Korean dramas have been slowly getting away from the normal stereotype of them being rom-com shows or show targeted toward girls. Some great thrillers and tragedy shows are being produced in the Kdrama industry, which are blowing the socks off the audience.
Reborn Rich is one of these types of shows, thrilling, dramatic, and an awesome revenge tragedy plot with little bits of comedy and romantic elements sprinkled all over it. Moreover, the show’s lead actor is none other than Song Joong-Ki, who is a beloved personality among Kdrama fans.
Reborn Rich follows the story of a loyal employee (played by Song Joong-Ki) who is murdered. He, later on, is reborn as the son of the owner of the company with memories of his past life intact with him. He tries to uncover the mystery of his death and take revenge on the conglomerate family.
\The show is an absolute rollercoaster ride where you won’t be able to stop once you start it. But if you are here, it means you have already watched Reborn Rich and couldn’t get enough of Song Joong-Ki or the revenge tragedy thriller plot of the show. So here are 21 Kdramas to watch if you liked Reborn Rich.
1. Descendants of the Sun
Our very first entry is for the people who couldn’t get enough of Song Jokng-Ki. Descendants of the Sun is an incredible romance and action-filled show with some great comedy sprinkled on top. It also maintains the thrilling element in the story as it is a story of a Soldier and Doctor who reconcile in a war-torn country. The soldier is played by Song Jong-Ki, and the doctor is played by Song Hye Kyo, another big name in the Korean Drama Industry.
Descendants of the Sun was a huge success when it was released and was highly praised by fans and critics alike. The show was fully pre-produced before it started airing, which is very uncommon in the Korean Drama industry. It brings a very good blend of romance, comedy, action, and thrill for the audience to enjoy. It is also the first drama to be released after the two-year break of Song Joong-Ki’s military service.
Also Read: 39 Best Romantic Comedy K-Dramas Ever
2. The Innocent Man
Another drama for Song Joon-Ki fans, this drama has more thriller-mystery energy when compared to Descendants of the Sun. The story of this drama revolves around three characters- Kang Maru, Han Jaehui, and Seo Eungi. While the former two are trying their hardest to achieve their dreams, Seo is an heir to a major conglomerate but hasn’t received any warmth in his entire life.
An unforeseen event changes their lives forever as destiny makes these three characters come together. Along with Song Joon-Ki, the cast of this drama includes big names like Moon Chae Won and Lee Kwang Soo. This drama falls under the Crime-Mystery genre, so you can expect a good and entertaining watch if you love crime dramas.
3. Eve
This revenge-driven drama is one of its kind. Eve follows the story of Lee Ra El, who is played by Seo Ye Ji. Lee Ra El adores and idolizes her lovely parents- her beautiful mother and her highly intelligent father. But a tragedy leads to the death of his father, and her family crumbles. Lee vows to take revenge on the people because of whom this tragedy struck her family.
This drama is more of a courtroom drama as Lee fights a legal battle against the CEO of a big group business. The drama offers good melodramatic moments and features some pretty good scenes. The curiosity to know whether Lee gets her revenge or not is what drives a viewer to want to binge the show in one night.
4. Again, My Life
Again My Life uses the famous concept of restarting when you die. The story revolves around Kim Hee Woo, who is played by Lee Joon Gi. Kim Hee Woo had a hard childhood, and he worked very hard to reach the heights he had reached. He struggled through high school and then made his way through his university to become a public prosecutor.
He is handed a case of investigating a politician who is suspected of being corrupt. He proceeds with his investigation but comes to an abrupt end when a mysterious man kills him. When he opens his eyes, he finds out that he hasn’t died; instead traveled back to the past with the knowledge of the future with him. He has to graduate from his university and clear the bar examination again. But this time, things are different. This drama is a fantasy crime drama where many moments will leave you feeling very excited.
5. Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Well, Sungkyunkwan Scandal may not be a crime, mystery, or thriller drama sharing traits with the reborn rich, but the drama is a nice relief that shares a common theme with it. This drama shows the story of Kim Yoon Hee, played by Park Min Young.
