How to Watch K-Dramas for Free on Your Cell Phone
Put Rodrigo Pereira
Twenty minutes for lunch. Enough time to eat, reply to the family group chat, and still watch three episodes of a vertical drama—those short episodes filmed vertically, the perfect size for your phone screen. In the evening, on the sofa, the historical Chinese romance can pick up where you left off.
Chinese, South Korean, and Thai dramas have won fans on every continent, and almost everything is affordable, with subtitles and free access even with ads. This guide shows you which app offers the most free dramas, how to start watching in five minutes, and where to go when your favorite series is on another platform.
iQIYI: Chinese, Korean, and Thai dramas for free
iQIYI has a 4.8 rating on Google Play, with over 1.5 million reviews, surpassing Viki and WeTV. The app has over 100 million downloads and scores 4.9 on the Brazilian App Store and 4.8 on the American App Store.
- Free with ads: A large selection of series runs for free. The ads pay for the free plan.
- Catalog of various countries: Chinese, Korean and Thai dramas, anime, variety shows, movies and original iQIYI productions, which are only shown there.
- Vertical dramas: Entire stories told in short episodes, presented in a vertical format.
- Professional subtitles: The app has subtitles in several languages and a translated interface, including Portuguese.
- Made for mobile: Download episodes to watch offline, watch in high definition while using less data, and leave the video in a floating window while replying to a message.
- Synchronize everything: Start on your phone and continue on your tablet or TV, from the same minute.
- VIP: The subscription allows you to skip ads, unlock new episodes earlier through early access, and provides exclusive content for members.
Where it works: iQIYI appears in the App Store in Brazil, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, India, Nigeria, and dozens of other countries. The exception is mainland China, where the international version is not available. The catalog changes from country to country, and new titles are added every week.
How to start watching on iQIYI
- Install iQIYI using the button at the top of this page, or from Google Play or the App Store.
- Open the app and create your account. With it, your history is saved and you can resume watching episodes on any device.
- Tap the magnifying glass and type the name of the drama everyone's talking about. No idea? Scroll through the home screen and open the first one that catches your eye.
- Press play and turn your phone to watch in full screen. That's where you can choose the subtitles: tap the icon and select your language.
- Save the series to your list so you can find it again with one tap.
- Leaving home? Download upcoming episodes via Wi-Fi and watch them on the bus without using your data plan.
- Tired of ads or want the new episode sooner? Subscribe to VIP within the app itself.
Never seen a K-drama? Start with vertical dramas. In just a few minutes you'll watch several episodes and discover if your genre is romance, revenge, or comedy.
Viki: K-dramas with fan-made subtitles
Viki, from the Japanese group Rakuten, is the go-to app for Korean drama fans. The app's listings include hits like "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?", "True Beauty," and "The Penthouse," alongside Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Thai dramas. The app has a 4.6 rating on Google Play, over 1.1 million reviews, more than 100 million downloads, and a 4.8 rating on the App Store.
The difference lies in the subtitles. Volunteer fans translate the episodes, and the same drama is available subtitled in over 150 languages. The free plan includes ads. Viki Pass subscribers watch without commercials and in HD. The list of available series varies by country.
WeTV: Tencent's Chinese dramas
WeTV is the international version of the video service from Tencent, one of China's largest technology companies. Its strength lies in Chinese dramas and variety shows. On Google Play, it has a rating of 3.7, with over 616,000 reviews, and has surpassed 100 million downloads.
- Download to watch offline: Take the episodes to places where there's no Wi-Fi.
- Quality under control: Choose from 360p to save data, up to 4K.
- Subtitles in multiple languages., Exchanged with a touch.
WeTV is available on the App Store in Brazil and several Asian countries, but it is not available in the United States.
Netflix: K-dramas for existing subscribers
Netflix has an entire category called K-Dramas, in addition to a section for Korean series. If you already pay for a subscription, the drama might be just a search away. The app has a 4.9 rating on Google Play, over 16 million reviews, more than 1 billion downloads, and a 4.8 rating on the Brazilian App Store. To watch, you need a paid plan.
Drama, K-drama, C-drama: what each name means
- Drama: It's how the Japanese pronounce the word drama. In Brazil, the term has become synonymous with any Asian series.
- K-drama: South Korean drama.
- C-drama: Chinese dramas. Period dramas, with costumes and palaces, are a trademark.
- J-drama: Japanese drama.
- Lakorn: The name that Thais give to their soap operas.
- Vertical drama: Short episodes, recorded for the vertical screen of a mobile phone.
Tips for binge-watching K-dramas without exceeding your data limit.
- Download before you leave: iQIYI and WeTV let you save episodes to your phone. Do this using your home Wi-Fi.
- Lower the quality on 4G: On WeTV, 360p is enough to follow the story on the street. Save the HD for your living room TV.
- Use the floating window: On iQIYI, the episode continues in a corner of the screen while you open another app.
- Search in more than one app: Each service buys the rights by country. If the drama has disappeared from one, it may be on another.
- Train your ear: After a few episodes with Portuguese subtitles, the repeated words begin to sound familiar.
Which app to choose?
| Application | Best for | Note on Google Play | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| iQIYI | Watch free Chinese, Korean, and Thai dramas with ads. | 4,8 | 100 mi+ |
| Viki | K-drama with subtitles in over 150 languages. | 4,6 | 100 mi+ |
| WeTV | Chinese dramas and variety shows available for download. | 3,7 | 100 mi+ |
| Netflix | K-dramas for subscribers | 4,9 | 1 bi+ |
To get started today, choose iQIYI: it has the highest rating among the drama-only apps in this guide, works almost worldwide, and unlocks many dramas for free. Install it using the button at the beginning of this page, choose a vertical drama, and watch the first episode before the commercial break ends.
