Do you often get butterflies watching certain Kdramas? Did you ever smile watching a drama? Then what about having goosebumps? Today I am here to give you goosebumps mentioning some dramas. Certainly, there is a genre called Thriller, that haunts us and torments us till the end. Thriller dramas entertain us in a unique way that pressurizes our brains to think about the mysteries or hidden logic lying in the story. Today I will tell you about the Korean dark thriller dramas here. Korean thrillers not only feed the audience suspense or dark storylines, they also include themes of betrayal, revenge, traumas and so much more. With the unforgettable blending of good and bad, truth and wrong with a bold storyline makes them perfect and a strong obsession for the thriller lovers. Now let’s talk about some of these unforgettable thrillers below.
What Defines a Dark Thriller in Korean Dramas?
What makes a drama be called a dark thriller? Dark thrillers are usually a story that blends psychological intensity and moral complexity full of suspense. Where normal thriller dramas are full of action scenes or mystery but dark thriller is not only about action and suspense but it also deals with the dark side of human nature. If we define a drama as a dark thriller some things definitely come first such as:
- Morally ambiguous characters
- Intense psychological themes (revenge, fear, guilt, obsession etc)
- blending of good and evil
- Exploration of Social Issues and Corruption
- Moody cinematography
- Unpredictable plot twists
- Themes of justice and retribution
Top Korean Thriller Dramas with Unforgettable Dark Storylines
With all the characteristics above let’s make a short list of the top most dark thriller dramas and then we will have a brief discussion on these dramas.
Shortlist:
- Black
- Voice
- Tunnel
- Signal
- Beyond Evil
- My Name
- Blind
- Black Out
- Mouse
- An Ordinary Day
These are today’s dramas that we are going to discuss, let’s start.
Black (2017)
Cast: Song Seung Heon, Go Ara and others.
Episodes: 18
This dark thriller actually blends with fantasy as we can see a Grim Reaper possessing a human body.
Han Moo Gang is a young detective who is passionate about his job. He meets a woman named Kang Ha Ram, who can foresee death, she sees death as a shadow. With this ability, Ha Ram wants to save people but no one trusts her, it’s only Detective Moo Gang who trusts her and offers her to solve cases together to help people. Suddenly the detective dies but he comes back to life again as a Grim Reaper possesses the dead body of Moo Gang. Together both of them proceed to solve mysterious cases together.
Voice (2017)
Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Ha Na and others.
Episodes: 16
Moon Jin Hyuk, who was a successful detective, lost the willpower to live his own life. When his loving wife was killed by a serial killer he punished himself. He saved so many cases and saved so many people but he couldn’t save his own wife, this guilt haunted him everywhere, so he left everything and started finding the killer.
On the other hand, Kang Kwang Joo graduated from a police academy and started working at an emergency call center. Her father was a police sergeant who was killed while investigating a murder case. All these Kwan Joo heard over a phone call. As she only knows the voice of the killer, to find him Kwan Joo becomes a professional voice profiler. After years, Detective Jin Hyuk and Kwang Joo meet and pledge to find the killer who murdered their family members.
Note: This drama has a total of 4 seasons as, Voice, Voice 2, Voice 3, Voice 4.
Tunnel (2017)
Cast: Choi Jin Hyuk, Yoon Hyun Min, Lee Yoo Young and others.
Episodes: 16
Park Gwang Ho is a successful and skillful detective. In 1986, park Gwang Ho got involved in a mysterious murder case that entirely changed his life. He finds himself traveling 30 years in the future after going through a tunnel. After 30 years of his time in 2016, he meets an elite detective named Kim Seon Jae, who later becomes his partner in investigation. They are finding out that one serial killer whom Park Gwang Ho was chasing 30 years back. Finding this heinous serial killer Professor Shin Jae Yi helps both the detectives. Shin Jae Yi is a professional psychologist.
Together these three unveil the mysterious case.
Signal (2016)
Cast: Lee Je Hoo, Kim Hye Soo, Cho Jin Woong and others.
Episodes: 16
Park Hae Young is a hotheaded yet successful police officer who unexpectedly finds a walkie talkie. On the other side of the walkie talkie, he talks to a man and realizes this device got a signal from the past. The man whom Park Hae Young talks to is Lee Jae Han who is also a detective who is in the timeline from 1989 to 2000. With the help of Lee Jae Han, Park Hae Young solved so many unsolved cases. Here we have another character Cha Soo Hyun who is the first female police officer of the Special Task Force. She is also the leader of the cold case squad. She has been searching for Lee Jae Han for so long, who was her mentor and she had a strong one-sided feeling for him.
Beyond Evil (2021)
Cast: Shin Ha Kyun, Yeo Jin Goo and others.
Episodes: 16
The story focuses on two police officers who are determined to unfold a murder case.
Lee Dong Sik once was a veteran police officer but currently, he lives in a small town as a police officer in Manyang Police Substation. Along with that, he is searching for the killer of his twin sister.
