New K-Dramas to Watch this November

The lineup of K-Dramas this November may look less spectacular than previous months, but don’t be fooled—there could be some hidden gems. Read on if you don’t want to miss out on the intriguing K-Dramas airing in November! 

Penthouse: War in Life

To replace SBS’s Do You Like Brahms? is Penthouse: War in Life, which seems to be a female-centric, cutthroat high-society drama.  

Penthouse: War in Life is set in a 100-story high luxury penthouse in Gangnam. The central conflict revolves around three women who are of different standings in the penthouse who strive to become the “queen” of this penthouse. 

Shim Sooryeon (Lee Jiah) was born into wealth and is now an elegant woman of the upper class. She is the closest embodiment of the queen out of the three main characters. Her husband is Joo Dantae (Uhm Kijoon), who is equally successful in real estate and architecture. 

Although Chin Seojin (Kim Soyun) was also born with a golden spoon, she is highly arrogant. Ha Yooncheol (Yoon Jonghoon) is her husband, and he is the chief neurosurgeon of an upscale hospital for VIP patients. He is described as an ambitious man. 

Unlike the other two women introduced, Oh Yoonhee (Eugene) comes from a typical poor family. She is determined to carve out her place in high society to ensure a better life for her daughter. 

The teasers look extremely glamorous, and we reckon that a good amount of money has been sunk into the production and sets of the drama. One thing to note is how ruthless all the characters seem to be, setting up Penthouse: War in Life to be an intense and compelling watch. 

Furthermore, this seems to be Eugene’s first attempt to play a more vicious character, a break away from her usual demure Mary Sue setups of the primetime family dramas. Whether she can nail the role is something we have to see for ourselves, but she is likely to perform decently well given her amazing track record. Last but not least, the director and screenwriter worked on The Last Empress, and we can be sure that Penthouse: War in Life will definitely be full of suspenseful cliffhangers if it is anything like their previous hit. 

Premieres: October 26, Mondays and Tuesdays

Streaming source(s): Viki

Birthcare Center

Also known as Postnatal Care Center, Birthcare Center is tvN’s latest eight-part noir series about the stories of new mothers in the same birth care center who navigate motherhood together. 

Oh Hyunjin (Uhm Jiwon) is a high performing executive at the company she works at. She is also the youngest member of the board of executives. After delivering her baby, she realizes that she is not prepared for motherhood and everything that comes with it. She then enrolls in a postpartum care center and finds out that she is the oldest amongst all the other enrolled moms. To add to her embarrassment, she notices that everyone else seems to be experts when it comes to childrearing. With some time and interaction, Hyunjin slowly eases in with the other moms and becomes inspired by them.

Accompanying Hyunjin is Cho Eunjung (Park Hasun), the queen bee of the postpartum care center, who seems to have all control under her palms. She is calm and put-together, and everyone wants to get closer to Eunjung to learn her childcare tips. 

The drama is supposed to shed light on the intricacies of childbirth in a candid and unique way through different genres. Although described as noir, the teasers below lean more towards the comedic nature.

It’s a very niche-sounding plot but it has great potential to be the dark horse this November. Don’t be quick to dismiss Birthcare Center just because you are averse to motherhood or adulting for that matter. The teasers showcase a string of juxtapositions—contrasting grand classical music with ridiculous visual cues of mismatched heels and eating seaweed out of a teacup—resulting in a great comedic effect. Birthcare Center is also completely pre-produced and viewers can be assured of consistent quality throughout.

Uhm Jiwon’s and Park Hasun’s characters are stark opposites, and it is the first time that the two veterans are working alongside each other. Their yet-to-be-shown chemistry will be something viewers can look forward to going into this series. 

Premieres: November 2, Mondays and Tuesdays

Streaming source(s): Viki 

Live On

Starring a bunch of K-Pop idols, Live On is this month’s teenage drama series, serving up some refreshing and youthful vibes.  

Live On is set in fictional Seoyeon High School’s broadcasting club. Baek Horang (Jung Dabin), the school’s belle and social media influencer, joins the club for unknown motives. She comes off as condescending, believing herself to be above everyone else. The president of the broadcasting club is Go Euntaek (Hwang Minhyun), a cold and strict perfectionist. 

