Spring is in the air and the buds of several new K-dramas are beginning to sprout.
Among notable new Korean dramas announced in the past few weeks is a survival series set in a flat block, a supernatural procedural with a psychic magician moonlighting as an investigator and a period prohibition romance.
Happiness
Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik and Jo Woo-jin are joining forces for this survival series from Ahn Gil-ho and Han Sang-woon, the director and writer duo behind the show Watcher. Calling to mind the recent hit show Sweet Home , this new drama will follow people trapped in an apartment complex when an infectious disease begins to spread, causing the building to be shut off from the outside world.
Han will play Sae-bom, a police tactical unit member who is cool under fire, while Park, in his first role since completing military service in South Korea, is on board as Yi-hyun, a detective who has long harboured a crush on Sae-bom. Meanwhile, Jo will play a ranking officer in medical command. The series begins production this month.
Six new Korean dramas to look out for in May 2021
The Jinx’s Lover
Na In-woo was a noticeable supporting player in Mr. Queen earlier this year, then stepped in midseason to take on the leading male role in River Where the Moon Rises. Now his momentum has pushed him right into the series lead of an upcoming show.
Na has joined the series The Jinx’s Lover (translated title), based on a web series of the same name from Han Ji-hye, directed by Yun Sang-ho, who worked with Na on River Where the Moon Rises.
The actor will play Gong Soo-gwang, a man who is chronically unlucky and whose misfortune seems to have started when he met Lee Seul-bi seven years ago.
Before their fateful meeting, Soo-gwang had a bright future ahead of him, but now he works as a fishmonger. Meanwhile, Seul-bi has the ability to sees people’s immediate future when she touches them, a gift she inherited from her mother. Because of this ability, Seul-bi and her mother are being used by a powerful CEO.
Police Class
My Sassy Girl actor Cha Tae-hyun is gearing up to play a former detective who becomes a professor at a police academy in the upcoming KBS2 series Police Class (translated title). Co-starring with Cha will be singers Jinyoung and Krystal, who will play recruits at the school.
Cha’s character is called Yoo Dong-man, who worked for 20 years in various departments, including violent crimes and cyber investigation. He was known for his impulsive character. Jinyoung will play former hacker Kang Seon-ho, while Krystal is cast as the righteous Oh Kang-hee.
Jinyoung was last seen in the Netflix series My First First Love, and Krystal is best known as a member of the K-pop outfit f(x). Police Class will hit the airwaves this coming July, when it will air on Mondays and Tuesdays.
When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon
Yoo Seung-ho and Girl’s Day member Lee Hye-ri (aka Hyeri) are teaming up in period drama When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon (translated title), which will air in the second half of the year.
Set during the latter part of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) on the Korean peninsula at a time when alcohol consumption was prohibited, the show will feature Yoo as Nam Young, an officer whose job it is to crack down on people who flout the ban. Nam Young grew up in the countryside and came to Hanytang (the Joseon name for Seoul) to find fame and riches.
Being a man of principles, his resolve is put to the test when he meets Kang Ro-seo, played by Lee (currently seen in the new series My Roommate Is a Gumiho), the daughter and sole breadwinner in a poor family. A hard-working and devoted daughter, she starts to brew alcohol to pay off a debt, and this is what puts her at cross purposes with Nam Young.
From Now Showtime!
Cheese in the Trap star Park Hae-jin will take on the role of magician Cha Cha-woong in the new series From Now Showtime! (working title). Beyond his sleight of hand, Cha-woong has the ability to communicate with ghosts. It’s that ability that leads him to partner with a female detective to solve cases.
Cha-woong and the detective enlist the help of the ghosts he can converse with to solve crimes. At the same time, the pair slowly begin to form a romantic attachment. With a similar set-up to Sell Your Haunted House , whichi is currently screening, with a romantic procedural supernatural tinge is expected to begin production in August.
