Anyone here a fan of Kdramas?
A few years ago, I came across a light, romantic Korean show called Oh, My Ghost. It had good writing, acting and plot, and even a slightly darker undertone. I was hooked and I've been watching Kdramas ever since.
My favorites are those that don't involve the powerful, rich elites in Korea. Stories like Weight Lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, and Just Between Lovers are more to my taste. Other, truly fine shows include Goblin, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Hotel Del Luna and It's OK to not be OK. Those last three have strong female characters, which I find a little surprising for Korean shows.
There are a lot of Korean shows available these days on Netflix. Squid Games and The Glory made an impact worldwide. Squid Games pushed me to the limit, but I managed to make it through that series. Season 2 is coming, so that will be interesting too.
This year hasn't been a great one for my tastes in Kdramas, so I'm still looking for an outstanding series to watch. The Glory lost me at some point. Revenge isn't a compelling plot line for me. Right now, I'm watching Delightfully Deceitful, and it's different enough to keep me watching. I'm on episode 4, so there's a long way to go yet.
Any favorites I've missed?
Edit: Oops, did I get one of those titles wrong! I've corrected it to Weight Lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo.
I've watched an old one about the Nine Tail Fox (who looks like a teen girl) and her modern day boyfriend. Just light hearted funny nonsense. "My girlfriend is the nine tail fox" or something, I think.
The people are very pretty, is basically my impression
That’s one of my favorites! It was localized as “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho”. It’s very over the top and knows it, yet it’s at its strongest when it’s not trying too hard to be funny.
It had a really good soundtrack too. I’ve got it in my collection.
I've watched that! A long time ago. I think I'd probably still enjoy it if I were to watch it again. I like the way product placement was done, to me, it didn't seem forced. And I think it actually worked, too. Maybe because I already enjoy led the drink before watching it. LOL.
I am a recent but avid fan of them.
I started with Extraordinary Attorney Woo and have dived in: Squid Games, All Of Us Are Dead, Sisyphus, and Alchemy Of Souls are what I've watched so far. It's Okay To Not Be Okay is next on my list when I get the time.
I've also been wanting to watch Tomorrow but it doesn't have English dubs yet (I'm not sure if it'll get them at any point).
There are so many more that I can't wait to explore and it's definitely a refreshing change of pace from what I've been watching over the past few years.
Even though there are so many zombie shows, this one managed to stand out for how well they did the brutality, and with such huge crowds of actors and extras. I cringed watching the zombie students get smashed in the face and fall down stairwells. Looked really difficult to film safely.
I thought this one was pretty interesting because they also cover stuff they just gloss over in zombie movies, like where do you go pee lol
That was interesting. The other thing that they showed like the fast evolution of the virus was really cool to see.
I actually had that thought while watching: I really hope the actors weren't pushed to do things in an unsafe manner while filming. I'm really not sure how Korea's film culture differs from typical Hollywood culture (which can be extremely toxic from the stories you hear.)
Extraordinary Attorney Woo was a great one to start with.
I think you'll like It's OK to not be OK. Seo Ye Ji is incredible in the lead female role.
I love Korean Dramas, and I love rich people over the top drama
Penthouse is about rich people and it is WILD but I'd skip season 3, season 2 is meh but season 1 is really captivating
Sky Castle is like a more tame version of Penthouse but still rich people doing rich people things
Little Women is also really good, it's kind of a revenge plotline but also mysterious
Love to Hate You has a strong feminist lead. It was just okay to me but a lot of people really liked it. I think it just wasn't my style
Startup and Business Proposal are still my top 2 dramas though, but they are more romantic and don't really fit your criteria
I haven’t seen all of Little Women because I got distracted by life and forgot about it. But it is good! It has some particularly complex relationships that help make every major action feel surprising while not feeling like they just came out of nowhere.
As someone who had a parent do similar things, I absolutely hate their mother for what she does in the first episode.
A few months ago I stumbled onto Reply 1988 whilst Letterboxd surfing and watched the first two episodes, which I found to be an incredibly lucky first delve into k dramas as it's so far one of the best shows I've ever seen. It's about a group of families of varying levels of dysfunctionality that live on the same block in the 80s and are all friends with each other
(kind of like That 70's Show). It's a hilarious and relatable insight into the good and bad of our relationships with friends and family, which I've found very touching. Unfortunately I haven't yet progressed any further than episode 2 due to them being movie-length episodes, though I'm not sure how normal that is or isn't for k dramas.Oh I love watching kdrama! Probably been watching for 7/8 years haha. I have watched and enjoyed all of them that you mentioned except squid game and the glory.
I have actually watched the most on-airs (6) this year and enjoyed divorce attorney shin the most. Currently I am watching the revenant and see you in my 19th life and enjoying both a lot!
I know this thread is like 4 days old but it inspired me to finally send the email requesting an invite and I got it today!
I love kdramas and have been watching then off and on for a long time!
Re: strong female characters, it's interesting you say this - to my understanding women writers and directors are much more prevalent in the kdrama industry! I won't claim they're a majority but it's a significant amount, much more common than western shows (that I'm aware of... I don't watch a ton of western shows). I imagine there's a lot that could be said/analyzed about how this impacts how kdramas feel compared to how western dramas feel, but that’s for a different post.
