10 K-Dramas That Could Easily Be Hollywood Blockbusters, Ranked

4 days ago 6

Published Jan 31, 2026, 10:27 AM EST

Anja Djuricic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1992. Her first interest in film started very early, as she learned to speak English by watching Disney animated movies (and many, many reruns). Anja soon became inspired to learn more foreign languages to understand more movies, so she entered the Japanese language and literature Bachelor Studies at the University of Belgrade.

Anja is also one of the founders of the DJ duo Vazda Garant, specializing in underground electronic music influenced by various electronic genres.

Anja loves to do puzzles in her spare time, pet cats wherever she meets them, and play The Sims. Anja's Letterboxd four includes Memories of Murder, Parasite, Nope, and The Road to El Dorado.

Have you ever imagined your favorite K-dramas as Hollywood movies? Many of us try to imagine some of the best K-dramas ever made as Westernized movies, just to see what it'd be like for wider audiences to witness the greatness of those stories. Well, it's always nice to dream, and you surely have your own ideas of what kind of K-drama or which one specifically would be the best to present to movie lovers across the globe.

We're dreaming here, today, and talking about the best K-dramas that could easily be Hollywood blockbusters. Let's even analyze and dive into the parts that would make the story fun, compare them to some existing hit movies, and imagine small changes that would make an adaptation hit even harder. Here are those K-dramas, and feel free to think about several of your own.

10 'Descendants of the Sun' (2016)

A couple look at each other in a war zone in Descendants of the Sun.

Descendants of the Sun is a romantic drama with elements of a thriller, and the parts that make it a thriller are what would make it a great Hollywood blockbuster. There's everything to make the movie appealing, from a fated romance to the gripes of warfare, and a good-looking leading couple to make Descendants of the Sun the type of blockbuster that would blow everyone away. Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo fell in love on the set of this K-drama, emphasizing the strength of the story's romance.

Descendants of the Sun follows army captain Yoo Si-jin, who takes a criminal to the hospital after pursuing him; there, he meets Mo-yeon, and they fall for each other instantly. They begin dating, but Si-jin's army duties constantly keep him away from Mo-yeon, leading them to break up. However, when Mo-yeon is sent to a battlefield as a medical volunteer, she and Si-jin reunite, and she realizes the risks his job poses. If even the synopsis of Descendants of the Sun doesn't scream blockbuster material, nothing will; it has everything: the dangers of the battlefield, high physical and emotional stakes, and a sizzling romance.

9 'Mr. Sunshine' (2018)

A photo of the Mr. Sunshine cast in a group of five

Mr. Sunshine is a historical epic and a romantic drama in one, full of interesting facts and fiction inspired by the Japanese occupation of South Korea in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are plenty of movies and K-dramas that return to those days, including great movies like The Age of Shadows and Assassination, and K-dramas like Gyeongseong Creature, and, well, Mr. Sunshine. Most of these stories weave tales of reluctant bystanders becoming a part of the revolutionary battle for Korean independence, showing a great deal of patriotism and dedication in their stories. So, Mr. Sunshine wouldn't be an exactly unique movie, but it would still be a banger Hollywood blockbuster.

Mr. Sunshine follows an orphan who immigrates to the U.S. near the end of the 19th century, escaping slavery; he returns about 20 years later as the American soldier Eugene (Lee Byung-hun). There, Eugene meets the daughter of a nobleman, Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri), who turns out to be a freedom fighter in secret. Eugene and Ae-shin develop feelings for each other, and Eugene goes from an American ally to a believer in Korean freedom. Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-ri are already famous movie stars; they have the charisma and the acting skills to carry out any role, and Mr. Sunshine just proves they could turn the show into a spectacular historical action movie akin to a Hollywood blockbuster.

8 'The Glory' (2022–2023)

A man holds Song Hye-kyo's wrist in The Glory

The Glory is another K-drama starring Song Hye-kyo from Descendants of the Sun, but this time, she's an anti-hero that's been necessary in the K-drama landscape for a while. The Glory is a magnificent revenge plot, and it was inspired by a topic that was rarely so openly discussed in South Korean society until the show addressed it without embellishment, which was school bullying. The show depicts bullying among high school kids as widespread and incredibly cruel, with accounts even saying that many parts of The Glory were based on real-life cases; this sparked a discussion in public that ensured topics like bullying stayed in the media, reflecting on the institutional cover-ups and deflection.

