South Korean content has been dominating streaming platforms for almost a decade. Korean romance dramas already have an established appeal and solid international fan base, and then the industry dipped its toes into first-class thrillers and suspense.
Recently, streaming platforms, especially Netflix, have been heavily ruled by South Korean survival TV series that are off the chart in terms of content, visualization, story, and execution. The unprecedented success of Squid Game put every post-apocalyptic, zombie invasion, and survival genre TV show on every viewer’s watchlist.
These series are so intense and gripping that the audience can’t help but imagine themselves running from a monster outbreak or a dystopian future without water. Even though there’s no lack of South Korean survival-themed movies and shows, there are a few that are so good that they will have the viewers on the edge of their seats.
10: D-Day Is an Unpredictable Disaster Drama
1 Season, 2015, Apple TV
D-Day
A natural disaster strikes the city of Seoul. The whole city becomes paralyzed. Doctors and emergency personnel struggle to save the people.
Release Date: September 18, 2015
Creator: Hwang Eun-kyung
Cast: Kim Young-kwang , Jung So-min , Ha Seok-jin
Main Genre: Drama
Seasons: 1
D-Day is a very different survival series that plays closer to reality than the rest. It tackles serious themes and captures the real meaning of what it is like to struggle for survival. In this intense medical/disaster drama, the city of Seoul is struck with a horrific earthquake that nearly levels the city. In the wake of such a catastrophe, the only people the victims can rely on are the group of brave doctors and rescue workers who get thrown into a messy situation.
D-Day isn’t about people going at each other’s throats for a can of food or sentencing someone to death because they may be infected. The series is a genuine depiction of the fear and uncertainty a society undergoes when a calamity strikes. Such incidents naturally awaken the human survival instinct, and it’s one of the things that this show perfectly captures.
9: Hellbound Is a Complicated Survival Horror
1 Season, 2021, Netflix
People hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, a death angel appears in front of them and kills them.
Release Date: November 19, 2021
Cast: Yoo Ah-in , Kim Hyun-joo , Park Jeong-min , Won Jin-ah , Yang Ik-Joon , Kim Do-yoon , Kim Shin-rock , Ryu Kyung-soo
Main Genre: K-Drama
Seasons 2
Netflix's new Korean drama might just be the streamer's next international hit, but what should you watch after you've binged Hellbound?
Hellbound stands out because it deviates from typical enemies plaguing the people in a survival series. Instead of virus outbreaks and world-ending events, Hellbound is about delivering condemnation. When a seemingly ordinary world suddenly turns into a literal hell where judgment is delivered, there’s nothing anyone can do or trust when death is seconds away. An Angel suddenly appears in a bustling South Korea and starts condemning individuals to hell on the basis of prophecies called decrees.
Hellbound impressively throws around the idea that not only are apocalyptic events the ones that bring out the worst in people, but sometimes, the fear of judgment can do that, too. These events cause people to think about what they’ve been doing with their lives and find ways to survive a death sentence. Hellbound has everything a gripping survival series can offer, from nerve-wracking plot twists to a mind-blowing ending.
8: Dark Hole Is a South Korean Drama Similar to ‘The Mist’
1 Season, 2021, Apple TV
Dark Hole
About a group of survivors who have to fight for their lives against mutants that are created when humans breathe mysterious dark smoke from a sinkhole.
Release Date: April 20, 2021
Creator: OCN
Cast: Kim Ok-bin , Lee Joon-hyuk
Main Genre: Action
Seasons 1
Dark Hole is an underrated survival K-drama that somewhat resembles Sweet Home’s plot. It follows the struggles of a group of survivors trying to outrun the monstrous effects of a mysterious dark fog. The lives of these people were turned upside down when black smoke from a chemical factory’s sinkhole turned humans into mutants. It’s a classic survival story that would take viewers on a thrilling ride and bet against the odds of which character will stick out till the end.
There’s nothing too grand about Dark Hole, but it’s a story that remains true to the survival theme and elements. It’s a thought-provoking show that would make the audience question their morals and how it feels to sink into a darkness that may have always been inside.
