Before the end of August, Netflix released its last K-drama for the month. Destined With You stars SF9 idol and K-drama actor Rowoon as a handsome yet stoic lawyer who has a long-standing family curse.
Rowoon is climbing the K-drama ladder, having made the transition from K-Pop idol to on-screen heartthrob in well-respected storylines. His impressive stature makes for unique on-screen visuals with his female co-stars. Destined With You will be Rowoon’s third K-drama for Netflix and promises yet another swoon-worthy romance as the character Jang Shin-yu.
He meets civil servant Lee Hong-Jo (Jo Bo-ah) who comes into possession of a sealed wooden box containing a centuries-old book. The book becomes the key to freeing Shin-yu from his curse.
While fans get to watch Rowoon dazzle in a suit and tie for Destined With You on a weekly basis on Netflix, there are more of his K-dramas to binge-watch. From his first leading role to an International Emmy winner, Rowoon is going places.
Rowoon’s first leading role was in the teen K-drama Extraordinary You
The 2019 K-drama, Extraordinary You, is well-known for some of the few storylines with a fourth wall break. Eun Dan-o (Kim Hye-yoon) seems like a main character between attending a prestigious school, wealthy parents, a heart condition, and a bad boy fiancé. Who actually doesn’t like her?
But she breaks the fourth wall when she learns she is only a supporting character. Her life, along with everyone else’s, is being controlled by a webtoon artist. Becoming obvious to the tell-tale signs and tropes of a teen romance, Dan-o decides to forge her own path.
During a canon event she knows will happen, she is saved by an unknown male character. Dan-o ventures to find him and meets him. But due to him not being written as a main character, he has no name or backstory. Dan-o names him Ha-ro, played by K-drama actor Rowoon. Due to Dan-o’s meddling, she is breaking the rules of the webtoon and putting everyone in jeopardy.
Extraordinary You is available to stream on Viki.
She Would Never Know was Rowoon’s first serious romance K-drama
Rowoon starred as the male lead, Chae Hyun-seung, in JTBC’s novel-based K-drama She Would Never Know. It was the first time Rowoon took part in a more mature and serious romance storyline as two cosmetic company employees navigate love.
Yoon Song-a (Won Jin-a) is good at her job as a marketer for a well-known cosmetics brand. Hyun-seung, a marketing intern, joins the team and becomes infatuated with her. But there are a few problems. While Hyun-seung tries to approach her, she refuses his advances. Why? She does not like dating younger men.
There is also the common K-drama trope of Song-a having a wrongful relationship with her engaged boss. Hyun-seung is the only one to know about the relationship and tries to save Song-a when he can. Along the way in She Would Never Know, fans watch a blossoming love story that gets caught up in life ambitions and adulthood.
She Would Never Know is available on Netflix.
Rowoon’s 2021 K-drama The King’s Affection won an International Emmy
The King’s Affection was the talk of the town during its run on Netflix, as Rowoon and Park Eun-bin starred in a K-drama about palace secrets, forbidden love, and gender-bending relationships.
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Set during the Joseon dynasty, the story focuses on twins born to the Crown Princess Consort. Twins are considered a bad omen, and the King orders the twin girl to be killed. Wanting to save her daughter, the Crown Princess Consort fakes the baby’s death and sends her outside the palace. As fate has it, years later Dam-i (Park Eun-bin) returns to become a maid.
She soon meets her undeniable twin brother, a prince and future king. When someone in the palace learns Dam-i is alive, they plan to kill her. But in a case of mistaken identity, they unknowingly kill the crown prince. Dam-i’s mother urges her to pose as her brother to stop the possibility of political unrest.
Dam-i leaves her life and name behind and grows up as Lee-hwi. Now an adult, Dam-i has only revealed her secret to her court maid and eunuch. She soon meets Jung Ji-woon, played by Rowoon. He is a scholar from a noble family and becomes her teacher.
The King’s Affection is a mind-bender as Ji-woon is Dam-i’s first love. But she must keep her feelings hidden to keep herself and him safe. But Ji-woon begins to develop feelings, unaware the future king is really a woman. The K-drama is the first South Korean series to win an International Emmy.
The King’s Affection is available on Netflix.
Tomorrow K-drama had Rowoon becoming a Grim Reaper
What happens when saving a life leads you to become a Grim Reaper? Rowoon starred in the K-drama Tomorrow as Choi Jun-woong, a recent college graduate who saves a man from dying but accidentally dies himself and is saved by Grim Reapers.
The fantasy K-drama is a mix of comedy and tear-jerking storylines as it focuses on why people decide to end their lives. Jun-woong did everything by the book but is unable to find a job. One night, he sees a man ready to dive into the river. While trying to save him, he inadvertently dies himself.
Koo Ryeon (Kim Hee-eon) and Im Ryoog-gu (Yun Ji-on) are Grim Repears in the crisis management team. Seeing Jun-woong’s death as wrong, they put him in a coma and offer him a job with them for a year. Their goal is to save people before they take their own lives. As Jun-woong gets used to the other side, he comes to realize how broken the world really is.
Tomorrow has a side story concerning Koo Ryeon’s past, how she became a Grim Reaper, and her connection to Park Joong-Gil (Lee Soo-hyuk). Joong-gil is a respected Grim Reaper who despises Koo Ryeon and what her team does.
Tomorrow is available on Netflix.
You can read more about upcoming K-dramas like The Worst of Evil here, and Netflix’s best original K-dramas here.