With the increasing popularity of Thai Boys Love, or BL, television shows over the years, other Asian countries like South Korea took notice. Through this, South Korea released outstanding series such as The Eighth Sense and Cherry Blossoms After Winter. Although the country is not the most queer-friendly, there has been a boom in queer love stories in South Korea. POP TOKKI has compiled a list of some of the most anticipated Korean BLs of 2024 for you to indulge in this year.
Wuju Bakery
Wuju Bakery is one of the most anticipated K-Boys Love series, and debatably the most anticipated BL series of 2024. With both actors being from one of the most recognizable BLs of all time, KinnPorsche, and the lead, Jeff Satur, being an up-and-coming Thai Pop Artist, this show is a formula for success.
The plot centers around a bakery store owner (Barcode Tinnasit) who, after enduring hardship and the death of his parents, renovates the family bakery and sets it up for its opening ceremony. But then, suddenly, a spaceship crashes into the bakery, leaving it in ruins. The alien (Jeff Satur) and the bakery owner begin to live together as they hide from the other aliens and set out to find them (Source).
What’s unique about Wuju Bakery is that it’s a Thai-Korean BL series, which has never been done before. Hanyang Studio experiments with the genre by employing famous Thai BL actors to draw attention to Korean BL and dramas. The studio is also developing another Thai-Korean BL Series, Love Is Like a Cat.
Wuju Bakery is slated to be released in March 2024 and will consist of 8 episodes (Source).
Happy Ending
The story follows bookstore owner Hyun (Park June-mok), who reminisces on his high school crush, Dongho (Kim Seong-hyeok) when he finds his diary (Source).
The series initially released as a 20-minute movie in 2022. Now, it has been re-made and broken up into three 5-minute episodes released once a week (Source). The series is being released on the STRONGBERRY YouTube channel, home to many BL short movies and webisodes. The lead actor, Kim Seong-hyeok, is a veteran BL actor who starred in another STRONGBERRY series, Choco Milk Shake. The fan-favorite series is also seeing a sequel this year.
Love For Love’s Sake
Love for Love’s Sake is based on a popular webtoon named “Love Supremacy Zone” by Hwacha (화차).
The story revolves around Tae Myung Ha (Lee Tae Vin), who finds himself in an online game where he changes into Cha Yeo Woon (Cha Joo Wan), a fictional character in the game. He then makes it his mission to make the fictional character happy in the virtual world. Cheon Sang Won (Oh Min Su) starts a complicated relationship with Tae Myung Ha, which hinders his relationship with Cha Yeo Woon (Source).
Actors Lee Tae Vin and Cha Woong Ki were both K-pop idols in MYTEEN and TO1, respectively. The BL series starts on January 24th, and the eight episodes will be available to stream on iQIYI.
Jazz For Two
Jazz for Two is an upcoming BL based on a Lezhin webtoon of the same name created by Clarju.
The story centers around a high school student, Tae Yi. One day, he heads to the school’s music room and hears someone playing his deceased brother’s favorite song. He gets so mad that the new transfer student, Se Heon, is playing it and not his brother that he threatens him. This starts their tumultuous relationship over jazz music (Source).
The latest update is in September 2023, announcing the official casting for the project (Source). The cast consists of the lead, Byun Sung Tae, the star of Happy Merry Ending; Kim Jin Kwon, a supporting role in To My Star and leader of the K-pop group Newkidd; Song Han Gyeom, a member of Omega X; and Ko Jae Hyun who also has a supporting role in To My Star.
With this star-studded cast and the popular source material, fans are waiting with bated breath for any update they will receive.
Which K-BL are you most excited to see this year? Is there any that we left out? Let us know on our Instagram and Twitter!
Featured Image Credit: Lezshin Comics
