Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey ... Stuff.
If you understand this title, then you probably realize that I at least like Doctor Who. I love things involving time travel, have since elementary school, and dramas are no different. Here's a list of time travel dramas(and movies) that I have watched.These dramas involve time travel in more than just one direction, as time ticks on. (So basically, as long as someone has gone back in time or jumps forward in time (or stops time...))
(In alphabetical order)
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1. 9 Seconds: Eternal Time
Korean Drama - 2015, 7 episodes
It's less traveling in time and more pausing time for a bit in this drama. As time is central to this drama's plot though, I decided to add it. Time is allowed to be paused via the use of a camera.
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2. Be With You
Japanese Movie - 2004
... Honestly I think having this on this list is a spoiler in and of itself already... but I told myself any amount of time-travel I'd put it here... so... >.>
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3. Be With You
Korean Movie - 2018
See the original Japanese movie above's description.
These are really the same exact movie except for some smaller changes.
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4. Hit the Top
Korean Drama - 2017, 32 episodes
Hyun Jae is someone who has time traveled to the future 1 year before his death. He decides to find out what happened to him, and what happened in the past. Seeing the future, however, will probably change him.
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5. The King: Eternal Monarch
Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
The main focus is the parallel worlds, however there is some time-y wime-y wibbly-wobbly happenings in the land that connects the two, becoming an increasingly more important part of the show. I'll let you see it for yourself.
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6. Kung Fu Traveler
Chinese Movie - 2017
Interesting take. We start in the future where man kind is fighting invading aliens with... interesting CGI. In order to defeat the aliens, humans have created robots and a plan to send an agent to the past in order to learn a form of Kung Fu that's deadly to the aliens.
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7. Live Up to Your Name
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
Imagine being a doctor from the past, and suddenly time-traveling to modern day and witnessing all the medical advancements and over all changes of the world. Well, this exact thing happens to our main lead. Heo Im is a doctor in Joseon famous for his acupuncture skills. However a random group of needs appears in his room and he suddenly finds himself on the run, shot, and transported to modern day. There he meets Choi Yeong Kyung, a very skilled cardiothoracic surgeon. Due to a acupunture needles case with an objective, the two find themselves traveling back and forth from Joseon to present day.
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8. Love in Time
Korean Drama - 2018, 6 episodes
Sequel to Love in Memory,
Follow our brain-hacker lead from there try to save his girlfriend from a deadly incident by going back in time. But like most time travel, things get sticky as more things happen as he attempts to save her.
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9. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes
(I am really hoping I get the past and future name for the female lead)Ha Jin is someone who finds herself traveling to the past, to Goryeo. However, unlike with other time traveling shows, her body does not not time travel, but her soul: to a girl named Hae Soo who looks exactly like her, but has lived a different life. With no clear way to get back, she lives her life in the Goryeo period, trying to make it a little less bloody if she can.
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10. Mr. Queen
Korean Drama - 2020, 20 episodes
Jang Bong Hwan is your usual main male lead. I think about what one of my friends once said when we watched Guardians of the Galaxy. We have a male lead. Of course he's handsome. Living life to the top. Very skilled in what he does... and being a womanizer... However, someone's got it in for him and he gets framed. In an attempt to escape the police, he falls into a pool and hits his head. After a kiss from a lady in hanbok, he finds himself in Joseon... in her body. With clearly a lot to take in, he has to figure out how to survive in Joseon, in the queen's body, and how to get back, or get used to his new body and life.
This drama is clearly a very fun romp, however it does have it's serious bits. The main characters grow a lot and you end up loving the main couple.
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11. My Only Love Song
Korean Drama - 2017, 20 episodes
Soo Jung and Sam Yong finds themselves self on a road trip (literally taking a costume car) to the past. This show doesn't take itself seriously at all but it's got so much heart to it, and is such a joy to watch.
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12. Nine: Nine Times Time Travel
Korean Drama - 2013, 20 episodes
Something I love about this drama is how sound it's time travel rules are. For a lot of shows, this is something that a lot of them miss, they try sometimes, while others don't really explain it at all.
This drama is different. Sun Woo, in attempts to understand his brother, ends up finding himself in possession of nine incense sticks. These sticks, when lit up, bring the person who lit them, 20 years to the past exactly, and allow the traveler to change something there, affecting the future as event happen in the past to change them. Some of these actions happen immediately to change the future, while others take some time to wait for a character in the past to actually follow through. This of course, can affect their lives for the better, but also can affect them negatively. I really appreciated how sound everything involving time travel was in this show. It made it all the better and really a pleasure to watch. (Though I won't lie... I'm somewhat confused by the ending still...)
