Like “Squid Game”? Here are Some K-dramas to Check Out!

By Jae-Ha Kim
KOCOWA
September 29, 2021

The psychological thriller “Squid Game” is an international sensation. Besides wowing viewers in South Korea, this K-drama reached the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Netflix Top 10 shortly after all nine episodes were simultaneously released on September 17. As many of you already know, KOCOWA streams content that originally aired on Korea’s Big 3 networks — KBS, MBC and SBS. So while you can’t watch “Squid Game” here (boo!), KOCOWA offers several series that “Squid Game” fans may want to check out.

“Squid Game” deals with playing with other people’s lives… So does “Taxi Driver,” which is based on the webcomic “The Deluxe Taxi.” This K-drama tells the story of Kim Do Ki (Lee Je Hoon) — a former special forces officer — who’s recruited by the mysterious CEO of the Rainbow Taxi company. Jang Sung Chol (Kim Eui Song) is a  wealthy philanthropist who also spearheads the Bluebird Foundation, which benefits crime victims. Oh, and this do-gooder also has an underground compound where he jails criminals who he feels didn’t get the punishment they deserved for the heinous crimes they committed. The murderers, rapists, and embezzlers are kept caged like animals. Do they deserve this life? Herein lies the moral dilemma. Who gets to decide the judgment? This is something the players ponder as they seek appropriate justice.

Coincidentally, the first episode of “The Veil” also released on September 17. Known in South Korea as “검은 태양” — aka Black Sun — this thriller is one of 2021’s most highly anticipated K-dramas. And honestly, this series has so much going on (including a lot of gore) that the first episode out Squid Gamed the “Squid Game” in terms of violence and action. The plot centers on a mysterious National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent Han Ji Hyuk (Namkoong Min), who is found alive after having disappeared for a year. When he returns to South Korea, it is without any memory of what transpired during the previous year. Is it true memory loss? Is he faking it for a mission? Who’s the traitor that turned on him? What really happened? And… who’s going to be tortured next?!

All three seasons of “The Penthouse” are filled with rage and manipulation. But this third and final season is a doozy! You know how the showrunners said there won’t be a fourth season, but some fans still hung onto hope that it still might happen? Nope. It’s not going to happen, because so many of the major players are long-gone dead. All the plotting and revenge led to some serious, gross carnage.

“Come and Hug Me” is one of the most disturbing K-dramas I’ve ever seen. (Lee Joon Gi’s “Flower of Evil” and Yeo Jin Goo’s “Beyond Evil” would round out the trilogy.) Jang Ki Yong plays the detective son of a serial killer, played with intense creepiness by Huh Joon Ho (pictured above), who’s both proud of his son, but also wants to turn him into his evil Mini Me. Honestly, every time Joon Ho appeared on screen, I worried about what would happen next. (Oh, and “The Penthouse” fans will recognize Yoon Jong Hoon, who has a co-starring role here as a somewhat annoying do-gooder.)

There’s a loooottttt going on in “Kairos.” The plot is very different from “Squid Game,” but it involves a couple characters who are not what they seem and who are out to destroy the life of Seo Jin (Shin Sung Rok), a hotshot at Yujung Construction. Thanks to a time travel element, he and Ae Ri (Lee Se Young) manipulate time to change the outcome of people’s lives. While they do this for overall betterment of society in general (and themselves personally), they learn that good intentions don’t always result in good outcomes.

To be honest, I initially thought “Squid Game” was a comedy about ugly men. Why? It’s not because the cast is ugly. Quite the contrary. But Koreans often refer to ugly men as 오징어 /squid. (I think every male cast member of “Running Man” (except for Song Joong Ki) called each other 오징어 at one point or another!) Of course, Yu Jae Seok is always on top of the latest trends. So for his variety series “How Do You Play” (Episode 108), the nation’s emcee and his crew (including Ha Ha) play… Squid Game (the children’s game that started off the K-drama of the same name)! As expected, this episode isn’t scary in the least, except maybe for Jae Seok, who looks terrified as a member of South Korea’s national rugby team hoists him in the air! This episode is a wonderful way to decompress after binging on all the other series mentioned here.

Have you seen any of the K-dramas I mentioned here? What have you loved? Which didn’t float your boat? Let me know in the comments below!