Picture: Lee Junho, IU, and Squid Game
So far, 2024 has been another fantastic year for K-dramas, and there’s still plenty more to come! 2025 is already shaping up to be another phenomenal year of new K-dramas on Netflix, and below, we’ll discuss which titles we think are the most anticipated K-dramas coming to Netflix next year.
The list below omits All of Us Are Dead because the production was pushed back to 2025.
Cashero (Season 1)
We would argue that Cashero is tied with When Life Gives You Tangerines for the most anticipated K-drama coming to Netflix in 2025. It is primarily thanks to the casting of 2PM’s Junho, who has amassed a huge fan following through his work as an idol and actor. Junho 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 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 Go Bum (right) with the scripts of When Life Gives You Tangerines – Netflix.
Thanks to the casting of IU and Park Go Bum, When Life Gives You Tangerines is tied with Cashero for the most anticipated K-drama 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 Go Bum.
IU live in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: EDAM Entertainment
Park Go Bum 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 Go Bum had to put his career on hold for a brief period. His return to acting came in the film Wonderland, and he will star in the upcoming JTBC drama Good Boy in late 2024. However, fans can’t wait to see him share a screen with IU.
Picture: Park Go Bum 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.
The Plot
Plot details are still under wraps, so for now, we have to settle for the character descriptions:
“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: Squid Game – Netflix
The second season of Squid Game has yet to be released on Netflix. However, considering that the third season will be the finale of Netflix’s most successful Original, it must be on the list of most anticipated for 2025.
Until the second season arrives, we won’t know who lives, who dies, and which characters will be present for the grand finale. For all we know, Lee Jung Jae’s character, Seong Gi Hoon, could be killed!
We’re incredibly intrigued to see if Squid Game can retain its audience from the first season and once again amass billions of viewing hours worldwide.
The Plot
We won’t know the plot details for the third season until the second season has been released on Netflix!
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 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.”
What K-dramas are you looking forward to watching on Netflix most in 2025? Let us know in the comments below!
