By Puja Talwar

From slow-burn romances to taut thrillers, and tales of survival to revenge sagas, the global fandom for K-dramas has seen an exponential rise. In 2021 Netflix’s Squid Games scripted history, breaking viewership records and taking home the Golden Globes and Emmys a first for a non-English series.

With the increase in consumption of Korean content, the streaming service revealed over 60 percent of its members were watching Korean titles across the world, unveiling its biggest-ever lineup for 2023.

The much-awaited Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee monster thriller “ Gyeongseong Creature” set in 1945, will have the two actors up against a monster born out of human greed in post-war Korea.

Climate change, poor air quality as humans struggle to breathe, Kim Woo Bin as a delivery driver leading the fate of the remaining few in the S Korean peninsula in the dystopian sci-fi “Black Knight’.

Come February celebrate Valentine’s Day with Kim Ok Vin and Yoo Teo in “Love To Hate You” a rom-com as a rookie lawyer at an entertainment agency gets involved with a cynical and distrustful superstar.

Get set to time travel with Business Proposal star Ahn Hyo Seop in “ A Time Called You”. The Fiery Priest, Kim Nam Gil’s Song Of The Bandits, a period drama set against the background of Japan’s colonization of Korea also stars Girls Generation’s Seohyun.

Hit shows return with a second season, first up Song Hye Kyo’s gritty revenge thriller “The Glory” drops its second season in March. Jung Haein’s critically acclaimed D.P. which gave a hard-hitting narrative on the systematic issues in the Korean military is all set to unveil its second season. Song Kang returns with the second edition of the apocalyptic thriller, “Sweet Home.”

“Over the last year, Korean series and films have regularly featured in our Global Top 10 list in more than 90 countries, and three of Netflix’s most-watched shows ever are from Korea. This year, we’re pushing the envelope even further with the stories we tell and how we tell them. With this lineup of Korean titles, Netflix will continue to be the ultimate destination for compelling, diverse, and must-watch Korean storytelling,” said Don Kang, VP of Content (Korea).

Apart from unscripted shows, several films lined up for the year include the sci-fi thriller “Jung-E”, “Kill Boksoon” a story of a serial killer with conflicting maternal instincts, and the dark “Ballerina” a gritty drama about the teacher-student rivalry.