Shin Min-a, Lee Joon-gi, Cheney Chen: The new Korean, Thai and Chinese dramas showing in April

Popular celebrities such as Lee Byung-hun, Lee Joon-gi, Shin Min-a, Kim Woo-bin and Kyulkyung will be gracing our screens this April in shows ranging from romance to action-packed adventures. 

Whatever you're looking for — whether it's C-drama, K-drama, or Thai drama — this list of upcoming series is sure to set your heart ablaze.

Blueming 

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If you're an avid boy love webtoon reader, you would likely be excited to see the adaptation of Who Can Define Popularity coming to your screens. 

Blueming centres around popular student Cha Si-won (Kang Eun-bin), who has always been conscious about his looks and puts in a great deal of effort to be well-liked among his peers. 

Entering college, he crosses paths with the handsome and intelligent Hyeong Da-un (Jo Hyuk-joon), who threatens to be even more popular than himself.

Blueming is an ongoing K-drama series that aired on March 31 on iQiyi.

Tomorrow

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Based on a webtoon of the same name, Tomorrow follows the story of Choi Jun-woong (Rowoon) who falls into a coma by accident and becomes a half human and half spirit. 

He meets two grim reapers -— Gu Ryeon (Kim Hee-seon) and Lim Ryung-gu (Yoo Ji-on) — who are part of the Special Crisis Management Team in the underworld. Soon, Jun-woong is employed by the same company to carry out special missions.

The drama debuts on Netflix on April 1.

Brilliant Class 8

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Popular idol Xiang Dongnan (Cheney Chen) finds himself in the twilight stages of his superstar career and ends up joining a reality show which leads to him becoming a teacher. 

He moves in with his colleagues Su Qi (Karlina Zhang) and Chen Liusan (Zheng Fanxing), and forms a love-hate relationship with English teacher Su. The teachers overcome challenges to help their students and discover themselves in the process.

This C-drama airs April 1 on iQiyi.

KinnPorsche The Series La Forte

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KinnPorsche is iQiyi's first-ever original Thai production. Kinn (Mile Phakphum Romsaithong) is the second son of the Thai mafia. In an attack attempt on him, Kinn manages to escape with the help of bartender Porsche (Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat), who is well-versed in martial arts. 

After the incident, Kinn hires Porsche as his personal bodyguard and the two move in together. As the two get closer, they are confronted with multiple challenges and obstacles.

The action boy-love thriller premieres April 3 on iQiyi.

Again My Life

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As Lee Joon-gi once again take on the role of a lawyer in this new K-drama series, many fans of Lawless Lawyer may get a sense of deja vu. There are some differences though.

K (Joon-gi) is your average underachieving student. Through hard work and determination, his life changes and he becomes a righteous and hot-blooded prosecutor.

He tries to take down a corrupted politician but ends up brutally murdered. A grim reaper offers to join hands with K to give him another chance at overthrowing his powerful adversaries. After accepting the offer, he resurrects to find himself back in the past as a student once more.

Catch the series on Viu from April 8.

Our Blues

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Our Blues has generated buzz for featuring A-list celebrities such as Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Cha Seung-won, Kim Woo-bin and Han Ji-min.

The omnibus-style drama follows the sweet, sour and bitter stories of a group of diverse characters that are somewhat interconnected, in one way or another, on Jeju island.

From a truck driver and a fish shop owner to a diver and a ship captain, the show will touch on the characters' loves, heartbreaks, friendships and more as they attempt to figure out where they stand in each others' lives.

This will be Woo-bin's first project after he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2017.

The series debuts on Netflix on April 9.

Be My Princess

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Former I.O.I idol Kyulkyung plays Ming Wei, a part-time translator who has a passion for acting. 

Ming Wei is suddenly selected to play the female lead role in an upcoming drama alongside the award-winning actor Mu Tingzhou (Jeremy Tsui). 

However, he loses his memories in an accident and only remembers himself as the character he plays in the drama, recognising Ming Wei as the princess his character falls in love with.

Fans of the royalty genre can catch this on iQiyi when it airs on April 14.

The Killer's Shopping List

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The timid but intelligent Ahn Dae-sung (Lee Kwang-soo) works at his local convenience store while his girlfriend Do Da-hee (Kim Seol-hyun) is a police officer. One day, a mysterious murder takes place near an apartment building.

