Top 24 Best Thriller Korean Dramas Of All Time (Till 2023)

Thriller shows are one of the most-watched genre around the world. They are packed with action and twists you never think of. South Korean thrillers are on the next level.

Korean dramas are addicting & are popular now. Many have started watching dramas as most of them are now available on Netflix & Viki. They are quite good to watch with family too.

All types of dramas are available to watch online ranging from rom-com to action thrillers. They have an interesting plot, good cinematography & perfect emotions. The plot twists are also great.

Best Thriller Korean Dramas

While Korean dramas are popular for its romance genre, there are some good thriller Korean dramas to watch to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The two things that keep you watching thriller shows are their gripping storyline & flawless acting with some action packed scenes that keep you engaged.

If you want to watch some of the best thrillers that Korean provides, here are 24 best thriller Korean dramas for you to watch & enjoy.

1. Signal

Park Hae Young witnesses the kidnapping of a girl 15 years ago. Currently, Hae Yeong is now a police officer and criminal profiler. One day, he finds a walkie-talkie that connects him with Detective Lee Jae Han who is in the past. Together, they solve a series of murders.

Read Signal Review

Cast –

• Lee Je Hoon as Park Hae Yeong
• Kim Hye Soo as Cha Soo Hyun
• Jo Jin Woong as Lee Jae Han
• Kim Won Hae as Kim Gye Cheol

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix, Viki

2. Flower Of Evil

Baek Hee Sung is a craftsman living with his wife, Cha Ji Won & daughter. But he hides some dark secrets that even his wife is unaware of. His wife is a homicide detective who investigates a case of a psychopath who is quite close to her.

Read Flower Of Evil Review

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

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix, Viki, MX Player

3. 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):

4. Strangers From Hell

Jong Woo goes to Seoul from the country when his friend Jae Ho gives him a job offer. He finds a cheap hotel while looking for a place to live. He makes the decision to stay there for six months. But strange things start to happen with him.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• 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 (60 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

5. Vagabond

The stuntman Cha Dal Gun’s nephew dies in a plane crash. He learns that the plane crash was caused by a huge government scandal, and he and a NIS agent named Go Hae Ri set out to find out the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Seung Gi as Cha Dal Gun
• Bae Suzy as Go Hae Ri
• Shin Sung Rok as Gi Tae Ung
• Moon Jung Hee as Jessica Lee

No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

6. 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):

7. 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):

8. Tunnel

In 1986, Park Kwang Ho works as a detective. While working he passes through a tunnel that acts as a time portal, which transports him to present-day Seoul. He meets a new partner Kim Sun Jae. They try to find out the serial killer to return.

Read Tunnel Review

Cast –

• Choi Jin Hyuk as Park Kwang Ho
• Yoon Hyun Min as Kim Seon Jae
• Lee Yoo Young as Shin Jae Yi
• Jo Hee Bong as Jeon Seong Shik

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix

9. Save Me

Sang Mi’s family move to Mujigun. There she meets four young men. Later, she and her family are approached by the Spiritual Father of Goosunwon who offers to help them. However, they get caught into the pseudo-religious cult and the four young men try to save her.

Cast –

• Seo Yea Ji as Im Sang Mi
• Ok Taec Yeon as Han Sang Hwan
• Woo Do Hwan as Seok Dong Chul
• Jo Sung Ha as Baek Jung Ki

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix

10. Voice

Detective Moo Jin Hyuk after his wife’s death, works with professional voice profiler Kwon Joo, whose father is killed, to solve a different crime, chasing for the serial killer who is responsible for the deaths of their family members.

Cast –

• Jang Hyuk as Moo Jin Hyeok
• Lee Ha Na as Kang Kwon Joo
• Baek Sung Hyun as Shim Dae Shik
• Son Eun Seo as Park Eun Soo

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix, Viki, Prime Video

11. Stranger

Hwang Shi Mok, a prosecutor finds him in a murder case. He meets Police Lieutenant Yeo Jin at a murder crime scene. They work together to wipe out corruption at the prosecutor’s office and solve a serial murder case.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Jo Seung Woo as Hwang Shi Mok
• Bae Doo Na as Han Yeo Jin
• Lee Joon Hyuk as Seo Dong Jae
• Shin Hye Sun as Young Eun Soo

No. Of Episodes: 16 (70 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

12. Through The Darkness

The drama will tell the story of South Korea’s first criminal profiler as he struggles to look inside and read the hearts of serial killers during a time when the word “profiling” did not exist. It is based on the 2018 book of the same title.

Cast –

• Kim Nam Gil as Song Ha Young
• Kim So Jin as Yoon Tae Goo
• Jin Seon Kyu as Kook Young Soo
• Ryeoun as Jung Woo Joo

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Viki, MX Player

13. Train

Seo Do Won is a detective who tries to save Seo Kyung. There are two different worlds in this drama. Do Won travels to the other world through a mysterious train that shows up in the abandoned station to track the serial killer with the help of the other Seo Kyung.

