21 Anticipated Kdramas (1st Half)

I decided to go through the kdramas that are scheduled to air during the first half of 2021 and come up with a list of the top ones that I think look interesting. Not all the dramas on this list are guaranteed to come out, especially with how the industry and the pandemic have been going but a good bit have been starting to come out with more solid news, dates, and trailers. I decided not to put any options that weren’t tied to a specific broadcast network even if they sounded more interesting than another thing on the list to try to weed out some of the less hopeful to come out options.

If there is an expected date I’ve added what it is at the time of writing this. I also have a running MyDramaList of all the dramas that I’ve seen that look interesting that are scheduled for this year. If you’d like to view those check them here. I’ll have the dramas in this post positioned at the top.

KBS:

-Great Real Estate / 대박부동산 (N/A)
supernatural

Currently Jang Na Ra and Jung Yong Hwa are attached to this, which kind of makes me suspect that this might be lighter than it is looking but as of now no comedy is listed in the tags.

“An occult drama about real estate brokers who exorcise and clean out buildings in which ghosts frequent and people have died in.”

SBS:

-Deluxe Taxi / 모범택시 (March 26)
action/horror/crime

Lee Je Hoon. Esom. Horror. Teasers just came out and this is looking good.

“Kim Do Ki is a mysterious driver for the taxi company whose mother was murdered. Kang Ha Na is a passionate attorney. Go Eun is an IT specialist, while others consider her a hacker. Along with Kim Do Ki, she works as part of Rainbow Taxi Company to solve people’s problems.”

-Joseon Exorcist / 조선구마사 (March 15)
action/historical/fantasy

Teasers just came out on this one as well, and it looks a bit more darker and closer to horror than I had originally thought so that’s why I added it to the list. It also kind of has Kingdom vibes to it…which is a little weird because of the zombie vibes it has. But I’m willing to give it a chance.

“A fantasy-action sageuk that takes place after the establishment of the Joseon dynasty and tells the story of the undead who come back to life after being killed by the royal family.”

JTBC:

-Sisyphus the Myth / 시지프스: The Myth (March 3)
action/mystery/sci-fi/fantasy

Jo Seung Woo and Park Shin Hye. This is probably going to be one of the bigger/most hyped dramas out of the list. The plot seems interesting, and I’m into seeing how it plays out.

“Han Tae Sul, a co-founder of Quantum and Time, is a genius engineer with the highest level of coding skills with outstanding good looks that outweighs his engineer fashion sense. Due to his innovative achievements, Quantum and Time is a world-class company, dubbed as "The Miracle of South Korea's Engineering Industry"…he sets off on a dangerous journey. Kang Seo Hae is a soldier who could zipline from building to building, fight big built men with her bare hands, shoot guns, and install explosives. With the survival skills that she's learned from living amongst gangsters and warlords, she sets off a dangerous path of finding Han Tae Sul.”

-Duke City / 공작도시 (N/A)
thriller/mystery/psychological

The synopsis is pretty vague, but honestly tie those tags with “a drama that centers around female characters” and my interest is piqued.

“A psychological mystery thriller about the tangled relationships between characters with various ambitions and desires in a society that hides its dark side. It is a drama that centers around female characters.”

-Beyond Evil / 괴물 (Feb 19)
thriller/psychological

Serial killer. I’m really simple most of the time.

“Beyond Evil will tell the story of two fearless men who are willing to go through extreme lengths in their pursuit of a returning serial killer. In the course of uncovering the murderer’s identity, the two are forced to look deeper than what the evidence seems to suggest and constantly question the innocence of all the people involved in the case, including themselves.”

tvN:

-Luca / 루카 (February 1)
mystery/sci-fi/supernatural

Kind of into this because of Lee Da Hee.

“Ji Oh, who rarely reveals his emotions to others, has a special power and a secret but doesn't know who he really is. He is chased by mysterious figures while he tries to find answers to numerous questions that surround him. Gu Reum is a detective whose parents disappeared when she was a young child.”

-Cliffhanger / 지리산 (N/A)
thriller/mystery

I think this one is going to be really cool, if it had a supernatural tag it would remind me of an episode of The X-Files. It is attached to iQiyi.

“The mystery drama is about park rangers who work to rescue people at Mount Jiri. Jun Ji Hyun will play Seo Yi Kang, the top ranger who knows everything about navigating Mount Jiri National Park.”

