From Bae Suzy’s mysterious immortal in Portraits of Delusion to Lee Joon-gi’s tortured scholar in Scholar Who Walks the Night, Korean dramas and films have transformed the vampire from a familiar horror creature into everything from a tragic romantic hero to a surgeon, detective and morally conflicted priest.
With Bae Suzy and Kim Seon-ho’s upcoming Disney+ series Portraits of Delusion generating fresh interest in Korean vampire stories, the genre is once again stepping into the spotlight. The series is scheduled for release in the second half of 2026 and reunites the Start-Up stars in a much darker historical mystery.
Here are eight memorable Korean vampires who show just how dramatically the genre has evolved.
1. Song Jeong-hwa — Bae Suzy, Portraits of Delusion
The newest vampire on the list is also one of the most mysterious.
Bae Suzy plays Song Jeong-hwa, the reclusive owner of Nammoon Hotel in 1935 Gyeongseong. She has not appeared in public for decades, and when struggling painter Yoon I-ho, played by Kim Seon-ho, is commissioned to paint her portrait, he expects to meet an elderly woman.
Instead, he encounters a young woman.
Jeong-hwa then gives him an unsettling request: paint her as she would appear in her 70s. The painter soon discovers that previous artists who entered her world did not leave unscathed.
The supernatural mystery gives Portraits of Delusion a distinctly gothic atmosphere while also marking a highly anticipated reunion between Suzy and Kim Seon-ho.
2. Kim Sung-yeol — Lee Joon-gi, Scholar Who Walks the Night
Before Suzy’s vampire arrives, few Korean television vampires were as memorable as Kim Sung-yeol.
Played by Lee Joon-gi, Sung-yeol is a Joseon scholar who becomes a vampire while trying to fight the much more dangerous Gwi, played by Lee Soo-hyuk.
Rather than embracing his supernatural abilities, Sung-yeol spends his immortal existence protecting humans and searching for a way to destroy his enemy. His story combines historical fantasy, palace intrigue, romance and supernatural drama.
The series became notable for giving audiences two contrasting vampires: Sung-yeol, who struggles to retain his humanity, and Gwi, whose power and influence make him a terrifying force within Joseon’s royal court.
3. Sun Woo-hyeol — Ok Taecyeon, Heartbeat
Not every Korean vampire is terrifying.
In the 2023 supernatural romantic comedy Heartbeat, Ok Taecyeon plays Sun Woo-hyeol, a vampire who desperately wants to become human so he can experience love.
His plan involves spending 100 years inside a coffin. Unfortunately for him, he is awakened one day too early.
The result is a half-vampire, half-human existence that sends Woo-hyeol into modern life with unexpectedly comic consequences.
The character demonstrates another direction Korean television has taken with vampire mythology: using immortality as a vehicle for romance, comedy and questions about what it means to be human.
4. Park Ji-sang — Ahn Jae-hyun, Blood
In Blood, the vampire isn’t hiding in a castle or haunting a palace.
He is working in a hospital.
Ahn Jae-hyun’s Park Ji-sang is a talented surgeon who was born with the VBT-01 virus, giving him supernatural abilities while also making him dependent on blood.
Despite his condition, Ji-sang dedicates himself to saving lives and searches for a cure that could allow him to become fully human. His medical career puts him in an especially difficult position because he is surrounded by the very thing he needs to resist.
The 2015 drama blended medical drama, romance and vampire mythology, giving the familiar creature a distinctly Korean television makeover.
5. Baek Ma-ri — Seolhyun, Orange Marmalade
Orange Marmalade takes the vampire story into a high-school setting.
Seolhyun’s Baek Ma-ri is a teenage vampire who conceals her identity because humans continue to discriminate against vampires, despite a peace treaty between the two groups.
Her secret becomes harder to protect after she encounters Jung Jae-min, a popular student who already harbors negative feelings toward vampires.
The series uses its supernatural premise to explore prejudice, identity and the difficulties of relationships between groups that do not trust one another.
6. Yoon San — Lee Joon, The Vampire Detective
What happens when a vampire becomes a detective?
That’s the central hook of Yoon San, played by Lee Joon in the 2016 OCN series The Vampire Detective.
A former police officer, San joins a private detective agency after leaving the force. He is mysteriously transformed into a vampire during an investigation and subsequently discovers that his new abilities can actually help him solve cases.
The result is a supernatural crime story in which the protagonist must investigate both other people’s mysteries and the mystery surrounding his own transformation.
7. Sang-hyun — Song Kang-ho, Thirst
For a darker and more adult interpretation of vampirism, Park Chan-wook’s 2009 film Thirst remains one of the most distinctive Korean entries in the genre.
Song Kang-ho plays Sang-hyun, a Catholic priest whose life changes after a medical experiment goes wrong and a blood transfusion transforms him into a vampire.
His new condition puts his faith and moral boundaries under extraordinary pressure. The film combines supernatural horror, psychological drama and a deeply complicated human relationship rather than following the conventions of a straightforward vampire romance.
8. Vampire — the next generation
The final entry is not a character viewers have met yet.
Director Jang Jae-hyun, known for The Priests and Exhuma, is developing the occult film Vampire, which has already attracted attention for its ensemble cast, including Yoo Ah-in, Lee Sung-min, Lee Jun-hyuk, Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Hyun-wook.
Filming began in August 2026, with a theatrical release planned for 2028. Details of the story remain limited, but the project is expected to explore immortality and the occult rather than simply repeat familiar vampire formulas.
Why Korean vampires keep coming back
What makes Korean vampire stories particularly compelling is their flexibility.
The vampire can be a Joseon scholar fighting to protect humanity, a lonely immortal searching for love, a surgeon trying to save lives, a detective using supernatural abilities to solve crimes or a priest struggling with his beliefs.
And now, with Portraits of Delusion, the mythology is being pushed toward a gothic period mystery built around a mysterious woman who has remained hidden for decades.
That variety explains why the genre continues to find new audiences.
Korean screen vampires are no longer simply creatures of the night. They have become heroes, villains, lovers, outsiders and tragic figures — and the next generation may be about to make the genre even stranger.
With Portraits of Delusion arriving later this year and Jang Jae-hyun’s Vampire targeting 2028, Korean entertainment’s fascination with immortality shows little sign of disappearing.
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