Best Korean Dramas 2026: What's Airing Now and Where to Watch Each One
Last updated: 20 October 2026.
The best Korean dramas of 2026 are not all on one app, and that is the whole problem this guide solves. A drama that airs on tvN usually streams on TVING inside Korea and on Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ outside it. An MBC drama can sit on Wavve at home and on HBO Max abroad. A Netflix Original is on Netflix everywhere at once. Search the wrong app and a show that topped Korean ratings simply looks like it does not exist.
So this page does one job: for every Korean drama airing October to December 2026, and for the year's bigger hits that have already finished, it gives the Korean title, the Korean channel and slot, where it streams in Korea, where it streams abroad, and what each Korean service costs as of October 2026. If you only want Netflix, and want it ranked by Netflix's own viewing data, go to our Netflix Korean drama ranking for 2026 instead. This page covers every platform.
Why the Korean titles matter: English titles are localisations, and several are nothing like the original. 들쥐 means "field mouse", not Mousetrap. Korean apps file shows under the Korean name, so searching the Hangul in the table below is the fastest way to find a show on TVING, Wavve or Coupang Play.
Haitai Honey Butter Chip, 60 g x 8: the Korean convenience-store chip for a binge nightAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Quick Guide: Korean Dramas Airing October–December 2026
Dates and slots below come from the broadcasters' and platforms' own announcements as reported in Korean press (sources at the end). "Abroad" lists only partners that were announced; licensing differs by country, so search your own app before you plan around a show.
| Drama (Korean title) | Korean channel · slot | Dates | Streams in Korea | Abroad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor X: Mafia in White (닥터X: 하얀 마피아의 시대) | SBS · Fri–Sat 9:50 pm | 9 Oct – mid-Nov, 12 episodes | Netflix | Netflix, weekly |
| 100 Days of Deception (100일의 거짓말) | tvN · Sat–Sun 9:10 pm | 10 Oct – late Nov, 16 episodes | TVING | Netflix |
| Love in Disguise (나의 유죄인간) | tvN · Mon–Tue 8:50 pm | From 19 Oct | TVING | Prime Video |
| Final Table (파이널 테이블) | JTBC · Sat–Sun 10:40 pm | From 24 Oct | TVING | Prime Video, same day |
| Between Steps (연애박사) | ENA · Mon–Tue 10 pm | From 5 Oct | Genie TV, Disney+ | Disney+ (check your region) |
| Kidnap Game (키드냅 게임) | Channel A · Tue 10 pm | From 6 Oct | Disney+ | Disney+ |
| Merry Berry Love (메리 베리 러브) | Disney+ original | From 7 Oct | Disney+ | Disney+ |
| Make Me Tingle (내가 떨릴 수 있게) | TVING original | From 15 Oct, 10 episodes | TVING only | Viki lists it (check your region) |
| 여름방학 ("Summer Vacation") | Wavve original · Lifetime | From 26 Oct, 10:50 pm | Wavve | Not announced |
| 라이어 ("Liar") | MBC · Fri–Sat 9:50 pm | From 30 Oct | Wavve | Not announced |
| The Remarried Empress (재혼 황후) | Disney+ original | From 4 Nov | Disney+ | Disney+ |
| 뜨거운 안녕 ("A Hot Goodbye") | tvN · Fri–Sat 10:30 pm | 6 Nov, 12 episodes over 6 weeks | TVING | Not announced |
| Netflix Originals: 나를 충전해줘, 꿀알바, 푸른길 | Netflix | 9 Oct · 30 Oct · 20 Nov | Netflix | Netflix |
December is still blank. As of 20 October 2026, no Korean broadcaster or platform had announced a drama premiering in December. We add titles here only once a date is official, not when a fan wiki guesses one.
If you want one pick right now: 닥터X (Doctor X) is the ratings story of the autumn, and it is the easiest to find abroad because Netflix carries it weekly. If you want the prestige romance, wait for 재혼 황후 (The Remarried Empress) on 4 November.
