In other words, I can’t take it anymore.
We’re drowning in these, yeoreobun (everyone). That’s what we’re doing in 2022. With new Korean BL series being announced almost every single week, this year already looks pretty decent when it comes to BL. Idol romances are becoming more prominent, and it looks like we’ve got more updates on a few series we’d covered in the previous article as well!
Color Rush Season Two
I’m sorry, but how am I supposed to believe that it’s a bromance again? The trailer seems more BL-like than anything else.
Although I was upset to hear that the second season was holding onto the first one only by a thread especially after Hyunjun (Hwall), who played Yoohan (Yeonwoo’s probe/love interest), announced that he will not be a part of Storywiz’s Color Rush Season 2, the casting of VIXX’s Hyuk opposite Yoojun (who plays Yeonwoo) pleased me immensely. Much to my disappointment, however, the series has been dubbed as a ‘bromance’.
On the other hand, the trailer is more BL-adjacent than I’d ever hoped for, with intense chemistry between Yeonwoo and Sehyun (Hyuk) that threatens to make these two live rent-free in my head. The mention of a woman mono looking for her probe does make me uneasy because it gives the series room to become more of a cis-het romance, which was not something I’d expected when the new season was announced (not that I mind; it’s all up to the producers anyway). The series is set to air on January 21, 2022, replacing the airing of Tinted with You on VIKI, with 8 episodes of 15 minutes each.
Synopsis-
The second season continues from where it left with its mono-probe storyline. Choi Yeonwoo, a mono (a person who sees the world entirely in black and white), finds his ‘soulmate’ in Go Yoohan, his probe (a person who allows the mono to see the world in all its colors). In this season, however, Yoohan mysteriously disappears. Together with Sehyun, a classmate of his, Yeonwoo sets out to find his mother as well as Yoohan. There is a promise of a close relationship between Yeonwoo and Sehyun, but it turns out that the latter has a secret that he is hiding from others. Yeonwoo encounters other monos, including a woman mono who’s in search of her own probe, along with a TV producer who is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding monos and probes.
Sources: BLUpdate2022 on Twitter, BoysLoveTV on Instagram, and Color Rush S2’s blurb on VIKI.
First Love Again
A rebirth story that sounds really promising already!
Previously known as First Love for the Third Time (a direct translation of its Korean title Cheot Sarangman Sebonjjae), this series revolves around a reincarnation-themed plot adapted from the winning script of a BL scriptwriting contest held by Ascendio, the entertainment company behind You Make Me Dance (2021). Both main leads—Jeon Changha, who plays the role of Hayeon, and Jin Gun, who plays Yeonseok—are set to debut via this series. First Love Again begins airing on February 10, 2022 (as per MyDramaList) with 6 episodes, each of which is 25 minutes long and is set to be aired every Friday. This story is adjacent to one of my favourite Korean manhwas of all time, The Strange Story of the Guy Next Door and the Novelist, with past lives and memories playing a major role, so I’m pretty excited for this one.
Synopsis-
A popular web novelist, Yeonseok, who has been reincarnated twice in 300 years and is currently living his third life, finds that his first love, Hayeon, is the 25-year old editor in charge of him at his publishing company.
Sources: BoysLoveTV on Twitter, MDL blurb.
I Want a Bite/Kissable Lips
We’ve got the (apparent) bi-king from Sweet Blood in this one.
It was around September 2021 that Kim Jiwoong was revealed as the first member to be cast in this BL series back and then it pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. That is, until a few weeks ago when the rest of the cast was revealed, and more information was given to us by the producers regarding the series. Produced by Moving Pictures, I Want a Bite (or Kkaemulgo Shipeun in Korean and alternatively known as Kissable Lips) is a campus romance that involves a relationship between a vampire and a human. Jiwoong, who plays the role of Junho, is known for his role of a vampire in The Sweet Blood (2021), while Yoon Seobin, who plays the role of Minhyeon, was the main lead (Sung Shiwoo) in the pandemic-related web miniseries Touch Me if You Can (2020) that revolves around the love between a human and a succubus. Moon Jihoo, who is set to play Haesoo, is a former member of the boy group A-Jax who played a character with the same name in the series I Have Three Boyfriends (2019) The series premieres on February 3, 2022, on VIKI, with 8 episodes, each 11 minutes long.
Synopsis-
The story revolves around Junho, a vampire who is about to die. The only way he can survive is to drink pure blood and become a human. Minhyeon, on the other hand, is a human with pure blood. On his quest to find a pure-blooded human, Junho meets Minhyeon, but the actions of Haesoo, another vampire who is aware of Junho’s past, cause a falling out between the two of them. Junho now has to choose between becoming human and protecting Minhyeon.
Sources: BL Update 2022 and BoysLoveTV on Twitter, Kissable Lips’ blurb, MyDramaList (for information on the artists).
Boarding House No: 5
Looks like idol romances aren’t the only things gaining importance; there are quite a few manhwas in here.
Another live-action adaptation of a webtoon with the same title, Emotion Studio’s Boarding House No:5 (Hasukjib Ohbonji in Korean) is a story that focuses on the various relationships among housemates at a boarding house. Im Sung Kyun, who has been cast as Sulwon, the main character in the manhwa, debuted as a main character in the series Be My Boyfriend (2021). Others who have been cast in this series are newer actors who include Shin Kihwan, Shin Yongseok, Ho Jin, and Kim Heejoong. The series is 8 episodes long, with each episode spanning 15 minutes, and is slated to premiere in 2022.
Synopsis-
Sulwon, an unemployed man, takes over his parents’ boarding house so that they can return to a life of farming in their hometown. The story follows him and his relationships (including romance) with the other housemates at the boarding house, and their hilarious experiences together.
Sources: BLUpdate2022 on Twitter, BoysLoveTV on Instagram, MDL blurb.
Special Mentions
Two of the BLs we’d mentioned in our previous article are set to air in February!
☆ Semantic Error premieres on 16th February, 2022; followed by Cherry Blossoms After Winter on February 24, 2022.
☆ To My Star Season Two may not have gotten its blurb yet, but it looks like production is already completed and post-production has begun as well. Looks like it’s going to be quite an exciting month or two ahead!
Keep watching this space as we bring you further updates about Boys’ Love dramas from all over the Asian Subcontinent!
(Picture Credit- Original Sources
Synopsis Credit- MyDramaList
The BL Xpress 