The ever-expanding medium of K-dramas may never find untreaded territory at this rate, as it continues to explore creative avenues for its addictive storytelling and tropes. One particular genre often intersecting with crime, fantasy, action, and science-fiction, is that of superheroes in K-dramas. But while the typical portrayal of costumed heroes with capes and masks may be iconic of Western productions, K-dramas typically take the opportunity as a form of parody, supernatural epics, or entirely original romps deserving more exposure.
It can’t be stated enough that, while some overtly superhero-themed K-dramas like Cashero in recent years have captivated attention, some of the best shows in the medium encompass the rich and varied worlds across multiple superpowered subgenres. It means that no matter one’s tastes, whether seeking ensemble action comedies, moody vigilante action, or fantastical absurdity, there’s a potential superhero-inspired K-drama to scratch that itch.
Moving
Three Super-Powered Families Must Avoid A Government Conspiracy
Moving is arguably the biggest superhero K-drama yet, and it’s certainly Disney+’s most successful endeavor to date in the field. When three teenagers suddenly begin showing signs of superhuman abilities, their parents— former super spies for the government— must go to great lengths to protect themselves. Each main character has their own unique ability, but the most intriguing aspect is the hereditary angle that results in some truly innovative combinations.
Despite its wildly ambitious scope, Moving never loses control of its reigns. From the fight scenes to the seamless effects to the deceptively simple character designs, everything in the superhero story feels meticulously chosen. Of course, the stellar production is supplemental to an enthralling narrative and some heavy-hitting actors. Understandably, Moving season 2 is already one of the most highly-anticipated projects in the K-drama sphere right now, even if no concrete release date has been confirmed yet.
He Is Psychometric
A Skeptical Police Officer Helps A Young Man Hone His Psychometry
A traumatic accident leaves Lee Ahn (Park Jin-young) orphaned and struggling with the mysterious power of psychometry, but he finds himself leaning on police officer Yoon Jae-in (Shin Ye-eun). Though the pair’s relationship starts out as strictly professional, the chemistry between Jae-in and Ahn is too strong to ignore, resulting in a quirky yet wholesome K-drama romance.
Psychometry is already a fairly complicated concept on its own, but He Is Psychometric takes it a step further by having Lee Ahn focus on reading the pasts and hidden memories of his colleagues. Consequently, he may not be made of steel or faster than the speed of light, but he’s a bona fide hero nonetheless who becomes instrumental in an engrossing overarching investigation. All things considered, it’s a light version of a superhero story, but rom-com lovers should run, not walk, to binge all 16 episodes.
The Uncanny Counter
A Ragtag Band Of Misfits Hunt Down Evil Spirits
Based on Jang Yi’s acclaimed webtoon Amazing Rumor, The Uncanny Counter follows So Mun (Jo Byeong-kyu), an ordinary high school student who finds himself roped into a team of paranormal crime-fighters called the Counters. Alongside a colorful cast of ensemble characters, So Mun and the Counters hide out in a noodle shop by day and banish evil spirits to the underworld by night.
|
Main Members Of The Counters |
|
|---|---|
|
Name |
Powers |
|
So Mun |
Super speed, telekinesis, spirit sense |
|
Do Ha-na |
Super strength, psychometry, memory reading |
|
Chu Mae-ok |
Super healing |
|
Ga Mo-tak |
Super strength, psychometry |
|
Na Jeok-bong |
Super smell |
What powers each character obtains, how they earn them, and why they were chosen to inherit them are all looming mysteries that slowly unravel with each episode. Plus, the series is a perfect storm of overlapping sub-genres. On one hand, The Uncanny Counter is an addictive action drama with seriously gnarly supernatural battles. At the same time, there’s enough humor and heart to spare, making the K-drama immensely satisfying on all fronts.
The School Nurse Files
A Nurse And Her Sidekick Take On Invisible Jellies
K-dramas don’t typically take on capes-and-tights superheroes in an overt sense, but that never stops their action-fantasy shows from featuring powered individuals fighting otherwise invisible threats.
Ahn Eun-young (Jung Yu-mi) isn’t a conventional costumed do-gooder, but rather, a school nurse as the title suggests, when the school’s classical Chinese teacher and grandson of the founder acts as her sidekick, after basically causing the problem in the first case. Hong In-pyo, played by Nam Joo-hyuk, accidentally unleashes invisible jelly monsters, from the school’s basement essentially manifestations of human negative energy that are capable of growing even more dangerous and manipulating other humans.
Eun-young’s ability to see and fight the jellies using a toy sword and a BB gun synergizes well with In-pyo’s ability to shield her and revitalize her energy. It’s the perfect sort of absurdity and teamwork that may appeal to fans of Doom Patrol, although with infinitely fewer sentient streets.
