20 Best K-Dramas Featuring Secret Identities and Hidden Pasts

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K-dramas often feature characters with hidden identities, and while it’s a common plot device, it can be really compelling. These secrets can make a simple love story more complicated, or give a character a mysterious backstory, adding both intrigue and conflict to the show.

Talented actors often enjoy playing characters with hidden identities in K-dramas, and some even take on multiple roles within the same show. This technique – a character keeping their true self a secret – is a classic way to make a K-drama more captivating, no matter the specific type of story it tells.

Romance Is A Bonus Book

2019

The K-drama Romance is a Bonus Book tells the story of Kang Dan-i (played by Lee Na-young), who re-enters the workforce after a divorce. She struggles to find a job because of a gap in her resume related to being a mother. To overcome this, Dan-i pretends she doesn’t have a college degree, which allows her to qualify for a unique hiring program at a publishing company.

Things get complicated when Dan-i’s childhood friend, Eun-ho (Lee Jong-suk), discovers her secret and feels obligated to help her keep it hidden. Despite being more than capable, Dan-i enjoys her job and finds fulfillment learning the ropes of the publishing world, even though her position is a bit uncertain.

Start-Up

2020

Right from the start of the K-drama, it was obvious that Seo Dal-mi (played by Bae Suzy) and Nam Do-san had a complex connection. As a teenager, Dal-mi wrote letters to a pen pal named Nam Do-san, who was actually Han Ji-pyeong (played by Kim Seon-ho) using a pseudonym, and he became her first love.

In the drama Start-Up, Dal-mi enters the challenging world of tech and meets Nam Do-san, a talented programmer who supports her dream of starting a business. However, Nam Do-san struggles with whether to reveal his true identity to Dal-mi, fearing it could jeopardize their growing relationship.

Kill It

2019

While many K-dramas feature serial killers, Kill It stands out with its unusual detective pairing. Kim Soo-hyun, played by Jang Ki-yong, appears to be an ordinary vet, but he’s secretly a highly skilled assassin, especially after learning about his adoptive father’s failing health.

Do Hyun-jin, played by Nana, appears cold and distant, but she’s actually a kind-hearted detective who keeps her true feelings hidden. When a new killer draws her into the case, she unexpectedly ends up working with Soo-hyun, and together they must uncover a large and complex conspiracy.

Extracurricular

2020

The K-drama Extracurricular is a gripping, fast-paced show that doesn’t get enough attention. It follows Oh Ji-soo (played by Kim Dong-hee), a typical high school student who takes drastic measures to earn money for school.

Instead of getting a regular job, Oh Ji-soo chooses a risky path: protecting young girls involved in sex work. He juggles the challenges of high school with a dangerous secret life, dealing with blackmail and even discovering a classmate is also involved in his hidden world.

Touch Your Heart

2019

Legal K-dramas often feature intense and overly dramatic courtroom cases. But “Touch Your Heart” is different – it’s a much lighter and funnier story. The main character, Oh Jin-shim (played by Yoo In-na and known professionally as Oh Yoon-seo), needs to gain practical experience as a secretary to prepare for a new acting role.

Oh Jin-shim’s carefully laid plans hit a snag when she unexpectedly starts working for Kwon Jung-rok, a strict lawyer who would immediately fire her if he discovered her secret. Now, while trying to rebuild her career as a star, she also has to juggle the demands of a regular office job.

I’m Not A Robot

2017

The drama I’m Not a Robot tells a somewhat unsettling love story. It begins when Kim Min-kyu (Yoo Seung-ho) falls for Aji 3, a robot created to look like Jo Ji-ah (Chae Soo-bin). When Aji 3 malfunctions, Jo Ji-ah must impersonate the robot, acting as if she’s just a machine.

Kim Min-kyu seems like a typical K-drama hero, but Ji-ah soon discovers he deeply desires connection and affection. However, her increasing feelings for him threaten her main goal: keeping her true nature a secret.

Miss Night And Day

2024

The K-drama Miss Night and Day uniquely portrays the idea of a double life. The main character, Lee Mi-jin, actually lives as two different people each day—one is 48 years old (played by Lee Jung-eun), and the other is 28 (played by Jung Eun-ji).

Lee Mi-jin leads a double life, constantly deceiving people to keep her two identities separate. By day, she pretends to be a young job seeker, but at night, she transforms into an older, less noticeable woman. This complicated scheme catches the attention of prosecutor Gye Ji-woong (Choi Jin-hyuk), who encounters both versions of her and begins to suspect something isn’t right.

Her Private Life

2019

The K-drama Her Private Life features a truly memorable couple: Sung Deok-mi, played by Park Min-young, and Ryan Gold, played by Kim Jae-wook. However, their path to love wasn’t simple. By day, Deok-mi was a polished museum curator, but secretly, she dedicated her spare time to managing a thriving online fan page for a K-pop star.

Sung Deok-mi was deeply passionate about her favorite band, treating her fan life as a major part of who she was. She went to great lengths to keep her personal life separate, worried that friends or family would discover her intense dedication to ‘The Road to Si-an.’ However, Ryan soon found out the truth and accepted and loved all aspects of her personality.

Flower Of Evil

2020

The drama Flower of Evil centers around a seemingly perfect family thrown into chaos by a murder case. Detective Cha Ji-won (played by Moon Chae-won) finds her happy marriage to Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi) unraveling as her professional and personal lives collide.

Even after years of marriage, Baek Hee-sung kept a shocking secret from his wife, hiding his real identity. While Cha Ji-won’s husband, who is eventually revealed as Do Hyun-soo, wasn’t the killer she anticipated, the K-drama Flower of Evil still featured a truly memorable villain.

The Beauty Inside

2018

The K-drama The Beauty Inside is a feel-good romantic comedy with a unique twist. The main character, Han Se-gye (played by Seo Hyun-jin), mysteriously transforms into a different person every month – changing her age, gender, and even race for a week at a time. Because of this, she has to keep to herself and avoid being around others.

She’s a loner, but her life shifts when she meets Seo Do-jae (Lee Min-ki), a company executive who has a rare condition called prosopagnosia – he can’t recognize faces. At first, they both see their quirks as burdens, but they unexpectedly connect and find they’re a perfect fit for each other because of them.

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2025-12-02 23:34