K-drama May 2025: new titles not to be missed

This post is written by Simodreams, translated in English by Koreana of www.koreami.org. You can read the Italian version here: K-drama maggio 2025: i nuovi titoli da non perdere

The month of May brings with it a wave of emotions, intense stories, and interesting characters.

From music filled university campuses, broken dreams, and hidden loves, to kitchens where love takes shape, passing through psychological thrillers, emotional storms, fantasy worlds, historical dramas, and clandestine martial arts tournaments: the world of May’s K-dramas is a non-stop journey, richer and more surprising than ever.

Among the most anticipated titles is “Dear Hongrang”, starring Lee Jae-wook, beloved for his role in “Alchemy of Souls”, and Cho Bo-ah, famous for “Tale of the Nine-Tailed”. Alongside them, anticipation grows for “Our Unwritten Seoul”, the new tvN title starring GOT7 Park Jin-young.

Whether you’re looking for a romantic comedy to watch on the couch or an adrenaline-pumping thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat, you’ll surely find something to captivate you in this selection.

Spring of Youth

A musical coming-of-age story that follows the events of a former K-pop idol forced to live a new university life, where he will discover love, rivalry, and a passion for music.

Sa Gye (Ha Yoo-Joon), the charismatic singer and guitarist of the famous K-pop group The Crown, is suddenly expelled from the band following an incident and finds himself enrolled at Hanju University, a completely new environment for him.

Here he meets Kim Bom (Park Ji-Hu), a talented vocalist and keyboardist of the university group Tusagye.

Kim Bom had dreamed of studying in an Ivy League university in the United States, but after her mother’s death six years earlier, she abandoned that dream to dedicate herself to music. Together, Sa Gye and Kim Bom form a new band with other students: Seo Tae-Yang (Lee Seung-Hyub), a brilliant guitarist and medical student from a family of doctors, Kong Jin-Gu (Kim Sun-Min), and Bae Kyu-Ri (Seo Hye-Won).

As Sa Gye rediscovers his passion for music, a tension made of love, rivalry, and harmony arises among the three young protagonists.

Release Date: May 6, 2025
Genre: Music, Comedy, Romance, Youth
Starring: Ha Yoo-joon, Park Ji-hu, Lee Seung-hyub

Tastefully Yours

When two opposite worlds meet in the kitchen, something extraordinary can rise. “Tastefully Yours” is a romantic comedy set in the heart of South Korea, where food becomes the language of love and personal growth.

Han Beom-Woo (Kang Ha-Neul), heir to a large food company, runs a renowned fine dining restaurant in Seoul. Yet, paradoxically, taste doesn’t excite him at all. Mo Yeon-Joo (Go Min-Si), on the contrary, is a passionate chef obsessed with the perfect flavor. She runs a restaurant for just one table, without a sign, in a remote corner of the province.

Two opposite personalities, two visions of cooking that couldn’t be more different, yet fate leads them to manage a small restaurant together in the city of Jeonju.

Between recipes, clashes, and shared moments, the two begin a journey of personal transformation that will lead them to discover love where they least expected it.

Release Date: May 12, 2025
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Starring: Kang Ha-neul, Go Min-si

Second Shot At Love

Between past regrets and new personal challenges, “Second Shot At Love” tells the story of a strong woman who, forced to confront herself, unexpectedly rediscovers her first love. A drama about rebirth, broken relationships, and second chances, with a touch of sweet melancholy.

Han Geum-Joo (Sooyoung) is a brilliant mechanic with ten years of experience at one of South Korea’s top automotive companies. She loves her job and has an active social life, especially thanks to moments shared with colleagues over a drink. She considers herself a moderate drinker, until an unexpected diagnosis reveals an alcohol dependency. Determined to change, she decides to stop drinking.

Just at that delicate moment in her life, she meets Seo Ui-Joon (Gong Myung), her first love and high school friend. Once kind and considerate, he now seems cold and distant. After leaving his prestigious position as a doctor at a university hospital in Seoul, he has returned to his hometown and works as the director of the public health center. He hates alcohol and shows no understanding for Geum-Joo’s difficulties.

Their reunion, amidst misunderstandings and old wounds, will be an opportunity to face the past, discover how they’ve changed… and perhaps give themselves a second chance to truly love.