The world in drama is set in the Joseon Dynasty, where women were not allowed to be educated. Kim Yoon Hee is quite intelligent and smart, and when her father passes away and his brother becomes ill, she decides to fake her identity and take up odd jobs to support her family.
As she was smart, she started giving entrance exams in place of students who wanted to get into the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University. However, she was caught by Lee Sun Joon, who is played by Park Yoochun. Kim Yoon Hee ends up giving the entrance exam herself with Lee Sun Joon and ends up qualifying. Now she must attend the university while keeping her identity as a girl secret.
6. Graceful Family
With this drama, we are back to crime and mystery thrillers with loads of suspense in them. Graceful Family is a show which has all of these qualities in it. Mo Seok Hee (played by Im Soo Hyang) and Heo Yoon Do (played by Lee Jang Woo) are the main characters of this story. The premise of the story is quite interesting; Mo Seok Hee is the sole and only heiress of a big conglomerate group. She is still suffering from the tragic demise of her mother, who died mysteriously.
She had been living in the United States away from Korea, and when she decided to come back to Korea, her life is flipped along with the fortune of her company. She meets Heo Yoon Do and develops a friendship with him; together, they try to uncover the secret of her mother’s death and save the company as well.
7. Involvement in Family Affairs
Based on a manga with the same name, Involvement in Family Affairs is a Japanese drama full of classic melodramatic elements. The drama shows the struggling romantic relationship of Sato Shinohara and Kenta Miyama. Sato is a common woman who runs a budget-friendly diner that has quite several regular customers.
Kenta decides to ask her the big question, and she happily agrees, but there is one big complication to their marriage. Kenta belongs to a noble family having roots back from the feudal Japan years. His family denies accepting Sato, a commoner, as the bride of Kenta. The story shows Sato and Kenta’s struggles as they try to get married.
8. The Justice
Set in the 1930s, The Justice is a historical romance drama coming from mainland China. Don’t let the romantic categorization of the drama fool you, The Justice has a lot of corporate drama involved in it as well. It follows the story of Chen Yi Zhi, who works at normal shops in the city and is just managing to live on the brink. His fate changes when he meets Li Zi, the daughter of an established banker Wu Ru Fu.
From there, he draws inspiration to step into the financial world and make a living and name for himself there. He catches the eye of an elite banker Boss Huang and quickly gains his trust with his natural skill and quick-wittedness. He becomes the first-hand man to Boss Huang but discovers his dark secrets and decides to leave him and go separate ways.
This decision infuriates Huang, and he decides to destroy Chen Yi Zhi. This feud between a boss and his once most trusted accomplice makes up for a great dramatic watch.
9. High Society
This one is also a romantic comedy but with industrial drama embedded within it. High Society is the story of a man who is trying to turn himself from rags to riches. The heroine is from a wealthy family, and the love chemistry between the two would be very entertaining to watch. The drama is an Idol Drama which is more of a promotional project, but it is also very well executed. It is worth a watch if you want something light and fun.
10. Tree With Deep Roots
Tree with deep roots is a historical mystery drama that has a high potential to entertain its viewers. It is a drama that shows serial killings at the Institute Hall of Worthies exactly seven days before the awaited proclamation of the Korean Script. The drama is set in the era of Sejong the Great and is a pure joy to watch for all the people who love Korean history. It is filled with action, and the costumes and presentation used in the drama bear a true resemblance to the Sejong era of Korean history.
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11. Fates and Furies
Fate and Furies is a romance drama full of melodramatic elements. This drama is a treat for people who like themes like love and betrayal. It is a story of love and revenge where Goo Hae Ra, played by Lee Min Jung, goes after Tae In Joon, played by Joo Sang Wook, with ulterior motives in mind. But unfortunately, she ends up falling in love with Tae In Joon.
