In 2025, numerous works are set to captivate viewers. From buzzworthy productions that will uphold the pride of home viewing to well-made OTT series, the lineup transcends genres and worldviews, already making hearts race.
The year 2024, the Year of the Wood Dragon, has been a bountiful year for dramas like no other. There were many hits, including MBC’s ‘Flowers Blooming at Night’, tvN’s ‘Marry My Husband’, ‘Queen of Tears’, ‘Jumping with Seonjae’, ‘Retirement’, SBS’s ‘Good Partner’, ‘Judge from Hell’, and ‘Hot Blooded Priest 2’, which all met with viewers in the living room and signaled a green light for global success. OTT works like Netflix’s ‘In the Woods Where No One Is’, Disney+’s ‘Uncle Sam-sik’, ‘Killer’s Shopping Mall’, and Tving’s ‘Good or Bad Dong-jae’ also garnered attention both domestically and internationally.
With high production quality and attractive storytelling, the status of K-dramas is rising, and we have gathered must-watch anticipated works for 2025.
‘Squid Game’, which gained worldwide popularity and is estimated to have brought in over 1 trillion won in economic revenue for Netflix, will be released in two parts: Season 2 and Season 3. On the 26th, Season 2 will be released with 7 episodes, and Season 3 will be released sometime in 2025.
‘Squid Game’ tells the story of people participating in a survival game with a prize of 456 billion won, risking their lives to become the winner. Season 2 will depict the fierce confrontation between Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), who returns to participate in the game seeking revenge, and the Frontman (played by Lee Byung-hun), as the real game begins again.
Season 1 of ‘Squid Game’ was the first work to achieve the number one viewing ranking in 94 countries where Netflix is available. Although the exact revenue figures have not been disclosed, the industry estimates that it generated over 1 trillion won.
When Season 1 was released in 2021, Bloomberg reported that “Netflix earned $891 million (approximately 1.279 trillion won) from ‘Squid Game’.” Additionally, it became the first non-English Asian work to win 6 awards, including Best Director and Best Actor, at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
It has also been nominated for Best Television Series at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, which will be held on January 5, 2025, garnering hot interest even before its release.
SBS drama ‘Taxi Driver’, which first aired in 2021, is returning for Season 3.
Based on the webtoon of the same name, ‘Taxi Driver’ is a private revenge agency drama where the taxi company Rainbow Transportation and taxi driver Kim Do-gi (played by Lee Je-hoon) take revenge on behalf of wronged victims. Season 1 recorded a peak viewership rating of 16% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide), and Season 2 achieved a peak rating of 21%, showcasing its successful trajectory. Notably, Season 2 was the only mini-series aired on the three major terrestrial networks in 2023 to surpass a 20% viewership rating, proving its popularity and buzz.
In Season 3, Lee Je-hoon will reprise his role as taxi driver Kim Do-gi, a former special forces officer. Additionally, it is reported that Pyo Ye-jin and Kim Eui-sung are also considering appearances. While the specific broadcast date has not been set, it is expected to be scheduled for the second half of 2025.
Director Shin Won-ho’s new work ‘Someday, a Wise Resident’s Life’ is also expected to be available in 2025.
‘Someday, a Wise Resident’s Life’ is a spin-off drama of the beloved ‘Hospital Playlist’, depicting the real hospital life and friendships of university hospital professors and residents. Next-generation stars such as Go Yoon-jung, Shin Chae-kyung, Kang Yoo-seok, and Han Ye-ji will appear. As a new work by director Shin Won-ho, known for directing the ‘Reply’ series and the ‘Hospital Playlist’ series, it has garnered significant interest even before its release.
‘Someday, a Wise Resident’s Life’ was originally scheduled to air in May as a follow-up to ‘Queen of Tears’. However, in February, residents collectively resigned in protest against the government’s decision to increase the medical school quota by 2,000, leading to an unprecedented medical crisis. This resulted in negative public sentiment towards the medical community, which also affected the drama. Although pre-production was completed, the drama has been postponed due to the significant impact of public sentiment on its success.
In this context, recent reports have emerged that tvN is discussing a summer 2025 season schedule. However, tvN stated, “The schedule is undecided,” and “We will inform you as soon as it is confirmed,” leaving it uncertain whether it will be available in 2025.
The next project of IU (Lee Ji-eun) and Park Bo-gum, the Netflix original ‘Bokssak Sogassida’, is coming soon.
