Most anticipated K-drama couples we can’t wait to see onscreen

Disney+’s fantasy romance K-drama The Remarried Empress brings together Shin Min-a as Empress Navier and Lee Jong-suk as Prince Heinrey. They play the rulers of rival kingdoms who agree to marry when her husband returns home with a mistress and demands a divorce. But what starts as a political alliance quickly turns into something far more real.

The cast also includes two other Hallyu legends—Ju Ji-hoon as Emperor Sovieshu and Lee Se-young as his scheming mistress Rashta. Directed by Jo Soo-won (Dr John, Pinocchio, Still 17) and adapted from the beloved web novel by Alphatart, The Remarried Empress promises high fantasy, palace intrigue and a swoon-worthy romance from one of the most anticipated K-drama couples of 2026.

See more: 10 must-watch TV shows with Lee Jong Suk before the release of ‘The Remarried Empress’

Gong Yoo and Song Hye-kyo—without a doubt the most anticipated K-drama couple of the year—bring their combined star power to Netflix’s highly publicised Korean series Tantara. Set against the turbulent backdrop of  1960s to 1980s South Korea, they play Dong-gu and Min-ja, childhood friends who pursue their dreams of making it big in the music industry.

The 22-episode melodrama reunites Gong Yoo with his Coffee Prince director, Lee Yoon-jung, and Song Hye-kyo with That Winter, The Wind Blows scriptwriter, Noh Hee-kyung. Following Dong-gu and Min-ja’s journey from their hardscrabble childhood to the highs and heartbreaks of adulthood, Tantara promises to be an epic exploration of ambition, sacrifice, and enduring bonds tested by time.

Another highly anticipated K-drama couple is Park Hyung-sik and Park Gyu-young, stars of the upcoming Netflix original series Fall In! Love. In this role-reversal rom-com, he plays Na Jeong-seok, a consummate CEO who ends up hiring Park Gyu-young’s Woo Ah-mi—his senior from his army days—as an entry-level employee.

Back in the military, Jeong-seok was a meek soldier who withered under the steely command of Woo Ah-mi, an elite Special Forces officer famously nicknamed “Viper”. Now that the tables have turned, both struggle to adjust to their new reality.

Here’s one K-drama couple fans are eager to see together on the small screen. After working together in Colony, the zombie thriller that premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Jun Ji-hyun and Ji Chang-wook will reunite in the fantasy rom-com K-drama Human x Nine-Tailed Fox (also known as Human x Gumiho).

Jun Ji-hyun, who starred as a mermaid in Legend of the Blue Sea and a glamorous celebrity in My Love from the Star, returns to familiar ground in the upcoming drama playing another mythical creature in the spotlight. In JTBC’s Human x Nine-Tailed Fox, she takes on the role of Gu Ja-hong, a top actress who also happens to be a 2,000-year-old gumiho, while Ji Chang-wook stars as Choi Seok, an astute shaman—and the only human—who is immune to her powers.

The Netflix fantasy romance Long Vacation brings together a new K-drama couple to the small screen—Lee Se-young, the phenomenal star of The Red Sleeve, and Choo Young-woo, Baeksang Award winner for The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call—in a show about a demon who unexpectedly falls in love with a human.

Demon 3375 has been around for centuries, and yet the idea of love continues to elude him. But all that changes when he stays at a seaside hotel and meets Lee Deul-pan, a competent room attendant for whom nothing in life comes easy. As they spend more time together, 3375 begins to experience emotions completely foreign to him.

Directed by Crash Landing on You’s Lee Jung-hyo and written by Romance Is a Bonus Book’s Jung Hyun-jung, audiences can expect sweeping romance, irresistible characters and dialogue that crackles.

If there’s another pair that deserves to be on the list of most anticipated K-drama couples of 2026, it’s Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook in Netflix’s upcoming series Scandals. Based on Untold Scandal—the Korean film adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses—the drama looks set to deliver a study in manipulation, desire and the excesses of the aristocracy.

Set during the Joseon period, Son Ye-jin plays the cunning Lady Cho, who uses her influence to manipulate the people around her. When Cho Won, the local lothario played by Ji Chang-wook, comes courting, she challenges him to a bet that involves the downfall of the virtuous widow Hui-yeon, played by Nana.

Jung Hae-in, the romantic leading man of hit K-dramas such as Love Next Door and Something in the Rain and the film Tune In For Love, is set to make hearts flutter once again in Netflix’s upcoming rom-com Our Sticky Love. This time around, he’ll be wooing Ha-young, best known for her roles in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call and Doona!

Our Sticky Love, set in a quaint village filled with taffy shops, stars Jung Hae-in as Jang Tae-ha, an ex-boxing champion turned boxing coach looking to sever his ties to a local gang. When he runs into his first love Go Eun-sae—an irreproachable prosecutor who loses her memory after an encounter with a crime syndicate—he poses as her boyfriend in order to protect her.

With two of today’s most charismatic actors, audiences can expect a sweet romance, sharp humour and no shortage of small-town charm.

Lee Hye-ri and Hwang In-youp are undoubtedly one of the year’s most anticipated K-drama couples—and thanks to their collective appeal, it's easy to see why. Dream to You is a rom-com series directed by Yoo Sun-dong (The Uncanny Counter, Unmasked) and written by Jeong Eun-bi (Doom at Your Service, The Beauty Inside). It stars Lee Hye-ri as Joo Yi-jae, a disillusioned broadcasting reporter, while Hwang In-youp plays Woo Su-bin, a celebrated film director.

In their youth, the two were friends and shared a dream of someday becoming movie directors. But while Su-bin succeeded, becoming the toast of international film festivals, life’s harsh realities derailed Yi-jae’s ambition. Now in their 30s, the two reunite, rekindling both Yi-jae’s old passion and the flame in Su-bin’s heart.

Grand Galaxy Hotel, the spiritual spinoff of the beloved IU K-drama Hotel Del Luna, shares more than just the same universe. The Netflix original series also boasts the same creative team—director Oh Choong-hwan, screenwriters Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran—and stars Lee Do-hyun, who played a small but memorable role in Hotel Del Luna.

The other half of the K-drama’s main couple is newcomer Shin Shi-a (Resident Playbook, Even If This Love Disappears Tonight), who plays Sang-soon, Grand Galaxy Hotel’s sharp manager and its sole human employee. Lee Do-hyun is Eun-ha, the supernatural hotel’s brooding owner and CEO. Together, they cater to dead spirits looking for a place to stay.

In next year’s Netflix fantasy rom-com Beauty in the Beast, audiences get not one but two K-drama couples—thanks to a love triangle featuring three of South Korea’s brightest young stars: Kim Min-ju (Still Shining), Lomon (All of Us Are Dead) and Moon Sang-min (Under the Queen’s Umbrella).

This coming-of-age fantasy follows Kim Min-ju's Ha Min-soo as she enters university harbouring a secret: she's a werewolf. So on top of navigating the stress of academic life, she must keep her true nature hidden and her transformation under control. But when she catches the attention of both Lomon’s Do-ha, a half werewolf, and Moon Sang-min’s Hae-jun, a class senior, she wonders if it’s her heart that she needs to keep in check.

From fantasy romances and melodramas to small-town rom-coms and palace intrigue, these most anticipated K-drama couples of 2026 and 2027 are already setting the stage for unforgettable chemistry and emotional storytelling.

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