As a cold spell continues in late January, public interest in drama and pop music is running high. Netflix titles starring Go Youn-jung and Kim Seon-ho are drawing attention at home and abroad, and the music industry has signalled the debut of a new group.

As attention focuses on a female idol known for an outstanding fit, Netflix previewed a range of genres it will release this year, raising expectations for what comes next.

· Go Youn-jung, Kim Seon-ho’s 'Isatong' romance synergy works... “A film-like sense of immersion”

The romance pairing of actors Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung has resonated. Netflix series Can This Love Be Translated? (hereafter Isatong), released on Jan. 16, is captivating global viewers. Isatong is an unpredictable romantic comedy that begins when multilingual interpreter Joo Ho-jin, played by Kim, becomes the dedicated interpreter for global top star Cha Moo-hee, played by Go.

After a chance encounter in Japan, the two characters gradually become entangled and experience shifts in emotion. Set across various overseas locations including Japan, Canada and Italy, the narrative boosted both visual appeal and immersion, drawing viewers in. Scenes such as watching the aurora together or standing side by side in front of a lake added another point of appreciation, staged as if viewers were in the space with them.

After the drama’s release, online communities and social media have been filled with reactions such as “Kim Seon-ho is strong in rom-coms,” “I’m deeply immersed,” “It feels like watching a movie,” and “I binge-watched it over the weekend.”

· 'Bople2' Kim Si-hwan → Park Dong-gyu to debut... IST rookie TUNEXX to launch in March · [K-pop ICON] The trend is 'Jang-Ka-Seol-Yu'... My idol who looks good in jeans

IST Entertainment’s new boy group TUNEXX will make its official debut in March. On Jan. 15, IST Entertainment said it had recently finalised the team name and member lineup for its new boy group, joined by Park Dong-gyu, Kim Si-hwan and Kim In-hoo of ARTIK, who were active on Mnet’s survival audition programme Boys 2 Planet (hereafter Bople2). It said the seven-member TUNEXX is accelerating preparations with the aim of an official debut in early March.

IST Entertainment is also continuing to engage with fans by regularly posting trainees’ daily-life and performance content through an Instagram account called '0v__x0'. Despite being pre-debut, the account has close to 100,000 followers across Instagram and YouTube combined.

There is a K-idol who shows off an “unmatched” fit with just a combination of a monochrome top and jeans. The group is 'Jang-Ka-Seol-Yu' — Jang Won-young, Karina, Sul-yoon and Yuna — called a top-tier visual lineup of fourth-generation idols.

Leading figure Jang Won-young is known for pulling off simple looks well, with a slim upper-body line and contrasting hips. The combination of figure-revealing jeans and a tight T-shirt further highlights her body line, boosting her status as a distinctive K-idol.

Karina reinterprets basic style in her own way. Often wearing slim-fit jeans, Karina presents a style that draws attention with a “hip” feel rather than emphasising her lines.

Sul-yoon also has a slim upper-body line and contrasting hips, appealing to male fans. Sul-yoon, who mainly wears skinny fits, matches them with crop tops to highlight the waistline and enjoys a typical MZ style.

Yuna shows a simple but perfect silhouette, projecting a strong presence. Yuna also pairs crop tops with jeans to emphasise the waistline and shows off an “unmatched” hip line, drawing admiration from fans.

· [Drama CLIP] Park Eun-bin·Choi Min-sik·Gong Yoo·Jisoo... A record 2026 Netflix lineup

Netflix will again be packed with things to watch this year. The slate ranges from sweet romance to action and thriller titles that make time fly by. Comedy titles are also getting ready to roll out to make viewers laugh.

The first genre introduced is romance. With Isatong starring Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung leading the way, Monthly Boyfriend, pairing BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Seo In-guk, and Charge Me Up starring Chae Soo-bin and Kim Young-kwang are also raising expectations. Fans are also looking forward to the romantic comedy Such a Damn Love, about amnesiac prosecutor Go Eun-sae, played by Ha-young, and boxing coach Jang Tae-ha, played by Jung Hae-in, who claims to be her boyfriend, as they share an extraordinary cohabitation.

Thrillers that are hard to look away from are also strong. They range from Slowly, Intensely, written by Noh Hee-kyung and starring Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo, to Pavane starring Go Ah-sung, Byun Yo-han and Moon Sang-min. The Boy in the Last Row, featuring the pairing of Choi Min-sik and Choi Hyun-wook, is also singled out as an anticipated 2026 Netflix title.

Scandal, which drew attention for its cast combination of Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana, also joined the list of genre titles fans are anticipating. The thriller Field Mouse is also set for release, telling the story of reclusive novelist Moon-jae, played by Ryu Jun-yeol, who teams up with loan shark No-ja, played by Sol Kyung-gu, who had been chasing him, to pursue a mysterious field mouse that took everything from him in an instant as he tries to reclaim his life. Road (working title) starring Son Suk-ku is also on the list. Road is based on the Korea-Japan co-produced manga Blue Road, and follows Korean and Japanese detectives as they conduct a joint investigation to find clues to a mysterious case.

