Top 10 Best Chiller-Thriller and Crime Korean Dramas

Many people generally think K-dramas are all about romance and nothing more. We all know how potent Korean romance is, and getting dizzy over feelings is a common criterion for all K-drama lovers.

However, there are dramas that touch your soul while you're watching them. Let me remind you that these intense emotions don't always revolve solely around romance.
The Top Ten
1 Gap

Even though it's a common police-procedural drama that messes with your psychology, it is so much more than that once you advance through the episodes. There were moments when I literally shook. There were also moments I shut down my computer and couldn't watch an episode till I had recovered. Lee Joon, being an idol actor, took absolute control and amazed a lot of drama fans, moreover, shocked them. An absolutely amazing drama. And let's not talk about the killer OST that just triggers your feels.

2 Nine: Nine Times Travel

Another TvN drama that I couldn't resist putting up. It might not fall strictly under the thriller genre, but it will thrill you, no doubt. When you add a famous news reporter who's dying and a few incense sticks that help him travel back in time, drama ensues. A man sets out to make amends to his life through this unconventional time travel method. However, the changes are devastating, and as you proceed through the episodes, you realize there's a lot of crime involved. I wouldn't really call it an exact crime drama, but it gave me chills and probably is one of the best out there, in fact.

3 Signal

Yeah, I agree, Signal is really good. When I was completely new to Korean drama, I decided to search up on Google "top ten Korean dramas." It was around fourth or fifth on some lists, but the reviews were nothing but praise. The main concept is that two detectives, one from the past and one from the present, both work together in order to solve cases which may relate to themselves or their peers. Then I watched it...the reviews were spot on. If you've watched episode 1, then it's extremely hard to say you didn't enjoy it. The acting is one of the best I've seen not just in Korean drama but in TV itself. When I watched Signal, it definitely piqued my interest in Korean drama and movies.

4 City Hunter

Okay, first of all, I'll be honest - getting a grip on this from the first episode was hard for me. It involves marines, political conspiracy, and lots of grudges. A surviving soldier and a stolen child that he raised as a weapon of revenge combined is not your average mac and cheese. This series drained me when I watched it, made me lose my breath a couple of times, was fun, was fresh, and was oh-so-thrilling at times. And as an addition, it's not everyday you see Lee Min Ho being your undercover vigilante slash revenge-seeker on screen. A beautiful watch.

5 I Hear Your Voice

I could easily put most of Lee Jong-Suk's dramas on my list because I am so biased towards him. But this drama stood out to me. A combination of a dreadful incident, promises, crime, and fright all gathered into a courtroom drama is what I needed in my life. Did I mention the ability to read minds? He hears everyone's voice, from the depth of their souls. He even hears the minds of his most hated and most loved people. I love this drama so much, I don't even know where to put it on my list, so I'm just leaving it here.

It's one of the best dramas I've ever watched. There's enough romance, thriller, etc., all at the same time. Lee Jong Suk, as usual, is perfect. He was excellent.

6 The Devil

This is a classic. Not really. A 2007 drama revolving around a tarot-card reader who also has some specific psychic abilities, a mysterious lawyer, and a detective with regrets of his own. As usual, all these fine people are interconnected through a past occurrence. I loved this drama, and I loved watching it. I loved the chills it gave me, and I loved the tears I shed for it. My love for this plot and drama would probably explain why it still exists in my list after eight years.

I had very few expectations when I started this. But the drama really did surprise me. I don't think I have ever felt as much sympathy for the bad guy as in this. The drama questions the very nature of being bad. Who is the devil? Is the good guy really good? Is the bad guy really bad? These questions filled up my head as I watched this.

7 I Miss You

Don't you just hate those dramas that drive you insane with feels and unbearable scenes from the very first episode? No, man, you gotta love them. You gotta, at least, love I Miss You. A tragedy of two children where the boy abandons the girl and leaves her for dead in the hands of kidnappers is no mild story. You need a lot of strength to watch this drama, I know I did. Heart-wrenching crime at first, and soon it's packed with thrills when the boy becomes a dedicated detective for the sake of his past mistake and swears to find the friend he abandoned. When Yoon Seung-ho is antagonizing JYJ's Mickey as the lead, you need no other reason to watch this.

8 Golden Cross

I still haven't seen this and basically am referring to the thoughts and ratings of fans, trailers, and the general plot. A prosecutor gets entangled in messy business with the most influential people in Korea. He has to go against this certain circle of people to clear off his father's name, who has been accused of the murder of his sister. By the sounds of it, it's going to be extremely awesome, and I want to watch it as soon as possible, and maybe it will go way up my list after I do.

