K-Dramas To Watch In April 2017 — What Korean Dramas Should You Check Out This Month?

Last month, the first season of K-dramas that strictly debuted in 2017 concluded. Some of theme ended on a high note, while others ended on a low. Nevertheless, said first season of 2017 initiated shaping the landscape of what K-dramas to expect this year: suspenseful melodramas. The most successful K-dramas of 2017 so far have all been in said category or genre for both Korean public television and Korean cable television.

Starting with the former, the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) K-drama Defendant starring Ji Sung (Kill Me, Heal Me and Entertainer) and Yuri of Girls’ Generation (Neighborhood Hero and Gogh, The Starry Night) debuted with double-digit ratings. It only grew from that point until it concluded with over 30 percent in the final episode.

As for the latter, the Orion Cinema Network (OCN) K-drama Voice debuted with even higher viewership than its most successful K-drama to date, 38 Task Force. Eventually, it would grow in popularity up to the point it became the most popular K-drama to ever air on OCN to date. Unfortunately for Voice, it may not hold that record for long as its predecessor Tunnel is about to break its record.

Though the aforementioned have already concluded, there are many K-dramas currently airing worth watching especially the phenomenal You Are Too Much and the very entertaining Radiant Office. However, K-drama fans will need to catch up on what is airing now as we are technically midway through the second season of K-dramas for 2017. That means there won’t be many K-dramas ending and new ones debuting.

However, there are some K-dramas worth noting that will either end or debut. As always, the ending K-dramas will be listed first followed by the debuting. So without further ado, here are the K-dramas fans should be keeping an eye out for this month.

K-Dramas Ending This Month

https://youtu.be/xKkpYhF2r5M

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (April 15) — Starring Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Shik, and Ji Soo, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a romantic comedy K-drama currently airing on the Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation (JTBC).

Do Bong Soon is a young woman born with superhuman strength and is known for breaking everything she touches unless she is careful. Despite her aggressive attitude and demeanor that comes with such strength, she longs to be an elegant woman, the ideal type of her crush Guk Doo. However, love never seems to go to her plan as things change between herself and the person she is a bodyguard to, a boss of a gaming company, An Min Hyuk, who is crazy and imperiously odd with no regard to rules.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon will air its finale on April 15, Saturday, at 11 p.m. KST. For those who do not have access to Korean cable networks, it can be viewed on DramaFever, Viki, and OnDemandKorea, depending on region availability.

First Love Again (April 21) — Starring Myung Se Bin, Kim Seung Soo, Wang Bit Na, and Park Jung Chul, this Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) K-drama is finally coming to an end after six months on Korean television.

Cha Do Yoon (Seung Soo) is a man who gets trapped in his first love and Lee Ha Jin (Se Bin) is a woman who erases her first love after she lost her child. After eight years, they meet again. Could their “first love again” be the one that finally keeps them together? We will find out as the K-drama is coming to a close.

First Love Again will air its finale on April 21, Friday, at 7:50 p.m. KST on KBS. For those who do not have access to the Korean public network, it can be viewed on OnDemandKorea depending on region availability.

K-Dramas Debuting This Month

NOTE: If a K-drama doesn’t have an official trailer out by either the network or one of the video-on-demand streaming sites, there will be no video included. From now on, fan captures of trailers will not be used simply because they are often taken down by YouTube in request of the production company and/or network.

https://youtu.be/5OL95HYexVw

Mystery Queen (April 5) — Starring Choi Kang Hee, Kwon Sang Woo, Lee Won Geun, and Shin Hyun Bin, Mystery Queen, which is also known as Queen of Mystery, is a mystery and comedy K-drama currently airing on KBS.

Yoo Seol Ok (Kang Hee) has always wanted to become a police officer for her entire life. One day, she gets to know a passionate detective, Ha Wan Seung (Sang Woo), and he gives her an opportunity to make her dream come true. They work on mysterious cases together.

Mystery Queen is currently airing on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 p.m. KST on KBS. For those who do not have access to the Korean public network, it can be viewed on Viki or DramaFever by its other title Queen of Mystery depending on region availability.

Chicago Typewriter (April 7) — Starring Yoo Ah In, Im Soo Jung, and Go Kyung Pyo, Chicago Typewriter is a fantasy romantic comedy K-drama currently airing on the Total Variety Network (tvN).

