K-DRAMA NEWS - May 2025
By Sharon Stern
Just a note that because we are publishing the newsletter earlier in the month, sometimes streaming services for shows that are airing later in the month have not yet been announced. I will include dramas once the US streaming service is known, even if that ends up being the following month or later.
There are some interesting plots with new ideas this month. We start the month with a gym drama (has to be a romance in that setting, right?) Then we have a coming-of-age music drama, a food drama (yes, that is a thing), a sageuk mystery-thriller and a crime drama with puzzle piece calling cards. There is a very challenging-to-act drama featuring a single actress playing twins who swap lives. Essentially, that means she is playing four characters: twin one, twin two, twin one acting as twin two and twin two acting as twin one. If Park Bo-Young can pull that off well, it could be some award-winning acting. The month ends with a drama about a labor attorney who represents ghosts (!) and a drama about a group of former Olympic medalists turned special forces police officers. Dramaland never disappoints in presenting us with amazing variety.
Sorry, Not Sorry (also called Sorry Again) - 오늘도 지송합니다
Kocowa – Starring: Jeon So-Min, Gong Min-Jeung, Jang Hee-Ryung, Choi Daniel, Kim Mu-Jun
Genre: Rom-com
This aired in Korea at the end of last year and has been available on OnDemand Korea without subtitles, but it has been picked up and subtitled by Kocowa and is available there with a free trial or subscription.
The drama follows a woman who is technically married on paper, her would-be husband gone, should be divorced, but never actually married. She shouldn’t have registered that marriage before the ceremony actually took place! In order for the divorce to be accepted, there have be grounds…which are kind of hard to prove when there is no husband to begin with. And she’s stuck with a mortgage that she got a deal on because she was a newlywed. Then her unmarried sister shows up with a son and through confusion, he ends up calling her mom at school. Now she’s a non-mom mom too! And to top it off, in another confusing situation, she’s caught behind the counter of a coffee shop and due to the details of the situation, the owner introduces her as the boss. Her non-life has become very complicated. This is a light drama and though critics say that it started slow, they praised it as it moved along.
24-Hour Health Club (also known as Pump Up the Healthy Love) - 헬스클럽
Viki – Starring: Jung Eun-Ji, Lee Jun-Young, Kim Kwon
Genre: Rom-dram, rom-com
Began airing in Korea April 30th, but upcoming shortly in the US | Lee Mi-Ran (Jung Eun-Ji), a travel agency manager, is hurting from a recent break-up and wants to start over. She joins a 24-hour gym run by Do Hyeon-Joong (Lee Jun-Young). Hyeon-Joong was an award-winning bodybuilder, but has since evaporated from the headlines, though he is still very serious about his gym and bodybuilding. Mi-Ran is a complete fitness newbie and avidly follows Hyeon-Joong’s advice, admiring his dedication to fitness. As they work out together, a romantic connection forms.
Spring of Youth - 사계의 봄
Netflix, Viki – Starring: Ha Yoo-Joon, Park Ji-Hu, Lee Seung-Hyub, Jo Han-Chul, Cha Chung-Hwa, Seo Hye-Won
Genre: Coming of age, rom-com, music
May 6 | An idol’s (Ha Yoo-Joon) career is halted when he is kicked out of his band because of a scandal and he ends up at university. While he has trouble adjusting to life outside of an idol band, Sa Gye ends up meeting a gifted keyboardist named Kim Bom (Park Ji-Hu), who had Ivy League dreams that were shattered when her mother died, and a med student named Seo Tae Yang (Lee Seung-Hyub) who also plays guitar. They form a band and tension forms as Sa Gye and Seo Tae Yang compete both musically and for Kim Bom, but they all unite in their passion for music.
Tastefully Yours - 당신의 맛
Netflix – Starring: Go Min-Si, Kang Ha-Neul, Kim Shin-Rok, Yoo Soo-Bin, Hong Hwa-Yeon
Genre: Rom-com, rom-dram, food
May 12 | Whatever else is going on, this is a food drama. You probably don’t want to watch it on an empty stomach. Consider yourself warned.
