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Pierce Conran

Those looking to beat the August heat by staying indoors will have plenty to choose from during a particularly stacked month of K-drama releases.
We preview 14 of the best Korean drama series debuting in the course of the month.
1. Bad Memory Eraser
Lead cast: Kim Jae-joong, Jin Se-yeon


In this romantic drama, Kim Jae-joong (Manhole) plays Lee Goon, a tennis prospect who has been sidelined by an injury. He uses a “memory eraser” to boost his self-esteem.
His first love, Kyeong Joo-yeon (Jin Se-yeon, Born Again), works as a psychiatrist at the brain research centre that has developed the memory eraser. (MBN, August 2)
2. Love Andante
Lead cast: Kwon Hyun-bin, Song Ji-woo


In a “peace village” erected between the two Koreas, talented South Korean pianist Im Joo-hyung (Kwon Hyun-bin, Pandora: Beneath the Paradise) is forced to shack up with Ha Na-kyung (Song Ji-woo, Doctor Slump), the daughter of a North Korean military officer, in this cross-cultural romantic comedy. (Lifetime, August 7)
3. Romance in the House
Lead cast: Ji Jin-hee, Kim Ji-soo, Son Na-eun


Last seen in the second season of D.P., Ji Jin-hee plays Byron Mu-jin, a man who appears in front of his ex-wife Geum Ye-yeon (Kim Ji-soo, High Class) and daughter Byeon Mi-rae (Son Na-eun, Agency) 14 years after going bankrupt and getting a divorce.
When he returns, he does so as a billionaire – to everyone’s shock. (JTBC, August 10)
4. Your Honour
Lead cast: Son Hyun-joo, Kim Myung-min


In this legal thriller, respected judge Song Pan-ho (Son Hyun-joo, Itaewon Class) and crime boss Kim Gang-heon (Kim Myung-min, Law School) go head to head in a vicious tug of war following a car accident involving their children. (ENA, August 12)
5. Perfect Family
Lead cast: Park Ju-hyun, Yoon Se-ah, Kim Byung-chul, Kim Young-dae


A seemingly perfect family falls apart in this drama as father Choi Jin-hyuk (Kim Byung-chul, Doctor Cha), mother Ha Eun-joo (Yoon Se-ah, Snowdrop) and daughter Choi Seon-hee (Park Ju-hyun, Mouse) come into conflict following the murder of Seon-hee’s friend Park Kyung-ho (Kim Young-dae, The Penthouse). (KBS2, August 14)
6. The Tyrant
Lead cast: Cha Seung-won, Kim Seon-ho, Kim Kang-woo, Jo Yoon-soo


Former agent Im Sang (Cha Seung-won, Our Blues), government agency bureau director Choi (Kim Seon-ho, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) and foreign intelligence agency operative Paul (Kim Kang-woo, The Childe) race to find a missing bioweapon before it is too late.
The Tyrant, from New World director Park Hoon-jung, was shot as a feature film but will now debut as a limited series. (Disney+, August 14)
7. Black Out
Lead cast: Byun Yo-han, Ko Jun

From filmmaker Byun Young-joo (Helpless), this adaptation of a Japanese novel tells the story of Ko Jung-woo (Byun Yo-han, Uncle Samsik) who, after serving 10 years in jail for a murder he does not remember committing, teams up with a detective to discover the truth. (MBC, August 16)
8. Love Next Door
Lead cast: Jung Hae-in, Jung So-min


In this romcom, Jung Hae-in (Connect) plays dashing young architect Choi Seung-hyo, a man who reconnects with Bae Seok-kyu (Jung So-min, Alchemy of Souls) – the daughter of his mum’s friend – who has fallen on hard times. (tvN, August 17)
9. DNA Lover
Lead cast: Choi Siwon, Jung In-sun


Shim Yeon-woo (Choi Siwon, Bloodhounds) is a doctor who has no shortage of admirers and plenty of emotional attachment issues. Han So-jin (Jung In-sun, Let Me Be Your Knight) is a DNA researcher obsessed with finding her perfect genetic love match. Hilarity, it is assumed, ensues. (TV Chosun, August 17)
10. Pachinko season two
Lead cast: Kim Min-ha, Lee Min-ho, Youn Yuh-jung


Pachinko, the adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s acclaimed novel about the lives of a family of Koreans in Japan, returns for a highly anticipated second season.
The show’s first season, featuring Kim Min-ha, Lee Min-ho (City Hunter) and Youn Yuh-jung (Minari), was a critical darling. (Apple TV+, August 23)
11. The Frog
Lead cast: Kim Yun-seok, Yoon Kye-sang, Go Min-si


