Some of the most prominent Korean movies to come out in the past couple of decades were renowned for how tactfully violent they could be. In movies like Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, violence is a strategic tool for the characters, something that told a larger story in a way that felt more meaningful. That doesn’t justify its use, but this continues to be a prominent characteristic in Korean movies, although the films of the early- and late-2000s may have been a peak for the genre. The television counterparts of these movies typically don’t go as far as the film directors do, but they are still out there.

From lawyers willing to get their fists dirty to find out information about their cases to boxers trying to fight their way out of a situation, action has become a prominent genre in Korean dramas too. Squid Game made waves for how it was out there when it came to its depictions of capitalism, violence, and poverty, but its subject is something Korean entertainment has been treading on for decades. These Korean action series are ones that incorporate action into the main storyline, making an average Tuesday for the characters a step above the rest.

12 Kingdom

Released in 2019, Kingdom is unlike the stereotype of what a Korean drama is and can be. Starring Bae Doona, Ryu Seung-ryong, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Sung-kyu, Ju Ji-hoon, and Kim Hye-jun, Kingdom is a period horror show that takes place in 1500s Korea. In the midst of the Joseon Era, the king contracts an illness. The prince, his son, tries to figure out what is wrong with his father, but when the entire kingdom comes down with this new disease, he needs to figure out what to do in order to save his people.

11 Lawless Lawyer

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In Lawless Lawyer, Lee Joon-gi and Seo Ye-ji team up to portray two lawyers going against the grain of what is expected of them. Lee portrays Sang-pil, a gangster who has somewhat changed his ways by becoming a lawyer. However, he’s not afraid of using his fists whenever he thinks he needs to. After a lawyer (Seo) verbally goes after a judge in court, Sang-pil decides to offer her a job and she ends up agreeing to do so. Together, they plan to go after all the corrupt individuals in the Korean court system.

10 Healer

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Park Min-young and Ji Chang-wook star in the 2014 television series Healer. Three individuals are brought together in order to find out the truth about an incident that happened in 1992. Back then, five friends were running a broadcast station pushing for democracy in a time when South Korea was ruled by a dictatorship. Those in the present day are trying to reveal the truth of what happened, which will force them to confront people involved with the suppression of others’ voices, as well as challenge their beliefs and how they were taught about history and the way to go about things.
Related: The 20 Best Main Characters In Korean Dramas, Ranked

9 City Hunter

SBS TV

City Hunter is based on a popular Japanese Manga of the same name, and was one of the dramas that continued to launch Hallyu star Lee Min-ho into the spotlight internationally. He co-stars with Park Min-young, and the drama begins in the year 1983. The dictator at the time, Chun Doo-hwan, is visiting a foreign country when a bombing goes off, killing several in his party. But when a team is sent to North Korea to retaliate, they are betrayed by their government. Years later, the son of one of the men who died on that mission decides he wants revenge, and will do whatever it takes to get it.

8 The K2

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2016’s The K2 sees Ji Chang-wook starring as an elite bodyguard named Je-ha. A former mercenary, he is hired to become the bodyguard of the daughter of a security company’s CEO, but there’s a catch: no one is technically supposed to know that she exists. Je-ha only agrees to the job because he thinks it can help him get revenge for the murder of his former lover in Iraq, but Je-ha and the daughter begin to fall in love, complicating things further. As family politics come to light, things are going to get quite ugly soon.

7 Mr. Sunshine

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Mr. Sunshine is one of the most iconic Korean dramas to have been released so far, and for many, it is available to stream on platforms like Netflix. Lee Byung-hun leads the drama as a character who, in the early-1870s, was liberated from his position as a Joseon slave and immigrates to America. Years later, as an adult, he returns to Joseon as a soldier for the American army, he ends up falling in love with an aristocrat’s daughter (Kim Tae-ri). But as the Japanese continue their efforts to colonize the peninsula, conflict is imminent.

6 W

Chorokbaem Media

Webtoons from South Korea have become very popular in recent years, and several Korean dramas have actually been adapted from webtoons. W is one of those series that isn’t adapted specifically from one, but creates one in its plot. A surgeon (Han Hyo-joo) is the daughter of a famous webtoon creator, but one day, her father goes missing. She gets sucked into the world of his webtoon and saves the main character, Kang Chul (Lee Jong-suk), but that has devastating consequences. Now forced to grapple two different worlds, things will get even more dangerous when the two fall in love and their worlds continue to increasingly merge.
Related: 12 South Korean Movies That Will Disturb You For Days

5 My Name

Netflix

The Netflix series My Name only ran for eight episodes, but it packs plenty of punches throughout. Released in 2021, Han So-hee portrays Yoon Ji-woo, who, after her father’s untimely death, has a taste for revenge. She’s brought into the folds of a crime organization and the leader of it takes her in and trains her himself. Her biggest job has just been assigned — she needs to infiltrate the local police department’s drug unit and be a mole. But when she becomes attached to her coworkers, it could spell the end for them all.

4 D.P.

Netflix

Running for six episodes, D.P. is a Korean drama that offers critical insight into the lives of those conscripted in the Korean military. It is mandatory for men to enlist in the military due to the conflicts in the peninsula, and Jung Hae-in and Koo Kyo-hwan portray two individuals who are tasked with bringing back those who deserted the army. Many have their reasons, including depression and other mental health issues, but the series explores the journeys these two have to go through to bring these men back alive and intact.

3 Squid Game

Netflix

Squid Game has become one of the biggest Korean television shows in the world, becoming a sleeper hit when it was released in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The show imagines what would happen when a bunch of lower-income people are lured into a reality game show kind of situation — except with a major twist. Those who lose the game are systematically killed one by one, and the main characters of the show want to desperately win the cash prize at the end. An unflinching look into a plethora of issues in contemporary Korean society, Squid Game is an incredible watch.

2 Bloodhounds

Netflix

Bloodhounds came out in 2023, and only consists of eight episodes, but its main characters make up for it in their energy. Woo Doo-hwan and Lee Sang-yi portray two young male boxers that get caught up in the world of crime and loan sharks after Woo’s character’s mother is convinced to sign a loan she could never pay back. The two utilize their boxing skills after being hired to protect Hyeon-ju (Kim Saeron), but when they end up tangled in the wrong man’s radar, they all have targets on their back, pushing them further into a situation where they must fight to live.

1 Vagabond

Netflix

2019’s Vagabond stars Lee Seung-gi as Cha Dal-gun, a stuntman with great responsibility on his shoulders. After his nephew was left an orphan, he decides to take him in. But when his nephew goes on a trip to Morocco, Dal-gun is horrified to hear that a plane crash has occurred, and it’s the flight his nephew was on. In order to gain closure, he travels to Morocco, but when he realizes it may not have been an accident, it causes him to partner up with an operative from the National Intelligence Service (Bae Suzy) to find out the truth.