Same energy. Different language. These Korean, Chinese, and Japanese dramas share the exact DNA of Shetland — same tropes, same emotional beats, same kind of story.
A journalist investigating a cold case involving a prominent politician's family disappears. Her younger sister, a civil servant with no investigative experience, starts pulling on…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
A Korean-American woman builds an elaborate false identity as a high-society luxury brand executive, targeting the ultra-wealthy elite of Seoul. When her fabricated persona — and t…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
A disgraced former detective with a traumatic past becomes the unlikely investigator when a string of high-profile murders of powerful corrupt men seems to serve a brutal, poetic j…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
A former social media investigative journalist — who got too close to the truth and lost everything — returns to the work as an independent contractor for law firms and NGOs. She u…
Like Shetland, it leans hard into case of the week. At its core, it's about the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same gripping energy throughout.
A detective investigating a series of staged suicides becomes the primary suspect in her own case when evidence is planted against her. To prove she didn't commit the crime, she ha…
Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
Twin brothers — a crime novelist and a prosecutor — separately infiltrate the same powerful chaebol family to find the evidence that will prove their stepfather was framed for murd…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. The pacing is a slow-burn dread that accumulates until the weight of it is unbearable.
Detectives Oh Joo-hyun and Kang Do-chang return for a second season, this time investigating a sensational murder case tied to a powerful political figure and a media empire willin…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. The pacing is a slow-burn dread that accumulates until the weight of it is unbearable.
Three people with shattered lives — a detective whose wife was murdered, an internal affairs officer whose career was destroyed by corruption, and a crime profiler caught in the mi…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. The pacing is a slow-burn dread that accumulates until the weight of it is unbearable.
A detective with a rare supernatural ability to read memories by touch teams up with a cold but brilliant criminal profiler to hunt a serial killer whose methodical crimes seem imp…
Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
Guan Hongfeng and Guan Hongtao are identical twin brothers — one a police detective with an official badge, the other a fugitive wanted for mass murder. The problem: the fugitive i…
The pacing is a slow-burn dread that accumulates until the weight of it is unbearable.
If you love Shetland, start with Upper Ground or The Art of Sarah — both share the same Crime and Mystery DNA. DramaMatch found 10 Asian drama matches total.
The closest Korean equivalent to Shetland is Upper Ground (2025), which scores a 25% match on DramaMatch. Both are built around the pursuit of justice in a system that was never built for it. Same atmospheric and dark energy throughout.
Asian dramas similar to Shetland are available on Netflix, Viki, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu. DramaMatch shows the exact streaming platform for each recommendation so you can start watching immediately.
Shetland fans tend to love K-dramas because Korean drama storytelling delivers the same emotional intensity, strong character arcs, and genre-blending — especially Crime and Mystery. K-dramas often tell tighter, season-long stories without filler episodes.
got another show you're obsessed with? I can find its Asian drama match too.
find another match →Monthly picks — hidden gems, new releases, best matches. No spam.
Join 900+ drama fans — we'll notify you when new matches drop for your favorite shows. No spam.