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dangermousie · 6 months

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2023 End of Year Post - kdrama edition

Yes, we have a some of December left, and I want to check out Death's Game but whatever. I got time for this now and not sure if I will have later so here goes.

This is only going to cover kdramas that aired in 2023; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it’s not on the list. This was an excellent kdrama year, the likes of which we hadn't had in a long time.

DRAMAS WATCHED

In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality so pls don't come for me, fans of some popular dramas that are on my nope list. Also, I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list.

33. The Escape of the Seven - this is so aggressively stupid and mean that it feels like the makers are playing a practical joke seeing how much their audience will take. This has a season 2 coming, so the answer is a lot.

32. Behind Your Touch - the FL gets superpowers by touching people's and animals' butts. Yes, you read this right. Do I really need to add anything?

31. King the Land - yes, it was a hit. Yes, it stars popular actors. I HATED IT LIKE IT TOUCHED MY BUTT TO GET SUPERPOWERS!!! Plastic people in paint by the numbers story, with about as much genuineness or retability as a barbie aisle in walmart. I never expect much from Yoona so whatever, but to have LJH go from The Red Sleeve to this boggles the mind.

30. Mrs Durian - this is so dumb that I think I lost a few IQ points watching this, but its insanity becomes entertaining - I mean what kdrama can you name where a daughter in law declares her love and lust for her mother in law at a family dinner?

29. The Matchmakers - there is nothing offensive about this drama at all. But there is nothing in the least interesting either. If elevator music took drama shape, it would be this show.

28. Destined with You - sorry, Rowoon, I am still fond of you, but you are two for two in drama duds department this year. This is a drama where I loved ep 1, liked ep 2, was indifferent to 3 and...you get the point. Each ep was worse than the one before, and I bailed before I was dragged into a cosmic singularity.

27. Oasis - great first two episodes. Unfortunately it was not a two ep show. The performances are solid but the story is just not there - the effect is like a fancy chef making an amazing sauce to put on pig slop.

26. Boyhood - it's not you, it's me in action. I can see why people would like it but a 34-year old playing a high schooler in a Weak Hero Class 1 Slapstick Edition is no go for me.

25. Castaway Diva - it's so precious and kooky in the most annoying ways, with the most well-adjusted abused castaway in history. I like magic realism when done by Jorge Amado, but this ain't Amado.

24. Island - it had a good concept, good cast and fun visuals but the execution deserved one of ML's swords through the neck.

23. The Worst of Evil - if I wanted an American show, I'd watch one. Very solid performances though.

22. Song of the Bandits - period edition of what I said about The Worst of Evil.

21. Welcome to Samdalri - and goodbye to any hope of emotional involvement.

20. Joseon Attorney - I have yet to like a single sageuk centered around a profession and this was not an exception. I guess it could be worse but it also could have been so much better.

19. Twinkling Watermelon - everyone loved this drama. Everyone except for me. It's the kind of precious that sets my teeth on edge and I couldn't stand half the main characters we were supposed to root for. I guess I like my fruits to shine steadily.

18. Our Blooming Youth - probably the biggest disappointment on this list. This is not a bad drama by any means, but with that cast and that story (I loved the novel), I was hoping for a memorable sageuk not merely all right.

17. Vigilante - it has the emotional complexity and nuance of a punch to the throat but it gives us quasi-gay openly-murderous dudes going after psychos and Yoo Ji Tae holding feral Nam Joo Hyuk by his hoodie at his feet.

16. The Forbidden Marriage - expected nothing but it was a surprisingly enjoyable trifle of a costume drama that was also quite pretty.

15. Arthdal Chronicles: Sword of Aramun - a hot mess but such an entertaining epic one. And it gave us TWO Lee Jun Kis in period gear and who am I to cavil at the bounty of God?

14. The Story of Park's Marriage - it's a trifle, a souffle, so light it might blow away, but it keeps my attention and is so fun and sweet.

13. My Lovely Liar - a huge surprise, that manages to mix a murder mystery and a romcom, and shocked me by showing Hwang Minhyun can act.

12. Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 - the original ToNT was my fave drama of its year and I did not think it needed a sequel. But this is not a sequel but more of a side-quel and is such a total delight with brotherly love, adventures, romance and hijinks. It's a joy.

11. Perfect Marriage Revenge - it's actually very hard to do a soap right but this slim 12 ep drama managed. So fun, so crazy, such a good ship!

10. My Lovely Boxer - not really about sports, but about two broken people finding salvation because of and in each other. Also, if you like age gap romances, this is delicious. Sort of loses steam by the end but c’est la vie.

9. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse - this was a sageuk that was not on my radar with a bunch of actors I was not familiar with but it took my heart away. A good plot that was perfectly paced, characters and ships I adored, a logical ending. This is one of the biggest positive surprises of the year for me.

8. Tell Me That You Love Me - a slice of life remake (sort of, it's more "inspired by") of my favorite jdrama of all time. It's not as good as the jdrama because nothing could be, but it's an aching lovely story with some incredible performances.

7. See You In My 19th Life - funny and romantic and haunting and hopeful and odd. This was one of my favorites of the year.

6. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow - it's rare for me to like a (1) sequel (2) with FL actress change (3) that is a Hong Sisters drama. But this was such a gorgeous, surprisingly achy story of love and loss and love regained with some cool monster fighting in the middle. Between the two seasons, this is the first Hong Sisters' drama I enjoyed from beginning to end in well over a decade.

5. My Demon - so tropey (chaebols, supernaturals) but it proves that these tropes are popular for a reason. The chemistry is fire, the story is unpredictable and the whole thing is an addictive delight. A rare drama where I like each new ep more than the last one.

4. Goryeo Khitan War - an old school sageuk in every meaning of the term (no romance, no eye candy, lots of bearded men, battles and politics), this feels like watching an epic movie more than a drama. The vast cast all earns their place and the performances (mainly from character actors given a chance to shine) are incredible.

3. Call It Love - two very very damaged people finding love and healing with each other. This is a narrative very hard to do to my satisfaction but when it's done well, as here, there are few things that can hold a candle to it.

2. My Dearest - a masterpiece of cinematography, narrative, performances. This is an old-school epic romance in the best sense of the term. If it doesn't make you swoon or break your heart, there is something wrong with you. A story of two untraditional, strong-willed, flawed people who fall in love in the middle of the horrifying Qing invasion of Korea and have to deal with all that the world throws at them, this is a bona fide masterpiece.

1 - Moon in the Day - who knew my favorite kdrama of the year will star a store brand Domyoji from Extraordinary You and an actress I was never familiar with. But this part period/part modern fantasy tale of doomed cursed lovers is everything I knew I wanted and everything I didn't know I wanted but did. Two lovers where their love did not save them and in modern day it might not again, has got me obsessed the way I haven't been in years.

FAVORITE DRAMA

Moon in the Day - if there is such a thing as a drama made perfectly for me, this gorgeous, emotionally haunting, utterly romantic, twisty tale is it.

WORST DRAMA

The Escape of the Seven. This drama is proof that demons exist and not sexy ones like Song Kang but horrible nasty ones who delight in the torment this hot mess inflicted on its viewers.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Do Ha, Moon in the Day - a Silla general and a consummate killer who committed atrocities on the orders of his monster father and yearned to die for them, who found the meaning in life in loving his enemy but it did not make him better, a man so obsessed he literally was around for 1500 years of horrifying ghostly existence and still went "worth it" for a woman who killed him as long as he knew she loved him while she did it. He's intense and competent and beyond fucked up and has never had a normal day and I love him so so so very much from a safe distance.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Gil Chae, My Dearest - she starts out as vain and spoiled but the horrors that break so many others bring out all her fierce survivor potential and she becomes such a force of nature - capable of incredible love but also sacrifice and strength and compassion.

Runner Up: Shin Hye Sun's reincarnator in See You In My 19th Life - quirky, damaged, strong, so odd and so vulnerable at once.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

There are a lot of characters who fit that category (King Injo in My Dearest? My God) but the crown belongs to So Ri Bu from Moon in the Day. You think you've seen abusive parents but until you've seen a man abuse his son his whole life and then continue for 1500 years after his death, you ain't seen nothing!

FAVORITE SHIP

The doomed by the narrative OTP of Moon in The Day. Only thing that's better than enemies to lovers is enemies while lovers and their impossible relationship where her killing him is a supreme act of love and his refusing to let go is so strong that he stays around for 1500 years watching her, helpless as she dies over and over again, is everything you ever want.

Runner up: Jang Hyun/Gil Chae, My Dearest. They are so strong and so damaged and it takes them so long to figure out what they feel and what the other person feels but their love and sacrifice and complexities are perfect.

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Kim Shi Yeol/Hong Joo, The Secret Romantic Guesthouse - an assassin bodyguard pretending to be a carefree scholar and a widow of the man he killed to protect his king (and whose life was destroyed as a result.) I enjoyed the main OTP of this drama but I was utterly and completely unhinged for the secondary couple.

I'd have probably picked Rang and his mermaid from TotNT 1938 even over them, but they really were the main OTP of that drama.

