The first half of 2026 has been busy for Korean drama industry. If you’re trying to figure out what to watch in 2026, or you just want a reliable Korean drama list to work through, this roundup should help. Some of these became hits, while others flew under the radar despite being just as well worth your time. If you are new to K-dramas, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide to Korean dramas before diving into this year’s lineup.
Genre-wise, there’s a bit of everything: body swap comedy, courtroom satire, luxury brand fraud, multiple thrillers. As for the streaming platform, Netflix dominated the first half with a flood of K-Dramas. Every entry below is sorted by its MyDramaList (MDL) rating, from highest to lowest. MDL scores are crowd-sourced and shift daily as more viewers rate a show, so don’t be surprised if a title has climbed or dropped a notch by the time you check for yourself.
So, let’s take a look at the K-dramas worth your time in the first half of 2026.
1. Teach You a Lesson (참교육)
Genre: Action, Thriller, Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 10
Cast: Kim Mu-yeol, Jin Ki-joo, P.O, Lee Sung-min
MyDramaList Rating: 9.0
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/778658-get-schooled
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A group of vigilantes targets schools where bullying, extortion, and other abuses have been covered up by administrators. Posing as staff or outside enforcers, they expose wrongdoing and deliver consequences the system refuses to enforce, moving from school to school to confront a different form of institutional corruption in each arc. It’s blunt, occasionally preachy, and completely satisfying if you’ve ever wanted a school drama with the moral clarity of a revenge thriller.
2. Bloodhounds Season 2 (사냥개들 시즌2 )
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Episodes: 7
Cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi
MyDramaList Rating: 8.6
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/769141-bloodhounds-season-2
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
Having taken down the loan sharks that defined their first outing, Geon-woo and his found family partner Woo-jin face a new threat: Baek Jeong, a ruthless figure who dominates unregulated boxing circles, and sets his sights on Geon-woo as his next target. The two are pulled back into survival mode, fighting to protect the bond and the people that matter most to them. This season flaunts rawer, more brutal approach to its fight choreography, leaning harder into physical realism as compared to the first season.
3. In Your Radiant Season (찬란한 너의 계절에)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Episodes: 12
Cast: Lee Sung-kyung, Chae Jong-hyeop, Lee Mi-sook
MyDramaList Rating: 8.4
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/755669-in-your-brilliant-season
Where to Watch: Disney+
Synopsis
A high-end fashion designer who has closed herself emotionally after a string of personal losses crosses paths with an animation character designer carrying his own buried trauma, and the two slowly thaw each other out over the course of the story. Their chance encounter slowly unravels both of their carefully guarded lives, forcing old memories and buried secrets to the surface.
4. My Royal Nemesis (멋진 신세계)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Historical
Episodes: 14
Cast: Lim Ji-yeon, Heo Nam-jun, Jang Seung-jo
MyDramaList Rating: 8.4
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/788412-brave-new-world
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A notorious Joseon-era royal concubine, executed centuries earlier, wakes up possessing the body of a struggling modern day actress. She encounters and butts head repeatedly with a ruthless corporate heir, and their hate fueled rivalry gradually shifts as she navigates a modern world she doesn’t understand and secrets tied to her own death. The show leans hard into physical comedy in its early episodes before shifting toward a more emotional back half. The chemistry between the leads will have you hooked.
5. Perfect Crown (21세기 대군부인 )
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama
Episodes: 12
Cast: IU (Lee Ji-eun), Byeon Woo-seok, Noh Sang-hyun, Gong Seung-yeon
MyDramaList Rating: 8.4
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/781538-wife-of-a-21st-century-prince
Where to Watch: Disney+
Synopsis
Set in a reimagined modern-day Korea ruled by a constitutional monarchy, a sharp, ambitious chaebol heiress proposes a marriage of convenience to a quietly powerful Grand Prince. He agrees for reasons of his own, caught between political pressure to marry and rumors swirling around his ambitions for the throne. What begins as a political arrangement slowly turns into real feeling, as the two navigate royal backlash, a scheming rival, and threats aimed at pulling them apart. Despite of a few hiccups and it’s controversy filled run, the drama remains an entertaining watch.
6. The Legend of Kitchen Soldier (취사병 전설이 되다)
Genre: Food, Military, Comedy, Fantasy
Episodes: 12
Cast: Park Ji-hoon, Yoon Kyung-ho, Han Dong-hee, Lee Hong-nae, Lee Sang-yi
MyDramaList Rating: 8.4
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/783738-becoming-a-cooking-soldier-legend
Where to Watch: TVING, Viki
Synopsis
This fantasy comedy follows a grieving young man who enlists in the military and is assigned to mess hall duty. Next he knows, a mysterious quest like system appears before him, guiding him toward unexpected culinary talent. As he clears each challenge, he uncovers a hidden web of corruption on the base tied to his father’s death. The show balances its video game logic with real emotional stakes and a genuinely funny ensemble of soldiers and officers.
