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Pierce Conran

Along with rising temperatures, April will see a variety of fantasy dramas, hard-boiled thrillers and more. We break down another packed K-drama schedule.
1. Way Back Love
Lead cast: Gong Myung, Kim Min-ha
Pachinko actress Kim Min-ha makes a hugely convincing K-drama romcom debut in the terrific high-school fantasy romance Way Back Love, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in October 2024.


Kim plays Jung Hee-wan, a young woman who is one day approached by Kim Ram-woo (Gong Myung, Extreme Job), her close friend and first love from high school. Trouble is, Ram-woo died years earlier and he also has bad news for Hee-wan – she will die in a week’s time.
This six-part TVing original series was created by Roh Deok, the director of Very Ordinary Couple and the Netflix series Glitch. (TVing, April 3)
2. Karma
Lead cast: Park Hae-soo, Shin Min-a, Lee Hee-jun


Squid Game and Narco-Saints actor Park Hae-soo once again teams up with Netflix for the limited thriller series Karma, adapted from a webtoon by writer and director Lee Il-hyeong (A Violent Prosecutor).
This story of six people whose lives become darkly entangled also stars Shin Min-a (Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha), Lee Hee-jun (A Killer Paradox), Kim Sung-kyun (The Fiery Priest), Lee Kwang-soo (No Way Out: The Roulette) and Gong Seung-yeon (Bulgasal: Immortal Souls).
Among the characters are a man who makes a deal after witnessing an accident, a doctor trying to escape her childhood trauma, and several desperate characters who make bad decisions for much-needed cash. (Netflix, April 4)
3. Crushology 101
Lead cast: Roh Jeong-hui, Lee Chae-min


In this hazy youth romance, Roh Jeong-hui (Hierarchy) plays Ban Hee-jin, a sculpture major at university.
Following an earlier relationship that did not turn out well, Hee-jin, nicknamed Bunny, changes her attitude towards men and is suddenly confronted with a number of new men in her life, including Hwang Jae-yeol (Lee Chae-min) and Cha Ji-won (Jo Joon-young).
Jae-yeol works for the visual design department and dreams of being an art director, while Ji-won is the heir of a large corporation who, with his looks, smarts and good personality, is the catch of the university.
Roh has shared the screen with both of her main co-stars before, Lee in Hierarchy and Jo in Dear M. (MBC, April 4)
4. Resident Playbook
Lead cast: Go Yoon-jung, Shin Si-ah, Han Ye-ji, Kang You-seok


The world of the hugely successful medical K-drama Hospital Playlist is set to be expanded through next month’s spin-off series Resident Playbook.
Taking place in a different branch of the Yujje Medical Center, the series will focus on the professional and personal lives of a variety of medical professionals.
This show skews a little younger, with most of the leads being first-year residents, among them an obstetrician-gynaecologist resident portrayed by series lead Go Yoon-jung (Moving).
Go’s co-stars include Shin Si-ah (The Witch: Part 2. The Other One), Kang You-seok (When Life Gives You Tangerines) and newcomer Han Ye-ji. (tvN, April 12)
5. The Haunted Palace
Lead cast: Kim Ji-yeon, Yook Sung-jae, Kim Ji-hoon


In this horror period drama, Yook Sung-jae plays Yoon Gab, a government officer who is possessed by a spirit that seeks to take over the body of Yeo-ri, played by Bona, in order to ascend to heaven.
Yeo-ri is a shaman’s daughter but, having renounced being a spiritual medium, she works as a glass artisan; Yoon Gab is her first love.
After strange things begin to happen in the palace, lorded over by King Lee Sung (Kim Ji-hoon, Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area), Yeo-ri is compelled to confront her fate.
Bona, aka Kim Ji-yeon, is a member of the K-pop girl band WJSN and has featured in K-dramas such as Twenty-Five Twenty-One. Yoon, a member of K-pop boy band BTOB, was last seen in The Golden Spoon. (SBS, April 18)
6. Heavenly Ever After
Lead cast: Kim Hye-ja, Son Suk-ku


Screen icon Kim Hye-ja, known for Bong Joon-ho’s Mother and dramas such as Our Blues, returns to screens in the fantasy drama Heavenly Ever After alongside Son Suk-ku (My Liberation Notes).
Kim plays Lee Hae-sook, an 80-year-old woman who has just died. She arrives in heaven, where she is reunited with her husband, Kim Nak-joon (Son), but is surprised to see that he looks like his 30-year-old self.
Hae-sook soon discovers that she is the only person up in heaven who did not choose to return to how they looked in their younger days for the afterlife.
The series is directed by Kim Suk-yoon (My Liberation Notes) and co-written by Lee Nam-kyu (Daily Dose of Sunshine), who previously collaborated on the Detective K films. (JTBC, April 19)
7. Pump Up the Healthy Love
Lead cast: Lee Jun-young, Jung Eun-ji, Lee Mi-do


