K-DRAMA NEWS - Nov 2025
By Sharon Stern
I feel like I need to completely eat some of my words from last month. I will be very careful to not say things like, “the dialogue should be really good” or “how could this not be great.” There are, apparently, ways in which things that should be great are not so much. Alas. Despite disappointments, however, I will stick to my words that there are some good dramas happening in the last quarter of the year. As all drama-watchers know, you have to give a drama a couple of episodes to know its potential. Do go back and taste some of those October dramas as you dive into the November ones. November takes another turn into some dark subjects, particularly domestic abuse. Do read the summaries and at most view a trailer before diving into some of these, in case they could trigger trauma issues for you.
There are several dramas premiering mid to late month that haven’t announced US streaming services yet. We will add them in next month, if they become available.
The Scandal of Chunhwa – 춘화연애담
Prime – Starring: Go Ara, Chang Ryul, Chani (Kang Chan-hee), Son Woo-hyeon, Han Seung-yeon
Genre: Historical, rom-com
This is finally streaming in the US with subtitles, but for a very short time. Catch it on Prime for the first few weeks of November.
This sageuk series tells the story of Princess Hwa-ri, whose first marriage fails and leaves her heartbroken, must marry again and who decides to select her own spouse from available suitors. She has to consider the most popular prospective groom while, at the same time, getting mixed up with the city’s biggest player. The king rushes to try to arrange her marriage and at the same time, rumors abound that she is the protagonist of an X-rated series of stories called Chunhwa Love Stories.
S Line – 에스라인
Prime – Starring: Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Da-hee, OH MY GIRL’s Arin
Genre: Fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, mystery, horror
This got a lot of press when it first came out, but hadn’t been picked up by a US streaming service. Prime has it, but, like the drama above, it will only be available for a short time, so catch it while you can.
Based on a webtoon by the same name, this short series looks pretty crazy. The story is about a young woman, Shin Hyun-heub (Arin), who, since she was born, has been able to see red lines emanating out of people’s heads that connect them to all of their past and present sexual partners. A high school teacher suddenly starts to distribute glasses on the black market that let you see the red lines. Scandals and secrets begin to be revealed that threaten to break down the social order – marriages fall apart, politicians have to resign, social media influencers and others sell the stories.
This series has already won an award from Canneseries (a kind of television version of the film festival) for its OST.
Spirit Fingers – 스피릿 핑거스
Viki – Starring: Park Ji-hu, Cho Jun-young, Choi Bo-min, Park You-na
Genre: Rom-dram, rom-com, coming-of-age
This drama is completely patterned after a webtoon of the same name with toony special effects and all and features a young, ensemble cast. Song U-yeon (Park Ji-hu) is an awkward almost-18 with no self-confidence. She sits in her room all day studying and wonders why she doesn’t have a social life. She wears gray clothes so that no one will notice her. She nearly has a heart attack when she has to stand in front of a class and give a presentation. She decides to join an art group called Spirit Fingers, that turns out to be weird but cool and extremely welcoming. It’s quirky, silly, goofy, but in a cute and fun way.
Last Summer – 마지막 썸머
Viki, Prime – Starring: Lee Jae-wook, Choi Sung-eun
Genre: Rom-com
The story features twin brothers, Baek Do-ha and Baek Do-yeong (Lee Jae-wook), who have lived apart since they were young and their parents divorced. Baek Do-ha has been living in the United States and Baek Do-yeong in South Korea, but Baek Do-ha has come to visit for three weeks every summer. Baek Do-ha spends his three weeks every summer at odds with the next-door neighbor, Song Ha-gyeong (Choi Sung-eun). When he returns to South Korea as an adult and as an architect, he runs into Ha-gyeong, who is also an architect, but as a public official.
The series has already been noted for cinematography that wows and has been called emotionally intelligent, bittersweet and introspective. I hope it is that. The categorization is rom-com and the trailer shows more comedy than introspection. We will see shortly!
Nice to Not Meet You – 얄미운 사랑
Prime – Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lim Ji-yeon, Kim Ji-hoon, Seo Ji-hye
Genre: Rom-com
This drama features an actor, Hyeon-jun (Lee Jung-jae), who is stuck in a role of a detective in a successful series that keeps getting sequels made. He wants to break out and do something different. Award-winning political investigative reporter Wi Jeong-sin (Lim Ji-yeon), gets pulled mid-investigation from a corruption case and gets “assigned” (demoted, really) to covering entertainment and, specifically, actor Hyeon-jun, who she does not want to cover. She likes him in the series, but not him as a person, once she meets him. This is a different role for Lee Jung-jae from those that have recently gotten him a lot of attention, though he has always covered diverse roles and genres.
