5 K-Drama Remakes of Popular Series – Ranked
Some of K-drama‘s popular storylines are not originals. While many storylines are adapted from webtoons or movies, a select few are remakes of other series. The 2011 American series Suits was a hot topic that ran for nine seasons. Its legal drama storyline was also adapted into a K-drama following the same characters. While a K-drama remake adapts an existing story, they are not always top-notch.
5. ‘Woori the Virgin’ is a recent K-drama remake of ‘Jane the Virgin’
One of the CW’s most popular series was Jane the Virgin, starring Gina Rodriguez. Based on a telenovela, Jane (Rodriguez) is an aspiring writer, has a loving boyfriend, and was born to a single mother. But she has a “miracle” when she becomes pregnant despite being a virgin. She soon learns her gynecologist artificially inseminated her.
Caught in a conundrum, she goes on a journey of complex love, personal growth, and motherhood. In 2022, SBS made a K-drama remake of the telenovela and CW series titled Woori the Virgin. Woo-ri (Im Soo-hyang) follows the same dilemma as Jane. But there are a few tweaks regarding her relationship with her detective boyfriend and the biological father.
In true K-drama fashion, there is also a murder mystery that interweaves the main characters. While Wooro the Virgin is a pretty spot-on remake, fans found themselves being less than enthused as the drama went on and the outcome of the finale.
Woori the Virgin is available on Viki.
4. ‘Designated Survivor: 60 Days’ is shortened storyline version of the American original
The political thriller Designated Survivor aired on American TV in 2016 and ran for three seasons until 2019. It starred actor Kiefer Sutherland as Thomas Kirkman, who ascends to become president when he is the sole survivor of a bomb attack. He navigates his new role and looks for answers behind the attack.
In 2019 tvN and Netflix released the K-drama remake Designated Survivor: 60 Days. The remake follows the same story but takes place within a time span of 60 days. Park Mu-jin (Ji Jin-hee) is the South Korean minister of environment. But due to a diplomatic incident, he is kicked out of office. But when the president is set to announce a peace treaty with North Korea, the building explodes.
Mu-jin is sworn in as president for 60 days and must uncover the truth. Designated Survivor: 60 Days is a well-developed remake worth watching whether you are a fan of the American series or not. It is full of political thriller twists and turns.
Designated Survivor: 60 Days is available on Netflix.
3. ‘Less Than Evil’ is a K-drama remake of ‘Luther’
Led by Idris Elba, the British crime series Luther was a smashing success. The five-season series focused on a detective for the Serious Crime Unit. While dedicated to his job, he is irrational, possessive, and has anger problems. He has already faced the consequences of his actions.
In 2018, MBC released Less Than Evil, starring Shin Ha-kyun as Woo Tae-suk, a character based on Luther. Tae-suk is a hotheaded lone detective with a high arrest rate. He often balances the edge between being a good guy and a bad guy.
A female psychopath named Eun Sun-jae (Lee Seol) soon crosses his path. While unable to arrest her for lack of evidence, she soon helps Tae-suk solve criminal cases.
2. The K-drama remake ‘Suits’ stars Park Hyung-sik in the role of Michael Ross
Suits is inarguably one of the most popular American legal dramas that aired on TV. Premiering in 2011, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) uses his eidetic memory to get a job alongside closer Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). There is a catch: Mike has no legal training or degree.
The K-drama remake is almost identical, with actor Park in the role of Go Yeon-woo. Like Mike Ross, Yeon-woo has a retentive memory and gets a job with legendary lawyer Choi Kang-seok (Jang Dong-gun). But Yeon-woo is not a real lawyer. Each character in the K-drama is equivalent to the leading cast of characters in the American series.
Audiences follow the comical yet stressful situations Yeon-woo gets caught up in due to his lies. The K-drama remake is a fun watch for fans of the original series.
Suits is available to watch on Tubi.
1. ‘Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area’ tweaks a few details about the original Spanish series
Netflix premiered the K-drama remake of the hit Spanish series Money Heist. The original series focused on a group of thieves brought together by a man named The Professor (Álvaro Morte). Wanting to fulfill a political agenda and pull off the biggest heist in history, the team plans to rob the Royal Mint of Spain. Dressed in red jumpsuits and Salvador Dali masks, the team put their plan in motion as authorities try to thwart their efforts.
The original creator of Money Heist was excited as Netflix announced the K-drama remake, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. The storyline sticks to the original but takes place in the Korean Peninsula under the Joint Economic Area. The leading characters’ names stay the same, but their backstories are tweaked. Money Heist: Korea gives the chaotic Berlin (Park Hae-soo) a darker story, and Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo) is originally a North Korean soldier.
The agenda is the same as the heist team: infiltrate the Royal Mint to steal millions. Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area is headed into its second half on Netflix.
