Top K-dramas to watch in the month of May: 'The Wonderfools', 'My Royal Nemesis' and more

K-dramas this month are leaning into some gloriously unconventional stories. Between Cha Eun-woo playing a socially awkward superhero and Park Ji-hoon finding culinary enlightenment in an army kitchen, May's lineup is packed with action, comedy, adventure, and romance in equal measure. Here is everything dropping this month.

In the Joseon era, a cunning royal concubine named Kang Dan-sim is poisoned, only to wake up in modern-day Seoul inhabiting the body of a struggling actress, and suddenly finds herself entangled with a ruthless chaebol heir who cannot decide whether to destroy her or fall for her. Lim Ji-yeon plays both the Joseon concubine and the modern actress in a dual role that is already generating considerable buzz, with Heo Nam-jun playing the chaebol heir whose power struggle with Dan-sim blurs the line between hatred and something considerably more complicated.

Clear your calendar for May 8 because this one is not to be missed.

Based on a popular webtoon, the show follows Kang Sung-jae, a man down on his luck who stumbles into his true calling inside an army kitchen after a bizarre set of circumstances leads him there and begins seeing cooking instructions like a video game screen overlaid on reality. Park Ji-hoon plays Sung-jae with what promises to be an irresistible combination of comic timing and genuine heart, as his character rises from rookie to culinary legend while using his unique skills to resolve conflicts within his unit. Fans of the webtoon and newcomers alike have a date with this one on May 11.

Set in 1999 and following a group of quirky neighbours in Haeseong who suddenly and inexplicably gain superpowers, the show pairs the chaotic and irrepressible Eun Chae-ni with the rigid and socially awkward civil servant Lee Woon-jeong as they attempt to stop a string of disappearances and uncover a mysterious villain with a dark secret. Park Eun-bin and Cha Eun-woo lead the cast, and the combination of a period setting, a superhero premise, and two leads whose chemistry is already one of the most anticipated things about the show makes this the most buzzed-about K-drama of the month. Mark May 15 on your calendar and prepare to be thoroughly entertained.

Three men who once operated at the very highest and most dangerous levels of their respective worlds, a former elite NIS agent, an amnesiac North Korean special operative, and a once-feared mob boss, have each quietly retired to Yeongseon Island and settled into the most unremarkable lives imaginable. Shin Ha-kyun, Oh Jung-se, and Heo Sung-tae lead the cast, and when a mysterious incident pulls the trio back into action, the show becomes a gloriously entertaining exploration of what happens when men who were once genuinely formidable decide they have at least fifty percent of their lives left and far too many rusty instincts to waste. This one drops on May 22 and the cast alone makes it unmissable.

A top businessman named Kang Yong-ho gets into an accident and wakes up in the body of a rookie athlete, Hwang Jun-hyeon, and rather than panicking decides to treat it as the ultimate second chance at life by joining his own company as a new hire. Son Hyun-joo and Lee Jun-young lead the show, with the premise delivering endless comedic potential as a man with decades of corporate experience navigates office politics from the very bottom of the ladder he once stood at the top of. This one arrives on May 30 and is already shaping up to be one of the most entertaining workplace comedies of the year.