Next on Omona's to-watch list: upcoming Kdramas in February 2022

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

Kdrama January might have felt like a packed month for crime and medical drama lovers, but empty for the romcom, fantasy and slice of life affecionados among us! So what does February hold in store? In this post I'll go over Kdramas airing in February.

Opinions are mine and should be taken lightly as they are just my first impressions. Other thoughts are welcomed!

Previous posts: Kdramas in January

I marked trailers with English subtitles with an asterisk (*)

Twenty Five Twenty One*

Release date: February 12 on TvN/Netflix

Runtime: Saturday & Sunday

Cast: Kim Tae-Ri, Nam Joo-Hyuk, Bona, Choi Hyun-Wook, Lee Joo-Myoung

Plot: "Twenty-Five, Twenty-One" tells a love story between Na Hee-Do (Kim Tae-Ri) and Baek Yi-Jin (Nam Joo-Hyuk). Na Hee-Do is a member of her high school fencing team. Due to the South Korean financial crisis, the high school fencing team gets disbanded. Getting through all the difficulties, she becomes a member of the sabre fencing national team. The South Korean financial crisis also causes Baek Yi-Jin’s father's business to go bankrupt. This leads to a life change for Baek Yi-Jin, from living the life of a wealthy person to a poor person. While studying, he works part-time jobs like delivery newspapers. Later, he becomes a sports reporter for a broadcasting network.
Will I watch? YES! I am looking forward to see these leads acting together (I loved Nam Joo-Hyuk in his early Kdrama classics Weightlifting Fairy and Surplus Princess and Kim Tae-Ri in the movies Little Forest and The Handmaiden) and I hope the setting of this drama will give an extra layer to the relationship between the leads.

Forecasting Love And Weather*

Release date: February 12 on JTBC/Netflix

Runtime:Saturday & Sunday

Cast: Park Min-Young, Song Kang, Yoon Park, Yura

Plot: A story depicting love and work lives of employees at the Korea Meteorological Administration. Jin Ha-Kyung and Lee Shi-Woo are two people employed there.

Will I watch? When will OP ever watch a Song Kang Kdrama? Despite his hype and Park Min-Young being the queen of Kdrama romcoms, the teaser does not grab my interest at all!

Thirty Nine*

Release date: February 16 on JTBC/TVING

Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday

Cast: Son Ye-Jin, Jeon Mi-Do, Kim Ji-Hyun

Plot: A story of three female friends who are 39-years-old. Cha Mi-Jo (Son Ye-Jin) was born and raised by wealthy parents. She is now 39-years-old and works as a dermatologist at her own clinic in Gangnam, Seoul. Jung Chan-Young (Jeon Mi-Do) is one of Cha Mi-Jo's close female friends. She works as an acting coach.

Will I watch? Oh I love dramas centering female friendship and with these actresses?! I think I will...

Grid*
Release date: February 16, Disney+

Runtime: n/a

Cast: Lee Si-Young, Seo Kang-Joon, Kim Sung-Kyun, Kim A-Joong, Kim Moo-Yul
Plot: In 1997, a mysterious ghost (Lee Si-Young) saved humankind and then disappeared. The mysterious ghost appears again 24 years later and helps a serial killer's (Kim Sung-Kyun) escape. Kim Sae-Ha (Seo Kang-Joon), Jung Sae-Byeok (Kim A-Joong) and Song Eo-Jin (Kim Moo-Yul) pursue the ghost for different reasons.

Will I watch? A dark Kdrama with ghosts? Never. But it could be promising for those who like the genre!

I haven't done my best yet

Release date: February 18, TVING

Runtime: Friday

Cast: Park Hae-Joon, Kim Kap-Soo, Park Jung-Yeon, Park Ji-Young

Plot: Nam Geum-Pil (Park Hae-Joon) is a man in his 40's and he lives with his father and daughter. Out of the blue, he decides to quit his job. He receives criticism from his family, but he doesn't care. He freeloads from his friend when he wants to drink alcohol. Meanwhile, Nam Geum-Pil becomes aware of a male neighbor who looks like an unemployed man, but he actually makes a lot of money as a webcomic writer. Nam Geum-Pil then decides to become a comic writer.
Will I watch? The cynic in me says that I don't have to watch a Kdrama to find men in existential crises, the optimist in me says that this drama has the potential to be heartwarming.

