Netflix is going above and beyond lately with its compendium of kdramas spanning across diverse genres. With hits upon hits every month, Netflix has become a go-to OTT platform for all kinds of kdrama enthusiast worldwide.
One such genre that the platform has been churning out is the dystopian-thriller. With various new line-ups in the coming months, let’s take a look at some of the best dystopian-thriller kdramas that Netflix has to offer right now. Are you ready to fight your way through a zombie apocalypse, deranged society and the end of the world? Brace your seatbelts, here we go!
Gyeongseong Creature
A monster show traversing the landscape of war torn world, Gyeongseong Creature is thrill and madness incarnate. Not only does it embellish itself with a star cast including Park Seo-joon, Han So-hee, Kim Hae-sook, Kim Su-hyun, Wi Ha-joon, Jo Han-chul and more, it also arms itself with well-crafted action sequences along with adequate amounts of horror and thrill.
It might seem slow and dragging in the initial few episodes but stick with it and it will pick up it’s pace. Despite being a monster thriller in the near-dystopian landscape of the show, it also plays and highlights with profound themes of war crimes, nationalism, imperialism and it might appear stale to pure-thriller fans, so watch out!
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Hellbound
Bone-chilling, horrifying, gloomy are some of the adjectives that describe Hellbound. It is not for the fainthearted if one can decipher its underlying themes of the dangers of religious fanaticism, hypocrisy and mass hysteria.
Hellbound has a curious plot which depicts modern-day witch hunts in the form of hellish monsters bringing the judgement day right at one’s doorstep. Hellbound is intriguing and is a splendid horror thriller featuring a novel form of dystopia that’s worth watching.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
The Silent Sea
The Silent Sea is a science-fiction dystopian kdrama set in distant future where water and food has become a luxury. Earth is but a glob of sand and dust in the vast universe. To revive their dying future, a mission is sent to the moon to recover a mysterious sample of what might be water but when the crew reaches the station, they find themselves in uncharted territory amidst astonishing company.
The Silent Sea is armed with veterans like Bae Doona, Gong Yoo, Lee Jun, Kim Sun-young and more. Although the plot is a bit wonky at times, the underlying themes and the sense of anxiety of the unknown is what keeps it going.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Kingdom
Do historical kdramas tickle your fancy? Does the spice in the political tension with a scheming minister and the queen give you the best adrenaline rush? If yes, then add a generous dollop of bloodthirsty, cold-blooded (pun intended) Joseon era living dead with a pinch of cannibalism and you have Kingdom!
Kingdom boasts not only a brilliant cast but a thrilling story as a new disease spread across the Joseon empire, building an army of zombies. With the king taking on the recently popular role of the living dead, it’s up to Lee Chang, the crown prince, and Seo-bi, a physician to prevent becoming a zombie snack.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Black Knight
Black Knight is set in a futuristic world where oxygen is akin to gold. A world where air is bought and sold. If you are not amongst the elite, well, accept our early goodbyes. In this world, oxygen theft is not only real but lethal.
The 1% surviving population lives in concrete holes and hardly travel outside to the barbaric world embellished by the sepia tinted air and dusty landscape. So, what do you do? You make the delivery personnel fighters called the Black Knights. Black Knight features a great cast with Kim Woo-bin, Esom and Yoon Sa-wol, great action and a plot that keeps you hooked.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Happiness
Happiness is one of the most well-crafted dystopian kdramas that balances action, thrill, anticipation and romcom in the most curious ways. Unlike in many thrillers where characters become mere tools to advance the plot, Happiness boasts some of the most likeable, wholesome characters in Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun.
Happiness won’t just entertain you, it’ll keep you on your toes, cheering as for our characters, trapped in an apartment building flooded with the infected. Apart from a serial killer inside of course.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Sweet Home
A global sensation based on an insanely popular webtoon which garnered a net 2.1 billion views, Sweet Home is a wild ride. With the third instalment on its way, fans cannot but frantically wait for this alien apocalypse phenomenon in the kdrama landscape.
It all begins when one fine day, a curious case of a nosebleed leads to humans transforming into a variety of monsters leading to an odd bunch of residents being trapped in an apartment with the said monsters cruising the place for pleasure. Sweet Home boasts an exhilarating plot, nail-biting scenarios and is dangerously binge-worthy. You have, thus, been warned.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
All of Us are dead
A zombie apocalypse. A high-school. Trapped students. And zombie hybrids. This mixture is much more lethal than a witch’s potion, at least for Nam On-jo and her friends. This bunch finds themselves trapped in a school full of infected students as a zombie outbreak engulfs a city of South Korea.
As the number of the infected grow, the students find themselves to their own devices awaiting the adults to rescue them. What’s more? There might just be immunes, one who wants to destroy the world and the other who wants to kill one of On-jo’s friends.
As Jeong-woo says in Doctor Slump, “Unlike happiness which feels vague at times, misfortune always makes its presence known”.
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
The Devil Judge
The Devil Judge feels like a cross between the world of the Hunger Games and The Penthouse in the sense of its propensity to be addictive in its plot. It’s not common for a show to have as high ratings at The Devil Judge after all! Armed with mystery, thrill and drama, the Devil Judge follows a post-pandemic world where social injustices and inequalities reverberate strongly.
A new justice system leads to a televised courtroom show. When the lead judge, Kang Yo-han, played by the extremely versatile veteran actor Ji-sung is described by writer and former judge Moon Yoo-seok, as a cross between Batman and Joker, that’s the hint that this show is an absolute rollercoaster ride!
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
Squid Game
Squid Game is no stranger in the world of kdramas, being one of the most revered thrillers, and becoming Netflix’s most watched series in 94 countries! The show follows 456 players as they aim to survive deadly children’s games on their way to a life-changing cash prize.
Laden with conspiracies, horror, thrill and action, it brings out the worst of humanity in a single gameshow all the while evoking social commentaries along the way. It’s a pure masterpiece of mad entertain, thrill and a dystopian landscape. Be ready to feel psychologically damaged in the most exhilarating ways possible!
Has this piqued your interest? Why not add it to your watchlist on Netflix now!
And there we have it, our picks for the best dystopian thriller K-Dramas on Netflix right now. What do you think of our list? Have we included your favourites? Feel free to let us know in the comments below.