Isn’t it difficult to pick one K-drama with the best plot twist? Korean drama fans would agree. There are several instances and dialogues that lead to an intriguing K-drama plot. “Because you and I share the same blood” from It’s Okay to Not Be Okay; “The Bodhisattva said to avoid people with the letter ‘o’ in their names. Did you not listen?” from The Glory — these have proven to be some of the biggest plot revelations in K-drama history, making eager viewers audibly gasp. Curious to know which other K-drama shows have some of the best, most memorable plot twists? We have you covered.
Leading our list is Ahn Gil-ho’s 2022 psychological thriller series The Glory. Replete with mind games and a massive plot twist, the K-drama is #5 on the top 10 all-time Non-English TV series on Netflix, with over 436.90 million hours watched in the first 28 days of release. Not just that. Leading lady Song Hye-kyo won her first Best Actress award for her performance at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2023. The Glory also took home the Best Drama award the same day, defeating other acclaimed shows like My Liberation Notes, Our Blues and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Meanwhile, with over 1.65 billion hours of viewership in the first 28 days of release, Squid Game is another best K-drama with great plot twists. The 2021 show, which focuses on a series of games that challenge human morals, won six Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Hwang Dong-hyuk and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae.
Not to forget the 2024 Netflix global hit Queen of Tears, which stars popular actors Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won in leading roles. Boasting some of the biggest plot twists in K-drama history, Queen Of Tears is one of the highest-rated K-dramas of 2024. The show focuses on a wealthy couple’s tumultuous relationship after marriage and was critically applauded for its plot, direction and necessary portrayal of reversed gender roles.
14 K-dramas with the best and most unexpected plot twists
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Queen of Tears (2024)
Directed by: Kim Hee-won and Jang Young-woo
Cast: Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Ji-won, Park Sung-hoon, Kwak Dong-yeon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 28 minutes
Synopsis: Married couple Hong Hae-in (Ji-won), the heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo (Soo-hyun), its legal director, are on the verge of divorce. However, when a crisis challenges their family, the duo is forced to face the situation together. Will this opportunity bring Hyun-woo and Hae-in closer? Or will the duo fall apart?
About the show: Besides playing the character of Hyun-woo, Kim Soo-hyun also lent his voice to the K-drama OST “Way Home” from Queen of Tears.
Read more: Will Queen of Tears have a season 2?
The Whirlwind (2024)
Directed by: Kim Yong-wan
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Hee-ae, Kim Hong-pa, Lee Hae-young
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 5 minutes
Synopsis: South Korea’s Prime Minister Park Dang-ho (Sol) is keen on eradicating corruption from the system. For the same, he vows to expose the scams by the president of their country. However, when Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Jung Soo-jin (Kim) stands in his way, a fierce political battle ensues.
Read more: The Whirlwind ending explained
Celebrity (2023)
Directed by: Kim Chul-gyu
Cast: Park Gyu-young, Kang Min-hyuk, Lee Chung-ah
Episodes: 12
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 10 minutes
Synopsis: Cosmetics salesperson Seo A-ri (Park) has always been a fashion enthusiast and is keen on becoming a social media influencer. Soon, her Instagram grabs attention for her budget-friendly DIY outfits, and she ends up gaining numerous followers. However, A-ri’s success doesn’t go well with a few powerful influencers, and the former soon finds herself entangled in a murder case. Will A-ri get devoured by the uglier side of fame?
The Glory (2022)
Directed by: Ahn Gil-ho
Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 11 minutes
Synopsis: Years after being abused in high school, Moon Dong-eun (Song) hatches a deadly plan to avenge her bullies, especially the group’s leader, Park Yeon-jin (Lim). However, with Yeon-jin targeting her loved ones, Dong-eun’s mission seems difficult.
Read more: Revenge K-dramas that will help you tide over your The Glory hangover
Squid Game (2021–)
Directed by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Gong Yoo, Jung Ho-yeon, Wi Ha-joon, Oh Yeong-su
Episodes: 10
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hour 8 minutes
Synopsis: Debt-ridden people are recruited into a series of games held in a mysterious place in Korea. Eventually, 456 players risk their lives to play multiple levels of children’s games that end with a fatal twist. The last player standing wins a reward of around USD 38 million (INR 312 crore approx).
About the show: According to Netflix, Squid Game season 2 is all set to premiere worldwide in the second half of 2024.
Vincenzo (2021)
Directed by: Kim Hee-won
Cast: Song Joong-ki, Taecyeon, Jeon Yeo-bin, Jo Han-chul
Episodes: 20
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 15 min.
Synopsis: Consigliere and lawyer Vincenzo Cassano (Song) leaves Italy and returns to his hometown in South Korea to avoid dealing with the Mafia wars. However, upon reaching, he gets pulled into the illicit affairs of the corrupt Babel Pharmaceuticals Group and has to face their dangerous crime lord Jang Joon-woo, aka Jang Han-seok (Taecyeon).