Way back when I started watching kdramas I found an episode recap website/community for them called Dramabeans, which I use to gauge how a drama is in quality and tone, based on the recapper's feelings as well as the community comments. (The recappers are a staff of seasoned kdrama enthusiasts)(Also this site is basically where I got any/all of my knowledge of kdramas)
The recaps also can often be helpful to understand some of the Korean culture context which is sometimes very relevant, especially on some of the period pieces/historicals.
This community watches a lot more kdramas than I do and I find it hard to trust some other sites’ star ratings bc they’ve given some dramas I consider bad like a 9/10 - but then again, tastes are different for everyone lol.
I often will also go to the last ep recap to see their conclusion comments to see how they felt overall, since I don't mind some spoilers. They have End of the Year posts including what various recappers felt, but what's most interesting to me is the Bean Count, which is a poll of sorts where the recappers allocate points to all the dramas released in that year, indicating which ones were more liked overall and which were less so.
Sometimes a kdrama (or anything else I guess) can have a great premise but then really fumble the execution, and I try hard to avoid those because I'm really picky.
Sidenote the streaming service Viki is basically the biggest source for dramas besides Netflix! (that I know of) They also have dramas from other Asian countries as well like jdramas, cdramas, thai dramas etc.
Anyway having said all that…
You may have heard of or watched some of these (since drafting this post you have said you've watched Weightlifting Fairy but I'll keep it in for passersby!) but I'm just gonna do a rundown of some of my faves, also for anyone else who happens across this post. There are some really popular ones like Squid Games or Pachinko which I haven’t watched yet, and some were already listed like Extraordinary Attorney Woo (so so good!), so that might be why I haven't listed them here.
Some that are my faves that haven't already been mentioned, and also slightly curated to OP's tastes hopefully:
Just an unordered list of more that I’m recommending also (may be recommended already above) but without descriptions:
I hope someone finds this useful and maybe finds a new drama they really enjoy!
My Love from the Star (2013) was ridiculously popular ten years ago and stars the same actor as It's Okay To Not Be Okay. Very different genre though, it's more of a comedy. I like it. The lead actress carries the show. She plays a spoiled actress, but in a funny way that grows on you.
Memories of the Alhambra (2018) was a well produced, serious thriller about an augmented reality game. On Netflix.
Stairway to Heaven (2003) is one of my all-time favorites, easily. An incredibly hyper-dramatic one that hits all the K-drama tropes. Massively popular, and referenced and parodied all the time, for reasons you will quickly understand when you watch it. Every episode is gripping because the writers never get distracted with unnecessary side plots. They always focus on the main characters. And things are always happening, every episode.
I watched one called Itaewon Class, and it was pretty good. I liked the premise, an ex-con opens a street bar in Itaewon, while also seeking revenge on the family who was responsible for his father's death. But in the end I'm just not a huge fan of soap operas.
I'd liked Dr.Romantic, which I just finished season 1 of. I was delightfullysurprised by the good acting.
The only one I've seen is Hospital Playlist, but I thought it was delightful! Very warm and funny, and a really enjoyable slow burn. (Sometimes very slow, but still fun!) Have been meaning to look into more; appreciate this post for reminding me!
Yes. I probably wouldn't have watched them a lot but my wife is Korean and we've ended up watching quite a few.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One
The King: Eternal Monarch
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Squid Game
Birthcare Center
D.P.
The Glory
Hellbound
Kingdom
Sweet Home
Crash Landing on You
Signal
The Kings Affection
Bulgasal
Narco-Saints
Mr Queen
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
A Model Family
I feel like I'm never in the "mood" for a new K-drama show but whenever we end up starting one it usually ends up really good. Twenty-Five Twenty-One and Crash Landing on You were particularly good k-dramas/romance. Divorce Attorney Shin is a really good comedy/drama. The Glory was really good for revenge
Some times I think to myself "Oh, another Joseon drama". But honestly I find myself watching anyways just because I love staring at the beautiful costumes.
I can't believe no one mentioned Crash Landing on You! A company heiress accidentally paraglides into North Korea and meets a military captain. It's dramatic, hilarious and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Great supporting characters too.
My friend introduced me to the show. I was like, nah Kdramas aren't really my thing, but I was hooked after the first episode. It starts off slow but it picks up steam. The character development is wonderful. And the ending is just beautiful but at the same time I wanted their romance to continue.
I haven't been able to find a comparable show ever since!
Hometown Cha Cha Cha was excellent. A dentist from the big city moves to a small seaside town to open her own clinic. There she learns about life in a small town, taking care of your neighbors, and falls in love with the village "Chief." It's incredibly cheesy sometimes, but also explores some darker themes like divorce, trauma, etc.
I once watched Boys Before Flowers in its entirety and it was singlehandedly one of the strangest shows I've ever seen. Something about the production quality was a bit cheap and it had a really big soap opera-style pull on me. Still, I'd recommend it to anyone interested. I haven't watched the Japanese original drama.
I watched Oh My Ghost! because I thought the title was hilarious and I didn’t expect to like the show so much. That was my first K-drama and I absolutely loved it. Now I’m hooked! My favorite so far, that left me in tears at the ending, is Reply 1988. I tried the other Reply’s but they aren’t as good. Crash Landing On You is another favorite.