Release Date: May 12, 2025
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Starring: Sooyoung, Gong Myoung

Shark: The Storm

Sequel to the film “Shark: The Beginning” (2021), “Shark: The Storm” is an intense and adrenaline-fueled action K-drama that explores redemption, survival, and the inner struggle of a man marked by the past. A brutal and human journey into the world of clandestine martial arts.

Cha Woo-Sol (Kim Min-Suk), a former bully with a criminal past, has just been released from prison. Determined to change his life, he dedicates himself with discipline to training to become a mixed martial arts champion, trying to overcome the weight of his past and the stigma of his violent history.

But fate soon tests him: Hyun Woo-Yong (Lee Hyun-Wook), a mob boss experienced in combat, appears in his life. Head of an organization that runs a fierce illegal martial arts championship, Hyun Woo-Yong represents a ruthless threat.

To protect the people he cares about and stay true to his new path, Cha Woo-Sol will be forced to confront him in a no-holds-barred battle, where every choice can be fatal.

Release Date: May 15, 2025
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Starring: Kim Min-Suk, Lee Hyun-Wook

Dear Hongrang

Wrapped in an aura of mystery and intrigue, “Dear Hongrang” is a historical drama set in the late Joseon Dynasty. A captivating tale of lost identities, secrets, and forbidden feelings, where the truth hides behind familiar faces and broken memories.

Hong-Rang (Lee Jae-Wook), born into a wealthy family involved in the art trade, was destined to inherit the powerful merchant association led by his mother, the icy and influential Min Yeon-Ui (Uhm Ji-Won). But at the age of eight, he mysteriously disappears without a trace, leaving the family devastated.

His older stepsister, Jae-Yi (Cho Bo-Ah), with whom he had a deep bond, never stopped looking for him. Raised in a hostile environment with a cruel stepmother and an indifferent father, Jae-Yi faced difficult years after her brother’s disappearance.

Twelve years later, Hong-Rang suddenly reappears as a young man of twenty. But something isn’t right: he remembers nothing of his childhood and seems to hide a dark secret. Jae-Yi, torn between the blood tie and an unsettling attraction towards him, begins to doubt whether the man before her is truly her brother.

Amidst hidden truths, power games, and forbidden relationships, Hong Rang moves through a web of mystery, passion, and revenge, as each character desperately searches for their place in an unforgiving world.

Release Date: May 16, 2025
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Romance
Starring: Lee Jae-wook, Cho Bo-Ah

Nine Puzzles

“Nine Puzzles” is a compelling psychological thriller that mixes criminal investigation, unresolved trauma, and the search for truth. In a game of doubt, memory, and deduction, the past comes knocking, ready to reveal secrets buried for ten years.

One night, Yi-Na’s (Kim Da-Mi) beloved uncle—who was like a father, mother, and irreplaceable friend to her—is brutally murdered. Yi-Na, the sole witness to the crime, finds herself at the center of the investigation, but also at the center of suspicion: Han-Saem (Son Suk-Ku), the detective assigned to the case, is convinced she is the murderer.

Ten years later, Yi-Na has become a brilliant criminal profiler and has been working for six years in the analysis unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police. Gifted with extraordinary intuition, she is often the first to uncover the hidden motive behind a crime simply by observing the crime scene.

Fate brings her back into contact with Han-Saem, still convinced of her guilt. Forced to collaborate on a new case, the two find themselves digging into the past again, in an intricate mosaic made of nine missing pieces. But to reassemble the puzzle, they must confront not only the truth but also the wounds that time has never healed.

Release Date: May 21, 2025
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Police Procedural
Starring: Kim Da-mi, Son Suk-ku

Our Unwritten Seoul

A drama that intertwines identity, second chances, and unspoken truths against the backdrop of the vibrant Korean capital. Two identical but profoundly different twin sisters find themselves living each other’s lives, triggering a chain of events that will forever change their destiny.

Yoo Mi-Ji and Yoo Mi-Rae (both played by Park Bo-Young) are identical twin sisters in appearance, but opposites in everything else.

Yoo Mi-Ji, the younger one, is a former track and field prodigy who now leads a free and impulsive life.

Yoo Mi-Rae, conversely, is a perfectionist, always on the path to academic and professional excellence, currently employed at a public corporation.

For mysterious reasons, the two sisters decide to swap lives, initiating a dangerous charade. During this exchange, their certainties begin to waver, and emotions become increasingly complex.

