October 2026 is set to be a busy month for K-drama fans. The lineup covers a little bit of everything, from romances and healing dramas to medical thrillers, period espionage stories and even a drama set around a cooking competition. If you are already planning your October watchlist, here are the Korean dramas arriving throughout the month, along with their release dates, casts, story details and streaming platforms.
The romantic comedy stars Kim Tae Hoon, Jung Soon Won, Moon Woo Jin and Kangnam. Remake of Japanese medical drama Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon, this follows Gye Soo Jeong ( Kim Ji Won ), a highly skilled surgeon who refuses to play along with the corrupt practices inside her hospital. The cast also includes Lee Yeon Hee, Im Se Mi and Joo Jong Hyuk. The drama will stream on Studio Flow. Seo Jung Yeon and Kim Min Seok will also be appearing in the drama. Though it is unclear if it will be available on JioHotstar in India. The upcoming Japanese-Korean drama follows Lee Yoo Bin ( Ji Chang Wook ), a Korean spatial planner who is struggling to find his footing in life. Things take an unexpected turn when he meets Shirahama Karin (Imada Mio), a Japanese strawberry farmer living on a scenic island. Their meeting sets the stage for a cross-border romance, with the two finding a connection despite coming from different backgrounds. The series is a collaboration between South Korea’s CJ ENM and Japan’s Nippon TV. Instead of keeping her distance from the politics and power struggles around her, she decides to take them on and uncover what is really happening. The drama combines the familiar medical setting with a darker story of corruption, power and the fight to expose those pulling the strings. Her life changes when she takes on a false identity and goes undercover inside the Japanese government, secretly working as a spy for the Korean independence movement. Her mission becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with a government interpreter ( Park Jinyoung ), who is also the son of the Inspector General. The drama also stars alongside Kim Hyun Joo, Lee Moo Saeng and Jin Seon Kyu. This series follows Yeon Su (Nam Ji Hyun), a woman with traditional views whose carefully ordered life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Dokgo Dal (Kim Jae Young), the confident CEO of a successful sex toy company. Their very different personalities and outlooks lead to a series of awkward and funny situations as they get to know each other. The relationship also pushes Yeon Su to question some of the assumptions she has held for years. It will be streaming on Viki. Adapted from the web novel Why You Don’t Know It’s a Girl? by Lee A Yeon and Ryu Do Ha, this drama blends workplace romance with a mystery. Yim Si-wan plays a sheltered conglomerate heir Yun I Jun ( Yim Si Wan ) who finds himself at the centre of an investigation after being accused of killing his former secretary. An undercover investigator Kang Jae Hui (Seol In Ah) assigned to the case. As she gets closer to uncovering what really happened, she joins him as his new secretory as a man. She finds herself spending more time with the man she is investigating. What starts as a professional relationship soon becomes complicated when unexpected feelings enter the picture. It will stream on Prime Video. The series follows a high-pressure culinary competition that brings talented Korean chefs from around the world together as they battle for the top spot. The drama explores the intense rivalries, pressure and ambition inside the kitchen, while putting food and cooking at the centre of the story. He soon finds himself up against a group of skilled competitors, including a formidable chef Cha U Jin (Chang Ryul). Hyo Seop leads the cast, alongside Hong Hwa Yeon, Chang Ryul and Jung Eugene. As the two get drawn into an unusual experience, Ha Yeon finds herself caught up in a summer she will not easily forget before eventually returning to her everyday life. The drama seems like an adaptation of the British Show with the same name though the makers are yet to confirm it. It also stars Ok Ja Yeon and Im Seong Jae. This follows Byeon Hyeok Jun ( Lee Jae Wook ), a young man struggling to make ends meet. The money sounds too good to pass up, but the jobs come with their own risks. What starts as a desperate attempt to earn some extra cash soon pulls Hyeok-jun into a strange and dangerous world. Lee Jae Wook, currently serving in South Korean military, leads the cast.
