New year, new dramas! From doctors with possession issues to early criminal profilers to high school students avoiding zombies, January has a serious mixed bag ready for our consumption. Come see what you’ll be watching this month!
All synopses courtesy of MyDramaList.com
Ghost Doctor
January 3, Viki, starring Rain (Welcome 2 Life), Uee (My Husband Oh Jak Doo), Kim Bum (Law School)
Cha Young Min is a genius doctor, with excelling skills at surgery, but he is arrogant and selfish. One day, he gets involved in an unexpected case, and due to this, his spirit possesses another doctor’s body, namely Seong Tak. These two doctors are complete opposites, with opposite personalities and medical abilities.
While Young Min is arrogant and cold-blooded, who only cares about his career, and doesn’t care about any of his patient’s personal stories, Seong Tak is the luckiest and richest resident doctor whose grandfather is the founder of Myung-shin hospital and mother is the chairman of the hospital. Never wanting to be a good doctor, he becomes processed by the two ghost doctors with completely different backgrounds.
Tracer
January 7, Wavve, starring Im Si Wan (Run On), Son Hyun Joo (The Good Detective), Go Ah Sung (Crime Puzzle)
Hwang Dong Joo is the chief of taxation division 5 at the National Tax Service. He works hard to trace money that is hidden from the tax service. His team includes Seo Hye Young, who has a bright personality and his boss is Oh Young.
Meanwhile, In Tae Joon is the director of a regional tax office. He is an ambitious man, who has earned his way to the top through corrupt and illegal actions, all-the-while maintaining his cocky attitude.
Through the Darkness
January 14, Viki, starring Kim Nam Gil (Fiery Priest), Kim So Jin (Escape from Mogadishu), Jin Seon Gyu (Space Sweepers)
In Seoul, South Korea, in the 1990s, the nation is gripped with terror after a series of brutal murders strikes terror into the hearts of its citizens. A mysterious figure known as Red Hat has been stalking the streets, following women, terrorizing them, and then killing them in apparently motiveless attacks. The police are baffled – the killer seems to strike at random. They struggle to understand when this murderer will attack next and why the killings are taking place.
Having heard about the way that the American FBI is using criminal profilers to build “profiles” of killers in such cases, the head of the Criminal Behavior Analysis team Gook Young Soo turns to Song Ha Young, a quiet, reserved, but incredibly perceptive team member for help. Gook Young Soo thinks that using this new method, the police might stand a chance of identifying the killer – and making the murders stop. But the police – including the homicide expert Yoon Tae Goo are now in totally uncharted territory. Will their radical new approach to fighting crime work? And does Song Ha Young really have the skills it will take to track down this fiendish murderer?
Internal Medicine Director Park
January 14, starring Lee Seo Jin (Times), Ra Mi Ran (Black Dog)
Dr. Park Won Jang recently opened his own internal medicine clinic. His goal is to become acknowledged as a skilled physician and make a lot of money in the process. He thought that if he opened his own clinic, the money would soon roll in. Reality is a little different for Park Won Jang. His clinic receives very few patients and it is teetering on insolvency. He struggles to save his clinic. Making things worse, he also suffers from hair loss. Meanwhile, Park Won Jang is married to Sa Mo Rim. His wife trusts the advice of medical TV programs more than her husband.
Color Rush 2
January 21, Viki, starring Yoo Jun (Color Rush), Hyuk (VIXX)
Yeon Woo is a “mono” who sees the world in tones of gray, until he meets his “probe” soulmate, Yoo Han, who causes his world to explode in color. As they explore their feelings for each other, the two boys, with the help of classmate Se Hyun, dig deeper into the mysteries surrounding Yeon Woo’s mother’s disappearance.
Flying Butterflies
January 24, starring Kim Hyang Gi (Moment at 18), Choi Daniel (The Ghost Detective)
Set at Fly High, Butterfly hair salon and follows the workers there.
Gi Bbeum is in her early 20’s and works at Fly High, Butterfly as an assistant intern. She works with three other assistant interns: Moo Yeol, Teacher Woo, and Soo Ri. Gi Bbeum works hard, but she has a hard time dealing with customers.
Gwang Soo is a hairstylist at Fly High Butterfly. He is enthusiastic at his job and he works with hair salon director Michel and hairstylist Jen.
All of Us Are Dead
January 28, Netflix, starring Park Ji Hoo (Beautiful World), Yoon Chan Young (Everything and Nothing), Jo Yi Hyun (School 2021)
All of Us Are Dead is about a group of high school students who are faced with an extreme crisis situation when they become trapped in their school while a zombie virus spreads like a wildfire.
First Love for the Third Time
January 30, starring Jin Gun, Jeon Chang Ha
The drama tells the story of Yeon Seok, a popular web novelist who remembers his past, and while living his third life, he meets his first love, Ha Yeon, who in this life reincarnated as a 25 year old man who is the editor in charge of Sinb Books.
Shooting Star
January 31, iQIYI, starring Lee Sung Kyung (About Time), Kim Young Dae (Cheat on Me If You Can)
The story talks about the people who work behind-the-scenes of the entertainment industry, such as PR teams, managers, and reporters, and clean up the messes created by the stars. It tells of Oh Han Byul, the head of the PR team at an entertainment agency, and the flawless top star Gong Tae Sung, who is also her natural enemy. They bicker all the time, but soon also develop feelings for each other.
(No promotional materials available at this time.)
We hope your new year’s resolutions include watching more dramas, kdrama fans, because there’s plenty more where that came from! What will you be watching?
The Fangirls
Dramas with a Side of Kimchi