Korean Alphabet with Writing Workbook — a beginner's Hangul workbook, consonants and vowels. Every row in the table above is searchable by its Korean name, and an afternoon with Hangul is enough to read a title off a TVING or Wavve screen. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
See the Hangul workbook on AmazonOn Korean TV Now: The Broadcast Dramas
Doctor X: Mafia in White (닥터X: 하얀 마피아의 시대) is the autumn's breakout. It is SBS's Korean remake of the Japanese TV Asahi medical series, with Kim Ji-won as Gye Su-jeong, a freelance surgeon dropped into a hospital run by its own internal politics. Lee Jung-eun and Son Hyun-joo co-star. It opened at 11.4% nationwide, and its second episode, on 10 October, reached 14.9% nationwide, with a minute-by-minute peak of 17.4% (Nielsen Korea). On Netflix, which releases it weekly, it was No. 1 on the global non-English TV chart for 5–11 October with 4.6 million views, in the Top 10 of 36 countries. Korean coverage has not been all praise: a viewer who identified himself as a doctor filed a complaint with the broadcasting standards body, calling the hospital scenes unrealistic and the portrayal of physicians unfairly negative.
100 Days of Deception (100일의 거짓말) is tvN's weekend drama. It is set in 1932 Gyeongseong, the colonial-era name for Seoul. Kim Yoo-jung plays Lee Ga-gyeong, the city's best pickpocket, who takes a fake identity to work inside the Japanese Government-General as a spy. Park Jin-young plays a Government-General interpreter. It opened at 5.3% and rose to 7.6% with its second episode. In Korea it streams on TVING; outside Korea it is on Netflix.
Love in Disguise (나의 유죄인간) starts on tvN on Monday 19 October. Im Si-wan plays Yoon Yi-jun, a third-generation chaebol heir who is a murder suspect, and Seol In-ah plays Kang Jae-hee, an ex-special-forces detective who goes undercover as his male personal assistant. It is adapted from a web novel. Prime Video carries it internationally.
Final Table (파이널 테이블) is JTBC's new Saturday–Sunday drama from 24 October. Ahn Hyo-seop plays Kang Han, a chef from overseas restaurants with no visible past, who enters a competition to name the best Korean chef in the world. Kim Do-hoon writes and directs. JTBC dramas stream on TVING in Korea, and the production announced a simultaneous worldwide release on Prime Video.
Between Steps (연애박사) airs on ENA on Monday and Tuesday nights and streams on Genie TV and Disney+. Choo Young-woo plays a doctoral student who lost a leg to illness; Kim So-hyun plays a master's student unsure of her path. It is the last work of director Ahn Pan-seok, who died in August.
Kidnap Game (키드냅 게임) is a Korea–Japan–Hong Kong co-production on Disney+, also broadcast weekly on Channel A. Kidnappings happen at the same moment in seven Asian cities, including Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei, and the families are forced to play a game to get their people back. Lee Joon-gi plays a Seoul neurosurgeon whose daughter is taken, and Kentaro Sakaguchi a Tokyo detective.
Streaming Originals: TVING, Disney+, Wavve and Netflix
Make Me Tingle (내가 떨릴 수 있게) is a TVING original. Episodes 1–4 went up on 15 October and the rest follow in instalments, 10 in total. It is a romantic comedy: Nam Ji-hyun plays Gong Yeon-su, a marketer raised in a traditional head-family household, and Kim Jae-young plays Dokgo Dal, the CEO of a sex-toy startup. The two last worked together as siblings in 2018's 100 Days My Prince. Inside Korea this is the one title on the list you cannot watch without TVING. Abroad, no partner had been officially announced when we checked, but Viki has a page for it, so look there first.
Merry Berry Love (메리 베리 러브) premiered on Disney+ on 7 October. It is a CJ ENM and Nippon TV co-production: Ji Chang-wook plays Lee Yu-bin, a Korean space planner, and Mio Imada plays Karin Shirahama, a strawberry farmer on a Japanese island. Disney+ released it first, and Nippon TV airs it weekly in Japan.
여름방학 ("Summer Vacation") is Wavve's October original, a high-school romance with Cho Yi-hyun and Jinyoung set in a country village, streaming on Wavve from 10:50 pm on 26 October and broadcast on the Lifetime channel.
On Netflix, three Korean series are dated for the rest of the year: Take Charge of My Heart (나를 충전해줘), out since 9 October; Dead-End Job (꿀알바) on 30 October; and The Blue Road (푸른길) on 20 November. Our 2026 Netflix Korean drama ranking covers them with Netflix's own Top 10 data, so we do not repeat it here.
