7 must-watch AI and virtual reality K-dramas that explore the boundaries between technology and real life

Also on the list of AI and virtual reality K-dramas is the Netflix original series Love Alarm. It stars Song Kang, Kim So-hyun and Jung Ga-ram as high school students whose lives and loves are further complicated by a proximity-based dating app that tells you if someone who likes you is within a 10-meter radius. Love Alarm 2.0, the in-world app upgrade introduced in season 2, adds another layer of complexity, making it even harder for them to distinguish between real feelings and algorithmic influence. 

Love Alarm was a global hit, particularly among young viewers, and marked Song Kang’s breakout role. The show’s central love triangle triggered a massive “ship war”, with fans divided over who they thought Kim Jo-jo (Kim So-hyun) should end up with—leading to one of the most debated endings in K-drama history.

See more: 9 TV shows with Song Kang to watch before the release of ‘Four Hands’

Memories of the Alhambra stars Hyun Bin as Yoo Jin-woo, a tech CEO who travels to Spain in pursuit of a revolutionary AR game. There, he crosses paths with Jung Hee-joo, played by Park Shin-hye, the owner of a run-down hostel who, it turns out, is the sister of the missing gaming developer, Jung Se-joo (Exo’s Chanyeol). When the AR game proves to be more immersive than expected—with deadly real-life consequences—Jin-woo’s search for Se-joo becomes a high-stakes race against time. 

Shot all over the globe, including the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, the high-budget augmented reality (AR) K-drama captivated audiences with its cinematic scale. Meanwhile, its cutting-edge visual effects elevated the series, setting a new standard for how virtual worlds are realised on screen.

Wonderland is an AI and virtual reality Korean film that boasts a star-studded cast led by Tang Wei, Bae Suzy, Park Bo-gum, Jung Yu-mi, Choi Woo-shik and Gong Yoo. The premise revolves around groundbraking video-call AI technology that allows people to reconnect with loved ones they’ve lost.

Initially, the technology brings comfort to those left behind, but retreating into an alternate world that feels all too real eventually makes it harder for them to grieve and move on. When the AI simulations begin to question their own existence, audiences are left to confront what it means to be alive.

AI K-drama My Holo Love explores the value of human connections. In the series, Ko Sung-hee plays Han So-yeon, a successful career woman whose prosopagnosia—or face blindness—has left her lonely and isolated. When she receives a pair of futuristic glasses, she unwittingly becomes a beta tester for Holo (Yoon Hyun-min), a personal hologram AI.

What Holo ends up offering So-yeon isn’t just digital companionship, but the kind of connection that has eluded her in the past. When Holo creator Ko Nan-do (also played by Yoon Hyun-min) learns of their growing bond, he becomes involved, and the three become entangled in an unusual love triangle.

Boyfriend on Demand isn’t the first time Seo Kang-joon starred in an AI and virtual reality K-drama. In Are You Human?, he plays Nam Shin, a chaebol who falls into a coma, and Nam Shin III, the AI android created to secretly take his place. Opposite him, Gong Seung-yeon plays Kang So-bong, the bodyguard hired to protect Nam Shin III.

As Nam Shin III steps into Nam Shin’s life, he begins to learn what it means to be human—navigating everything from corporate politics to family dynamics and—with the help of So-bong—all the complexities of falling in love.

While Start-Up is not exactly an AI or virtual reality K-drama, it does feature an AI character that won the hearts of audiences. Yeong-sil is Han Ji-pyeong’s (Kim Seon-ho) AI voice assistant. It’s designed to keep him abreast on his work schedule and the weather, and to automate tasks in his home, but functions instead as Ji-pyeong’s confidant and romantic advisor.

It rarely, if ever, gives Ji-pyeong the answer he’s looking for, but always tells him what he needs to hear. Fans enjoyed their love-hate relationship so much and were thrilled when Yeo Jin-goo, the actor who voiced Yeong-sil, made a cameo in the drama and shared some screentime with Kim Seon-ho.

See more: From ‘Start-Up’ to ‘Can This Love Be Translated?’: 15 K-dramas and movies that made Kim Seon-ho a star

From virtual boyfriends and predictive dating apps to hologram companions and AI androids, these AI and virtual reality K-dramas continue to push the boundaries of storytelling in the digital age. As technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, these series offer more than just futuristic escapism—they reflect our deepest questions about love, identity, and what it means to be human.

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