The Glory follows Moon Dong-eun (Song), a woman who has dropped out of high school after suffering years of bullying by her peers. She retreated, without the help of her school counselors or teachers, and now returns with a revenge scheme so intricate that the lives of those who caused her physical harm will never be the same. She's an anti-hero because of her cold revenge plan and near-sociopathic tendencies, though these are obviously results of years of abuse; in her, we see a wounded person riddled with trauma, but we also see someone willing to cause ruin without consequences. This show would make an incredible blockbuster similar to Gone Girl, for example.

7 'Signal' (2016)

The main cast of Signal hold glasses at a table in a promo picture.

Signal is one of the most-watched K-dramas of all time, a genuinely great story that combines several genres and influences, from real-life cold cases and notorious killings to sci-fi-based ideas about time travel and correcting the wrongs of the past. Signal takes some famous cold cases, including the Hwaseong murders, which were the biggest serial killings in South Korea in the 1980s; when Signal was made, the case was still unsolved, but in 2019, they finally caught the right culprit with the help of DNA evidence.

Signal follows criminal profiler, Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon), who solves cold cases; he visits the crime scene of one of the cases he's working on and finds a discarded walkie-talkie, establishing a connection with detective Lee Jae-wook (Cho Jin-woong), who is presumed missing. Park joins forces with Lee's old colleague, detective Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo), and the three of them work on solving cold cases and delivering long-overdue justice. This movie would be such a massive hit, though it was seemingly inspired by an existing movie starring Dennis Quaid; but another, more faithful version of Signal would be a massive hit, there's no doubt about it. There's always a time and a place for another version of Signal.

6 'Taxi Driver' (2021–)

A young man in a suit walking down a hallway in Taxi Driver 3

Taxi Driver isn't just the Martin Scorsese classic that we all know, but it's also a pretty popular South Korean thriller series with a lot of thrilling action moments. Lee Je-hoon, who stars in Signal, is also the star actor of Taxi Driver, and the series recently aired its third season on Netflix. It's one of the most popular K-dramas on streaming, and many fans recommend it for its brilliant action, interesting plot twists, and great cast. This makes it the perfect choice for a Hollywood blockbuster.

Taxi Driver follows former special forces soldier, Kim Do-gi (Lee), who gets a job at Rainbow Taxi. But, Rainbow Taxi isn't just a random taxi service; it's actually a front for a vigilante group with various skills offering their services to people who've been wronged, and those who wronged them go unpunished. Taxi Driver isn't just Lee's show, but rather a fantastic ensemble cast effort; with a fun montage of gathering the crew, some exciting car chase scenes, and an A-list ensemble cast, Taxi Driver would be a record-breaking Hollywood blockbuster. You know you'd watch this, so before any chance of a hit movie, you can binge-watch the show on Netflix.

5 'Nine Puzzles' (2025)

Son Suk-ku standing in an indoor garage watching something off-screen in Nine Puzzles.

A murder mystery is always great material for a Hollywood movie, and we know there are more than just plenty of them out there. In fact, there are so many that it'd be hard to create a new one that would spark a similar interest among mystery fans. Enter Nine Puzzles—a South Korean crime series with a very fun plot twist and a brilliant ensemble cast; story-wise and visually, the show is one of the best K-dramas of 2025. It's polished, meticulous, sets up the crime with lots of details, and turns into a gripping thriller near the end.

Nine Puzzles follows E-na (Kim Da-mi), a criminal profiler who found her uncle dead at their home as a teenager. At the crime scene, she found a piece of a puzzle she'd never seen before, and decided to keep it; the detective on her uncle's case was Han-saem (Son Suk-ku), a cynical loner, who still believes E-na had something to do with the crime. The reappearance of the puzzle murderer forces E-na and Han-saem to work together, and they run into an intricate web of secrets. The movie version would surely be a throwback to the era of those intricate '90s thrillers like Se7en or The Silence of the Lambs, and it's something we haven't seen in a long time.

4 'Sweet Home' (2020–2024)

Song Kang with his eyes blackened in Sweet Home

Sweet Home is one of the most popular horror series among K-dramas of the 2020s, and it's often considered one of the best. Indeed, it's a show that has everything a good horror/thriller needs, including fantasy elements like monsters, action-packed pursuits, and intense hide-and-seek moments, and a great cast to round it all out. The show has three seasons and stars Song Kang and Lee Jin-wook, two of the greatest K-drama stars; their appeal would work in a blockbuster film, too, and Sweet Home earns that potential, partly because of them.

