No Romance!

(Disclaimer - If I wanted something with absolutely no romance, most Kdramas would immediately be off limits. I can stand/ignore some romance. :P)

I'm looking for shows that focus on plot and character development without in-your-face romance. Basically, if you take the romance out of the show, and the show is still enjoyable and has a good story left, I'll be happy!

I'm especially looking for newer dramas (2017 - 2020) since I'm very out of the loop right now and only starting to catch up on those. I'm usually not into historical dramas but there have been some exceptions. Apart from that, all genres (and countries) are fine as long as they... don't focus on romance. 

What I absolutely cannot watch: Unhealthy relationships or abuse, especially against children, that isn't handled properly. This was the reason I had to drop Witch's Court even though I knew it was a minor storyline to further the lead's character development and I enjoyed the drama otherwise. :( - Also horror and anything remotely scary!

Dramas I especially liked (listing dramas people are likely to have seen): I Hear Your Voice (this is how much romance I can ignore as long as there's enough plot around it!), Terius Behind Me, Chief Kim, Code Blue, The Guardians/Watchmen/Lookout, The Untamed, Two Weeks

Does anyone possibly remember watching a show that sounds like this? Thank you so much! :D

 Mandy Candy:

When you say remotely scary does this include thriller dramas?

I'm okay with thriller as long as there are no jumpscares. :)

Thank you for the recs - Doctor Prisoner sounds really good, and I'll check the rest out, too. Not sure if I can get into a sports drama but you never know!

Oh! and also, i recommend checking out some KBS drama specials! there are so many short stories not revolving around  romance. i recommend going though the search results and picking some titles that sound interesting to you (most of the time you can find those specials subbed on KBS youtube channel :)). they are not the highest quality (compared with regular dramas) but there is something charming and unique about those stories

some interesting specials i recommend are: Red Teacher (life, student-teacher friendship), Legendary Lackey (comedy, high school), Oh Man Bok is pretty (family, life)

I will check those out, too! Thanks. ^-^

Both Switch: Change The World and The King's Avatar have 0 romance and an entertaining plot. Don't let TKA's plot throw you off, I wasn't convinced by it at first but I completely fell in love with the drama after watching the first episode.

1. Signal: Long-Term Unsolved Case Investigation Team 
2. My High School Business 
3. The Memorandum of Kyoko Okitegami 
4. Family's Form 
5. ERASED 
6. Attention Please 
7. The Vigilantes in Masks 
8. Medical Examiner Dr. Qin 
9. Detective L 
10. Day and Night 
11. Untouchable 
12. Time 
13. The Three Musketeers 
14. Room No. 9 
15. Prison Playbook 
16. Partners for Justice 
17. Nine: Nine Times Time Travel 
18. Live 
19. Life on Mars 
20. Less Than Evil 
21. Hyde, Jekyll, Me 
22. Drama Special Season 8: Kang Deok Sun’s Love History 
23. Drama Special Season 7: The Red Teacher 
24. Drama Special Season 7: The Legendary Lackey 
25. Drama Special Season 6: Live Shock 
26. Drama Special Season 5: Vengeful Spirit 
27. Drama Special Season 5: Oh Man Bok is Pretty 
28. Drama Special Season 4: The Unwelcome Guest 
29. Drama Special Season 4: The Strange Cohabitation 
30. Drama Special Season 2: Duet 
31. The Man from the Future 
32. Black & White 
33. Tunnel 
34. I See You: The Series 

Ohh thanks again, everyone! So many shows to check out that I can't even put them all on my PTW list without losing track of them. I'll definitely be checking them all out in the next few weeks. :D