Here is our preview of the nine most exciting K-dramas debuting in May 2023.
1. My Perfect Stranger
Kim plays Yoon Hae-joon, who worked his way up the ladder at a broadcasting network to become its youngest ever news reporter. He is cool under fire in front of the camera and warm-hearted in his personal life.
Jin is Baek Yoon-young, who dreams of becoming a writer and has been supporting herself by working at a publishing house. Yoon-young has a stressful life which only gets more complicated when she stumbles upon a shocking truth. (KBS2, May 1)
2. All That We Loved
Sehun, of the K-pop group Exo-K, leads the youth series All That We Loved as Go Yoo, a high schooler who fears nothing and excels on the basketball court.
Jo Joon-young (Live On) appears as his friend Go Joon-hee, who always ranks top of the class but is physically weak. He received a kidney transplant from Go Yoo, but ever since has been suffering from cellular memory syndrome, which causes some memories to be transferred from Go Yoo to Joon-hee.
This becomes a problem when they both fall for transfer student Han So-yeon, played by Jang Yeo-bin (Our Blooming Youth). (TVing, May 5)
3. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938
Two years after starring in the mystery drama Bad and Crazy, Lee Dong-wook is returning to screens in the period series Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, a follow-up to the popular 2020 series Tale of the Nine-Tailed.
Lee once again plays Lee Yeon, a mountain spirit who lives in the present until an unexpected incident causes him to travel back to 1938. Here he reconnects with Ryu Hong-joo, played by The Penthouse actress Kim So-yeon, who was once also a guardian mountain spirit.
Lee’s character also meets other figures from his past life, including his brother Lee Rang (Kim Beom, Ghost Doctor) and his friend Cheon Mu-young (Ryoo Kyung-soo, Glitch). (tvN, May 6)
4. Race
Lee Yeon-hee (The Game: Towards Zero) and Hong Jong-hyun (Stockstruck) team up in the Disney+ office drama Race, which also stars Moon So-ri of Queenmaker and U-Know Yunho, a member of the K-pop duo TVXQ.
Lee is Park Yoon-zo, a normal single woman who joins the PR department of a large firm. Her friend Ryu Jae-min (Hong) also works there but draws a clear line between his work and personal lives.
Yoon-zo starts working for PR ace Ku Yi-jung (Moon), while Seo Dong-hoon (U-Know) is their flexible boss. (Disney+, May 12)
5. Black Knight
Kim Woo-bin (Our Blues) stars in Netflix’s dystopian drama Black Knight. Based on the webtoon Delivery Knight, the series is set in a bleak future where serious pollution has destroyed most of South Korea and keeps almost everyone indoors, save for the now all-important delivery drivers who risk their lives to get important goods to people.
Kim plays the legendary delivery driver Knight 5-8, who meets a boy who dreams of being like him.
This six-part series is directed by Cho Ui-seok (Master) and also features Kang You-seok (Start-Up), Esom (Taxi Driver) and Song Seung-heon (Voice 4). (Netflix, May 12)
6. Oh! Young-sim
Song Ha-yoon (Fight for My Way) plays the titular character in Oh! Young-shim. Oh Young-shim is a producer who wants to make people laugh through her variety TV series, but they keep getting cancelled.
She strikes on a new idea for a dating show and casts start-up entrepreneur Mark Wang (Lee Dong-hae, a member of the K-pop band Super Junior) but is shocked to discover that he is actually Wang Kyung-tae, a childhood acquaintance who used to have a crush on her.
The two reunite 20 years after he left with his family for America. (ENA, May 15)
7. One Day Off
Four years after appearing in the romantic comedy series Romance Is a Bonus Book, Lee Na-young is back in the limited series One Day Off.
She plays Park Ha-kyung, a Korean literature teacher who goes on day trips every Saturday to escape the drudgery of her life. During her travels she meets new people, tries new food and has new experiences.
This healing drama will have its world premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival at the end of April. (Wavve, May 24)
8. Delightfully Deceitful
Chun Woo-hee (The Wailing) appears in Delightfully Deceitful as Lee Ro-woom, a brilliant scam artist who has amassed a fortune thanks to her lack of empathy.
In his second show this month, Kim Dong-wook plays Han Moo-young, a lawyer who is the complete opposite of Ro-woon but gets involved with her anyway. He becomes so immersed in other people’s problems that sometimes he absorbs them. (tvN, May 29)
9. Happiness Battle
My Liberation Notes actress Lee El appears in Happiness Battle, a drama that chronicles a fierce battle between five mothers who take to the internet to tear each other down as they seek to ensure their own happiness.
Playing the other four mothers in the series are Jin Seo-yun (Believer), Cha Ye-ryun (Perfume), Park Hyo-joo (Now, We Are Breaking Up) and Woo Jeong-won (Under the Queen’s Umbrella).
Happiness Battle is based on the novel of the same name penned by Joo Young-ha. (ENA, May 31)
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