The Wildest Plot Twists In K-Drama History

With their tight storytelling and beautiful, engaging main casts, K-dramas (or South Korean scripted television series) are steadily finding success worldwide. Many of the greatest K-dramas of all time are immaculately paced, especially with plot twists to catch audiences off-guard and on the hook for more. These range from sudden tragic developments just as a happy ending comes into focus to betrayals that leave our protagonists reeling in the lurch. Often coming at the heels of long-standing misdirection, a good plot twist is both shocking and makes perfectly logical sense to the story when revealed.

Some plot twists are given, especially when it comes to crime thrillers and murder mysteries trying to keep its audience guessing on identifying the culprits. But some K-dramas deliver their show-stopping turns out of nowhere, dramatically raising the narrative stakes and making the story all the more unpredictable. Those moments are precisely why we love shows like these, standing out from their more formulaic and predictable counterparts. Here are the wildest plot twists in K-drama history that will leave viewers' jaws on the floor.

Be warned, there are major spoilers for the shows listed below.

Tragedy is both unifying and surprisingly divisive in the 2020 drama "It's Okay to Not Be Okay." Brothers Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun) and Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se) are haunted by their mother's murder when they were children. Gang-tae's new girlfriend Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji) is revealed to suffer from her own childhood trauma as she gradually opens up to Gang-tae. Moon-young and the Moon brothers' disturbing past is revealed to be directly connected, complicating their relationship.

Moon-young's estranged mother Park Haeng-ja (Jang Young-nam) is the head nurse of the psychiatric hospital where Gang-tae works. Haeng-ja reveals herself as the one who killed the Moon brothers' mother towards the end of the series, kidnaping Sang-tae as her familial vendetta continues. "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" spends so much time on its core romance, it's easy to forget there's a greater mystery at play. That makes Haeng-ja's true nature and villainous reveal all the more shocking when the thriller elements of the story surface in a big way.

The 2020 thriller "Flower of Evil" provides its own spouse with a shady past trope, though the story doesn't quite reveal what that surprising backstory is until the very end. Police detective Cha Ji-won (Moon Chae-won) has an idyllic marriage with Baek Hee-sung (Lee Joon-gi), with whom she shares a young daughter. As Ji-won and her colleagues investigate a series of grisly murders, it becomes clear that Hee-sung has been hiding something about his past. This includes Hee-sung using an alias, with his real name unveiled as Do Hyun-soo, concealing his true identity and family history for 15 years.

"Flower of Evil" is one of those shows where you know a big twist is coming, you just don't quite know the extent of it until it reveals itself. Hee-sung being a false identity isn't the show's big twist, so much as Hyun-soo's father being a serial killer and the possibility of Hyun-soo becoming a murderer himself. This comes into question when a construction foreman linked to Hyun-soo is brutally killed, though the show ultimately deflects the culprit and motive elsewhere. So much of "Flower of Evil" lulls the audience into expecting the worst of its handsome husband, but its twist actually absolves him by the end.

"The Penthouse: War in Life" is one of those shows that only gets wilder and more over-the-top as it proceeds. The show focuses on squabbling families living together in a penthouse complex, Hera Palace, who are rocked by the death of Min Seol-ah (Jo Soo-min) at one of their parties. As the families investigate this gruesome murder, it revives and flames old grudges and tensions between them. This community is marked with additional killings and betrayals across its three-season run, with the highlight twist being in its second season.

The first season's protagonist is Shim Su-ryeon (Lee Ji-ah), who secretly owns Hera Palace and is out to avenge the death of her daughter, Seol-ah. Though Su-ryeon apparently dies herself, the second season introduces her doppelganger Na Ae-kyo, also played by Lee Ji-ah. The second season reveals that Su-ryeon swapped places with the real Ae-kyo just before she was evidently murdered and cremated. This twist only made the complicated saga between the families in Hera Palace even more messy, culminating in its controversial final season.

The crime procedural "Beyond Evil" revolves around a mystery that, like a thread, starts to unravel something greater the more its characters pull at it. Police detectives Lee Dong-sik (Shin Ha-kyun) and Han Joo-won (Yeo Jin-goo) investigate a murder linked to a similar unsolved case from 20 years ago. These two men's crime-fighting styles are initially opposed, with Dong-sik willing to break the law to identify the culprit while Joo-won insists on proceeding by-the-book. This is complicated further by Joo-woon feeling Dong-sik is responsible for his sister's death years ago, determined to expose his partner for his role in her murder.

"Beyond Evil" sets up multi-layered mysteries with complex characters and motivations, with every revelation only leading to more questions. Just when Joo-won and Dong-sik think they have their culprit, a new development leaves them both back firmly in the darkness. What's especially shocking about this particular murder mystery is that it's all part of a larger conspiracy that goes all the way up to the community's councilwoman. Every community has its own dark secrets –- "Hot Fuzz" hinged on this in its pursuit of the greater good –- but to see how far down this rabbit hole goes is a shocking journey.

The 2021 series "Vincenzo" is a surprisingly effective blend of mafia movies and dark comedy, perfect for newcomers to K-dramas. Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) is a Korean adoptee raised by a powerful Italian crime family, fleeing to Seoul to escape his murderously jealous adoptive brother Paolo (Salvatore Alfano). Vincenzo learns that a stash of gold bullion is stashed within a building owned by an unscrupulous pharmaceutical corporation and is determined to reclaim the property to recover his fortune. Vincenzo quickly discovers that this corporation is just as ruthless as the crime syndicates he ran with, with the wayward mobster putting his illicit skills to use.

