The 15 Best K-Dramas on Hulu

Korean entertainment fans new to the world of K-dramas often turn to Korean dramas on Netflix or Viki to find their next obsession. But longtime fans who are familiar with both of those apps' offerings—or anyone wanting to try out another streamer—will be happy to know that there are great K-dramas hiding in plain sight on other platforms. Following the success of Korean TV shows on Netflix like Squid Game (opens in new tab) and The Glory (opens in new tab), other U.S. streamers are slowly building their own catalogs of Asian content, with some even producing their own original international shows.

Hulu is quickly becoming a streamer to watch for interesting Korean dramas, from classic Hallyu favorites to new original shows produced by Disney+ Korea. Read on for the intense Korean thrillers, tear-jerking romances, and hilarious rom-coms you can currently catch on Hulu.

Connect

Jung Hae-in and Go Kyung-pyo star in this horror drama from director Takashi Miike,  which may be rough for the faint of heart (and stomach). Dong-soo (Jung) is a "Connect," an immortal human whose body has the ability to repair itself when harmed. So, when he's attacked by organ harvesters, he wakes up on the operation table and fights his way out. In the scuffle, Dong-soo only able to recover one of his eyes, and the other is transplanted into serial killer Jin-seob (Go). The two are then connected, as painful visions of Jin-seob's killings land Dong-soo in trouble with Officer Choi (Kim Roe-ha).

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Mr. Queen

Mr. Queen is a genre-blending drama that fits body-swap comedy, time-travel anachronisms, and political Joseon-era intrigue all into one hilarious package. After suffering a serious accident, present-day Blue House chef Jang Bong-hwan is transported into the body of the young Queen Kim So-yong (Shin Hye-sun), wife to the current King Cheol-jong (Kim Jung-hyun). As the new queen gets used to both the customs of the time and the traditional gender roles, the figure-head king deals with corruption in the court, led by Grand Queen Dowager Sun-won (Bae Jong-ok).

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Descendants of the Sun

If you're only familiar with Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo from recent shows like Vincenzo, Reborn Rich, and The Glory, it's time to watch the drama that put them both on the map as Hallyu stars. The medical/military romance follows medical team lead Dr. Kang Mo-yun (Hye-kyo) and special forces captain Yoo Shi-jin (Joong-ki), who are stationed in the fictional war-torn country Uruk. As they fall in love, and Yoo goes on increasingly dangerous missions, Kang has to decide whether to truly fall for him and risk heartbreak.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?

This workplace rom-com is legendary, for both Park Min-young and Park Seo-joon's electric chemistry and its intense kiss scenes. Kim Mi-so (Min-young) is the ultra-competent secretary for Lee Young-joon (Seo-joon), the narcissistic vice president of a chaebol, a family-run conglomerate. After nine years of working and clearing family debts, Mi-so is finally ready to focus on herself and quit her job. But when she hands in her resignation, Young-joon becomes desperate to keep her around, and slowly realizes his obsession with her may not be strictly professional.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Legend of the Blue Sea

This multi-generational fantasy romance follows two incarnations of a love story between a mermaid and her human paramour. In the Joseon-era storyline, mermaid Se-hwa (Jun Ji-hyun) saves son of a nobleman Kim Dam-ryeong (Lee Min-ho) from drowning. Their love eventually meets a tragic face, which plays out as a parallel storyline to their modern reincarnations, con-man Heo Joon-jae (Lee) and mermaid Shim Cheong (Jun), who follows Heo to Seoul despite him not knowing that she's a mer person. Will Shim Cheong and Joon-jae meet the same fate as their ancestors?

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Big Mouth

For his post-enlistment comeback, Lee Jong-suk starred in this crime thriller as Park Chang-ho, a cocky, incompetent lawyer who's known as "Big Mouth," because he talks big but can't back it up. After losing a big case, he's hired for a corrupt case that gets him in trouble with powerful kingpin Gong Ji-hoon (Yang Kyung-won). He's then framed as the notorious and genius con-artist "Big Mouse" and sent to prison. The rest of the series follows Chang-ho and his wife Go Mi-ho (Girls Generation's Im Yoon-a) as they seek to prove his innocence, and the anti-hero seeks to bring down the corrupt systems both inside and outside the prison.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Kiss Sixth Sense

Crash Landing on You's Seo Ji-hye stars in this fantasy workplace rom-com (and webtoon adaptation) as Hong Ye-sul, an account executive who has the magical ability to see the future when she kisses someone. One day, when Ye-sul accidentally plants lips with her team chief Cha Min-hoo (Yoon Kye-sang), she sees a vision of herself in bed with him. As she's reeling from the idea of falling in love with her asshole boss, her ex-boyfriend Lee Pil-yo (Kim Ji-suk) shows up to work on a new project together and confesses that he wants her back.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Encounter