The K-drama is about writers who lived during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea who are reincarnated into the present as Han Se Joo (Ah In), a renowned writer in a slump who has a celebrity-look and tons of fans but is extremely depressed on the inside; Jeon Seol (Soo Jung), a veterinarian and literacy fanatic who happens to be an anti-fan of Se Joo; and Yoo Jin Oh (Kyung Pyo), a genius writing style ghost writer who has dry humor and loves jazz music and antiques.

Chicago Typewriter is currently airing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. KST on tvN. For those who do not have access to Korean cable networks, it can be viewed exclusively on Viki depending on region availability.

https://youtu.be/A3v_3sATVyE

Unni Is Alive (April 15) — Starring a huge main cast consisting of Jang Seo Hee, Oh Yoon Ah, Han Joo Hyun, Dasom of Sistar, Lee Ji Hoon, and Jo Yoon Woo, Unni Is Alive, also known as Sister Is Alive or Band of Sisters, is a melodramatic romance airing on SBS.

Kang Ha Ri (Joo Hyun), with her bright personality, works part-time at a stationary store and a nail shop. Min Deul Re (Seo Hee) was a popular actress, but she isn’t so popular these days. Kim Eun Hyaung (Yoon Ah) worked as a secretary but now concentrates as a mother raising her daughter. These three women lose their loved ones around the same time and even though they are not related, they rely on each other to get through the tough times.

Unni Is Alive will take the place of Our Gab Soon on Saturdays at 8:45 p.m. KST on SBS. For those who don’t have access to Korean public networks, it is set to be available on both DramaFever and Viki depending on region availability.

https://youtu.be/NR5cZeQU4VA

My Secret Romance (April 17) — Starring Sung Hoon and Song Ji Eun, My Secret Romance is a romantic K-drama that will be airing on OCN.

Cha Jin Wook (Sung Hoon) is a prickly second-generation chaebol and boss of a nutrition company. He is playful and loves partying, but turns into a serious man who is only focused on his work. Lee Yoo Mi (Ji Eun) is a perpetually single young woman with a bright personality who doesn’t do much with her appearance and is rather conservative when it comes to dating. They both meet at a resort on Jeju Island and get caught in a series of misunderstandings and accidents. By happenstance, they spend the night together. When morning comes, Yoo Mi disappears leaving Jin Wook feeling perplexed and irrationally angry.

Three years later, the two meet again when Yoo Mi becomes a nutritionist for the company cafeteria Jin Wook works for. They pretend not to recognize each other while fighting their physical attraction to each other in the process.

My Secret Romance is a unique K-drama as it is co-produced by DramaFever and OCN which in turn makes DramaFever the first VOD streaming site of Korean content to work side by side directly with a Korean network. Also, this will be OCN’s first romantic comedy as well as the first to air on Mondays and Tuesdays.

My Secret Romance will air, as mentioned above, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. KST on OCN. It will be available exclusively on DramaFever depending on region availability.

Man to Man (April 21) — Starring a huge main cast consisting of Park Hae Jin, Kim Min Jung, Park Sung Woong, Yun Jung Hoon, Chae Jung Ahn, and Jung Man Shik, Man to Man is an action-thriller romantic K-drama that will be airing on JTBC.

Little is known about this K-drama but what is known is the basic synopsis of its plot. It is a story about a relationship between a famous actor, Yeo Woon Gwang (Sung Woong), and his specially trained bodyguard Kim Seol Woo (Hae Jin). The drama involves many unexpected turns of events and plot twists.

Nevertheless, Man to Man will take the place of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and air on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 p.m. KST on JTBC. We have no news if it will be available on any of the well-known, and legal, VOD streaming sites for Korean content.

Nameless Woman (April 24) — At this point, we know very little about the upcoming K-drama Nameless Woman as the information provided by the network it will air on, KBS, has released little information at the time. This does make sense given the fact that its predecessor First Love Again has yet to finish.

What we do know is that the main cast will feature Bae Jong Ok, Oh Ji Eun, Suh Ji Suk, and Park Yoon Jae. We also know the plot revolves around two mothers whose motherly love is stronger than any ordinary woman, as provided by Hancinema. Besides what is provided above, we know nothing else at this time.

Nameless Woman will take the place of First Love Again airing Monday to Friday at 7:50 p.m. KST on KBS. We have no news if it will be available on any of the well-known, and legal, VOD streaming sites for Korean content.

[Featured Image by the Orion Cinema Network (OCN)]