Seven Unmissable New K-Dramas and Korean Films Out in June 2022

Looking for your K-drama fix? There are plenty of options to choose from in the coming month, with something for every taste, from romantic dramas to action thrillers.

Here, we look at some of the most exciting new K-dramas and Korean films slated for release in June 2022.

Eve

Release date: June 1

Starring Seo Yea-ji (known from the hit Netflix K-drama It’s Okay to Not Be Okay), this melodram, airing on South Korea’s tvN television channel, sees the daughter of a wealthy “chaebol” (a Korean family conglomerate) at the center of a high profile divorce lawsuit, reported South Korea’s Hankookilbo.

The show, which also stars Park Byung-eun (from the hit Kingdom zombie thriller series on Netflix), sees Seo’s character Rael execute a carefully designed revenge plan following the shocking death of her father as a child, according to Star Today and other Korean media.

Eve will be available for streaming on Rakuten Viki, the largest streaming service for Asian content in the U.S.

Why Her

Release date: June 3

The drama (airing on the South Korean television channel SBS) follows the “bittersweet but heartwarming” story of a young female lawyer (played by Seo Hyun-jin, seen recently in You Are My Spring on Netflix) who aspires to “a wrong type of success” due to the wrong choices she’s made, SBS describes.

She manages to “modify her life” after falling in love with a man and later learns to love herself, whom she had “never loved properly before,” the network says.

The series also stars Huh Joon-ho, the veteran Korean actor known most recently from the aforementioned Kingdom series and Escape from Mogadishu, the political action thriller which was the opening film of the 2021 New York Asian Film Festival.

Why Her will be available for streaming on Rakuten Viki.

Cleaning Up

Release date: June 4

Based on the British drama series of the same name on ITV, Cleaning Up (airing on the South Korean channel JTBC) sees three female cleaners who work for a securities firm get thrust into the world of stock trading after randomly overhearing a piece of insider trading information, according to South Korea’s Sports Today.

The cleaners are played by Korean actresses Yum Jung-ah (from Sky Castle on Netflix), Jun So-min (known from various K-dramas and the famed Korean variety show Running Man) and Kim Jae-hwa (who also starred in Escape from Mogadishu).

The series also features an enigmatic, mysteriously charming man name Young-shin (played by Lee Moo-saeng, seen most recently in the heartbreaking rom-com Thirty-Nine, and sci-fi series The Silent Sea on Netflix) who is an informant at the firm, reported South Korea’s 10 Asia.

Broker

Release date: June 8

Broker by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, which premiered in May 2022 at 75th annual Cannes Film Festival, will be available on general release on June 8.

The film, which is competing for the top Palme d’Or award at the festival, follows a journey of unexpected encounters surrounding a baby box, where mothers anonymously drop off babies they’re unable to raise.

The movie stars Parasite actor Song Kang-ho (as a baby broker who rehomes abandoned babies), IU (also known as Lee Ji-eun, seen recently on Hotel Del Luna on Netflix) as well as Song’s co-star from The Host, Bae Doona (seen recently in The Silent Sea, and also known from the Kingdom and other series on Netflix), who plays a detective chasing after the team of baby brokers.

Yumi’s Cells Season 2

Release date: June 10

Yumi’s Cells, the romantic drama based on a digital comic series of the same available on WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, returns for a second season.

Starring Kim Go-eun (best known from the cult classic K-drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God also starring Squid Game actor Gong Yoo) and Jinyoung from K-pop band GOT7 and various K-dramas, Yumi’s Cells looks at the life of office worker Yumi (Kim’s character) from the viewpoint of the cells in her head.

The teaser for the latest season portrays a budding sweet romance between Yumi and her colleague Ba-bi (played by Jinyoung).

Yumi’s Cells Season 2 will be available for streaming on Rakuten Viki.

Money Heist: Korea—Joint Economic Area Part 1

Release date: June 24

One of the most highly anticipated K-drama releases of 2022, Money Heist: Korea—Joint Economic Area Part 1 on Netflix is the Korean remake of the cult Spanish series Money Heist.

Following the same premise as the original show, the Korean series will see a team of robbers (including Berlin, the team’s second-in-command, played by Squid Game actor Park Hae-soo) be recruited by the mysterious Professor character (played by Yoo Ji-tae, known from the famed Korean film Oldboy) to stage an unprecedented hostage robbery.

The latest remake takes place on the Korean peninsula against the backdrop of a forthcoming unification that would see the North and South form “an economic union” and implement the use of a common currency, according to the latest teaser clip for the show.

“Once the North opened up, we thought everyone would benefit. But in reality, only the rich got richer. Welcome to capitalism,” says the narrator in the clip. “It’s time for us, left with nothing, to claim our benefits. We are going to pull off the single ever money heist.”

The clip concludes with the mysterious words of Jeon Jong-seo (who plays the Tokyo character in the Korean series), smirking and saying: “We’re going to do bad things,” before cutting to a dramatic shootout between the heist members and the police.

Decision to Leave

Release date: June 29

The new film from Park Chan-wook, the visionary director behind several Korean films including BAFTA-winner The Handmaiden and Oldboy, will be on general release on June 29, following its premiere at the Cannes film festival in May 2022.

It is also competing for the Palme d’Or award.

The film, starring Chinese actress Tang Wei and Park Hae-il (from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s The Host and Memories of Murder) as well as Go Kyung-Pyo (seen recently in the gripping Netflix K-drama D.P. in 2021), sees a police officer, who investigates the death of a man in the mountains, develops conflicted feelings of suspicion and interest for the mysterious wife of the deceased.