Lee Ho-Su (Park Jin Young), a charming lawyer at one of the city’s largest law firms, hides a difficult past behind an apparent serenity. His controlled and meticulous existence is turned upside down by the encounter with the twins, which awakens buried feelings in him and forces him to confront his own truth.

In a game of mirrors between who one is and who one pretends to be, “Our Unwritten Seoul” explores the desire for redemption, identity, and love in all its forms.

Release Date: May 24, 2025
Genre: Romance, Life
Starring: Park Bo-young, Park Jin-young (member of GOT7), Ryu Kyung-soo

Oh My Ghost Clients

Poised between the world of the living and the world of spirits, “Oh My Ghost Clients” is a supernatural comedy with ironic and human tones that combines social justice, persistent ghosts, and a reluctant protagonist destined to change. A story where the afterlife becomes the starting point for resolving workers’ injustices… even after death.

No Mu-Jin (Jung Kyoung-Ho) is an apathetic and disillusioned labor consultant: for him, work is not a calling but just a way to pay the rent. He has no ideals or sense of justice, wandering construction sites looking for clients, doing the bare minimum.

But everything changes when, after a near-death experience, No Mu-Jin starts seeing… ghosts. And they aren’t just apparitions: the spirits, all former workers who died under unresolved circumstances, begin asking for his help to obtain justice. To stay alive and find a new direction, Mu-Jin finds himself handling absurd and moving cases, confronting buried injustices, and slowly discovering a new side of himself.

Helping him – or rather, keeping him in check – is Na Hui-Ju (Seol In-ah), his sister-in-law and the office’s financial brain, a sharp and outspoken woman with a strong instinct for business and a passion for easy money.

Completing the trio is Ko Gyeon-U (Cha Hak-yeon), a former journalist turned creator obsessed with views. Handsome, ironic, and unpredictable, he is drawn to the ghost stories, despite always seeking the most viral scoop.

Between laughter, mysteries, and unusual cases, “Oh My Ghost Clients” originally tells how even a hopeless man can become an instrument of justice… if only the ghosts force him to.

Release Date: May 30, 2025
Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Comedy, Law
Starring: Jung Kyung-ho, Seol In-ah, Cha Hak-yeon

Good Boy

Two former Olympic stars, two silent falls, and a new beginning in the police ranks. “Good Boy” is a series that combines action, redemption, and justice, telling the story of those who shone in the spotlight and now fight in the shadows against a corrupt world.

Yoon Dong-Joo (Park Bo-Gum), a former boxer and Olympic gold medalist, hit rock bottom after experiencing success. Marked by personal and professional difficulties, he finds a second chance when he is recruited into the police force, thanks to his sports background and mental strength.

Ji Han-Na (Kim So-Hyun), a beautiful and charismatic shooting champion, was beloved by the public and nicknamed the “shooting goddess.” However, a dramatic and shocking event forces her to leave the world of sports, choosing to start over as a police officer.

Both find themselves part of a special team composed of former Olympic athletes, created to fight crimes requiring extraordinary skills. United by the desire to redeem themselves and fight against the injustices rampant in the system, Dong-Joo and Han-Na will find themselves involved in complex cases, adrenaline-fueled chases, and moral battles, where their strength will be not only physical but also internal.

“Good Boy” is an intense and compelling drama that explores the line between fall and rise, glory and responsibility, in a world where injustice hides behind appearances.

Release Date: May 31, 2025
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance, Sport
Starring: Park Bo-gum, Kim So-hyun, Oh Jung-se

Lost in Starlight

“Lost in Starlight” is Netflix’s first original Korean animated film, directed by Han Ji-won and featuring the exceptional voices of Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung. A delicate love story set in the futuristic Seoul of 2050, where dreams intertwine with destiny among the stars.

In the heart of a retro-futuristic Seoul, Nan-young, a young astronaut determined to go to Mars, meets Jay, a talented musician who has set aside his art. They meet when Nan-young tries to repair her mother’s old record player in Jay’s workshop. From that moment, an intense bond develops between them, made of affinity, dreams, and tenderness.

As their relationship grows against the backdrop of urban landscapes immersed in starlight, Nan-young and Jay find themselves having to choose between love and their aspirations.

The departure for Mars is imminent: will their feelings survive the 225 million kilometers that will separate them?

With fascinating aesthetics, an evocative soundtrack, and an atmosphere suspended between nostalgia and hope, “Lost in Starlight” tells a love story destined to shine even in the darkness of space.