Billed as a “muscle growth romcom”, Pump Up the Healthy Love leans into the current health craze in South Korea.
Lee Jun-young, formerly of the K-pop boy band U-KISS and already seen in Melo Movie and When Life Give You Tangerines this year, plays Jung Do-yeon, a former top bodybuilder who becomes the manager of a rundown gym.
Do-yeon seeks to change the lives of his members through his aggressive health-focused regimens. Among those clients is Lee Mi-ran, a travel agency employee played by Jung Eun-ji (Miss Night and Day), a member of the K-pop outfit Apink.
Lee Mi-do (Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born) and Lee Seung-woo (Seoul Busters) appear as Do-yeon’s fellow trainers. (KBS2, April 30)


K-drama casting news about Seo Kang-joon, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Nam-gil and more

K-drama Climax: Ju Ji-hoon covets high-society power in slick and juicy prime-time soap

HBO Max K-drama Mad Concrete Dreams: Ha Jung-woo leads tale on Korea’s housing nightmare

K-drama Phantom Lawyer: Yoo Yeon-seok represents deceased clients in jaunty legal comedy

K-drama news

7 of the best new K-dramas to watch in April 2025, including Netflix thriller series Karma

Shin Min-a as Lee Ju-yeon in a still from Karma. Photo: Jihyeong Seo/Netflix

Shin Min-a as Lee Ju-yeon in a still from Karma, a limited series debuting on Netflix in April 2025. Photo: Jihyeong Seo/Netflix

Who is Park Bo-gum, IU’s boyish co-star in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines?

Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

Korean actor Park Bo-gum is back on screens starring in  Netflix drama When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Instagram/@bogummy

Park Bo-gum and IU in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Netflix

Park Bo-gum in a still from Encounter (2018).

Park Bo-gum in a still from Coin Locker Girl (2015).

Lee Hye-ri and Park Bo-gum in a still from Reply 1988 (2015).

Park Bo-gum in a still from Love in the Moonlight (2016).

Park So-dam (left) and Park Bo-gum in a still from Record of Youth (2020). Photo: tvN

Park Bo-gum in a still from Seobok (2021). Photo: CJ Entertainment

8 of the best new K-dramas to watch in March 2025, including IU’s latest Netflix outing

IU in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Netflix

Park Bo-gum (left) as Yang Gwan-sik and IU as Oh Ae-sun in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines, one of eight Korean drama series launching in March 2025 that are worth catching. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

Who is Park Bo-young, star of K-dramas Melo Movie, Light Shop and Daily Dose of Sunshine?

Park Bo-young in a still from Melo Movie. Photo: Ko Nam-hi/Netflix

Korean actress Park Bo-young, currently on screen in the drama series Melo Movie. Park is gaining global fans through streaming, years after making her name at home. 

Park Bo-young and Choi Woo-shik in a still from Melo Movie. Photo: Ko Nam-hi/Netflix

Park in a still from Light Shop. Photo: Disney+

Park (centre) stars opposite Cha Tae-hyun (left) in the commercial hit Scandal Makers (2008).

Park (left) and Song Joong-ki in a still from A Werewolf Boy (2012).

Park Bo-young in a still from Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017).

Park Bo-young in a still from Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023). Photo: Netflix

Park (right) and Lee Kwang-soo in a still from Collective Invention (2015).

9 of the best new K-dramas to watch in February 2025, including Jisoo in Newtopia

Kim Ji-soo (Jisoo) of K-pop group Blackpink in a still from new K-drama Newtopia.

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Shin Min-a and Park Hae-soo team up in limited series thriller Karma, Kim Ji-yeon stars in a horror period drama and Son Suk-ku is in heaven


Shin Min-a and Park Hae-soo team up in limited series thriller Karma, Kim Ji-yeon stars in a horror period drama and Son Suk-ku is in heaven.


7 of the best new K-dramas to watch in April 2025, including Netflix thriller series Karma

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Shin Min-a and Park Hae-soo team up in limited series thriller Karma, Kim Ji-yeon stars in a horror period drama and Son Suk-ku is in heaven

1. Way Back Love

2. Karma

Shin Min-a and Park Hae-soo team up in limited series thriller Karma, Kim Ji-yeon stars in a horror period drama and Son Suk-ku is in heaven