The First 8 Extraordinary K-dramas of 2026 Are Here!

2026 arrives with some eagerly awaited Korean dramas. After all, we’ve been looking forward to Netflix’s Can This Love Be Translated? and SBS’s No Tail to Tell for over a year, haven’t we? With these 8 new, exciting K-dramas coming out in January 2026, we’re about to get the new year off on the right foot.

We’ll be updating this post with trailers, new dates, and international streaming services, so save this article for later! Our pin is at the bottom!

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• Release date: January 2nd, 2026
• Network: MBC (In Asia, you can watch it on HBO Max and, depending on your region, you can also find it on Viki!)
• Episodes: 14
• Main cast: Ji Sung, Park Hee-soon, and Won Jin-a
• Where have I seen these people before? We all know the great Ji Sung, who has starred in several popular series: SBS’s Connection, tvN’s Adamas, and tvN’s The Devil Judge are some of the most recent ones. Park Hee-soon was last seen in TV Chosun’s Confidence Queen, and Won Jin-a in ENA’s The Defects.
• Writer: Kim Kwang-min
• Directors: Lee Jae-jin (from MBC’s The Third Marriage) and Park Mi-yeon
• Adapted from Lee Hae-nal’s webnovel of the same name

Judge Lee Han-yeong (Ji Sung) was a righteous judge who was killed after he sentenced a powerful chairman to life in prison. To his surprise, he’s given a second chance at life. When he returns, he’s willing to do anything to right the world’s wrongs. Joining him in his quest we have the resilient Prosecutor Kim Jin-a (Won Jin-a), who wants to bring the person responsible for his father’s death to justice.

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• Release date: January 3rd, 2026
• Network: KBS2 (internationally, you can watch it on Viki)
• Episodes: 16
• Main cast: Nam Ji-hyun, Moon Sang-min, Hong Min-ki, and Han So-eun
• Where have I seen these people before? Nam Ji-hyun was last seen in SBS’s excellent Good Partner. Moon Sang-min led Coupang Play’s Cinderella at 2 AM, while Hong Min-ki was one of the leading actors in MBC’s Crushology 101. Han So-eun was part of the supporting cast of SBS’s The Haunted Palace.
• Writer: Lee Seon (from JTBC’s Doctor Cha)
• Directors: Ham Young-geol (from KBS2’s Anyone Anywhere) and Lee Ga-ram (from KBS2’s The History of Us)

Hong Eun-jo (Nam Ji-hyun), also known as Gil-dong, was born to a noble father and a slave mother. She steals from corrupt officials, trying to redistribute their wealth among the poor, but she keeps her identity well-hidden. Meanwhile, Prince Yi Yeol (Moon Sang-min) is a handsome, noble young man. When he decides to investigate Gil-dong’s thefts, he’s led to Eun-jo, with whom he falls head over heels in love.

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• Release date: January 5th, 2026
• Network: tvN (internationally, you can watch it on Prime Video)
• Episodes: 12
• Main cast: Ahn Bo-hyun, Lee Joo-bin, and Cha Seo-won
• Where have I seen these people before? Ahn Bo-hyun has led SBS’s Flex X Cop, whose second season is coming in 2026. Lee Joo-bin was part of the main cast of Disney+’s Twelve and tvN’s The Divorce Insurance. Cha Seo-won led Alwayz’s The Villain Next Door earlier this year.
• Writer: Kim A-yeong (from SBS’s The Secret Life of My Secretary)
• Director: Park Won-gook (from tvN’s Marry My Husband)
• Adapted from Baek Min-a’s web novel of the same name

Yun Bom (Lee Joo-bin) decides to leave Seoul behind and move to the small town of Sinsu, where she gets a job as an exchange teacher. There, she meets Seon Jae-gyu (Ahn Bo-hyun), the CEO of JK Power Energy, whose misadventures are always the talk of the town. Despite his tough-guy appearance, Jae-gyu is a charming, sweet, and incredibly generous person.

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• Release date: January 16th, 2026
• Network: Netflix
• Episodes: 12
• Main cast: Kim Seon-ho, Go Youn-jung, Fukushi Sota, and Lee Yi-dam
• Where have I seen these people before? The marvellous Kim Seon-ho was last seen in Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines, and Go Youn-jung in tvN’s Resident Playbook. Can This Love Be Translated? marks Fukushi Sota’s first K-drama, but if you are a J-drama fan, you might remember him in TV Asahi’s Ai no Nai Koibitotachi and NHK’s Ooku series. Lee Yi-dam was last seen in tvN’s The Queen Who Crowns, but you might also remember her from Netflix’s extraordinary Daily Dose of Sunshine.
• Writers: Hong Jeong-eun and Hong Mi-ran (from tvN’s Alchemy of Souls)
• Director: Yoo Young-eun (from KBS2’s Bloody Heart)

Cha Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung) is a world-famous celebrity relying on Joo Ho-jin (Kim Seon-ho), a multilingual interpreter, to translate the world around her as they travel filming her latest TV series.

