7 highly anticipated K-dramas this November

Secret Royal Inspector & Joy

Following two blockbuster months for South Korean dramas internationally, ‘Squid Game’ in September and ‘My Name’ in October, everyone’s on the lookout for the next big thing.

Luckily, November 2021 is going to be a huge month for K-drama fans as it marks Kim Soo Hyun and Song Hye Kyo’s comeback to the small screen among many other surprises. Notably, both Apple TV+ and South Korean streaming service Coupang Play are set to launch their very first original series, 'Dr. Brain' and 'One Ordinary Day', respectively. There’s also the much-anticipated Hellbound from Netflix. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the 10 K-dramas to look forward to this November.

1. Dr. Brain

Based on a hit webtoon by the same name, 'Dr. Brain' is going to be Apple TV+’s first-ever Korean-language original. This series is also the debut drama of the famous Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-Woon, who’s known for movies like ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ and ‘I Saw the Devil’. 'Dr. Brain' is a sci-fi thriller that tells the story of Lee Sun-Kyun as Lee Se-Won, who is a neuroscientist. He has an eidetic memory and strong math skills but is unable to express any feelings. When Se-Won was a child, his mother died due to a hit-and-run accident. Due to that, he decided to become a brain scientist. He’s a genius who can recall everything he sees. Then 20 years after his mother’s death, he becomes a famous PhD scientist in the brain science field.

One day he’s contacted by a mysterious man who asks him to search for a way to access the memories of a man who took his own life. He becomes interested and agrees to do so. But despite his attempts, he fails. A couple of days later, Se-won starts to witness horrific hallucinations as his mind descends into chaos. Then he realizes that he can now read the memories of people who have died to figure out the truth of what happened. 'Dr. Brain' is an intriguing blend of imaginative science-fiction and mystery. The drama consists of six episodes, with new ones released every Wednesday from 4 November through 10 December.

Dr Brain

2. Happiness

Directed by Ahn Gil-ho and written by Han Sang-Woon, contrary to its title ‘Happiness’, this drama won’t be about all rainbows and butterflies. With only 12 episodes, 'Happiness' is a dystopian thriller set in a high-rise apartment building stratified by social standing. In the newly constructed building, it takes place in a time in which infectious diseases have become the new normal but a new infectious disease soon breaks out. Because of the outbreak, the high-rise apartment is sealed off. As the residents struggle to survive, the drama will focus on the fear and the psychological battle that ensues as a result.

Happiness

Han Hyo-Joo plays special police squad member Yoon Sae-Bom, who moves into the new apartment block in this thriller series. She wants to live comfortably in the complicated world, but she is righteous and can’t stand injustice. She was excited to move into her new apartment, but as soon as moved there, she faces a crisis. Jung Yi Hyun (Park Hyung-Sik) is a police detective who is mainly in charge of violent crimes but also from the same high school as Sae-Bom. He wants to protect everyone in the apartment but struggles to do so. On the other side, Han Tae Seok was an information agent while serving in the military, and after being discharged, he worked as an executive at a pharmaceutical company. He is the perfect person for a position dealing with infectious diseases and holds a key in the infectious disease outbreak. “Happiness” is scheduled to premiere on tvN on November 5, 2021. It will also be available for streaming on iQIYI and TVing.

3. Secret Royal Inspector & Joy

Set in the Joseon dynasty, 'Secret Royal Inspector & Joy' is a historical comedy-drama about a young gourmet Ra Yi Eon (Ok Taecyeon) who ends up becoming a secret royal inspector (undercover inspector who investigates corruption) against his will. Yi Eon actually wanted to open a dumpling store outside the town. However, due to his cleverness, he passed the state examination and became an official in the Office of Special Advisors. There, he finds himself receiving secret orders to carry out missions as a secret inspector. It is a great honor for Ra Yi-Eon and his family that he is now a royal secret agent but still, he doesn't work hard as a royal secret agent.

His life changes when he meets Kim Jo-Yi. Kim Hye Yoon will play the role of Kim Jo Yi, a divorced woman searching for happiness who winds up joining forces with him to investigate and battle corruption. She also has a progressive mindset for the Joseon period, where she thinks it is okay to divorce. Soon Ra Yi-Eon and Kim Jo-Yi work together to solve cases. Directed by Yoo Jong-Seon 'Secret Royal Inspector and Joy' is scheduled to premiere on tvN on 8 November 2021. It will also be available for streaming on iQIYI.

