7 Korean Dramas With No Romance Whatsoever
From fantasy thrillers to crime dramas, these shows feature hardly any romance.
South Korean TV series are often associated with light romantic stories, but far from the classic hate-to-love or boss-subordinate tropes, K-dramas offer a broad variety of genres that can cater to the most diverse tastes.
Tired of romance? Here are the seven best Korean shows that completely forego romantic relationships between characters.
7. Hell Is Other People (2019)
Hell Is Other People is a gripping psychological thriller about a writer who relocates to Seoul and moves into the low-rent Eden Dormitory. Although the neighbours initially seem friendly and empathetic, the protagonist soon discovers their behaviour is abnormal, and the dormitory itself conceals sinister secrets.
6. Kairos (2020)
Kairos is an ancient Greek term that, like chronos, means time. However, while the latter refers to the arrow of time, Kairos means an opportune moment. The series follows a man and a woman who discover their timelines are misaligned by one month. Together, they attempt to prevent some catastrophic events from occurring.
5. Bloodhounds (2023)
Bloodhounds narrates the story of two young boxers who plunge into the brutal criminal underworld while trying to profit from the money-lending business.
4. The Devil Judge (2021)
Set in a dystopian alternate South Korea, the show features trials prosecuted on a popular TV show led by a judge who punishes and condemns the corrupt and powerful. However, beneath the judge's apparent sense of justice lie dreadful secrets and personal ambitions.
3. Vincenzo (2021)
We've slightly bent the rules here as there is a subtle romantic subplot in this drama, but it's not the story's main focus. The series revolves around a lawyer working for the Italian Mafia who has to confront a drug cartel masquerading as a pharmaceutical company in Seoul.
2. Signal (2016)
Signal is a mind-bending, suspenseful fantasy thriller about a profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 who get in touch through a mysterious walkie-talkie to solve a series of interconnected murders.
1. Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)
The Korean education system often faces criticism for its strict policies and bullying, which the teachers themselves frequently ignore. The story centres on three classmates striving to survive high school while being targeted by violent peers and other miscreants.