13 Bone-Chilling K-Drama Villains We Will Never Forget
Sometimes all it takes is a scary and savage villain to make a K-drama enthralling and exciting to watch. Villains often provide that edge of your seat action and the desperate hope that they won’t do anything to jeopardize the happiness of the main leads. There are a lot of K-drama villains, but these are a few of the many that have stood out.
1. Kim Seo Hyung in “SKY Castle”
“SKY Castle” is a K-drama that takes place in a neighborhood complex called SKY Castle, where there are four families who are willing to do anything at any cost to make sure that their children go to a top university. The cast includes Yum Jung Ah, Lee Tae Ran, Yoon Se Ah, Oh Na Ra, as well as some new faces whose popularity has skyrocketed as a result of the success of this series.
The coach that these parents want their children to be taught by is Kim Joo Young (Kim Seo Hyung). Kim Joo Young is not your conventional K-drama villain in that she’s a mother, a teacher, and very intelligent. She has endured a lot of trauma and tragedy in her life, which has made her mentally and emotionally unstable, causing her to do damage onto students. She manipulates their minds and brainwashes them, making it a slow and steady process of putting their mental health and lives at risk.
Watch “Sky Castle” here:
2. Yoo Jae Myung in “Itaewon Class”
Park Sae Roy (Park Seo Joon) has been through a lot in his young life. His father was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident, he was expelled from school, and he was sentenced to jail for three years. All this tragedy happened as a result of one family that owns the biggest restaurant chain in Korea. After getting out of jail, Sae Roy swears that he will get revenge and decides to open up his own restaurant called Dan Bam.
The bone-chilling villain in this series is Jang Dae Hee (Yoo Jae Myung), the CEO and owner of Jangga. He is absolutely loathsome as he makes it his priority to make Park Sae Roy suffer by taking away his freedom, pride, and dreams. All throughout the series, Jang Dae Hee’s presence on screen riles up so much anger, which only shows how great he is at portraying the nasty side of his character. Because of how evil he is, you really root for Sae Roy and his group of friends to succeed and take him down.
3. Jung Woong In in “I Can Hear Your Voice”
“I Hear Your Voice” stars Lee Jong Suk as Park Soo Ha and Lee Bo Young as Hye Sung. Soo Ha has the special gift of being able to read other people’s minds, which he got after seeing his father murdered when he was younger. He tries to track down Hye Sung, who was a key witness in putting away the murderer. He eventually finds her many years later and discovers that she is a lawyer.
The eerie and conniving Min Joon Gook is played by the very talented Jung Woong In. The relentless crooked smiles that he gives in the courtroom to the family members of the victims will send shivers down your spine. He goes to prison for murder and is hoping to finish off his goal of killing Hye Sung. He leaves his phone in the victims’ houses, and it has a very creepy ringtone. You’ll definitely be hearing it in your sleep.
Start watching “I Can Hear Your Voice” now:
4. Uhm Ki Joon in “The Penthouse”
Lee Ji Ah, Kim So Yeon, and Eugene star as three wealthy woman who live in a luxurious complex that is catered to the higher-ups in the city. Their children all attend an elite arts school, and they are willing to do anything to keep the image of their families and children in tact no matter what the cost – even if it means killing someone. This high society and group of families start to get themselves involved in matters that are far above their heads and are forced to lie to each other to save themselves.
Uhm Ki Joon as Joo Dan Tae could very well be one of the freakiest K-drama villains of this year. He emotionally and physically abuses his family, is willing to kill in order to save himself, has no remorse, and would rather see everyone else suffer before his pride is put down. There is not a sympathetic bone in his body; he does not know love and finds joy in having power over everyone. The worst!
Start watching the first season of “The Penthouse” here:
5. Namgoong Min in “The Girl Who Sees Smells”
Choi Eun Seol (Shin Se Kyung) tragically has her family murdered by the “barcode serial killer,” a serial killer who is known for imprinting bar codes onto his victims. Oh Jae Pyo (Jung In Ki) is a detective who is investigating this particular case, but his prime witness Choi Eun Seol is in a coma as a result of getting hit by a car trying to escape the murderer.
