10 Best Horror K-Dramas

Horror K-dramas bring together the best of both worlds—horror and drama—while also exploring complex human emotions and relationships. There is something exceptional about the blend of suspense, emotion, and cultural influences in these shows.

Fear is the usual analogy in horror K-dramas for exploring societal issues, interpersonal challenges, and cultural worries, like gender roles, social inequity, and conformity demands. Horror K-dramas offer a viewing experience that, I think, goes beyond regular entertainment by juxtaposing these issues with the realm of horror.

 As the genre continues to evolve, we can only look forward to higher-quality horror K-dramas on the horizon. The 10 best thus far are listed below.

Save Me (2017)

Save Me‘s horror stems from its representation of obscurity, complexity, and suspense. We witness Im Sang-mi (Seo Yea-ji), who moves to a hamlet with her family and soon finds herself enmeshed in a religious cult that impersonates a traditional church but has more sinister, darker agendas to control its most devout members.

Seo’s eloquent delivery perfectly depicts Sang-mi’s sense of hopelessness and despair as she turns to four men for help before she and her family further succumb to the charismatic leader of the religious cult’s influence.

Save Me adopts an innovative approach to the horror genre that is consistent with the quality of Korean horror content. The suspense and deafening thrill make it instinctively powerful.

The Guest (2018)

A psychic, a priest, and a detective band together to hunt for an imposing foul spirit that destroyed their loved ones in this story of shamanism and exorcism.

The narrative is vivid and poignant, hooking you and filling you with an overwhelming experience of horror. 

The characters’ search drives the story to its culmination, which makes us reflect on and consider humanity as we follow the events that transpire. 

Kingdom (2019)

A corpse king awakens and unleashes a mystery plague in this stellar K-zombie drama series, offering a startling peek into the corrupt intentions of the ruling class that cause suffering for all. Joseon’s crown prince, Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), now needs to face a wave of terrifying foes for the good of his people.

Lee finds allies amid the upheaval and crisis who strive to protect Sangju, a city-state in central South Korea’s North Gyeongsang Province, lest the virus spread more, only to learn that it has already mutated. 

As the outbreak wreaks havoc, the second season opens with Lee fighting to save his kingdom and its citizens from the wily schemes of the evil Haewon Cho clan. 

In how class disparities reinforce pervasive administrative ineptitude amid the rise of zombies—a fantastic social metaphor—Kingdom, with its horror element, hits effectively.

The Cursed (2020)

Im Jin-hee (Uhm Ji-won), a passionate reporter, covers a contentious matter involving Forest, an immense Korean IT firm whose chairman practices shamanism. As Jin-hee investigates, she uncovers a spiritual consulting service associated with Forest. Meanwhile, Jin-hee meets Baek So-jin (Jung Ji-so), a teenage girl with a spirit possessing her but an uncanny capacity to summon death; she is wrestling with unprecedentedly bizarre situations.

The Cursed is a gripping plot that serves as the bedrock of a good horror thriller. It puts up an immersive and intimidating experience, from its paranormal component to the spectral unknown aspect to a psychological thrill that probes the deepest recesses of the human mind.

Sweet Home (2020)

This is a bloodbath of eerie graphics, the best special effects, and subtle messages—a post-apocalyptic horror epic whose deftly staged mayhem and shocks presage its sequels. 

In the first season, Sweet Home becomes a house of horrors when the occupants of the Green Home apartment turn into deadly creatures and viciously butcher humanity.

Cha Hyun-su (Song Kang), caught in the crossfire, starts to sense that he’s not above the danger while developing monstrous impulses. He gradually becomes one with the beast within, evolving into a formidable force.

Happiness (2021)

Detective Jung Yi-hyun (Park Hyung-sik) and Special Agent Yoon Sae-bom (Han Hyo-joo) remain locked up in their apartment complex while probing the breakout of a strange mad disease.

Yi-hyun has been harboring love for Sae-bom for a while now. He still sincerely cares about her, even when she has friend-zoned him. His emotions deepen when they move in together and set up a fictitious marriage while fighting the situation and attempting to prevent the disease from spreading among the building’s residents.

Happiness mixes socio-political irony with panicked, hysterical acts. The romance isn’t particularly pronounced, but you can feel the love in how Park captures the essence of his character, expresses his emotions, and risks all for Sae-bom unconditionally—even if it means getting infected to keep her safe. 

Hellbound (2021)

Hellbound epitomizes the Korean dystopian drama‘s distinctive image of horror. It unfolds in South Korea, becoming ground zero between 2022 and 2027 when an otherworldly face abruptly surfaces through decrees condemning certain people to hell at specific times. The targets are chastised by three massive apparitions who appear at the appointed time, rending and blistering them in an exquisite display. Here is when conspiracy groups like the cult-like New Truth Society and the gang-like Arrowhead group start taking advantage of the panic.

With scenes that are too unforgiving, abhorrent, unnerving, and thought-provoking concurrently, Hellbound is a meticulously made spook of first-rate visual effects.

All of Us Are Dead (2022)

Aspects of modern societal concerns covered in All of Us Are Dead include cybercrime, bullying, and inappropriate usage of social media. The first installment of the series sees students trapped at their school and pushed to contend with a zombie apocalypse from a bungled lab experiment that puts their lives at stake.

The iconic scene of a sea of ravenous zombie students from All of Us Are Dead is a perfect allegory for the fact that students are often victims of a broken system brought on by grown-ups and inept authorities.

Revenant (2023)

Following the acquisition of her deceased father’s belongings, attorney Gu San-yeong (Kim Tae-ri) finds herself overcome by an evil spirit and mired in inexplicable deaths. It takes her to the ghost-seeing Professor Yeom Hae-sang (Oh Jung-se), and in tandem, they unearth the unsettling truth.

With its maze-like looping secrets that grab you while keeping you from learning the facts soon, Revenant is a novel mystery horror thriller. And while it’s not overtly “scary,” its portrayal of a culture beset by boundaries, issues, and suffering scares.

Gyeongseong Creature (2023)

In a cinematic treatment, it evokes the gruesome saga of a monster spawned by greed and cruel intention—an epic tale of affection, allegiance, and relationships braving abject terror and dark secrets.

In the spring of 1945—amid the heyday of Japanese dominance over Korea in Gyeongseong (the older name for Seoul)—we encounter Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon) and Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee), who must face and fight an enigmatic monstrosity and a covert scenario for themselves and many more to live.

A macabre period piece, Gyeongseong Creature is a visual marvel that condenses the ghoulish and tragic facets of good monster fiction. Its ending left us with lingering questions and cliffhangers, especially in the post-credit scenes, whetting our anticipation for a second season, which Netflix has confirmed is coming soon.