7. Pro Bono (프로보노)
Genre: Comedy, Law, Life, Drama
Episodes: 12
Cast: Jung Kyung-ho, So Joo-yeon, Lee Yoo-young
MyDramaList Rating: 8.3
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/785270-pro-bono
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A star judge resigns after a scandal and is forced to join a nonprofit legal team taking on cases no one else wants. Handling one difficult pro bono case after another, ranging from a stolen pet to a domestic abuse survivor fighting deportation, he’s slowly pulled into a fight for people the system has failed. The show tackles some heavy social issues without losing its comedic footing, which is a tricky balance it mostly nails.
8. Reborn Rookie (신입사원 강회장)
Genre: Mystery, Business, Comedy, Fantasy
Episodes: 12
Cast: Lee Jun-young, Son Hyun-joo, Lee Joo-myung, Jeon Hye-jin, Jin Goo
MyDramaList Rating: 8.3
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/788920-new-employee-chairman-kang
Where to Watch: Viki, TVING
Synopsis
A powerful conglomerate chairman is in an accident that swaps his soul into the body of a young soccer player who’s just joined his company’s sponsored team. Now trapped in a body of a twenty something rookie, he applies to his own corporation as a new hire while his real heirs battle for control, unaware of who’s secretly working among them.
9. Undercover Miss Hong (언더커버 미쓰홍)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Business
Episodes: 16
Cast: Park Shin-hye, Go Kyung-pyo, Ha Yoon-kyung, Cho Han-gyeol
MyDramaList Rating: 8.3
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/786716-miss-undercover-boss
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
Set during Korea’s 1997 financial crisis, this workplace comedy follows a sharp securities investigator going undercover as a twenty year old junior employee to expose fraud at a firm under suspicion. Her mission gets complicated when the company’s new CEO turns out to be a man from her past who can’t shake the feeling he knows her. The show mines a lot of comedy from the culture clash of a jaded professional pretending to be an eager rookie.
10. If Wishes Could Kill (기리고)
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Supernatural, Youth
Episodes: 8
Cast: Jeon So-young, Kang Mi-na, Baek Sun-ho, Hyeon Woo-seok, Lee Hyo-je, Jeon So-nee, Roh Jae-won
MyDramaList Rating: 8.2
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/788470-wish-your-death
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A group of high schoolers discovers Girigo, an app that grants wishes with no strings attached, until a classmate’s sudden death reveals every wish comes with a countdown to death. As the deaths keep coming, the friends turn to a shaman for help unraveling the app’s supernatural origins. What starts as digital curiosity spirals into an unsettling investigation into jealousy, trauma, and the choices that gave the curse its power. This one leans into gore, dread, and for a slower, more disturbing build.
11. The Scarecrow (허수아비)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Life
Episodes: 12
Cast: Park Hae-soo, Lee Hee-joon, Kwak Sun-young
MyDramaList Rating: 8.2
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/786738-scarecrow
Where to Watch: TVING, Viki, Viu
Synopsis
Heavily inspired by the real life Hwaseong serial murder case that haunted Korea for decades before finally being solved in 2019, this dual timeline thriller follows a demoted detective who is pulled back into the investigation after the imprisoned killer claims new DNA evidence proves his innocence. Working alongside a prosecutor from his past, he uncovers a cover-up that reveals how many lives were destroyed before the truth ever came to light. It’s a heavy, unflinching watch, and it lands hard.
12. Filing for Love (은밀한감사)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Melodrama
Episodes: 12
Cast: Shin Hye-sun, Gong Myung, Kim Jae-wook, Hong Hwa-yeon
MyDramaList Rating: 8.1
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/793102-secret-gratitude
Where to Watch: Viki
Synopsis
An internal auditor demoted to handling minor scandals because of his manager, receives an anonymous tip that this same manager is secretly having an affair at work. What begins as a plan for petty payback turns into something else once he starts uncovering the real reasons behind her guarded exterior. The show does a good job of portraying engaging corporate corruption plotting inside a conglomerate, giving the romance room to breathe rather than dominating every scene.
13. IDOL I (아이돌아이)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Law, Romance
Episodes: 12
Cast: Choi Soo-young, Kim Jae-young
MyDramaList Rating: 8.1
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/787814-idol-kid
Where to Watch: Netflix, Viki
Synopsis
A top criminal defense lawyer and longtime fan of a popular boy band takes on the case of her favorite idol, who has been accused of murdering a bandmate. As she works to prove his innocence, she discovers that the man she’s idolized for over a decade might not be who she thought he was. The premise leans into fangirl culture in a way that is genuinely funny without mocking it, while the murder mystery plot line stays tense enough to keep the legal thriller side satisfying.
