The Best Thriller and Suspense K-Dramas of 2020
Metro’s favorites, from “Flower of Evil” to “The World of the Married”
2020 had us at the edge of our seats, literally, and with some fantastic thriller and suspense K-dramas, too! From action-packed limited series such as Kingdom 2 and Extracurricular to the nail-biting dramas like The World of the Married and Flower of Evil—this year’s crop of thriller and suspense dramas were on another level of wow, wouldn't you agree?
The Best Thriller and Suspense K-Dramas of 2020
The Best Thriller and Suspense K-Dramas of 2020
Extracurricular
This ten episode limited series came out in summer and boy, we were hooked. Kim Dong-He plays Ji Soo, a model high school student who makes a bad decision in order to pay for his university tuition fee, This leads to a serious crime that takes place.
Extracurricular
Min-Hee (Jung Da-Bin) and Kyu-Ri (Park Joo-Hyun) attend the same high school as he does and somehow they get involved in Ji-Soo's crime. The story has blackmail, blood, and thrill—is there anything more you can ask for? Watch it on Netflix.
Kingdom Season 2
Everyone's favorite zombie thriller series did not disappoint with season 2 where the series picks up where it left off in Sangju.
Kingdom Season 2
In the early episodes, we see Prince Chang (Ju Ji Hoon) face a few unexpected setbacks and also, armed with a select few along with Lord Ahn, storm into Mungyeong Saejae—where a nightmare unfolds. Heart-pumping and gore abound, season 2 was definitely worth the watch and we already can't wait for its third season. Watch Kingdom S2 on Netflix.
Awaken
Though it just premiered, Awaken has had us hooked for its heady mix of romance and mystery. The story is about digging through the secrets of mysterious events that occurred in a village 28 years ago, that are somehow linked to the mysterious events happening in the present.
Awaken
Do Jung-woo (Namkoong Min) is a special team leader of the National Police Agency who is capable of writing a legend. Gong Hye-won (Kim Seol-hyun) is an avid police officer who does not choose any means and methods, and is a special team inspector at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Watch this drama on Viu.
Train
A story of parallel universes, crime, and tracking down killers—Train has a lot going for it in terms of thrill. Starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Kyung Soo-jin and Shin So-yul, the 12-episode drama focuses its story on Seo Do-won (Yoon Shi-yoon), a hard-hitting detective who fearlessly dives into his work and gets the job done.
Train
He is relentless and good at his job... but when the woman he loves becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, his world completely changes. On a mission to figure out the truth behind her death in his world, he travels between the two worlds together with Han Seo-kyung (Kyung Soo-jin) who helps him find the killer in one world and protect his love in the other. Watch Train on Viu.
Flower of Evil
In Flower of Evil, all is not what it seems... at least at first. Detective Cha (Moon Chae Won) uncovers the true identity and past of her husband, Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi), when she and her colleagues begin investigating a series of unexplained murders.
Flower of Evil
Somehow, her seemingly perfect husband is intertwined with these mysterious murders and she confronts the fact that he may be hiding something from her. Highly rated and one of Metro's sure-fire favorite dramas of 2020—tune in for a gripping mix of crime, romance, and mystery! Watch this must-see drama on Viu and iQIYI.
The Penthouse: War in Life
Directed by Joo Dong-min and written by Kim Soon-ok, this intense drama spins the story of real estate and education war, a desire to be number one. It depicts the solidarity and revenge of women who had no choice but to choose bad decisions and, in turn, become "evil" in order to protect the welfare of their children and that of their own.
The Penthouse: War in Life
The story focuses on three women: Shim Su-ryeon (Lee Ji-ah), Cheon Seo-jin (Kim So-yeon), and Oh Yoon-hee (Eugene) who dream of nothing but success and ambition, and who will stop at nothing to make those dreams come true. Watch this intense, ongoing drama on Viu.
Alice
Equal parts action and sci-fi, the drama tells the tale of magical time travel to a system called Alice. It follows Park Jin-Gyeom (Joo Won) who is a detective who born unable to have emotions. While attempting to solve a series of cases, he becomes the first person to find out about time travelers who came from the future through Alice.
Alice
In the middle of his struggles to fight difficult situations that occur due to the existence of this time traveling system, he has a fateful reunion with Yoon Tae-Yi (Kim Hee-sun), a woman who resembles someone in his life who has long been dead. Watch Alice on Viu.
Tale of the Nine Tailed
We love Lee Dong Wook and look forward to his projects so when Tale of the Nine Tailed came out, we were first to jump on its wagon! It follows the story of Lee Yeon, a male gumiho (a nine-tailed fox) and former guardian of Baekdudaegan forest, lover of Ah-eum and half-brother of Lee Rang, who had swore to eradicate supernatural beings that harm the mortal world in exchange for Ah-eum's reincarnation.
Tale of the Nine Tailed
After centuries of searching, he found Ah-eum's reincarnation in the present: Nam Ji-ah. He swore to protect Ji-ah at all costs so she could live longer in this lifetime... but does he succeed? Full of great CGI, heart-pumping action scenes, and cool storytelling—we can't think of any reason you would miss this drama of 2020. Watch this fantasy drama starring Lee Dong Wook, Jo Bo-ah, and Kim Bum, on Viu.
Private Lives
Go Kyung-pyo fresh off of military service and Girls Generation Seohyun together in a crime drama? Count us in! Private Lives tells the story of a group of swindlers who stumble upon a secret sinister surveillance scheme that could ultimately harm the nation.
Private Lives
Using their skills and conning techniques, they decide to go up against a huge conglomerate to reveal a major “private life"—will they prove successful in this? The series is available to stream on Netflix.
The World of the Married
Who *didn't* watch The World of the Married, yet? It was arguably this year's most talked about drama and is the highest rated drama in Korean cable television history. It tells the story of a married couple whose betrayal of one another leads to a whirlwind of revenge, grief, forgiveness, and ultimately healing.
The World of the Married
Kim Hee-ae as Doctor Ji Sun-woo is more than enough reason to tune in—this performance won her a well-deserved Best Actress at this year's Baeksang Arts Awards—but the drama's direction, production, and ensemble cast are great reasons, too. We loved the intense storytelling which featured betrayal on all fronts, retribution, and healing. The drama is available to watch on Viu and Netflix.
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