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• Release date: January 16th, 2026
• Network: SBS (internationally, you watch it on Netflix)
• Episodes: 12
• Main cast: Kim Hye-yoon and Lomon
• Where have I seen these people before? Kim Hye-yoon starred in tvN’s hit Lovely Runner, and Lomon was last seen in Coupang Play’s Family Matters.
• Writers: Cho A-yeong and Park Chan-young (from MBN’s The Best Chicken)
• Director: Kim Jung-kwon (from tvN’s Maestra: Strings of Truth)

Eun-ho (Kim Hye-yoon) is a mischievous nine-tailed fox who enjoys her eternal youth as she takes advantage of the pleasures of the human world. One day, she meets famous football player Kang Si-yeol (Lomon), a narcissistic young man who revels in his fame and wealth. When these two come together, their lives change forever.

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• Release date: January 17th, 2026
• Network: tvN (internationally, you can watch it on Netflix)
• Episodes: 16
• Main cast: Park Shin-hye, Go Kyung-pyo, Ha Yoon-kyung, and Cho Han-gyeol
• Where have I seen these people before? I’m sure everyone knows Park Shin-hye very well — SBS’s The Judge from Hell, JTBC’s Doctor Slump, and JTBC’s Sisyphus: The Myth are some of her latest works. Go Kyung-pyo was last seen in JTBC’s Frankly Speaking, while Ha Yoon-kyung was part of the main cast of Disney+’s Gangnam B-Side. Cho Han-gyeol had a supporting role in JTBC’s My Youth and SBS’s The Winning Try.
• Writer: Moon Hyun-kyung (from KBS2’s Into the Ring)
• Director: Park Seon-ho (from ENA’s Brewing Love)

Set in the late 1990s, Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye) is a highly skilled, persistent supervisor for the Financial Supervisory Service. She’s assigned to an undercover operation, in which she has to join Hanmin Securities Company as Hong Jang-mi, a high school graduate. There, she meets the company’s CEO, Sin Jeong-woo (Go Kyung-pyo). Jeong-woo doesn’t trust anyone and will use any means necessary to achieve his goals. In their youth, Jeong-woo loved Geum-bo wholeheartedly — and he can’t believe how much Geum-bo and Jang-mi look alike.

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• Release date: January 17th, 2026
• Network: Channel A (internationally, you can watch it on Viki)
• Episodes: 12
• Main cast: Choi Jin-hyuk, Oh Yeon-seo, Hong Jong-hyun, and Kim Da-som
• Where have I seen these people before? Choi Jin-hyuk was last seen in JTBC’s Miss Night and Day, and Oh Yeon-seo was part of the main cast of tvN’s The Player 2: Master of Swindlers. You might remember Hong Jong-hyun in Coupang Play’s What Comes After Love, while Kim Da-som has just finished ENA’s Salon De Holmes.
• Writer: So Hae-won
• Director: Kim Jin-seong (from tvN’s When the Stars Gossip)
• Adapted from Lee Jeong’s web novel of the same name.

Kang Du-jun (Choi Jin-hyuk) is a second-generation chaebol who has decided to dedicate his life to his family and company after his brother’s passing. Meanwhile, Jan Hui-won (Oh Yeon-seo) is a hard-working woman who has sworn off marriage. Their lives turn upside down after an impulsive one-night stand.

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• Release date: January 31st, 2026
• Network: KBS2 (we’re waiting to hear about international distribution)
• Episodes: 50
• Main cast: Jin Se-yeon and Park Ki-woong
• Where have I seen these people before? Jin Se-yeon led MBN’s Bad Memory Eraser last year, and Park Ki-woong was last seen in DramaX’s Anyway Thirty.
• Writer: Park Ji-sook (from JTBC’s The Tale of Lady Ok)
• Directors: Han Jun-seo (from KBS2’s The Real Has Come!) and Bae Eun-hye

Kong Ju-a (Jin Se-yeon) is the daughter of a renowned doctor whose parents force her to follow in his footsteps. Despite getting her medical license, she gives up on her potential career as a doctor and decides to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer. As she works to achieve her objective, she meets Yang Hyeon-bin (Park Ki-woong), the sincere and hard-working general manager of Taehan SNC fashion division.

Why not pin this post to help you remember to watch all these fantastic K-dramas coming out in January 2026?

So, which new K-dramas are you watching in January 2026?