Have you ever caught yourself cheering on a character who’s lying, stealing, or even killing just because they’re the protagonist? You’re not alone.

K-dramas have a way of making us empathize with morally complex leads, even when they’re doing things we know are wrong. These dramas don’t just entertain, they make us confront uncomfortable questions about morality, empathy, and human nature.

Let’s do these together, shall we? Here are 4 K-dramas that mess with our moral compass.

Hyper Knife  

Okay, let’s talk about Hyper Knife because this drama seriously messed with my head. It follows a female neurosurgeon who was betrayed and kicked out by her mentor. And that trauma? It lights a fire in her that's both fascinating and terrifying. She becomes obsessed with surgery, not healing, not helping, just the thrill of seeing the brain. And that obsession takes her deep into the shadows, performing illegal operations and, yep... murdering people. And not just “bad” people either. Sometimes it’s over the smallest provocation.

Funnily? Even when she starts to cross some major lines, I find myself hoping she won't get caught. Why? Because she’s the protagonist. Because we see her pain. And that says something unsettling about how easy it is to root for someone just because you empathize with them. Creepy, right?

Vincenzo  

If you’ve seen Vincenzo, you already know the moral gymnastics this show puts you through. He's a mafia consigliere who burns buildings, orchestrates murders, and doesn’t blink at breaking the law. But because he’s charming, witty, and because he’s going after even worse villains, we’re clapping from the sidelines like, “Yes! Burn it all down!”

It’s wild how easily we overlook his crimes just because he’s wearing a great suit and has a killer smile (pun fully intended). The show basically dares us to cheer for a literal gangster, and we totally fall for it.

The Glory  

This one hits differently. In The Glory, a woman who survived horrifying school bullying dedicates her life to getting revenge on her tormentors. And not just casual revenge, like she plots every move, every person she brings into her web. Watching it, you’re fully on her side. You want her to win. But as the story unfolds, you realize she’s not just hurting the guilty. Innocent people get pulled into her orbit and used like pawns.

Even so, we watch and think, “They deserved it.” Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t. But trust me, this drama makes you ask: when does justice turn into cruelty?

My Name  

Now this one is a revenge story with a serious bite. After her father’s death, the main character joins a criminal gang, then infiltrates the police to find his killer. She lies, kills, and manipulates her way through everything. And you know what? We root for her.

She’s driven by grief and rage, and that makes her feel justified, but her hands are anything but clean. Still, we sympathize because she’s not evil; she’s just hurt. And somewhere along the way, we’re like, “Just let her win, please.” Even when winning means other people get destroyed.

To be honest, these dramas don’t just blur the lines between good and evil; they force us to blur them too. And maybe, just maybe, that discomfort is the point. Because it’s in that discomfort that we learn something new about ourselves.

Be truthful in the comments; which of these dramas or any other dramas made you throw away your moral compass while watching?