The only clue in the murder case is a receipt that was issued by the convenience store where Dae-sung works at. With his near-perfect memory, Ahn helps his girlfriend to investigate the case.

This is Kwang-soo's second project after undergoing a second operation for his ankle injury last year.

This airs on iQiyi and Viu from April 21.

From Now On, Showtime!

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A handsome showman Cha Cha-woong (Park Hae-jin) is no stranger to putting on a show for audiences, often making biting remarks during his shows. While he performs magic tricks to wow his audience, he also hides a strange talent of his: he can communicate with ghosts.

When he agrees to hot-blooded officer Go Seul-hae's (Jin Ki-joo) request for assistance, the pair — with guidance from supernatural sources — quickly become an unstoppable force for criminals to contend with. But as justice is served, so too is romance between the two.

Watch the magical pair fight crime on Viu from April 23.

Sh**ting Stars

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A romantic drama about love and hatred between Oh Han-byul (Lee Sung-kyung), the head of the management promotion team who is at the forefront of celebrity care, and her enemy, the perfect top star Gong Tae-sung (Kim Young-dae).

The drama debuts April 23 on Viu and tvN (Singtel TV CH 518, StarHub TV CH 824, every Saturday and Sunday at 9.15pm).

Upcoming finales

For those who dislike waiting days before the next episode drops, you can soon binge on the following dramas because guess what? The last episode will be premiering in April!

Twenty Five Twenty One

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In a time when dreams seem out of reach, teenage fencer Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri) meets a hard working young man named Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk) who seeks to rebuild his life. At ages 22 and 18, they said each other's names for the first time; and at 25 and 21, they fell in love.

Twenty Five Twenty One made its debut on Netflix on Feb 12, and its last episode will be aired April 3.

Forecasting Love and Weather

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Inside a national weather service, love is proven to be just as difficult to predict as rain or shine for diligent forecaster Jin Ha-kyung (Park Min-young) and Lee Shi-woo (Song Kang), her free-spirited coworker.

Forecasting Love and Weather debuted on Feb 12 and the finale will be shown on Netflix on April 3.

Business Proposal

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Based on a webtoon of the same title, Business Proposal tells the story of how Shin Ha-ri (Kim Se-jeong) gets tangled in a fake relationship with her CEO Kang Tae-mu (Ahn Hyo-seop). Though circumstances that started the relationship were not ideal, after much chaos, love bells ring in the air.

Business Proposal premiered on Netflix on Feb 28 and you can catch the last episode on April 5.

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers

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F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers is a Thai adaptation of the classic drama series Boys over Flowers. The life of Gorya (Tontawan Tantivejakul) takes a sharp turn as she gets involved with an infamous group of boys in school and dives deep into the world of upper class elites. 

The series debuted on Dec 18, 2021 and you can catch the finale on Viu on April 9.

Soundtrack #1

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Han Sun woo (Park Hyung-sik) is a quiet but handsome and warm-hearted rookie photographer. He has been friends with Lee Eun Soo (Han So-hee), an energetic and honest lyricist, for two decades. After the two were pushed to live together in the same house for two weeks, the line between love and friendship blurs.

The K-drama made its debut on March 23, don't miss out on its finale on Disney+ on April 13.

Grid

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This mystery-thriller stars Seo Kang-joon, Kim Ah-jung and Lee Si-young in a story that spans the past, present and future. A mysterious figure appears to complicate things, tying all three points in time together. From this, a question springs: Is this figure here to help or harm humanity?

The first episode of Grid was shown on Disney+ on Feb 16 and you can catch the last episode on April 20. 

Crazy Love

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Crazy Love marks the return of Kim Jae-wook after three years — and what better role to capture his likeness than No Go-jin, a perfect specimen of a human being, with exceptional intellect, good looks and a deep pocket.

But not all is well as he loses his memory and receives a warning that he would soon be murdered. Lost, he has no one to turn to but his introverted and reclusive secretary Lee Shin-ah (Krystal Jung So-jung).

Crazy Love made its debut on Disney+ on March 7 and the last episode will be shown April 26.

aishahm@asiaone.com