One day a young police officer, Han Joo Won comes to that small town with a rich background. He is good to everyone except for Dong Sik. He for some reason suspects Dong Sik for killing his own sister, which doesn’t make sense at all. The police chief notices their bad term of relationship, he makes them a team and lets them solve a cold case together. Finding the main culprit they even suspect their own human nature and become so restless that they question themselves.
My Name (2021)
Cast: Han So Hee, Park Hee Soon, Ahn Bo Hyun and others.
Episodes: 8
Yoon Ji Woo lives with her father, but her father is kinda mysterious to her. One day her father was killed before her eyes. And after that incident, she realizes how much both father and daughter loved each other. Now Yoon Ji Woo is determined to get her revenge. She wants to find the killer and wants to kill him. Ji Woo then meets a gangster leader Choi Mu Jin who calls himself the most trusted friend of her father. Choi Mu Jin teaches her how to fight and makes her physically and emotionally strong to kill the murderer of her father. Moo Jin then sends her to the police to be an informer of him. Their Ji Woo meets Jeon Pil Do and they become partners in solving drug-related cases. Soon she faces the truth behind her father’s death and she gets the biggest shock of her life.
Blind (2022)
Cast: Ok Taecyeon, Ha Seokjin, Jung Eun Ji and others.
Episodes: 16
The story starts with an orphanage called Hope. In the name of an orphanage children were captivated and tortured brutally. After so many years the authorities, who were connected with that very orphanage, were losing their loved ones. A serial killer came out and was killing people brutally. Here Ryu Sung Joon, who is a detective, takes the case to unveil the killer. At a point, Ryu Sung Joon, his brother Ryu Sung Hoon who is a renowned judge and Jo Eun Ki, a social worker get involved in the serial murder case. This drama is full of twists and turns and the ending is so unpredictable.
Black Out (2024)
Cast: Byun Yo Han, Ko Jun, Kim Bo Ra, Go Bo Gyeol and others.
Episodes: 14
This drama is set in a small town called Muchon, focusing on a group of friends who always hang out together. Jung Woo was the most loved friend of that group, but suddenly one morning he got arrested for killing two of his friends in his warehouse. But Jung Woo can not remember anything that happened last night. As a punishment, he got 10 years of jail. When he was in jail Choi Na Kyeom, who was a friend of Jung Woo supported him to overcome the pain. After he got released he started finding the dead bodies of his two murdered friends and also wanted to find out what exactly happened that night, because he knows in any situation he could not kill his friends. Though no one liked him or wanted him in the town anymore he insisted on staying here. To find the real culprit, a detective, No Sang Cheol and a medical student Ha Seol help Jung Woo. They lastly find out some unbelievable connections to the murder case, and Jung Woo cannot believe himself after finding all the culprits because he always thought of them like his own family.
Mouse (2021)
Cast: Lee Seung Gi, Lee Hee Joon, Park Ju Hyun and others.
Episodes: 20
This drama deals with the story of a psychopath killer. In 1995 there was a serial killer who was known as a headhunter, he brutally killed people and used to cut their heads. One day the killer killed a family but two sons of that family survived and the youngest son saw the killer’s face. Later for him the killer was arrested and that boy became a police officer, Ko Mu Chi. After so many years, in the present day, a serial killer again came out and was killing people just like the headhunter. Ko Mu Chi is determined to catch the killer and in his mission, a rookie cop steps up to help him whose name is Jung Ba Reum. Jung Ba Reum is a kind man and leads a simple life, but as they were going to the depth of that psychopath killer’s case Jung Ba Reum came to know something that changed his entire life.
An Ordinary Day (2021)
Cast: Kim Soo Hyun, Cha Seung Won and others.
Episodes: 8
Kim Hyun Soo is a university student who is young and handsome. One day he was going to hang out with his friends and took his father’s taxi. A woman mistakes that taxi as an on-duty taxi. That night Hyun Soo makes a grave mistake following that woman. That night something unfortunate happened and Hyun Soo was suspected of murder. Hyun Soo believes he did not do anything but no one trusts him except for a third-rate lawyer named Shin Joong Han. He somehow passed the bar exam and almost has no cases in his hand. He comes forward and takes the case of Kim Hyun Soo. And together they face many legal problems and come to an end.
Cultural Appeal of Dark Narratives
Not only in Korea but people all over the world like to watch dark story based drama because this kind of drama is not actually for entertainment but it focuses more on human nature, which easily attracts the attention of the viewers. This kind of drama appeals to our minds more than our hearts.
Korean dark thrillers reflect societal struggles such as corruption, class discrimination and abuse of power. It also deals with the vulnerable emotions of humans like fear, anger, depression, mental issues and so on which connects the ordinary viewers with the story and even the characters of dark thrillers.
In the world of entertainment where people are going for love, romance or entertainment, Thriller lovers find stories that can engage their minds with something that is worth their time. They often choose psychological thriller dramas or dark thrillers because of the inner struggle that they feel in living in a corrupt society. Sometimes they come out as a teacher and teach us a life lesson. And if you want some dramas that can change your views and thoughts and questions you about it then these dramas are just for you.