Most Anticipated K-dramas in January-June 2022

2022 is the year to stay on top of your K-drama game! Gong Yoo and Bae Doona’s Silent Sea closed off 2021, but the good news is there are many more amazing shows coming out this year. I’m here to help you pick which ones you’d like to watch and keep track of all their release dates.

Now, when I set out to make this list, I realized that that there are a lot of K-sramas in 2022 that we simply cannot miss. Hence, I decided to split the list into two parts. (Don’t forget to check Part II here!) [LINK TO BE ADDED]

Alright, let’s get tackling the first half of 2022 — Here are all the most-anticipated K-dramas releasing from January to June this year.

1. Rookie Cops (January 26)

Get ready for Kang Daniel’s acting debut in this Disney+ original. The comedy series will portray the ups and downs of trainees in the police academy. Kang Daniel’s character Wi Seung-Hyun is a straight-A student with a sharp sense of justice.

He is joined by actors Lee Sin-youn (Crash Landing on You), Park Yoo-na (True Beauty) and Chae Soo-bin (Sweet & Sour). Interesting bit about Chae Soo-bin’s character… she joins the police academy just to be with her unrequited crush!

2. All Of Us Are Dead (January 28)

No one does zombies better than Korea. Train to Busan, Kingdom… need I say more? Consider adding Netflix’s All Of Us Are Dead to the honors list and follow the students at Hyosan High School who have to deal with a zombie outbreak, with no adults around to help them.

The ensemble cast includes Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-young, Cho Yi-hun and Lomon, who aren’t exactly rookie actors but have risen to fame with this K-Drama.

All of Us Are Dead | Official Trailer | Netflix

3. Forecasting Love and Weather (February 12)

I didn’t realize how much we needed Park Min-young and Kang Song paired up together until I saw the trailer for Forecasting Love and Weather!

If I’m not wrong, this is going to be a Noona drama with Park Min Young playing a seasoned employee at Korea Meteorological Administration. Newbie Lee Shi-woo (Kang) will have to figure out the ropes at excelling at both, office tasks and romances.

Forecasting Love and Weather | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

4. Twenty-Five, Twenty-One (February 12)

This K-drama is about to take us back in time to Korea’s financial crisis in 1997 and how it affected Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk’s characters in particular.

Na Hee-do (Kim) lost her fencing scholarship due to the crisis, while rich kid Baek Yi-jin’s (Nam) family business goes under. The title signifies their ages — although they both first meet each other when they’re 18 and 22 respectively, they fall in love with each other at ages 21 and 25.

PS: Wondering where you’ve seen Kim Tae-ri before? It’s in Space Sweepers!

Twenty Five Twenty One | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

5. Thirty-Nine (February 16)

I will give you a moment to fangirl — Crash Landing’s Son Ye-jin, Hospital Playlist’s Jeon Mi-do and Hometown Cha Cha Cha’s Kim Ji-Hyun will play friends who have known each other their whole lives. On the precipice of turning 40, a new chapter of their lives opens up with both boons and tribulations.

Thirty-Nine | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

6. Grid (February 16)

Another Disney+ original, Grid will bring Seo Kang-joon back to your screens after two long years. Now the premise is quite unique: In the present-time, a “Ghost” (Lee Si-young) helps a serial killer escape.

When Kim Sae-Ha (Seo) and his team investigate the case, they realize this isn’t the first time the Ghost has meddled, and perhaps the Ghost is not the bad guy after all.

7. Juvenile Justice (February 25)

The Queen of K-dramas Kim Hye-soo is here with yet another compelling concept: a drama about juvenile crime offenders. Thanks to the law, juveniles can get away with the most heinous crimes.

In the trailer, Kim’s character, judge Sim Eun-Seok talks about how this sends the message, “We don’t need to worry about the law.” So, she decides to punish these young offenders by taking the law into her own hands.

Juvenile Justice | Official Teaser | Netflix [ENG SUB]

8. Business Proposal (February 28)

Another office drama comes our way with Shin Ha-ri (Kim Se-Jeong, School 2017) going on a blind date with Kang Tae-Mu (Ahn Hyo-seop)… who turns out to be her boss!

One lil’ thing to note: Ha-ri wore a disguise to her date and Tae-mu, not recognizing his employee proposes to her. Let the chaos begin!

9. Military Prosecutor Doberman (February 28)

When I first saw Ahn Bo-hyun in Itaewon Class playing the antagonist, little did I expect to see his versatility in the future. Now fresh off the success of Yumi’s Cells, he returns to play a corrupt military prosecutor which will find a reckoning in Jo Bo-ah’s (Tail of the Nine-Tailed) character.

10. Why Her? (March 2022)

Although True Beauty’s Hweong In-yeop will be starring in his first lead role, the show stealer is Seo Hyun-jin. She will play the extremely driven, righteous (and might I add, badass) lawyer who is thrown off her successful streak by one mishandled case.

Now she must work as an adjunct law teacher, but her problems are far from over. 

PS: This is one K-drama I’m eagerly waiting for!

Why Her? - OFFICIAL TRAILER | Korean Drama | Seo Hyun Jin, Hwang In Yeop

11. Link: Eat and Love to Kill (May 9)

From one True Beauty cast member to another, Moon Ga-young will once again grace our screens with another rising star, Yeo Jin-goo, who you may recognize from Hotel Del-Luna.

In this fantasy K-drama, Yeo’s character Eun Kye-Hoon has been looking for his missing twin sister for almost 20 years. Amidst this, he starts experiencing the same emotions at the same time as Moon’s No Da-Hyun. Why? I guess we’ll have to watch to find out.

12. Eve (May 18)

Seo Yea-ji may not be starring in Island, but she is rumored to be in Eve. Details about Eve are still under wraps, but it seems like Seo’s character will be at the center of a two trillion won divorce lawsuit, a revenge she’s been planning for the last 13 years.

Other cast members include: Lee Sang-yeob (While You Were Sleeping), Park Byung-eun (Kingdom season 2) and Kang Yoon-Gyeom (Hush).

13. Minamdang: Case Note (May 2022)

Based on a novel of the same name by Jung Jae-Han, Soe In-guk will play a criminal profiler-turned-scammer whose exploits get investigated by a detective played by Oh Yeon-soo (Mad for Each Other).

14. 2022 K-dramas with Unconfirmed Dates:

There are a few other K-Dramas that may premiere in the first half of 2022:

I. Island

II. Insider

III. Dr Lawyer

IV. Red Single Heart

V. Tomorrow

Details are scant about the above K-dramas but your favorite actors like Cha Eun-woo, Kang Hana, Kim Hee-sun and more will be appearing in them. Even So Ji-sub is making a comeback! So watch this space, as we update often.

[Read More] Most Anticipated K-dramas of 2022 Part II [Link to be added]