Business Proposal*

Release date: February 21 2022 on SBS/Netflix

Runtime: Monday & Tuesday

Cast: Kim Se-Jeong, Ahn Hyo-Seop, Kim Min-Kyu, Seol In-A

Plot: Shin Ha-Ri (Kim Se-Jeong) is a single woman and works for a company. She has a male friend and she has held a crush on him for a long time, but she learns that her friend has a girlfriend. Shin Ha-Ri feels sad and decides to meet her friend Jin Young-Seo, who is a daughter of a chaebol family. Jin Young-Seo then asks Shin Ha-Ri to take her place in a blind date and even offers some money for her time. Shin Ha-Ri accepts her friend's offer. She goes out on the blind date as Jin Young-Seo, while having the intention to get rejected by her date. When she sees her blind date, Shin Ha-Ri is dumbfounded. Her blind date is Kang Tae-Mu (Ahn Hyo-Seop). He is the CEO of the company where she works.

Kang Tae-Mu is the CEO of a company that his grandfather founded. One day, his grandfather informed him of an upcoming blind date that he set up for him. Kang Tae-Mu is a workaholic and he is annoyed that his grandfather sets up blind dates for him. He decides to marry the next woman whom he meets at a blind date, so he won't be disturbed from his work anymore. That woman is Shin Ha-Ri, but pretending to be Jin Young-Seo.

On the following day, Shin Ha-Ri receives a phone call from Kang Tae-Mu. He asks her to marry him.

Will I watch? This is Se-Jeong's return to Dramaland after the Uncanny Counter, so even though the plot reminds me of fanfiction or a better version of The Secret Life of My Secretary, I'm kind of intrigued. Might wait for reviews by others.

Kill Heel

Release date: February 23, TVN

Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday

Cast: Kim Ha-Neul, Lee Hye-Young, Kim Sung-Ryoung

Plot: A story of the endless desires and struggles of 3 women at UNI Home Shopping. Woo Hyun (Kim Ha-Neul) works as the host of home shopping show. Her record as a shopping show host is neither good or bad. She aspires to become the top shopping show host, but she experiences a fall into a bottomless pit. This leads her to change. Ki Mo-Lan (Lee Hye-Young) is the vice-president of UNI Home Shopping. She started her career as a regular employee and worked her way up to her executive position. Her success story is legendary to other people. She doesn't allow mistakes and she doesn't show what she thinks, but she has charisma. Bae Ok-Sun (Kim Sung-Ryoung) is a top host at UNI Home Shopping. She was born into a high class family. She is generous to others and she is respected by employees at her company, but what she really thinks is veiled.

Will I watch? This drama falls in the line of powerful, cut-throat women in competition with each other it seems, and I still haven't made up my mind about this genre - it does not immediately appeal to me. However, dramas like these often offer a great stage for powerhouse actresses to show off their chops, which could make it worthwhile to watch!

Juvenile Justice*

Release date: February 25 on Netflix (Thought this would start in January, but now confirmed for Feb!)

Cast: Kim Hye Soo, Kim Moo Yul, Lee Sung Min, Lee Jung Eun

Plot: As crimes committed by minors get more violent and cruel, the offenders usually escape any serious types of punishment.Sim Eun-Seok (Kim Hye-Soo) is an elite judge with a personality that seems unfriendly to others. She hates juvenile criminals. Sim Eun-Seok gets assigned to a local juvenile court. There, she breaks custom and administers her own ways of punishing the offenders.

Will I watch? This drama promises to become more complicated than I thought now that I've watched the trailer (at The Swoon? The name of this channel for Netflix Kdrama is so inappropriately chosen). I think the drama is based around the discussion of whether young delinquents can learn from their past and through the Korean justice system, which if done thoughtfully, can be a worthwhile watch. This drama stars veteran actors who we know from Parasite, Misaeng and Hyena, so the acting will most likely be top-notch!

