Next on Omona's to-watch list: upcoming Kdramas in February 2022
Kdrama January might have felt like a packed month for crime and medical drama lovers, but empty for the romcom, fantasy and slice of life affecionados among us! So what does February hold in store? In this post I'll go over Kdramas airing in February.
Opinions are mine and should be taken lightly as they are just my first impressions. Other thoughts are welcomed!
Previous posts: Kdramas in January
I marked trailers with English subtitles with an asterisk (*)
Click to viewTwenty Five Twenty One*
Release date: February 12 on TvN/Netflix
Runtime: Saturday & Sunday
Cast: Kim Tae-Ri, Nam Joo-Hyuk, Bona, Choi Hyun-Wook, Lee Joo-Myoung
Plot: "Twenty-Five, Twenty-One" tells a love story between Na Hee-Do (Kim Tae-Ri) and Baek Yi-Jin (Nam Joo-Hyuk). Na Hee-Do is a member of her high school fencing team. Due to the South Korean financial crisis, the high school fencing team gets disbanded. Getting through all the difficulties, she becomes a member of the sabre fencing national team. The South Korean financial crisis also causes Baek Yi-Jin’s father's business to go bankrupt. This leads to a life change for Baek Yi-Jin, from living the life of a wealthy person to a poor person. While studying, he works part-time jobs like delivery newspapers. Later, he becomes a sports reporter for a broadcasting network.
Will I watch? YES! I am looking forward to see these leads acting together (I loved Nam Joo-Hyuk in his early Kdrama classics Weightlifting Fairy and Surplus Princess and Kim Tae-Ri in the movies Little Forest and The Handmaiden) and I hope the setting of this drama will give an extra layer to the relationship between the leads.
Forecasting Love And Weather*
Release date: February 12 on JTBC/Netflix
Runtime:Saturday & Sunday
Cast: Park Min-Young, Song Kang, Yoon Park, Yura
Plot: A story depicting love and work lives of employees at the Korea Meteorological Administration. Jin Ha-Kyung and Lee Shi-Woo are two people employed there.
Will I watch? When will OP ever watch a Song Kang Kdrama? Despite his hype and Park Min-Young being the queen of Kdrama romcoms, the teaser does not grab my interest at all!
Thirty Nine*
Release date: February 16 on JTBC/TVING
Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday
Cast: Son Ye-Jin, Jeon Mi-Do, Kim Ji-Hyun
Plot: A story of three female friends who are 39-years-old. Cha Mi-Jo (Son Ye-Jin) was born and raised by wealthy parents. She is now 39-years-old and works as a dermatologist at her own clinic in Gangnam, Seoul. Jung Chan-Young (Jeon Mi-Do) is one of Cha Mi-Jo's close female friends. She works as an acting coach.
Will I watch? Oh I love dramas centering female friendship and with these actresses?! I think I will...
Grid*
Release date: February 16, Disney+
Runtime: n/a
Cast: Lee Si-Young, Seo Kang-Joon, Kim Sung-Kyun, Kim A-Joong, Kim Moo-Yul
Plot: In 1997, a mysterious ghost (Lee Si-Young) saved humankind and then disappeared. The mysterious ghost appears again 24 years later and helps a serial killer's (Kim Sung-Kyun) escape. Kim Sae-Ha (Seo Kang-Joon), Jung Sae-Byeok (Kim A-Joong) and Song Eo-Jin (Kim Moo-Yul) pursue the ghost for different reasons.
Will I watch? A dark Kdrama with ghosts? Never. But it could be promising for those who like the genre!
I haven't done my best yet
Release date: February 18, TVING
Runtime: Friday
Cast: Park Hae-Joon, Kim Kap-Soo, Park Jung-Yeon, Park Ji-Young
Plot: Nam Geum-Pil (Park Hae-Joon) is a man in his 40's and he lives with his father and daughter. Out of the blue, he decides to quit his job. He receives criticism from his family, but he doesn't care. He freeloads from his friend when he wants to drink alcohol. Meanwhile, Nam Geum-Pil becomes aware of a male neighbor who looks like an unemployed man, but he actually makes a lot of money as a webcomic writer. Nam Geum-Pil then decides to become a comic writer.
Will I watch? The cynic in me says that I don't have to watch a Kdrama to find men in existential crises, the optimist in me says that this drama has the potential to be heartwarming.
Business Proposal*
Release date: February 21 2022 on SBS/Netflix
Runtime: Monday & Tuesday
Cast: Kim Se-Jeong, Ahn Hyo-Seop, Kim Min-Kyu, Seol In-A
Plot: Shin Ha-Ri (Kim Se-Jeong) is a single woman and works for a company. She has a male friend and she has held a crush on him for a long time, but she learns that her friend has a girlfriend. Shin Ha-Ri feels sad and decides to meet her friend Jin Young-Seo, who is a daughter of a chaebol family. Jin Young-Seo then asks Shin Ha-Ri to take her place in a blind date and even offers some money for her time. Shin Ha-Ri accepts her friend's offer. She goes out on the blind date as Jin Young-Seo, while having the intention to get rejected by her date. When she sees her blind date, Shin Ha-Ri is dumbfounded. Her blind date is Kang Tae-Mu (Ahn Hyo-Seop). He is the CEO of the company where she works.
Kang Tae-Mu is the CEO of a company that his grandfather founded. One day, his grandfather informed him of an upcoming blind date that he set up for him. Kang Tae-Mu is a workaholic and he is annoyed that his grandfather sets up blind dates for him. He decides to marry the next woman whom he meets at a blind date, so he won't be disturbed from his work anymore. That woman is Shin Ha-Ri, but pretending to be Jin Young-Seo.
