K-Dramas are not just about romantic-comedies, but also about many crime-thrillers that are worth watching! They are always exciting, suspense-filled and thrilling to watch. If you think you have had enough of rom-com, and want to try something with lots of action, mysteries, twists, then here is a list of some good recommendations of the top 9 crime-thriller Korean dramas that are worth watching in 2021.
Tunnel (2017)
In the year 1986, Detective Park Gwang-Ho (Choi Jin-Hyuk) tries to catch a serial killer. While chasing him, he accidentally goes through a tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel, he finds himself in the year 2017. In the future Seoul, he works with Detective Kim Sun-Jae (Yoon Hyun-Min) and Professor of Criminal Psychology Shin Jae-Yi (Lee Yoo-Young) to catch the killer.
Suspicious Partner (2017)
It’s a legal crime story, but with lots of laughter. Eun Bong-hee (Nam Ji-hyun) is an aspiring lawyer, but gets falsely accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend. Noh Ji-Wook (Ji Chang-wook) is a prosecutor who tries to help her, but loses his job in the process. After he saves her, Bong-hee falls in love with him, but Noh Ji-wook does not accepts her love but offers to help her find the real suspect. Meanwhile, the real murderer plans a plot to not get caught.
Voice (2017)
An outstanding detective (Jang Hyuk) is full of guilt, when his wife gets murdered. Meanwhile, an ambitious police officer (Lee Ha-na) goes to US to study voice profiling, after her father dies while doing an investigation. Eventually, they both meet, and try to find the serial killer responsible for their loved one’s deaths.
Taxi Driver (2021)
This drama is a webtoon adaptation. The main lead (Lee Je-Hoon) joins an organisation called ‘Rainbow Taxi Company’, but that company is actually a revenge-call service, where clients seek their revenge. Fun fact, the stories in the show are said to be based on true crimes that happened in Korea.
Healer (2014)
An illegal “night courier” (Ji Chang-wook) with great fighting skills, a tabloid writer (Park Min-young), and a famous journalist (Yoo Ji-tae) from a big broadcast station. All of them eventually meet and try to solve a series of murders from a 1992 incident. The drama is action-packed but also has a blossoming love story and chemistry between the main leads.
Mouse (2021)
The story is about a police officer (Lee Seung-gi), who apparently encounters a crazy serial killer that has left the whole nation scared and chaotic. This makes him and his partner find the truth behind these psychopathic behaviours. The drama will unravel many questions like “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?” “Is it possible to identify a psychopath in the mother’s womb by using a fetal genetic testing?” “And if the child in the womb is a psychopath, is it a wise choice to have that child?”
Vagabond (2019)
An aspiring stuntman’s (Lee Seung-gi) life is full of grief, since he lost his beloved nephew who dies in a plane crash. While trying to find answers, he finds about an international conspiracy and how people are being lied to. He begins to wonder whether the plane crash was planned. He then seeks help from Go Hae-Ri (Bae Suzy), who is an operative of the National Intelligent Service. Together they try to find the truth behind the plane crash.
City Hunter (2011)
Lee Yun-seong (Lee Min-Ho) wants revenge from 5 politicians who were the reason behind his father and his team’s death. With the help of his surrogate father Lee Jin-Pyo (Kim Sang-joong), he tries to expose them. The citizens of Korea begin to call him by the name “City Hunter”. Meanwhile, he meets a girl (Park Min-young) and eventually falls in love with her, but has to keep his identity hidden from her. But engaging in love only causes problems in Jin-Pyo’s mission.
Stranger (2017)
Hwang Si-Mok (Cho Seung-Woo) is a prosecutor who had brain surgery in his childhood. This made him have a lack of emotions. Now, he is rational, but cold and lonely. He is also one of the few lawyers to not get involved in corruption. One day, he stumbles upon a dead body. At the murder crime scene, he meets Police Lieutenant Han Yeo-Jin (Bae Doo-Na). They work together to solve a murder case and eradicate corruption at the prosecutor’s office.
Signal (2016)
The drama is about a young criminal profiler (Lee Je-hoon) who works on cases in the year 2015. Eventually, he finds a walkie-talkie that connects him with a police official (Cho Jin-woong) from 1989, who has been missing for decades in the current timeline. Together they’ll uncover truths and solve murders, while racing against time.
