10 Netflix K-Dramas Where Every Episode Is a Masterpiece
Anja Djuricic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1992. Her first interest in film started very early, as she learned to speak English by watching Disney animated movies (and many, many reruns). Anja soon became inspired to learn more foreign languages to understand more movies, so she entered the Japanese language and literature Bachelor Studies at the University of Belgrade.
Anja is also one of the founders of the DJ duo Vazda Garant, specializing in underground electronic music influenced by various electronic genres.
Anja loves to do puzzles in her spare time, pet cats wherever she meets them, and play The Sims. Anja's Letterboxd four includes Memories of Murder, Parasite, Nope, and The Road to El Dorado.
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With Netflix rolling out K-dramas left and right, the list of their best original works is expanding. Netflix has already released over a dozen K-dramas just this year, including other stellar original content in the Korean language, from the spy action thriller Humint and the goofy action comedy Husbands in Action to the wholesome variety series Take a Hike! and Kian's Bizarre B&B.
Of course, not every piece of content Netflix produces is a masterpiece, and lots of us learned that the hard way. However, if you're looking to get into some Korean series and aren't sure where to start, the streamer absolutely has a very decent list of brilliant shows. Some of them are borderline perfect, and others have already made history, despite being fresh. Here are the Netflix K-dramas where every episode is a masterpiece (in no particular order).
'Kingdom' (2019–2020)
Kingdom is the first K-drama Netflix has ever released, and it's not just a pioneer in that aspect. It's also the first K-drama that combines sageuk, a popular genre in the K-drama world that depicts the (usually) medieval times in South Korea, and horror, in particular the zombie genre. It's an incredible feat for Netflix and everyone involved in it because every part of it is perfect, from the production value, cinematography, and score to the performances and casting. Kingdom has two six-episode seasons and one prequel in the form of a film, and it's as close to perfection as possible.
Kingdom is set in the Joseon era, following the Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon) as he looks for a cure for the virus that is rapidly spreading across the kingdom. At the same time, Lee Chang struggles to stay in court after his father contracts the same virus, as rivals from other families try to oust him and take charge of the Royal Court. Ju is joined by the legends of South Korean film and TV, Bae Doona and Ryu Seung-ryong, and if you haven't seen these GOATs give their best in Kingdom, you're long overdue for a great time.
'All of Us Are Dead' (2022–Present)
High school K-dramas are a dime a dozen, but very few command as much attention as All of Us Are Dead has. This Netflix original is another zombie series, just like Kingdom, but this one's set in modern times and tests the boundaries of school dynamics. However, this isn't something only high schoolers can relate to; All of Us Are Dead is appealing to viewers of all ages who like to cheer for underdogs, teamwork, and great visual effects. The success of Season 1 was widespread and instant, so much so that people are still counting down the days when Season 2 is going to premiere.
All of Us Are Dead is set within the confines of a Seoul-based high school, when a zombie outbreak overtakes the classrooms after a rabid pet bites one of the students. Across 12 episodes, the dynamics are tested, as well as the humanity and survival instincts of the teachers and students. Season 2 is expected to move outside the school, or at least follow the one student who seems to have a natural immunity to the virus, but the information available to the public is so limited that fans don't know anything. The only thing Rolling Stone India reported on is that the show might come out in late 2026 or 2027; if it's the latter, it will have been five years since Season 1 premiered.
'If Wishes Could Kill' (2026)
Since we're on the topic of high school K-dramas, If Wishes Could Kill is the most recent Netflix original with the same theme. It represents the first-ever young adult horror K-drama on the streamer (and wider, some claim), and it's a brilliantly crafted ghost story that pulls out all the stops to make its jumpscares effective and justified. Stacked with a cast of already-beloved newcomers and a couple of experienced actors with a great acting streak, like Jeon So-nee and Roh Jae-won, If Wishes Could Kill may not really be everyone's cup of tea, but each of its episodes is genuinely highly amusing.
If Wishes Could Kill follows a group of high school friends and their intricate dynamics, tested through the discovery of an app that fulfills wishes. Whoever makes a wish via the app gets it granted almost immediately but also gets a 24-hour countdown until their own death, embodying the very message of the saying: "Be careful what you wish for." Jeon and Roh portray an odd couple, with Jeon stepping into the role of a shaman who cannot leave her home; there are ghosts, curses, friendships broken, and secret romances, and each aspect of the show comes together very well here. If you still haven't seen it, its eight one-hour episodes will fill your weekend with joy (and some scares).