Song Hye-kyo also stars in this vacation-meets-real-life romance, alongside a long-haired Park Bo-gum. Cha Soo-hyun (Song) is the unhappy daughter of a politician, who enters a loveless marriage that's beneficial to her father and eventually gets divorced. Her life is changed when she goes on a trip to Cuba and meets Kim Jin-hyeok (Park), an innocent young man who works various part time jobs to get by. When Soo-hyun returns to South Korea to run the hotel chain that she received as alimony, she's surprised to find that Jin-hyeok is her employee.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

While You Were Sleeping

Bae Suzy stars in this fantasy romance as Nam Hong-joo (Bae Suzy), a reporter whose dreams are visions of unfortunate events fated to happen in the future. Though she has tried to stop the tragedies from happening, her dreams have always come true. One day she meets prosecutor Jung Jae-chan (Lee Jong-suk), who also receives the dreams but has the ability to change the outcome of the visions. Eventually the pair encounter policeman Han Woo-tak (Jung Hae-in), who helps them prevent the tragic visions.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Oh My Venus

Warning: This drama involves a weight loss plot and can be triggering for viewers sensitive to fatphobia. This rom-com follows Kang Joo-eun (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha's Shin Min-ah), a lawyer who was once the beauty of her school known as "Daegu's Venus." Over the years she has put on weight, and one night she gets dumped by her boyfriend of 15 years. Then she meets Kim Yeong-ho (So Ji-sub), a personal trainer for Hollywood stars who lives a fit lifestyle to overcome a devastating injury from his childhood. Yeong-ho agrees to be Joo-eun's trainer, and as they closer, they heal each other's emotional wounds and slowly fall in love.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Rookie Cops

This coming-of-age drama offers a different spin on the college plot, following a group of students at the Korean National Police University studying to become full-fledged cops. The leads of the ensemble cast are Chae Soo-bin as Go Eun-gang, the daughter of an ordinary family, and K-pop idol Kang Daniel as Wi Seung-hyun, the son of a top police executive. The two freshmen deal with the struggles of training, including strict instructors and a tough boot camp, while slowly falling for each other.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Uncontrollably Fond

This tearjerking romance follows a pair of childhood sweethearts who suffered a tragic breakup due to uncontrollable circumstances. Years later, they meet again as adults; Shin Joon-yeong (Kim Woo-bin) is now a famous actor and singer, while Noh Eul (Bae Suzy) is documentary producer-director. Joon-yeong initially gives Noh Eul a hard time as they're tasked to do a documentary together, but when old feelings come back up, can the pair truly rekindle their love.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Revenge of Others

This intense youth drama starts as a male student falls to his death at school. The victim's sister, Ok Chan-mi (Shin Ye-eun), doesn't believe that her brother killed himself, but when police find no evidence of foul play, she becomes determined to find her brother's murderer herself. When she transfers to his school, Yongtan High, she meets Ji Soo-heon (All of Us Are Dead (opens in new tab)'s Lomon), who witnessed her brother's death, and begins investigating all of her new classmates. Meanwhile, a "hero" who avenges bullied students appears at the school, and Chan-mi speculates that it may be connected to her brother.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

So I Married The Anti-Fan

This Korean adaptation of the 2010 novel and 2016 Chinese film follows top idol Hoo Joon (Choi Tae-joon) and magazine reporter Geun-young (Girls Generation's Choi Soo-young). Their first encounter happens at a club opening, when Geun-young witnesses Hoo Joon's violent behavior and accidentally vomits on him. When Geun-young loses her job immediately after, she becomes convinced that Tae-joon got her fired, and dedicates herself to revealing the beloved star's bad behavior. When she gets media attention as Hoo Joon's anti-fan, she gets an offer to participate in a reality TV show where she'd live with him in a fake marriage. As the pair film the show and give each other a hard time on set, they slowly begin to care for each other.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)

Secret Royal Inspector & Joy

This Joseon-era comedy centers on the activities of the secret royal inspector, a undercover official appointed by the king to expose wrongdoings among government officials in local provinces. Ra Yi-eon (2PM's Ok Taec-yeon) dreamed of opening a dumpling stall outside the capitol, but when he passes the state exam, he begins his unexpected career of carrying out covert missions. Meanwhile, Kim Jo-yi (Extraordinary You's Kim Hye-yoon) is an adventurous, outspoken advocate of women's independence, convinced that she can find happiness by divorcing her husband. When Jo-yi convinces Yi-eon to let her tag along on his first official investigation, they set out to wipe out corruption together.

WATCH NOW (opens in new tab)