In terms of television, 2023 has a lot to live up to. It’s been simple to overlook how good Korean offerings have been throughout 2022 with House of the Dragon and Rings of Power leading the way in a year that also witnessed the finale of Better Call Saul and Dead to Me.
Twenty Five Twenty One and Little Women were presented to K-drama audiences as new favorites, and looking ahead to 2023, our schedule of east-Asian media appears to be extremely busier than normal.
And that’s especially true now that the market is heating up, with Disney turning its attention eastward to compete with Netflix’s significant investment in Korean original content and Prime Video devouring the finest Korean cinema has to offer. This is no longer a one-horse race, and viewers like us will inevitably gain from it.
Here are the Korean TV shows we are most looking forward to in 2023 as we say goodbye to 2022.
A Time Called You | Netflix
This drama, which is based on the Taiwanese series Someday or One Day, stars Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been (Vincenzo and A Business Proposal, respectively).
After her partner passes away, Jun-hee (Ahn) returns to 1998 and assumes the identity of Min-joo, a high school student. The most popular kid at school has a striking resemblance to Jun-hee’s deceased sweetheart, and she is forced to navigate the difficulties of teenage romance and mourning as a lady out of time.
A Time Called You may be the remedy you require if time travel in western media feels overdone. A big dose of 90s nostalgia will only assist, as Korean TV appears to handle time travel far better than Western programs. Be prepared to cry a lot over this.
All of Us Are Dead season 2 | Netflix
However, second seasons are uncommon in Korean television. However, given that Netflix has committed significant resources to the Korean market, the streamer seems eager to get the most out of its original content as possible.
Squid Game season 2 is already planned for 2024, and there are rumors that the breakthrough smash from 2022, All of Us Are Dead, may return in late 2023. The zombie high school drama, in which everyone either wants to eat or kiss each other, is more than welcome back for a second installment.
Given the cast’s advanced age and the huge popularity of the first season at the beginning of 2022, it seems logical to release new seasons as soon as possible. So keep an eye out for the following installment of this creative terror in the coming year.
Call it Love | Disney+
Disney appears to be planning to concentrate on K-pop documentaries in 2023, but one drama jumps out from its lineup: Call it Love (literal title; we don’t yet have an official translation).
In the series, Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-kwang star in a love story that seems to have genuine heart. Kim Young-kwang is the Korean version of Pinocchio.
Despite their challenging start, Kim and Lee work together to overcome obstacles and support one another as they learn more about one another. Call it Love first seems to be your standard tale of foes who fall in love.
Call it Love has definite echoes of My Mister, a series that turned K-drama clichés on their heads in one of the best Korean dramas ever, while Disney has been reluctant in its first year of Korean programming to stray from clichéd themes.
Celebrity | Netflix
Celebrity, a YouTube drama that you can’t bear to miss, looks at the darker aspects of Korean influencer society.
In a series that examines the insecurities, heartbreaks, and fears at the core of becoming famous in the digital age, Park Gyu-young commands an amazing ensemble. All wrapped up in the comforting cocoon of Korean TV clichés, as we might anticipate.
Fans of Korean dramas should recognize Park, a rising star in the It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Sweet Home, and Romance is a Bonus Book franchises on Netflix. By 2023 and beyond, more of her should be anticipated.
Gyeongseong Creature | Netflix
More monsters, not more romance. Seoul is occupied by the Japanese in 1945. Chae-ok, portrayed by Han So-hee (Soundtrack #1), tracks her lost mother to Gyeongseoung, an older name for Seoul, where she meets Tae-sang, a gorgeous bachelor played by Park Seo-joon. Chae-ok has traveled throughout China and Manchuria in search of missing persons.
Together, they delve into the depths of occupied Seoul, discovering a weird beast that was allegedly created by the citizens’ avarice.
This is exactly what it sounds like—a jumble of history, romance, and science fiction—and it looks wonderful. In fact, a second season has already been approved due to how fantastic it is.
Mask Girl | Netflix
In 2023, Netflix is expected to maintain its virtual stranglehold on Korean television, and one of its most intriguing original series planned for the year is Mask Girl.
Kim Mo-mi is a character played by Go Hyun-jung (Dear My Friends) who struggles with insecurity on a daily basis as an office worker. She performs live online shows under a mask at night despite having concerns about her appearance. However, Mo-mi’s already challenging life takes a tragic turn when a coworker falls in love with the enigmatic woman in the mask and vanishes.
There are rumors that this drama, which also features Nana of After School fame and Ahn Jae-hong, is intended for a more mature audience.
Queen Maker | Netflix
When two women put aside their differences to work together and combat injustice, it is as though opposites attract. It’s a cliché in Korean thrillers, but with Kim Hee-ae and Moon So-ri in the major roles, this female-led drama just could stand out from the long list of engrossing Korean thrillers available on Netflix.
The conflicts in Queen Maker feel like a match for this year’s Little Women since one of the characters is a successful businesswoman working for the establishment and the other is a labor rights attorney campaigning for election.
The Girl Downstairs | Netflix
The Girl Downstairs, another Netflix original series, follows Won-joon as he moves into a new apartment to begin college and learns that his next-door neighbor is a former celebrity, played by Bae Suzy (Start-up), who has withdrawn from the spotlight to catch up on her studies.
Despite his best efforts, Won-joon finds himself attracted by the illustrious and rather enigmatic life she has led.
A normal Korean romance would be a glaring omission from this list. There is a sense that The Girl Downstairs may surprise us with some twists and turns throughout the course of its running length, despite the fact that it promises to be a trope-packed frolic loaded with the typical suspects of Korean love stories.
The Interest of Love | Netflix
The Interest of Love, a group romance directed by Jo Young-min (Do You Like Brahms? ), is a Lee Hyuk-jin adaptation of Sarangui Ihae.
Yoo Yeon-seok (Mr. Sunshine) and Keum Sae-rok (Youth of May) are among the series’ star-studded ensemble, and it follows four coworkers as they negotiate a complicated, and occasionally scandalous, office romance in a local bank.
Everything we need in a Korean romance is present in it. A police officer, someone who rejects romantic love, and a huge corporation all stand in the way of any possible relationship. Expect to see lots of gorgeous people experiencing romantic ups and downs.
The first episode of The Interest of Love was released on December 21 and the series will last until mid-February 2023.
Vigilante | Disney+
Disney’s introduction of Korean originals in 2022 got off to a shaky start. Most of its Korean shows were unwatched due to its global releases being spaced out and poor marketing.
However, an increased lineup of programming in 2023 should be able to stop this trend. The most anticipated of these may be Vigilante, in which Nam Joo-hyuk (Twenty Five Twenty One) plays a police academy trainee who, grieving the death of his mother, goes on the streets to exact brutal retribution.
Vigilante, based on the well-known webtoon of the same name, makes the case that Disney may be using its Marvel brand with Korean originals that focus on superheroes and otherworldly themes, especially given that the superhero drama Moving is also scheduled for a 2023 premiere on the platform.
