2024 was a phenomenal year for new K-dramas on Netflix. Recently, Netflix announced its 2025 release slate for its Korean titles, confirming when dozens of new titles will be landing on the streaming service. With K-dramas fans ravenous to see their favorite stars on screen, we’ll be discussing below which K-dramas we think are the most anticipated to be released on Netflix in 2025.
Here are our picks for the most anticipated K-dramas on Netflix in 2025:
Cashero (Season 1)
Saving the best until the last? Netflix may think so. Eager K-drama fans will be waiting all year for the release of Cashero as it is currently scheduled to land on the platform in Q4 2025, so the earliest the series will arrive in October.
Arguably, it’s Lee Junho that many look forward to seeing in action thanks to his popularity as a K-pop idol in the boy band 2 PM and his growing reputation as a fantastic actor, considering he is the first idol-turned-actor to ever receive the Best Actor award at the Korean PD Awards for his role in The Red Sleeve.
Picture: Junho performing at the fan concert “Before Midnight” in August 2022 – (JYP Entertainment)
That doesn’t diminish Junho’s fellow actors, Kim Hye Joon, Kim Byung Chul, and Kim Hyang Gi. Kim Hye Joon is a former SNL Korea cast member and earned tremendous recognition for her role as the Queen in Netflix’s Korean horror Kingdom. Veteran actor Kim Byung Chul has starred in dozens of titles, notably in Netflix shows such as All of Us Are Dead, Doctor Cha, and Mr. Sunshine. Meanwhile, actress Kim Hyang Gi has begun to amass her fan following thanks to her roles in dramas such as Secret Playlist, Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist, Salon De Nabi, and Moment at Eighteen.
Not to mention, Cashero was already popular thanks to its webtoon from author and artist Team Befar.
The Plot
Ordinary working man Kang Sang Woong is anything but thanks to his superhuman strength. However, his strength is dictated purely by the cash in his possession, so the richer Sang Woong is, the stronger he becomes. When lawyer Byeon Ho In discovers Sang Woon’s power, he suggests they team up to save the world and are joined by Bang Eun Mi, whose telekinetic power is dictated by the number of calories she eats!
When Life Gives You Tangerines (Season 1)
Picture: IU (left) and Park Bo Gum (right) in When Life Gives You Tangerines
Seeing the onscreen pairing of IU and Park Bo Gum makes When Life Gives You Tangerines one of the most anticipated K-drama releases on Netflix in 2025.
IU is currently one of the most famous artists in South Korea and has a huge fan following. However, she hasn’t starred in a K-drama series since 2019, when she starred in the lead role of Hotel Del Luna and the Netflix anthology Persona. Fans are excited to see her return as an actress for a K-drama series and can’t wait to share an on-screen romance with Park Bo Gum.
Picture: IU
Park Bo Gum is also a famous musician under THEBLACKLABEL’s management. His acting career has seen him star in multiple popular K-dramas, such as Reply 1988, Love in the Moonlight, and Record of Youth. His mandatory military service between August 2020 and April meant Park Bo Gum had to put his career on hold for a brief period. His return to acting came in the film Wonderland. However, fans can’t wait to see him share a screen with IU.
Picture: Park Bo Gum will star in JTBC’s upcoming K-drama series Good Boy
The series will also star Queenmaker actress Moon So Ri and The World of the Married actor Park Hae Joon, who will both play the middle-aged versions of the characters IU and Park Go Bum portray. Fans won’t have to wait long for the K-drama as it’s the first on this list to land on Netflix in 2025, with a release date of March 7th, 2025.
The Plot
The character descriptions is still our best understanding of the plot of the K-drama:
“Ae Soon is rebellious but gets nervous every time she rebels. She isn’t well off but is always shining and full of positivity. She dreams of becoming a poet, although she is unable to attend school, and she is a bold character who doesn’t hide any emotions.
Gwan Shik is an extremely diligent and quiet character. Romance isn’t a strength for him, however, and he doesn’t know how to act if Ae Soon cries or laughs, but he is a silent warrior who only loves Ae Soon from the very beginning and pours his all into loving her.”
Squid Game (Season 3)
Picture: Lee Jung Jae as Seong Gi Hun
Squid Game returned to Netflix with an emphatic second season, posting huge numbers upon its return and perfectly setting up for a dramatic finale on June 27th, 2025.
Will Seong Gi Hoon find success in taking down the Squid Games once and for all, or is he destined for failure? We can’t wait to find out in Squid Game season 3.
The Plot
After his failed rebellion inside the Squid Games, Seong Gi Hun is now at the mercy of the Frontman. With Gi Hun apprehended, the games are set to continue for a final and bloody finale.
Mercy for None (Season 1)
Based on the popular webtoon Plaza Wars, we’re super excited to see Netflix’s new action-crime thriller, Mercy for None, in action. Some of the best and often criminally underrated thrillers on Netflix have come from South Korea, and the first name that springs to mind was the 2021 series My Name.
