Shows Like The Scholar and the Thief

In Joseon, a widowed noblewoman who secretly runs the kingdom's most successful matchmaking service and a widowed court official who needs a match arranged for political reasons te…

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, The Matchmakers delivers exactly that. The emotional territory — gender and conspiracy — is the same. The pacing is romantically charged — the tension is everywhere, even when nothing's happening.

A noblewoman in Joseon dynasty is the perfect aristocratic widow by day — but at night she dons a mask and becomes a vigilante knight who rescues the poor and fights injustice. Whe…

Both navigate the same emotional territory: class inequality. The pacing is pure fun — the kind you don't have to feel guilty about.

Two elite athletes from rival teams have hated each other since they were rookies competing for the same spot. Now they're forced to train together — and everything they built thei…

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Heated Rivalry delivers exactly that. At its core, it's about questions of who you really are under the person you've been told to be. The pacing is pure fun — the kind you don't have to feel guilty about.

Goo Hae-ryung becomes one of the first female royal historians in Joseon — a role so scandalous that the king's advisors lose their minds over it. She's assigned to chronicle the r…

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung delivers exactly that. At its core, it's about questions of who you really are under the person you've been told to be. The pacing is romantically charged — the tension is everywhere, even when nothing's happening.

Three female NIS agents who've been sidelined for various embarrassing failures are given one last shot at redemption: go undercover at a tech company suspected of leaking national…

The pacing is pure fun — the kind you don't have to feel guilty about.

A Joseon crown prince, forced to wear a mask to survive a conspiracy that controls the water supply, must outwit a powerful merchant guild monopolising the nation's most essential …

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Ruler: Master of the Mask delivers exactly that. At its core, it's about questions of who you really are under the person you've been told to be. The pacing is romantically charged — the tension is everywhere, even when nothing's happening.

A woman disguises herself as a man to attend an elite Joseon academy and gets caught in political intrigue and romance.

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Sungkyunkwan Scandal delivers exactly that. The pacing is romantically charged — the tension is everywhere, even when nothing's happening.

Kang Nam-soon has had superhuman strength since birth, spending her childhood raised by nomads on the Mongolian steppe. Back in Seoul to find her long-lost family, she meets a narc…

Both are built around questions of who you really are under the person you've been told to be. The pacing is pure fun — the kind you don't have to feel guilty about.

A South Korean heiress crash-lands in North Korea and falls for a military officer who hides her.

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Crash Landing on You delivers exactly that. At its core, it's about questions of who you really are under the person you've been told to be. The pacing is sharp comedic timing that earns the laughs rather than demanding them.

In the Joseon era, a widower with a troubled past makes his living by kidnapping widows for wealthy clients — a practice called "bossam." He accidentally kidnaps a royal princess w…

If you loved The Scholar and the Thief's slow build where every stolen glance and almost-moment pays off, Bossam: Steal the Fate delivers exactly that. The pacing is romantically charged — the tension is everywhere, even when nothing's happening.