10 Best K-Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows Perfect From Start to Finish

The world of K-drama is vast, and fans of South Korean programs have shows of all genres to discover. From sitcoms and rom-coms to action thrillers and horror comedies, there’s a K-drama for every kind of fan; all one needs to do is dive in and enjoy the massive selection of brilliant titles to watch. That is, if it’s even possible to decide to watch only one show.

Those most interested in K-dramas that belong to sci-fi, fantasy, or both genres at once, will be happy to hear that the selection of these types of dramas is huge. In fact, fantasy dramas are neck and neck with historical dramas when it comes to popularity. When a show combines the two – plus romance – it’s a real winner. The best Korean sci-fi/fantasy shows are among the most compelling TV ever, and it’s up to you how fast or in which order you’re going to watch them. Just make sure you don’t miss any of these.

10

‘Sell Your Haunted House’ (2021)

Starring Jang Na-ra and Jung Yong-hwa

The show named Sell Your Haunted House sounds comical, and it does blend comedy with fantasy and science-fiction – the big three. A lot happens in this drama, and it has some awesome CGI and slo-mo action scenes, making Jang Na-ra look like a badass action hero. The story itself follows a real estate broker/exorcist Ji-ah (Jang Na-ra); she runs the agency Daebak Real Estate (also the original name of the series) which offers exorcism services to building residents who can’t get rid of pesky hauntings.

Their chemistry is great, but the storyline doesn’t end romantically.

Of course, no K-drama is complete without a secondary plot or a major plot twist, and in Sell Your Haunted House, Ji-ah meets a con-artist with psychic powers, In-beom (Jung Yong-hwa), and the two work together to discover more about their own families and pasts. Their chemistry is great, but the storyline doesn’t end romantically. In fact, the series covers life and death as its main themes, all while being scary, funny, powerful, and intelligent all at once.

Watch on Kocowa

9

‘Kairos’ (2020)

Starring Shin Sung-rok and Lee Se-young

Kairos is an underrated K-drama that fans love to recommend to anyone looking for an exciting fantasy series. It combines elements of fantasy, thriller, and even a bit of science fiction in its search for a do-over in life. Shin Sung-rok stars as the lead Seo-jin, a workaholic director who’s mainly focused on his successes. When his daughter goes missing, Seo-jin has to face the things he’s been missing. His wife has a hard time dealing with their daughter’s disappearance and Seo-jin’s life reaches a breaking point.

This is interesting since the series has a dash of time-travel drama in it, as well as thriller, fantasy, and science fiction

Seo-jin’s potential lifeline lies in the mysterious Ae-ri (Lee Se-young), whose mother goes missing in a hospital, and the two work together to untangle the tragic events in both of their lives. The name Kairos was inspired by the ancient Greek word, kairos, which means “the perfect time” or “the perfect moment.” This is interesting since the series has a dash of time-travel drama in it, as well as thriller, fantasy, and science fiction. Kairos is not that well-known, but it’s a really well-made show for true fans of the genre.

Watch on Kocowa

8

‘A Time Called You’ (2023)

Starring Ahn Hyeo-seop and Jeon Yeo-bin

Get those tissues out before starting A Time Called You, because incurable romantics will have a hard time watching this show without tears. While its main genre is romance, A Time Called You also wonderfully blends time travel, fantasy, and sci-fi – the essential spices for a successful tearjerker of a show. Fans of pure sci-fi may not be impressed with this synopsis, but take a chance on this one and see if it works for you, too (it definitely will).

A Time Called You follow Jun-hee (Jeon Yeo-bin), a girl devastated by the loss of her partner, Yeon-jun (Ahn Hyo-seop). A year after his tragic death, Jun-hee miraculously travels back to 1998, to the body of a different woman, Min-ju. As Min-ju, she meets a man who looks almost exactly like her deceased partner, but is named Si-heon. The two grow closer together, and the show’s name reflects the strength of Jun-hee’s undying love. The concept of soulmates in any lifetime is a common romantic trope, but A Time Called You manage to make it endearing and heartwarming, successfully avoiding cliché territory.

7

‘The Uncanny Counter’ (2020)

Starring Yeom Hye-ran, Yoo Jun-sang, and Kim Se-jeong

There’s also something for fans who love their science fiction mixed with a bit of fantasy and horror. The Uncanny Counter follows workers at Eonni’s Noodles who use the noodle shop as a cover for their demon-busting business. They’re noodlemakers and servers by day and serious paranormal investigators and evil-spirit banishers by night. The storyline follows their troubles and encounters after a new, young member joins their shop.

These characters are called Counters, and they’re all people who were once in comas, but got possessed by spirits from the afterlife and were granted healthy bodies once again. The Uncanny Counters is a brilliantly written show that displays a multigenre blend that works well; there’s also some dark humor here and there, and it wouldn’t be a real K-drama if there weren’t. The experience of watching the show was described in a Medium article as “being on top of a car while it goes 120 miles per hour and having sudden brakes to slow down before stepping on the gas once again.”

6

‘The King: Eternal Monarch’ (2020)

Starring Lee Min-ho, Kim Go-eun, and Woo Do-hwan

The star-studded sci-fi fantasy drama The King: Eternal Monarch sees heartthrob Lee Min-ho and Korean darling Kim Go-eun together in a story about parallel worlds. Lee Min-ho portrays Lee Gon, a modern-day emperor of an alternate Korea (Corea in the series), where he finds a portal to a parallel world opened by his uncle. He crosses through the portal and finds himself in this world’s Republic of Korea, where he meets a familiar woman, detective Tae-eul (Kim Go-eun). Lee Gon realizes his corrupt uncle Lee Lim had something to do with his father’s death (Lee Lim’s brother), and that he crosses back and forth between worlds to assemble an army for a coup.

