Summary
Netflix’s horror k-drama “Parasyte: The Grey” is a hit, joining a lineup of successful Korean TV series on the streaming platform.
Korean horror dramas are thriving on Netflix due to talented casts, directors, and a growing interest in the genre.
While horror k-dramas shine on Netflix, romantic and dramatic genres also perform well, showing the platform’s diverse appeal.
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Netflix recently released a brand new k-drama entitled Parasyte: The Grey, and this series is quickly proving that horror k-dramas are best for the streaming service. Recently, k-dramas have become a staple of Netflix’s streaming content. Where the service only used to include American movies and TV for streaming, there is now a plethora of international content to dive into, including Korean television dramas. Parasyte: The Grey is just one of many k-dramas on the service that have proven that there is a serious interest in Korean TV. And now, Parasyte is shedding light on its specific genre as well.
Parasyte: The Grey is a horror sci-fi series following a world in which parasitic extraterrestrials fall onto Earth and begin inhabiting human bodies, transforming them into mysterious creatures that can shapeshift their heads into anything. What Parasyte: The Grey adapts is a manga series of the same name created by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Parasyte: The Grey’s cast includes k-drama stars like Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Lee Jung-hyun. Only days after its release, it quickly hit Netflix’s Top 10 list, proving that it’s a series to watch out for. Parasyte’s popularity says a lot about the show itself, but also Netflix as well.
Related Netflix’s New Horror K-Drama Makes The Wait For All Of Us Are Dead Season 2 Even Worse Netflix’s successful streak of horror K-dramas continues with the release of a new series, making the long wait for All of Us Are Dead 2 even worse.
Parasyte: The Grey Confirms Netflix’s Horror K-Drama Success
Parasyte: The Grey isn’t Netflix’s first horror k-drama success
Though Parasyte: The Grey’s sudden popularity says a lot about the series itself, it also sheds some light on Netflix and its content choices. Parasyte: The Grey is far from Netflix’s first horror k-drama, and its immediate success is just one in a long line of horror k-dramas that have been boosted to fame on the streaming platform. From All of Us are Dead to Sweet Home, Netflix has put its cards on countless horror k-dramas that have quickly become immensely successful. Therefore, Parasyte’s newfound popularity proves that horror is the right k-drama genre for Netflix to be betting on.
The success of horror k-dramas on Netflix is quite interesting considering how vast k-drama genres are. While many recognize k-dramas as being more romantically inclined or leaning on the dramatic side, the darker, more scary k-dramas seem to be the ones performing the best on Netflix. That leaves many questions as to how audiences are finding these series among Netflix’s endless choices. Another aspect of Parasyte’s success could be its manga roots. Netflix has seen incredible success with its anime and manga adaptations in recent years. Either way, Parasyte: The Grey represents a bright future for Netflix and k-dramas alike.
Every Horror K-Drama Streaming On Netflix
Netflix has countless horror k-dramas available to stream
As previously mentioned, Parasyte: The Grey is not the first successful horror k-drama that Netflix has streamed. In the past and present, the streaming service has offered a wide variety of horror k-dramas to choose from. A drama that is a bit older is Kingdom, a series which follows a king coming back from the dead and a mysterious disease plaguing the kingdom that the prince must stop. Meanwhile, a more recent drama is All of Us Are Dead, which follows a group of high school students trapped in their school which is ground zero for a zombie outbreak.
10 Popular Horror K-dramas on Netflix
Release Year
Hellbound
2021
All of Us Are Dead
2022
Kingdom
2019
Sweet Home
2020
Gyeong Seong Creature
2023
Somebody
2022
Extra Curricular
2020
Goedam
2020
The Silent Sea
2021
Alice in Borderland
2020
The horror k-dramas aren’t stopping either. One of Netflix’s next big horror k-drama, Sweet Home, is releasing its third season just six months after premiering its second season in December 2024. This quick turn around shows that these horror k-dramas are a high priority for Netflix. Audiences are intrigued and excited by these shows, so it is no wonder that Netflix is eager to put more out.
This trend not only benefits Netflix and horror k-dramas lovers, but it also aids k-dramas as a whole, which do not have the same traction in the United States that American television has.
Why Most Netflix Horror K-Dramas Have Been Great So Far
Horror k-dramas have talented cast and crew
The question remains: why are horror k-dramas so popular? One major aspect is that horror k-dramas have amazing talent behind them. Parasyte: The Grey is a great example. The series is directed by Yeon Sang-ho, who has had a long career making dark content. Notably, he directed 2016’s Train to Busan. Furthermore, Parasyte is led by a strong cast, with actors who have each been in their fair share of k-dramas previous to this one. Other horror k-dramas fall into a similar category. Ultimately, horror k-dramas are successful because they have highly talented and famous teams working on them.
In 2020, Yeon Sang-ho directed a film called Peninsula, which included Parasyte: The Grey star, Koo Kyo-hwan.
Furthermore, Korean horror is a genre that has always stuck out, not just for Korean viewers, but for Americans as well. Some of the most popular Korean content known to Americans is from the horror genre, including Train to Busan and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. In this way, audiences who may not know much about Korean content are more likely to watch a horror k-drama because they are already familiar with the format and the quality. Additionally, horror k-dramas are great gateways into Korean content for Americans because horror evokes the same reactions, no matter the country it’s made in.
Netflix’s K-Drama Content Also Thrives In Other Genres
Romantic k-dramas are also incredibly popular
Although horror k-dramas are a popular niche on Netflix, that isn’t the only genre of k-drama that does well on the streaming service. The other two k-drama genres that are particularly big are romance and drama. Netflix boasts a wide variety of iconic romance k-dramas such as Business Proposal, Boys Over Flowers, Nevertheless, Crashlanding on You, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, and more. Furthermore, dramatic k-dramas evoke a huge level of intrigue from audiences. Shows like The Glory and Vincenzo are riveting and dark without any fantastical or scary elements. These genres have the same pull horror does for k-drama audiences.
In the end, Parasyte: The Grey is just one example of how horror k-dramas are thriving on Netflix. In just a matter of days, the series flew up to the top of Netflix’s Top 10 list, and it is far from the first to do so. Overall, this means that Netflix will likely continue prioritizing horror k-dramas, and also, k-dramas in other popular genres like romance and drama. By doing this, Netflix will boost its viewers and give k-dramas the attention they deserve.
Parasyte: The Grey
Cast Jeon So Nee , Koo Kyo Hwan , Lee Jung Hyun , Kwon Hae Hyo , Kim In Kwon
Release Date April 5, 2024
Seasons 1
Writers Ryu Yong Jae , Yeon Sang Ho
Directors Yeon Sang Ho
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Creator(s) Yeon Sang Ho