It is the best movie when it comes to crimes. I love it. It requires concentration. I'm still looking for many more.

9 Voice

Loved this thriller from the very first episode. There was a lot of suspense and mystery and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way. Excellent acting all the way around. I didn't care for the last episode. I feel it was creepy and weird and didn't end the way I would have liked, but perhaps it was fitting for this drama. I could not stop watching, wanting to know what happened next. It just sucked me in! Great drama!

The character that pulled me in is the villain. His performance, showing ecstasy and joy in his style of killing, pulled me in. Not just that, when you think they have found the killer, it wasn't who you expected it to be.

The final end credit just made me feel remorse when it is based on real cases. Overall, I was hooked on the very first episode and binge-watched it until the last.

10 Healer

This is by far the best thriller drama I have ever seen, which has the twist of plot woven so well and Ji Chang Wook in all his charms. The cast lived up to the expectations of a thriller drama lover. This definitely makes you fall in love with the actors, making you watch it again.

The Best Drama Ever (or Best Thrilling Drama ever). It's a mix of feelings with a great mystery, superb acting, and many unexpected moments. Supporting actors have their focus in the drama and are as important as the main actors to the story. Action-Romance-Thriller in the best way possible.

The ending is such a surprise you wouldn't ever have expected.

Just watch it without doubting its greatness (It's a masterpiece in almost every way). You have to bear with the first half of the first episode as it's a little confusing at the very beginning of the show.

The OST is just fantastic, chilling, and beautiful English vocals. You will be brought back to the drama even after years when listening to these amazing soundtracks.

There is not a dull moment in the series, and you might want to marathon it in a few days, so free up some time before deciding to watch it.

The Contenders
11 Tunnel

Seriously, they have such a plot there. I'm amazed by the actors, background OST, the twists, the trust, love, stories. They're all perfect together. I'm in love. This is the best Korean drama I've ever witnessed. It taught me a lot and still teaches me. Thank you, Tunnel family, from the bottom of my heart.

After Signal and Voice, I continued with Tunnel and it turned out GREAT. PERFECT. If I could mention my top 5 crime-dramas, they would be: Tunnel, Signal, Voice, I Hear Your Voice, and War Of The Sun. All of them will never bore you.

I would highly recommend this drama to anyone who is interested in crime/mystery shows. It's a must-watch. The cases are so interesting. Plus, there were two instances where BTS's Fire and Save Me were playing in the show, which made me like the show even more since I'm an ARMY. I give this K-drama a 9/10!

12 Defendant

This actually should be first! The whole plot is great! I needed paper to crumple throughout watching this because you would grit your teeth due to the tension that's happening. I love this!

Highly recommended. This has to be the most loved drama of 2017. Ji Sung proved to still be the number one actor on my list. Great performance from all the other cast members, but the lead was electrifying.

Wow, it's so good, I am amazed. Such a great and unique storyline. It will keep you from taking deep breaths and will wrench your heart at the same time. Just great!

13 I Remember You

This drama is something I would recommend to people who are new to Korean dramas or existing fans. It is also family-driven, focused on a father and two brothers. The plot and performance were top-notch. I did not expect much, however, it blew my mind away with the twists and turns. The story runs smoothly, and it was not confusing despite the amount of information needed to make sense of the story. Although romance was not a focal point, the tiny bit of it will make you fall in love with the love between the two leads. All in all, it is a drama to watch if you are a fan of police procedural genres and a fan of crime dramas.

14 Bad Guys

Criminals solving cases whilst learning along the way what it truly means to be human and the difference between a man and beast. But that isn't all because somehow, these criminals and the squad leader "Mad Dog" are linked, and it's only a matter of time before the truth is unraveled... Though not before a series of misunderstandings occurs and chaos ensues.

Loved the drama. The more I watched, the more enthralled I became. You know the acting is good when you feel sympathy and hatred for characters of a fictional world.

15 Partners for Justice

All crimes, and there are many autopsy scenes. Through this drama, you will literally learn so many new things. The different deaths in the drama are all different, so you definitely won't get bored. Let me just say, the second season is much more interesting, and there will also be this new character who is honestly very hot in the drama, like, wow, and his voice is so nice. It's just that the guy's background story is also very interesting.

I won't spoil it, but this drama is definitely worth the watch because I honestly prefer romance over anything, but this caught my eye, and I wasn't bored throughout the entire drama. I managed to finish it in a few days even though there were 32 episodes in total for 2 seasons. I hope a season 3 will come out soon because I can't wait!