NOTP

King the Land couple seems like an easy target but honestly, they are both so terribly bland and antiseptic and marketing by committee, they kinda deserve each other. So I am gonna go with Destined with You, one half of which thinks supernaturally roofying someone into loving them is cute and the other half thinks dating one woman while wooing another is totally a-ok. Ugh.

FAVORITE SCENE

There is no competition for the scene in the slave market in My Dearest, where Jang Hyun finds Gil Chae - the way he screams and tries to clutch the hem of her skirt will live in my head forever.

And the scene where he 'wins' that horrifying bet, or the scene where she finds him in a pile of bodies - they are as good also. Or when he fights off a squad to protect her even though he's sick. That whole drama is perfect.

Runner up: the scene of Do Ha executing Ri Ta's family, covered in blood, as she looks at him from the crowd in Moon in the Day.

Or the scene where he talks about how he cannot live as a person but at least maybe she will kill him and he will die as one. Or when her confession in the past intercuts with his walking in the present, or when he comes home in his bloodied armor and she finds he has a fever and it's the first tender touch he's probably ever known. Her murdering So Ri Bu saying she knows she's going against filial piety in loving her parents' murderer, the way they hug, both bloody, as he says "let's live." The way she says she can't go on as she's hit rock bottom and he replies she cannot quit because she must accompany him to his rock bottom now. Honestly, the drama is a font of amazingness.

Also, the opening scene of Goryeo Khitan War or the scene of Yang Gyu ordering to shoot the captives and having to do so himself.

The OTP meeting again at the intersection at the end of ep 1 of Tell Me That You Love Me. SHS comforting ABH as he's having a traumatic breakdown in 19th Life. The love-making scene in Call It Love. There were a lot of great scenes this year.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Lee Jang Hyun, My Dearest - is that even a competition? He's flawed - vain, often emotionally closed off, not great at processing emotions, lashing out when hurt. He is also incredibly heroic in a real, knows the cost but bears it, kind of way. Whatever he does, he commits utterly but it's never without understanding the cost. He felt both larger than life and utterly real. He went through hell and maintained his soul and the way he loved Gil Chae was breath-taking to behold.

Runner Up: Yang Gyu, Goryeo Khitan War - an experienced military commander who wins an impossible victory even as it ravages his soul. Competence is sexy as fuck.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Rang, Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 - 1938 really was Rang's chance to shine and he took it. For a character I started out disliking in the original, he really stole my entire heart in this drama. I am so glad he got his happy ending with his brother and his girl.

Runner Up: Crown Prince, My Dearest. He started out as a sheltered, spoiled aristocrat, convinced the world owed him for existing. He grew up slowly and painfully into an amazing man. And then was murdered for it and I cried.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

Arthdal - it leaves the story at a good stopping point but it's very much a "world in flux, adventures and conflicts continue" ending and I would love to see more of these characters. I know we won't but it would have been nice.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Behind Your Touch - should have been snipped at birth.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Vigilante - I don't mean it had scissors taken to it because it's not cdrama and there is no NRTA, but this drama would have benefitted from being longer. I mean, I love fights and gay polycules as much as the next tumblr person but a bit more character development would not have come amiss. (ahaha - I said come. Leave me alone.)

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

I don't care about cops/doctors/trash collectors/whoever - workplace drama centering on their "cases" needs to die. I hate procedurals from any country and Korea is no exception.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Supernatural critter devoted to their OTP with all the power of their long life.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Our Blooming Youth - it was far from terrible but it was a giant meh. I was so excited to see Park Hyung Sik in a sageuk (that wasn't the hot mess that was Hwarang) and I adored the source novel. It actually started well and then...it's like Revenge of the Beige!

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

I want to say Moon in the Day but to be honest, I was excited by posters and trailers so it wasn't wholly a surprise despite not having much of an opinion on the actors before I saw them. So I am going to say My Demon. I was bored by the trailers, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a Kim Yoo Jung drama and before this year I would have said Song Kang was an incredibly limited actor in everything I've seen him in and not appealing to me at all. And here I am rabidly rabiding for this drama!

If I am not limiting myself to dramas but can use this for actors - Hwang Minhyun in My Lovely Liar. I genuinely did not think the man could act and then he gave such a pitch-perfect, nuanced performance out of nowhere!

2023 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

I have actually watched all the kdramas that aired this year that I wanted to check out except for Evilive. I am saving this for when I have time.

BEST NON-2023 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2023

I don't know if I'd say it's the best but Say You Love Me (2004) with Kim Rae Won as a quasi monk seduced away from his true love by an evil older woman was a hell of a ride.