'D.P.' (2021–2023)
One of the best K-dramas ever made, period, is D.P., short for Deserter Pursuit. The series was based on the popular web comic of the same name, and the show was co-created by the comic's author, Kim Bo-tong, and Han Jun-hee, who served as director, co-writer, and producer. A lot of the experiences in the series come from Kim and Han's mandatory military service, whether it's something they personally experienced or have only seen or heard of. D.P. sheds light on the bullying, hazing, and humiliation rituals of South Korea's military service, which often lasts a couple of years and is mandatory for all adult male citizens. With this introduction, one can only imagine the things that happen in the series—there are marginalized characters, depictions of general social dynamics, and the efforts of the officials to cover up incidents for the sake of saving face.
D.P. follows Private Ahn (Jung Hae-in), who joins the military and gets assigned to the deserter pursuit unit because of his exceptional observation skills and a strong sense of justice. He is paired with the seemingly carefree but actually very caring Corporal Han (Koo Kyo-hwan), and through their chases of military deserters, we see how diverse characters are treated and what drives them to run away. Emotionally poignant and incredibly well-made, D.P. is a must-watch for any Netflix viewer.
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
05
What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
06
How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
07
What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
- You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
- You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
- Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
- The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
- Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
- You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
- Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
- Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
- The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
- You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
- Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
- That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
- Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
- You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be.
- Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
- Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
- Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
- You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
- The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
- You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward.
'Bloodhounds' (2023–2026)
Another Netflix K-drama that follows a pair of well-intentioned guys with awesome chemistry is Bloodhounds, and the way it depicts their dynamic is incredibly wholesome and fun. While the friendship (both on-screen and real-life) between Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi is the heart and soul of Bloodhounds, the body that surrounds their relationship is a meticulously crafted action series. In fact, the chases, one-on-one fights, and outnumbering battles are all filmed with such precision, excitement, and tension.
Bloodhounds follows Gun-woo (Woo), an amateur boxer who joins a tournament and makes friends with a former Marine, Woo-jin (Lee). The two join forces to take revenge on a dangerous loan shark who bullies Gun-woo's mother after she fails to pay him back. Bloodhounds has two seasons, and Season 2 follows the two friends some three years later, as they square off against a brand-new enemy testing their physical and emotional limits. Incredible from start to finish, Bloodhounds really is a one-of-a-kind show, and though its violence is probably not everyone's cup of tea, fans of this type of stuff will surely love it.
'When Life Gives You Tangerines' (2025)
TIME's best K-drama of 2025, When Life Gives You Tangerines, is a unique slice-of-life series that would make a stone cry. Starring two stunning and incredibly talented actors, IU and Park Bo-gum, When Life Gives You Tangerines focuses on Jeju Island, a seemingly exotic but often overlooked part of South Korea; the show also depicts the careers and dedication of female divers called haenyeo, who are unique to the island and their profession a UNESCO-declared heritage. The women of Jeju were forced to go diving themselves after many men went to war in 1950, and many women who became divers then are still active in the community.
When Life Gives You Tangerines follows Oh Ae-sun (IU) and Yang Gwan-sik (Park) from their teen years until their old age; the story is divided into four parts (comprised of four episodes each) and depicts, often in a nonlinear way, Ae-sun and Gwan-sik's romance, their lives, careers, and trials. The name of the series is a play on the phrase "When life gives you lemons..." but replacing lemons with tangerines, as they're the official fruit of Jeju. What was once Reply 1988 to people who enjoyed TV in the 2010s is now this show—wholesome, pivotal for culture and history, and a great representation of the Korean Wave.
'The Glory' (2022–2023)
The most talked-about K-drama of the 2020s is undoubtedly The Glory, a revenge story that is elaborate, dark, and sinister, and yet emotional and beautiful in so many ways. It's gritty and grim when it depicts its villains but soft and seething with rage when it focuses on the heroine, played beautifully by Song Hye-kyo. This is her return to being once again one of the most compelling and stunning female leads in K-drama, but her part is different here; the romance in The Glory is sidelined to give a little more space to the revenge tale, but it's still there as a reward for witnessing an unraveling of a woman who grew up with violence.