Mo Yeon-Ju (Go Min-Si) runs a one-table restaurant without even a sign saying where it is, out in the countryside. Taste is absolutely everything to her. Han Beom-Woo (Kang Ha-Neul) is and heir to a large food company that also owns the fanciest Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul. He doesn’t really appreciate the quality of food. But he is on the hunt for unique recipes as he competes with his brother for succession in his company. He happens upon Yeon-Ju’s restaurant and wants to steal her recipes. In the process of understanding Yeon-Ju’s approach to food, he begins to respect the care she puts into her cooking. At the same time, Yeon-Ju struggles to make a living with her tiny business. As they grow to respect and care for each other, metaphors for life are dished up to us through food.
Dear Hongrang – 탄금
Netflix – Starring: Lee Jae-Wook, Jo Bo-Ah
Genre: Historic, melodrama, mystery, romance
May 16 | In the Joseon era, the son of a wealthy merchant, Hong-rang (Lee Jae-Wook), disappears when he is eight years old. His sister, Jae-Yi (Jo Bo-Ah), never gives up hope that he is still alive. Twelve years pass and a man appears and claims to be Hong-rang, but he has no memories of his past. His mother is skeptical that it is him, but Jae-Yi wants to believe. There is a secret hiding behind the newly returned Hong-rang and that secret brings danger. As Jae-Yi tries to uncover what happened to her brother and whether this re-appeared man is really him, she unravels a web of family secrets and power struggles.
Nine Puzzles - 나인 퍼즐
Hulu / Disney+ - Starring: Kim Da-Mi, Son Suk-Ku
Genre: Crime drama, thriller
May 20 | Yoon Yi-Na (Kim Da-Mi) is the only witness to the murder of her uncle, who was the most central person in her life. The case goes unsolved. 10 years later, she is working as a criminal profiler for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. There she meets Kim Han-Saem (Son Suk-Ku), who believed that Yi-Na committed the murder and continues to see her as a suspect. They work together to try to solve the case and uncover a serial murder case that begins with a puzzle piece.
Our Unwritten Seoul - 미지의 서울
Netflix – Starring: Park Bo-Young, Park Jin-Young, Ryu Kyung-Soo
Genre: Coming-of-age, slice-of-life, romance
May 24 | Park Bo-Young plays twins, Yoo Mi-Ji and Yoo Mi-Rae, who are identical looking, but who are very different people. Yoo Mi-Ji was a promising track athlete, but now lives with her sister, living carelessly, doing part-time jobs and without focus. Yoo Mi-Rae is a perfectionist, working at a government job. They decide, for a reason that hasn’t been pre-announced to us but is described as a twist of fate, to swap lives and assume each other’s identities, leading them to a deep dive into self-discovery.
Oh My Ghost Clients - 노무사 노무진
Plex TV – Starring: Jung Kyung-Ho, Seol In-Ah, Cha Hak-Yeon
Genre: Fantasy, action, comedy
May 30 | Noh Moo-Jin (Jung Kyung-Ho) is a labor attorney…who can see ghosts. After a near-death accident, he survives, but isn’t quite the same. Once motivated by just making money, he is now seeking justice for those only he can see. Ghosts approach him to try to solve their labor problems and disputes that ended their lives. His sister-in-law, Na Hui-Ju (Seal In-Ah), is in control of the law office and is good with money matters, though some say she’s a bit of a swindler. They are joined by a reporter-turned-videographer who loves a good ghost story. A great cast and unique storyline mean that this could provide some silly fun.
Good Boy – 굿보이
Amazon Prime – Starring: Park Bo-Gum, Kim So-Hyun, Heo Sung-Tae, Tae Won-Seok, Lee Sang-Yi, Oh Jung-Se
Genre: Action, drama, comedy, sports, crime with some romance thrown in too!
May 31 | Former Olympic medalists turned special force police officers through a unique recruitment program use the skills they learned as athletes to fight against violent crime. Each with a unique athletic story, the somewhat haphazard group of police officers work to take down a large crime syndicate. Yun Dong-Ju (Park Bo-Gum) does not live up to his famous poet name, but expresses himself through his punches as an Olympic boxer. A scandal gets him kicked off the team and he ends up being recruited for the special police unit. Ha-Na (Kim So-Hyun) was a shooting prodigy, but stress takes its toll on her health and she decides to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a police officer. Jong-Hyeon, a fencing medalist, wants to join the force because he wants to rekindle an old romance with Ha-Na. The team is led by Ko Man-Sik (Heo Sung-Tae), a former wrestler, and also features Shin Jae-Hong (Tae Won-Seok), a former discus thrower.
