From quirky romances like Netflix’s Mr. Plankton to gripping crime thrillers like Disney+/Hulu’s Gangnam B-Side, a slew of hotly anticipated Kdramas have been hitting streaming services this month. If you’re having a hard time keeping track and aren’t sure which ones to watch, here’s a roundup of six Korean shows that are worth checking out in November.
Brewing Love (취하는 로맨스)
Episodes: 12, with new episodes released every Monday and Tuesday
Cast: Kim Se-jeong, Lee Jong-won, Shin Do-hyun, Baek Sung-chul
When and Where to Watch: Brewing Love is currently airing on ENA and is available to stream on Viki and Viu in select regions.
Opposites truly attract in this romcom directed by Park Sun-ho (Suspicious Partner, Business Proposal) and starring the multi-talented actress and singer Kim Se-jeong (The Uncanny Counter, Business Proposal).
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Former special forces soldier Chae Yong-ju (Kim Se-jeong) now works for an alcoholic beverage company, where she’s its top salesperson. When she learns that her branch is in danger of shutting down, she embarks on a mission to save it by selling a new beer made by brewmaster Yoon Min-ju (Lee Jong-won). But after meeting Min-ju, her mission turns out to be much more difficult than she imagined. A highly sensitive man who leads a quiet, peaceful life in the countryside, Min-ju is the polar opposite of the strong and feisty Yong-ju, who also has a habit of masking her true emotions. Can the pair push past their contrasting personalities and figure out a way to work together?
Gangnam B-Side (강남 비-사이드)
Episodes: 8, with two new episodes released every Wednesday
Cast: Jo Woo-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Ha Yoon-kyung, Kim Hyeong-seo (aka BIBI), Jung Ga-ram, Hyun Bong-sik, Jeong Man-sik
When and Where to Watch: Gangnam B-Side is currently streaming on Disney+/Hulu.
To craft this gritty crime thriller that calls to mind South Korea’s infamous Burning Sun scandal, writer Joo Won-gyu drew on his personal experience working as an undercover driver in the Gangnam club scene, while director Park Noo-ri met with nightclub employees and narcotics officers to hear their eyewitness testimonies. The result is a sordid yet realistic portrait of the underbelly of Seoul’s glamorous Gangnam district.
When women suddenly start disappearing in Gangnam, Kang Dong-woo (Jo Woo-jin), a fearless detective who was demoted after unearthing police corruption, is called back to Seoul to investigate. His daughter’s friend Jae-hee (portrayed by Korean singer-songwriter BIBI), who works at a popular Gangnam night club, might hold the key to solving the case, but she goes missing too. Together with Min Seo-jin (Ha Yoon-kyung), an ambitious prosecutor, and Yoon Gil-ho (Ji Chang-wook), a broker and pimp who fiercely looks out for his call girls, Dong-woo starts to unravel a sinister scheme that seemingly implicates some of the city’s most high-profile figures.
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Mr. Plankton (Mr. 플랑크톤)
Episodes: 10
Cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee You-mi, Oh Jung-se, Kim Hae-sook, Lee Hae-young, Kim Soo-jin, Ahn Suk-hwan, Jo Han-chul
When and Where to Watch: All 10 episodes of Mr. Plankton are available to stream on Netflix.
Hae-jo (Woo Do-hwan of Bloodhounds and Joseon Attorney) has been dealt an awful hand in life. Brought into the world through an artificial insemination process gone wrong, Hae-jo was cast aside by his parents and grew up wandering his way through life without a family. Now as an adult in his prime, he finds out that he’s terminally ill.
His ex-girlfriend Jae-mi (played by Emmy-winning actress Lee You-mi of Squid Game) can’t seem to catch a break either. With only days left before her wedding, she learns that she has premature menopause—a huge problem considering that her fiancé’s family believes her to be pregnant.
Given only a few months left to live, Hae-jo sets out to search for his biological father—and kidnaps Jae-mi from her wedding so she can accompany him on his journey. What will fate have in store for this unlucky duo?
Rounding out the main cast are the incredibly versatile actor Oh Jung-se (Sweet Home, Revenant, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay), who plays Jae-mi’s naïve and timid fiancé Eo-heung, and the legendary Kim Hae-sook (Gyeongseong Creature, Strong Girl Nam-soon, Under the Queen’s Umbrella) as Eo-heung’s overbearing mother.