-Eat, Love, Die / 링크: 먹고 사랑하라, 죽이게 (August 28)
mystery/romance/fantasy

I know! I actually put a romance on the list!

“A fantasy mystery drama about a man and woman who share the same emotional state.”

-Mouse / 마우스 (February)
action/suspense/thriller/mystery/crime

Crazed psychopath serial killer!

“This drama is about a justice-seeking rookie police officer named Jung Ba Reum. The story follows Jung Ba Reum as he comes face to face with a crazed psychopath serial killer whose ruthless murders have thrown the entire nation into chaos. Then, after surviving his encounter with this psychopath, Jung Ba Reum's life begins to change completely.”

-The One Day Destruction Entered the Front Door of My House / 어느 날 우리 집 현관으로 멸망이 들어왔다 (May 3)
romance/fantasy/supernatural

“The main character is known as “Ruin,” or “Kim Sa Ram.” He was born between the dark and the light: when he breathes, countries disappear; where he walks, the seasons collapse; when he smiles, a life is extinguished. All he has to do is exist for something to fall into ruin.”

OCN:

-Dark Hole / 다크홀 (April 3)
action/thriller/mystery

I really like Lee Joon Hyuk, and it’s an OCN. This is also the second drama on this list that made me think of The X-Files, so I’m choosing to believe this one is actually about aliens and nobody is going to convince me otherwise and kill my dream because it CLEARLY IS.

“A group of survivors who have to fight for their lives against mutants that are created when humans breathe mysterious dark smoke from a sinkhole.”

-Island 1&2 / 아일랜드 (N/A)
mystery/fantasy/supernatural

I combined the two season since they both were announced at the same time. Hopeful that this is going to be good considering the storyline will be written knowing that there will be another season happening.

“Won Mi-Ho is the only child of a father who runs the Daehan Group. She is arrogant and selfish, but she also looks sad. One day, she makes big trouble. Because of this, her father banishes her to Jeju Island. She is assigned to work there as a high school teacher. She teaches ethics. Meanwhile, Won Mi-Ho gets involved in a case related to ghosts. The ghosts have sought to get rid of the human world.”

-Times / 타임즈 (February 20)
thriller/crime/fantasy/political

The plot seems interesting enough that the normal political tag isn’t off-putting. Also it has Lee Joo Young.

“A time warping political mystery drama that tells the story of Seo Jung In, who becomes connected to reporter Lee Jin Woo from five years in the past through a phone call.”

-Voice 4 / 보이스 4 (June)

I haven’t watched Voice yet - I know - but this is the perfect time to have an all out binge of all the seasons. Here’s hoping I like it enough during the first three to like a fourth. I feel like this is the type of drama that’s good on multi-season setup…right?

“Popular detective Moo Jin Hyuk who is filled with guilt for his wife’s death, works with professional voice profiler Kang Kwon Joo, whose father is killed, to solve a different crime, chasing for the serial killer responsible for the deaths of their family members.” (synopsis for season one)

Netflix:

-Hellbound / 지옥 (N/A)
suspense/mystery/horror/supernatural

Not gonna lie, this one is listed as six episodes and that kind of scares me, but it has a good cast attached to it.

“People hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, a death angel appears in front of them and kills them.”

-Bloody Finger / 블러디 핑거 (N/A)
suspense/thriller/crime

Based on American Psycho. Kim Soo Hyun.

“An interior designer who is a sociopath with also dissociative identity disorder.”

-The Silent Sea / 고요의 바다 (N/A)
thriller/mystery/horror/sci-fi

I’ve been waiting on this one since it was announced and it just keeps getting pushed back.

“Set in the future, when the planet suffers from a lack of water and food caused by desertification. Yoon Jae is a soldier for the space agency. He is selected for a team, including Ji An, to travel to the moon. Their mission is to retrieve a mysterious sample from an abandoned research station.”

-Hospital Playlist 2 / 슬기로운 의사 생활 2 (April)
friendship/life/medical

Favorite drama of 2020, just hoping that the second season is just as good.

“A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that are seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are long time friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.”

-Busted 3 / 범인은 바로 너! 3 (January 22)
variety

It’s just so much fun.

“With old faces back on the team, the detectives investigate a series of bewildering cases that seem to be linked to a shady organization.”

-All of Us Are Dead / 지금 우리 학교는
suspense/horror/zombies/youth

Zombies. High school.

“All of Us Are Dead is about a group of high school students who are faced with an extreme crisis situation when they become trapped in their school, while a zombie virus spreads like a wildfire.”

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