The show will premiere on October 1, 2026, and will have eight episodes. Between Steps will premiere on October 5, 2026, and will air on ENA and stream on Disney+. The series will have 12 episodes. It will premiere on October 7, 2026, and will be available to watch on Disney+, Nippon TV and Hulu. The series will premiere on October 9, 2026, and will stream on Netflix with 12 episodes. Set in 1930s Gyeongseong during the Japanese occupation of Korea, 100 Days of Deception follows Lee Ga Gyeong ( Kim You Jung ), a skilled pickpocket who dreams of saving enough money to escape her difficult circumstances. 100 Days of Deception will premiere on Netflix on October 10, 2026, with 16 episodes. The drama premieres on October 15, 2026, and will have 10 episodes. Starring Kim Jung Hyun and Yeon Woo as well, the 12-episode drama will premiere on October 19, 2026, on tvN. Final Table will premiere on October 24, 2026, on Prime Video and will have 12 episodes. This is a long-awaited drama that was filmed in 2023 and is finally set to premiere in October 2026. Blending teenage romance with fantasy, the series follows 18-year-old Kim Ha Yeon (Cho Yi Hyun), whose ordinary summer holiday takes an unexpected turn after a mysterious encounter with Jo Yoo Gyeom (Jung Jin Young). It will be available to watch on Wavve from October 26, 2026. The Perfect Lie will premiere on Disney+ on October 30, 2026. This show is scheduled to premiere on October 30, 2026 on Netflix.
Chef Kang Han ( Ahn Hyo Seop ) enters the competition representing “Familia” after an unexpected turn of events. His life takes an unexpected turn when he discovers the “Spyder Human Resource Center”, an unusual employment agency offering part-time jobs that pay 50 times the standard hourly rate.
This K-drama premieres on October 9, 2026, and will be available to watch on Netflix. The series will have 12 episodes. This series kicks off October’s K-drama lineup with a supernatural mystery centred on a mysterious taxi driver. Cha Tae Hyun plays a driver whose passengers are far from ordinary. They cannot simply hail his cab on the street, and his service comes with a set of unusual rules that slowly become part of the mystery. The drama follows the strange passengers who get into his taxi and the stories they carry with them. As their journeys unfold, questions also arise about the driver himself and why his taxi operates by such different rules. The series stars Kim Woo Suk, Lee Jung Eun and Son Hyun Joo. It marks her first role in two years following the success of Queen of Tears. The series blends sci-fi with romance and follows Baek Ho Rang (Kim Young Kwang), a wealthy chaebol heir whose seemingly perfect life hides a serious problem. He relies on an artificial heart to stay alive, but its power is slowly running out. As Ho Rang searches for a way to keep himself alive, his plans become more complicated when an unexpected romance enters his life. He meets Na Bo Bae ( Chae Soo Bin ), a miraculous woman who is capable of keeping him alive. The series is based on the web novel Recharge Me. This k-drama marks the reunion that is likely to catch the attention of fans. Yoo Yeon Seok and Seo Hyun Jin reunite nearly a decade after they worked together in Dr. Romantic. It follows Kang Ji Seon and Min Jun Ho after what appears to be a perfect first date. Things soon take a disturbing turn when the two remember the same incident in completely different ways. As their versions of events continue to clash, they begin searching for the truth while questioning everything they thought they knew about each other. With trust quickly becoming the biggest casualty, the question is simple: who is telling the truth and who is lying?
Park Min Jae (Choo Young Woo), a former competitive swimmer whose sporting career comes to an end after an illness leaves him without his right leg. He later turns to academics and begins working towards a PhD in robotics. It is there that he meets a woman Lim Yu Jin (Kim So Hyun) , who has also had to give up on her dream of becoming a medical student. As they adjust to their changed circumstances, the two slowly grow closer and find comfort in each other.
Marking filmmaker Ahn Pan Seok’s last project before he passed away earlier this year, this follows two people who are forced to rethink their lives after losing the futures they had once planned for themselves.