MOST ANTICIPATED

Love Song for Illusion (Lady assassin falls for her royal target who has two personalities), Captivating the King (lady spy falls for her royal target who is tormented) - notice a theme? Also Flower that Blooms at Night because Honey Lee in a sageuk, The Life of Mrs Ock (Lim Ji Yeon in a sageuk), The Love Story of Chun Hwa (an "erotic" sageuk, hmmmm, what?!), Hong Rang (Lee Jae Wook in a super angst sageuk), Queen Woo (that cast and set in Goguryeo!), Wong Kyung (about Lee Bang Won's wife and I love the cast.) Basically, if it's period, I am there with bells on.

#kdrama #year in review #my dearest #moon in the day #call it love #tell me that you love me #goryeo khitan war #tale of the nine tailed 1938 #tale of the nine tailed: 1938 #The Secret Romantic Guesthouse #my demon #the story of park's marriage contract #perfect marriage revenge #Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow #see you in my 19th life #my lovely boxer

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citrinekay · 26 days

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hi this is very random, but i was wondering if you're up for sharing any recs (regarding kdramas)? i am an absolute blank canvas, you can influence me into any direction you desire!

Hi, anon! I'm ALWAYS happy to chat about kdramas, so not random at all 💖 I will preface this rec list by saying that, in my opinion, there are two types of kdrama-enjoyers: people like me who love crime/thriller/mystery dramas, and people who like the romance/comedy dramas that most people think of when they imagine kdramas. I will also say that I'm fairly dedicated to particular actors, and since I'm a busy person, I usually only watch dramas based on actors I know I like or recommendations from trusted friends. There's so many that I haven't watched that I'm sure a superb! With that being said, here are my top favorites:

Beyond Evil: My gateway drug to kdramas. This show grabbed a hold of me and wouldn't let go for almost 2 years. It's a mystery/thriller set in a smalltown where a serial killer has been on the loose for 20 years. Rookie detective (and nepotism hire by virtue of his father being highly ranked in the KNPA) Han Joowon arrives in town with strong conviction that he knows who the real killer is - Lee Dongsik, also a cop, who was accused of killing his sister 20 years ago but was released due to lack of evidence. A shining example of "opposites attract" and an evolving relationship arc that is almost unparalleled

The Worst of Evil: My gateway drug to Ji Changwook. A crime noir drama set in the 90s. In order to infiltrate a 3-way drug trade involving China, Japan, and Korea, rural cop Park Junmo goes undercover as the cousin of gangleader Jung Gicheul's deceased best friend. Crisis immediately strikes when it's revealed that Junmo's wife, Euijeong (also a cop), was the childhood sweetheart of Jung Gicheul. The married couple become further and further entangled in the gang's operations and with the enigmatic Gicheul as the undercover operation veers from one crisis to the next, until by the end, they are both asking themselves, "Can we go back to who we were before?"

D.P. (Deserter Pursuit): This drama follows An Junho through his enlistment in Korea's mandatory military service, his introduction to the D.P. unit, which tracks down military deserters, and his fight to expose the corruption, hazing, and abuse within the military. By his side is his partner, Han Hoyeol, a much more reluctant hero who is nevertheless dedicated to protecting Junho at all costs. Another great example of "opposites attract"! But be forewarned, as adorable as this pair is at the start, this series will force you to look at some very uncomfortable aspects of human nature and society and ask you some tough questions that might make you shed more than a few tears

If You Wish Upon Me: My second favorite drama from Ji Changwook and completely underrated, if you ask me. A lonely and suicidal ex-convict is sent to a hospice care facility in order to complete community service. The employees of the hospice operate a program that tries to fulfill the last wishes of their dying patients. To Gyeore's surprise, he finds a group of people who welcome him despite his flaws and slowly but surely make him a part of their little family. Another series that will definitely make you cry more than once! One of my favorite parts of this drama was the romance. Unlike a lot of kdramas, it depicts a man who appears to be tough and willing to fight on the surface but is actually traumatized, powerless, and trapped in an abusive relationship that the FL helps him to escape.

Bad and Crazy: How to describe this drama?? It's a quirky, wild ride that will have you asking "what the fuck?" while also keeping you glued to the screen wanting to know what happens next. Under most circumstances, my suspension of disbelief would have collapsed after the first episode but somehow this drama kept me engaged from start to finish. In simple terms, it's a story about corrupt cop Ryu Suyeol, who has a split personality, K, that is determined to kick his ass until he becomes the righteous hero he dreamed of growing up to be as a child.

