K-Drama 101 via Netflix
Begin with Squid Game and Hwang Dong-hyuk, pass through a zombie period piece, a revenge drama, a Jeju family saga, 2026's The Scandal and cooking and physical survival shows, and arrive at what Korean drama is.
This course starts with Squid Game, the most widely known Korean drama worldwide, moves through its director Hwang Dong-hyuk, a zombie period drama, a school-violence revenge drama, a Jeju family saga, a 2026 new release, and cooking and physical survival reality shows, surveying the range of Netflix's Korean content. A beginner course for a first watch of Korean drama.
- 1
Squid GameTV dramasThe starting point is Squid Game: a story of 456 contestants risking their lives for a cash prize — the course asks what made it one of Netflix's most-watched series. - 2
Hwang Dong-hyukDirectorsNext to the person behind it, Hwang Dong-hyuk — who both wrote and directed the series and went on to win an Emmy for directing. - 3KingdomTV dramasOver to another branch of Netflix's Korean originals — period drama: Kingdom, a zombie story set in the Joseon dynasty.
- 4
All of Us Are DeadTV dramasOnward to All of Us Are Dead, which moves the same zombie premise into a modern-day school — a look at how the same material shifts outside a period setting. - 5
The GloryTV dramasA genre shift to The Glory, a revenge drama about school violence — a psychological thriller placed right after the zombie shows. - 6When Life Gives You TangerinesTV dramasAnother shift to When Life Gives You Tangerines, a slice-of-life romance spanning a generation in Jeju — a different register placed after the survival and revenge dramas.
- 7The ScandalTV dramasThe Scandal, a 2026 release, marks the most recent point — a period romance drama set in the Joseon dynasty.
- 8Culinary Class WarsTV dramasFrom scripted drama to reality: Culinary Class Wars, a survival competition among chefs.
- 9Physical: 100TV dramasPhysical: 100, another survival reality show that shares its elimination format with Culinary Class Wars, moving from cooking to physical competition.
- 10
Korean dramaHallyu conceptsThe course ends at the concept of Korean drama itself, placing the period pieces, revenge drama, romance and reality shows just watched under one category.
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