Looking for good dramas that revolves around hidden identity / disguised MC.
Reasons for having another identity can be: Criminal vs Cop / Undercover / Amnesia / Cross dressing / Time travel / etc
Some good examples that I have watched:
Flower of evil (criminal vs cop) (my favourite in this list)
Cruel city (undercover)
My Boss My Hero (criminal)
Life on Mars (time travel)
Secretly Greatly (spy)
Painter of the Wind (cross dressing)
Luck Key (amnesia)
JIN (time travel)
The Bridal Mask (vigilante)
Iljimae (vigilante)
Psychopath Diary (amnesia)
18 again (time travel)
Emergency Couple
Note: I'm not interested in romantic reverse harem especially for the cross dressing genre.
Thank you!
I'm not a robot (FL pretending to be a robot)
Love in the Moonlight (cross dressing FL)
The Tale of NokDu (cross dressing ML)
Ashi Girl (time travel)
My Boss My Hero (member of yakuza pretending to be high school student)
Nobunaga Concerto (time travel)
Healer (undercover)
- Love and Redemption (amnesia/reincarnation but not only)
- Love Better Than Immortality (time travel)
- Hua Jai Sila (vigilante)
There are some good dramas with Yoon Shi Yoon (Psychopath 's Diary) that I recommend:
- Your Honor (Twins)
- Train (Parallel Worlds)
- The Best Hit (Time Travel)
And here are some more dramas:
- Miss Ma, Nemesis (criminal/revenge)
- Mask (criminal)
- Rooftop Prince (Time Travel)
- Let Me Introduce Her (Hiding/amnesia)
- The Guardians
- Healer (undercover)
- Angry Mom (undercover)
- Good Casting (undercover)
- Room Nº 9 (Swap bodies/revenge)
Hello, Me! (time travel)
You Who Came from the Stars (undercover)
Rurouni Kenshin !!!!! (criminal)
The Crowned Clown !!!! (undercover)
Class of Lies (undercover)
Awaken (undercover)
I listed everything I could think of off the top of my head and through quick searching. I included a variety of genres from thrillers to romance to political intrigue to hopefully suit whatever mood or tastes you have. They're not in any particular order, I've watched nearly all of these and loved them. If you'd to know more about any of them, or if you'd like more drama recommendations, or if you'd like to extend the recommendations to anime and manga as well, I'd be happy to help you and do a more extensive search, as there are simply too many dramas/manga/anime I've seen and read, and far more that fall under the categories you're asking for. So if there's anything more you'd like to ask or discuss on the subject, feel free to reach out to me. :) (I'll shut up now lol here's the list):
- Healer (vigilante)
- 100 Days My Prince (historical/amnesia)
- Ruler: Master of the Mask (historical/identity switch)
- Queen In Hyun's Man (time travel)
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (time travel)
- City Hunter (vigilante)
- The Moon That Embraces the Sun (historical/amnesia)
- Empress Ki (cross-dressing, though not throughout the whole drama)
- You're Beautiful (cross-dressing)
- Rooftop Prince (time travel)
- Sungkyungkwan Scandal (historical/cross-dressing)
- Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (historical/cross-dressing)
- Coffee Prince (cross-dressing)
- Faith (time travel)
- Nirvana in Fire (undercover/revenge - it's a cdrama but absolutely brilliant)
- Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (cross-dressing/amneisa/undercover - also a cdrama)
- Death Note (criminal/vigilante-wannabe - jdrama)
- Hwarang (historical/undercover)
- What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? (kinda secret identity in a way, can' really explain how [spoilers/plot twists])
- Her Private Life (Does being a secretly dedicated fangirl and major fansite owner count as secret identity? XD)
- Goblin: The Great and Lonely God (supernatural/also kinda secret identity [also spoilers/plot twists])
- I Remember You/Hello Monster (criminal)
There are so many dramas that come to mind, a hidden identity or disguise is such a common theme that pretty much every drama has this to some level.
100 Days My Prince (ML is a crown prince, loses memory and ends up marrying a commoner)
Angel's Last Mission: Love (An angel is sent on a mission of love, he can't reveal himself as an angel)
Black (Grim reaper takes over a person to investigate some things, works with FL and hides who he is actually is from her)
Chocolate (FL hides shared history from ML)
Coffee Prince (FL disguises as a male)
Love in the Moonlight (FL disguises as a eunuch)
Miss Granny (FL becomes young and hides who she is from others)
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (FL is a time traveler)
Mr. Queen (FL is a time traveler)
Oh My Ghostess (FL becomes a willing host for a ghost, so she can hit on her boss)
You Who Came from the Stars (ML is an alien, must hide that fact)
REASON | Male lead | Female Lead |
Must watch | Nirvana In Fire (Redemption) | Both MC has Hidden guises: Mr. Sunshine Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms |
Undercover/Espionage (though I guess most of those in these category has both the ML & FL havng hidden identity) | Time Between Dog And Wolf | Myungwol The spy |
Amnesia | Winter Sonata | School 2015 |
Cross Dressing | Tale of Nokdu | Sungkyungkwan Scandal |
Time Travel/Parallel World | Tunnel | Splash Splash Love Ashi Girl Lost Love In Times |
Sci-Fi/ | Goblin (Goblin & Grim Reaper) | Orphan Black (Cloning) |
Revenge | The Devil / Maou | The Promise |
Mistaken Identity / Swap Identity deals | Pinocchio | Mask |
Reincarnation/ Transmigration | The Untamed Chicago Typewriter Miracle That we met | Go Princess Go / Mr. Queen Bhoop Phae Saniwat Bu Bu JIngxin / Moon Lovers |
Chaebol/Royalty | Office Girls Dalja's Spring Feast of the Gods My Shining Eunsoo Love Returns All About Mom | Ugly Alert Happiness Plerng Naree Khun Chai Pawornruj High Society |
Hides their Past | Mr. Sunshine Scandal | Lies of Lies Wild Chives and Soy Bean Soup Miss Ripley Meloholic |
Vigilante - a story of student Kim Ji Yong who studied in a police university. He decided to punish all those criminals who hadn't received the appropriate punishment for their crime which they had done earlier or sometimes they escaped from law and orders without notice. So by hiding their identity they punished criminals and saved innocent people. It is an action thriller drama.