The 10 Best K-Dramas on Netflix in 2025

With the arrival of Squid Game season 3, we’ve been taking a look at what other Korean shows Netflix has to offer. In this list, we count down the top 10. 

Netflix’s Korean division has been producing some top tier dramas in recent years. And we’re not just talking about global phenomenon Squid Game — although it is the best example and the zeitgeist of successful Netflix K-dramas. From historical dramas to brutal post-apocalyptic series, there’s a huge variety of shows to choose from (some series, like Kingdom, even blend multiple genres together for something completely different). In this list, we walk you through the top 10 Korean shows that you can stream on Netflix in 2025. 

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While most Korean series on Netflix are dark and rife with sci-fi and fantasy elements, we start with a wonderful medical drama. Adapted from the web novel Trauma Center: Golden Hourby by Hansanleega and Hongbichira, the 8-part Korean series tells the story of Baek Kang-hyuk, an unconventional but exceptional surgeon who joins a struggling university hospital. 

The series achieved great success, topping Netflix’s global non-English TV rankings just 10 days after its release. The success culminated in the show being renewed for seasons 2 and 3 at Netflix. 

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A new K-drama to Netflix in 2025, Karma is a 6-part, non-linear drama follows the interwoven fates of 6 seemingly unrelated people. Each person makes dark, morally ambiguous and sinister choices, and it all culminates in shocking twists, and weaves together seamlessly. 

Suspenseful, dark, and mind-bending — Karma will draw you in and it’ll have you gripped by the episode 1.

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A story of revenge, The Glory is the ultimate tale about bullying. In fact, while the series is not based on a true story, creator Kim Eun-sook took inspiration from real-life school bullying stories she read about during her research.

The series follows a young woman who’s bullied to the point of dropping out of school– but decides to get her revenge. Training to become a primary teacher, she ends up teaching the son of the very person who bullied her out of school. Revenge is a dish best served cold, after all. 

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Adapted from the Naver Webtoon Bloodhounds by Jeong Chan, the series follows two young boxers, Gun-woo (Woo Do-hwan) and Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi). who team with a moneylender, and together they fight to take down a ruthless loan shark who takes advantage of the vulnerable. The series was an instant hit on Netflix during its release in 2023, reaching the streamer’s Top 10 charts across 83 countries. 

Bloodhounds has already been renewed for a second season at Netflix. As of January 2025, the new season has entered production, with all the regular cast returning. No release date has been set, but a late-2025 or early-2026 premiere seems likely.

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Sweet Home is based on the Naver webtoon by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan. The series lasted for three seasons, with the third being a conclusive ending; there’s no need to worry about being left on a cliffhanger. It takes place in a world where humans have turned into savage monsters (not zombies, something different)… but one teenager and his neighbours are survivors, and they must fight to remain living. 

Sweet Home is an action-packed, engaging story about people trying to hold onto their humanity in a world ruled by monsters. The series boasts good reviews, currently holding an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

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When Hellhound released on Netflix in 2021, it was a massive hit for the streamer. Released a couple of months after Squid Game, it was very much riding the wave of its success. That said, Hellbound was excellent in its own right — and that shows in its rating, currently holding a near-perfect 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The series is a supernatural thriller, taking place after demons deliver condemnations on mankind. Following this, a cult-like church, New Truth, arrises, founded on the idea of diving justice. The world becomes a living hell.

Following the conclusion of season 2 in October 2024, Netflix has not yet announced a renewal for the series. Given how long has passed, it seems increasingly unlikely that Netflix will renew, but we keep our fingers crossed! 

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One of the standout K-dramas of 2025 so far, Mercy for None follows former gangster Ki-jun (SO JI-SUB), who returns to the underworld after 11 years to investigate the death of his brother Ki-seok (Lee Jun-hyuk). As he uncovers secrets, a gritty sequence of events unfolds, but Ki-jun will stop at nothing to enact explosive violence on the perpetrators of his brother’s murder. 

The series premiered to great reviews. Season 1 wrapped up all storylines, but that’s not to say another season isn’t possible. This is certainly a series to keep on your radar. 

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In All of Us Are Dead, there’s a zombie apocalypse, and a group of students must escape their school, which has become ground zero of the outbreak. No shows come quite as brutal and unforgiving as K-dramas, and this series emphasizes the point. It’s hyper-violent, unpredictable, and the zombies are utterly relentless. They’re far from the slow, lurking kind from The Walking Dead, for instance. 

It’ll leave you hungry for more, and Netflix is happy to oblige. All of Us Are Dead has been renewed for another season. The new batch of episodes will start filming this year, although no date has been specified. Now is the perfect time to watch season 1 and get ahead of the curve.

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Sticking with zombies, next up is Kingdom. A historical drama and a brilliant zombie series, all rolled into one — what’s not to love? Netflix’s lush historical-horror series Kingdom is based on The Kingdom of the Gods by Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il. 

Kingdom is set during Joseon Dynasty (so around 16th century Korea). It’s a beautifully crafted series, with gorgeous costumes and set pieces; it transports you into the era. But then there’s the zombie aspect. The story follows Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), who investigates a mysterious plague turns people into flesh-eating zombies.

Kingdom is a brilliant and unique blend of historical drama and horror. The zombies don’t take over, but they’re a fascinating addition to what would already be a brilliant political, period series. Kingdom ran for 2 seasons on Netflix. It returned for a special prequel episode, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, in 2021. My only complaint is that we never got more Kingdom.

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Squid Game needs no introduction. The survival series is the most successful Netflix show of all time. The series sets a simple premise: When an enigmatic company sets up a series of games on a secret island, they invite hundreds of cash-strapped people to take part. However, there’s one key twist — when a contestant loses a game, they die. The last man standing wins an enormous prize, at the cost of hundreds of lives.

Season 3, the third and final season, marks the face-off between our protagonist Gi-Hun and the Front Man. Will the perpetrators of the games finally get their comeuppance? Check out the trailer below:

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Honorable Mentions

• Dear Hongrang — A 2025 Joseon-era mystery series, based on the novel Tangeum: Swallowing Gold by Jang Da‑hye.
• Tomorrow — In this series, a young man is appointed by grim reapers to carry out special missions. 
• Parasyte: The Grey — A horror drama, where parasites take over human hosts. 
• Crash Landing on You — A romance drama, taking place after a paragliding mishap drops an heiress in North Koraa, where she meets with a soldier who keeps her safe. 
• Mr. Sunshine — A historical look into 1800s Korea, in which a solder returns to his homeland and falls in love with a noblewoman. 

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What’s your favourite Korean show on Netflix? Tell us in the comments down below!