Song Joong-ki, Park Bo-gum, and Jeon Ji-hyun appear, and from space to transcendent romance...What's the K-drama that's going to be on the small screen in 2025?

Jan 01, 2025

Jeon Ji-hyun, Song Joong-ki, Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin. Photo =Sports Chosun DB

The Year of the Blue Snake 2025 is the year of the content clash. Spectacular masterpieces to be presented by OTT platforms and broadcasters are ready to welcome viewers.

Disney+ has launched a massive volume offensive, signaling a K-content craze, and Netflix is preparing to counterattack with new films that go beyond successful ones. In addition, a large lineup of tvN and JTBC will be added, and 2025 will be recorded as the golden age of content. Competition between OTT platforms and broadcasters is expected to be hotter than ever.

The lineup of actors is also dazzling. Top actors representing Korea, including Kang Dong-won, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Woo-bin, Park Bo-gum, Song Joong-ki, Suzy, and Jeon Ji-hyun, will appear. From Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin's space romance, Song Joong-ki's emotional romance, and Park Bo-gum's youth rhetoric, works that will satisfy various tastes will capture viewers.

Actors Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin in the drama

Ask the Stars" Photo =Sports Chosun DB

First, tvN celebrates the new year with a spectacular lineup. tvN, which drew great attention last year with 'Bounce on Sunjae's back' and 'Queen of Tears', is attracting viewers' expectations with various genres of works this year as well.

In the meantime, 'Ask the Stars', which will premiere on the 4th, is tvN's ambitious work and will introduce a new genre with a unique space office product.

With a production cost of 50 billion won and a five-year preparation period, 『Ask the Stars" tells a special story of perfectionist astronaut Eve (Kong Hyo-jin) and space tourist obstetrician dinosaur (Lee Min-ho) against the backdrop of the space station. The acting skills and fresh background settings of the two actors are receiving high attention and are attracting attention in that they are genre challenges that tvN attempts.

At the same time, various new works will be released one after another. There are works of different charms, such as the courtroom starring Lee Jong-seok and Moon Ga-young 'Seochodong', which depicts Lee Joon-ho's growth period as a young president 'Taepung Corporation', and Park Bo-young's challenge to play the first two roles. tvN plans to provide viewers with a wide range of options with its colorful lineup and further solidify its position as a content powerhouse.

Disney+ is also targeting the global market with a strong lineup in 2025. The first runner will be the investigative report drama 'Trigger' starring Kim Hye-soo. The work, which depicts the reporters' intense coverage, will be released twice a week, and Kim Hye-soo's charismatic performance and unique characters are expected.

Then 'Polaris', in which Jeon Ji-hyun and Kang Dong-won worked together as the lead characters, is ready to launch. The story of diplomat Moon Joo (Jeon Ji-hyun) and unidentified special agent San-ho (Kang Dong-won) chasing the truth of a huge incident has improved the completeness of writer Jeong Sang-kyung and director Kim Hee-won. In particular, Jun Ji-hyun's return is drawing attention for the first time in four years, and 'Polaris' is expected to be a strategic work that will strengthen Disney+'s position in the global OTT market.

In addition, works boasting ultra-luxury casting, such as period drama 'Made in Korea' starring Hyun Bin and Jung Woo-sung, 'Knockoff' starring Kim Soo-hyun and Jo Bo-ah, and mystery drama 'Nine Puzzle' featuring Kim Da-mi and Son Seok-gu, are set to be released. Disney+'s 2025 lineup, which features various genres and colorful actors, is truly highly anticipated.

Photo=Sports Chosun DB

Netflix is ready to capture viewers with a strong lineup in 2025. The finale of the 'Squid Game' series, 'Squid Game3', which caused worldwide syndromes. This work will conclude the story centered on the fierce confrontation between Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun, and will mark the end of the series.

The new film of Kim Eun-sook and Lee Byung-hun is also expected to be produced by Netflix. It is a romantic comedy about the story of Gini (Kim Woo-bin), a spirit who woke up for the first time in a thousand years, and Ga-young (Suzy), a human who lost her emotions, and the chemistry and unique setting of the two actors are drawing attention.

The medical drama 'Severe Trauma Center', starring Joo Ji-hoon, will then provide tension by realistically depicting the story of a genius trauma surgeon leading a severe trauma team. In addition, the Jeju romance drama 『Fully Believed』, in which IU and Park Bo-gum collaborated, is set in the 1950s and warms the adventures and love of the two main characters with the flow of the season.

In addition, new works such as 'Gwangjang' and 'The Wonderful' with various genres and colorful casting will attract viewers' attention.

Next, Tving continues his experimental attempts with the romance work 'Chunhwa Love Story' and starring Kim Yoo-jung and Kim Young-dae 'Dear X' in which Princess Hwari (Go A-ra)' comes out of the world to choose her husband herself and enjoys a free relationship. Dear X is a story about a desperate love story between actor Baek A-jin (Kim Yoo-jung), who rose from the bottom to the top of his life, and Yoon Joon-seo (Kim Young-dae), who chose hell to protect him.

Coupang Play challenges different genres through the zombie apocalypse romance starring Park Jung-min and Jisoo. The story of soldier Jae-yoon (Park Jung-min) and his girlfriend Young-joo (Ji-soo) traveling to find each other across zombie-occupied downtown Seoul is raising expectations with the addition of the meeting between popular actor Park Jung-min and Black Pink Ji-soo, and the director Yoon Sung-hyun, who received attention for the films Watchmen' and Time to Hunt.

Photo=Sports Chosun DB

Han Ji-min and Lee Jun-hyuk draw a relationship between 'Hate' (from hate to love) in the SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'My Perfect Secretary' which will premiere on the 3rd. Han Ji-min will appear as the CEO of a competent headhunting company, Ji Yoon, and Lee Jun-hyuk as the perfect secretary Eun-ho in every way, presenting 'Super Close Romance'.

MBC will present the drama `The Grand Prince's Wife in the 21st Century' starring Byun Woo-suk and IU in the second half of the year. Byun Woo-suk, who rose to global stardom with his song "Bounce Back With Sunjae", will show off his charm by transforming into a modern-day royal family, Prince Ian. The acting chemistry between IU and Byun Woo-seok, who reunited after nine years, is highly anticipated.

JTBC is preparing a new work 'Beautiful Than Heaven' directed by Kim Seok-yoon, who directed 'Blindingly' and 'My Liberation Diary'. This work depicts the transcendent romance of the present life when you meet your loved ones again in the background of the afterlife. It is expected that Kim Hye-ja and Son Seok-gu's acting chemistry will add to the impression.

Photo=Sports Chosun DB

In addition, JTBC will present Song Joong-ki's return to romance dramas 'My Youth'. Song Joong-ki plays an affectionate story of reuniting with his first love after 10 years with Chun Woo-hee to find hope.

In director Shim Na-yeon's new film 'Good Boy', which directed 'Monster' and 'Bad Mother', Park Bo-gum will decompose into a boxer-turned-police, adding to the vitality of the play with his unique solid action performance. 'Good Boy' plans to tell a comical and serious story of young people fighting for justice.

With the boundary between OTT and broadcasters breaking down and works that combine both work and popularity appearing one after another, the content market in 2025 is expected to be filled with more fierce competition and abundant entertainment than ever.

mj.cho@sportschosun.com