2021 has shaped up to be brilliant year for a slew of exciting new Korean dramas. From those that are currently airing new episodes to ones slated to be broadcasted later this year, here are the ones you don’t want to miss (watch this space for updates).
It’s a spin-off from season two of the popular Kingdom, which a mix of a period drama and a zombie thriller that is based on the webcomic series The Kingdom of the Gods.
The special episode offers a backstory about the mysterious character, Ashin (played by Gianna Jun), Joseon crown prince Lee Chang’s (Ju Ji-hoon) group encountered on their journey north to discover the origins of the infected. Netflix has already revealed two trailers of the highly anticipated episode, which reveals that vengeance on Ashin’s part is what’s been driving the zombie plague.
Kingdom: Ashin of the North is slated to premiere on July 23, 2021. Kingdom seasons one and two are available on Netflix.
What it’s about: iQiyi’s first original K-drama series and adapted from a popular online webtoon, My Roommate Is A Gumiho follows the love story of 22-year-old college student Lee Dam, played by Lee Hye-ri. She accidentally swallows the magical marble of Shin Yeo Woo (Jang Ki-yong), a 999-year-old gumiho, which is a nine-tailed fox spirit from Korean folklore.
She has to move in with him to figure out how to remove the marble from herself, or face death after a year. It’ll also ruin Woo-yeo’s chances of ever becoming a human. In the process, a romance develops between the two.
Available on iQiyi.
What it’s about: The 16-episode courtroom drama which just aired on July 3 is set in a dystopian version of present-day Korea, with a chaotic society.
It stars Ji Sung as head trial judge Kang Yo-han, who holds his trials as televised live shows and punishes the guilty ruthlessly and publicly, earning him the nickname of ‘Devil Judge’. As the show progresses, a rivalry starts between Kang and Jung Sun Ah (Kim Min-jung), the director of a corporate social responsibility foundation. Meanwhile, an assistant judge (Jin Young of boyband Got7) also begins to question his motives and embarks on a quest for true justice.
Available on Viu and iQiyi, with new episodes every Sun and Mon.
What it’s about: The wildly popular high society melodrama about three mothers and their secret desires to elevate their lives returns for its third season.
In this season, Su-ryeon (Lee Ji-ah) takes revenge on the residents of luxury apartment Hera Palace that wrecked her child’s life. Seo Jin (Kim So-yeon) may have cultivated a successful career as a classical singer, but her daughter seems to lack in so many things unlike her. Yoon-hee (Kim Yoo-jin) refuses to pass down poverty and devastation to her daughter and tries everything she can to move into the Penthouse. The three then join hands to take down the vicious Joo Dan-tae.
Available on Viu.
What it’s about: Hong Ji-ah (Jang Na-ra) isn’t your average realtor – she also possesses the ability to exorcise spirits from haunted properties. Meanwhile pop-rock band CNBlue frontman Jung Yong-hwa plays Oh In-bum, a con artist who pretends to be an exorcist to swindle money.
While they team up to clear troubled properties infested with the paranormal, Ji-ah discovers that In-bum could be the key to unravelling the secret behind her mother’s death.
Available on Viu.
What it’s about: In this romantic comedy about real estate disputes, Jung So-min is cast in the role of magazine editor Na Young-won, who struggles to make ends meet despite working for a decade. Still, she is happy in her rented roof-top house.
She then encounters real estate investment expert Yoo Ja-sung (Kim Ji-seok), who sees the monetary value of owning a home and chooses to delve into property investment. He’s also the cruel landlord who evicted her out of her home and the new boss of her publication. As the two strike up a house deal, so does an unexpected romance.
Available on iQiyi.
Crime and action meet comedy and romance with this hit series starring Song Joong-ki as Park Joo-Hyeong, who grew up in Italy after getting adopted at the age of eight. Going by the name of Vincenzo Casano, he works as a consigliere to an Italian mafia, but has to return to South Korea after a series of mafia wars. Back in Korea, he meets Hong Cha-young (Jeon Yeo-bin), an attorney who will do anything to win a case, and falls in love.
But he also encounters some odd neighbours and gets embroiled in a fight against a formidable opponent. The pair develop a romance while pursuing justice together.
Available on Netflix.
