September is looking to be a big month for K-drama premieres, with several highly anticipated series set to air.
Kicking us off early in the month is Netflix original A Time Called You, which stars actors from two hits from recent years, Ahn Hyo-seop (A Business Proposal) and Jeon Yeo-been (Vincenzo) as a pair of star-crossed lovers brought back together by time travel. Also coming on Netflix is Song of the Bandits, an epic historical series led by Kim Nam-gil and Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun.
Disney+ will also be launching two originals of its own, including the action-comedy police drama Han River Police and the gritty The Worst of Evil, which stars Ji Chang-wook and Squid Game breakout star Wi Ha-jun. The platform is also set to stream the highly-anticipated sequel to Arthdal Chronicles.
Meanwhile, melodrama fans can look forward to 7 Escape, an upcoming mystery series revolving around a girl’s disappearance and starring Penthouse actors Uhm Ki-joon and Yoon Jong-hooon, as well as The Day, based on Jung Hae-yeon’s novel The Day of The Kidnapping.
Here are the seven new K-dramas to check out in September 2023.
A Time Called You
Based on the 2019 Taiwanese drama Someday Or One Day, Netflix original A Time Called You is a time-travel romance series led by Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been. Grieving the loss of her boyfriend in the present, Han Jun-hee (played by Jeon) travels back in time to 1998, into the body of Kwon Min-ju. In this alternate past, Jun-hee crosses paths with Nam Si-heon (Ahn), who bears an uncanny resemblance to her deceased boyfriend, Yeon-jun.
A Time Called You premieres on September 8 via Netflix.
Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun
Set eight years after 2019’s Arthdal Chronicles, the fantasy drama is set to return with actors Lee Joon-gi and Shin Se-kyung taking over the roles of Eun-seom and Saya respectively. Meanwhile, Jang Dong-gun and Kim Ok-vin will reprise their roles as antagonist Ta-gon and his advisor and lover Tae Al-ha.
The new season will focus on the power struggle between the Arthdal Kingdom united by Ta-gon and the Ago Union formed and led by Eun-seom as tensions between them rise.
Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun premieres on September 9 on tvN, and will also be available to stream on Disney+.
The Day
Mystery K-drama The Day is based on the novel The Day of The Kidnapping by Jung Hae-yeon. Yoon Kye-sang leads the series as Kim Myung-joon, a poor man who is roped into kidnapping Ro-hee, the daughter of a wealthy family for ransom to pay for his own child’s surgery.
His plans quickly go awry, and Myung-joon winds up taking care of Ro-hee, who has lost her memory and believes him to be her father. Although he tries to return her to her parents, Myung-joon learns that they have died. Meanwhile, Ro-hee’s memories slowly return, and their facade as father and daughter begin to unravel.
The Day premieres September 13 on ENA.
Han River Police
This action-comedy procedural follows a police team tasked with patrolling the Han River led by its chief officer played by the Reply series’ Sung Dong-il. Joining his team are the righteous Du-jin (Kwon Sang-woo), lazy Chun-seok (Kim Hee-won), competitive Na-hee (Bae Da-bin) and self-obsessed Ji-soo, played by Shin Hyung-seung. The five-man team faces off with main villain Ki-seok (Lee Sang-yi), a criminal who is hellbent on destroying the Han River.
Han River Police begins airing on September 14 via Disney+.
7 Escape
Upcoming mystery 7 Escape follows seven individuals who are somehow involved in the disappearance of a young girl. At the heart of the mystery is Matthew Lee (Penthouse’s Uhm Ki-joon), a reclusive man behind the largest mobile platform company in the country and Geum Ra-hee (Hwang Jung-eum), a money-hungry CEO of a drama production company now seeking out the daughter she abandoned.
Ra-hee is in a fierce rivalry with Cha Ju-ran (Shin Eun-kyung) over a large inheritance. Also starring in the series is ex-MBLAQ’s Lee Joon as former gangster Min Do-hyeok, Yumi’s Cells’ Lee Yoo-bi as Han Mo-ne, a wealthy girl who hopes to become an idol and Yoon Jong-hoon as Yang Jin-mo, the greedy CEO of an entertainment company. Meanwhile, Go Myung-ji (Jo Yoon-hee) is an unassuming art teacher who spreads a lie to protect a precious secret.
7 Escape premieres on SBS on September 15.
Song of the Bandits
Set in the 1920s, Song of the Bandits is a historical drama focused on the lives of a Korean settlement in the Gando region of China during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Kim Nam-gil leads the series as Lee Yoon, a soldier of the Japanese army turned bandit, who defends his countrymen in the region.
The series also stars Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun as Nam Hee-shin, who hides her identity as an official from the Japanese-run Korean government, Yoo Jae-myung as Choi Chung-soo, an independence activist and head of a Korean village and Nevertheless actress Lee Ho-jung as a gunman hired to assassinate Lee Yoon.
Song of the Bandits premieres on Netflix on September 22.
The Worst of Evil
The highly-anticipated The Worst of Evil stars Ji Chang-wook and Squid Game’s Wi Ha-joon as Park Jun-mo, an undercover police officer, and Jung Gi-cheol, the mastermind of a criminal organisation. Jun-mo begins his undercover mission after the latter begins pushing a new drug in the wealthy Gangnam district.
However, Jun-mo quickly discovers that his wife and narcotics officer Yoo Eui-jeong (Im Se-mi) has signed up for the same undercover assignment, and appears to share history with Gi-cheol.
The Worst of Evil begins streaming from September 27 on Disney+.