Coming in November: The Remarried Empress and Two More
라이어 ("Liar") starts on MBC on Friday 30 October at 9:50 pm. No official English title had been announced when we checked, and it is not the Dutch Netflix series The Perfect Lie, which topped Netflix's non-English chart in September. It is a psychological thriller in which a man and a woman give opposite accounts of the same first date. Yoo Yeon-seok plays Min Jun-ho, a cardiac surgeon and single father; Seo Hyun-jin plays Kang Ji-sun. It is their first drama together since Dr. Romantic in 2016. MBC dramas stream on Wavve in Korea.
The Remarried Empress (재혼 황후) is the most-anticipated Disney+ Korean release of the autumn, out 4 November. It adapts the webtoon of the same name, which had drawn 2.97 billion cumulative views worldwide as of July 2026. Shin Min-a plays Empress Navier, Ju Ji-hoon the emperor Sovieshu who demands a divorce, Lee Jong-suk the Western Kingdom's prince Heinrey, and Lee Se-young the runaway slave Rashta. The characters keep the webtoon's Western names. It premiered at the Busan International Film Festival before its streaming release.
뜨거운 안녕 (literally "A Hot Goodbye") revives tvN's Friday–Saturday slot from 6 November: twelve episodes over six weeks at 10:30 pm, streaming on TVING. Kang Hoon, Jo Hyun-chul and Kim Jung-jin play a comedy trio who have been unknown for ten years.
Where 2026's Earlier Hits Live Now
These have all finished, so you can binge them. The table shows where each one actually streams, because several of them are not where English lists put them.
| Drama (Korean title) | Aired in Korea | Streams in Korea | Abroad |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Judge Returns (판사 이한영) | MBC, 2 Jan – 14 Feb | Wavve, TVING | HBO Max in parts of Asia; not on Netflix |
| Perfect Crown (21세기 대군부인) | MBC, 10 Apr – 16 May | Disney+ | Disney+ |
| My Royal Nemesis (멋진 신세계) | SBS, 8 May – 20 June | Netflix | Netflix |
| Sold Out on You (오늘도 매진했습니다) | SBS, 22 Apr – 28 May | Netflix | Netflix |
| Spooky in Love (오싹한 연애) | tvN, 18 Jul – 23 Aug | TVING, Netflix | Netflix |
| Yumi's Cells Season 3 (유미의 세포들 시즌3) | TVING, 13 Apr – 4 May | TVING only | Viki, HBO Max |
| 지금 불륜이 문제가 아닙니다 (Kim Hye-soo) | Coupang Play, from 31 Jul, 8 episodes | Coupang Play only | Not announced |
| Teach You a Lesson (참교육) | Netflix Original, 5 Jun | Netflix | Netflix |
The Judge Returns (판사 이한영) is the clearest case of the wrong-app problem. Ji Sung plays a corrupt judge who dies and wakes up ten years earlier with his memory intact. It started at a modest 4.3% and built on word of mouth to its best episode on 13 February: 13.6% nationwide (14.9% in the Seoul metropolitan area), with a 17.4% momentary peak. Those are three different measurements, and English coverage often quotes the 17% as if it were the episode rating. It led its Friday–Saturday slot for five straight weeks and was first on Wavve and second on TVING. Abroad it went to HBO Max, where it topped the TV chart in Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. If you searched Netflix and found nothing, that is why.
Perfect Crown (21세기 대군부인) paired IU with Byeon Woo-seok in a modern constitutional-monarchy fantasy. It ended on 16 May with its highest rating, 13.8% nationwide, after a much-argued final arc in which the throne passes to Byeon Woo-seok's character.
Spooky in Love (오싹한 연애) has finished. Park Eun-bin plays Cheon Yeo-ri, a hotel CEO who can see ghosts, and Yang Se-jong plays Ma Kang-wook, a prosecutor who is terrified of them. Unusually for a Korean drama, its ratings climbed all the way to the end: the 23 August finale set a series high of 7.9% nationwide, peaking at 9%.
Yumi's Cells Season 3 (유미의 세포들 시즌3) is the TVING trap. Inside Korea it lives only on TVING. Outside Korea, Viki and HBO Max carry it.