Namgoong Min has the effortless ability to give off an aura that can come off being very eerie. His slow and rhythmic speech along with his deep-set gaze in this particular series was enough to send shivers down your spine. Namgoong Min plays the role of a psychopath very well, and in this drama, it comes as a shock when viewers see his double personality. Viewers could not have been prepared to see Kwon Jae Hee’s dark side, as it was very jarring and deceiving, but once it was revealed, people couldn’t help but be terrified.
Watch “The Girl Who Sees Smells”:
6. Shin Sung Rok in “My Love From The Star”
“My Love From the Star” is a series that took all of Asia by storm. Kim Soo Hyun stars in this drama as Do Min Jun, an alien with a chip on his shoulder who falls in love with the vain and outrageous actress Chun Song Yi (Jun Ji Hyun). The two start off despising each other but eventually start to develop feelings, making it a heartbreaking but epic romance.
Let’s be real, Shin Sung Rok can pull off playing a villain very well. When he puts on his crooked facial expressions, it can be downright terrifying, which was the case in “My Love From The Star.” Shin Sung Rok plays Lee Jae Kyung, a sociopath who is trying to silence Song Yi and potentially kill her. He is almost at every corner, waiting to harm Song Yi. He’s relentless, passionate, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants – in this particular situation, it’s to see Song Yi suffer. His gaze and presence on the small screen is chilling and unforgettable!
Watch My Love From The Star” now:
7. Jang Mi Kwan in “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”
Park Bo Young stars in “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” as an aspiring game maker who was born with super strength. She meets Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the CEO of a game company, who happens to be in need of a bodyguard. He ends up hiring Do Bong Soon with the added bonus of letting her develop a game while she works for him.
The crime storyline in this particular series was the complete opposite of what we felt when the two main leads were on screen. If Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik gave us feelings of butterflies and rainbows, the villain made us feel anxious and grisly. Jang Mi Kwan plays a kidnapper who would take women and confine them in jail cells in his secret hideout. He also wore a very creepy mask that is frightful in itself. This was also Jang Mi Kwan’s debut role, and he did an absolute perfect job!
Start watching “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” here:
8. Taecyeon in “Vincenzo”
Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong Ki) is an Italian lawyer and Mafia consigliere who was adopted and raised in Italy. He returns to Korea to tie up some loose ends pertaining to some gold that is being kept underground in Geumga Plaza. He meets Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Bin) and her father Hong Yoo Chan (Yoo Jae Myung), and they are able to form a strong bond with Vincenzo. Vincenzo becomes intertwined in a revenge scheme to get back at Babel Group.
The head of the Babel Group came as a total surprise. 2PM’s Taecyeon plays Jang Joon Woo, the conniving and sociopathic villain who gets his jollies in seeing other people suffer. What made him even more bone-chilling is the fact that no one could have anticipated that the geeky intern would be hiding this villainous side to him. He killed, laughed about it, and had no remorse, which made him the epitome of evil.
9. Jo Sung Ha in “Save Me”
Im Sang Mi (Seo Ye Ji) and her family have to move to a small town as a result of her father’s failed business. She is apprehensive about the town as she has no friends and discovers it’s a pretty different world from where she previously lived. Her family quickly takes a liking to Baek Jung Gi (Jo Sung Ha), a spiritual leader at their local church. What Sang Mi and her new friends quickly realize is that Jung Gi can not be trusted.
Villains that make the most psychological impact are the ones that are subtle and not blatantly evil. Baek Jung Gi seems like he can be trustworthy as he is a religious leader, but his manipulation and brainwashing over the townspeople is appalling. He takes advantage of those who are weaker and even tries to marry young women off, claiming it’s for a higher purpose. He’s charismatic and charming, which makes him that much more creepy.
