November Releases: Must-Watch K-Dramas

Even as 2025 winds down, the K-drama scene is still heating up with new releases. With actors like Lee Jung-jae and Ji Chang-wook bringing their A-game to intriguing stories like Nice to Not Meet You and The Manipulated, November’s lineup promises gripping plotlines and powerhouse performances. Here are five K-dramas that we’re most excited about this November.

Last Summer

Baek Do-ha (Lee Jae-wook) has spent every summer in Korea after his parents’ divorce, a tradition that reunites him with his twin brother, Do-young (also Lee Jae-wook), and their neighbor, Song Ha-kyung (Choi Sung-eun). Their summers together are full of laughter, petty fights, and unspoken feelings — especially since Ha-kyung’s got a crush on Do-ha, which she won’t admit. But one fateful summer, tragedy strikes when Do-young dies in an accident while rushing to help Ha-kyung. To spare her pain, Do-ha pretends to be Do-young, but only ends up making things worse. Years later, Do-ha returns to Korea to make things right with Ha-kyung, and the two find their way back to each other.

Release Date – Nov. 1

Nice to Not Meet You

Actor Lim Hyun-joon (Lee Jung-jae) is stuck in a rut, playing the same detective role over and over. He’s craving a change — to break free, and try something new. That’s when he meets Wi Jeong-sook (Lim Ji-yeon), a journalist recently reassigned from the politics beat to entertainment reporting after a controversy. During their first meeting, Jeong-sook’s sharp instincts for digging up facts clash with Hyun-joon’s need to protect his image and ego. But as they lock horns, sparks fly between them, and things get interesting.

Release Date – Nov. 3

The Manipulated

The Manipulated follows Park Tae-jung, a diligent deliveryman whose life abruptly spirals out of control. Played by Ji Chang-wook, Tae-jung is just trying to make a living and build a future. While doing his rounds one day, he picks up a lost phone and answers a call — only to hear a woman’s frantic voice begging to get it back. Next thing he knows, Tae-jung finds himself trapped in a nightmare, wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. But he’s not going to take it lying down. After his release, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it and hunt down whoever set him up. That’s when he finds out he’s been played — a pawn in a bigger game, manipulated by An Yo-han, played by D.O. (of EXO). The revelation lights a fire in him, and Tae-jung won’t stop until he settles the score.

Release Date – Nov. 5

Dear X

Kim Yoo-jung is Baek A-Jin, a top actress who’s living her best life — or so it seems. She’s got the fame, the awards, the looks, and even a picture-perfect fiancé. She knows how to play the game and charm her way to the top. But beneath the surface, A-Jin is hiding dark secrets and scars from a rough childhood. Her closest confidantes are Yoon Jun-seo (Kim Young-dae), a loyal friend she’s known since they were kids, and Kim Jae-oh (Kim Do-hoon), a friend who speaks to her soul, with whom she shares similar struggles. But when her past comes back to haunt her, A-Jin starts losing her grip on reality, and her perfect life begins to fall apart.

Release Date – Nov. 6

As You Stood By

Close friends pushed to the edge, two women plan to take down the man who’s been tormenting one of them. As You Stood By, based on Hideo Okuda’s novel Naomi and Kanako, follows Eun-su (Jeon So-nee), a department store employee haunted by her past, and Hui-su (Lee Yoo-mi), once an aspiring writer, trapped in a brutal marriage. When Eun-su discovers the true extent of Hui-su’s suffering, she proposes to murder her husband. Together, they plan the crime, but their friendship is threatened and tested like never before when a mysterious businessman, Jin So-baek (Lee Moo-saeng), catches on to what they’re up to.

Release Date – Nov. 7