As the year comes to a close, November is bringing with it dark Korean shows, such as the Disney+ original K-drama Vigilante starring Nam Joo-hyuk and the highly anticipated A Bloody Lucky Day. The former follows a promising young police academy student who secretly exacts justice, while the latter sees Hospital Playlist’s Yoo Yeon-seok in the role of a sociopathic serial killer.
Fantasy and fake marriages also seem to be a theme in K-dramas in November, with Song Kang starring as a demon that loses his powers to a wealthy heiress, who he later enters a contractual marriage with in My Demon. Meanwhile in The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, a grief-stricken Joseon era woman travels forward in time and enters a contractual marriage with a 21st century man.
For those looking for something to warm the heart, the Park Bo-young Netflix original Korean drama Daily Dose of Sunshine follows a newly transferred nurse at a psychiatric ward as she grows alongside her patients, while the Once Upon a Boyhood follows a weak, outcast high school student who is mistakenly identified as his school’s strongest fighter.
Without further ado, here are seven K-dramas to check out in November 2023.
Moon in the Day
Moon in the Day, adapted from a popular Naver webtoon of the same name, will chronicle a love story that lasts a thousand years. It’ll focus on the relationship between a man for whom time has stopped and a woman who can’t remember her past lives.
Kim Young-dae will play Han Jun-oh, an A-list celebrity who is soon possessed by an aristocrat from the Silla Dynasty after a car crash. Meanwhile, Pyo Ye-jin will be a former firefighter who saves Jun-oh from the car crash, while also being the doppelgänger of a sole survivor of a noble family from the Silla Dynasty.
Moon in the Day premieres November 1 on ENA, and will also be available to stream on Viki in select regions.
Daily Dose of Sunshine
Based on a webtoon of the same name, Netflix’s upcoming original K-drama Daily Dose of Sunshine stars Park Bo-young as Jung Da-eun, a nurse who is unexpectedly transferred to the Department of Psychiatry from Internal Medicine.
While the change proves to be challenging for her, Da-eun grows as a nurse as she gets to know her patients and how to support them under the guidance of head nurse Song Hyo-jin (Lee Jung-eun). Meanwhile, she catches the eye of doctor Dong Go-yoon (Yeon Woo-jin), a proctology specialist, who finds himself healing his own heart as he watches her work.
Daily Dose of Sunshine premieres globally via Netflix on November 3.
Vigilante
Also based on a webtoon, the Disney+ original Korean series Vigilante follows a man whose tragic past makes him begin living a double life. At a young age, Kim Ji-yong (Nam Joo-hyuk) witnesses his mother’s senseless death at the hands of a thug. After the murderer serves a light sentence, Ji-yong sees that he is unrepentant and brutally beats him.
Years later, Ji-yong is the perfect student at a police university by day, but secretly hunts down and punishes criminals who have not been served justice at night with the help of his admirer, Jo Gang-ok (Lee Joon-hyuk), under the name Vigilante. Meanwhile, police investigator Jo Heon (Yoo Ji-tae) attempts to hunt the Vigilante down.
Vigilante premieres on Disney+ on November 8.
A Bloody Lucky Day
Starring Hospital Playlist’s Yoo Yeon-seok, A Bloody Lucky Day follows taxi driver Oh Taek (Lee Sung-min), who has a dream believed to be an omen of incoming good fortune. After making his usual amount of money that day, he picks up Geum Hyuk-soo (played by Yoo Yeon-seok), who is travelling long-distance to a port.
During the ride however, Oh Taek becomes unnerved by Hyuk-soo’s strange behaviour and words. Unbeknownst to him, his last passenger of the day is a serial killer planning to stowaway on a boat. Soon, the pair also realise that they are being chased down by Hwang Soon-kyu (Lee Jung-eun), the mother of one of Hyuk-soo’s victims.
A Bloody Lucky Day will premiere November 20 on TVING.
My Demon
In fantasy-romance K-drama My Demon, Song Kang stars as Jung Gu-won, a demon who looks down upon humans while Kim Yoo-jung plays Do Do-hee, a cold, untrusting young woman he mysteriously loses his powers to. Meanwhile, Do-hee is caught up in a succession battle for the wealthy Future Group owned by her family.
Now linked by Gu-won’s powers, the pair decide to enter a contractual marriage for their mutual benefit – Gu-won to stay alive and protect her and Do-hee, to defend her succession. However, they slowly begin to develop real romantic feelings for each other.
My Demon premieres November 24 on SBS.
Once Upon a Boyhood
Set in the 1980s, Once Upon a Boyhood stars Im Si-wan (Hell is Other People) as Jang Byeong-tae, a new transfer student at an agricultural high school in the Chung-cheong province. Despite being a victim of relentless bullying at his previous school, an unexpected incident on his first day leads his new schoolmates to mistakenly believe he is the best fighter in school.
Because of this, Byeong-tae becomes involved with his rebellious schoolmates: Park Ji-young (Lee Sun-bin), who goes by the nickname of Black Spider, Jung Kyeong-tae (Lee Si-woo), who is known as one of the best fighters, and Kang Sun-hwa (former IZ*ONE’s Kang Hye-won), a female student who is extremely popular among the boys.
Once Upon a Boyhood premieres November 24 on via Coupang Play.
The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract
Another Naver webtoon adaptation, The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract is a time-travel romance K-drama between a modern day man, Kang Tae-ha (Bae In-hyuk) and a woman from 19th century Joseon, Park Yeon-woo (Lee Se-young). On the night of her wedding, Yeon-woo’s betrothed passes away from illness, leading her to throw herself into a well in a fit of grief. However, she wakes up to find herself in the 21st century.
After being sent forward in time, Yeon-woo crosses paths with Tae-ha, who looks exactly the same as her deceased lover. Each with their own reasons, the pair decide to enter a contractual marriage, and begin to develop real feelings for each other.
The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract will air on MBC in November, and will also be available to stream on Viki in select regions.