Season 2 of “ Squid Game ” comes out December 26 (the best and darkest holiday gift we could have asked for!) but that leaves plenty of time to take a fresh look at some of the best Korean TV shows available on streaming in the United States. “Squid Game” is undoubtedly the K-drama that broke through the American media machine and awards system, aided by the fact that a lot of American television is getting blessedly more international in its focus — “ Pachinko ” combines American and Korean filmmaking styles, sets, and sensibilities to become something of its own, while shows like “A Very Secret Service,” “ Dark ,” “ Babylon Berlin ,” and “ Borgen ” all feel perfectly at home in a U.S.
Netflix queue. But “Squid Game” is by no means the end-all, be-all for K-dramas. In fact, the term “K-drama” might be a little misleading to the uninitiated because it implies a certain kind of story, tone, or focus.
The truth is that there’s as much variety in genre and approach on Korean TV as anywhere else. There are dramas, of course — ranging from a broody, prestige piece like “Mr. Sunshine” to the Hong Sisters’ fantastical “Alchemy of Souls.
” But there are also sitcoms and coming-of-age romps, countless rom-coms and romantic melodramas, sports-focused feel-good series, and gritty crime mystery shows. If you like serialized stories, you’re going to like K-dramas. The trick is finding the right entry point.
Accordingly, we collected a h.