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13. Rooftop Prince
Korean Drama - 2012, 20 episodes
Crown Prince Yi Gak and the other Joseon Power Rangers find themselves randomly transported to the future present day (2012). The prince then decides that this is clearly to have them solve the death of his wife in the past, especially as he finds someone who looks exactly the same. I loved the beginning of this as we follow the power rangers, who happen to have special skills in different things, try to figure out life in the future.
(crossed out due to maybe spoiler? but you'd probably be able to figure out anyway, it was fun when we see them back in time with short hair and strange clothes >.<) -
14. Time Renegades
Korean Movie - 2016
(Considering making this another honorable mention honestly...)
Ji Hwan and Geon Woo are two people who live 30 year apart, however begin to see life through each other's eyes. (So there isn't really time travel per say, but they're souls travel somewhat. Geon Woo is from the future, and through the eyes of Ji Hwan learns of a case in the past. Together they try to solve it and bring justice.
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15. To Be Continued
Korean Drama - 2015, 12 episodes
Really the main point of this drama is to introduce ASTRO to you in a fun little web drama.
The boys find themselves transported to the past right before they are about to debut. Not all of them seem to remember though, those that do think that going through again will be a breeze as they've already gone through all the hard work once, but it soon becomes clear you can't really do that. >.<
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16. My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday
Japanese Movie - 2016
The time travel in this isn't clear until about halfway into the movie... but just trust me on this, its there. Actually... I knew going in what the movie was about... but just in case i'm not going into detail here. Also, I mean, just read the title >.<
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17. Tunnel
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
Gwang Ho lives in 1986 and is currently trying to solve a serial homicide case, however as he is about to catch the murder in a ... you guessed it... tunnel, he gets hit on the head and ends up traveling about 30 years in the future to present day. Here he ends up taking up the role of another Gwang Ho as he tries to find his way back to his wife. He's unsure of how to get back, but since the case he was working on never got solved, and bodies turned up again after 30 year, he decides that solving this case is what he needs to do in order to be able to go back.
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18. Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned
Korean Movie - 2016
Soo Rin and Sung Min are two 6th graders who have ended up falling in love (and it is really adorable to be honest). However after going into the mountains with 2 other of Sung Min's friends, Soo Rin soon finds herself alone, the others having disappeared. One day however, Soo Rin runs into someone while she looks in the mountains again for Sung Min who claims to be him. However this person happens to be an adult. (Well... this is under a time-travel list, so I'll leave it to you to realize what happened >.<)
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19. Chicago Typewriter
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
HONORARY MENTION
Ok... so I don't think there is any actual time travel in this... but there are scenes that could be taken that way, and are definitely portrayed in such a way, with amazing transitions, that one could say they did time travel.
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20. Saimdang, Light’s Diary
Korean Drama - 2017, 28 episodes
HONORARY MENTION
While not really time travel, and more like reincarnation (though I don't have a list for that, so here it is going), there are some moments that could be time travel-esque, and maybe some items? I'm not gonna get too in depth with this though.
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21. Signal
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
HONORARY MENTION
Ok... so there's no time travel in this per se, but there some wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff happening.
Park Hae Yeong finds a walkie-talkie transmitting something that happens to pertain to a case he's tried to tell the truth of for a while. The one on the other end is Lee Jae Han a violent crimes detective who is transmitting from the past. It takes a little bit of time to realize that they actually are talking to each other from their respective past or future. But together, through help from the other side they work together to solve cases that happened in Jae Han's time and to expose and stop the corruption in the police forces.
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22. The Master Samurai
Japanese Movie - 2017
A famous samurai suddenly finds himself in modern day Japan. Clearly a lot has changed. So how does he cope? Well of course he becomes a teacher in a olden style house.
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23. Must You Go?
Korean Drama - 2021, 8 episodes
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24. Reset
Chinese Drama - 2022, 15 episodes
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25. Il Mare
Korean Movie - 2000
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26. Tomorrow with You
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
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27. Again My Life
Korean Drama - 2022, 16 episodes
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28. Faith
Korean Drama - 2012, 24 episodes
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29. Padam Padam
Korean Drama - 2011, 20 episodes
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30. Twinkling Watermelon
Korean Drama - 2023, 16 episodes