Later on, a big twist in the story happens when Goo Hae Ra discovers that the family of Tae In Join we’re responsible or has something to do with her sister’s suicide attempt. Still, Goo Hae Ra falls in love with Tae In Joon and starts to develop a feeling of guilt. The story then proceeds to show what happens when Tae In Joon discovers the true motives of Goo Hae Ra and whether or not she can save her love.
12. The Empire
The Empire is a drama that all the people who love family feuds will love. This drama is filled with melodramatic family moments and revolves around Han Hye Ryul, played by Kim Sun Ah. Han Hye Ryul’s family is a traditionally wealthy family who has been in the law industry for three generations. They have gained power as well as wealth in all these times, and as a third generation individually, the Han Hye Ryul doesn’t settle for things less than the best.
This drama shows Han Hye Ryul’s struggles as she tries to break free from the ties of her family. She works as a chief of the special investigation team at the central prosecutor’s office and aims to become the next prosecutor general. Her choice of profession is frowned upon by her family as she chose a different route than the other family members. Her desire to have everything, even if she has to go against her family, is the driving factor in the drama.
13. Dance of the Phoenix
Based on a hit novel of the same name by the fantasy fiction author Su Xiao Nuan, Dance of the Phoenix is very close to an isekai anime. It follows the story of a young student named Meng Yuan (played by Yang Chaoyue), who is very skilled in traditional Chinese medicine and wants to become a leading practitioner of it. One day when she wakes up, she finds herself transported to a body of a woman named Feng Wu.
From here, she discovers that she is in a fantasy land where magic and martial arts rule the world. She is also married to a prince named Jun Li Yuan (played by Xu Kai Cheng). She soon learns to make this life a success, and she has to learn ways to defend herself and make powerful friends. Luckily her skills in traditional medicine come in handy for her as she can treat many types of wounds of her newly made friends.
14. Artificial City
Artificial City is a drama full of greed, desire, ambition, and power politics. If you love shows where an ambitious person tries to achieve as much as he or she humanly can, then this drama is a perfect fit for you. Yoon Ja Hae is the head of the Sung Jin Cultural Foundation, and the Sung Jin group is the ultimate conglomerate in all of Korea, having power and influence in both the political and financial worlds.
Ja Hae is a woman whose ambition has no bounds, and she sacrifices her years-long relationship for a marriage of wealth and convenience. She marries Jung Joon Hyuk, the second and illegitimate son of Sung Jin family, and becomes the family’s second daughter-in-law. She then starts to pursue her ambitions of making her husband take full control of the group. But little does she know her husband has his plans.
15. The Rebel Princess
Adapted from a popular novel by Mei Yu Zhe, The Rebel Princess is everything a historical power struggle fan could ask for. This drama is more on the romantic side, but it does not compromises on the political drama part. Wang Xuan (played by Zhang Zi Yi) is forced into an arranged marriage to a powerful but low-born general, Xiao Qi (played by Zhou Yi Wei), at the mere age of 15.
They soon develop a strong bond together, and a sense of trust forms between them. Together they thwarted a series of events planned to bring the imperial court to its knees and cause civil rebellion. They soon became popular and started to rule as joint emperors of the kingdom. But many in the royal family do not want the young couple to be in power and plan a dreadful event.
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16. The Goddess of Revenge
The Goddess of Revenge can be well defined as a story of power and vengeance. It follows the story of different people trying to exact revenge on the people who caused them harm, but their paths eventually cross. Kang Ha Rae (played by Kim Sa Rang) was a reporter who married a celebrity and became a top influencer. Unfortunately, she soon finds herself wrapped in an unfounded scandal, and her reputation dives. She swears to take revenge on the person who brought her downfall.
Cha Min Joon (played by Yoon Hyun Min) is a cold-hearted lawyer with a success rate of one hundred percent. He generally doesn’t care about others, but someone wishes to bring him and his family to ruin. So he sets into action to find that person and exact his revenge. Meanwhile, Kim Tae On (played by Yoo Sun) tries to take on the position of the new head of the FB group. He is the sole heir to the group, but going against his father won’t be easy, as one mistake would ruin it all.