The Coupang Play drama 지금 불륜이 문제가 아닙니다 is a black comedy with Kim Hye-soo as an influencer with a million followers. Squid Game's producer Kim Ji-yeon and Hwang Dong-hyuk's Firstman Studio produced it. It went out two episodes a week from 31 July, and Korean press reported it as Coupang Play's most-watched series within about two weeks. It is a Coupang Play exclusive in Korea.
Teach You a Lesson (참교육) is the year's global Netflix hit: No. 1 on the non-English chart and in national Top 10s in up to 91 countries in a single week. Its full numbers, and the rest of the Netflix Originals (The WONDERfools, If Wishes Could Kill, Boyfriend on Demand, Our Sticky Love, Mousetrap), are in our Netflix ranking.
The Scandal (스캔들), Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook's Joseon-era retelling of Dangerous Liaisons, came out on Netflix on 18 September. All eight episodes are there.
What Each Korean Streaming Service Costs (October 2026)
These are the published monthly prices on each service's own Korean sign-up or help page, read on 20 October 2026. Prices include VAT.
| Service | Monthly price | What it carries from this list |
|---|---|---|
| TVING (티빙) | ₩5,500 ad-supported standard · ₩9,500 basic · ₩13,500 standard · ₩17,000 premium | tvN and JTBC dramas (100일의 거짓말, 나의 유죄인간, 파이널 테이블, 뜨거운 안녕), TVING originals (내가 떨릴 수 있게, 유미의 세포들) |
| TVING + Wavve "double" | ₩7,000 ad-supported · ₩9,500 slim · ₩13,500 basic · ₩15,000 standard · ₩19,500 premium | Adds Wavve: MBC, SBS and KBS dramas (라이어, 판사 이한영), Wavve originals (여름방학) |
| Netflix Korea | ₩7,000 ad-supported standard · ₩13,500 standard · ₩17,000 premium | Netflix Originals, plus licensed SBS and tvN dramas such as 닥터X |
| Disney+ Korea | ₩9,900 standard · ₩13,900 premium | 재혼 황후, 메리 베리 러브, 키드냅 게임, 연애박사, 21세기 대군부인 |
| Disney+ bundles | ₩18,000 with TVING · ₩21,500 with TVING and Wavve | Standard tier of each service |
| Coupang Play (쿠팡플레이) | Free with ads for any Coupang member (part of the catalogue, including originals) · included in Coupang WOW, ₩7,890 · ad-free "Premium Pass" for WOW members ₩3,800 (web) or ₩4,500 (app) | Coupang Play originals such as 지금 불륜이 문제가 아닙니다 |
Two corrections to what you may have read, including in an earlier version of this page. First, Coupang WOW is no longer ₩4,990: it rose to ₩7,890 in 2024. Since June 2025, though, Coupang Play has had a free tier with ads for any Coupang member, covering part of the catalogue including its original series, so a membership is no longer required just to watch those. Second, there is no point quoting Wavve's standalone price without the bundle: TVING publishes the TVING-plus-Wavve "double" at ₩7,000 with ads, only ₩1,500 more than TVING alone, so the bundle is the price to compare.
The cheapest way to cover almost everything on this page in Korea is the TVING + Wavve double with ads (₩7,000) plus Netflix with ads (₩7,000): ₩14,000 a month. That leaves out only the Disney+ titles and Coupang Play. Coupang Play's free tier covers the second, so the only real gap is Disney+.
If You Are Not Korean: What Actually Works
- Outside Korea, start with your own apps. Most broadcast dramas are licensed abroad separately: Netflix for 닥터X and 100일의 거짓말, Prime Video for 나의 유죄인간, Disney+ for its own titles, HBO Max or Viki for others. That is usually easier than trying to subscribe to a Korean service.
- Korean services are built for Korean residents. TVING, Wavve and Coupang Play sign-ups and payments are designed around Korean phone numbers and Korean-issued cards, and their catalogues are licensed for Korea. Being willing to pay is not the same as being able to sign up. We could not find an official statement that any of the three supports foreign cards. Check the app before you count on it.
- In Korea on a trip, your home Netflix and Disney+ accounts work, but you will see the Korean catalogue. That is good news here: Korean Netflix carries licensed broadcast dramas that may be missing at home.
- Search the Korean title. It is the one handle that matches across every platform. If a search for the English title finds nothing, paste the Hangul from the tables above.
- Prices move. Every figure above is dated 20 October 2026. Confirm in the app before you pay.