Hotel Del Luna: A fantasy drama about a 1,000's year old immortal being, Jang Manwol, who runs a "hotel" for the dead. It's her responsibility to resolve the unfulfilled desires of those who have passed so that they can continue onto the afterlife in peace without becoming vengeful spirits. Young hotelier Koo Chansung is drafted against his will to serve as the hotel's mortal manager when the former manager passes away. While it's Manwol's job to resolve grudges for the dead, she herself holds the biggest grudge of all that's keeping her tied to the hotel indefinitely. Neither she nor Chansung know it at the beginning, but Chansung will be instrumental in helping her move on from her painful past. 10/10 will also make you cry (are you sensing a pattern here?)

Empress Ki: Don't let the whopping 51 episode count of this epic period drama deter you! I watched most of it within 2 weeks and could not pull myself away. It's loosely based on the true story of Ki Seungnyang, a palace slave from Koryo turned empress, who captures the heart of Emperor Toghon of the Yuan Dynasty, which has control over Koryo during this time period. Toghon as been a puppet king abused by the regent for most of his life until Nyang empowers him to reclaim his authority, and in turn, claims a great deal of influence for herself. I've seen a good deal of dissent from other viewers over Toghon and Nyang's relationship, but for me, it was the most compelling thing about the show. No matter how toxic, co-dependent, and fucked up things get between them, they just can't leave each other to the wolves.

Bloodhounds: Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, this drama criticizes the government's response to the economic crisis and the resulting explosion of debt capitalized on by the loansharking business in Korea. Boxers and former Marines Kim Gunwoo and Hong Woojin meet during a match and quickly become fast friends. When Gunwoo's mother is tricked into signing an exploitative contract by a loanshark in order to save her struggling cafe, the pair team up with Mr. Choi, a former loanshark himself who has turned his business around to helping victims of loansharking get out of debt. (The last 2 episodes of this show weren't up to par in my opinion, due to a last-minute rewrite for reasons you can look up online, but overall, I enjoyed the hell out of this drama and adored Gunwoo and Woojin from start to finish. Oh and good news, it's just been renewed for season 2!)

The Guest: A priest, a psychic, and a cop team up to stop a powerful demon called Park Il-do, which has visited tragedy on each of them in different ways. I'm wary of the over-used "linked in childhood" trope that comes up often in kdramas but this drama did it in such a believable and satisfying way. I loved the main trio and their dedication to protecting and helping each other and never letting any one of their group go into danger alone Not to mention that this drama will keep your adrenaline pumping from beginning to end! (You might not believe this but ........ this final episode of this drama made me sob like a baby)

Honorable Mentions include:

Strangers From Hell (Lee Dongwook and Im Siwan), Link: Eat, Love Kill (Yeo Jingoo and Moon Gayoung), Welcome to Samdalri (Ji Changwook and Shin Hyesun), The Devil Judge (Ji Sung and Jinyoung), Unicorn (Shin Hakyun), and The Sound of Magic (Ji Changwook and Choi Sungeun)

#ask #kdrama #kdrama recommendations #beyond evil #the worst of evil #d.p. netflix #empress ki #bad and crazy #bloodhounds #hotel del luna

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gizkasparadise · 6 months

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2023 wrapped: cdrama edition!

taking a page from @dangermousie and doing an overview of all the cdramas i watched this year (i'll do one for kdramas later)! listed in order of least favorite to most favorite. favorite =/= objectively best/most well-made. just the ones i had the most fun watching.

15 have a crush on you. oh dear lord. this drama should be a case study for what happens when a bad drama has charismatic actors and they keep you trapped hostage. i watched this whole damn thing hating every minute of it on behalf of the poor female lead who definitely deserved better. the ending? absolutely batshit, and not in a fun way. one of the weirdest, worst endings ive seen since with you

14 back from the brink. too kitschy for me, i didn't last long on this one (i think 2 eps lol).

13 gone with the rain. i wanted to like this one because i love sean sun and troll general is exactly what i want out of life. but i didn't like the weird daydream asides, constant animal noise sound effects, and i found everyone kind of off-putting in a non-watchable way, so i peaced out really quick--ep 4ish

12 here we meet again. i love janice wu. i continue to try out her dramas hoping for something to grab me again. this one was pretty boring/too focused on the work element and not the rest of it.

11 exclusive fairytale. i have a secret weakness for youth-to-working-life dramas, so tried this one out. flat, not a lot of chemistry, and very color-by-numbers. the show was clearly made to vehicle jun, and that's okay, but not my thing

10 the starry love. i wanted to like this one because the side characters were fun and i loved the male lead/prince of heaven and all his awkward "please leave by 9" energy. but it bored me overall and unlike most folks i had no interest in the demon secondary ship. i dropped around ep 10

9 my journey to you. it kills me to rank this one so low because it was my most anticipated cdrama this year, but i just couldn't get into it. the pacing was too slow for me, and i couldn't stand how everyone talked to each other (long. pauses. and then. staring. and then. whispers. always the. whispers). i dropped this around midway

8 the love you give me. the chemistry between the leads was cute and it was a decent modern romance. started losing me around the midpoint when the paternity reveal hit and the ML got way into boundary crossing because of it

7 circle of love. objectively not a good drama. in fact, a toxic and batshit drama that has probably made me a worse person for watching it. but gd did my messy ass enjoy the trainwreck.