The other students include Do Woojae (Noh Jonghyun), who is close friends with Euntaek, sharing a commonality of placing logic and rationality above all else in all situations. Ji Sohyun (Yang Hyeji) is the deputy head of the broadcasting club and a high performing honor student with stellar grades. Kang Jaeyi (Yeonwoo) is Do Woojae’s affectionate girlfriend and Kim Yooshin (Byungchan) is described as a beagle-like, innocent guy. The K-Drama is likely to revolve around the simplicity of school life, interactions between the different personalities, and unexpected feelings and romance.

School and teen dramas are honestly done to death, but viewers just keep coming back for more. There’s just something alluring about high school and romanticizing the experience as a way to escape reality. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with loving school-life drama. In fact, some school-life dramas can be a great relaxing watch when executed well. Hopefully, Live On turns out to be such. 

Fans of NU’EST’s Minhyun, VICTON’s Byungchan, and MOMOLAND’s former member Yeonwoo should not miss this as we know how scarce content of our idols can be when they are not in their promotion cycle. Live On also happens to be Minhyun’s and Byungchan’s first main and recurring roles, and we have high hopes that they will do fine. Even if they don’t, well… at least their exceptional visuals will make it up for us viewers, right? 

Premieres: November 17, every Tuesdays

Streaming sources: Viki

City Couple’s Way of Love: My Lovable Camera Thief

Despite being a short-form 25-minute drama spanning 12 episodes by KakaoTV, the stars cast are prolific, household names—Ji Changwook, Kim Jiwon, and Kim Minseok. The drama was created with the possibility of multiple seasons. 

Park Chaewon (Ji Changwook) is an honest and enthusiastic architect who loves the city streets. Lee Eunoh (Kim Jiwon) is a freelance marketer who spontaneously decides to adopt a false identity in an unfamiliar place. One day, their paths cross and they develop feelings for each other, all while Eunoh pretends to be a fictional “Yoon Sunah.” Eunoh disappears, causing Chaewon to pick up the pieces after himself.

The promotional materials have not been made public yet, but there have been sightings of the two leads filming. Besides the impressive portfolios of the two leads, the producer of this series is Park Shinwoo, who worked on this summer’s hit series It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. Anticipation for this K-Drama is high and we are sure that it will be creating a bunch of conversations once it hits. 

Premieres: November 2020

Streaming source(s): To Be Confirmed

The Uncanny Counter

Based on a popular webtoon of the same name, The Uncanny Counter is OCN’s upcoming mystery thriller, starring Kim Sejeong, Jo Byeonggyu, Yu Junsang, and Yum Hyeran. It is also known as Amazing Rumor and is one of the most anticipated K-Dramas of 2020.

Demon hunters called Counters come to Earth disguised as employees at a noodle restaurant in order to capture evil spirits in pursuit of eternal life.

So Moon (Jo Byeonggyu) is the youngest member of the Counters, possessing quick wit and adaptability. He experienced a mysterious car accident in the past as a child and at present he is a central figure among the Counters.

Do Hana (Kim Sejeong) is the demon detector of the team—she is able to track the locations of demons and has the ability to read the memories of another being through touch. She works alongside So Moon to subdue the demons.

Ga Motak (Yu Junsang) is a Counter with incredible strength. He was a former police officer who lost his memory seven years ago after an accident. He is also So Moon’s mentor.

Chu Maeok (Yum Hyeran) is the chef at their noodle restaurant. She possesses healing abilities and acts as the emotional pillar of the group.

The first teaser is awfully short with most of the material taken from the webtoon itself. Despite this, The Uncanny Counter is a highly raved about webtoon with its own established following—it is no wonder why there is so much attention on the live adaptation. Like most webtoon adaptations, The Uncanny Counter risks displeasing the existing fans if they fail to capture the essence of the source material. 

The casting is solid and the stills released so far look promising, but it's way too early to make a fair judgement without any proper promotional videos. We will revisit The Uncanny Counter in the next issue when there is more to work with. 

Premieres: November 28, Saturdays and Sundays 

Streaming source(s): Netflix

Conclusion

There are other eye catching dramas slated to debut in November, but updates on them have been scarce. However, fret not, we will cover them in the next monthly article. Till then—have a good time bingeing K-Dramas!