Content Warning
Once upon a time in K-Dramaland, viewers used to wait 12 episodes to experience a chaste first kiss between the leads. Now, with streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, some K-Dramas are not as tame as they used to be. Here are 5 K-Dramas that got very steamy in 2024. Read on at your own risk!
1. Love in the Big City
The LGBTQIA+ K-Drama Love in the Big City–starring Jin Ho Eun (All of Us Are Dead) and Nam Yoon Su (Extracurricular) cast as Kyu Ho (also romanized Gyuho) and Go Young–made jaws drop in a big way.
A reconciliation between Go Young and his second love, Young Soo, transitions from anger to passion. Although this scene didn’t go all the way to the bedroom…
…it didn’t leave any doubt about what would be happening there.
At the time of its release (ahem…), this scene shocked netizens, circulated social media, and made headlines.
2. Queen Woo
Unlike some of the K-Dramas on this list, Queen Woo received scathing criticism for its NSFW content, which was deemed excessive and disrespectful. After the first four episodes, a TENASIA review called Queen Woo “all sex and boobs.”
According to the reviewer, Queen Woo‘s sex scenes and nudity were meaningly and detracted from what could have been an empowering, woman-centric plot based on history.
Actress Jeon Jong Seo plays Queen Woo Hui of Goguryeo, the sole protagonist of the show. After the King’s death, Queen Woo leaves the palace to choose the next king and place him on the throne, securing her own position as queen. She is a strong and assertive female figure.
In fact, had Queen Woo focused on this aspect, it could have been a groundbreaking female-centric historical K-Drama. Jeon could have played an unprecedented queen character, who selects the king with her own hands.
— Reporter Ryu Ye Ji for TENASIA
3. The Trunk
Netflix’s melodrama series The Trunk stars Seo Hyun Jin, Gong Yoo, Jung Yun Ha, and Jung Yun Ha. The show’s synopsis promised a contract marriage, anguished longing, and a mystery. Its intense sexual content took some viewers by surprise.
Episode 1 featured a sex scene in a kitchen, and that was just the beginning. There are multiple sex scenes in the series, some of which are topless, so…be warned!
I just saw breast in Korean movie.
A whole sex scene!
When did this start
Omo watch #Thetrunk pic.twitter.com/8LKQxwSuhO
— CHI 🌸🎀😘 (@babygyalxxxx) November 30, 2024
4. Hierarchy
Netflix’s teen thriller stars Lee Chae Min, Roh Jeong Eui, Kim Jae Won, Lee Won Jung, and Ji Hye Won. It takes place at a prestigious school in South Korea where competition is fierce and darkness lurks beneath the surface. Ahead of the show’s release, some netizens expressed concern about the sexual content, given that many characters are teens.
Though the sex scenes in Hierarchy are more implied than explicit, the content shocked viewers for other reasons. In Episode 2, for instance, an 18-year-old male student (considered a minor in Korea) is shown in bed with his female teacher.
5. A Virtuous Business
While the other shows on this list are on the serious side, A Virtuous Business isn’t afraid to get silly. The series, set in the rural village of Geumje in 1992, follows four women who begin selling adult products door-to-door. This leads to priceless moments such as one woman mistaking a vibrator for a regular massager.
The sale of risque lingerie also brought humor to the show.
Check out more series here:
5+ Explicit NSFW K-Dramas That Definitely Earned Their Ratings