Lighter fare aimed at reversing the somewhat heavy mood is expected to come from Lee Seo-jin’s Different Different and Husbands. Lee’s Different Different is a new variety show that producer Na Young-seok is presenting in partnership with Netflix, capturing Lee and Na’s travels in the United States. Husbands, a comic action film in which Jin Sun-kyu reunites with Gong Myoung from the movie Extreme Job, follows an unpredictable operation by an ex-husband, Choong-sik, and current husband, Min-seok, who reluctantly join forces to rescue a wife kidnapped by a crime organisation. Along with Jin and Gong, it also stars Kim Ji-seok, Yoon Kyung-ho and Kang Han-na.

The lineup also includes Sweet Part-time Job, a mystery horror fantasy series set at a strange job centre that introduces only “honey” part-time work starting at 50 times the hourly wage. It follows young man Hyuk-jun, played by Lee Jae-wook, as he is thrown into a hellish labour site where he does not know what horror he will face. From romance to thrillers to comedy, it is dazzling.

■ What are this week’s major K-snapp news items?

Mixed reactions to Crown, the title track of EXO’s eighth full album REVERXE, drew heated interest on Global K-snapp.

EXO released its eighth full album REVERXE on Jan. 19. Crown, the title track of the album released after 2 years and 6 months, is a hard dance song that breaks genre boundaries by blending Atlanta trap drums, heavy metal guitar and EDM synths, and builds tension with siren sounds and powerful vocals.

The music video released alongside it drew attention by showing the members performing choreography that appears to seize a crown and place it on their heads, alongside various symbols. Netizens showed positive reactions such as “the return of classic K-pop,” “the beat is crazy,” and “it feels like going back to the early debut days.” Others posted negative reactions including “it’s tacky” and “it feels too much like SHINee.”

EXO’s new album has been at the centre of global attention immediately after release. Along with the album’s launch, it topped China’s QQ Music digital album sales chart and received double-platinum certification, and reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Albums chart in 35 regions worldwide, proving its global presence.

· [Global PICK] EXO’s 'Crown' draws mixed reviews... 'so hot' overseas · [OTT Ranking] 'KDH' re-enters the rankings... Global viewers captivated by 'Isatong·From Today, I’m Human·Undercover Miss Hong'

The animated film K-pop Demon Hunters (hereafter KDH), which captivated global audiences last year, has re-entered the rankings in the Year of the Red Horse, signalling a renewed run. In the TV show category, K-dramas across genres such as Isatong, From Today, I’m Human and Undercover Miss Hong are drawing global viewers to their screens.

KDH, first released last June, captivated the world. It also won trophies at awards ceremonies including the 83rd Golden Globe and the 31st Critics Choice, as well as the 42nd MTV Video Music Awards and the 91st New York Film Critics Circle Awards, earning recognition for its quality. That, in turn, raised expectations for the 98th Academy Awards, to be held in California on March 15 local time.

In Isatong, Kim Seon-ho chose a romantic comedy about 5 years after the tvN drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, while Go Youn-jung is taking on two roles in one as she attempts an acting transformation through this work.

From Today, I’m Human is a fantasy romance depicting the tumult that unfolds as Eun-ho, a Gen M gumiho who does not want to become human, played by Kim Hye-yoon, and Si-yeol, a football star with excessive self-love, played by Lomon, become entangled by fate. The series has led global box-office success from early on, but its domestic ratings are somewhat disappointing. Its first episode posted a 3.7 percent rating and the second drew 2.7 percent, based on Nielsen Korea nationwide households.

Undercover Miss Hong is a retro office comedy set in the late 1990s, in which Hong Geum-bo, a 30-something elite securities supervisor played by Park Shin-hye, goes undercover at a securities firm where suspicious money flows have been detected, disguising herself as a 20-year-old entry-level employee. In the series, Park teams up with Ko Kyung-pyo. Its viewership rating, which started at 3.5 percent, jumped by 2 percentage points to 5.7 percent in episode 2, leaving viewers curious about what comes next.

The first month of the new year is already moving past the middle and toward the end. As EXO, called a representative third-generation idol group, returns after 2.5 years to heat up global charts, group artists including ONEUS, KickFlip, AMP and Momoland are active with comebacks.

In mid-January, as the cold wave continues, groups armed with different concepts have finished preparing to target listeners’ tastes.

· [New Song Hot Clip] EXO’s 'return'·Momoland 'looking for spring'... Group comebacks pour out

Snapp It First. Feel It K. This article is an online entertainment news story published by K-snapp, which provides the fastest and most entertaining celebrity news.