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If you’r travelling, and you really need a K-Drama for company…well, we’ve got you covered. You can always rely on a Ji Chang-wook drama, and that includes the multi-genre tale of Suspicious Partner, or the rather bittersweet Lovestruck in the City. If you’re one of those who really can’t sleep on long flights and need to bide their time with something gripping, then D.P is your best shot, or Happiness.
Here’s our lowdown.
1) Suspicious Partner
Don’t be fooled by the cutesy opening credits. You’re almost willed into thinking that it’s some fluffy romance. Well, you’re not completely wrong, the show starring Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun is a romantic comedy…set in the middle of a psychological thriller, as unbelievable as it sounds. Ji-hyun plays the role of troubled Bong-hui, whose life is overturned after she is accused of a crime that she did not commit. Ji Chang-wook is the prosecution, only to realise she is innocent.
Together, the two reluctantly form a partnership and of course fall in love while chasing down a dangerous serial killer. The series is absorbing, filled with action, courtroom drama and is engaging, especially if you have a good 14 hour flight. The show pulls the rug beneath your feet several times, as the underlying note is, more about memory tricks, and how people rewrite their worst memories to survive.
2) Lovestruck in the City
Oh look, it’s a Ji-Chang wook show again! Well, I can vouch for this series: I spent hours watching it during a train ride to Haalstaat in Austria. It’s not everyone’s pick of course, as many complain that it is a tad slow. The series stars Kim Ji-won in the lead role as the rather battered and bruised Eun-ho, who escapes the drudgery of her life and ends having the summer of a lifetime….under a different name, and seemingly different personality. She meets Ji Chang-wook’s artsy Jae-won, and the two lose themselves in the giddiness, and madness of love, only for Eun-ho to realise that she’s living a life. She vanishes, and a heartbroken Jae-won spends months looking for her. The show draws you in with its emotional punches, and does a thorough job of explaining the rocky journey to self-love.
3) Happiness
Yes, lose yourself in a zombie thriller and you won’t even notice the time flying by. Especially, when it has Park Hyung-sik. Set in the near future, Happiness kicks off when the failed drug “Next” sparks a pandemic known as the Lytta Virus, or “mad person disease.” Those infected experience brief bouts of insanity and bloodlust before turning into zombie-like states. The military enforces quarantines while civil rights groups argue the infected are still human.
Yoon Sae-bom, scratched by an infected trainee, ends up at Han Tae-seok’s research facility, where patients are observed. Immune herself, she strikes a deal to secure an apartment, requiring a contract marriage with detective Jung Yi-hyun. When the virus spreads through residents, Sae-bom, Yi-hyun, and Tae-seok scramble to contain the outbreak while confronting moral dilemmas, survival, and the search for a cure hidden in Sae-bom’s blood.
Packed with suspense, twists, and romance, Happiness is what you need for travel. The gripping episodes fly fast, and before you know it…you might have reached your destination.
4) Weak Hero Class
Brains over brawn, Weak Hero proves that even the smallest fish can make the biggest splash. Yeon Si-eun, top of his class but physically weak, battles relentless high school bullies using brains, quick thinking, and whatever’s at hand. When danger escalates, allies Ahn Su-ho and Oh Beom-seok join the fray, forming an unlikely trio navigating school violence, friendship, and what it really means to be strong.
Season two ramps up the stakes at a new school with the ruthless Union, forcing Si-eun to outsmart bigger threats. With short, gripping episodes full of suspense and clever action, it’s what you need to tide through long hours of travelling.
5) D.P
This is a gruelling, relentless watch. D.P. (short for Deserter Pursuit) dives into the harsh realities of South Korea’s military, exposing the pressures, injustices, and toxic dynamics that drive some soldiers to desert. At its core, the series explores bullying, abuse of power, and the often-overlooked struggles within the army’s welfare system. While the show tones down the brutality compared to real-life accounts, its depiction is still shocking, raw, and unflinching. Following a team tasked with capturing deserters, D.P. balances suspense, action, and social commentary, making it a gripping watch that sheds light on a system many know exists but few truly understand.
