Star actresses are set to return to the small screen next year after a long break.

From left: Lee Young-ae, Song Hye-kyo and Go Hyun-jung (OSEN)

Actresses Lee Young-ae, Song Hye-kyo and Go Hyun-jung are among an array of stars who will grace the screen in much-anticipated TV dramas.

Actress Lee Young-ae is starring in the new period drama “Saimdang, the Herstory.” The TV drama marks her return to the small screen after an 11-year hiatus, after her sensationally popular drama “Jewel in the Palace” in 2003.

For her grand return, she chose to play Shin Saimdang, a renowned female artist, poet and the mother of the Korean Confucian scholar Yulgok who lived in the 16th century Korea.

Lee Young-ae (OSEN)

Actor Song Seung-heon will play opposite of Lee, taking the role of Lee Gyeom, who harbors an unwavering love for his childhood sweetheart, Saimdang.

The drama, produced by Yun Sang-ho, “The Legend” and “Tamna the Island,” will hit the airwaves next year on SBS.

Actress Song Hye-kyo will star in blockbuster TV drama “Descendants of the Sun” opposite actor Song Joong-ki.

Song Hye-kyo (OSEN)

Song Hye-kyo will take the role of Kang Mo-yeon, a military doctor deployed at an overseas military base, while Song Joong-ki is set to play Capt. Yoo Shi-jin of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in war-torn fictional country Uruk.

The drama is Song Hye-kyo’s return to TV drama after three years, following “That Winter, the Wind Blows” in 2013. It is also Song Joong-ki’s first acting project since the completion of his obligatory two years of military service.

The drama is penned by star scriptwriter Kim Eun-sook, who is behind “The Heirs” and “Secret Garden.”

MBC drama “Descendants of the Sun” will premiere in February next year.

Actress Go Hyun-jung, known as one of the highest paid actress on TV, will star in cable channel tvN’s “Dear My Friends,” with actor Shin Sung-woo.

Go Hyun-jung (OSEN)

The screenplay is written by star writer Noh Hee-kyung, who is behind “It’s Okay, It’s Love,” “That Winter, the Wind Blows” and “More Beautiful than a Flower.”

It is Go’s return to the small screen after three years since her charismatic teacher role in “The Queen’s Classroom” in 2013.

The tvN drama is set to hit the airwaves in May 2016.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)