Netflix Korea announced the lineup of 34 new series and movies for the new year, including "The Glory" season 2, new seasons for "Sweet Home," "D.P," and newcomers “Gyeongseong Creature,” "Doona!," "Rebel Moon," "Jung_E," and "Stolen Identity."

With 60 percent of all Netflix users having consumed Korean content last year, according to the streaming service, and the demand for Korean dramas continuing to grow, Netflix is churning out more Korean series than ever before. In 2022, 25 Korean originals were released on Netflix. That number has grown to 34 for 2023.

“The Glory” season 2, first airing on May 10 this year, will deliver the second act of the school bullying-revenge thriller starring actor Song Hye-kyo. Highly anticipated second seasons for “Sweet Home” and “D.P.” will also be released — each series is a monster apocalypse drama and a story about soldiers who scout the country for other soldiers who have escaped from the military.

“Gyeongseong Creature,” a monster thriller set in the colonial Japanese rule era of 1945, tells the story of the darkest days of Korean history and stars Han So-hee, Park Seo-joon and Wi Ha-joon.

“Doona!,” starring singer-turned-actor Suzy, is a romance drama that tells the story of ordinary college student Won-jun, who meets Doona, a retired idol who has left a glamorous life as a K-pop star to share a home with other youth. Based on the popular webtoon series of the same name, Suzy stars as the titular Doona, and all eyes are on how the parallels between Doona’s character and Suzy herself will capture audiences.

Global movie fans will also be attracted to international collaborative films being introduced on Netflix. “Rebel Moon,” directed by Zack Snyder and featuring Korean star Bae Doona, tells the story of a young woman who seeks out warriors from far-away planets to battle tyrannical armies wreaking havoc on her home planet.

Netflix is also diving into sci-fi with “Jung_E,” a rare attempt in Korea where the genre is not much explored. Starring the late Kang Soo-youn, Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo from “Hellbound,” the film is about a woman scientist who seeks to clone the brain of a legendary solider, her own mother, in order to fight robots.

“Stolen Identity” is also about a rare topic that was previously not dealt with widely in Korea — personal information and privacy. An ordinary office worker, played by Im Si-wan, loses his smartphone containing all his private information, and gets embroiled in unimaginable tragedies as a consequence.

Romance is also on the playing field for Netflix. A bout of romance dramas, including “Crash Course in Romance,” “King the Land,” “Love to Hate You” and “See You In My 19th Life” are all hitting the streaming service this year.

With an abundance of choices, viewers will have to make some tough decisions about what to watch this year on Netflix.


BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]