15 Best Time Travel K-Dramas, Ranked (According To IMDb) – GameSpot

Time travel always adds a level of fun and intrigue to any TV show when drama from the past or future intertwines with the present. This is often seen in sci-fi TV shows and movies and even K-dramas and there are countless binge-watching shows that titillate fans with time travel themes.

For K-dramas, the past often involves the Joseon era, riddled with political distress, unrest, and drama. In some cases, K-dramas get creative and use time travel to solve crimes, like a heinous murderer from the past. And some time travel K-dramas even have a bit of romance to satisfy all viewers.

Updated July 6, 2022 by Jom Elauria: Streaming sites like Netflix and HBO Max continue to add K-dramas from popular genres to their libraries, like sci-fi. Sci-fi K-dramas use a variety of plot points to keep viewers interested, from creating water on the moon as seen on The Silent Sea to showcasing parallel worlds as in W–Two Worlds Apart. A common plot device that is often used in sci-fi K-dramas is time travel, so much so that some K-drama viewers actually think it is overused. That said, time travel K-dramas are always worth watching thanks to their excellent storytelling and interesting tales.

15 Sisyphus: The Myth (2021): 7.0

Available to stream on Netflix

This 2021 K-drama is serious terminator vibes, but it’s full of good laughs, color and drama. Han Tae-Sul (Cho Seung-woo) is a talented engineer who is determined to find out the real reason behind his older brother’s murder. If that wasn’t enough, the storyline features a character who travels from the future to his current time.

In the future, the world is dominated by gangs and military cliques. To survive you need serious combat skills. Gang Seo-Hae (Park Shin-Hye) is the good warrior. She travels back in time to help Tae-Sul on his dangerous journey after learning key evidence of her brother’s death.

14 Familiar Wife (2018): 7.7

Available to stream on Netflix

Love and time travel? Yes please. Married life hasn’t been easy for the main character, Joo-hyuk (Ji Sung). He has been married for five years but under the immense stress of caring for both his parents and his children while working. He is also afraid of his wife’s tantrums.

One day, he meets an old man in the metro who gives him two coins. In a turn of events, the play sends him back in time. He is no longer married and living a different life. Now he must decide whether or not he wants to change this fate and rekindle his first love or return to his old life.

13 Splash Splash Love (2015): 7.7

Splash Splash Love is one of those K-dramas that combines time travel and romance. In the television series, a high school student is transported to 15th century Korea. She soon meets the young king of the kingdom who wants to learn more about mathematics. Luckily, the heroine of the series is a patient teacher who is more than willing to tutor the king.

Splash Splash Love is a quick and easy watch for K-drama fans as it is one of the shortest K-dramas out there with only 2 episodes. However, viewers found the show’s pacing and story to be nothing short of excellent.

12 Prince on the Roof (2012): 7.8

Available to stream on Netflix

To wake up one day in the current year 2012, while being from the Joseon era, is a lot. prince on the roof has a lot of stories to deal with, but it’s worth it. The crown prince and his two confidants reunite on the roof of Park-ha’s (Han Ji-min) house. The prince realizes he has time traveled 300 years into the future.

To make things even more interesting, he sees Park-ha’s long-lost sister who is the spitting image of his late wife, who was found drowned. He is convinced that he will find the answers to his past in 2012 and poses as the grandson of a powerful CEO, who in reality was killed by another member of his family.

11 Queen In-Hyun’s Man (2012): 7.9

Available to stream on Prime Video

A Joseon dynasty scholar meets an aspiring actress in 2012. Add some political turmoil and romance and you have binge-worthy drama in Queen In-Hyun’s Man. In 1694, a scholar born into nobility is the sole survivor after his family is murdered, but there is a bigger story at play as it could be an ongoing plot as he backs reinstatement of the fallen queen.

Thanks to a talisman, he travels in time 300 years in the future and meets an actress. The actress lands her big break by posing as the queen of her day in a new drama. They meet soon and he just might fall in love.

ten Faith (2012): 8.0

The drama K Faith follows the story of a plastic surgeon who is transported to Goryeo in the 14th century. She soon learns that a royal guard warrior was the reason she was taken back over 600 years to the past.

The royal guard begs the plastic surgeon to help their injured queen. However, the plastic surgeon actually had feelings for his captor. Shinui won the hearts of K-drama fans with the stellar performances from the actors, as well as the detailed story that sheds light on Korean history and mythology.

9 Gift of God: 14 days (2014): 8.0

Available to stream on Prime Video

Released in 2014, God’s Gift: 14 Days is a K-drama about Kim Soo-hyun, a mother who seeks to resurrect her dead child by going back in time. Her child has been kidnapped and murdered by a cruel person, and she plans to end their plan in 14 days in order to save her child.