Expect to see a lot of quirky comedy, melodramatic moments and, um, random scenes of Woo Do-hwan flaunting his glorious body.
Parole Examiner Lee (가석방 심사관 이한신)
Episodes: 12, with new episodes released every Monday and Tuesday
Cast: Go Soo, Kwon Yu-ri, Baek Ji-won, Lee Hak-joo
When and Where to Watch: Parole Examiner Lee is currently airing on tvN and streaming on Viki in select regions.
Veteran actor Go Soo (Money Game, Missing: The Other Side) stars as Lee Han-shin, a lawyer-turned-parole examiner who’s made it his mission to stop powerful criminals from abusing the justice system. Though he shows no mercy to wrongdoers who try to worm their way out of prison by leveraging their wealth and connections, he’s a passionate advocate for those who’ve been unfairly imprisoned. Lee joins forces with two fearless women at the top of their game—Detective Ahn Seo-yoon (played by K-pop superstar Kwon Yu-ri) and loan shark Choi Hwa-ran (Baek Ji-won of Extraordinary Attorney Woo)—in an attempt to take down Ji Myeong-seob (Lee Hak-joo of My Dearest), a second-generation chaebol (family-owned conglomerate) heir who thinks he’s above the law.
Love Your Enemy (사랑은 외나무다리에서)
Episodes: 12, with new episodes released every Saturday and Sunday
Cast: Ju Ji-hoon, Jung Yu-mi, Lee Si-woo, Kim Ye-won, Kim Kap-soo, Lee Byung-joon, Kim Jung-young, Lee Seung-joon, Jeon Hye-jin
When and Where to Watch: Love Your Enemy premieres on tvN on November 23 and will be available to stream on Viki and Disney+ in select regions.
There’s a saying in Korea that you will meet your enemy on a log bridge, meaning that you will run into someone you hate in a place where you cannot avoid them. That’s precisely what happens to Seok Ji-won (played by Ju Ji-hoon of Kingdom and Blood Free) and Yoon Ji-won (Jung Yu-mi of Train to Busan and Kim Ji-young: Born 1982), two childhood friends and rivals who were both born on the same day in the same town and given the same name. Although their families have been feuding for generations, they fall in love in high school—only to part on bad terms when Seok Ji-won leaves their hometown.
Eighteen years later, Seok Ji-won returns to his alma mater Dokmok High School, this time as its chairman. Much to his surprise, he meets Yoon Ji-won, who’s now a P.E. teacher at the school. Tempers flare and pent-up feelings reemerge as their unwelcome reunion triggers a flood of unpleasant memories. Will these two enemies be able to resolve their past misunderstandings and find their way back into each other’s hearts?
The show’s Korean title translates to “Love on a Log Bridge” and is a reference to the aforementioned proverb.
The Trunk (트렁크)
Episodes: 8
Cast: Seo Hyun-jin, Gong Yoo, Jung Yun-ha, Jo I-geon, Kim Dong-won, Uhm Ji-won
When and Where to Watch: The Trunk premieres globally on Netflix on November 29.
In this highly anticipated mystery romance, Hallyu icon Gong Yoo (Train to Busan, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Squid Game) stars as Jeong-won, a music producer who’s crippled by loneliness and anxiety due to his painful past. His ex-wife Seo-yeon (Jung Yun-ha of Exhuma) signs him up for the covert matchmaking service NM (New Marriage), which provides its clients with a temporary spouse. Jeong-won enters into a one-year contract marriage with In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin of Another Miss Oh and The Beauty Inside), an NM employee who also suffers from loneliness despite having a new “husband” every year. Though at first Jeong-won struggles to get over Seo-yeon, over time he and In-ji grow fond of each other—until a mysterious trunk discovered in a lake begins to unravel dark and disturbing secrets behind the marriage agency.
Based on the eponymous novel by Kim Ryeo-ryeong, The Trunk is directed by Kim Gyu-tae—who’s helmed a number of hit Kdramas like Iris; That Winter, the Wind Blows; and Our Blues—and written by Park Eun-young, who wrote the script for the historical series Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.
