With several major shows currently on the air and networks saving some of their series for mid-summer, June seems to be a relatively light month in terms of new K-dramas. However, there’s still plenty to choose from, with classic romantic dramas ready to go, as well as a conman thriller and a high school mystery drama. We’re bringing you a look at six of the best K-dramas debuting this June.
1- The Player 2: Master of Swindlers
Main distribution: Song Seung-heon, Lee Si-un
OCN’s 2018 hit K-drama about scammers, “The Player,” is returning to our screens thanks to cable channel tvN.
Song Seung-heon will reprise his role in “The Player 2: Master of Swindlers” as master con artist Kang Ha-ri, who leads a gang of scammers. Lee Si-un also returns as brilliant hacker Lim Byung-min, and Tae Won-suk as tough fighter Do Jin-woong. Krystal Jung, who played one of the main characters in the 2018 K-drama, will not be reprising her role, although it has been confirmed that she will make a cameo appearance in the new K-drama. To replace her, Jang Gyu-ri of “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” will play the role of talented pilot Cha Je-yi. Also joining the cast, Oh Yeon-seo of “Cafe Minamdang” will play Jung Soo-min, a mysterious benefactor who brings Ha-ri back into the world of crime.
2- Hierarchy
Main distribution: Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min, Kim Jae-won
Netflix Korea’s June offering will be “Hierarchy”, another teen K-drama set in a prestigious school.
This school is Jooshin High School, which belongs to the Jooshin Group, whose students are chosen from birth to attend through their family lineage. Among the main cast are Roh Jeong-eui of “Badlands Hunters” as Jung Jae-yi, the heiress of the Jaeyool Group, while the heir of the Jooshin Group, Kim Ri-an, will be played by Kim Jae -won from “King the Land”. Lee Chae-min of “Crash Course in Romance” will play Kang Ha, a mysterious transfer student whose innocent smile hides a dark secret.
Thanks to him, the carefully maintained hierarchy at school begins to crack. “Hierarchy” is directed by Bae Hyun-jin, known for “Big Mouth” and “Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow.”
3- My Sweet Mobster
Main distribution: Uhm Tae-goo, Han Sun-hwa, Kwon Yool
“My Sweet Mobster,” inspired by the web novel “The Woman Who Plays,” stars Uhm Tae-goo from “Night in Paradise” as a gangster once again. This time he plays Seo Ji-hwan, a former gangster who took a new path and is now the CEO of a legitimate company. He works to disband gangs and reform former gangsters released from prison.
Meanwhile, Han Sun-hwa from “Work Later, Drink Now” appears as Go Eun-ha, a YouTuber who runs a not-so-popular children’s channel. One day, she accidentally hurts Ji-hwan while doing a part-time job, and he seems to recognize her.
4- Miss Night and Day
Main distribution: Lee Jung-eun, Jung Eun-ji, Choi Jin-hyuk
Lee Jung-eun of ‘Parasite’ and Jung Eun-ji of ‘Work Later, Drink Now’ play the same character in the fantasy K-drama ‘Miss Night and Day’. Jung is Lee Min-jin, a young woman in her twenties who has struggled to find work for years. One day, she wakes up in the body of a 50-year-old woman, played by Lee. Thereafter, she becomes younger again at night and returns to the older woman’s body every morning. She uses her unusual condition to land a job under the name Im Soon, and begins working under prosecutor Kye Ji-woong, played by Choi Jin-hyuk of “Mr. Queen.”
5- DNA Lover
Main distribution: Choi Si-won, Jung In-sun, Lee Tae-hwan, Jung Eugene
In “DNA Lover,” Jung In-sun of “Let Me Be Your Knight” stars as Han So-jin, a genetics researcher with an unusual obsession: she wants to find the perfect man and believes that the only way to achieve it is to find a candidate who is a perfect genetic match for her. Choi Si-won of K-pop group Super Junior’s “Love Is for Suckers” plays Shin Yeon-woo, a handsome obstetrician who runs his own clinic and generally attracts women. The problem is that when he gets involved with someone and that person becomes too attached, he ends the relationship.
Lee Tae-hwan of “Thirty-Nine” plays So-jin’s attractive firefighter friend Seo Kang-hoon, and Jung Eugene of “Remarriage & Desires” plays Yeon-woo’s ex Jang Mi- eun, an advice columnist.
6- The Whirlwind
Main distribution: Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Hee-ae
After collaborating in the film “The Moon” last summer, Sol Kyung-gu and Kim Hee-ae will once again be on screen, this time in the K-drama political thriller “The Whirlwind.” In his first dramatic role, veteran Sol plays Park Dong-ho, a prime minister of South Korea who opposes a president he believes to be corrupt. Kim, known for her role in “The World of the Married,” will play Jung Soo-jin, the vice prime minister for economic affairs, who faces Dong-ho. “The Whirlwind” is directed by Kim Yong-wan and written by Park Kyung-soo.
Which K-drama are you looking forward to?