But as she works with a private detective to uncover the mysterious criminal, Kim discovers the crimes are more complex than she first believed. The show was well received for its solid writing and acting, though it left a lot to be desired with its CGI-filled scenes.

8 The King: Eternal Monarch (2020): 8.1

Available to stream on Netflix

Fans are in for a treat with this K-drama. Not only does the series have a badass female lead character and a boyfriend-worthy male lead character, it’s packed with gripping action and a story of parallel worlds. In the show, two realities coexist: present-day South Korea and the Kingdom of Korea.

The current king witnessed the murder of his father as a child at the hands of his uncle. He discovers a door to the parallel world and uses it to prevent his uncle from raising an army. Along the way, he learns who the mysterious figure who saved his life was, but the only way to keep the timeline intact is to return to that exact moment in time.

seven Nine: Nine Time Travels (2013): 8.2

Available to stream on Prime Video

In the K-drama Nine: Nine Time Travels, Park Sun-woo discovers nine incense sticks that could take him back 20 years. He uses his time in the past to save his family, which has been the victim of a terrible tragedy. However, he must be extra careful when going back in time, as he can only do so nine times.

Park soon discovers that everything he changes in the past resonates and affects his current life as well. The K-drama won numerous awards in Korea for its excellent cast and romantic storyline.

6 Return as a couple (2017): 8.2

Available to stream on Prime Video

Go Back Couple is a Korean miniseries where a couple wishes never to meet because they have been bought unhappy and exhausted by their marriage. The couple soon discover that they have come to their senses at 20 and have been trying to make decisions that will make their future selves happy and content.

The show featured many heartwarming moments that will make viewers swoon. The show is also funny at times and has an ending that will surely touch the hearts of all K-drama fans.

5 Tunnel (2017): 8.3

Tunnel was another K-drama inspired by a famous serial murder case, just like the HBO show Mindhunter. The drama centers on a good detective in 1986 who, after finally finding true love and getting married, tackles a serial homicide case. While chasing a suspect through a tunnel, he finds himself thrust 30 years into the future once he emerges from the tunnel through the other side and the murderer is still on the run.

Distraught that his life could crumble without him, he thinks catching the culprit will send him back to his time. In this future world, he encounters familiar characters from his past and some surprises.

4 Chicago Typewriter (2017): 8.3

The concept of time travel in this drama is portrayed as reincarnation. Three resistance fighters from the Japanese occupation of 1930s Korea find themselves in a new era in which they reincarnate as a writer, fan, and ghostwriter.

Switching between the 1930s and the 21st century, these three characters begin to see parallels between the two periods. As they begin to uncover the truth behind their past, they fear it will affect their current present. For fans, the show also mixes a love story with a memorable romantic kiss.

3 Signals (2016): 8.5

Available to stream on Netflix

This K-drama has a storyline that few shows have explored, but it does wonders to captivate its audience. The exceptional police procedural show is also a thriller, as it is inspired by true crime stories and a murder case, and the show mixes two different timelines.

While investigating a case, a cold case profiler discovers a walkie-talkie from the year 1989. He deduces that the walkie-talkie transcends time and allows him to communicate with a detective from 1989 for a short time. Together they use their knowledge to prevent heinous crimes from happening.

2 Moon Lovers: Scarlet-Hearted Ryeo (2016): 8.7

Moon Lovers: Scarlet-Hearted Ryeo is unquestionably one of the most talked about K-dramas and it has everything from time travel and romance to political drama and intrigue, not to mention some of the most heartbreaking scenes. Beware of total solar eclipses, as they are responsible for transporting a 25-year-old woman living in the 21st century to the Goryeo dynasty.

Waking up in a new identity, she is one of the royal princes of the Wang family. She first falls in love with one of the kind-hearted princes, but she is soon attracted to the brooding and gloomy fourth prince. During her romance, she finds herself caught in the middle of political turmoil in a battle for the throne.

1 Mr. Queen (2020): 8.7

Available to stream on Hulu

Mr Queen will have all viewers laughing from start to finish, all the while clinging to their seats watching the drama unfold. It’s an unconventional time travel story that works wonders. A great male leader finds himself transported to the Joseon era, but not as himself but in the body of Queen Cheorin (Shin Hye-sun) and there’s a mystery behind the queen’s supposed attempt to commit suicide.

Along the way, while trying to conform to the current times as a woman, he gets caught up in the political turmoil of the kingdom and the king isn’t the clumsy, undermined ruler everyone thinks he is. . In reality, he is cunning, mysterious and seeks the truth behind those who want to dethrone him.