The Glory follows Moon Dong-eun (Song), a substitute teacher in a primary school whose past is muddy. Soon, we learn that Dong-eun is in fact looking for revenge against her former schoolmates, especially the four who relentlessly and brutally bullied her, forcing her to drop out of school completely. She plotted her revenge over the past 19 years, and executes each part with precision, even if it chips away at her own humanity bit by bit. The school violence depicted in the series is, unfortunately, based on real-life events that took place in South Korean schools; The Glory prompted the discussion of systemic cover-ups and peer violence, something that was seemingly ignored until then.
'The East Palace' (2026)
A show that combines Kingdom and If Wishes Could Kill, The East Palace is a recent addition to Netflix's ever-increasing K-drama roster, and this one is borderline perfection. Some moments slow down the plot, but these are minimal and don't take away from the show's overall quality. Brilliantly performed, written, and executed, The East Palace is a unique dark fantasy series that takes horror's best elements and combines them with the star power of Nam Joo-hyuk, Roh Yoon-seo, and Cho Seung-woo.
The East Palace is set in a fictionalized version of the Joseon era, where the King's (Cho) children keep dying from unknown illnesses. Called to find the root of the problem, spirit-slayer Gu-cheon (Nam) finds out that the King and his family dabbled with sinister forces in the past. Gu-cheon teams up with Saeng-gang (Roh), a court lady who can hear the dead, and the two try to lift the curse all while figuring out their own roles in the scheme. The East Palace is incredibly fun and easy to binge-watch; if you need more proof of its masterpiece status, its current critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a perfect 100%. There's hope for a continuation—there's definitely material for it—but all that's left is the hope that Netflix Korea loves its shows as much as their viewers do.
'We Are All Trying Here' (2026)
If you like My Mister and My Liberation Notes, We Are All Trying Here was written by the same author, Park Hae-young, and might be her best work yet. The other two shows depict depression and feelings of inadequacy with precision, but there's something about We Are All Trying Here that feels like an amalgamation of the two. Park is a master at dividing attention to multiple characters without making them shallow or unfinished; in We Are All Trying Here, she once again tackles the feelings of depression and inadequacy but lines it perfectly with the importance of camaraderie, hope, and openness.
The show depicts the "reopening" of Hwang Dong-man (D.P.'s Koo Kyo-hwan), who shut himself off from his friends when they all began making strides in their film careers except for him. Everyone in his college friend group has debuted as a writer, director, or both, and he finds it hard to relate to them, alienating them instead. He soon befriends the quiet but warm screenwriter Eun-ah (Go Youn-jung), who helps him write his first film. Where My Liberation Notes takes slow strokes on purpose, We Are All Trying Here delivers some devastating blows all of a sudden; they're similarly paced, but this show really takes the time to create an atmosphere where viewers can relate to its characters but also feel intense empathy for some of them. Koo is at his most charismatic here, and his performance is one of the most memorable of the 2020s.
'Teach You a Lesson' (2026)
Another show that easily could (and arguably should) have a second season is Teach You a Lesson, an action comedy that is grounded in real life. It was based on a popular web comic but tackles the topics of school violence, systemic cover-ups, and exploitation of education as serious topics; it was both an instant streaming hit, holding the number 1 spot on Netflix for over two consecutive weeks, and a point of controversy because of its vigilante premise. Teachers across South Korea welcomed the depictions of the harshness of the school world, but some didn't like the part where things are done out of revenge.
Teach You a Lesson follows a fictional department formed by the Minister of Education (Lee Sung-min) called the Educational Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB). The ERPB is led by former Special Forces captain-turned-inspector Na Hwa-jin (Kim Mu-yeol), who, together with his unpredictable Special Forces junior, Im Han-rim (Jin Ki-joo) and mild-mannered techie Bong Geun-dae (Pyo Ji-hoon), investigates cases of violence in high schools across South Korea. However, their cases aren't only rooted in student-on-student violence, but also in all forms of malversations in the education system, from professors taking bribes to students getting caught up in gambling schemes. It's feel-good, fun, and incredibly addictive; Teach You a Lesson is probably the best K-drama of 2026, though competition is very high and still very active.
Teach You A Lesson
- Release Date
- 2026 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- Netflix
- Directors
- Hong Jong-chan
Cast
-
Lee Sung-min
Choi Kang-seok
-
Kim Moo-yul
Na Hwa-jin
-
Jin Ki-joo
Lim Han-lim
-
Pyo Ji-hoon
Bong Geun-dae
- Main Genre
- K-Drama
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Lee Nam-kyu, Hong Jong-chan, Kim Da-hee
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.