6 road home. you really got to be in the mood for this one, but it's a nice, understated and slow melo romance. but def not a bingeable show since it takes its time with everything

5 wonderland of love. another drama that i dont think is objectively great, but two competent schemers/martial artists trying to one-up each other is like ship catnip for me and this was a show that lived or died by its ship. surprisingly tame for the screenwriter, and had a happy ending! popcorn watch.

4 till the end of the moon. me and this drama were in a bad romance, which i suppose is thematically appropriate. i hated parts of it, i was super invested in others. the post-dream human arc was giving wuthering heights tragic obsession incredibleness. even with its flaws, i think most of cdramaland is in agreement that lyx/tantai jin stole the ML competition this year. great gowns, beautiful gowns

3 story of kunning palace. i adored the characters in this drama! even when the plot was losing my interest, everyone was cast so well and had so much charisma that i stayed pretty hooked from ep 10ish on. absolutely loved the mean high school theatre director wreck that was xie wei, as well as the other (imo) true love interest of the show, princess leyang. the desperate speech about being like iron is gonna live rent-free in my head

& then 1&2 are way ahead of the others for me this year/a very close race between them!

2 a journey to love. i love this drama so much!!! i have not skipped or speed watched a single scene which for me is a huge feat! great character work across the board -- even the side characters have a lot of nuance and interesting dynamics between them. beautiful fight scenes. great ost. one of the best, most balanced main couples ive seen in a show. it's gonna break my heart in a few eps when it ends, but i'll be happy about it

1 lost you forever (s1). this drama came out of NOWHERE and the vicegrip it had on me while it was airing!!! my favorite FL this year (although a journey to love's ruyi is a close second), and just a ton of fun while also being quietly devastating in parts. i loved how lived in and tired the FL felt, enjoyed the various flavors of mess from her love interests, and enjoyed how extra it could go while still giving us really grounded and complicated characters. this drama gets extra points for converting me on several actors i did not think that highly of before the show.

overall, despite how many i dropped (lol writing it out made me realize i dropped so, so many), cdramas delivered for me this year! my top two are on my short list for favorite dramas, period. everyone go watch a journey to love and lost you forever if you havent yet!!!

AWARDS

Favorite ship: definitely goes to ruyi and yuanzhou from a journey to love. it's just nice to see a couple that mutually supports each other's murders

Favorite FL: xiaoyao from lost you forever with ruyi from journey to love as a very close runner-up. i am here for this year's theme of competent, jaded ladies trying to reclaim their lives

Favorite ML: objectively, tantai jin from till the end of the moon should win this, but story of kunning palace's xie wei was just so entertainingly grumpy, petty, and unhinged which is a winning combo for me.

Favorite 2FL: princess yang ying from a journey to love. she's doing amazing and im proud of her!!

Favorite 2ML: technically third male lead, but xiang liu from lost you forever was my favorite to watch and had the best tuxedo mask exits

Best Cast: a journey to love, i literally adore all of them, even the ones i hate

Best Blood Cough: tantai jin, you beautiful bastard who needs a bib

#cdrama #gizka 2023 wrapped

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alittlehurtwithyourcomfort · 2 years

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kdrama whump recs: found family/team as family edition

Found family/team as family is my favorite trope, and when it’s combined with whump it’s even better! So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite whumpy kdramas featuring these tropes! (This list is not a ranking!)

1. The Uncanny Counter (2021)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: So Mun is an orphaned high-school student who suddenly gains supernatural powers. Soon after, the local noodle-shop employees recruit him into their team of “Counters”, where he begins to learn of the evil spirits roaming around town.

Notes: This was actually my first-ever kdrama! It’s a great blend of action, drama, and comedy. It also has one of the most unique “magic” systems I’ve seen, with the “Counters” each connected to a spirit in the afterlife. It’s also extremely whumpy, with a lot of comfort and care given to the characters. Definitely recommend.

Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

Here is a whumplist for Season 2!

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2. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Dan Hwal has lived for the past 600 years as a Bulgasal—a mythical creature that feeds off human blood and is cursed with immortality. Eventually, he connects with his reincarnated family, along with a formerly immortal woman.