7: Liar Game Is About Surviving Deception
1 Season, 2014, Netflix
Alice in Borderland
Created by: Haro Aso
First TV Show: Alice in Borderland
Latest TV Show: Alice in Borderland (2020)
First Episode Air Date: October 17, 2014
Liar Game is the Korean adaptation of a Japanese manga of the same name that centers around strong themes of trust, survival, and deception. It tells the thrilling story of an innocent college student with mounting debt who gets selected to participate in a mysterious psychological survival game. The participants are selected via a hidden camera audition and are tasked to deceive other players in order to win the grand prize of over $9 million. The premise sounds like another Squid Game, but the series leans more towards psychological themes, including a sizzling romance.
Liar Game successfully captures the true essence of a thrilling survival series with a strong plot and good character development. It's an underrated gem that indulges in phenomenal mind games that will have the viewers hooked. It's the type of TV show that if the audience blinks, they'll miss critical details and hints leading to mind-boggling plot twists.
6: Duty After School Is a Captivating Apocalyptic Drama
1 Season, 2023, Apple TV
Duty After School
A science fiction thriller that depicts all students across the country fighting against unidentified objects ahead of the CSAT and fighting for extra points.
Release Date: March 31, 2023
Creator: Lee Nam-kyu
Cast: Im Se-mi , Shin Hyun-soo , Lee Soon-won , Kwon Eun-bin
Main Genre: Science Fiction
Seasons 2
Survival series based around high schools have a charm of their own, and that’s why most of these K-dramas work, given they have a strong cast and story. Duty After School didn’t garner as much hype as All Of Us Are Dead, but it works with the same dynamics, and instead of zombies, the kids in school have to deal with aliens. When the nation is mysteriously faced with a deadly alien invasion, the South Korean military has no option but to look toward the youth.
Overwhelmed by the ongoing invasion, the government decided to train high school seniors to help the military. As bizarre and whacky as the plot sounds, the series does justice to the survival genre with a twist of dark humor. The characters do a fantastic job of capturing the vibe of the world-end setting, especially the essence of youth and friendship.
5: Kingdom Started the K-Survival Trend
2 Seasons, 2019, Netflix
Kingdom
While strange rumors about their ill King grip a kingdom, the crown prince becomes their only hope against a mysterious plague overtaking the land.
Release Date: January 25, 2019
Cast: Ju Ji-Hoon , Bae Doona , Kim Sungkyu , Kim Hye-jun
Main Genre: Horror
Seasons 2
Netflix's Kingdom accomplishes the intrigue, drama and sense of dread that AMC's The Walking Dead tries to capture as TV's prime zombie series.
Kingdom was “the” survival K-drama that started the trend of survival shows but with a very different setting. Instead of being based in a bustling residential society or a high school, Kingdom has a strong historical background that surprisingly works well with the zombie apocalypse subplot. Adapted from a webtoon, Kingdom follows the thrilling story of a kingdom in the Joseon Era where a king suddenly falls ill, and a rumor spreads that it’s because of smallpox.
However, when an eager Crown Prince tries to get to the bottom of the mystery, he finds that his kingdom is in the midst of a deadly “monster” outbreak that corresponds to the term “zombie” in modern times. Kingdom is an exceptionally clever take on the zombie survival theme and does justice to the trope without relying too much on cliches. Since zombies have been utilized in almost all senses and settings, Kingdom offers something much more refined and unique.
4: Happiness Offers Romance Amid Chaos
1 Season, 2021, Netflix
Happiness
An apocalyptic thriller that takes place in a time in which infectious diseases have become the new normal.
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Creator: Yang Ji-eul and Lee Myung-han
Cast: Han Hyo-joo , Jo Woo-jin , Park Hyung-sik
Main Genre: Horror
Seasons 1
Love seldom blooms when survival is the only thing that matters. Happiness is another zombie outbreak thriller that deals with the hardships of being stuck in a posh resident building while the outside world goes down the drain. However, one of the best things about Happiness that sets it apart is its heartfelt love story that manages to balance the eeriness of the apocalyptic event.
