When Life Gives You Tangerines and 9 Other Best K-Dramas Released in 2025 You Can't Miss

The Korean TV industry is working like clockwork – not much time has passed since the beginning of the year and the number of decent K-dramas for all tastes is already astounding.

We have chosen only the most intriguing releases – from a psychological thriller to a zombie apocalypse.

1. When Life Gives You Tangerines, 2025

Release Date: March 7

Ae-sun is a happy girl from a poor family on Jeju Island. Despite her hardships, she dreams of becoming a poet. Ae-sun loves books, but financial difficulties prevent her from going to school. However, the girl does not give up and continues to study on her own.

Gwan-sik is her childhood friend. He is a man of few words, but incredibly loyal to Ae-sun. While the girl dreams of the big world and success, Gwan-sik tries to improve her life as much as he can.

When Life Gives You Tangerines is a poignant family drama, a romantic story about dreamy youth, rebellion, growing up, and true love, and a historical picture of the lives of ordinary people on Jeju Island.

2. Friendly Rivalry, 2025

Release Date: February 10

This story about the limits of friendship, the price of ambition and inner struggle, set in an elite school, is reminiscent of the acclaimed Elite. Friendly Rivalry is an action-packed school drama with elements of a psychological thriller.

Woo Seul-gi is a girl who grew up in an orphanage. Given a chance at a new life, she enrolls in a prestigious school, where the country's brightest and most influential teens study. However, the elite society is in no hurry to accept the new girl.

Woo Seul-gi is ignored until she catches the attention of Yoo Jae-i, the star of the school. The girls quickly become close, but their friendship gradually turns into a dangerous rivalry.

3. Newtopia, 2025

Release Date: February 7

Lee Jae-yoon is a 26-year-old soldier serving in an air defense unit. He feels insecure about his relationship, which has reached a dead end.

His girlfriend Kang Young-ju keeps asking Jae-yoon about the future and he finally decides that a breakup is the only way for both of them. But Jae-yoon's plans to tell Young-ju that it's over are thwarted by a zombie outbreak.

A strong team of writers has been assembled to work on this drama. Oscar-winning screenwriter Han Ji-won worked on Parasite. Ji Ho-jin wrote the script for A Shop for Killers. Han Sang-woon gave the world the popular drama Happiness, in which an unknown virus turns the residents of a high-rise into zombie-like creatures.

4. The Witch, 2025

Release Date: February 15

Mi-jeong is a beautiful, intelligent and successful woman. But this seemingly carefree life has a terrifying secret: any man who falls in love with her either dies or is seriously injured.

Because of this, Mi-jeong has been nicknamed a witch. She has already gotten used to her loneliness, but an unexpected meeting with Lee Dong-jin, her high school sweetheart, turns everything upside down. Lee Dong-jin is not afraid of the woman's dark reputation and decides to find out what is behind this mystical curse.

5. My Dearest Nemesis, 2025

Release Date: February 17

Baek Soo-jung met Ban Joo-yeon, nicknamed Black Salt Dragon, in a popular online game when she was still a schoolgirl. Fate brought them together again 16 years later – this time in real life. Now they are boss and employee.

The drama is based on Hye Jin-yang's web novel of the same name. My Dearest Nemesis touches on several topics: addiction to online games, first love, and the ethics of the relationship between a boss and a subordinate.

6. The Queen Who Crowns, 2025

Release Date: January 6

The story takes place in the early 15th century. Queen Wongyeong of the Min dynasty helps one of the princes to take the throne. For the sake of power, King Lee Bang-won violates his father's will and kills his own brother, the legitimate heir.

The family and political feuds do not end there: a new coup is being prepared. While the ruler desperately tries to strengthen his position, his relationship with the queen is in crisis.

The drama is based on real historical events. Queen Wongyeong was a key figure in the political life of Korea during the Joseon era. Thanks to her support, Lee Bang-won came to power. Over time, however, their relationship changed: love and trust gave way to estrangement and even contempt.

7. Study Group, 2025

Release Date: January 23

This is an inspiring story about how even in the most difficult circumstances, you can find a way out if you have people around you who are willing to help you.

Yoon Ga-min is a student at one of the most troubled schools in the country. Despite his sincere desire to study, he still fails. However, Yoon is really good at one thing – martial arts.

Realizing that he has no future without education, he forms a study group to improve his academic performance. But when his friends are harassed by bullies, Yoon Ga-min is forced to use brute force.

8. When the Stars Gossip, 2025

Release Date: January 4

Gong Ryong is an obstetrician-gynecologist and potential son-in-law of one of the richest men in Korea. He goes on a space flight as a tourist, but in reality this is just a cover for a secret and dangerous mission assigned to him by his future father-in-law.

At the space station, Gong Ryong meets Eve Kim, the captain of the ship. There is a mutual attraction between the two, but their partners are waiting for them on earth.

This is a captivating series in the spirit of Gravity and The Tree of Life, in which science fiction, romance and philosophical reflections on the nature of the universe coexist.

9. Motel California, 2025

Release Date: January 10

Ji Kang-hee grew up in a small provincial motel called California, which was run by her father. Her childhood was far from perfect, and after finishing her studies, the girl left to conquer Seoul.

After 12 years, Kang-hee returns to her hometown, not by choice, but because of circumstances. Here she meets not only her past, but also her first love – Cheon Yeon-soo.

Now he works as a veterinarian and is respected by the locals. However, popularity has its drawbacks: Yeon-soo is constantly forced to evade intrusive matchmakers.

10. Undercover High School, 2025

Release Date: February 21

National Intelligence Service agent Jeong Hae-seong is sent on another mission to a prestigious high school. He must pose as a student and find out where Emperor Gojong's gold bars are hidden.

The task is complicated by the fact that Korean history teacher Oh Su-a begins to think that Hae-seong looks like her first love.

This is the latest project of director Choi Jung-in, the creator of last year's historical hit Knight Flower. In that project, Lee Hanee played a righteous widow during the day and dressed up as a warrior at night, saving villagers from criminals.