Notes: This show is pretty complex and can get confusing at times. It’s also heartbreaking, but the characters make up for it! There’s a TON of whump for both characters shown in the GIF above.

Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

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3. Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Han Kang-bae is a young man with the ability to make people confess their deepest troubles with a single touch, but this power isn’t always a gift to him. One night, he meets the mysterious owner of a pop-up bar, a woman who must settle the grudges of 100,000 souls in order to gain a peaceful place in the afterlife.

Notes: This show isn’t the most whumpy on this list by any means, but it still has a good amount! What stood out to me were the relationships between the main trio of characters and how close they become with each other over the course of the show. No spoilers here, but this drama does involve reincarnation...

Here is a whumplist by @whumperfect

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4. While You Were Sleeping (2017)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: Three young adults discover that they all have the same ability: seeing the future in their dreams. As a trio, they work together to attempt to change these (sometimes terrible) visions and save each other from harm.

Notes: Though this show is more focused on the romance between Jae-chan and Hong-joo, there are some great moments of found family feels between the main trio, sometimes including Jae-chan’s little brother and a different character who somewhat acts as a father figure. Pretty whumpy show that I absolutely adored watching! (Plus, the cast is STELLAR! I mean, Suzy, Jong-suk, and Jae-in together in a drama? It’s so good.)

Here is a whumplist by @whumpalot

Here is a whumplist by @thewhumpyrabbit

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5. Tomorrow (2022)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Choi Jun-woong is a young man struggling to find a job, but when he falls into a coma after an unfortunate accident, he’s offered a place on the Risk Management Team as a temporary grim reaper. Together, they help save people from s*icide.

Notes: Possibly my most favorite kdrama ever! It has more emotional whump than physical for the most part, but it’s so amazingly done. The main trio (plus another character, later in the show) have such great platonic chemistry, and even though they have conflicts, you can tell they all truly care for each other even after a short amount of time. (Rowoon’s acting talents are really highlighted in this show, as well as the other main leads!)

Here is a whumplist I made!

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6. The Devil Judge (2021)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: This series is set in a dystopian version of South Korea, where the people live in chaos and corruption runs rampant. Trials are held through a courtroom live show aired on television, led by "The Devil Judge”.

Notes: This show is very dark, but has an interesting dynamic between the characters that evolves and grows over the course of the show. The characters are complex and imperfect, and though their conflicts are intense, it just makes the domestic moments so much better because of it. It has some good whump for the two main characters, and of course, Jin-young is an added bonus.

Here is a whumplist by @whumpslist

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7. He is Psychometric (2019)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: Lee Ahn is a young man with the ability to read the memories of any object or person he touches. He begins to train his powers in order to help solve crimes and get justice for the death of his parents.

Notes: One of my favorite kdramas ever and a must-watch for anyone in the kdrama whump community. Fair warning, this show will absolutely shatter your heart, but it has such a great storyline with many twists and turns. This is a complex found family, and though the show does have a romance, it’s a really good one. Also, there’s SO MUCH WHUMP! Like in every single episode. It’s truly amazing. Jin-young never fails to amaze me with his acting.

Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

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Alright, that’s the end of the list (at least for now)! If you have any recommendations for more whumpy found family/team as family kdramas, please comment them or send me them! <3

#kdramas #kdrama #kdrama whump #kdrama whump recs #whump #whumpy #whump community #whump recs #whumpy shows #whumplist #whumplists #the uncanny counter #bulgasal #mystic pop up bar #while you were sleeping #tomorrow kdrama #the devil judge #he is psychometric

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koyangii · 5 months

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2023 - The year of Japanese BLs (My 2023 BL wrapped)

After plenty of good BL releases in 2022, I was hoping 2023 would keep the pace and give us even better content. However, I turned out to be very disappointed. In my opinion, the majority of the shows were blank, superficial and had really bad script and bad acting, so there were very few of them I've managed to finish, mostly Japanese ones.

One thing that really draws me towards Japanese productions is that the stories are believable and portrayed in a natural way. Even when the acting has big "anime" reactions, they usually fit in the context. Kieta Hatsukoi, for instance, explores this type of reactions very well and they don't feel cringe at all, unlike most Thai BLs and some Korean ones as well.

Nationalities apart, there's an obvious gold rush that is happening in the BL industry. A lot of companies realized that BL does make profit and are producing a lot of shows, poorly written, poorly casted, but that's ok since people are still consuming for the skinship, right? There's a public for that, so why invest in good, but a little more expensive stories?

Anyway, this is my opinion of course, as a regular consumer of the genre, and I can't help to be disappointed. But enough of the complaining, right? Let's go to the list of my 2023 favorites!