What it’s about: Another period drama set during the close of the Joseon era, it follows the story of Sung Yi-gyum (Kim Myung-soo), who placed first in the state examination and now works at the Hongmungwan (administrative and research department). After getting caught gambling, he is assigned to work as a secret royal inspector to eradicate corruption among government officials, with the help of female inspector Hong Da-in (Kwon Na-ra )and his servant Park Chun-sam (Lee Yi-kyung).
Available on iQiyi.
Up for lots of action? You’re likely to see plenty of action scenes, gunfights and explosions in Sisyphus: The Myth. This fantasy-mystery drama sees actors Cho Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye fending off mysterious hidden beings as genius engineer Han Tae Sool and his saviour Kang Seo Hae.
Han Tae Sool’s ability in engineering and coding has set mysterious figures residing in our world after him, and he embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth. Kang Seo Hae believes that if she saves him, he can save the world.
The pair then join forces to create a future different from the one that they are stuck in.
Available on Netflix.
What it’s about: Starring lead actors Jung Hae-in and K-pop band Blackpink’s Jisoo, the cast also includes familiar faces like Yoo In-na and Kim Hye-yoon.
Created by ‘Sky Castle’ director and writer, Jo Hyun-tak and Yoo Hyun-mi, the show is set in 1987, and showcases the love story of Soo Ho (Jung Hae-in), a student at a prestigious university, and fellow student Eun Young-cho (Jisoo). Soo Ho barges into a female dorm one day while covered in blood. There, Young Cho helps hide him from his pursuers and cares for him despite the risks.
However, what Soo-Ho doesn’t realise is that the two previously met at a blind date, and Young-Cho had already fallen in love with him.
‘Snowdrop’ is expected to premiere in 2021.
What it’s about: Apple’s international drama series Pachinko stars Lee Min Ho of Boys Over Flower fame as well as American actor Jin Ha, and is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee.
Set in the 20th century, the family saga follows four generations of a Korean family as they move to Japan, amid the country’s colonisation of Korea and other seismic political and cultural shifts.
Lee Min Ho plays Hansu, an enigmatic outsider and merchant with ties to organised crime, while Jin Ha portrays Solomon, an ambitious, charming young man who is forced to deal with his family’s past.
Pachinko is slated to be released on Apple TV+ in 2021.
What it’s about: The second season of the medical drama “Hospital Playlist” returns to Netflix this year.
This drama series follows the stories of doctors, nurses, and patients at the Yulje Medical Center. It is centred around five doctors who have been friends since entering medical school in 1999.
The cast sees Cho Jung-seok, Yoo Yeon-Seok, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Dae-myung and Jeon Mi-do. It’s directed by Shin Won Ho, who is behind the Reply franchise and Prison Playbook.
Available on Netflix.
What it’s about: If you prefer a more light-hearted series that includes a few laughs but all of the drama, put Mr Queen on your to-watch list.
Starring Shin Hye-sun and Kim Jung-hyun, the first episode aired in in December last year, and it marries the treacherous royal palace period drama with a comedic body-swap. It starts with lead character Jang Bong-hwan, the arrogant head chef for the president in the Blue House, who later finds himself unemployed and questioned by detectives.
After slipping from his balcony and into the pool, he encounters a mysterious woman and suddenly wakes up in a strange place. Not only has he travelled back to the Joseon era, he’s turned into a woman – Kim So-yong (Shin Hye-sun) – and about to marry King Cheol-jong (Kim Jung-hyun) to become Queen Cheorin.
As he tries to fit in with the court’s strict social decorum, he has to somehow try to find a way to refill the lakes – which have been drained – jump back in and return to his body in the present.
Available on Viu.
What it’s about: If you aren’t already hooked on this, you’ll want to tune in. Touching on teen insecurities and Korean culture’s obsession with beauty, the drama is adapted from a hugely popular webtoon of the same name by Yaongyi, and made it to the silver screen in December last year.
Moon Ga-young plays 18-year-old Ju-kyoung, who is cruelly bullied at school for her looks and has an inferiority complex. However, she gets massively popular after mastering the art of makeup through video tutorials.
Determined to hide her real face after enrolling at a new school, she also gets entangled with not one but two love interests (played by Hwang In-yeop and Cha Eun-woo). Sure, the plot does border on exaggeration and slight cheesiness, for the most part, but the cast’s performance, fun graphics, and set design, and humorous elements are likely to steal your heart.
Available on Viu.