Produced as a total of 16 episodes, ‘Bokssak Sogassida’ means “Thank you for your hard work” in Jeju dialect. It tells the adventurous life of ‘a rebellious girl’ Ae-soon, born in the 1950s in Jeju, and ‘a foolish iron’ Kwan-sik.
This work is a collaboration between writer Im Sang-chun, who has produced consecutive hits like ‘When the Camellia Blooms’ and ‘Fight for My Way’, and director Kim Won-seok, who has been loved by fans for works like ‘Misaeng’, ‘Signal’, and ‘My Mister’.
In particular, IU, who has created a drama success myth with every project she has participated in, from ‘Dream High’ to ‘The Best Lee Soon-shin’, ‘Producer’, ‘Moon Lovers’, ‘My Mister’, and ‘Hotel Del Luna’, is expected to draw attention. Additionally, this drama marks Park Bo-gum’s return to the screen after four years since he enlisted in the military just before the airing of the tvN drama ‘Record of Youth’ in 2020.
‘Bokssak Sogassida’ has recently completed filming and is currently in post-production. As it will be released on Netflix, translations and dubbing in multiple languages, including English, have reportedly begun.
Another new project for IU is on the way. She has confirmed her appearance in ‘21st Century Great Lady’ (tentative title), which is set to air on MBC in the second half of 2025, and has begun preparations for filming.
‘21st Century Great Lady’ is a story of a woman who is a wealthy chaebol in a constitutional monarchy in the 21st century but is frustrated because her status is merely ‘commoner’, and a sad man who is the son of a king but can possess nothing, depicting a romance that breaks class barriers. This work won an excellence award in the MBC drama script contest in 2022.
This project is particularly noteworthy as it is the next work chosen by Byun Woo-seok, who received great love in the recently concluded tvN drama ‘Jumping with Seonjae’. In the drama, Byun Woo-seok played the role of Ryu Seon-jae, the vocalist of the band Eclipse, and gained immense popularity, rising to stardom.
Byun Woo-seok, who has been in the spotlight for holding an Asia fan meeting tour in 8 cities and appearing in 20 advertisements, is expected to continue his stable popularity while being recognized for his acting skills and buzz in this work.
Renowned for their acting skills, Seol Kyung-gu and Park Eun-bin are set to showcase their acting prowess. This will be through the Disney+ original ‘Hyperknife’.
Scheduled for release in March 2025, ‘Hyperknife’ is a medical crime thriller that depicts the confrontation and growth of two geniuses as the protagonist, a doctor and a murderer, reunites with the mentor who brought him to ruin.
Seol Kyung-gu plays Choi Deok-hee, a neurosurgery professor who appears to be an outstanding doctor, having served as the president of the World Neuro-Oncology Society, but harbors the instincts of a murderer akin to Hannibal Lecter. Park Eun-bin plays Jeong Se-ok, a genius who entered medical school as the top student at the age of 17 but was stripped of her medical license due to a certain incident involving her mentor, Choi Deok-hee.
The trailer released last month at the ‘Disney Content Showcase 2024’ featured the crazed gaze of Jeong Se-ok and the mysterious look of Choi Deok-hee, hinting at secrets. The short video showcased overwhelming quality with its captivating allure, breathless pacing, and intricate composition, raising expectations.
At that time, director Kim Jung-hyun expressed confidence, stating, “You will be surprised by the faces and performances of Park Eun-bin and Seol Kyung-gu. I can confidently say that we will show faces and performances you have never seen before.”
SBS’s ‘Mantis’, directed by the master of mystery thrillers, Byun Young-joo, is set to meet viewers in July 2025.
‘Mantis’ tells the story of a police officer’s son who collaborates with his mother, whom he has hated all his life, to catch the perpetrator of a crime imitating the actions of a female serial killer nicknamed ‘Mantis’, who brutally murdered five men 20 years ago. This work is a remake of a French drama of the same name.
Director Byun Young-joo made a mark in the mystery thriller genre with the film ‘The Chaser’, which attracted 2.43 million viewers upon its release in 2012. He also directed the recently concluded MBC drama ‘Snow White Must Die - Black Out’, receiving praise for its ‘well-made’ quality and reaffirming his presence.
Additionally, the mother-son chemistry between Go Hyun-jung, known for her dense acting, and Jang Dong-yoon, who has shown impressive performances in Netflix’s ‘Morning Comes to Psychiatric Ward’ and ENA’s ‘Flowers Bloom in the Sand’, is also highly anticipated.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