The owner of a holiday rental, Jeon Young-ha (Kim Yun-seok, The Thieves), welcomes the mysterious Yoo Sung-a (Go Min-si, Sweet Home) into his cottage in the woods.
Twenty years earlier, Koo Sang-joon (Yoon Kye-sang, The Kidnapping Day) ran the same cottage as a holiday home and lived there with his family – but something terrible happened. How are the two stories, and times, connected? (Netflix, August 23)
12. Cinderella at 2 AM
Lead cast: Shin Hyun-bin, Moon Sang-min


Office worker Ha Yoon-seo (Shin Hyun-bin, Hospital Playlist) has turned her life around after escaping her abusive family, and is dating her younger colleague Seo Joo-won (Moon Sang-min, Wedding Impossible). Everything changes when she learns that he is the heir to the company – she does not believe in fairy tales. (Channel A/Coupang Play, August 24)
13. No Gain, No Love
Lead cast: Shin Min-a, Kim Young-dae


Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha actress Shin Min-a plays the penny-pinching Son Hae-young, who falsely claims she is married to get a promotion at work. The man she has chosen as her fake husband is part-time cashier Kim Ji-wook (Kim Young-dae). (tvN, August 26)
14. Queen Woo
Lead cast: Jeon Jong-seo


Woo Hee (Jeon Jong-seo, The Call) is the empress of Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom, in this historical drama. After the death of her husband, she becomes a target for the tribes and princes who want to wrest control of the kingdom from her. (TVing, August 29)


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K-drama news

14 of the best new K-dramas to watch in August 2024, including Disney+’s The Tyrant

Kim Seon-ho in a still from The Tyrant. Photo: Disney+

Kim Seon-ho in a still from The Tyrant on Disney+, one of 14 Korean drama series dropping in August. They include season two of Pachinko, romantic comedy Love Next Door starring Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in, and Jeon Jong-soo in period drama Queen Woo. Photo: Disney+

A promotional poster for Black Out.

7 of the best new K-dramas to watch in July 2024, including Netflix’s Sweet Home season 3

Lee Do-hyun in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Song Kang in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Netflix’s monster K-drama returns this July along with new releases such as Disney+ action thriller Red Swan and webtoon adaptation Serendipity’s Embrace. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

K-drama Serendipity’s Embrace: Kim So-hyun, Chae Jong-hyeop meet in run-of-the-mill romcom

Kim So-hyun as Lee Hong-ju in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Chae Jong-hyeop as Kang Hoo-yeong (left) and Kim So-hyun as Lee Hong-ju in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Chae Jong-hyeop as Kang Hoo-yeong in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Kim So-hyun as Lee Hong-ju (left) and Chae Jong-hyeop in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Kim So-hyun in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Kim So-hyun (left) and Chae Jong-hyeop in a still from Serendipity’s Embrace.

Netflix K-drama Sweet Home season 3 review:  Monster series finale is truly an abomination

Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yu (left) and Song Kang in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Netflix

Song Kang as Cha Hyun-su in a still from season 3 of Netflix K-drama Sweet Home. Lee Jin-wook, Go Min-si, Lee Do-hyun and Lee Si-young co-star. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Lee Do-hyun as Lee Eun-hyeok (left) and Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yu in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Lee Jin-wook as Pyeon Sang-wook in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Lee Do-hyun as Lee Eun-hyeok (left) and Song Kang as Cha Hyun-su in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Netflix

Lee Jin-wook as Pyeon Sang-wook (left) and Lee Si-young as Seo Yi-kyeong in a still from Sweet Home season 3. Photo: Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Sweet Home 3’s Jung Jin-young set for Miss Granny remake and more, in K-drama casting news

Jung Jin-young in a still from Sweet Home season 3. In the latest K-drama casting news, the actor will feature in a TV remake of the hit Korean film Miss Granny. Photo: Netflix

Kim Hae-sook in a still from My Demon. She will play the older version of Oh Mal-soon in a Miss Granny TV remake.

Cha Joo-young in a still from The Glory. Photo: Netflix

Moon Ga-young in a still from Link: Eat, Love, Kill. She will star in tvN drama Black Salt Dragon.

Shin Se-kyung in a still from Run On.

Tarot, new K-drama horror anthology with Dex, Parasite’s Cho Yeo-jeong a mixed bag so far

Cho Yeo-jeong in a still from Tarot.

Cho Yeo-jeong as Ji-woo, a working mother who leaves her daughter home alone, in a still from the first episode of Tarot. The K-drama horror anthology series sees the ill-fated main character change with each episode.

Dex in a still from Tarot.

Ko Kyu-pil in a still from Tarot.

Cho Yeo-jeong as Ji-woo in a still from Tarot.

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Pachinko is back with Lee Min-ho et al, Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in pair up in Love Next Door, and there’s a lot more Korean drama in August


Lee Min-ho returns in Pachinko season 2, Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in lead romcom Love Next Door, Kim Seon-ho stars in The Tyrant, and Kim Young-dae is a murder victim and a fake husband.