The protagonists are strong-headed young individuals, especially the leading lady, which makes this interesting survival series worth the time. The show has just the right amount of emotion, havoc, and thrill with a plot that’s not too far-fetched but has a perfect balance of logic and fiction. Happiness is an out-of-the-box zombie drama that explores the conflicts of the building’s residents and how an emergency situation affects the human moral compass.
3: The Silent Sea Depicts Humanity’s Worst Nightmare
1 Season, 2021, Netflix
The Silent Sea
During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.
Release Date: December 24, 2021
Cast: Bae Doona , Gong Yoo , Joon Lee , Kim Sun-young
Main Genre: K-Drama
Seasons 1
Sitcoms may seem like they are all about laughter, but a few dark fan theories would change the way the viewers look at them.
The Silent Sea will give the audience goosebumps in its portrayal of a world without water. Imagining surviving in a world where water is a highly precious commodity can kick-start anyone’s survival mode. While every person in this series is trying to survive the repercussions of the dying water resources, the story mainly focuses on a space mission crew who is tasked with retrieving information and samples from a research facility on the moon.
The Silent Sea is exhilarating, suspenseful, and a promising sci-fi thriller. The viewers can never really guess what’s going on until the last episode, and this perilous journey from the unknown to the known is one of the best things about the show. It may not come off as a typical survival series, but the show is all about surviving human extinction and going to every length to stop it.
2: Sweet Home Plays on the Thin Line Between Humanity and Monstrosity
2 Seasons, 2020, Netflix
Sweet Home TV Show Poster
Sweet Home
Hyun, a loner high school student who lost his entire family in a terrible accident, is forced to leave his home and has to face a new reality where monsters are trying to wipe out all of humanity. Now he must fight against all odds to try and race against the clock to save what is left of the human race before it's too late.
Release Date: November 18, 2022
Cast: Kim Young-kwang , Kang Hae-Lim , Su-yeon Kim , Yuuki Luna
Main Genre: K-Drama
Seasons 3
Instead of mindless zombies eating humans for absolutely no reason, Sweet Home decides to take it up a notch and introduce “monsters.” Sweet Home draws inspiration from every survival story trope and adds original ideas and concepts to give viewers an over-the-top, adrenaline-infused drama. When a troubled teenager moves into a crumbling building, he is faced with the most horrific thing that threatens not only his but the humanity of every person in the country.
Sweet Home has wonderful pacing in which the series never dumps all the information at once but slowly unfolds the twists, all the while keeping the intensity through human reactions. The show not only treats fans to a good survival-themed plot but deeply explores the desperation, selfishness, and the lengths humans can go to survive and not give in to their monstrous nature.
1 All of Us Are Dead Is a High School Action/Drama Done Right
1 Season, 2022, Netflix
All Of Us Are Dead
A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out or turn into one of the rabid infected.
Release Date: January 28, 2022
Cast: Park Ji-hu , Chan-Young Yoon , Yi-Hyun Cho , Park Solomon
Main Genre: Horror
Seasons 2
There’s no lack of zombie outbreaks and post-apocalyptic stories about surviving a zombie virus in the South Korean industry. The genre is so saturated that it's hard for the audience to feel excited anymore since every story follows the same formulaic trend for a commercially successful show. However, All of Us Are Dead surprised the audience by not only redefining the zombie outbreak trope but also infusing the story with intense drama, emotion, and cliffhangers. The carefree students of an average high school never imagined that a simple day at school could turn into their worst nightmares.
A deadly zombie virus spreads from a science lab of a suspicious teacher to the entire school and eventually the whole district. In their attempt to survive, these young souls are faced with harsh realities, from experiencing the consequences of surviving to seeing their friends being consumed by insatiable hunger. All of Us Are Dead is the ultimate survival show that thrives on its ability to play along several themes with great plot twists.