As we close out 2023, December is finally bringing with it some of the most-anticipated and exciting K-dramas of the year. Kicking off the month is the second season of Netflix’s hit apocalyptic series Sweet Home, which sees Song Kang reprising his role as an introverted but ultimately courageous half-monster fighting for humanity’s survival.
The streaming platform will also premiere the first half of Gyeongseong Creature – led by A-list actors Han So-hee and Park Seo-jun – a period thriller about a monster that feeds on human greed. Another dark fantasy series arriving this month is Death’s Game, which follows a downtrodden young man facing judgement from Death.
Meanwhile, those who prefer a good old murder-mystery over supernatural thrills can look forward to Lee Young-ae’s Maestra: Strings of Truth, where she stars as a secretive orchestra conductor who seems to be surrounded by strange incidents.
On a lighter note, Disney+ is back with the second instalment of its Soundtrack romance anthology K-drama. Soundtrack #2 will feature brand-new couple played by Pachinko’s Noh Sang-hyun and rising actress Geum Sae-rok. The romance continues in the slice-of-life drama Welcome to Samdal-ri, where a pair of childhood friends rekindle their relationship.
Here are the 10 most exciting new K-dramas to check out in December 2023
Sweet Home (Season 2)
In this highly anticipated second season of Sweet Home, the K-drama picks up from where we left the residents of Green Home at the end of season one, with them having finally escaped the monsters in their apartment building.
However, the ragtag team of survivors find themselves facing new adversaries as the few remaining pockets of civilisation have fallen under strict military rule. Meanwhile, our protagonist Hyun-soo is captured, and he tries to figure out how his abilities can help save humanity as the world falls apart.
Sweet Home 2 will premiere December 1 exclusively on Netflix.
My Man is Cupid
My Man is Cupid will follow the unlucky in love veterinarian Oh Baek-ryun, played by Mask Girl actress and After School singer Nana. While smart and beautiful, the men Baek-ryun date always seem to run into near-death experiences while dating her, causing them to flee in terror.
Meanwhile, Jang Dong-yoon will play Cheon Sang-hyuk, a charismatic fairy who is desperate to regain his wings, which he lost in a tragic incident nearly half a millennium ago. However, in his latest life, he strangely finds himself falling for Oh Baek-ryun.
My Man is Cupid will premiere December 1 exclusively on Prime Video.
Welcome to Samdal-ri
Set on Jeju Island, Welcome to Samdal-ri follows childhood friends Jo Yong-pil (Ji Chang-wook) and Jo Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun). After an incident during their youth drives them apart, Yong-pil remains in their hometown as a passionate but stubborn weather forecaster, while Sam-dal journeys to Seoul to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion photographer.
Years later, Sam-dal’s life in the city falls apart, and she winds up returning to her hometown. There, she crosses paths with Yong-pil once again, and the pair rekindle their friendship, which slowly grows into romance.
Welcome to Samdalri premieres December 2 on JTBC, and will also available on Netflix in select regions.
Night Has Come
During a class retreat, a group of high school students suddenly find themselves forced to play a deadly real-life game of mafia. Night Has Come will star Lee Jae-in (Racket Boys), singer Kim Woo-seok, Choi Ye-bin (It’s Beautiful Now), Cha Woo-min (Weak Hero Class 1), Ahn Ji-ho (All of Us Are Dead) and Jeong So-ri (Carter).
Night Has Come will premiere December 6 on U+ MobileTV, and will be available on Viki in select regions.
Soundtrack #2
Like 2022’s Soundtrack #1, this season of the Disney+ original follows another music-loving couple who find themselves at a crossroads in their relationship. First meeting in a university band, Hyun-seo and Soo-ho spend a few years together, having bonded over their love for music, before the pressure of reality eventually tore them apart.
Years later, Soo-ho is a successful CEO, but finds himself burnt out and tired of life. Meanwhile, Hyun-seo has given up on her dream of becoming a singer, and now works as a piano teacher. Disillusioned, the pair meet again and rediscover the days of their youth through music.
Soundtrack #2 premieres exclusively on Disney+ on December 6.
Maestra: Strings of Truth
Based on the French series Philharmonia, this mystery drama revolves around Cha Se-eum (Lee Young-ae), a talented violinist and one of the only female conductors in the world. Her success causes her relationship with her husband (Lee Young-jae) to turn rocky, as he feels inferior to her.
Unbeknownst to those around her, Se-eum harbours a dark secret. As she investigates strange incidents that happen in her orchestra, she is slowly forced to face the truth that these mysteries may be linked to her secret.
Maestra: Strings of Truth begins airing from December 9 on tvN.
Death’s Game
Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name, Death’s Game follows a young man named Choi Yi-jae (Seo In-guk), who tries to take his life after losing his savings in a bitcoin scam. His indifference towards dying offends Death (Parasite’s Park So-dam), and she decides to punish him with a game: Yi-jae now has to experience 12 lives and deaths before he is sent to hell.
However, Yi-jae learns that he will be able to live out a full lifetime if he manages to evade death in any of the 12 lives. Despite having ended his own life, he starts to wonder if things could turn out differently while living the life of others.
Death’s Game premieres on TVING on December 15, and will also be available on Prime Video in select regions.
Like Flowers in Sand
Daily Dose of Sunshine actor Jang Dong-yoon stars as Kim Baek-doo, who was once considered a prodigy of ssireum (or Korean wrestling). However, with his team facing disbandment, Baek-doo is now considering retiring from the sport.
But after a chance meeting with his childhood friend Oh Yoo-kyung (Lee Ju-myoung), who then takes on the role as his ssireum team’s new manager, he starts to believe that this could be the turning point in his sporting career.
Like Flowers in Sand premieres December 20 on ENA.
Gyeongseong Creature
Set in the spring of 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Gyeongseong, wealthy informant Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon) and missing persons investigator Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee) cross paths with a strange and terrifying creature.
Born out of human greed, it soon becomes clear that the creature is behind a recent string of disappearances in the city. The pair grapple with the horrifying reality they are now faced with, and become involved in trying to stop the creature.
Gyeongseong Creature premieres December 22 exclusively on Netflix.
My Happy End
Seo Jae-won (Jang Na-ra) seems to have it all. At work, she’s a self-made woman and the CEO of a respected furniture brand with a large social media following. At home, she’s married to the kind-hearted Heo Soon-young (Son Ho-jun), whom she has a beautiful daughter with.
Meanwhile, life hasn’t turned out the way Jae-won’s university classmate Kwon Yun-jin (So Yi-hyun) had planned, with a failing marriage and an unfulfilling career. After a chance reconnection with Jae-won, Yun-jin can’t help but feel jealous of her friend’s life.
My Happy End premieres December 26 on TV Chosun, and will be available to stream in select regions on Viki.