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Pierce Conran
Journalist, producer and consultant Pierce Conran has been based in Seoul since 2012, where he served as the Korea Executive for LA-based production company and sales agent XYZ Films and as a long-time editor of the Korean Film Council’s English website KoBiz until 2021. Born in Ireland and raised in Switzerland, he received an MA in Film from Trinity College Dublin and is currently the Korean drama critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, as well as a programming adviser for the Fribourg International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest in the United States.
This revenge drama about a swindler who targets a powerful man, then loses his memory, has a few high points but mostly lacks excitement.
The Netflix drama’s fun premise gives way to a run-of-the-mill story with developments that simply feel inconsequential.
The Korean zombie subgenre has rules, and creators break them at their peril. Newtopia is stylish, but its tone is off and it lacks tension.
Squid Game’s Wi ha-joon is joining murder mystery Siren, while Ji Sung could lead time-travel drama series Judge Lee Han-young.
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Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s Park Eun-bin is barely recognisable as a talented young surgeon who falls out with her mentor (Sul Kyung-gu).
This touching story of Jeju islanders plays out over decades as urbanisation and modernisation change their worlds.
Starring Seo Kang-joon, Jin Ki-joo and Kim Shin-rok, this K-drama requires full suspension of disbelief – but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Park’s soft looks and easy smile made him popular, but it is his expressive performances and acting talent that have made him a star.
Playing an expert in mergers and acquisitions on a mission to save a debt-laden business, Lee’s slow-burn performance has us wanting more.
K-pop fans will be delighted as several idols, from Jisoo to SF9’s Chani and After School’s Nana, are taking roles in coming K-dramas.
Richer and more ambitious than most K-dramas, Netflix tale of two characters struggling to find their place in the world is vividly realised.
Obsessive rural-based researcher meets city slicker in Netflix series in which we have yet to see much evidence of chemistry between them.
From IU’s turn as a rebellious Jeju island youth to a drama directed by Parasite co-writer Han Jin-won, here are the shows not to miss.
Seo Kang-joon plays an agent who poses as a student to track down missing gold bars, while Jin Ki-joo plays his teacher in this fun comedy.
ZE:A’s Park Hyung-sik plays a man who sees his world fall apart as his private and working lives collide in unexpected ways in this K-drama.
Finale of When the Stars Gossip takes show from bad to worse, as its formerly professional female lead makes a series of bad decisions.
Two Squid Game actresses are being courted for dramas – one may star with Son Ye-jin, while the other is confirmed alongside Park Seo-joon.
With the lowest marks in school, Yoon Ga-min wants to raise them through study, but must fight for the right to stick his head in his books.
While full of promising ideas and interesting characters, Unmasked fails to tell a good story about journalistic integrity.
Korean celebrities may be loved by their fans, but make one slip-up and the online abuse starts, often fuelled by mass media.
Lee Joon-hyuk plays the implausibly perfect secretary to Han Ji-min’s CEO, and eventually her lover. Yet she has done nothing to deserve him.
Park is captivating global audiences on Netflix and Disney+, but she made her name in South Korea long ago.
A film buff, played by Choi, falls for an aspiring director (Park) who slowly warms to him in this story of love, dreams and family drama.
After a promising start involving exciting hotel drama, the Korean Netflix series descends into a turgid, predictable palace mystery.
Jisoo and Park Jung-min face a zombie apocalypse in Seoul in a series that really needs to slow down and balance its discordant elements.
Shin Min-a and Ju Ji-hoon could appear in a K-drama remake of a web novel, while a K-pop star has an offer to star in legal series Esquire.
A show intended to portray investigative journalists’ derring-do is at its best when exploring office relationships.
This Netflix series, like many sci-fi Korean dramas, doesn’t have the science or the fiction to be anything more than a formulaic romcom.
From Newtopia starring Blackpink’s Jisoo to Park Hyung-sik in Buried Hearts, nine new K-dramas to watch in February 2025.
