New Year, New Shows

Hello there! If you are looking for some K-Dramas to watch this holiday season with your loved ones, look no further. Here are some new shows that will be great to kickstart your new year and let you have something to look forward to once 2021 rolls in.  

She Would Never Know

Also literally translated to Sunbae, Don’t Put On That Lipstick, She Would Never Know is an upcoming romance K-Drama adapted from a web novel of the same name, slated for debut on January 18.

The show tells a complex office love story of two co-workers of the marketing team for a cosmetics brand, Clare. Yoon Songah (Won Jinah) is a perfectionist and a highly passionate senior marketer for the cosmetics brand as she dreams of launching her own brand someday. Chae Hyunseung (SF9’s Rowoon) is a charismatic and straightforward junior marketer who is able to get on everyone’s good side. Songah treats Hyunseung simply as a younger colleague, but Hyunseung seems to be harboring other emotions for her. Accompanying them is Lee Jaeshin (Lee Hyunwook), who is the marketing team lead, and Lee Hyojoo (Lee Joobin), who happens to be one of the heirs to Clare. 

She Would Never Know features a noona-dongsaeng (older woman and younger male) dynamic and if you like this trope, then be sure to make some time for this K-Drama. It is likely that the series will also potentially cover the perks and downsides of dating in the workplace, which is quite frowned upon by certain societies and individuals. Both Rowoon (Extraordinary You) and Won Jinah (Melting Me Softly) have really been on an upward trend with their previous works, and here’s to hoping that She Would Never Know will be serving up some heart-fluttering moments!

Premieres on January 18, every Monday and Tuesday.
Streaming source(s): To Be Confirmed 

A Love So Beautiful

A Love So Beautiful is a remake of the super-hit Chinese Drama of the same name. With high buzz also comes a seemingly larger void that the Korean version has to fill to meet the expectations of fans of both the Chinese version and the novel.

Bubbly and clumsy high school student Shin Solyi (So Juyeon) has been crushing on her next-door childhood friend Cha Heon (WEi’s Kim Yohan). Cha Heon is very awkward and emotionally inept despite his good brains and looks. Woo Daesung (Yeo Hoehyun) is a transfer student who excels in swimming. He develops feelings for Solyi but decides to keep his feelings to himself to stay by her side. The drama will revolve around the teens’ navigation of their emotions and portray the excitement and purity of first love. 

This digital drama is produced and distributed by KakaoTV in South Korea. It has 24 episodes and each episode is around 20 minutes long like their other productions.

This K-Drama will be Kim Yohan’s first foray into acting as the main lead and we wouldn’t be surprised if he nails his character given how multi-talented he is. Visually, both Yohan and Juyeon pass as high school students pretty well, and high school dramas are not usually very demanding in terms of abilities. The cinematography is top-notch and going by the other works put out by KakaoTV, viewers can be sure to be treated to a quality heart-fluttering teen drama. If the plot doesn’t stray too far from the source material and if this version is anything like the Chinese one, then it is definitely worth checking this out.

Premieres on December 28, every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Streaming source(s): Netflix 

Handmade Love

Handmade Love is a romance fantasy drama that revolves around Wooben (Lee Soohyuk) being banished to the human world for stealing the clothes of the absolute ruler. In the human world, he heads Handmade Love, a tailor shop. Despite his ice-cold and mysterious exterior, Wooben has an important mission and goal to accomplish. Using his tailor-made clothes, he attempts to resolve human issues, heal their traumas, and allow them to love again. Alongside him is Joey (Park Seungji), his personal assistant, and Han Sarang (Lee Suji), one of his previous customers. Together, this unlikely group works to help heal the wounds of their guests.

Some background into Handmade Love is that it is co-organized and produced by fashion company Hansom and CJ E&M, and hence the focus on clothing apparel in the series. Technically, the whole drama is a whole PPL (product placement) repurposed into an entertainment format, but the plot is pretty creative and overall more engaging than watching ads on clothing. While some viewers have commented that the dialogue feels a little flat, it is still permissible and understandable given the original purpose of this content. Despite this, the set looks absolutely extravagant and the production is rather decent such that it warrants a watch if you have some time to kill this holiday season. 

Handmade Love premiered on Put Your Handsome YouTube channel back on December 11, complete with English subtitles, and will reach its conclusion on January 5.

Streaming source(s): YouTube

Can I Step In?

Another web drama that could be worthy of your attention is definitely Can I Step In?, starring ONF and Hwang Boreum.

Baekho (ONF’s Wyatt) chose to stay at his home in South Korea when his family decided to relocate for his father’s job. He invites his other friends (ONF, duh) into his house and they have a blast living together. One day, his mother informs him that a family-friend named Alex (Hwang Boreum) will be moving in. Mistaking Alex to be a male, Baekho and his friends are taken aback when they realize she’s a girl, marking the start of their hilarious days where they have to learn how to live with each other. 

There’s not much to say about Can I Step In? at the moment, but it seems to be shaping up to be a safe and entertaining rom-com idol web series. Definitely not expecting it to be some award-winning series that is going to make waves outside the Hallyu fans circle, but who knows? Can I Step In? may turn out to be an entry point for new fans of ONF. 2020 and Road To Kingdom have done wonders for their career and we hope that this trend continues for the boys.

This series premiered on December 23 and episodes are uploaded every Wednesday and Thursday on INSSAOPPA G YouTube Channel.

Streaming source(s): YouTube