From The Glory to Through the Darkness, these K-drama shows will definitely remind you of Netflix’s latest psychological thriller The Frog.
A Mo Wan-il directorial, The Frog, with elements of crime, gore and psychological thriller, is a mind-bending tale about two vacation rental owners and the people associated with it, whose lives are thrown into turmoil after the arrival of two mysterious guests in the middle of summer. One of the most-watched K-dramas on Netflix in 2024, it has recorded over 29,500,000 watch hours and 3,800,000 views, as of 1 September 2024.
Keeping up with the appeal of The Frog is a range of other popular K-drama shows like The Glory (2022) and Through the Darkness (2022). The former is an Ahn Gil-ho directorial replete with mind games, massive plot twists and multiple murders, and will definitely remind you of The Frog.
One of the most popular Korean dramas of all time, The Glory recorded over 436.90 million watch hours in the first 28 days of release. Meanwhile, the finale episode of the series Through the Darkness garnered a solid viewership rating of 7.1 per cent, according to Nielsen Korea. Additionally, Kim Nam-gil’s performance earned him the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the prestigious SBS Drama Awards in 2022.
Another K-drama on our list of shows like The Frog is the Lee Je-hoon starrer Signal. This 2016 crime thriller is a Korean drama adaptation of multiple real-life criminal incidents, including the Hwaseong serial murders in South Korea. The series received widespread critical and commercial acclaim after its release — so much so that it went on to become one of the most popular Korean dramas in South Korea’s television history, with a peak viewership rating of 12.5 per cent, according to Nielsen Korea.
K-drama shows like The Frog that will keep you glued to your seats
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Signal (2016)
IMDb rating: 8.5
Directed by: Kim Won-suk
Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-Woong
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 5 min.
Synopsis: In 2015, a time-transcending walkie-talkie connects police officer Park Hae-yeong (Lee) with detective Lee Jae-han (Kim) in 1989. Together, they unravel mysteries from the past and present to solve the abduction case of a young schoolgirl.
About the show: One of the most popular thriller shows on Netflix, Signal won the Best Drama award at the 2016 Baeksang Art Awards.
Mouse (2021)
IMDb rating: 8.6
Directed by: Choi Joon-bae and Kang Cheol-woo
Cast: Lee Seung-gi, Lee Hee-joon, Park Ju-hyun
Episodes: 23
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 5 min.
Synopsis: Police officer Jung Ba-reum’s (Seung-gi) life is altered forever when he comes across a serial killer ravaging his hometown. Soon, he teams up with another competent officer Go Moo-chi (Hee-joon) to nab the culprit and save the lives of his loved ones.
Taxi Driver (2021)
IMDb rating: 8.1
Directed by: Lee Dan
Cast: Le Je-hoon, Kim Eui-sung, Pyo Ye-jin, Jang Hyuk-jin
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 15 min.
Synopsis: Former special forces soldier Kim Do-gi (Lee) leads a team of taxi drivers who secretly seeks revenge on criminals and delivers justice to the victims who are snubbed by the law. However, with the South Korean police department declaring them most wanted, the group is forced to rethink its ways of dealing with the culprits.
About the show: This Le Je-hoon starrer is based on the webtoon The Deluxe Taxi by Carlos and Keukeu Jae-jin.
Beyond Evil (2021)
IMDb rating: 8.1
Directed by: Shim Na-yeon
Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Yeo Jin-goo, Choi Dae-hoon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 57 min.
Synopsis: Detective Lee Dong-sik (Shin) is unable to focus on his career after his sister’s death. But when a string of murders seems to connect to his sister’s death, Dong-sik teams up with skilled detective Joo-won (Yeo) to unravel the truth.
The Glory (2022)
IMDb rating: 8.1
Directed by: Ahn Gil-ho
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 50 min.
Synopsis: Moon Dong-eun (Song) is forced to drop out of school due to brutal bullying. Years later, Dong-eun is disturbed by the fact that the perpetrator Yeon-jin (Lim) is happily married and has a kid. Soon, Dong-eun hatches an elaborate plan to ruin Yeon-jin’s life. What the former is unaware of is that Yeon-jin already has a mysterious man helping her frame Dong-eun in an even bigger mess.
About the show: Song Hye-kyo won her first Best Actress award for her performance at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2023.
IMDb rating: 8
Directed by: Kim Jae-hong and Park Bo-ram
Cast: Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 5 min.
Synopsis: Criminal profiler Song Ha-young (Kim) is assigned a dangerous task by Gook Young-soo (Jin), the head of the Criminal Behavioral Analysis team. The former is to delve deeper into the mind of the most-wanted murderer in South Korea, Red Cap, and predict his next move.
IMDb rating: 7.1
Directed by: Im Dae-woong
Cast: Lee Jae-in, Kim Woo-seok, Choi Ye-bin
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 35 min.
Synopsis: The second-year students of Yooil High School get entangled with some dangerous people during their field trip. With the students being forced to participate in tasks that test their morality, class president Kim Jun-hee (Kim) begins forming an elaborate plan to outwit the culprits and return to safety.
Read more: Best high school romantic K-dramas to watch
IMDb rating: 6
Directed by: Kim Jin-min
Cast: Kim Dong-hee, Park Ju-hyun, Jung Da-bin, Nam Yoon-su
Episodes: 8
Approx. duration per episode: 50 min.
Synopsis: Four school students get entangled in a series of conflicts after one of them commits a serious crime. The events following that incident challenge the group’s human values and morality.
(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Netflix)
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Sushmita Mahanta
Digital Writer (Growth) - Entertainment
Sushmita is a writer with a passion for crafting engaging and informative stories. An avid fan of K-pop and K-dramas, Sushmita mostly writes about Korean culture and entertainment. When not writing, you can find Sushmita dancing, reading, collecting books, learning about fashion, art, motion pictures, and appreciating BTS.
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