4. School 2021

The long-running 'School' anthology series will return for its 2021 iteration this month. It is the eighth installment of KBS2's School franchise. Based on the 2011 novel ‘Oh, My Men’ by Lee Hyun, 'School 2021' will follow the lives and loves of a group of students who attend a vocational high school rather than go to college. The drama will portray the dreams, friendships, excitement, and growth of the 18-year-old students standing in front of an uncertain future. In the drama, Kim Yo Han plays Gong Ki Joon, who gave up his dream of Taekwondo due to an injury. Cho Yi Hyun is the ambitious Jin Ji Won, who is determined to achieve her dream of becoming a carpenter. As the series has always brought us intense yet lovely storylines, you can expect the same with 'School 2021' as well. The refreshing cast is definitely one that will bring you happiness and entertainment. School 2021 is directed by Kim Min-Tae, it is scheduled to premiere on KBS2 on 17 November 2021.

School

5. Now We Are Breaking Up

'Now We Are Breaking Up' is a romance drama that highlights the many different flavors of love and breakups. Ha Yeong-Eun (Song Hye-Kyo) is a beautiful, trendy team leader of the design department of a fashion company called 'The One'. Pragmatic to a fault, Young Eun often comes across as cold-hearted, as she prioritizes stability over all else. Content in both her work and her life, Young Eun has never really been bothered by the fact that others might see her as cold. But when she meets Yoon Jae Kook, a popular freelance fashion photographer, things take an unexpected turn. On the other side, Jang Ki Yong plays Yoon Jae Guk, a wealthy and popular freelancer photographer who has both brains and looks.

Superstar Song Hye-Kyo returns for her first series in two years after Descendants of the Sun as the lead. This is also the last gift drama from Jang Ki Young to the fans before enlisting in the military. 'Now We Are Breaking Up' is scheduled to be premiered on SBS TV on 12 November 2021.

Now We Are Breaking Up

6. Hellbound

Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho returns with the occult-themed paranoid thriller “Hellbound”, his first TV drama series based on his own webtoon of the same name. 'Hellbound' is set in a world where humans face a frightening supernatural phenomenon; emissaries from hell who appear on Earth without warning and condemn people to hell. Amidst the chaos caused by this terrifying new reality, Jung Jin-Soo (Yoo Ah In) leads the new religion Saejinrihwe, which prophesies the appearance of demons that emerge on the planet to drag sinners down to hell at preordained times. When the prophesied time arrives, horrific “executors of Hell” arrive to claim their stake, leaving behind nothing but the charred skeletons of their victims. People can hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, an angel of death appears in front of them and kills them.

In the drama, Bae Young Jae is a program director for a broadcasting station. He tries to dig out the truth about the religious group Saejinrihwe. Min Hye Jin is a lawyer. She stands up against the group 'Hwasalchok', which consists of people who blindly follow Saejinrihwe. The pilot of the series premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in the Primetime program of TV series on September 9, 2021, and became the first Korean drama to make it to the festival. It will be released on Netflix on 19 November 2021, for streaming in 190 countries. With only 6 episodes, the drama is worth waiting for.

Hellbound

7. One Ordinary Day

A remake of BBC’s ‘Criminal Justice’, 'One Ordinary Day' stars Kim Soo Hyun as Kim Hyun Soo, an ordinary college student whose life is turned upside down when he suddenly becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. Cha Seung Won plays Shin Joong Han, a third-rate lawyer who barely passed the bar exam. Joong-Han has never been great in anything, but he is the only one who tries to help Kim Hyun-Soo. Since meeting Kim Hyun-Soo, Shin Joong-Han faces a cruel legal system. Both of them must fight to uphold justice and bring the real culprit to justice. Moreover, this case will change their lives and shake up the country’s criminal justice system.

One Ordinary Day

The series made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that Kim would be earning a record 500 million won (US$427,000) per episode. The eight-part series will be out on ‘Coupang Play’ on 27 November.

One Ordinary Day's Kim Soo Hyun

So, which drama you are waiting for this November?

* Rumaiysa M Rahman is a 10th grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Dhaka