Sponsor

Release date: February 23, iHQ

Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday

Cast: Lee Ji-Hoon, Han Chae-Young, Ji E-Suu, Koo Ja-Sung

Plot: A story of four people who look for a sponsor to satisfy their desires. Lee Sun-Woo (Lee Ji-Hoon) works as a photographer and editor of a famous magazine. He has a warm smile and gentle disposition, but he experienced a painful past. Due to this, he badly wants to get revenge. Han Chae-Rin (Han Chae-Young) is the CEO of a cosmetics company. She has everything, including wealth and beauty. She is an ambitious woman, who gets whatever she wants. Park Da-Som (Ji E-Suu) is a rising star. She is ambitious and willing to do anything to attain success. She has a son that suffers from a rare disease and she tries to protect him. She is married to Hyun Seung-Hoon (Koo Ja-Sung). He wants to be a model, but he is frustrated by his harsh reality.

Will I watch? From the description (I could not find a proper teaser for this drama!), I still don't really understand what this drama will be about except that it will be dark! This drama was supposed to air in November but they pushed it back to February to create more 'buzz' around the drama... But where's the buzz?

Military Prosecutor Doberman

Release date: February 28, TVN

Runtime: Monday & Tuesday

Cast: Jo Bo-Ah, Ahn Bo-Hyun, Oh Yeon-Su, Kim Young-Min, Kim Woo-Seok

Plot:Do Bae-Man (Ahn Bo-Hyun) became a military prosecutor to find success and wealth. His job is just a means for him to find success and he looks forward to quitting his job as a military prosecutor. Cha Woo-In (Jo Bo-Ah) comes from a wealthy chaebol family and she works as rookie military prosecutor. She is confident and does not fear powerful people. She has excellent investigation skills for someone her age. Cha Woo-In also became a military prosecutor to seek revenge. Do Bae-Man & Cha Woo-In begin to work together as they break down evils in the military. During this time, Do Bae-Man grows into a real military prosecutor.
Will I watch? It is interesting to see more Kdramas taking on corruption and institutional problems in the military without actually critiquing the existence of the military in the first place (see: D.P.), so I'm curious how this drama will represent the military. The title of this drama though 😬

Kdramas that started airing in January that I missed in my January post

Rookie Cops
Release date: January 26, Disney+

Runtime: Wednesday

Cast: Kang Daniel, Chae Soo-Bin

Plot: Wi Seung-Hyun (Kang Daniel) is a freshman at the police university and ranks at the top of his class. He is full of justice. Ko Eun-Kang (Chae Soo-Bin) is also a freshman at the police university. She entered the police university, because of a person she likes.

Will I watch? A lot of us are screaming for a cute college setting Kdrama and Disney+ gives us Policy Academy. Make of that what you will. This is Kang Daniel's acting debut, which was met by mixed reviews from what I've seen.

Source: Drama info by AsianWiki 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 | Video teasers (all via Youtube): Sejeong Quotes, Netflix 1, The Swoon 1, 2 JTBC Drama 1, ZapZee Official 1, 2, ShowKim 1, TVN Drama 1, 2,

Omona, which of these dramas will you be picking up? Which (old/new) kdramas were you watching in January - any recommendations? Also, if you can come up with a cute name for this round up post I would be eternally grateful.

Comments

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

OOHH I love dramas about women and their friendship with each other (like Tokyo Tarareba Musume) so I'll prob checkout Thirty Nince

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

i lied and ended up starting thirty-nine and I really like it so far, I love son ye-jin so much, OP will you be making a discussion post for it??

[wannabeinsicily.livejournal.com]

I'm still on sick leave and stuck at home so i have lots of free time and i NEED feel good dramas, so i'll def be watching business proposal, 39 and forecasting love and weather cos that's all i can handle atm

[wannabeinsicily.livejournal.com]

Btw, thank you op for these posts, they're very well organised, informative and useful!

[daynr.livejournal.com]

I'm finally watching King's Affection and will try Law School next. Once these air I will try to the ones that sound good and omona say deliver.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

let me know how you liked them!

[infj23.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy Law School! It took a moment for me to connect to it but the payoff was there!