If the dramas are talking you into a trip, read our Seoul subway etiquette guide before you land, and if you want the webtoon a drama came from, our guide to Korean webtoon apps explains the Naver-versus-Kakao split that half of these adaptations come from.
Korean honey yakgwa — the flower-shaped Korean honey cookie. It goes with tea or coffee and keeps for weeks, which suits a twelve-episode weekend. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
See yakgwa on AmazonFAQ: Korean Dramas in 2026
Q: What Korean drama is airing right now, in October 2026? On broadcast TV: 닥터X (Doctor X) on SBS, Friday and Saturday; 100일의 거짓말 (100 Days of Deception) on tvN, Saturday and Sunday; 나의 유죄인간 (Love in Disguise) on tvN, Monday and Tuesday; and 파이널 테이블 (Final Table) on JTBC, Saturday and Sunday from 24 October. On streaming, 내가 떨릴 수 있게 (Make Me Tingle) is releasing in instalments on TVING and 메리 베리 러브 (Merry Berry Love) on Disney+.
Q: What are the best Korean dramas of 2026 so far? By Korean ratings, 21세기 대군부인 (Perfect Crown, 13.8% nationwide finale), 판사 이한영 (The Judge Returns, 13.6% nationwide best episode, 17.4% momentary peak) and, this autumn, 닥터X (14.9% nationwide by its second episode). By global Netflix viewing, 참교육 (Teach You a Lesson), Top 10 in up to 91 countries. These are different races, and our Netflix ranking covers the Netflix one in full.
Q: Which new Korean dramas come out in November and December 2026? Dated so far: 라이어 ("Liar", MBC) on 30 October, 재혼 황후 (The Remarried Empress, Disney+) on 4 November, 뜨거운 안녕 (tvN) on 6 November, and Netflix's 푸른길 (The Blue Road) on 20 November. As of 20 October nothing had an official December premiere date.
Q: Why can't I find a Korean drama on Netflix? Because it is probably not a Netflix title in your country. Broadcast dramas are licensed region by region, and many go to Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max or Viki instead. The Judge Returns is the year's clearest example. Search your other apps by the Korean title.
Q: Can foreigners subscribe to TVING, Wavve or Coupang Play? They are designed for Korean residents, with Korean phone and payment verification and Korea-only licences. Visitors usually do better with the international partner listed in our tables, or with their home Netflix or Disney+ account, which shows the Korean catalogue while they are in Korea.
Q: What is the cheapest way to watch Korean dramas in Korea? TVING + Wavve double with ads (₩7,000) plus Netflix with ads (₩7,000) covers most of this list for ₩14,000 a month, and Coupang Play has a free tier with ads. Add Disney+ (₩9,900) only if you want 재혼 황후.
Sources
- Netflix Korea plan prices: Netflix Help Center (Korea), read 20 October 2026.
- TVING and TVING-Wavve double prices: TVING membership page (tving.com/membership/tving), product data read 20 October 2026.
- Disney+ Korea prices and bundles: disneyplus.com/ko-kr, read 20 October 2026.
- Coupang Play free tier and WOW pricing: Digital Daily, 9 May 2025; ad-free Premium Pass: MTN, 10 July 2026.
- 닥터X ratings and Netflix chart: Wikitree, Korea Times, 14 October 2026.
- 100일의 거짓말: Tenasia, Korea Times.
- 나의 유죄인간: TV Report. 파이널 테이블: Wikitree. 연애박사: iMBC. 키드냅 게임: Wikitree.
- 내가 떨릴 수 있게: Wikitree. 메리 베리 러브: Tenasia. 여름방학: Wikitree.
- 라이어: iMBC. 재혼 황후: Wikitree, Wikitree. 뜨거운 안녕: Wikitree.
- 오싹한 연애 finale: Tenasia, 24 August 2026. 21세기 대군부인 finale: Sports Kyunghyang. 지금 불륜이 문제가 아닙니다: Segye Ilbo, MTN.
Related Reading
- Best Korean Dramas on Netflix in 2026, Ranked by Netflix's Own Top 10: the Netflix-only ranking
- Where to Read Korean Webtoons: Naver vs Kakao: where the source material of half these dramas lives
- Seoul Subway Etiquette: for when the dramas talk you into a trip
- Korean Convenience Store Food Guide: what Koreans actually eat during a binge
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