Despite being popular worldwide for their love stories, the K-content on Netflix is not just limited to romances. Featuring spine-chilling elements of paranoia and a myriad plot twists, these edgy Netflix K-dramas will surely satiate your thirst for psychological thriller bingeing and Korean content.
Leading the list with over 1.65 billion hours of viewership in the first 28 days of release, Squid Game remains one of the best and most-watched psychological thriller K-dramas on Netflix. The 2021 show, which focuses on a series of games that challenge human morals, enjoys a solid IMDb rating of 8 and 95 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Not just that. Squid Game also won six Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Hwang Dong-hyuk and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae.
Meanwhile, replete with mind games, Ahn Gil-ho’s psychological thrillerThe Glory is #5 on the top 10 all-time Non-English TV series on Netflix, with over 436.90 million hours watched in the first 28 days of release.
Not to forget the Song Kang starrer Sweet Home, which was viewed by more than 22 million paid subscribers worldwide after its release in 2020. One of the best psychological horror thriller K-dramas to watch on Netflix, the third season of the Korean TV series is slated to drop in 2024, according to Tudum.
These best psychological thriller K-dramas on Netflix are a must-watch
Jump To / Table of Contents
- Through the Darkness (2022)
- Flower of Evil (2020)
- The Glory (2022)
- Beyond Evil (2021)
- Squid Game (2021)
- Night Has Come (2023)
- Extracurricular (2020)
- Sweet Home (2020)
- Hellbound (2021)
Directed by: Kim Jae-hong and Park Bo-ram
Cast: Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu
Episodes: 12
IMDb rating: 8.7
Synopsis: Gook Young-soo (Jin), the head of the Criminal Behavioral Analysis team, recruits skilled Detective Song Ha-young (Kim) and assigns him a dangerous task. The latter is to delve deeper into the psychology of the most-wanted murderer in South Korea, Red Cap, and predict his next move.
Directed by: Kim Chul-gyu and Yoon Jong-ho
Cast: Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin
Episodes: 16
IMDb rating: 8.6
Synopsis: Detective Cha Ji-won (Moon) and her doting husband Baek Hee-sung (Lee) are raising a beautiful daughter together. However, Cha’s peaceful married life is turned upside down when she is assigned a 15-year-old murder case, leading her to unravel dark secrets about her husband.
3 /9
Directed by: Ahn Gil-ho
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon
Episodes: 16
IMDb rating: 8.1
Synopsis: After being abused as a high-schooler, Moon Dong-eun (Song) swears revenge. For years, she hatches an elaborate plan to avenge her bullies, especially their leader Park Yeon-jin (Lim). Helping Dong-eun in her dangerous mission is her right-hand man Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee).
About the show: Song Hye-kyo won her first Best Actress award for this psychological revenge thriller K-drama at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2023. The Glory also won the Best Drama award the same day, defeating contenders like My Liberation Notes, Our Blues and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
4 /9
Directed by: Shim Na-yeon
Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Yeo Jin-goo, Choi Dae-hoon
Episodes: 16
IMDb rating: 8.1
Synopsis: It’s been 20 years and Detective Lee Dong-sik (Shin) is still dealing with the death of his sister. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, Dong-sik has also been lagging in his job. But when a string of new murders seems to connect to his sister’s death, Dong-sik teams up with the young and skilled detective Joo-won (Yeo) to unravel the truth.
5 /9
Directed by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Gong Yoo, Jung Ho-yeon, Wi Ha-joon
Episodes: 10
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Multiple debt-ridden people are recruited into a series of children’s games held at a mysterious place in Korea. Eventually, a total of 456 players risk their lives to play multiple levels of the games that end with a deathly twist. Whoever makes it alive in the end, wins a reward of around USD 38 million (approximately INR 312 crore).
Directed by: Im Dae-woong
Cast: Lee Jae-in, Kim Woo-seok, Choi Ye-bin
Episodes: 12
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: The second-year students of Yooil High School get trapped in a deadly mafia game during their field trip. With the students being forced to participate in the game, class president Kim Jun-hee (Kim) begins forming an elaborate plan for their survival.
Directed by: Kim Jin-min
Cast: Kim Dong-hee, Park Ju-hyun, Jung Da-bin, Nam Yoon-su
Episodes: 8
IMDb rating: 7.6
Synopsis: Four high school students get entangled in a series of conflicts after one of them commits a serious crime. The events following that incident challenge the group’s human values and morality.
About the show: This psychological crime drama thriller was the ninth most-watched South Korean show on Netflix in 2020.
8 /9
Directed by: Lee Eung-bok Jang Young-woo and Park So-hyun
Cast: Song Kang, Lee Jin-uk, Park Gyu-young, Lee Do-hyun
Episodes: 10
IMDb rating: 7.3
Synopsis: Traumatised by his family’s death, introverted Cha Hyun-soo (Song) moves to a new apartment in the Green Home complex. In a series of mysterious events, Hyun-soo along with a few neighbours, are turned into monsters. However, when others start killing the human residents, Hyun-soo trains his mind to control the monster and decides to fight on behalf of humanity.
About the show: One of the best apocalyptic psychological thriller Korean dramas, Sweet Home is adapted from the 2017 webcomic of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan.
9 /9
Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jeong-min
Episodes: 6
IMDb rating: 6.6
Synopsis: People in South Korea start hearing random predictions about their deaths. When the time arrives, a death angel appears and condemns them to hell. A group of unearthly beings then slaughters them. Soon, this ghastly practice gives rise to a new religion called Saejinrihwe, which has notorious notions about righteousness.
About the show: This psychological horror thriller is the first Korean drama to make it to the Toronto International Film Festival. It premiered in the “Primetime program of TV series” of the festival on 9 September 2021.
(Hero and featured image: Courtesy Netflix)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What is the best psychological thriller K-drama on Netflix right now?
Some of the best Korean psychological thrillers on Netflix are Hellbound, The Glory, Squid Game, Sweet Home and Beyond Evil.
– Which Korean series is full of suspense on Netflix?
Some of the best suspense K-dramas are My Name, Squid Game, Gyeongseong Creature, Sweet Home, Hellbound and Extracurricular.
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