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

I’m wary of Juvenile Justice. I’m worried it’ll go the route of punishment without rehabilitation and write off people forever once they commit misdeeds in their youth.
after watching the trailer, i'm also a bit wary of this! when i first saw the premise i thought they would go the 'she's very tough but learns that rehabilitation can work' route. but for some reason i'm hopeful that they'll be able to display the moral debate well, following e.g. law school

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Definitely watching 25, Forecasting, and Grid . The others I’ll wait for reviews.

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

I like Nam Joo Hyuk, and also I like fencing, so 25-21 looks like fun.

Also I like ladies and friendships, so 39 looks like fun as well.

I like me some Ahn Hyeoseop, so I'll give Business Proposal a shot.

And I am going to try Forecasting Love just because I have a meteorologist friend and also I want to see if I will finally like Song Kang as the leading man in a romance drama (so far the answer has been NO).

But...I still need to finish Hometown Cha Cha Cha lol.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

me after making this post:


anyway!! i'm currently watching through the darkness, which is very good and i would recommend if you're into (psychological) crime dramas in a historical (i mean...90s-2000s) setting. and last post someone recommended me to watch yumi's cells and i love it soooooooooooooooooo much it feels like such a fresh romcom! ahn bohyun and kim goeun are both so cute?? very into it

i finally finished run on and i really liked the mature, realistic relationships the drama portrayed.

i'm a bit overwhelmed with the amount of dramas that appeal to me in this list. i think i will definitely check out 25 21 & business proposal, save 39 for a later date maybe unless i suddenly feel the urge to watch it and maybe choose military prosecutor doberman over juvenile justice to watch? but both of these dramas can move the wrong way if not done well but considering the networks i'm cautiously optimistic
the forecast drama does just NOT sound appealing to me lol so unless omona loves it i'll reconsider

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

GREAT POST!

39 seems the best for me. I have such a soft spot for woman friendships.

[infj23.livejournal.com]

OP, thank you for doing these posts! I would not have discovered Through the Darkness if not for last month’s post.

I think I’m looking most forward to Thirty-Nine and Kill Heel. Next month’s releases are not as interesting to me as this month’s but perhaps there will be a hidden gem!

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

nice to see you in the discussion posts for through the darkness too :) i'm still hoping for fridge expert to make his return!!

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

i feel bad for not getting any of these references but still thank you for suggesting💕

[lechuza-yoya.livejournal.com]

thank you, OP forr your hard work!! for sure I will watch thirty-nine!

[burnbook31.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in 39! I wish I have that kind of friendship tho ;A;

[reader17.livejournal.com]

Out of the list above the drama's I am most interested in are,

Twenty Five, Twenty one
Forecasting love and weather
Thirty Nine
Business Proposal
Juvenile Justice - Maybe
Rookie cops - If I can find it. It seems Disney Plus in the US doesn't have it or it is titled something different and I didn't see it.

I know all of these are starting in February but it could be awhile before I get to them I am still in the process of trying to finish the other 10 drama's I am watching :) But I have been known to be impatient and start others before finishing the one's currently watching which is Divorce Lawyer in love, Secret Royal Inspector & Joy, Let me be your knight, School 2021, Law School, Smile Dong Hae (which will take a long time since it has over 100 episodes), A little thing called first love, and still airing User Not found, Bulgasal, Immortal Souls, and another long daily drama Love Twist.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

oh rookie cops is not available in the US? hmmmmm if i google it it comes up for me? but i don't live in the us.

i feel you on the many dramas while also wanting to watch some older ones too.. i sometimes don't get around to watching dramas from my own country or us/uk/european ones i want to watch 😭

i loved law school! are you liking the drama?

[infj23.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know where to watch Tracer with decent subs?

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

juhli shared this twt account with me: https://twitter.com/TaxPayerSubTeam

they're fansubbing the drama! i haven't watched yet though

[imahurricane.livejournal.com]

i'm gonna be tuning in for twenty one twenty five! i watched rookie cops last weekend and i enjoyed it. the beginning of eps 1 had me fooled tho cause it's pretty dark considering the trailer is cute and light-hearted. it also touches upon pretty serious issue in korea (power of abuse in the police, molka). kang daniel did quite well for first time acting.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

oooh that actually sounds pretty good!

