In recent years, many K-dramas like Death’s Game have explored the concept of past lives, death, and redemption from various angles. Based on these concepts, they have depicted thrilling storylines and interesting characters. Several popular tried and tested themes include the afterlife, the supernatural, and the presence of Grim Reaper, among others. These K-dramas have earned significant popularity primarily because of the suspense and mystery elements.
The most recent addition to this type of dramas is Death’s Game, which is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Part 1 of the series released on December 15, 2023, and the second part will release on January 5, 2024. The series follows the story of a man named Choi Yi-Jae (Seo In-Guk), who struggles with depression over life’s struggles. Eventually, he decides to end it once and for all. He meets Death (Park So-Dam), who tasks him with experiencing life and death 12 more times.
Even before Death’s Game, several dramas played with the concept. On that note, check out some of our interesting recommendations for K-dramas like Death’s Game.
Doom at Your Service
Doom at Your Service is a popular Korean drama that follows the story of a young woman named Tak Dong-Kyung (Park Bo-Hyung). She is down on luck and receives her brain tumor diagnosis, leaving her a few days to live. Realizing she’s had enough, Dong-Kyung screams for the world to end. Destruction itself comes to her in the form of a mystical entity named Myeol Mang (Seo In-Guk), who gives her 100 days to live to the fullest.
The drama is available on Netflix and Viki.
Hotel Del Luna
Hotel Del Luna premiered on July 13, 2019. It follows the story of a soul named Jang Man-Wol (IU), the CEO of a supernatural hotel for dead souls who have committed a grave sin. When hotelier Goo Chan-Sun arrives to manage Hotel Del Luna, he connects with Man-Wol and discovers her world as well as stories of the dead souls.
The K-drama is currently available on Viki.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow follows the journey of a young man named Choi Jun-Woong (Rowoon). Unable to get a job anywhere, he struggles to navigate life. However, he meets two Grim Reapers—Goo-Ryeon (Kim Hee-Sun) and Im Ryung-Gu (Yoo Ji-On)—who hire him to carry out special missions. He becomes half-human and half-spirit and joins a crisis management team. Their job is to prevent people from killing themselves.
The Rowoon-starrer premiered on April 1, 2022, and is available on Netflix.
Mystic Pop-Up Bar
Mystic Pop-Up Bar is a popular K-drama that premiered on May 20, 2020. The series follows the story of a mysterious woman named Weol-Ju (Hwang Jung-Eum), the owner of a suspicious bar that only stays open late at night. She hires a part-timer, Han Kang-Bae (Yook Sung-Jae). Together, the duo and the bar travel to their customers’ dreams and heal their issues.
Mystic Pop-Up Bar is available to stream on Netflix.
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God is one of the most popular K-dramas like Death’s Game in the supernatural and fantasy genre. The series follows the story of an immortal goblin, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo), who is on the lookout for his bride. Only his bride can remove his invisible sword, relieving him of his misery and giving him the sweet release of death. However, his life changes when he meets a student, Ji Eun-Tak (Kim Go-Eun), who claims to be his bride.
The K-drama premiered on December 2, 2016, and is now available on Viki and Netflix.
Move to Heaven
Move to Heaven features two men—Han Geu-Ru (Tang Jun-Sang) and his uncle, Cho Sang-Gu (Lee Je-Hoon). Geu-Ru has Asperger Syndrome and meets his ex-convict uncle, Sang-Gu, after his father’s death. The latter becomes Geu-Ru’s guardian, and the duo work as trauma cleaners in their company, Move to Heaven. They clear out dead people’s possessions and uncover stories they left behind to tell them to their loved ones.
The drama premiered on May 14, 2021, and is available to stream on Netflix.
The dramas that explore death, afterlife and more supernatural elements continue to be popular among viewers. More often than not, it enables viewers to empathize with the characters and understand the concept even better. Other than the above-mentioned ones, there are many other K-dramas available on multiple streaming platforms.
