While Western films focus on cinematography and creepy details, Korean crime dramas focus more on content and are also extremely attractive.
1. Mouse
The Korean drama about criminal psychology Mouse was a hot topic in March of this year. The suspenseful story centers around the key question, “What if we could sort out psychopaths in advance?” Moreover, it is known that Mouse was also inspired by the actual case that happened at Incheon elementary school in 2017.
In the drama, Jeong Ba Reum (Lee Seung Gi) is a police detective in charge of investigating a criminal case, and he also works with a police man, Go Moo Chi (Lee Hee Joon). While they are trying to find clues to the case, other cases keep happening and they have to deal with dangerous situations.
2. Beyond Evil
With the movie content about two detectives searching for the truth, Beyond Evil revolves around a case that happened 20 years ago in the peaceful town of Manyang. “Beyond Evil knows exactly what to reveal and when to reveal secrets between characters. The audience really gets caught up in the story and even understands very little about the characters in their relationships.” – A review about Beyond Evil.
Going into more details, Lee Dong Sik (Shin Ha Kyun) is accused of murdering his sister and after proving his innocence, he grows up and becomes a policeman in the town. However, he is still haunted by the case of his sister in the past. And after meeting Han Joo Won (Yeo Jin Goo), a good detective, the two have joined hands to find out the mystery behind the case 20 years ago.
3. Voice
Aired in 2017 and received critical acclaim, Voice possesses a unique storyline since its “hero” character is also a criminal. Because of the appealing plot, this series has broken many viewership records. Voice will follow the couple Moo Jin Hyuk (Jang Hyuk), a detective who recently lost his wife, and Kang Kwon Joo (Lee Ha Na), an employee at an emergency center.
Voice quickly piqued the audience’s interest by utilizing a rather unusual topic, that of using information from calls to determine the location of victims and criminals. The pairing of two characters is motivated not only by a desire to track down the serial killer, but also by a desire to maintain order in the city in which they live and work. In 2018, Twitter revealed that Voice was on the list of the most searched K-dramas and Soompi also rated Voice as one of the best horror dramas in Korea.
4. Tell Me What You Saw
Starring Jang Hyuk, Choi Soo Young, and Jin Seo Yeon, Tell Me What You Saw is a must-watch thriller series that combines revenge and the hunt for criminals. Tell Me What You Saw centers on the character Oh Hyun Jae (Jang Hyuk) who used to be a top criminal profiler. He solved many cases thanks to his talent, but a murder case took away his fiancée.
After the tragic event, Oh Hyun Jae completely disappears and lives a reclusive life. Cha Soo Young (Soo Young) is a police officer in the countryside. She has a special ability to remember everything she has seen. Because of this ability, Soo Young then teams up with Oh Hyun Jae to track down the killer.
Tell Me What You Saw is a gripping crime thriller with violent scenes and especially the final twist that will blow your mind.
5. Strangers from Hell
Adapted from a popular webtoon on Naver, ‘Strangers from Hell’ carries a plot about a bad and scary neighborhood. After watching this series, many people had to hide in their houses out of fear and Cosmopolitan even rated the villains in the series as one of the scariest in all horror series.
The drama is the story of Yoon Jong Woo (Im Si Wan), a young man in his 20s, who just moved to Seoul after being accepted as an internship for a small company. In order to save money on living expenses, Jong Woo decided to move to an old student dormitory where he gradually discovered that there was something very strange and suspicious about his neighbors, especially Seo Moon Jo (Lee Dong Wook).
I firmly believe that, ‘Strangers from Hell’ will give you many moments of extreme stress and fear. Moreover, we rarely see Lee Dong Wook as a villain like in this series , right? So please don’t miss it!
These are 5 most interesting Korean criminal series that I would like to introduce to you. If you’re a hardcore fan of this genre, don’t miss any of the names on this list, they’re all so captivating and worth taking the time to enjoy!
