From thrillers to romances, keep scrolling for our curated list of the Top 10 K-Dramas Based On True Stories That Are Worth Watching.
K-dramas offer an exciting escape from everyday life. Despite the relatable themes of friendship, heartbreak, and career struggles, the over-the-top love confessions, jaw-dropping action sequences, and weird series of coincidences just seem too good to be true. Not all of these dramas are fiction. Some of them are based on or partially inspired by real stories.
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K-Dramas Based On True Stories
Below are the titles of 10 dramas inspired by real life
10. Queen For Seven Days
- Drama Title: Queen for Seven Days
- Original Title: 7일의 왕비
- Also Known As: Queen for 7 Days , 7 Ileui Wangbi , Seven Day Queen , 7 Day Queen
- Ratings: 8.3/10
- Episodes: 20
- Duration: 60 min.
- Platform: Netflix
The drama is about a love story between King Chonjong and his consort Tankyung, who was crowned and exiled within a week because of the opposing political factions that control the king’s reign. After the Queen was abdicated and driven out of the palace, the King went out every day and looked at the mountains in her direction and sighed. put her red skirt on a rock on the mountainside and let him know that she was fine and still loved him.
9. The Empress Ki
- Drama Title: The Empress Ki
- Original Title: 기황후
- Also Known As: Hwatu , 화투 , Qi Empress , Battle of Flowers , Gi Hwang-hu , The Empress Ki
- Ratings: 8.6/10
- Episodes: 51
- Duration: 1 hr. 5 min.
- Platform: Netflix
The story itself is heartbreaking and like a roller coaster ride. If you like historical dramas, you should watch “Empress Ki”. The show follows the story of a Korean woman who became a powerful empress during China’s Yuan dynasty. Along the way, she grapples with complex issues of politics, warfare, and loyalty while discovering love. This Korean drama is said to be based on the true story of a man who was born in the lowest class of Joseon during the Goryeo Dynasty and paid tribute to the Yuan Dynasty. Over time, she became an empress, a high official.
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8. Taxi Driver
- Drama Title: Taxi Driver
- Original Title: 모범택시
- Also Known As: Model Taxi , Red Cage , Exemplary Taxi , Deluxe Taxi , Mobeomtaxi , Mobeomtaeksi
- Ratings: 8.8/10
- Episodes: 16
- Duration: 1 hr. 5 min.
- Platform: Prime Video, Netflix
Taxi Driver is a thriller crime show that will keep you glued to your screen. The show follows the story of a former UDT or underwater demolition team employee who is now a taxi driver, with a plot twist when a serial killer murders his mother. The taxi company he works for also offers a “Revenge Call” service, and the protagonist is shown working on multiple cases, most of which are based on real cases.
7. Six Flying Dragons
- Drama Title: Six Flying Dragons
- Original Title: 육룡이 나르샤
- Also Known As: Yookryongi Nareusha , Roots of the Throne , Yukryongi Nareusya , Yookryongi Nareushya
- Ratings: 8.8/10
- Episodes: 50
- Duration: 60 min.
- Platform: Netflix
“Six Flying Dragons” is a drama that resolves around the ambitious revolutionary journey of the main character, Lee Bang Won (later King Taejong), who finally became king. Is a fictional, historical drama about the ambition, rise and fall of real and fictional characters based around Yi Bang Won that was released in 2015.
6. Hwarang
- Drama Title: Hwarang
- Original Title: 화랑
- Also Known As: Flowering Knights , Flower Knights: The Beginning , The Beautiful Knights , Hwarang: The Beginning , 화랑: 더 비기닝 , Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth
- Ratings: 8.0/10
- Episodes: 20
- Duration: 60 min.
- Platform: Netflix
Hwarang is a highly rated Korean drama based on a true story. Hwarang: The Youth of the Poet Warrior revolves around a non-royal born man named Moo-young (played by Park Seo-joon) and his struggle to become a member of the Hwarang (a new elite group).
5. Reply 1988
- Drama Title: Reply 1988
- Original Title: 응답하라 1988
- Also Known As: Eungdabhara 1988 , Answer Me 1988 , Respond 1988 , Answer To 1988 , Respond To 1988 , Contéstame 1988
- Ratings: 9.1/10
- Episodes: 20
- Duration: 1 hr. 35 min.
- Platform: Prime Video, Netflix
Reply 1988 drama has something for all ages. The episodes are long enough to give the characters nuance and have their own stories and backgrounds. Reply 1988 is acclaimed for its fairly accurate depiction of the 1988 Seoul Olympics held in South Korea. The show features the story of Choi Taek, played by Park Bo Gum. Park Bo-gum is a character inspired by a Go player named Lee Chang-ho.
4. Signal
- Drama Title: Signal
- Original Title: 시그널
- Also Known As: Sigeuneol
- Ratings: 9.0/10
- Episodes: 16
- Duration: 1 hr. 15 min.
- Platform: Netflix
This thriller Korean drama is about a police inspector and an expert criminal profiler, 15 years ago, a girl student was kidnapped on her way to school, and Park Hae Yeong, who was in elementary school at the time, witnessed the crime. He called the police, but the case remained unsolved. Years later, he discovers a walkie-talkie with a portal to the past and teams up with an experienced detective on the other side to uncover the culprit.
3. Fight For My Way
- Drama Title: Fight For My Way
- Original Title:
- Also Known As: Ssam Maiwei , Third-Rate My Way
- Ratings: 8.5/10
- Episodes: 16
- Duration: 60 min.
- Platform: Netflix
The show follows the delightful romantic story of former taekwondo player and current MMA fighter Ko Dong Man and Cho Ae Ra, a department store employee who dreams of becoming a TV anchor. The two discover their feelings for each other through a series of heartwarming and hilarious moments.
2. Move to Heaven
- Drama Title: Move to Heaven
- Original Title: 무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다
- Also Known As: Move To Heaven: I Am a Person Who Arranges Articles Left by Deceased , Move to Heaven: I Clean Dead People’s Possessions , Move To Heaven: Naneun Yoopoomjungrisaibmida , Mubeu Tu Hebeun: Naneun Yoopoomjungrisaibmida
- Ratings: 9.2/10
- Episodes: 10
- Duration: 52 min.
- Platform: Netflix
This South Korean drama is believed to be based on a true story told through the non-fiction essay “Things Left Behind” by South Korean trauma cleaner Kim Sae-byul.
This popular series follows an ex-convict once released from prison – he has to take care of his nephew with autism spectrum disorder, 20-year-old Han Geu Roo. He works for his father’s business “Move to Heaven”, a company that specializes in crime scene cleanup, where they collect and organize items left behind by dead people, and deliver them to bereaved families.
1. Crash Landing On You
- Drama Title: Crash Landing On You
- Original Title: 사랑의 불시착
- Also Known As: Salangui Bulsichag , Sarangui Bulsichag , Breakdown of Love , The Crash of Love , Love’s Crash Landing , Love’s Emergency Landing , Emergency Love Landing , Sarangui Boolshichak , Emergency Lands of Love , Sarangui bulsichak , Crash Landing of Love , Love Crashes , Unsettling Lo
- Ratings: 9.0/10
- Episodes: 16
- Duration: 1 hr. 25 min.
- Platform: Netflix
It is the most searched and watched series on Netflix. This beloved Netflix K-drama accurately portrays the North Korean lifestyle. South Korean heiress Yoon Se Ri crash-lands in North Korea after a paragliding accident. There she meets Ri Jung Hyuk, a North Korean military officer who agrees to help her return to South Korea. The two begin to fall in love with each other despite the tension between the two countries.
