ENTERTAINMENT

12 exciting K-dramas to watch this weekend

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2025

SA LIVE NEWS

The Korean drama industry is already serving up an impressive list of must-watch shows in 2025.

K-dramas continue to evolve with their storytelling coupled with high production quality and star-studded casts.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a newcomer to the genre, this year’s lineup offers something for everyone.

Here are 12 exciting Korean dramas you should add to your watchlist this weekend.

1. Resident Playbook

A spinoff of the much-loved Hospital Playlist, Resident Playbook dives into the intense world of first-year OB-GYN residents at Yulje Medical Centre’s Jongno branch. Expect emotional highs and lows, ethical dilemmas, medical emergencies, and powerful friendship bonds as four young doctors navigate life and medicine during a national birth rate crisis.

2. Heavenly Ever After

This unique romantic fantasy explores love beyond life itself. Lee Hae-sook reunites with her husband Ko Nak-joon in the afterlife, but she retains her elderly appearance while he returns as his youthful self. Through dark humour, gentle emotion, and whimsical afterlife storytelling, this series promises a touching look at enduring love.

3. Tastefully Yours

A drama served with culinary flair, Tastefully Yours pairs an elite restaurateur, Han Beom-woo, with a soulful chef, Mo Yeon-joo. As they clash and collaborate in a countryside eatery, sparks fly and palates awaken. Expect mouthwatering food, familial rivalry, and a generous helping of heartwarming moments.

4. The Haunted Palace

A gripping fantasy period drama, The Haunted Palace brings ghosts, possession, and palace politics into one riveting tale. Palace official Yoon Gap, possessed by an ancient Imoogi spirit, crosses paths with shaman descendant Yeo Ri and reformist King Lee Sun as they work to stop the vengeful ghosts haunting the royal grounds.

5. When Life Gives You Tangerines

IU and Park Bo-gum headline this charming romantic drama about resilience, healing, and unexpected love. Set against the backdrop of Jeju Island’s tangerine farms, the story follows Ae Soon and Gwen Sik as they rediscover themselves and fall in love in the most unexpected ways.

6. The Potato Lab

Science meets slapstick in The Potato Lab, a hilarious story about eccentric scientists researching the humble potato. Blending friendship, romance, and wild experiments, the drama features Kang Tae-oh, Lee Sun-bin, and Lee Hak-joo in roles that are equal parts quirky and heartwarming.

7. Melo Movie

Melo Movie brings together Park Bo-young, Choi Woo-shik, and Kim Jae-wook in a melancholic yet romantic drama about 30-somethings navigating dreams, grief, and love. Through interconnected stories, it paints a raw and touching portrait of modern life and emotional resilience.

8. My Dearest Nemesis

Based on a popular webtoon, this workplace rom-com follows Baek Su-jeong and Ban Ju-yeon, who discover they were rival gamers in their youth. Now co-workers, they’re caught in a hilarious game of office politics, unresolved tension, and possibly rekindled romance.

9. When the Stars Gossip

Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin star in this space station romantic comedy. He’s a secretive OB-GYN on a mysterious mission, and she’s an elite space scientist. With zero gravity, isolation, and comedic chemistry, When the Stars Gossip promises a love story that’s literally out of this world.

10. Study Group

Study Group is anything but ordinary. Hwang Min-hyun stars as Yun Ga Min, a high schooler who may look like a model student but hides serious fighting skills. When his study group faces danger, Yun takes a stand, leading to action-packed scenes and surprising character growth.

11. Motel California

This small-town romance follows Ji Kang-hee, who returns to her rural hometown and the motel she grew up in. With her first love Cheon Yeon-soo back in her life, she must confront past whispers and rediscover herself. Lee Se-young and Na In-woo lead this quietly emotional drama.

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