The 8 Show, Death's game, Money Heist: Korea, and more: K-dramas to binge while you wait for ‘Squid Game’ Season 2

After a blood-soaked, nail-biting first season, ‘Squid Game’ has officially turned K-drama fans into total thrill-seekers, pulling in curious newbies along the way! Each episode had viewers on the edge of their seats, wondering who would survive the next round of twisted children's games. Just like the VIPs placing bets, fans had their favorites - whether it was the lovable yet sometimes infuriating Gi-hun or the cunning Sang-woo. While the first season left us hanging with Gi-hun gearing up to confront the game’s masterminds, a second season is set to drop on December 26. While we wait, why not check out other dramas that share this deliciously dark vibe? Here are some titles to binge!

Based on the hit webtoons ‘Money Game’ and its sequel ‘Pie Game’, ‘The 8 Show’ centers around eight individuals grappling with severe financial struggles who receive a mysterious and irresistible invitation to join a high-stakes competition. The contestants are thrust into a secluded environment, cut off from the rest of the world, where they must follow the show’s unique and brutal rules. Their goal is to accumulate as much money as possible while handling extreme conditions. However, the game has a deadly twist: it only ends when one of the players dies, making survival the ultimate challenge in this dangerous pursuit of wealth.

Adapted from a webtoon, ‘Deaths' Game’ follows Choi Yi Jae (Seo In Guk), a man who has battled for seven years without landing a stable job, leading him to deep despair. In a moment of hopelessness, he contemplates ending his life, but his plans take an unexpected turn when he encounters an entity known as Death at the threshold of Hell. Instead of a simple end, Death imposes a unique punishment: Yi Jae must experience death through 12 different bodies. To escape his grim fate in Hell, he must confront the challenges of survival in each life. Will he find a way to endure, or will he succumb to despair?

‘Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area’, adapted from the popular Spanish series, centers on a group of anonymous robbers who come together to pull off a daring heist at the fictional Unified Korean Mint. Yoo Ji Tae plays the Professor, the brilliant strategist behind the operation, while his team of robbers features a talented cast, including Park Hae Soo, Jeon Jong Seo, Lee Hyun Woo, Kim Ji Hoon, Jang Yoon Joo, and Lee Won Jong. As they carry out their carefully planned mission, tension builds, revealing complex motives and intense clashes within the crew as they attempt the heist of a lifetime.

In this mystery teen drama, a group of second-year high school students find their retreat turned into a deadly game of mafia. As the students from Yooil High School's 2nd grade 3 class are thrust into a life-or-death situation, they must tackle intense psychological battles to survive. Lee Yoon Seo (Lee Jae In) leverages her keen observation and reasoning skills to devise an escape plan, while Kim Jun Hee (Kim Woo Seok), the class president, relies on his strong sense of justice to rally his peers. Meanwhile, Oh Jung Won (Choi Ye Bin), the academically gifted loner, must break free from her isolation and collaborate with her classmates to endure the harrowing challenge ahead.

Adapted from a popular webtoon by the same name, ‘Pyramid Game’ centers on the brutal social hierarchy at Baekyeon Girls' High School, where students are ranked through a monthly popularity poll. The rankings dictate their entire social standing, and those at the bottom become targets of bullying and violence. Sung Su Ji (Bona) , a new transfer student, immediately finds herself at the very bottom with a score of zero. Now a victim of the school’s ruthless system, Su Ji must either fight her way to the top or find a way to dismantle the game that controls the school. Will she rise against the odds or bring the pyramid crashing down?