Sweet Home follows an unusual event—the appearance of strange, deadly monsters. The protagonist is Hyun-su (Song), who is left without his family and moves into an apartment complex called Green Homes. However, the monsters appearing force Hyun-su and the people from other apartments to fend for themselves against these monsters, realizing along the way who and what they really are. Sweet Home was a massive streaming hit, and officially one of the most-watched K-dramas on Netflix; it even reached as high as third place in the US when it came out. If a blockbuster movie came out, people would already be acquainted with the story, which would help.

3 'A Shop for Killers' (2024–)

Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-ju posing as uncle and niece in a poster for A Shop for Killers.

A Shop for Killers is a Disney+ K-drama with a lot of action, mystery, and gunfights—a perfect fit for a Hollywood blockbuster. It stars Lee Dong-wook as a secretive man with a dark past, and Kim Hye-jun as his innocent, doe-eyed niece who learns the lay of the land the hard way. With greatly choreographed action scenes, charismatic villains, and even cooler protagonists, A Shop for Killers has the biggest Hollywood blockbuster potential out of any action K-drama, and even the option for a sequel, since Season 2 is coming soon.

A Shop for Killers follows Ji-an (Kim), a girl who ends up in her uncle Jin-man's (Lee) care after the death of her parents. Jin-man runs a warehouse called Murthehelp, where he sells farming equipment, but he also has some unlikely survival skills, like great knowledge of weapons and firearms, and combat skills. After Jin-man goes missing, Ji-an is left to discover the secrets of his life and find him before his enemies do. This K-drama is explosive, fun, and reminiscent of movies like John Wick, which became a phenomenon when it came out.

2 'The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call' (2025–)

Wherever Ju Ji-hoon lays his hat, it's a hit series. No doubt about it, this actor is one of the all-time great leads of South Korean dramas and movies, and he's such a charming and handsome actor that his appeal would be universal, and that also means Hollywood. He's the reason The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call would be a blockbuster hit, but also, how often do you see medical movies, and how often are they box office hits? Perhaps the last sort of medical action movie was Michael Bay's Ambulance, and it sadly underperformed at the box office. It seems we're due for a medical blockbuster.

The Trauma Code follows field doctor and trauma specialist Baek Kang-hyun (Ju), who arrives at a university hospital to revive its trauma center, at the request of the South Korean Minister of Health. Baek encounters doctors who are completely unprepared to act in trauma events, so he trains and prepares them for the high-intensity roles under his wing. He also witnesses, first-hand, the importance of bureaucracy and status at the hospital, having more trouble with those aspects than with medical emergencies. It's a funny K-drama show with a lot of chemistry between its leads; Ju stars alongside Choo Young-woo and Ha Young, and they make a fantastic trio that could win anyone over. The Trauma Code would be a fun blockbuster by maybe setting up a single medical case with high stakes for the doctors.

1 'Kingdom' (2019–2020)

The back of a man with a wide hat looking down in Kingdom.

Staying with Ju Ji-hoon, the show that would be an absolute hit movie is Kingdom, a K-drama that takes advantage of the most popular genre and setting among any K-dramas—medieval Korea, aka Joseon. Kingdom is officially Netflix's first original K-drama that aired, and the first-ever historical zombie K-drama; it won over audiences locally and across the globe, and it even had a tie-in feature film, though it didn't get the recognition it deserved. Besides Ju, the stars of Kingdom are the indomitable Bae Doona and Ryu Seung-ryeong, which is like saying the cast is made up of the coolest A-list movie stars in Hollywood.

Kingdom is set in the 1600s in Joseon (now Korea), and follows the Prince Lee Chang (Ju). The Prince's father, the King, suddenly becomes very sick, and it turns out his disease isn't just deadly, but it kills a person while still keeping them alive, aka turning them into zombies. Lee Chang tries to tackle political intrigue and court unrest while heading out to find either a cure or the source of the virus. He's fierce and brave, and finds a lot of courage within those he trusts and works with on solving the mystery of the disease. There's nothing quite like it, and the combination of politics, thriller, horror, and action really proves just how great Kingdom is, and how great it could truly be if it were turned into a blockbuster.