16 Stranger

Amazing drama. I didn't dislike a single thing, and that's a lot to say because I'm really picky. I even liked Stranger more than Signal. From the first to the last episode, it never gets boring, everything develops at the perfect pace.

Great characters, plot, and actors (literally not a single bad actor in this drama). It has a psychological aspect, which I love, and the two female leads are kickass, not the useless idiots of most K-dramas.

I believe Stranger should be on the top of this list.

This is one of the best suspense-crime Korean dramas I have ever watched. Everyone plays their roles and characters very well, especially the lead actor, Cho Seung Woo, who plays the role of Hwang Shi Mok, a high integrity prosecutor who can't feel any emotion. The plot and storyline are also great. I really recommend this drama.

17 Doctor Stranger

It took an emotional toll and it's very heavy. However, the story is incredible and kept me interested until the ending credits.

It's quite a heavy drama, but definitely a must-watch.

18 Heartless City

This is just one of the best dramas in the Crime Noir theme! It's really profound with great plot twists and wonderful actors! It puts you on the edge of your seat in every episode!

Honestly, this is one of the best dramas I've watched that had a very consistent plot and theme that lasted until the very end of the drama. It's definitely one of my top 5.

It's an amazing drama. My favorite character in this was Jung Shi-Hyun.

19 Remember: War of the Son

I recommend this K-drama as it has heavy scenes about law. Don't expect love scenes because this is the reality of what we have now in this society and the government. This is my favorite K-drama so far. You will learn about the law and being fair to people accused and using people that involve money.

I love this drama so much! The story itself is just amazing and with these great actors, it's just perfect! I can just recommend it!

This K-drama definitely intensifies the scene. You should watch this drama that's about the law and the victim.

20 The K2

This show is an intensity pill and it's just so good that you can't stop watching. I highly recommend it, especially the action scenes mixed with the OST. Props to all the actors and actresses. They did an amazing job.

I loved it. I've seen it thrice already! It's a good watch with good twists. The lead actor did a great job. The action scenes were amazing. Even the bad guys look dapper!

21 White Christmas

I just finished watching this drama and I have no words to describe how brilliantly the storyline has been crafted. Every episode makes one more curious about what could happen next. It's very unpredictable and unique. All the actors did justice to their roles. It's a must-watch for all thrill lovers.

Amazing! White Christmas was brilliantly written. It has a lot going on. Dark mystery, thriller, rites of passage, and much more. As it has plot twists and a good story, it also depicts the whole incident with a beautiful perspective of humanity. I cannot recommend it enough!

22 Two Weeks

Here's another amazing plot that I haven't fully seen. What am I doing with my life? But according to thrill lovers, this one is a must-watch. Its plot revolves around a man who has been accused of murder and has to save his dying daughter before it's too late. I can only imagine the number of times I'd have to shut my computer down for this.

Yeah, what an amazing plot! I'm grateful to all of the Two Weeks' team for giving me a chance to watch a drama that's amazing.

This is a must-watch! I watched all episodes in one go from 10am till 3am non-stop.

23 God's Gift: 14 Days

One of my favorite dramas. The last episode really left me speechless. This drama is about a mom who lost her daughter and has a chance to travel back to 2 weeks before her daughter died. With a private detective who also travels back in time, she does everything she can to find out who will kidnap her daughter and why that happened.

After watching 2 episodes, I didn't have high expectations for this drama and almost decided not to watch the remaining episodes. However, the suspense started from the 3rd episode, and I could not stop watching it after that, haha. I really love how the actors and actresses play their characters and roles.

24 38 Revenue Collection Unit (Squad 38)

When I decided to take a break from typical Korean drama (romance, chaebol, etc.) and gave this drama a try, it didn't disappoint me at all. Now, I can't move on! This drama was so good and entertaining. Every actor gave their best and the plot was so interesting. You guys should watch this!

This is one of the best dramas I've ever watched. The team chemistry is so good it's almost unreal. I really liked the story and the cast. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who'd listen.

I really couldn't get into this and was most disappointed. I gave up about episode 5. The main chief really annoyed me. He was slow, overweight, and dim-witted. The young conman was cheesy and arrogant, not to mention he kept getting caught.

25 Vampire Prosecutor

It is the most awesome drama I have ever seen in my life. But the ending of the second season was completely not satisfying. It showed signs that there will be a season three, but it was never released. But overall, it is an awesome drama.

It's an awesome drama. I loved it even more than the Vampire Detective. A third season is definitely required. The acting and plot are superb.

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