LIST: 10 K-dramas to watch this April 2023
It’s officially summer in the Philippines! With the humid weather and scorching heat of the sun, most of us would rather stay indoors and look for something interesting to watch in the catalogs of our go-to streaming sites.
The good news is there is a number of good K-dramas coming out this month. From comfort romantic comedies to thrillers with a promising premise, PhilSTAR L!fe is sharing ten highly anticipated K-dramas that are set to premiere this April.
Decoy Pt. 2
After his short but remarkable performance in the star-studded series Big Bet, Heo Sung Tae (Squid Game) plays the main villain in the ongoing series Decoy (a.k.a. Bait in other territories). In the second half of the series, detective Gu Do-han (Jang Keun Suk) reunites with reporter Cheon Na-yeon (Lee Elijah) to reopen a 17-year-old case that involves scammer No Sang-cheon (Heo Sung Tae) along with a number of murders.
Paper Moon
Status: Streaming on April 10 on Genie TV, ENA, and TVING
Starring: Kim Seo-hyung, Yoo Sun, Lee Chun-hee, Seo Young-hee, and Yoon Bora
What happens when an unhappy housewife trapped in a boring marriage decides to work in a bank to do "thrilling" things—like embezzling money from VIPs and getting involved in a series of troubles? This upcoming drama is based on a Japanese novel by Mitsuyo Kakuta and honestly, we’re intrigued by what Yoo Yi-hwa (Kim Seo-hyung) will do in her predicament.
Bo-ra! Deborah
Status: Streaming on April 12 on ENA and Prime Video
Starring: Yop In-na, Joo Sang-wook, and Yoon Hyun-min
It's time for a romance comedy set in the world of publishing! Writer, social media influencer, and dating coach Yeon Bo-ra (pen name: Deborah, played by Yoo In-na) is known for being an expert in the dating field. The irony is her own love life is not as successful. One day, she meets a publishing planner named Lee Soo-hyuk (played by Yoon Hyun-min), who isn’t really fond of her, and Han Sang-hin (played by Joo Sang-wook), a well-known CEO of a publishing house with attachment issues. Who will our dear Deborah fall in love with?
Stealer: The Treasure Keeper
This upcoming action comedy stars Joo Won as Skunk, a thief who steals cultural assets in different establishments. Because of his notoriety, a special group organized called Karma is determined to capture him.
Queen Maker
This 12-episode political drama stars Kim Hee-ae as Hwang Do-hee, a former member of the strategic planning office of a conglomerate (Eunsung Group). She eventually teams up with human rights lawyer Oh Seung-sook (played by Moon So-ri), who has been known as the “rhino of justice” by the masses. If you need a dose of women empowerment, Queen Maker will surely give you a dose of motivation. The good part is all episodes will be shown at once!
Doctor Cha Jung Sook
Beloved superstar Uhm Jung-hwa is back in making K-dramas by playing the title role in Doctor Cha Jung Sook. This dramedy is about a housewife, who, after staying home for twenty years, becomes a first-year medical resident. It seems like this show will encourage the viewers to pursue their dreams no matter what.
Family: The Unbreakable Bond
If you’re an OG Koreanovela fan, you might’ve shipped the partnership of Jang Hyuk and Jang Nara at some point. The two first worked 21 years ago in The Success Story of a Bright Girl—one of the first K-dramas shown on Philippine television—and reunited in the 2014 series You Are My Destiny. They were last paired in the MBC TV movie Old Goodbye in the same year.
This time, the two team up on a spy romance comedy where Jang Hyuk plays the role of Kwon Do-hoon, an agent who disguises himself as an employee of a trading company, while his wife Kang Yu Ra (Jang Nara), who exudes a cheerful persona, turns out to be hiding something. Intrigued yet?
Queen of Masks
Four friends get involved in a murder. Three of them connive and put the blame on the fourth one, who's forced to leave the country. She returns ten years later and decides to reveal what happened that night.
The Good Bad Mother
If you’re looking for a touching family drama, The Good Bad Mother might just be worth a good cry. A single mother raises her son in a strict way so he could have a better future. Her son ends up working as a respected prosecutor, but their relationship is strained. It will all change when the son meets an accident and reverts back to his 7-year-old self due to amnesia.
Romantic Season 3
The well-loved medical drama is back with another season! Genius doctor Kim Sa-bu (Han Suk-kyu) will once again serve the Dolham Hospital with majority of the Season 2 cast members reprising their roles.
Which of the K-dramas mentioned above are you most excited about? Beat the summer heat and stay at home with our new K-loves!
