Summary
- South Korean media has gained global traction with movies, TV shows, and Manhwa.
- Streaming services now offer a wide range of Korean productions, old and new.
- Popular Korean series like "Hellbound," "Sweet Home," and "Squid Game" offer unique, captivating plots.
South Korean media has finally broken through into mainstream media on a global level, starting with popular movies like Parasite, and continuing with Manwha and a variety of popular TV series. Several streaming services have also caught on and offer several of the best and most recent productions from Korea, which include live-action along with animated shows, games, and webtoons.
There are so many different Korean television shows to watch now, it's hard to decide which are the best, especially considering there were plenty of series that fans had to look for before the genre became more popular. Luckily, streaming services often include older shows in their libraries along with new offerings.
8 Best Korean Movies For Beginners
For those looking to dive into the world of Korean cinema, here are some of the best movies to check out.
6 Hellbound
Strange Prophecies Of The Afterlife
Hellbound
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2021 - 2024-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Network
- Netflix
The bizarre, shocking, and mysterious occult themes that form the plot of Hellbound are connected to broader questions about daily life, not always about the horror of sudden, violent, and fiery death. In a plot that's both horror and dystopian, society starts to crumble when confronted by mysterious entities called "angels" that appear to predict a person's death, and then appear again as demons to carry out the execution at the time cited.
Certain powers in society compete between understanding these mysterious events, and using terror to control people. Religious influencers rise to push out law enforcement and forensic scientists, and things turn violent even without the presence of the mysterious death demons.
5 Sweet Home
A Vision Of The Apocolypse
Sweet Home
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2020 - 2024-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
This series begins with an apocalypse on a personal level when the main character Cha Hyun-su loses his whole family and ends up alone in an apartment complex called Green Home. When monsters appear, he and his neighbors hunker down in their apartment complex and fight them off, assuming this is some kind of alien threat.
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However, the twist is that these "monsters" are actually people, as Hyun-su finds out when his neighbors start to become strange creatures depending on their own hidden desires. He has a similar experience when he discovers that he can turn into a winged monster, but unlike many of his peers, he can change back and forth at will.
4 Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
A Complex Series About Love, Justice, And Writing
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2019 - 2019-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
Korea's Joseon Dynasty was a time of prosperity and wealth for some, but women and the poor had few opportunities in Korean society during this time period. The story of Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung is split into two different timelines. One took place 20 years ago and revleals some mysteries about the present day, and the other features the titular character.
Recording history is important, but what's more important is that this history is accurate, and not solely the narrative of the rich and the powerful. This show is about individuals following their own destinies instead of simply filling in the roles society made for them.
3 Signal
Revising A Cold Case
Signal
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2016 - 2016-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
For those who love crime drama and mystery, and both are popular genres these days, Signal is a combination of both and was one of the highest-rated shows in Korea when it was released. It's the story of a 20-year-old cold case that is opened again when Park Hae-young, a professional criminal profiler, picks up a walkie-talkie and hears a voice from the past.
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Detective Jae-han, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances 15 years before the show begins, helps Hae-young solve a cold case involving a childhood friend. This prompts the formation of a team of cold-case investigators which includes another detective, Cha Soo-hyun, Jae-hun's lost love, and she's been looking for him for almost 20 years.
2 Kingdom
A Horror Period Piece
Kingdom
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2019 - 2020-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Cast
- Ju Ji-Hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong, Kim Sang-Ho, Kim Sung-kyun, Bae Doo-na, Kim Hye-jun
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
At a time when zombies were almost everywhere in popular media, it was Kingdom that put the undead in a historical drama. Taking place in the 17th century, the final decades of the Joseon Period, this visceral story is one of dark fantasy, occult, and political drama.
When the politicians of the time refused to acknowledge a mysterious sickness taking hold in the north, Prince Chang sets out to begin his own investigation. His path eventually leads them to a small village with a lone survivor, herbalist Seo-bi, who thinks she might know the source of the sickness and how to cure it. There's also a prequel movie called Ashin of the North for those who are interested in Kingdom's backstory.
1 Squid Game
It's All Fun And Gambling Until Someone Dies
Squid Game
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2021 - 2025
- Network
- Netflix
- Main Genre
- Mystery
Squid Game was the series that brought Korean dramas into the mainstream, combining a chilling dystopian vision of current society. There isn't a country in the world where the rents aren't high and groceries aren't expensive, never mind all the other bills everyone pays, so winning a lot of money is something everyone understands.
When Seong Gi-hun is offered a chance to play the game and win a big prize, he decides to participate, but he doesn't know that losing a game means death, with the prize money increasing every time someone dies. It turns out this is sordid entertainment for those donating the prize money. When Gi-hun returns three years later to try and put a stop to the game, nobody believes him when he talks about how dangerous it is.
24 Best Korean Webtoons
Manhwa are a nice change of pace for fans of traditional anime and manga. Here are some of the best series to start with.