PSA: Spooky season is a year-round thing. As it turns out, even the K-drama world, which is typically associated with lovey-dovey rom-coms, actually has a ton of spine-tingling titles to tune into. We're talking gore, monsters, malevolent spirits haunting humans, and more. Ready for a frightening marathon? Check out our list below!
20 of the Best Horror K-Dramas to Watch Now
1. Kingdom (2019)
After Lee Chang's father, the King, contracts a life-threatening disease, he sets off to with his guard to find a physician that can treat his illness. On his journey to save his father, he ends up uncovering a viral disease that could serve as a threat to their entire kingdom. The series is currently ongoing on the streaming platform.
Starring: Joo Ji Hoon, Bae Doona, Ryu Seung Ryong
2. Strangers from Hell (2019)
After accepting a job from his college friend, Yoon Jong Woo leaves his home in the countryside for Seoul. He takes residence in a cheap hostel for six months, built with common areas that he has to share with odd strangers. He thinks nothing of his peculiar neighbors at first, until mysterious events in the apartment building begin to disturb him at night, all perpetrated by the hostel’s less-than-normal residents.
Starring: Im Si Wan, Lee Dong Wook, Lee Jung Eun
3. The Guest (2018)
A psychic born into a shaman family teams up with a scarred Catholic priest, and a skeptical detective to bring down a powerful and terrifying demon named "Son." While tracking the monstrous entity, the trio encounter and try to solve various supernatural crimes committed by creatures not of this world.
Starring: Kim Dong Wook, Kim Jae Wook, Jung Eun Chae
4. Save Me (2017)
Four young men try to save the newcomer in their small town who unknowingly gets involved in a pseudo-religious cult after she and her father seek help from a spiritual medium.
Starring: Seo Ye Ji, Ok Taec Yeon, Woo Do Hwan
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5. Priest (2018)
After his mother dies from being possessed by a demon, the dutiful and lively Oh Soo Min becomes a priest and learns to exorcise spirits to help those in need. Together with his fellow priests and a few doctors, their group is formed to unofficially perform the ritual at a Catholic hospital based in Seoul.
Starring: Yeon Woo Jin, Jung Yoo Mi, Park Yong Woo
6. The Ghost Detective (2018)
Former military man Lee Da Il becomes a detective after being discharged from the military. He handles supernatural cases and soon has to deal with a crime close to home when his assistant's younger sibling dies a mysterious death. As the two work together to uncover the truth, they repeatedly cross paths with an eerie lady in red who keeps on appearing in their crime scenes.
Starring: Choi Daniel, Park Eun Bin, Lee Ji Ah
7. Black (2017)
A detective possessed by the grim reaper breaks his mandate of guiding souls to the afterlife after he involves himself in a slew of cold case murders that happened 20 years ago, and saves lives instead in the process. It doesn’t help that he ends up falling in love with a mortal woman who holds secrets of her own either.
Starring:Song Seung Heon, Go Ah Ra, Lee El
8. Who Are You (2013)
After waking up from a six-year coma Detective Yang Shi Ohn gains the ability to see ghosts by touching the things they’ve left behind. Together with her skeptical rookie partner Cha Gun Woo, she uses her newfound powers to good use by seeking closure for spirits with unresolved businesses on earth so they can pass on to the afterlife.
Starring: So Yi Hyun, Ok Taec Yeon, Kim Jae Wook
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9. The Master’s Sun (2013)
If you need a bit of comedy to lighten the eerie mood, why not give The Master's Sun a shot? Perfect for those with a dark sense of humor, the series tells the peculiar relationship between a stingy CEO named Joo Joong Won and Tae Gong Shil, a woman who, after being involved in an accident, now has the ability to see ghosts.
Starring: Gong Hyo Jin, So Ji Sub, Seo In Guk
10. White Christmas (2011)
Seven students from the private and elite Soo Sin High School—which comprises the top 1% of Korea’s brightest—stay behind at their school for winter break in hopes of advancing their studies. Together with a stranded psychiatrist, the group is snowed in and is unable to leave when they soon find out that a murderer is in their midst.