Cast –

• Yoon Shi Yoon as Seo Do Won
• Kyung Soo Jin as Han Seo Kyung
• Shin So Yool as Lee Jung Min
• Lee Hang Na as Oh Mi Sook

No. Of Episodes – 12

Watch On – Viki

14. Defendant

Park Jung Woo is a lawyer who has lost his memory and finds out that he is already on death row. He has no choice but to race against time to find out what caused his situation and prove that he is not guilty.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Ji Sung as Park Jung Woo
• Uhm Ki Joon as Cha Sun Ho
• Kwon Yu Ri as Seo Eun Hye
• Oh Chang Seok as Kang Joon Hyuk

No. Of Episodes: 18 (70 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

15. Kairos

The drama centers around two persons. A man whose daughter is kidnapped and a woman whose mother is missing. They both contact each other through a phone call and help each other but they are a month apart in time and can only speak for 1 minute.

Cast –

• Shin Sung Rok as Kim Seo Jin
• Lee Se Young as Han Ae Ri
• Ahn Bo Hyun as Seo Do Gyun
• Nam Gyu Ri as Kang Hyun Chae

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Viki

16. The Guest

Yoon Hwa Pyung is a psychic born to a shaman family. Choi Yoon is a catholic priest known for exorcisms & Kang Kil Young is a detective. They meet each other and try to fight against crimes caused by mysterious powers.

Cast –

• Kim Dong Wook as Yoon Hwa Pyung
• Kim Jae Wook as Choi Yoon/Matthew
• Jung Eun Chae as Kang Gil Young
• Lee Won Jong as Yook Gwang

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix

17. 365: Repeat The Year

The story of a group of people who are given the opportunity to relive a year of their lives in order to prevent a tragic accident from happening. Along the way, they uncover hidden truths about themselves and those around them, and must confront their past mistakes.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Joon Hyuk as Ji Hyung Joo
• Nam Ji Hyun as Shin Ga Hyun
• Kim Jee Soo as Lee Shin
• Lee Sung Wook as Park Sun Ho

No. Of Episodes: 24 (35 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Short Review: The drama explores themes of destiny, atonement, and the value of second chances. The acting is excellent, and the story is well-written. The drama also got praise for its original premise and for how it keeps the audience guessing right up to the very end.

18. Beyond Evil

The story of two fearless lawmen, Lee Dong Shik and Han Joo Won, who break the law to catch a serial killer. In the course of uncovering the culprit’s identity, they question the innocence of everyone involved in the case including themselves.

Cast –

• Shin Ha Kyun as Lee Dong Shik
• Yeo Jin Goo as Han Joo Won
• Choi Dae Hoon as Park Jung Je
• Choi Sung Eun as Yoo Jae Yi

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Netflix, Viki, Prime Video

19. Mouse

Ba Reum is a police officer whose life changes when he encounters a psychopathic killer. This drives him and his partner to unveil the truth behind psychopathic behaviours. A drama that asks the question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?”

Cast –

• Lee Seung Gi as Jung Ba Reum
• Lee Hee Joon as Ko Moo Chi
• Park Joo Hyun as Oh Bong Yi
• Kyung Soo Jin as Choi Hong Joo

No. Of Episodes – 20

Watch On – Viki

20. Tell Me What You Saw

Hyun Jae used to be a top criminal profiler. He gets vanished after his fiance’s death. Meanwhile, Soo Young is a police officer in the countryside. She is selected as a rookie detective who will partner with Hyun Jae informally. Together they work to solve cases.

Cast –

• Jang Hyuk as Oh Hyun Jae
• Choi Soo Young as Cha Soo Young
• Jin Seo Yun as Hwang Hwa Young
• Jang Hyun Sung as Choi Hyung Pil

No. Of Episodes – 16

Watch On – Viki

21. The Veil

The best agent at the National Intelligence Service, Ji Hyuk, gets caught up in a situation that puts NIS in a very tough spot. As he tries to find the employee who betrayed him and caused him to lose his job, he runs into a much bigger enemy behind the organization.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Namgoong Min as Han Ji Hyuk
• Park Ha Sun as Seo Soo Yeon
• Kim Ji Eun as Yoo Je Yi
• Jang Young Nam as Do Jin Suk

No. Of Episodes: 12 (70 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

22. Taxi Driver

Do Gi is a taxi driver for a company that offers a service called “revenge call” to its customers. It is a secret group that takes care of people whom the law failed to protect. Do Gi and his coworkers will take revenge for customers who ask them to.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Lee Je Hoon as Kim Do Gi
• Esom as Kang Ha Na
• Kim Eui Sung as Jang Sung Chul
• Pyo Ye Jin as Ahn Go Eun

No. Of Episodes: 16 (65 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

23. Happiness

In the near future, a new apartment building has been built. The people who live there come from different places, but a new disease spreads quickly. It shows the psychological battle and the way that people from different classes treat each other.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Han Hyo Joo as Yoon Sae Bom
• Park Hyung Sik as Jung Yi Hyun
• Jo Woo Jin as Han Tae Seok
• Park Joo Hee as Ji Soo

No. Of Episodes: 12 (65 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

24. Island

The story of a chaebol heiress who is banished to Jeju Island after she is possessed by a spirit. She meets an immortal human and a priest who performs exorcisms. Together, they must fight against the evil that is trying to destroy the world.

Rating:

Main Cast (Characters):

• Kim Nam Gil as Van
• Lee Da Hee as Won Mi Ho
• Cha Eun Woo as Kang Chan Hyuk
• Sung Joon as Goong Tan

No. Of Episodes: 12 (50 min. each)

Streaming Options (region-specific):

Wrapping Up

There are many more to discover & watch. So, pick any one or all of them & get ready to watch. Besides dramas, there are many more Korean Thriller Movies to watch that keeps you entertaining more & more.

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