The big twist in "Vincenzo" is the title character learning who's actually running Babel Group, the big pharma company he's been opposing the entire series. As Vincenzo battles through white collar criminals, drug cartels, and the mob, he encounters the seemingly dim-witted corporate legal intern Jang Jun-woo (Ok Taec-yeon). In reality, this is a fake identity for Jang Han-seok, the true mastermind behind Babel Group, using this persona to deflect any suspicion. The reveal of the series' true villain flips "Vincenzo" on its head and sets up a showdown for the ages.

At this point, it feels like everyone with a Netflix subscription has at least watched the first season of "Squid Game," which was many viewers' gateway into K-dramas. With that in mind, it's easy to take for granted how shocking the first season's biggest twist was, with its masterful case of a faked death and betrayal. While competing in the increasingly deadly games to win a lucrative cash prize, ne'er-do-well Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) befriends an elderly contestant, Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su). Though Gi-hun believes he tricks Il-nam in order to survive, the old man is not only revealed to be alive, but he was secretly the creator of the games all along.

What really makes this first season twist work is the sheer emotional anguish Gi-hun goes through while believing he was responsible for Il-nam's death. The fact that Il-nam created the games is outweighed by him surviving Gi-hun's apparent betrayal, as well as his lack of remorse over his treatment of Gi-hun and contempt for the poor. Initially appearing as a kindly old man with cognitive issues from his advancing age, Il-nam is revealed to be one of the cruelest and most manipulative characters of all. The second season would attempt a similar twist, in a betrayal from a friendly character, but Il-nam's first season heel turn is still a more bitter surprise.

The tautly paced revenge thriller "My Name" starts with the murder of Yoon Dong-hoon (Yoon Kyung-ho), the mobster father of protagonist Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee). Ji-woo is taken in by Dong-hoon's best friend, mob boss Choi Mu-jin (Park Hee-soon), trained to become a killer in order to avenge Dong-hoon's death. Working for Mu-jin, Ji-woo infiltrates the local police force investigating him, intent on using this access to learn who murdered her father. This leads to numerous revelations that have Ji-woo rethinking her loyalties as she realizes how complicated Dong-hoon and Mu-jin's relationship was.

Even bigger than the eventual reveal of the murderer's identity is the plot twist concerning Dong-hoon's true nature. Towards the end of the series, Ji-woo learns her father was actually an undercover police detective, working under an assumed name, who infiltrated Mu-jin's outfit. This discovery makes Ji-woo painfully aware that not only has she been working for the wrong side all along, but she's also been working directly for her father's killer. "My Name" is one of the best K-dramas on Netflix, and this twist helps elevate the show to that lofty, well-deserved status.

Revenge is an increasingly messy and complicated prospect in the 2022 thriller series "The Glory." After being violently tormented by her high school classmates, Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) plots her vengeance for years. Now working as a teacher for her old classmates' children, Dong-eun springs her plan into motion, enlisting the help of other people wronged by her bullies. This entire vendetta turns on its head with the murder of Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo), which was apparently done by Dong-eun's primary tormentor Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon).

While Yeon-jin is blamed for Myeong-oh's murder, with Dong-eun helping arrange this, Yeon-jin isn't actually the killer. In a surprise reveal, Kim Kyeong-ran (Ahn So-yo) discovers the wounded Meyong-oh and finishes him off in an emotional outburst for the abuse she endured from him in high school. Dong-eun is aware of this but uses this to fuel her revenge plans, with Myeong-oh's death sparking the payback she long desired. The lengths Dong-eun goes to topple her bullies are lurid and shocking enough, but Dong-eun using a fellow victim to frame someone for murder takes the bloody cake.

The 2023 dramedy "Behind Your Touch" starts out innocently enough, with veterinarian Bong Ye-bun (Han Ji-min) using her psychic powers to solve minor crimes around her small town. However, this once peaceful rural community is rocked by a series of murders that even Ye-bun can't seem to solve on her own. Working with police detective Moon Jang-yeol (Lee Min-ki), Ye-bun searches for the killer, with a local convenience store worker, Kim Seon-woo (Suho) as the prime suspect. Ultimately, the town's local shaman, Park Jong-bae (Park Hyuk-kwon), is exposed as the serial killer, murdering Seon-woo as part of his big reveal.

"Behind Your Touch" keeps audiences guessing on the murderer's identity right until its series finale, providing plenty of red herrings that Seon-woo is the killer. Jong-bae explains that he evaded Ye-bun's powers due to him committing his murders while undergoing temporary mental blackouts. This twist not only turns the central murder mystery on its head but switches the show's tone from an absurdist comedy (though not one of the funniest K-dramas) to a genuinely tense thriller. Any mystery narrative is going to hinge on a twist, with "Behind Your Touch" containing a particularly inventive one.

Strained love is given the ultimate test in "Queen of Tears" as married couple Baek Hyun-woo (Kim Soo-hyun) and Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won) contemplate divorce. This is put on hold when Hae-in develops a life-threatening brain tumor, which affects her memory as treatment continues. Complicating matters further is the sudden reappearance of Hae-in's childhood friend Yoon Eun-sung (Park Sung-hoon), who has long-held an unrequited love for her. Eun-sung's return isn't as friendly as it appears, of course, with the spurned would-be lover out to take advantage of Hae-in's situation for his own amorous gain.

The extent of Eun-sung's betrayal is the most shocking of all, especially given how friendly he treats Hyun-woo until he puts the final stages of his plan into motion. Eun-sung goes as far as to arrange a car accident, frame Hyun-woo for murder, and take advantage of Hae-in's memory loss to pose as her husband. Comeuppance is fortunately delivered, but the road to get there, in the face of Eun-sung's meticulously planned scheme, borders on unbelievable. 

K-dramas are full of calculating vendettas but none quite as far-reaching as Eun-sung in "Queen of Tears."