14. The Art of Sarah (레이디 두아)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological, Crime
Episodes: 8
Cast: Shin Hye-sun, Lee Joon-hyuk, Kim Jae-won, Jung Da-bin
MyDramaList Rating: 8.1
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/778646-lady-doir
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
The Asia branch president of an ultra-exclusive luxury label is a familiar name in high society despite the fact that almost no one has actually met her in person. When she turns up as the victim in an unsolved murder, a detective begins pulling at the threads of her past, and her identity unravels into multiple names, ages, and backgrounds. Thus exposing a long-running scheme built on fabricated identities and calculated deception.
15. Can This Love Be Translated? (이 사랑 통역 되나요?)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 12
Cast: Kim Seon-ho, Go Youn-jung, Sota Fukushi, Choi Woo-sung, Lee Yi-dam
MyDramaList Rating: 7.9
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/750719-can-you-translate-this-love
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A multilingual interpreter whose job depends on staying neutral is assigned to a global star whose public persona and private self couldn’t be more different, As he begins softening her words into press friendly language to protect her image, he becomes the only person who truly understands what she means rather than just what she says, and that intimacy becomes its own kind of romantic tension.
16. Notes from the Last Row (맨 끝줄 소년)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Drama
Episodes: 6
Cast: Choi Min-sik, Choi Hyun-wook, Huh Joon-ho, Yunjin Kim, Jin Kyung
MyDramaList Rating: 7.9
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/787500-the-boy-in-the-last-row
Where to Watch: Netflix
Synopsis
A bitter, once promising literature professor discovers that a quiet student sitting at the back of his classroom possesses raw, unsettling writing talent. He offers private lessons to shape the boy’s gift, but as the student’s stories grow increasingly invasive and hard to distinguish from real events, the professor becomes dangerously fixated on where fiction ends and reality begins. The short six episode drama is less interested in conventional thrilling moments than in the psychological unraveling of a mentor who can’t tell if he’s nurturing genius or enabling something far more disturbing.
17. Bloody Flower (블러디 플라워)
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Episodes: 8
Cast: Ryeoun, Sung Dong-il, Keum Sae-rok
MyDramaList Rating: 7.8
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/736953-flower-of-death
Where to Watch: Disney+
Synopsis
A brilliant but cold scientist discovers a cure for a terminal illness, but obtaining it requires killing a bunch of people who, in his eyes, deserve it. After he is apprehended, a lawyer with a dying daughter and a prosecutor determined to see justice served find themselves on opposing sides of an impossible moral question: does saving lives ever excuse taking them? Compact at just eight episodes, the show occasionally feel like it is rushing its resolution, but its central ethical dilemma sticks with you well after the credits roll.
18. Fifties Professionals (오십프로)
Genre: Action, Thriller, Mystery, Comedy
Episodes: 12
Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Oh Jung-se, Heo Sung-tae
MyDramaList Rating: 7.8
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/796866-fifty-percent
Where to Watch: Viki
Synopsis
Three middle-aged men: a former black-ops agent, a memory-wiped ex-operative, and a former crime boss have spent a decade hiding under new identities on a remote island. When an old case starts unraveling and threatens to expose all three of them, they’re forced to dust off long dormant skills while juggling marriages, kids, and encroaching middle age. The show mines plenty of comedy from the blend of espionage thriller and midlife crisis comedy.
19. Honour (아너: 그녀들의 법정)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Law, Crime
Episodes: 12
Cast: Lee Na-young, Jung Eun-chae, Lee Chung-ah
MyDramaList Rating: 7.8
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/788434-honor
Where to Watch: Viu
Synopsis
Three lawyers who’ve been friends since university run a firm specializing in defending female crime victims, until a secret they’ve kept buried for twenty years resurfaces and threatens to destroy the solidarity that’s held them together ever since. Based on the acclaimed Swedish series Heder, this legal thriller pairs courtroom tension with a harder look at trauma, coercion, and the reality of imperfect women navigating a justice system that rarely gives them the benefit of the doubt.
20. Gold Land (골드랜드)
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Episodes: 10
Cast: Park Bo-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Lee Hyun-wook, Lee Kwang-soo
MyDramaList Rating: 7.6
MyDramaList Page: https://mydramalist.com/781124-goldland
Where to Watch: Disney+
Synopsis
An airport security officer accidentally comes into possession of a stash of smuggled gold bars, after her pilot boyfriend gets involved in a shady deal. What starts as a panicked attempt to get rid of the evidence spirals into full blown obsession as she becomes consumed by greed, pulling in a loan shark enforcer, a detective, and a casino executive all chasing the same fortune. It’s a tense, occasionally brutal watch about how desperation can brew something uglier the longer it goes unchecked.
Did I miss one of your favorites? Which of these dramas hooked you the most? Let me know in the comments below, and vote for your favorite from the list!
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