5 new K-dramas to watch in October 2021: Jun Ji-hyun in Jirisan, Han So-hee in Netflix series My Name, Lee Young-ae’s TV return, and more
- Women lead the way in these five K-dramas, which include a crime-comedy, revenge drama and a gender swapping period piece
- Park Eun-bin plays a princess pretending to be a crown prince in The King’s Affection; Jun Ji-hyun stars as a park ranger in Jirisan
The Chuseok (harvest festival) holiday in South Korea heralded a wealth of new Korean drama shows in September, many of which are still on the air. While the October launch schedule is a little lighter, it comes with plenty of heavy hitters, including the most hotly anticipated programme of the year.
Notably, the vast majority of the stars of October’s prime time drama line-up are women, who lead a range of stories, from a revenge drama and crime-comedy to a period gender-swap romance and an action-adventure tale in the mountains.
1. The King’s Affection
South Korean broadcaster KBS2 will air romantic period drama The King’s Affection, starring Park Eun-bin and Ro Woon and based on the webcomic Yeonmo by Lee So-young.
The story concerns twins born to the Crown Prince’s wife. The daughter is sent away to be killed, but is secretly spared, and when the son later dies, the twin daughter is brought back and raised as Prince Lee Hwi. Played by Hot Stove League lead Park Eun-bin, she grows up to become a crown prince, but fears revealing her identity.
2. Reflection of You
Following a two-year hiatus, Dear My Friends actress Go Hyun-jung will return to screens in the women-fronted drama Reflection of You. She will play Jeong Hee-joo, a woman who endured a difficult youth to become a successful painter and essayist and now lives happily with her rich husband and their two children.