A Girl Who Sees Smells
The Lone Survivor Of A Brutal Attack Unlocks Her Latent Synesthesia
After losing her entire family in a gruesome murder, Choi Eun-seol (Shin Se-kyung) falls into a deep coma. When she wakes, she has a new identity as Oh Cho-rim and the uncanny ability to visualize scents, with intense synesthesia that shows smells as shapes, colors, and trackable trails. Her new power is sidelined as she adjusts to life with her adoptive father, but she discovers a newfound sense of purpose once she crosses paths with Detective Choi Moo-gak (Park Yoo-chun).
Whereas Eun-seol’s power stems from her nose, Moo-gak ironically lost his sense of smell, meaning the two main characters seamlessly make up for each other’s weaknesses. The opposites-attract K-drama takes the best parts of a police procedural and blends it with a classic romantic comedy, making A Girl Who Sees Smells a massively underrated must-watch.
Connect
A Grisly Incident Links A Mysterious Man To A Horrifying Serial Killer
Connect is a fairly strong, concise K-drama that adapts the eponymous, similarly short Webtoon manhwa, focusing on a bizarre superpowered individual with a body capable of an autonomous repair healing factor. The protagonist, Ha Dong-soo (Jung Hae-in) winds up being kidnapped by a black market organ-harvesting operaiton, only for him to get away, but not before one of his eyes is transplanted into the seemingly well-mannered Oh Jin-seop, a meticulous office worker with a double-life as a serial killer.
Able to see through Jin-seop’s transplanted eye, Dong-soo is able to be tipped off about the various grim tableaus created using Jin-seop’s murder victims and displayed in Seoul. But in getting to the bottom of this further, Dong-soo finds a kindred spirit in Choi I-rang (Kim Hye-jun) while also winding up in Jin-seop’s crosshairs. While the plot neatly resolves itself within the full six-episode run, Connect builds out a tantalizing glimpse at a world with these humanoid “Connects”, presenting a neat, grounded mystery for superhero fans craving a touch of body horror.
Strong Girl Bong-soon
A CEO Hires A Boisterous Woman With Super Strength As His New Bodyguard
Strong Girl Bong-soon is one of the most iconic rom-coms of the 2010s, and it’s by far regarded as one of Park Bo-young’s best K-dramas. The beloved actress stars as the eponymous Do Bong-soon, a woman who inherited a matrilineal gift of superhuman strength.
While she feels like a bit of a wildcard at first glance, Bong-soon is guided by a staunch moral compass, as she is destined to lose her powers if she ever uses her strength for evil. Luckily, she instead devotes her time to protecting Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), a high-powered CEO who oozes charm.
Island
Supernatural Guardians Keep Demons At Bay On Jeju Island
Like a best-dressed assembly of Midnight Sons, the stars of Island focus on keeping supernatural threats from running amok. It features a killer cast including Kim Nam-gil as human-demon hybrid Van ready to tackle demonic threats, Sung Joon as fellow demon hunter Gungtan with twists of his own revealed later, Lee Da-hee as heiress Won Mi-ho, and even Cha Eun-woo as Catholic priest Johan, to really sweeten the pot.
But Island is more than a demon-hunting romp, with these characters sharing interconnected pasts linked to Jeju Island and everything threatening to burst forth from there. It soon becomes a desperate fight to stop evil from flooding the globe, as these characters unravel the mystery connecting them across its two-part, 12-episode run.
The Atypical Family
Members Of A Superhero Dynasty Begin Losing Their Renowned Powers
Unlike most superhero shows that focus on a hero’s genesis, The Atypical Family centers on the illustrious Bok dynasty, who have been revered for generations due to their powers. In the modern day, however, protagonist Bok Gwi-ju (Jang Ki-yong) and his family have all lost their special skills due to ailments like insomnia, depression, and an addiction to technology.
While the main characters all previously defined themselves by their precognition, time travel, flight, et cetera, they must instead find a new sense of self-worth as people rather than superheroes. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the most unique twists on a traditional superhero plot, but the esteemed K-drama on Netflix pulls it off without a hitch.
I Can Hear Your Voice
An Ordinary High School Student Can Inexplicably Read People’s Minds
In theory, anything could be turned into a superpower, but I Can Hear Your Voice follows arguably the most popular: telepathy. Like all great heroes, Park Soo-ha (Lee Jong-suk) unlocks his powers after a family tragedy turns his life upside down. With his strange ability to read anyone’s mind by making eye contact, however, he’s able to move on with relative ease.
I Can Hear Your Voice won 20 out of the 33 awards it was nominated for.
Soo-ha eventually begins using his telepathy to serve the public by teaming up with skilled lawyers for numerous high-stakes cases. The product is a classic K-drama that toes the line between fantasy romance and tense legal drama, but it somehow works. Unsurprisingly, I Can Hear Your Voice remains a fan-favorite over a decade after its original release.
