Song of the Bandits is set in the 1920s, during a turbulent period of Japanese occupation in Korea, and it has been a popular addition to K-Drama on Netflix — in celebration, we’ve curated 10 shows like it.
The people of Joseon have been deprived of their homes and expelled to Japan. Some head to Gando, a land of lawlessness, and unite as one to save their home, Korea. It was released in 2023 and was written by Hwang Jun-hyeok.
Korean shows have become hugely popular recently, and here are ten like Song of the Bandits you must watch.
10 K-Drama Shows like Song of the Bandits
Mr. Sunshine (2018)
Mr. Sunshine follows a young boy who’s born into slavery but, after a horrible and traumatic event, escapes to the USA during the 1871 Shinmiyangyo (U.S. expedition to Korea). As he grows older, he returns as a United States Marine Corps officer. He meets and falls in love with an aristocrat’s daughter.
Crash Landing on You (2019)
Disaster strikes for Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) when her father dies, and she inherits his business in South Korea. Things get worse when she goes paragliding near Seoul and is swept into North Korea by a storm. She crashes in the North Korean part of the Demilitarized Zone and runs into Ri Jeong-hook (Hyun Bin), an army captain and son of a member of the General Political Bureau. But instead of turning her in, he helps her to hide, and despite his best efforts not to, falls in love with her.
Vincenzo (2021)
Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) is the adopted son of Don Fabio, head of the Cassano Mafia Family. He’s a Korean-Italian mob lawyer and consigliere of the Cassano crime family. Vincenzo returns to his homeland in Korea to search for a new place to hide the mob’s assets and find even more money-laundering business opportunities.
The Red Sleeve (2021)
Told from the perspective of Seong Deok-im (Lee Se-young), a court lady, The Red Sleeve tells a tale of a royal romance between the King of Joseon Yi San (Lee Jun-ho). Seong Deok-im wants to stick with the life she’s chosen and doesn’t want to be romantically involved with the King.
Move to Heaven (2021)
Following Geu-ru (Tang Joon-sang), a young man with Asperger, and his guardian Sang-gu (Lee Je-hoon). They meet after Geu-Ru’s dad has died and come together to keep the trauma-cleaning business called Move to Heaven alive, uncovering untold stories.
My Name (2021)
My Name is a simple revenge story. It follows the 17-year-old Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee) as the young girl watches a gangster kill her father. She’s determined to find out who perpetrated the crime, no matter the cost.
Six Flying Dragons (2015)
Sadly, not actually a story about six flying dragons. This South Korean series tells the story of the Joseon dynasty and all of their hopes and ambitions inside the Korean Peninsula. It shows their successes and many conflicts of the dynasty, mixing real and fictional characters together but focusing on the young Yi Bang-won (Yoo Ah-in)
My Liberation Notes (2022)
Taking a vast departure from the shows about dynasties and criminal factions all vying for power, My Liberation Notes chooses to focus its tale on a more relatable struggle, everyday life. My Liberation Notes follows the story of the Yeom siblings, who live monotonous and boring lives in the fictional village of Sanpo in Gyeonggi-do, which is located just outside Seoul. They struggle to build connections in their lives because their home is far from their place of work.
Through the Darkness (2022)
Song Ha-young is a profiler of the Criminal Behavior Analysis team at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s (SMPA) Scientific Investigation division, and as he attempts to find a serial killer, the emotional and psychological weight of his job begins to set in.
Longing for You (2023)
Oh Jin-seong (Na In-woo) is a police detective and has to prove that his little brother Oh Jin-woo (Ren) hasn’t committed the murder he stands accused of. But when Oh Jin-woo is murdered, Jin-song digs deep into his family’s past, vowing to avenge his brother.
Do you have any other recommendations for K-Drama Shows like Song of the Bandits? Let us know in the comments.
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