[996677.livejournal.com]

oooohhhh i almost missed this post!! thank you op!

thirty-nine looks refreshing and fun, i'm excited to see it. i'm curious about sponsor, too. also i have a massive crush on lee si-young so i''ll probably also check grid out lol

[juhli.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the awesome post OP!!!
That Forecast drama looks sooo boring, i need a twist with office romances! Also the was they styled Son Kang here makes him look him even younger. I know PMY usually has good chemi with her costars, but the trailer gave me nothing.

Business Proposal sounds a bit similar to some of my favorite tropes fake relationship and then they fall in love/contract marriage/forced cohabitation so Im gonna check that one out. I liked Sejeong in the uncanny Counter drama, but that was 70% because of the character, so idk how ill like her in a sweet role. Hope the character has some spunk!

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

i know the forecast teaser looks sooooooo extremely boring!!! if someone posts discussion posts for the drama on omona i'm just going to lurk there lol the plot sounds so extremely flimsy!

what kind of other fake relationship/marriage contract dramas have you seen?

[kyungwons.livejournal.com]

thanks for the post op!!!

i want to watch a lot of these, i didn't watch anything in january? i started sell your haunted house because people recommended it in the best of 2021 post but its only okay? its charming enough at times but kind of repetitive and i'm on ep 13 of 16 and have been for like 2 weeks, i'm not not enjoying it but also if i never remembered to watch the last 3 eps i would be fine with it.

i'm in the mood for something light so february seems more promising for actually watching airing dramas. although most of these i'm planning to watch based on liking the cast and not the actual drama like forecasting love and weather, business proposal, and rookie cops. twenty five twenty one is the only one i have hope of being good lmao the rest i feel like i might drop at some point as the teasers havent grabbed me but hopefully at least one of them will prove me wrong.

grid i've been looking forward to as a skj fan and i like the genre so i have hopes for it. i'm not definitely planning to watch 39 but maybe i will when i inevitably drop one of the romance ones (lol) cause it does look charming and has a good cast.

honestly though lol @ myself suggesting i will be able to keep up with at least 5 dramas in a month when i havent had time to watch anything recently 😬maybe i'll make discussion posts to force myself to keep up with them.

[spikiegirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you OP for this great post ^^

I've just added Grid to my list (Seo Kang Joon... that's enough for me lol) and Military Prosecutor (I loved DP so I'm curious how they will deal with such a heavy subject as the military).
Of course I still plan on watching Juvenile Justice (even though that trailer doesn't look that appealing :( )
I need more info on Sponsor before deciding but this poster is pretty good, I like it.

I've just started Through the Darkness and it's so good, I love it :D

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

i know juvenile justice's teaser looked less appealing than i expected :(

i'm also curious about military prosecutor but hoping to get more of a military-critical drama (really focusing on systemic issues instead of just throwing out some rotten apples?)

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely post, OP! I used to watch so many dramas but have only watched 1-2 a year for the last few years and want to get back into it so thank you for compiling this!!

I really enjoyed the A Business Proposal webtoon but I'm not sure about the casting and I really don't like Kim Min Kyu and his character was my favorite in the webtoon :(. I'll probably check it out though.

Forecasting Love and Weather looks cute and I love an ensemble female friendship drama so I'll check out Thirty Nine.

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Yeah I don't think they really cast Taemu and Sunghoon very well :|

[myungung.livejournal.com]

none of them are wow-ing me so far, but thanks for the roundup OP! I'm glad Sejeong has more projects, though her shows are hit or miss for me.

I kinda wanna watch the Kim Tae Ri Nam Joo Hyuk show, but do I believe them as young teenagers hmm

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

WAIT AHHHHHHHHH I TOTALLY MISSED A BUSINESS PROPOSAL!!!!!!!!!!

I read the webtoon as it was released and really liked it so I'm def gonna watch this hahahaha even tho Ahn Hyo-Seop as Taemu is a bit hmmmmmm