responsible for improving photographs. Ji Eun is the section chief of a luxury brand promotion agency.

Cast –

• Chae Soo Bin as Pyo Ji Eun
• Choi Min Ho as Ji Woo Min
• Lee Sang Woon as Joseph
• Park Hee Jung as Ye Seon Ho

No. Of Episodes – 8

Watch On – Netflix

19. Search

Search is a military thriller drama that takes place in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the area between North and South Korea, and tells the story of a specialized search party that forms to find the truth behind mysterious disappearance and murder cases.

Cast –

• Jang Dong Yoon as Yong Dong Jin
• Krystal Jung as Son Ye Rim
• Yoon Park as Song Min Gyu
• Lee Hyun Wook as Lee Joon Sung

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Viki

20. Juvenile Justice

A judge who hates juvenile offenders becomes the newly appointed judge of a juvenile court. A victim of juvenile crime in her youth, she faces various cases involving youths, which helps her discover what it truly means to be an adult.

Cast –

• Kim Hye Soo as Shim Eun Seok
• Kim Mu Yeol as Cha Tae Joo
• Lee Sung Min as Kang Won Joong
• Lee Jung Eun as Na Geun Hee

No. Of Episodes – 10

Watch On – Netflix

Wrapping Up

So, these were some of the best Korean dramas that have a few episodes & can be completed within a day (binge-watching). Even if you watch just one episode per day, you can complete these dramas within 10 days.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr & subscribe YouTube channel for more exciting content on Korean dramas & movies.

Keep watching !!

FAQs