I’ve been glued to 은수좋은날 for days now, and it’s one of those K-dramas that make you question why no one else is raving about them; the ones that rightfully steal every bit of hype, but still manage to fly under the radar. They’re that good — the levels of moral dilemma, desperation and small chaos are equally balanced. The series is dark, emotional and painfully real, the kind of story that gets into what people are really willing to do when survival is their only option. And if you’re looking for Kdramas like Walking On Thin Ice, well, you know exactly which storm I’m talking about!
The show doesn’t just depict crime; it reflects life, and everyday people, flawed, downtrodden by a quiet despair. Lee Young-ae’s Eun-su isn’t evil. Kim Young-kwang’s Kyung isn’t wicked. These two characters are both cornered, forced to make impossible decisions in the name of a safety that keeps meaning less and less. And when that occurs, there is no clear path back. It’s this discomforting truth that makes this story so memorable, and it’s the same tone I found in others of a handful of Korean dramas, ones about drugs, desperation and moral disarray in their own individual styles.
So, here are six dramas that share my heavy heart and fascination, stories of people who never meant to cross the line but did so anyway because life never gave them an alternative.
Kdramas Like Walking On Thin Ice
A Model Family
In this Netflix drama, Jung Woo plays a downtrodden professor who inadvertently gets his hands on a haul of cartel drug money. A desperate move to pay for his wife’s surgery becomes a nightmare when the cartel tracks him down and thrusts him into its operation. The drama also stars Park Hee-soon and Yoon Jin-seo. It’s a harrowing journey into the lives of drugs and guilt. The arrangement reflects Eun-su’s tale, regular individuals connected to a reckless crime.
What I like so much about this show is how raw and rooted it feels. There are no heroes here, just folks struggling to make their way through the day. Each choice Jung Woo’s character makes feels painfully authentic, as if we are watching someone drown in slow motion. If Kdramas such as Walking On Thin Ice are your thing, this one will serve you the same quiet dread, emotional wear.
Hope or Dope
This one caught me off guard. It is about a runaway teen, played by Won Ji-an, who flees an abusive home and stumbles across a rural greenhouse used to create drugs. While she searches for a new life, she’s sucked ever deeper into the dark underbelly of rural crime and exploitation. It’s a younger, grittier iteration of the same themes: innocence, desperation and moral turpitude.
I’m kvelling about it for its eerie simplicity. Hope or Dope doesn’t romanticise the world of drugs; it depicts a scene laid bare, demonstrating how young people are ensnared by systems they cannot control. It made me think of those quieter times with Kyung, the silent looks that said everything words could not.
Woman of 9.9 Billion
Cho Yeo-jeong gives a stunning performance as Seo Yeon, an ordinary woman who suddenly comes into possession of nearly ten billion won in cold cash. The money looks like her way out of an abusive marriage, but it carries invisible strings that pull her into the world of crime, betrayal and greed. With Kim Kang-woo cast as a detective who gets caught up in her web, this drama hangs on a tighter emotional noose with each episode.
I loved how this show mixes psychological depth with honest-to-god human frailty. It’s not just the money: It’s the desperation. Seo Yeon, like Eun-su, doesn’t want to be rich; she wants freedom. And that’s what makes this story so grating. For those in search of Kdramas similar to Walking On Thin Ice, Woman of 9.9 Billion holds the same bittersweet flavour of decisions you can never unmake.
The Lies Within
Lee Yoo-young and Lee Min-ki star in this political thriller that starts with a husband gone missing and expands into an intricate web of conspiracy involving drugs and power. It’s a taciturn, contemplative play that eschews speed in favour of silence filled with dread. And as the female lead gets to the bottom of it, she finds that every institution in which she’s put her trust has been an edifice balanced by manipulation and moral compromise.
I suggest this because it’s moody, tense, understated, always posing questions about who is good or bad. The inevitable way the lies come unravelled is alarmingly close to the hidden depths contained by Eun-su’s story. It isn’t loud, but it lingers long after it’s over.
Drama Stage Season 3: Blackout
Jung Sang-hoon stars in this hour-long drama about a man who wakes up from a blackout with an astronomical amount of drug money and no recollection of how he came by it. As he attempts to retrace his steps, paranoia and guilt envelop him. The entire story takes place in the course of a single night, generating an almost claustrophobic dread that never dissipates.
What hit me is how compact yet powerful it is. It examines how quickly one might descend into chaos when money and paranoia intersect. There is no room for everyone to breathe; it’s only bad judgment followed by worse. It’s short and sharp and shockingly real.
Extracurricular
Kim Dong-hee plays Ji-soo, a model student who secretly runs an illegal business to raise college tuition. But when his business conflicts with the world of drugs and violence, everything he has created begins to unravel. A survival plan becomes a dark study of guilt and youth corrupted by circumstance.
I am sucked on this one till now, as to how raw this show was about ambition and survival. It’s not about being right or wrong; it’s what you are willing to stake your life on. Like a Korean drama like Walking On Thin Ice, this is an uneasy, reflective film that leaves you pondering what you’d do when pushed to the end of your tether.
As the Walking On Thin Ice finale is around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start making the watch list and don’t forget to add these to see how far an ordinary person goes before they lose themselves completely?
