June barely settled in at the start line, and its K-drama releases are already on top. The star-studded month of South Korean hits is witnessing the comeback of household names like Park Bo Young, Park Bo Gum, Park Jinyoung (aka GOT’s Jinyoung), Kim So Hyun, Jung Kyung Ho, Seol In Ah, and Son Suk Ku and to name a few.

Despite the recent resurgence of his popularity thanks to Netflix’s romance slice-of-life series When Life Gives You Tangerines, South Korean heartthrob Park Bo Gum is aiming to crack even bigger golden milestones with another K-drama blockbuster, JTBC’s Good Boy. However, he’s not the only one racing to the top.

K-drama favourites return

Kicking off on May 31, the genre-blending comedy chaos not only put together elements of athletic themes with an action-packed narrative backed by a police procedural setting, but also an undisputed ensemble cast. Kim So Hyun (My Lovely Liar), Oh Jung Se (Revenant), Lee Sang Yi (Bloodhounds), Heo Sung Tae (Squid Game) and Tae Won Seok (Player) chase alongside Park Bo Gum to soar high on K-drama trends.

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In a parallel racing track, you find Park Bo Young (Daily Dose of Sunshine), Park Jinyoung (The Devil Judge) and Ryu Kyung Soo (Itaewon Class) matching the pace against a coming-of-age romance backdrop in Our Unwritten Seoul. The weekend tvN drama launched its 12-episode journey on May 24. Just four episodes in, the K-drama is already a raging hit among Hallyu enthusiasts, who can’t help but rave about the leading actress’ acting chops across genres.

Yet another highly-anticipated South Korean premiere was MBC’s Oh My Ghost Clients. Starring Jung Kyung Ho (Crash Course in Romance), Seol In Ah (Twinkling Watermelon), Cha Hak Yeon (Castaway Diva), Tang Jun Sang (Racket Boys), Gyeong Su Jin (Shadow Detective), and Yoo Seon Ho (Under the Queen’s Umbrella), the thriller comedy commenced its TV journey on May 30. It brings together an exceptional roster of actors, who have all previously succeeded in winning audiences’ hearts in their own right.

K-drama ratings

  • Good Boy ratings: The new action-comedy drama got off to a promising start with an average nationwide rating of 4.8%, according to Nielsen Korea. Just a day later, the show punched in its second episode on Sunday, June 1, garnering its personal-best rating of 5.3%.

Where to stream: Saturday-Sunday; JTBC (South Korea), Netflix and Disney+ (select regions), Amazon Prime Video (global, including India)

  • Our Unwritten Seoul drama ratings: tvN’s Park Bo Young-starrer soared to its highest rating with its fourth episode. The sombre series beat all its competition across network channels in its time slot to take the top spot with an average nationwide rating of 5.9%. On May 24, the first episode lifted off the ground with a score of 3.6%.

Where to stream: Saturday-Sunday; tvN (South Korea), Netflix (streaming)

  • The Haunted Palace: Yook Sung Jae and Kim Ji Yeon’s (WJSN’s Bona) SBS TV drama, which premiered in April, maintained steady ratings this past week as well. Reaching its 14-episode-mark, the show garnered a 9.5% score with its May 31 offering. Only two final episodes remain before the superhit period rom-com comes to a close.

Where to stream: Friday-Saturday; SBS TV (South Korean broadcast), Viki (international streaming)

  • Oh My Ghost Clients: Sharing its timeslot with The Haunted Palace, the new MBC drama’s second episode aired on May 31. This past week’s entry earned an average nationwide rating of 3.2%, slightly slipping from the premiere’s 4.1% score.

Where to stream: Friday-Saturday; MBC (South Korea), Netflix and Viki (select regions), Amazon Prime Video’s Channel K (India)

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  • Nine Puzzles: On the other side of OTT K-drama premieres, Kim Dami and Son Suk Ku’s Nine Puzzles flew to the top as Disney Plus’ most-watched Korean show of the year. Having debuted on May 21, the enthralling crime thriller series achieved this landmark victory just nine days in. Thanks to his current double-feature in Nine Puzzles and Heavenly Ever After, Son Suk Ku also made a strong impact on the most buzzworthy drama actors list last week. Snagging two spots in the Top 5 ‘buzzworthiness’ rankings of Good Data Corporation’s weekly list, settled in at No 4 for Heavenly Ever After and No 5 for Nine Puzzles.

Byeon Woo Seok still on top despite no drama in sight

The Lovely Runner standout sensation‘s K-drama comeback is far off, with onscreen collaboration with IU in Wife of a 21st Century Prince expected to make waves in 2026. And yet, Byeon Woo Seok held onto his No 1 spot on this month’s list of Korean Business Research Institute’s Rising Star Brand Reputation Rankings.

According to big data collection accumulated from April 30 to May 31, the unmatched Hallyu Star amassed a brand reputation index of 3,854,725, rising 24% higher than his April score. He beat other K-drama successes like Go Youn Jung (Resident Playbook), Lee Jun Young (Weak Hero Class 2), Lee Je Hoon (Taxi Driver), Choi Hyun Wook (Weak Hero Class), Lee Joon Hyuk (Love Scout), his own Lovely Runner co-star Kim Hye Yoon, Choi Woo Shik (Our Beloved Summer), and Seo Kang Joon (Undercover High School) to retain his lead.