The 20 Best Sci-Fi K-Dramas Of All Time

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K-dramas cover all sorts of genres, but Korean science fiction is often surprisingly good and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. While many popular K-dramas are romantic comedies, it’s a mistake to think that all Korean dramas fall into that category – there’s a lot more to explore!

Unlike realistic Korean dramas, science fiction focuses on ‘what if’ scenarios, often involving technology, environmental catastrophes, or extraterrestrial life. While some K-dramas blend in fantasy elements with sci-fi, others build their stories around science – whether it’s real or invented. Many sci-fi K-dramas are exceptionally well-made and deserve more attention for their compelling stories and creative worlds.

20. Black Knight

2023

The series Black Knight begins with a familiar premise: it’s set in the near future – 2071 – where the Earth has suffered severe environmental damage. After a meteor impact, dangerous air pollution has trapped most of the population, making travel impossible. People now depend on couriers known as Knights to deliver essential oxygen.

The story follows a deliveryman called Knight 5-8 (Kim Woo-bin). When he meets a lonely young woman, he’s forced to face a harsh reality: even in a ruined world, prejudice and social separation can be more threatening than the environment itself.

19. W

2016

While technically a fantasy series, W is a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of what’s real. The show cleverly contrasts the everyday world with the fantastical world of a comic book, and it’s this contrast that makes it so engaging. Unlike many K-dramas adapted from webtoons, W actually has its own webtoon, and the main character somehow ends up inside it.

At its core, W is a science fiction story, but it’s really a love story first. What makes it fascinating – and a little unsettling, like all good sci-fi – is the idea that every fictional story actually creates a brand new reality.

18. Alice

2020

Despite being a somewhat controversial series, the K-drama Alice has significantly influenced Korean science fiction. The show centers around a special agency that monitors time travel, acting like a police force for temporal disturbances. The story kicks off when an agent breaks the rules and tries to build a new life in the past, leading to unpredictable and far-reaching consequences.

The story mainly focuses on her son, who becomes a detective unaware of his mother’s secret history. When he accidentally uncovers information about Alice, he’s forced to join forces with a surprising partner to save reality itself.

17. Melting Me Softly

2019

The K-drama Melting Me Softly blends romance and science fiction in a fresh way, successfully balancing both genres. The story centers around a couple who volunteered for a 24-hour freezing experiment, but unexpectedly wake up two decades later when things don’t go as planned.

After the accident, the two characters struggle to adjust to normal life and soon realize they have a dangerous problem: they need to keep their heart rates and body temperatures stable. If they don’t, the unintended cryogenic sleep they experienced could be fatal.

16. Duel

2017

The K-drama Duel initially appears to be a straightforward story about look-alikes, but the central mystery quickly becomes very complex. When a detective’s daughter is kidnapped, his only lead is the presence of two men who look exactly the same at the crime scene.

Just when it seems like “Duel” will follow a predictable story about mistaken identity, the film takes a surprisingly dark turn by revealing the two main characters are actually clones. What begins as a straightforward kidnapping investigation quickly becomes much more complex for the detective involved.

15. Memories of the Alhambra

2018

One of Hyun Bin’s most popular K-dramas, Memories of the Alhambra, centers around an augmented reality game that takes place in the historic Alhambra palace in Spain. Hyun Bin stars as Yoo Jin-woo, a company CEO who travels to Spain to find the game’s creator. Once there, he learns that the programmer, Jung Se-joo (played by Park Chan-yeol), has disappeared.

While a touch of romance helps make Memories of the Alhambra enjoyable for many, the story’s central mystery is truly captivating. A glitch in the augmented reality game has dangerous consequences in the real world, creating a frighteningly blurred line between what’s virtual and what’s real.

14. He Is Psychometric

2019

He Is Psychometric is a crime drama with a supernatural twist. Lee Ahn (played by Park Jin-young) gains the power of psychometry – the ability to learn about people or objects by touching them – after his parents tragically die in a fire. He then uses this unique ability to solve crimes, though he’s more of a determined investigator than a typical superhero.

I recently watched He Is Psychometric, and while it’s not reinventing the wheel, it really pulled me in. The main character, Ahn, is dealing with a ton – not only is he trying to get a handle on his psychometric abilities, but he’s also haunted by what happened to his parents. Things get even more tangled when he meets a woman whose father was wrongly accused of a terrible crime. It’s a pretty straightforward sci-fi story, so if you’re just getting into the genre, I’d definitely recommend it as a fun and accessible watch.

13. Tunnel

2017

Since its debut in 2017, the drama Tunnel has gained a dedicated following thanks to its blend of crime, historical setting, and supernatural elements. The story begins in 1986 with Park Gwang-ho (played by Choi Jin-hyuk), a top detective pursuing a dangerous criminal.

When the detective and the serial killer emerge from a strange tunnel, they unexpectedly find themselves in the year 2016. Gwang-ho, struggling to adapt to the new technology and modern culture, must also face off against a dangerous antagonist from a popular Korean drama, all while feeling like he’s thirty years out of touch.

12. Connect

2022

The K-drama Connect is a disturbing psychological thriller with a sci-fi twist. It centers on Ha Dong-soo (played by Jung Hae-in), a man who can’t die and whose body heals itself. The story follows Dong-soo as he’s hunted by people who illegally harvest his organs, confident that he’ll recover from the damage.

After escaping, the man discovers he can still see – strangely, through the eye that was removed and implanted in a serial killer. Now, Dong-soo is on a quest to get his stolen body parts back, and his unusual connection to them is the only way to find the dangerous criminal who took them.

11. Are You Human?

2018

While many TV shows feature appealing robots, “Are You Human?” offers a unique twist. After wealthy heir Nam Shin (Seo Kang-joon) is attacked and falls into a coma, his mother—the company’s CEO—secretly replaces him with an incredibly realistic AI robot look-alike, Nam Shin III.

The switcheroo successfully deceives almost everyone, except for Nam Shin’s dedicated bodyguard. As she safeguards the android, the drama Are You Human? explores the complex question of whether a robot could fall in love. Beyond this central romance, the show is packed with political suspense that will keep you guessing.

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2025-12-22 06:22