The storyline is divided between the events in Corea and Korea, the two parallel realities where the emperor finds love, but also freedom, justice, and honor. The show was one of the most anticipated in 2020 due to its famous cast, and it held high ratings for several weeks after it first aired. Luckily for sci-fi fantasy fans, it holds up well five years later, and is the perfect twisty, slightly melodramatic series to indulge in.

5

‘Hotel del Luna’ (2019)

Starring Lee Ji-eun (aka IU) and Yeo Jin-goo

One of the most popular fantasy dramas of 2019, Hotel del Luna offers a beautiful dark fantasy atmosphere that can’t be seen in many other K-dramas. It focuses on the eponymous hotel where the only guests are ghosts, and it serves as a sort of transition between the world of the living and dead. The ghost guests in Hotel del Luna all have some unfinished business with the world of the living, while its employees are ghosts with grudges, unprepared to let go of them and move on.

The owner of the hotel, who’s bound to it by soul, is Jang Man-wol (IU); she welcomes a new general manager, Chan-sung (Yeo Jin-goo), who becomes the first human to work there. The hotel’s style is art deco and evocative of the 1930s decor style; besides being an interesting story about ghosts passing the time, it’s a visually breathtaking drama that incorporates the location into the plot. Hotel del Luna is a great visual and emotional feast, as well as the perfect K-drama for a first-time viewer.

4

‘Goblin’ aka ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God’ (2016)

Starring Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, and Lee Dong-wook

People outside of South Korea who love K-drama have more than likely started their journey into that magical world by watching Goblin. Elsewhere, known as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, the show features Gong Yoo in the lead as the eponymous lonely guardian. Yes, the notorious Recruiter from Squid Game starred in a beautiful sci-fi fantasy romance where he played an immortal general, Kim Shin, who lived in the 1300s and is cursed to roam the world forever.

This is where it gets fun – Kim Shin is roommates with none other than the Grim Reaper, played by Lee Dong-wook. When the two eternal creatures meet the 19-year-old Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun) and her friend and boss, Sunny (Yoo In-na), Kim Shin finds a way to “cure” his immortality while the Grim Reaper remembers his past lives. Goblin is romantic, clever, and genuinely funny; Lee Dong-wook and Gong Yoo are brilliant in the show, while Kim Go-eun showed why she’ll later become one of the most sought after actors in the business.

Watch on Viki

3

‘W: Two Worlds’ (2016)

Starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo

W: Two Worlds is also known as just W; the Han Hyo-joo-led sci-fi romance follows her as a successful surgeon, Yeon-joo, whose father, a famous webtoon creator, disappears mysteriously. When she goes to investigate his studio, she gets sucked into his most famous comic named W. In W, she meets the protagonist, Kang-cheol (Lee Jong-suk), and the two slowly fall in love while resolving a murder mystery that plagues Kang-cheol. Through living out parallel lives, Yeon-joo learns how to deal with her own grief over her father’s disappearance.

The fantasy world of W is intertwined with an interesting science fiction plot going back and forth between two dimensions. This flawed but still amazing drama is a genre-bending miracle that puts a mystery at the forefront rather than a romance. Still, it’s always nice to have a romantic storyline; love can and should prevail, even if it’s sometimes turned into an overly romantic story. Luckily, W balances that very well and doesn’t indulge too much.

2

‘Death’s Game’ (2023-2024)

Starring Park So-dam and Seo In-guk

Park So-dam, best known to global audiences as Kim Ki-jung aka Jessica from the movie Parasite, steps into a more devilish role in Death’s Game like none other than Death herself. However, the story follows Yee-jae (Seo In-guk), a desperate man who dies of suicide and is sent to Purgatory for a meeting with Death. She gives him a chance to live out different kinds of lives, from a newborn to a homeless man, in an attempt to prove the value of living to him. Though this topic could be sensitive for some viewers, the show handles it tastefully; there are no clichéd messages or tropes.

Death’s Game is an intense show: it’s action-packed, emotional, a horror and a thriller at the same time, and a visually stunning sci-fi fantasy that is as subtle as a sledgehammer at some points. The drama was based on a webtoon of the same name, and offers thrilling entertainment at every corner. In the moments it becomes contemplative, it also tends to pose questions, so fans will have a complete experience with this rollercoaster.

1

‘Moving’ (2023)

Starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, and Zo In-sung

The ensemble series Moving is one of the best K-dramas of the past five, if not ten years. The show’s creator, Kang Full, is also known for the recent Disney+ hit, Light Shop, but Moving was his first foray into TV after 11 years and mostly writing webtoons. He first wrote Moving as a serial webtoon and then adapted it into a Disney+ original K-drama that combines elements of thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural.

The star-studded cast consists of massive names, like Zo In-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Cha Tae-hyun, and Ryu Seung-ryong. To some people, these are random Korean names, but to faithful K-drama fans, this cast is a real treat. Moving follows three high-school kids with supernatural powers as their lives become turned upside down when people from an unknown organization start going after them one by one. Many secrets are uncovered, and the kids learn how to use their abilities to their strengths, making Moving a superhero coming-of-age story and a brilliant cat-and-mouse-chase thriller at the same time. Fans of these genres will go head over heels for this underrated drama, for sure.

KEEP READING: 10 K-Drama Performances Perfect From Start to Finish