10. Kim Ji Hoon in “Flower Of Evil”
Lee Joon Gi stars alongside Moon Chae Won in the mystery thriller “Flower of Evil.” His character Baek Hee Sung is a perfect husband and doting father to a little girl. To the visible eye he is perfect, but there’s another life he leads – one filled with murder, deceit, and lies. His wife, Cha Ji Won, is a detective and is in the midst of a cat-and-mouse hunt that will lead her to her husband as the prime suspect. You’ll enjoy the mystery thriller aspect of the storyline but will also appreciate the incredible acting by our main leads.
When the villain turns out to be the last person you would have thought would be a villain – this was Kim Ji Hoon as Baek Hee Sung. He’s a serial killer who seems to be very disconnected with his emotions and rational thinking. He even relies on and manipulates his parents to help him cover up for his crimes and mistakes, which is very disturbing to say the least. That particular scene where Baek Hee Sung showed up in Cha Ji Won’s home to kill her was enough to give nightmares.
You can watch “Flower Of Evil” now:
11. Lee Joon in “Gap Dong”
Yoon Sang Hyun plays Ha Moo Yeom, a detective whose father was once accused of playing a part in a murder case. When Moo Yeom was younger, Gap Dong was a famous serial killer, and as an adult, Moo Yeom takes it upon himself to try and find the killer once and for all. When he gets to the point where he thinks Gap Dong may be dead, new clues arise that make him think otherwise.
Lee Joon as Ryu Tae Oh was unforgettable. The lack of emotions he felt while hunting down his victims and the satisfying look on his face after killing them was hair-raising to say the least. Lee Joon was able to portray the villain so perfectly with the haunting stares and disturbing smirks. And how can we forget that very creepy joker face paint and costume. Terrifying!
12. Yoon Hwi Jae in “Come And Hug Me”
Chae Do Jin (Jang Ki Yong) and Han Jae Yi (Jin Ki Joo) fall in love with each other in high school. They are each other’s first loves and there is nothing in the world that Do Jin wouldn’t do for Jae Yi. However, after Do Jin’s father tragically ends up killing Jae Yi’s family, it tears the two apart and traumatizes them.
When a K-drama has a psychopath serial killer on the loose in the storyline, you really have no sense of ease while watching the series. Heo Jun Ho as Yoon Hee Jae is terrifying. He not only lacks the emotional connection with his family, but he has no qualms about killing Jae Yi’s family and almost killing his own son. Even after spending years in jail, he has no guilt or remorse about any of the people he killed. His presence on the small screen is horrifyingly unforgettable.
Start watching “Come And Hug Me” now:
13. Mo Tae Gu in “Voice”
Moon Jin Hyuk (Jang Hyuk) is a detective whose wife was tragically murdered by a serial killer. He spends his days trying to solve murder cases, doing whatever it takes to track killers down. He meets Kang Kwon Woo (Lee Ha Na), an emergency call responder, who helps Moon Jin Hyuk solve crimes.
Kim Jae Wook got a lot of coverage after this series aired for being a disturbing villain but a handsome one at that. He was able to play the character of a sociopath serial killer so flawlessly in that he would smile and laugh about all the lives he took. He found joy in having the investigators frustrated at not being able to track him down, and he was a mastermind puppeteer who orchestrated every detail in his crimes. He was menacing and bizarre, which makes him one of the most gruesome K-drama villains of all time. The smirk he gave after he got caught by the police gave goosebumps.
Watch the first season of “Voice” here:
Hey Soompiers, are there any other villains that are unforgettable to you? Let me know in the comments below!
binahearts is a Soompi writer whose ultimate biases are Song Joong Ki and BIGBANG but has lately been seen obsessing over Hwang In Yeop. Make sure you follow binahearts on Instagram as she journeys through her latest Korean crazes!
Currently watching: “Police University,” “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” and “Hospital Playlist 2”
All-time favorite dramas: “Secret Garden” and “True Beauty”
Looking forward to: Won Bin‘s return to the small screen
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