Picture: Mercy for None is the adaptation of the incredibly stylized webtoon Plaza Wars
So Ji Sub, Ahn Kil Kang, Lee Bum Soo, and Gong Myung lead the cast. Mercy for None will be the first Netflix Original directed by So Ji Sub. His career spans almost thirty years, and he’s starred in great dramas such as The Master’s Sun, Oh My Venus, Terius Behind Me, and more. He’s also the perfect actor to play Gijun.
Ahn Kil Kang has yet to star in a Netflix Original, but the veteran actor is an exciting and welcome addition to the cast. The multi-award-wining actor earned his awards starring in dramas such as Queen Seondeok and Bad Thief, Good Thief.
Mercy for None will also be the first leading role on Netflix for actor Lee Bum Soo, who has only ever held two guest roles on Netflix in the 2020 drama Private Lives and the 2022 film 20th Century Girl.
Lastly, fans will be excited to see Kim Dong Hyun, a former member of the hybrid actor/idol K-pop group 5urprise. The actor recently returned to acting after spending two years doing mandatory military service between December 2021 and June 2023. All three of his upcoming K-dramas shows, Mercy for None, Way Back Love, and Extremely Sensible Alcoholic, will premiere in Q2 2025.
The Plot:
“Gijun is the strongest fighter of the criminal underworld and ended the power struggle between the warring gangs of Seoul. But when Gijun’s brother, Giseok, rises in the ranks of an enemy gang, he leaves his life behind to avoid a confrontation with his brother. Fifteen years later, Giseok is murdered just days before his retirement. Gijun returns on a one-man mission of vengeance as he seeks those responsible for the death of his brother.”
As You Stood By
Picture: Lee You Mi in As You Stood By – Netflix
Everyone should be keeping their eye on As You Stood By, as it is the Korean adaptation of the smash-hit Japanese novel Naomi and Kanako. The director behind the popular SBS and Disney+/Hulu series Revenant is behind the exciting adaptation, with the incredible cast consisting of Jeon So Nee, Lee You Mi, Jang Sung Jo, and Lee Moo Saeng.
Jeon So Nee has become popular with Netflix subscribers thanks to her role as Jung Soo In in Parasyte: The Grey. However, 2025 will be a busy year for the actress on Netflix as she’ll be starring in Melo Movie and As You Stood By. Meanwhile, Lee You Mi has starred in some of the biggest K-dramas on Netflix thanks to her appearances in Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead, and Strong Girl Namsoon. The pair are likely to be an iconic on-screen duo.
Picture:
The leading men opposite are also Netflix alumni, with Jang Seung Jo starring in The Frog, Chocolate and The Good Detective, and Lee Moo Saeng starring in The Glory, Thirty-Nine, Cleaning Up, The Silent Sea, Chocolate, and Designated Survivor: 60 Days. We’ll need to be patient for the release of As You Stood By, as it’ll be coming to Netflix in Q4 2025.
The Plot
Two childhood hands, one the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her violent husband, are driven to the brink, resulting in the murder of the husband and burying his body. Are better days ahead? Or will their crime catch up with them?
Genie, Make a Wish (Season 1)
We’re all excited to see Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin back in action nine years after the pair shared an on-screen romance in the k-drama series Uncontrollably Fond.
The K-drama also reunites director and screenwriter pair Kim Eun Sook and Ahn Gil Ho, with the former responsible for writing Netflix’s smash hit series The Glory and the latter who directed the amazing K-drama. Kim Eun Sook was also responsible for writing popular K-dramas The King: Eternal Monarch, Mr. Sunshine, The Heirs, and Goblin. Considering the track record of her previous work, Genie, Make a Wish has the potential to be another giant hit for Netflix.
As mentioned before, the series will be led by Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin. The massively popular and talented Bae Suzy has been acting since 2011, and in between acting, modeling, and her music career, she recently squeezed in time to write her screenplay. Netflix subscribers should be familiar with Bae Suzy for her roles in Doona and Start-Up!
Picture: Bae Suzy in Genie, Make a Wish
As mentioned, Kim Woo Bin acted alongside Bae Suzy in the 2016 K-drama Uncontrollably Fond, where the pair were praised highly for their chemistry. Sadly, just as his career was taking off, a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer led to Kim Woo Bin’s break from acting while he recovered from radiation therapy. Kim Woo Bin returned to acting in the 2022 drama Our Blues and was also the lead in Netflix’s Black Knight. Suffice to say, his fans are desperate to see him on screen once more. Fans will have to be patient, the K-drama lands on Netflix in Q4 2025.
Picture: Kim Woo Bin in Genie Make a Wish
The Plot:
“Genie is a spirit that comes out of the lamp. He is full of emotional excess and goes back and forth between different emotions. Ga Young is someone who lacks emotion. She happens to call Genie out of his lamp and is granted three wishes to make.”
What K-dramas are you looking forward to watching on Netflix most in 2025? Let us know in the comments below!
Rating: TV-MA
