Think of South Korean dramas and you’ll most likely conjure up the image of heart-fluttering scenes or tear-jerking breakups brought to life by gorgeous actors. Crash Landing on You? A heartwarming love story between a heiress from South Korea and a soldier from North Korea. Its Okay to Not Be Okay? An unlikely romance between an antisocial children’s book writer and a psychiatric ward caretaker. While these rom-coms make for some great feel-good K-drama bingeing, multiple other non-romantic Korean drama shows like Squid Game (2021), The Glory (2022) and The Whirlwind (2024) have hardly anything to do with love stories. So if you are looking to expand your repertoire of South Korean dramas beyond romance, this list is for you.
Leading the list of the best non-romantic K-drama shows is the 2021 Netflix global hit Squid Game. A global phenomenon, the show garnered more than 1.65 billion hours of viewership in the first 28 days of release. Additionally, it 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.
Another title making it to the best non-romantic shows list is Ahn Gil-ho’s 2022 Korean psychological thriller drama, The Glory. Replete with mind games and spectacular performances by protagonists Son Hye-kyo and Lim Ji-yeon, the show was consistent in maintaining its position on the top 10 all-time Non-English TV series list on Netflix, with over 436.90 million hours watched in the first 28 days of release.
Not to forget the Song Kang starrer 2020 show Sweet Home, which is a Korean drama adaptation of the webtoon of the same name, written by Kim Carnby and illustrated by Hwang Young-chan, Sweet Home season 1 was viewed by over 22 million subscribers worldwide in the first four weeks of its release. The apocalyptic horror drama appeared in the Netflix top 10 in more than 70 countries. Eventually, it made history as the first Korean series to top the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) list.
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Stream-worthy non-romantic Korean dramas to watch now
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Directed by: Kim Yong-wan
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Hee-ae, Kim Hong-pa, Lee Hae-young
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 5 minutes
Synopsis: South Korea’s Prime Minister Park Dang-ho (Sol) is forced to press corruption charges against the president of their country. Following this, Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Jung Soo-jin (Kim) opposes his action. Soon, a fierce political battle ensues between the powerful duo.
About the show: This Korean mystery thriller drama is written by Empire of Gold fame scriptwriter Park Kyung-soo.
Directed by: Kim Chul-gyu
Cast: Park Gyu-young, Kang Min-hyuk, Lee Chung-ah
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 10 minutes
Synopsis: Cosmetics salesperson Seo A-ri (Park) has always been a fashion enthusiast and is keen on having a following and rubbing shoulders with social media influencers. Soon her Instagram grabs attention for her budget-friendly DIY outfits, and she ends up gaining numerous followers. However, A-ri’s success doesn’t go well with a few powerful influencers, and the former soon gets devoured by the uglier side of fame.
Directed by: Jason Kim
Cast: Woo Do-Hwan, Park Sung-Woong, Heo Jun-Ho, Lee Sang-Yi
Episodes: 8
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 14 minutes
Synopsis: Boxers Gun-Woo (Woo) and Woo-Jin (Lee) team up with moneylender Choi (Heo) to bring down an evil loan shark Myung-Gil (Park). However, the pursuit of Myung-Gil leads the boxers to the corrupt world of private loans and the duo ends up getting caught in a web of lies.
About the show: This noir action K-drama is based on the Korean webtoon of the same name by Jeong Chan.
Directed by: Sim Na-yeon
Cast: Lee Do-hyun, Ra Mi-ran, Ahn Eun-jin, Yoo In-soo, Seo Yi-sook
Episodes: 14
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 12 minutes
Synopsis: Single mother Jin Young-soon (Ra) struggles hard to give her son Choi Kang-ho (Lee) a good life. Later, Kang-ho becomes a renowned prosecutor and cuts ties with his mother. However, a fatal accident forces Kang-ho to go back to Young-soon’s care. Will this reunion help heal their strained relationship?
Directed by: Sung Yong-Il
Cast: Shin Hyun-soo, Lee Soon-won,
Lim Se-mi
Episodes: 10
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 10 minutes
Synopsis: Keeping in mind an ongoing alien attack on earth, the Korean government orders universities and high schools to organise student reserve forces to increase their military power. When allotted a high school of 2nd and 3rd graders, platoon leader Lee Choon-ho (Shin), sergeant Kim Won-bin (Lee) and Park Eun-young (Lim) together try to keep things at bay throughout the human-alien war.
About the show: It is based on the 2012 webtoon Banggwa Hoo Jeonjaenghwaldong by Ha Il-Kwon.
Directed by: Kim Dae-jin and Kim Jung-wook
Cast: Uhm Jung-hwa, Myung Se-bin, Kim Byung-chul, Song Ji-ho
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 5 minutes
Synopsis: After years of being a married homemaker, Cha Jung-sook (Uhm) returns to medical school. While on the journey to fulfil her dreams, she has to make a lot of sacrifices. But Jung-sook is determined to change her fate and decides to give it her all.
Directed by: Ahn Gil-ho
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 11 minutes
Synopsis: Years after being abused in high school, Moon Dong-eun (Song) hatches a deadly plan to avenge her bullies. Her biggest target is the bully group’s leader, Park Yeon-jin (Lim). Helping Dong-eun in her mission is her lover, Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee).
About the show: This non-romantic revenge K-drama took home the Best Drama Award at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2023.
Directed by: Lee JQ, Chun Sung-il and Kim Nam-su
Cast: Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-young, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 11 minutes
Synopsis: Hyosan High School students find themselves in the midst of bloodshed when a fellow mate returns from the science lab with a strange infection. Soon, the teenagers find themselves trapped in a mysterious zombie outbreak.
About the show: This horror K-drama is based on the 2009 webtoon Now At Our School by Joo Dong-geun. The show was watched for more than 474.26 million hours in the first 30 days of its release.
Directed by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Gong Yoo, Jung Ho-yeon, Wi Ha-joon, Oh Yeong-su
Episodes: 10
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 8 minutes
Synopsis: A total of 456 debt-ridden people are recruited into a series of games held in a mysterious place in Korea. Eventually, the players risk their lives to play multiple levels of children’s games that end with a deadly twist. The one making it alive in the end wins a sum of USD 38 million (approx. SGD 51 million) as a reward.
About the show: Squid Game has been renewed for a season 2, and according to Netflix, is all set to premiere worldwide in the second half of 2024.
Directed by: Lee Dan
Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Kim Eui-sung, Pyo Ye-jin, Jang Hyuk-jin, Bae Yoo-ram
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 20 minutes
Synopsis: A team called ‘Rainbow Taxi’ led by Kim Do-gi (Lee) seeks revenge and delivers justice to the victims who are snubbed by the law in South Korea.
About the show: One of the most famous Korean television dramas, Taxi Driver is based on the webtoon The Deluxe Taxi by Carlos and Keukeu Jae-jin.
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This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India
(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Netflix)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Some of the best K-dramas without romance are 'Squid Game', 'The Glory', 'Taxi Driver', 'Celebrity' and 'Duty After School'.