Starring: Kim Sang Kyung, Baek Sung Hyun, Kim Young Kwang
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11. Gyeongseong Creature Part 1 and Part 2 (2023-2024)
Set in 1940s Seoul, Jang Tae-sang partners up with detective Yoon Chae-ok to investigate a menacing human-made creature locked away in a hospital. Fast forward to modern-day Seoul, Chae-ok continues the case with Ho-jae, who resembles Tae-sang.
Starring: Han So Hee, Park Seo Joon, Wi Ha Joon
12. Sweet Home (2020-2024)
Monsters plague the apartment where an orphaned Cha Hyun-soo resides in. He and his peers persevere to survive, fighting off the creatures with their bare hands. Even as they venture out of their ravaged home, they're instilled to always keep their guard up.
Starring: Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, Oh Jung Se, Lee Do Hyun
13. All of Us Are Dead (2022)
A band of students are trapped inside their school as a horrific zombie virus spreads. They're faced with a challenge to survive, whilst also resolving existing personal issues.
Starring: Park Ji Hu, Yoon Chan Young, Cho Yi Hyun, Lomon, Yoo In Soo
14. Island (2022)
Malevolent spirits wreak havoc around Jeju Island, leaving it up to Johan, a young priest, to stop them in their tracks.
Starring: Cha Eun Woo, Lee Da Hee, Kim Nam Gil
15. Hellbound (2021)
An otherwordly force called the "angel" condemns people on Earth to their eventual demise. Jeong Jin-soo, a cult leader of the New Truth Society, seeks to halt the "angel" from taking on any more innocent lives.
Starring: Yoo Ah In, Kim Hyun Joo, Yang Ik June
16. Happiness (2021)
Set in a near-future high-rise, residents from different backgrounds are forced into lockdown as a new infectious disease spreads. Amid growing fear and distrust, Yoon Sae-Bom, a resolute special police officer, and Jung Yi-Hyun, a detective who harbors feelings for her, fight to survive. They’re aided by Han Tae-Seok, a lieutenant colonel with insights into the outbreak.
Starring: Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Sik, Jo Woo Jin
17. The Cursed (2020)
Reporter Im Jin-Hee investigates a violent case involving Forest, South Korea's top IT company, led by shamanism-practicing chairman Jin Jong-Hyun. She discovers a mysterious spiritual consulting firm connected to Forest, run by Jin Kyung. During her probe, she meets So-Jin, a young girl with supernatural abilities, who helps her uncover the dark secrets behind Forest.
Starring: Uhm Ji Won, Sung Dong Il, Jo Min Soo, Jung Ji So
18. Somebody (2022)
Kim Sum, a developer for the app "Somebody," struggles with social interactions but maintains close friendships with Im Mok-Won and detective Yeong Gi-Eun. When a murder linked to the app occurs, the enigmatic architect Seong Yun-O enters their lives, harboring dark secrets. Yeong Gi-Eun, with the help of Im Mok-Won, dives deeper into the investigation, trying to unravel the mystery.
Starring: Kang Hae Lim, Kim Young Kwang, Kim Soo Yeon, Kim Yong Ji
19. Revenant (2023)
Gu San-Yeong is possessed by a demon when a portal to another world opens, leading to mysterious deaths linked to five sacred objects. She teams up with Yeom Hae-Sang, a professor who can see demons and seeks to confront the entity that killed his mother. Lieutenant Lee Hong-Sae, initially focused on his career, gets drawn into the supernatural cases as they uncover dark secrets.
Starring: Kim Tae-Ri, Oh Jung-Se, Hong Kyung
20. Goedam (2020)
This horror anthology brings urban legends to life when the city falls into darkness. Across eight episodes, each short story delves into a different aspect of Korean folklore, revealing chilling tales of spirits and shadows that haunt the night.
Starring: SEOLA, Lee Hyun Joo, Song Chae Yun
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