On the following day, Shin Ha-Ri receives a phone call from Kang Tae-Mu. He asks her to marry him.
Will I watch? This is Se-Jeong's return to Dramaland after the Uncanny Counter, so even though the plot reminds me of fanfiction or a better version of The Secret Life of My Secretary, I'm kind of intrigued. Might wait for reviews by others.
Kill Heel
Release date: February 23, TVN
Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday
Cast: Kim Ha-Neul, Lee Hye-Young, Kim Sung-Ryoung
Plot: A story of the endless desires and struggles of 3 women at UNI Home Shopping. Woo Hyun (Kim Ha-Neul) works as the host of home shopping show. Her record as a shopping show host is neither good or bad. She aspires to become the top shopping show host, but she experiences a fall into a bottomless pit. This leads her to change. Ki Mo-Lan (Lee Hye-Young) is the vice-president of UNI Home Shopping. She started her career as a regular employee and worked her way up to her executive position. Her success story is legendary to other people. She doesn't allow mistakes and she doesn't show what she thinks, but she has charisma. Bae Ok-Sun (Kim Sung-Ryoung) is a top host at UNI Home Shopping. She was born into a high class family. She is generous to others and she is respected by employees at her company, but what she really thinks is veiled.
Will I watch? This drama falls in the line of powerful, cut-throat women in competition with each other it seems, and I still haven't made up my mind about this genre - it does not immediately appeal to me. However, dramas like these often offer a great stage for powerhouse actresses to show off their chops, which could make it worthwhile to watch!
Juvenile Justice*
Release date: February 25 on Netflix (Thought this would start in January, but now confirmed for Feb!)
Cast: Kim Hye Soo, Kim Moo Yul, Lee Sung Min, Lee Jung Eun
Plot: As crimes committed by minors get more violent and cruel, the offenders usually escape any serious types of punishment.Sim Eun-Seok (Kim Hye-Soo) is an elite judge with a personality that seems unfriendly to others. She hates juvenile criminals. Sim Eun-Seok gets assigned to a local juvenile court. There, she breaks custom and administers her own ways of punishing the offenders.
Will I watch? This drama promises to become more complicated than I thought now that I've watched the trailer (at The Swoon? The name of this channel for Netflix Kdrama is so inappropriately chosen). I think the drama is based around the discussion of whether young delinquents can learn from their past and through the Korean justice system, which if done thoughtfully, can be a worthwhile watch. This drama stars veteran actors who we know from Parasite, Misaeng and Hyena, so the acting will most likely be top-notch!
Sponsor
Release date: February 23, iHQ
Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday
Cast: Lee Ji-Hoon, Han Chae-Young, Ji E-Suu, Koo Ja-Sung
Plot: A story of four people who look for a sponsor to satisfy their desires. Lee Sun-Woo (Lee Ji-Hoon) works as a photographer and editor of a famous magazine. He has a warm smile and gentle disposition, but he experienced a painful past. Due to this, he badly wants to get revenge. Han Chae-Rin (Han Chae-Young) is the CEO of a cosmetics company. She has everything, including wealth and beauty. She is an ambitious woman, who gets whatever she wants. Park Da-Som (Ji E-Suu) is a rising star. She is ambitious and willing to do anything to attain success. She has a son that suffers from a rare disease and she tries to protect him. She is married to Hyun Seung-Hoon (Koo Ja-Sung). He wants to be a model, but he is frustrated by his harsh reality.
Will I watch? From the description (I could not find a proper teaser for this drama!), I still don't really understand what this drama will be about except that it will be dark! This drama was supposed to air in November but they pushed it back to February to create more 'buzz' around the drama... But where's the buzz?
Military Prosecutor Doberman
Release date: February 28, TVN
Runtime: Monday & Tuesday
Cast: Jo Bo-Ah, Ahn Bo-Hyun, Oh Yeon-Su, Kim Young-Min, Kim Woo-Seok
Plot:Do Bae-Man (Ahn Bo-Hyun) became a military prosecutor to find success and wealth. His job is just a means for him to find success and he looks forward to quitting his job as a military prosecutor. Cha Woo-In (Jo Bo-Ah) comes from a wealthy chaebol family and she works as rookie military prosecutor. She is confident and does not fear powerful people. She has excellent investigation skills for someone her age. Cha Woo-In also became a military prosecutor to seek revenge. Do Bae-Man & Cha Woo-In begin to work together as they break down evils in the military. During this time, Do Bae-Man grows into a real military prosecutor.
Will I watch? It is interesting to see more Kdramas taking on corruption and institutional problems in the military without actually critiquing the existence of the military in the first place (see: D.P.), so I'm curious how this drama will represent the military. The title of this drama though 😬
Kdramas that started airing in January that I missed in my January post
Rookie Cops
Release date: January 26, Disney+
Runtime: Wednesday
Cast: Kang Daniel, Chae Soo-Bin
Plot: Wi Seung-Hyun (Kang Daniel) is a freshman at the police university and ranks at the top of his class. He is full of justice. Ko Eun-Kang (Chae Soo-Bin) is also a freshman at the police university. She entered the police university, because of a person she likes.
Will I watch? A lot of us are screaming for a cute college setting Kdrama and Disney+ gives us Policy Academy. Make of that what you will. This is Kang Daniel's acting debut, which was met by mixed reviews from what I've seen.
Source: Drama info by AsianWiki 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 | Video teasers (all via Youtube): Sejeong Quotes, Netflix 1, The Swoon 1, 2 JTBC Drama 1, ZapZee Official 1, 2, ShowKim 1, TVN Drama 1, 2,
Omona, which of these dramas will you be picking up? Which (old/new) kdramas were you watching in January - any recommendations? Also, if you can come up with a cute name for this round up post I would be eternally grateful.