This is the crest of the November Hallyu wave, drama fans! Grab your remotes and get ready to surf these rides on a streaming service near you.
A couple of notes: Melancholia and The Red Sleeve Cuff both start this week. It was reported that they would debut earlier, but life happens. Also, all plot synopses are courtesy of MyDramaList.com.
Let Me Be Your Knight
November 7, Viki
Lee Jun Young (Imitation), Jung In Sun (How to Be Thirty)
The drama will be a story of romance and healing between one of the world’s greatest idols who is suffering from somnambulism and the doctor who is secretly treating him.
Yoon Tae In is an untouchable idol star who is loved all around the world, and a musical genius who believes he is the center of the universe.
Secret Royal Inspector and Joy
November 8, Viki
Ok Taec Yeon (Vincenzo), Kim Hye Yoon (Extraordinary You)
A secret royal inspector works as an undercover official who inspects local provinces to expose corruption. He teams up with a lady who is searching for happiness by getting divorced with her current husband. The duo then go on a grand scheme to discover the truth and find corruptions.
Ra Yi Eon wanted to open a dumpling store outside the capital. However, due to his cleverness, he passes the state examination and becomes an official in the Office of Special Advisors. There, he finds himself receiving secret orders to carry out missions as a secret inspector.
Kim Jo Yi is an unorthodox lady in the Joseon era who dislikes the notion of woman suffering in silence during marriage and is wholeheartedly in support of a divorce. She is passionate and is always ahead of time.
Idol: The Coup
November 8, iQIYI
Ahn Hee Yeon (You Raise Me Up), Kwak Shi Yang (Lovers of the Red Sky)
Portrays the last story of “doomed idols” who need a single “success” in order to not “disband.” The story of young people who confidently let go of their dreams as they grow through their failures and take courageous steps towards their new goals.
Kim Je Na has been a member of Cotton Candy for the past 6 years.
Cha Jae Hyuk is the CEO of the entertainment company which manages Cotton Candy. Seo Ji Han is a member of the popular idol group Mas, which belongs to the same entertainment company as Cotton Candy.
To not disband the group Cotton Candy needs only a one-time hit.
Melancholia
November 10, Viki
Im Soo Jung (Search WWW), Lee Do Hyun (Youth of May)
A sexual scandal between a math teacher and a student in a prestigious high school ended in tragedy. 4 years later they meet again, now as adults, to reveal the corruption in school and to regain one’s reputation as a teacher.
Ji Yoon Soo is a high school math teacher with a bright smile and a positive impression of others. She is a hard-nosed and stubborn person who has to push ahead with the decisions she has made. She is a math geek who loves solving difficult problems and teaches students to purely love math.
Baek Seung Yoo is emotionless and has no light in his eyes. He used to be a math genius who appeared on a quiz program at the age of five and surprised the world by solving college-level math problems. He was admitted to MIT at the age of 10 but dropped out at the age of 12, and suddenly disappeared.
The Red Sleeve Cuff
November 12, Viki
Lee Jun Ho (Confession), Lee Se Young (Kairos)
In Korea during the first half of the 1700s, Yi San is an aloof and perfection-loving young prince. His father’s killing haunts him, although it leaves him in the position to take the throne once his grandfather – the cruel and ruthless current king responsible for Yi San’s father’s death – dies. He has resolved to become a benevolent monarch who will reform the law when he eventually takes the throne, but the way his father was killed has scarred him emotionally.
At court, he meets a young woman named Sung Deok Im. Yi San falls in love with her and tries to convince her to become his official concubine. But Sung Deok Im is strong-willed and free-spirited. She is also intelligent enough to understand that becoming a royal consort to the future king is a prestigious role, but one that would restrict her freedom and likely bring her little in the way of joy. But Yi San’s love for Sung Deok Im is true, and she starts to understand that forming a union with him could ultimately benefit his troubled realm.
Now, We Are Breaking Up
November 12, Viki
Jang Ki Yong (My Roommate is a Gumiho), Song Hye Kyo (Encounter)
As the design department’s team leader of one of the nation’s top fashion companies, Ha Young Eun has made quite a name for herself in the fashion industry. Beautiful, trendy, and intelligent, Young Eun loves her work and she’s good at what she does. But when it comes to relationships, things are a bit different. Pragmatic to a fault, Young Eun often comes across as cold-hearted, as she prioritizes stability over all else.
Content in both her work and her life, Young Eun has never really been bothered by the fact that others might see her as cold. But when she meets Yoon Jae Kook, a popular freelance fashion photographer, things take an unexpected turn. The living definition of the perfect man, Jae Kook is wealthy, handsome, and intelligent, but that’s not what catches Young Eun’s attention. There’s something more to Jae Kook that Young Eun just can’t seem to ignore.
As if in a dream, Young Eun and Jae Kook find themselves falling for each other. But not all fairy tales have a happy ending. Is theirs a story that will end in heartbreak or will they manage to find their own version of happily ever after, after all?
Fly Again
November 13, Viki
Hyungwon (Monsta X), Kim Myung Ji (Class of Lies)
With dreams of becoming a celebrity constantly pushing him forward, Han Yo Han decides it’s time to make the transition from a genius dancer to an all-around talented idol. To better pursue his dreams, he transfers to Hanbit Art High School. Unfortunately, things for Yo Han don’t work out so well at his new school, especially not after an unfortunate accident steals his lifelong dreams.
Despite the accident, Yo Han is doing his best to search for a new way to make his dreams come true. Coincidentally, he finds himself frequently crossing paths with the members of the dance club, “Villains”. The more time he spends with the dance club, the more he begins to realize an entirely new world has opened up to him. As Yo Han begins to explore this exciting new world, he meets On Ji Min, an honor student who was born to be an idol. With her family constantly pushing her to do better and be the best, she has no idea how to do anything other than overachieving. However, things for both Ji Min and Yo Han change completely after their relationship takes an unexpected turn.
With new roads open before them, Yo Han and Ji Min begin to find the courage to dream new dreams. But will they be able to pursue those dreams when everyone and everything around them seems to be trying to hold them back?
Which drama wave will you be riding, drama fans? Drop down in the comments and let us know!
The Fangirls
Dramas with a Side of Kimchi