The Manipulated – 조각도시
Disney+ - Starring: Ji Chang-wook, Doh Kyung-soo, Lee Kwang-soo, Jo Yoon-su, Pyo Ye-jin
Genre: Crime, thriller, revenge
Just a regular guy, Tae-joong (Ji Chang-wook), gets wrongly accused and convicted of a horrible crime he did not commit. He finds out that a man named Ahn Yo-han (Doh Kyung-soo) set him up. Prison doesn’t sit well with him and changes him to his core. And he wants revenge. And he will get his hands bloody to achieve it.
Dear X – 친애하는 X
Viki – Starring: Kim Yoo-jung, Kim Young-dae, Kim Do-hoon, Lee Yul-eum
Genre: Melodrama, thriller
Baek A-jin (Kim Yoo-jung) is an A-list actress who seems nice enough on the outside, but who has a lot of grudges and who suffered domestic abuse and watch out if you piss her off. She survived by figuring out how to manipulate people, which works well for her career. There is only one person she trusts – Yun Jun-seo (Kim Young-dae). He has supported her, but ultimately creates her downfall. Kim Jae-o (Kim Do-hoon) is a fellow abuse survivor and he looks up to A-jin. Also in the mix is a former idol and rival actress, Im Re-na (Lee Yul-eum), who has her eyes on Yun Jun-seo.
Obvious trigger warnings here regarding abuse issues. There also looks to be an amount of other kinds of violence.
As You Stood By – 당신이 죽였다
Netflix – Starring: Jeon So-nee, Lee Yoo-mi, Jang Seung-jo, Lee Moo-saeng
Genre: Psychological thriller, drama, crime
This drama is based on the novel Naomi to Kanako by Japanese author Hideo Okuda, published in 2012. There was a Japanese series made about the novel in 2016. Just as Dear X (see above), this drama also deals with abuse and is said to be very dark and quite difficult to watch, so take caution in even viewing the trailer.
The series tells the story of two friends, Cho Eun-su (Jeon So-nee) and Cho Hui-su (Lee Yoo-mi) who lived through a trauma that haunts them. Cho Eun-su works at a department store in the luxury goods department. Cho Hui-su had a career as a children’s book author, but that has stalled and she is frozen in place in her abusive relationship with her husband, No Jin-pyo (Jang Seung-jo). Eun-su decides to help Hui-su kill her husband before her friend is killed, but plans do not unfold as they expected.
Moon River – 이강에는 달이 흐른다
This started later than had been advertised. I summarized it last month, but will repeat the summary again here.
Viki – Starring: Kang Tae-oh, Kim Se-jeong, Lee Shin-young, Hong Su-zu, Jin Goo
Genre: Historical, fantasy, rom-com, melodrama
A vengeful Crown Prince Yi Kang (Kang Tae-oh), has lost his crown princess and tries to hide his pain by acting carefree, and a merchant, Park Dal-i (Kim Se-jeong), who looks exactly like the deceased crown princess, but has lost her memory, swap bodies, sending them both into chaos. As they try to figure out what happened, they also discover political conspiracies and the fact that their connection may be deeper than they first thought.
No Next Life (also known as Don’t Call Me Ma’am) – 다음 생은 없으니까
Netflix, Kocowa – Starring: Kim Hee-sun, Han Hye-jin, Jin Seo-yeon
Genre: Comedy, drama
Cho Na-jeong (Kim Hee-sun) had a very successful career as the host of a home shopping program, but now stays at home as a full-time mother and housewife. Koo Ju-yeong (Han Hye-jin) works at a performing art center and has a successful career. She wants to have a child, but her husband is disinterested. Lee Il-ri (Jin Seo-yeon) is a single editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, but still dreams of finding the right partner and getting married. They are all friends and all looking for something more fulfilling in their lives. I think this genre of not-quite-middle-aged-women who are struggling and wang more out of life needs an official name.store.
Dynamite Kiss – 키스는 괜히 해서!
Netflix – Starring: Jang Ki-yong, Ahn Eun-jin, Kim Mu-jin, Woo Da-vi
Genre: Rom-com
Premieres Nov 12 | Kong Ji-hyeok (Jang Ki-yong) is a team leader at a baby products company. One day, a temporary employee, Ko Da-rim (Ahn Eun-jin), suddenly kisses him and this immediately creates an awkward situation, because Ko Da-rim is married. But actually, she’s not. She is pretending to be married with a child. She wants her temporary position to become permanent. But her marriage is fake, with a best-friend-acting-as-husband, Kim Seon-u (Kim Mu-jun), her child is fake and the kiss is accidental…but not without a backstory. Even before this encounter there is a very full ramen bowl of misunderstandings and embarrassing truths turned into fibs. Everything gets even messier as the two accidental kiss recipients start to fall for each other.
I really like the two main actors. I will hold back (given recent disappointments) from saying that the chemistry should be great…but…If you’re in the mood for very typical rom-com escapism material, I have great hopes that this won’t disappoint.
