Slow and quiet

Slow burn K-dramas

55 titles. Dramas set to glacial or slow by hand, where the pleasure is accumulation rather than plot. Each one names the episode it stops being work, so you know what you are signing up for before you lose an evening.

How this list is built: Pace hand-set to 1 or 2 out of 5. Set by hand, checked against the full run, never generated on request. Our method.

55 titles · Written by Yuna · reviewed 15 September 2026

Summer Strike

2022 · 12 ep · ~12h

Glacial pace · Moderate · Hopeful

Slow start

My Liberation Notes

2022 · 16 ep · ~18h

Glacial pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

My Mister

2018 · 16 ep · ~21h

Glacial pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

One Spring Night

2019 · 32 ep · ~19h

Glacial pace · Moderate · Happy

Slow start

Call It Love

2023 · 16 ep · ~16h

Glacial pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

Lost

2021 · 16 ep · ~19h

Glacial pace · Devastating · Hopeful

Slow start

The Frog

2024 · 8 ep · ~7.5h

Glacial pace · Devastating · May divide viewers

Slow start

The Trunk

2024 · 8 ep · ~8.5h

Glacial pace · Heavy · May divide viewers

Slow start

Hospital Playlist

2020 · 12 ep · ~18h

Slow pace · Moderate · Happy

Hospital Playlist Season 2

2021 · 12 ep · ~20h

Slow pace · Moderate · Happy

Our Blues

2022 · 20 ep · ~23h

Slow pace · Moderate · Hopeful

Slow start

Reply 1988

2015 · 20 ep · ~32h

Slow pace · Moderate · Happy

Slow start

Because This Is My First Life

2017 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Easy · Happy

Dear My Friends

2016 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

Goblin

2016 · 16 ep · ~20h

Slow pace · Moderate · Bittersweet

Slow start

If You Wish Upon Me

2022 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

Law and the City

2025 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Easy · Hopeful

Slow start

Love Next Door

2024 · 16 ep · ~21h

Slow pace · Moderate · Happy

Slow start

Navillera

2021 · 12 ep · ~13h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Our Beloved Summer

2021 · 16 ep · ~16h

Slow pace · Moderate · Happy

Slow start

Run On

2020 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Easy · Hopeful

Slow start

The King: Eternal Monarch

2020 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Easy · Bittersweet

Slow start

When Life Gives You Tangerines

2025 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Brewing Love

2024 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Light · Happy

Slow start

Cheese in the Trap

2016 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Moderate · May divide viewers

Doom at Your Service

2021 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Moderate · Bittersweet

Family by Choice

2024 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Just Between Lovers

2017 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

Move to Heaven

2021 · 10 ep · ~8.5h

Slow pace · Devastating · Hopeful

See You in My 19th Life

2023 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Moderate · May divide viewers

Something in the Rain

2018 · 16 ep · ~20h

Slow pace · Moderate · May divide viewers

The Red Sleeve

2021 · 17 ep · ~23h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Slow start

Touch Your Heart

2019 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Light · Happy

At a Distance, Spring Is Green

2021 · 12 ep · ~12h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Blood Free

2024 · 10 ep · ~8.5h

Slow pace · Moderate · Hopeful

Slow start

Captivating the King

2024 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Slow start

Daily Dose of Sunshine

2023 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Melo Movie

2025 · 10 ep · ~10h

Slow pace · Heavy · Hopeful

Slow start

Nevertheless

2021 · 10 ep · ~12h

Slow pace · Easy · May divide viewers

Notes from the Last Row

2026 · 6 ep · ~6.5h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Nothing Uncovered

2024 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Our Unwritten Seoul

2025 · 12 ep · ~16h

Slow pace · Moderate · Hopeful

Revenant

2023 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Slow start

See You at Work Tomorrow!

2026 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Easy · Happy

Slow start

The Light in Your Eyes

2019 · 12 ep · ~12h

Slow pace · Devastating · Bittersweet

Slow start

Thirty-Nine

2022 · 12 ep · ~16h

Slow pace · Devastating · Tragic

Slow start

Uncle Samsik

2024 · 16 ep · ~12h

Slow pace · Moderate · Bittersweet

Slow start

Uncontrollably Fond

2016 · 20 ep · ~20h

Slow pace · Heavy · Tragic

Slow start

Welcome to Samdal-ri

2023 · 16 ep · ~19h

Slow pace · Easy · Happy

Slow start

Beyond Evil

2021 · 16 ep · ~17h

Slow pace · Devastating · Bittersweet

Slow start

Dear Hongrang

2025 · 11 ep · ~11h

Slow pace · Heavy · Bittersweet

Mr. Sunshine

2018 · 24 ep · ~32h

Slow pace · Devastating · Tragic

Slow start

Our Sticky Love

2026 · 12 ep · ~12h

Slow pace · Easy · Happy

Slow start

Our Universe

2026 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Moderate · Hopeful

Through the Darkness

2022 · 12 ep · ~14h

Slow pace · Devastating · Hopeful

Full write-ups from this collection

All collections →

Dramas like Summer Strike12 ep
Dramas like My Liberation Notes16 ep
Dramas like My Mister16 ep
Dramas like One Spring Night32 ep
Dramas like Call It Love16 ep
Dramas like Lost16 ep
Dramas like The Frog8 ep
Dramas like The Trunk8 ep
Dramas like Hospital Playlist12 ep
Dramas like Our Blues20 ep
Dramas like Reply 198820 ep
Dramas like Because This Is My First Life16 ep

Other moods

Ends kindlyYou can commit twenty hours without dread.Ends hardBittersweet or tragic, and worth it anyway.One weekendAbout fourteen hours or less. Start and finish it.Push throughSlow first hours, then it clicks.Nothing heavyFor when you cannot take one more sad show.Wreck meHeavy on purpose. Clear your evening.Romance firstThe couple is the plot, not the subplot.Put it on againRewatchable at any episode, any mood.