New k-dramas to watch in February 2023

A fantasy sageuk, an enemies-to-lovers rom-com, or a revenge-to-romance melodrama—take your pick from k-dramaland's range of offers for the month of hearts. Or if you want to shun everything romantic, it also has hard-core revenge, crime and murder, and demons threatening to end the world for you.

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Feb 6: Our Blooming Youth

He’s the arrogant crown prince who thinks he’s suffering from a mysterious curse after receiving a book about ghosts. She’s a betrothed, smart girl from a noble family who suddenly finds herself accused of murdering her family. Will they be able to save each other amid the endless Joseon era plotting and scheming around them?

Park Hyung-sik (Happiness) and Jeon So-nee (Encounter) star in this 20-episode historical fantasy drama, the first romance offering for the month of hearts.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Feb 10: Love to Hate You

Polar opposites who don’t believe in love get into a dating contract? Sign us up for this enemies-to-lovers rom-com!

Kim Ok-bin (Arthdal Chronicles) stars as a career-driven celebrity lawyer who hates losing to men, while Yoo Tae-oh (Dr. Brain) plays a top actor—nicknamed the Master of Kisses and the God of Romance—who happens to have a deep distrust of women. Kim Ji-hoon and Lee Joo-bin, who we both saw in Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area, give us two more reasons to add this 10-episode series to our watchlist.

Where to watch: Netflix

Feb 15: The Big Bet 2

Fans of this casino action drama set mostly in the Philippines starring big-screen veteran Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) will not be left waiting for long, as its second season will start barely three weeks after the first one airs its final episode.

Expect more twists and turns in the high-stakes life of legendary casino man Cha Moo-sik, as well as more of Son Suk-ku (My Liberation Notes) as the investigator tracking him down.

Where to watch: Disney+

Feb 15: The Heavenly Idol

Kim Min-kyu (of Business Proposal “hottest kiss” fame) takes on a highly unusual role in this fantasy comedy: He plays struggling k-pop idol Woo Yeon-woo who suddenly gets possessed by a powerful high priest from another world.

Adapted from a popular web novel, the series promises 12 hilarious episodes of Kim Min-kyu stumbling through the world of k-pop while finding unlikely success from the strength of his charm (and dimples!).

Where to watch: Viu, from Feb. 16

Feb 17: Taxi Driver 2

Operation 5283 begins once again, and we cannot be more excited. Lee Je-hoon is back as “deluxe taxi driver” Kim Do-ki, along with the rest of the Rainbow Taxi squad, and they’re ready to take revenge again on behalf of unfortunate victims who are unable to find justice through the law.

The second season promises to level things up, with filming partly done in Vietnam, and Lee Je-hoon himself saying he was shocked by the scale of the series. Check out our review of the first season here.

Where to watch: Viu

Feb 17: Unlocked

If a stranger returns the smartphone you lost, will you be grateful or suspicious? Office worker Na-mi (Chun Woo-hee, Be Melodramatic) will find her ordinary days start to spiral out of control after Jun-yeong (Im Si-wan, Tracer) finds her phone and installs spyware before returning it to her.

This 117-minute suspense thriller is a Korean adaptation of the Japanese film Stolen Identity (2018).

Where to watch: Netflix

Feb 22: Call It Love

A revenge plot turns into romance in this 16-episode series. Sim Woo-joo (Lee Sung-kyung, Sh**ting Stars) approaches lonely workaholic Han Dong-jin (Kim Young-kwang, The Secret Life of My Secretary), the son of her father’s ex-mistress, to take revenge for how miserable her life turned out to be. But things don’t turn out the way she planned.

Where to watch: Disney+

Feb 24: Island Part 2

Will the unlikely trio on Jeju island—a boy raised to be a demon-killing fighter (Kim Nam-gil, Through the Darkness), a priest specializing in exorcisms (Cha Eun-woo, True Beauty), and the reincarnation of the woman on whom the fate of the world lies (Lee Da-hee, Love Is for Suckers)—be able to prevent evil from taking over the world?

The first Korean content ranked 9th globally on Prime Video, Island promises to deliver six action-packed episodes in Part 2.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video