About the show: According to Forbes, this crime thriller is based on Francis Ford Coppola’s classic trilogy The Godfather (1972-1990).
Beyond Evil (2021)
Directed by: Shim Na-yeon
Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Yeo Jin-goo, Choi Dae-hoon
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr.
Synopsis: Detective Lee Dong-sik (Shin) is grieving the death of his sister Yu-yeon. Haunted by his past, the detective has also been lagging in his job. But when he finds a string of new murders that connect to Yu-Yeon’s death, Dong-sik teams up with his skilled colleague Joo-won (Yeo) to unravel the truth.
Flower of Evil (2020)
Directed by: Kim Chul-gyu and Yoon Jong-ho
Cast: Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 5 min.
Synopsis: Detective Cha Ji-won (Moon) and her doting husband Baek Hee-sung (Lee) are raising a beautiful daughter together. However, Cha’s peaceful married life is turned upside down when she is assigned a 15-year-old murder case, leading her to unravel dark secrets about her husband.
Directed by: Park Shin-woo
Cast: Kim Soo-hyun, Seo Ye-ji, Oh Jeong-se
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 15 min.
Synopsis: The lives of impulsive and antisocial writer Ko Moon-young (Son) and selfless psych ward caretaker Moon Kang-tae (Kim) get intertwined due to the latter’s brother being a fan of Moon-young. As the trio begin a journey of self-discovery, Moon-young and Sang-tae realise that they knew each other as kids and share traumatic childhood memories.
About the show: Written by Jo Yong, the K-drama earned eight nominations at South Korea’s 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. It also received a nomination at the 49th International Emmy Awards in the Best TV Movie or Miniseries category.
Memorist (2020)
Directed by: Kim Whee and So Jae-hyun
Cast: Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Se-young, Cho Seong-ha, Ko Chang-seok
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 50 min.
Synopsis: Dong Baek (Yoo) is a hot-headed detective who has a supernatural ability to know people’s memories. Ha Sun-mi (Lee), his opposite, is the easy-going superintendent of the police. When a mysterious serial murder case forces Baek and Sun-mi to work together, they end up unravelling dark secrets that change their lives forever.
About the show: One of the most popular fantasy romance K-dramas, Memorist is based on a 2016 webcomic of the same name.
SKY Castle (2018)
Directed by: Jo Hyun-tak
Cast: Yum Jung-ah, Lee Tae-ran, Yoon Se-ah, Oh Na-ra, Kim Hye-woon
Episodes: 20
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 15 min.
Synopsis: Wealthy Han Seo-jin (Yum) resides in Korea’s most popular neighbourhood, SKY Castle. Her only goal is to be better than her friends Lee Soo-im (Lee), No Seung-hye (Yoon) and Jin Jin-hee (Oh). She is also fixated on sending her elder daughter Kang Ye-seo (Kim) to Seoul National University, even if it costs her taking others’ lives.
Directed by: Park Joon-hwa
Cast: Park Seo-joon, Park Min-young, Lee Tae-hwan
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 1 hr. 15 min.
Synopsis: CEO Lee Young-joon (Seo-joon) has been trying to keep his skilled secretary Kim Mi-so (Min-young) from quitting his company. Meanwhile, Mi-so has been trying to reconnect with a boy with whom she had been kidnapped as a child. Co-incidentally, fragments of her memory keep leading her to Young-joon.
About the show: This romantic K-drama is based on the 2013 novel Kimbiseoga Wae Geureolgga by writer Jung Kyung-yoo.
Prison Playbook (2017)
Directed by: Shin Won-ho
Cast: Jung Kyung-ho, Park Hae-soo, Lee Do-hyun, Krystal, Lim Hwa-young
Episodes: 16
Approx. duration per episode: 50 min.
Synopsis: Ahead of his major league baseball debut, star pitcher Je-hyeok (Park) is sent to prison under false charges. However, he is relieved to see his old friend Joon-Ho (Jung), who works there as a prison officer. With Joon-ho’s support, Je-hyeok unravels dark truths about his false imprisonment.
Signal (2016)
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: A time-transcending walkie-talkie connects criminal profiler Park Hae-yeong (Lee) in 2015 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 school girl.
About the show: One of the most popular sci-fi Korean dramas, Signal won the Best Drama award at the 2016 Baeksang Art Awards.
(Hero image credit: Squid Game/Noh Juhan | Netflix/Netflix/IMDb; Featured image credit: Binsenjo/© tvN/IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
K-dramas with the best plot twists are 'Beyond Evil', 'Vincenzo', 'Squid Game' and 'The Glory'.
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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.