17. Princess Silver
A fantasy historical romantic drama, Princess Silver tells the tale of a woman who wakes up with no memories of her past and is surrounded by assassins and guards. She is told that it is Rong Le, the younger sister of the Emperor of the Western Qi. She tries to remember her true identity, but she can’t. She is then informed that she has to marry Zong Zheng Wu You, a prince of the neighboring kingdom.
She is told that if the marriage goes through, both nations will be living peacefully. Zong Zheng Wu, You is an intelligent man but is haunted by his past traumas and has no interest in romance. The marriage falls through, but instead of returning to her home kingdom, Rong Le takes up a fake name and opens a tea house to gather clues to find her true identity.
18. Black Knight
Black Knight is a Fantasy fictional love story between a man who is willing to do anything to protect his love and a woman who is waiting for the love of her life. The story goes back over two hundred years. Moon Soo Ho is a businessman with a heart as pure as clean water, but he wears a mask in front of others.
He never shows his true self to anyone apart from Jung Hae Ra, who is a travel agent who has never traveled abroad. Soo Ho and Hae Ra grew up together in Hae Ra’s house as siblings, but they got separated later. They meet each other after they grow up as if destiny has planned it. Love blossoms between them as if it were fate. But the question arises would their love survive despite all the crumbling events?
19. VIP
Well, it’s time for some detective digging. VIP is a thriller and suspense drama with melodramatic elements involved. It shows the story of a couple, Jung Sun and Sung Jun, Sung Jung is the head of the VIP team of the Sungun department store, and his wife, Jung Sun, is assigned as the deputy head of the same team. Jung Sun is on good terms with everyone, including her husband, and is recognized for her competence.
But she secretly hides the fact that she struggles very hard to be loved by others. She was abandoned by her birth and stepmother both, and it left trauma on her. She trusted that at least her husband wouldn’t let her down, but one unfortunate day she received a text stating that her husband had been cheating on her with someone from her team. After receiving the message, she explores and gets to know the truth about her husband and the woman.
20. Jun Jiu Ling
The daughter of a former crown prince, Chu Jiu Ling’s wedding was destined to be a beautiful event, but it turned out to be pretty disastrous as she came to know that her uncle was behind the death of her father. In an attempt to take her revenge, but is stopped by her husband, Lu Yun Qi, who is the imperial guard. She barely escapes from the hands of her husband and never returns. She is saved by a physician on the verge of death and begins to practice medicine, becoming a physician herself, taking up the name Jun Jiu Ling.
She then works to uncover the corrupt schemes of the Emperor and gets a chance to return to the royal household as a physician. She is sought for her medical expertise, and using the situation to her favor, she exposes the corruption that prevails in the political court and wins the heart of the people. She still is determined to exact her revenge, but her ex-husband and two more people stand in her way.
This drama is a historical romance drama with a proper representation of ancient Chinese dressing and traditions. Apart from the romance, the struggles and the planning Jun Jiu Ling does to get her revenge is entertaining to watch.
21. Ni Chang
Ni Chang follows the story of Xie Xiao Ni (played by Li Jia Qi) and her struggle to make her dream come true after a tragic conspiracy against her family. Xie Xiao Ni was the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant, and her family business was booming as they built a lucrative business empire. Xie Xiao Ni vowed to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a successful businesswoman herself.
But these dreams are shattered when the rivals of her family, the Su family, conspires to frame the Xie for crimes they had not committed. The Xie family falls victim to this treacherous plot, but Xie Xiao Ni escapes. She runs away and promises herself to restore the honor and name of her family and starts working towards that.
She pretends to be a low-class cloth worker and secures a job with the powerful Jiang Nan Yun Jin family. When she takes up the fake name Ni Chang, she starts to learn embroidery and, while doing so, meets the kind and handsome Ou Yang Zi Yu (played by Bu Wen Jun). But how will she fulfill her promise to herself, and more importantly, how will she save herself from the Su clan, who wants everyone in the Xie family gone for good? This is the main driving point of the drama and is worth the watch if you’re into historical dramas.
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