K-dramas remain among the most popular elements of pop culture around the world. And now that Netflix is investing in K-dramas, the platform is spending a lot of money to produce and broadcast some of the most beloved East Asian series globally. The age of television at its peak means not only sorting through an immense amount of English-language domestic television options, but also a constant stream of foreign dramas, including those from Korea.
Here’s a diverse selection of K-dramas that translates into genre diversity, including a superhero family series, a “Squid Game”-style dark comedy, and a teen revenge drama. This also means a diversity of output formats. Some of the K-dramas mentioned below have already aired but are releasing new episodes every week, while others are upcoming but will release all their episodes at once.
1- The A Family
Date de sortie: from May 4 to June 9
Number of episodes: 8
Recommended for fans of: “Moving”, “My Roommate is a Gumiho”
Last year, Hulu’s K-drama “Moving” demonstrated that some of the best superhero stories take place outside of the United States. This year, Netflix is also getting in on the action, offering a story about a family of people with superpowers who struggle to maintain their extraordinary abilities in a modern world ripe for conditions like depression, insomnia, bulimia and smartphone addiction.
Jang Ki-yong (from “My Roommate is a Gumiho”) plays single father Bok Gwi-ju, a time traveler. When Gwi-ju begins to suffer from depression after the loss of his wife, he loses his power to travel through time. Meanwhile, the rest of his family also struggles to maintain their superpowers. When the mysterious Do Da-hee (from “The 8 Show,” played by Chun Woo-hee) enters Gwi-ju’s life, things start to change in unexpected ways.
2- The 8 Show
Date de sortie: May 17
Number of episodes: 8
Recommended for fans of: “Squid Game”, “Alice in Borderland”, this episode of “Doctor Who”
If you have seen the trailer or the first episode of “The 8 Show”, you might think that it is a pure plagiarism of “Squid Game”. Although Netflix’s new K-drama features some direct visual echoes of the cultural phenomenon, like Escher-style staircases or numbered uniforms, the series is actually adapted from an existing webtoon story called “Money Game.”
While there may be similarities between “Squid Game” and “The 8 Show,” there are also some fundamental differences. For starters, the cast of “The 8 Show” is much smaller, making the interpersonal dynamics much more focused. In the K-drama, eight people are invited to participate in a reality TV show called “Money Game.” If all eight people manage to live in an eight-story concrete fortress for 100 days, they split the winnings equally, which starts at 44,8 billion won (or about $33,6 million).
To survive in the game, the party may decide to spend money on necessities such as food, water, and electricity, but this is deducted from the winnings, and the cost is multiplied by 1 compared to the normal price. Another fundamental difference lies in the respective tones of the broadcasts. While “Squid Game” has its moments of comedy, for the most part it is played like a serious drama. From what we see in the trailer for “The 000 Show,” the K-drama is much more of a dark comedy, with a visual style highlighting some of the absurdities of the situation in a hyperbolic way.
3- Hierarchy
Date de sortie: 7 June
Number of episodes: 7
Recommended for fans of: “Elite”, “Gossip Girl”, “SKY Castle”, “The Heirs”, “The Glory”
In the great tradition of “Elite” from “Gossip Girl” before it, comes the next era of rich-kid teen drama. “Hierarchy” is a revenge romance that follows a group of students at Jooshin High School, a Korean private school for the top 1% of the population.
The series stars Lee Chae-min (of “Crash Course in Romance”) as Kang Ha, a mysterious transfer student who doesn’t seem to come from the same ultra-privileged background as the rest of the student, but who could have its own motivations. Roh Jeong-eui (from “Badland Hunters”) also stars as Jung Jae-yi, the first daughter of a powerful chaebol. Directed by Bae Hyun-jin (also director of “Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow”) and written by Chu Hye-mi (of “About Time”), “Hierarchy” has everything to become one of the biggest hits of Summer K-drama.
4- The Frog
Date de sortie: To be announced
Number of episodes: 8
Recommended for fans of: “The Bequeathed”, “The World of the Married”
Originally known as “Alone in the Woods,” “The Frog” is a dark psychological drama set in two different time periods in the same rural region of South Korea. Kim Yoon-seok (from “The Chaser”, “Another Child”) plays Jeon Young-ha, a man running a motel in the year 2000. Yoon Kye-sang (from “Road Number One”) plays Koo Sang-joon , a man running a guesthouse in the same region in 2021. When these two men find themselves faced with the same scenario, two decades apart, they make different choices. Go Min-so from “Sweet Home” will also play the role of Yoo Seong-ha.
The story will unfold over eight episodes and appears to be focused on suspense. “The World of the Married” director “Mo Wan II” is at the helm of this project. “The World of the Married” is one of the most successful cable K-dramas of all time, showcasing complex psychological tension effectively throughout the series. In other words, there’s a good chance it’ll be scary in the best way possible.
5- Season 3 of Sweet Home
Date de sortie: To be announced
Number of episodes: To be announced
Recommended for fans of: “Parasytec: The Grey”, “Hellbound”
When “Sweet Home”, an adaptation of the webtoon of the same name, was released in December 2020, it became the first K-drama to make Netflix’s Top 10. This led to back-to-back shooting of seasons 2 and 3, as well as a notable increase in the budget for this horror film about a monstrous apocalypse and the humans, monsters and hybrids who struggle to survive within it.
Song Kang stars as Cha Hyun-su, an orphaned teenager who loses all will to live when the apocalypse breaks out. As he evolves into something new, he finds new purpose in protecting the family he found at the Green Home Apartments.
Season 2 was released in December 2023 and was not as popular as the first season, which was released at the start of the pandemic, but with an ambitious story intended to conclude in Season 3, more Song Kang (which is currently on mandatory military service), and the return of fan favorite Lee Do-hyun to the action, this conclusion has the opportunity to bring viewers back.