Top 3:

The eight sense

This BL has entered my list of all-time favorites. Fresh and mature, the chemistry between the leads is amazing. Jihyun's innocent approach to life contrasts really well with Jaewon's harsh perspective and I love the way both of them bond while helping each other to evolve. The feeling of the show reminds me a bit of Skam, another all-time favorite, and I found out that it really was one of the materials they used for inspiration. If you haven't watched it yet, stop everything you're doing and go watch The eighth sense right now.

2. If it's with you

I loved this show so much! The manga adaptation was beautifully done, they really paid attention to the details. It's a very sweet, heart-warming and honest story. There's no "instant love”: the relationship between them is built little by little, through sincere conversations and empathy. The series invites you to be more honest with yourself and to not be afraid of showing your true self.

3. My Beautiful Man 2 and My Beautiful Man: Eternal

Well, it's somehow funny that I put this BL on the list, because I hated the first season of My Beautiful Man. However, the second season and the movie explore the motives behind the characters' actions in a deeper way, so the viewer can better understand the relationship dynamic. One thing that I really like about this story is that, although there is a worship behavior from Hira towards Kiyoi, Hira's life is not all about Kiyoi. In the same way, despite the fact that Kiyoi enjoys to be worshiped, he's also unsure about Hira's feelings: does Hira love the perfect, godlike image of Kiyoi he created inside his head or does he love the true Kiyoi, the human being with flaws?

Honorable mentions:

Our Dining Table

A great slow-burn which approaches the fact that true family is the one you choose, so sweet that almost made me die of too much cuteness.

I Can't Reach You

A very sweet friends-to-lovers story, which is now on Netflix!

Love Tractor

A fresh and funny countryside love story. I just love how Yechan is so hyped when it comes to Seonyul. This man must be kept in a jar, protected from all the badness in the world.

Conclusion

Well, although I believe 2023 wasn't the best year for BLs, it did give us some true gems, more productions and more visibility. I've seen news about Kdrama actors working on BL projects that will be released in 2024, so I guess we're having some next-level good content this year.

So that was it for this BL wrapped. I hope you all had great holidays and that 2024 will be full of blessings to all of us! Bye, bye!

#bl wrapped #bl 2023 #the eighth sense #if it's with you #my beautiful man 2 #i cannot reach you #our dining table #love tractor #japanese bl #korean bl

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alloveydovey · 5 months

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Dramas from this past month. I'm having such a hard time finishing things 😭

The Forbidden Marriage (rewatch) (kdrama) 9 ⭐️

A broken-hearted king imposes a seven-year ban on marriage, and after claiming to be able to channel the deceased crown princess, the FL ends up as one of his court ladies. Both the king and the officer assigned to protect her (the king's closest friend) end up developing an interest in her.

I love it so much that it became a comfort drama. I’m not into love triangles (who is?), but I looved every aspect of it. It’s a bit crazy how they go from extreme comedy to extreme drama, I’ll admit, but the actors deal with it really well. Romance is 11/10, the usual historical visuals are stunning, and the comedy had me laughing hard.

Love Me, Love my Voice (cdrama) 7.5

Nothing more soft and warm than watching these two characters fall in love. There are no obstacles here, just a doctor/voice actor wooing a senior student/singer/composer with the magic of cooking.

On the other side, because there are no complications, it gets boring. The characters get together way too soon for a drama where nothing happens. Luckily the second couple is as entertaining (if not more) as the leads. So, the main reason I continued watching, honestly, was because of them.

Secret Playlist (kdrama) 7

Cute 8 episode drama about an internet music composer and an idol who join forces to create music. Romance was a bit mid, but the songs were cute as hell, and so were the leads.

And Yet, You Are So Sweet (jmovie) 7

This was adorable af. A little silly (as usual with school love) but I liked the vibes. Girl confesses to her crush, he turns her down harshly and popular boy offers himself as a replacement for the crush. They both start a game where he basically lends himself to her so she can have a fake crush on him and forget about the other guy, except he obviously has feelings for her and she starts having real feelings for him as well. It’s a weird premise, but it gave out a lot of cute moments.

D.P. Season 2 (kdrama) 10

I’ve never watched a season 2 from a drama, and from what I’ve gathered, most of them usually disappoint or are good but don’t come close to the first season. Well, for me, this one was not the case at all. It just felt like a continuation of the first part. I'd say I even enjoyed this one more. Also, I miss theeeeem.

Sixteen Shoukougun (jdrama) 7.5

Okay, so basically, a fuckboy with mommy issues wants to get in between a "tomboy" girl who is known among girls as a prince and her best friend, a girl suffering from severe PTSD. He initially tries to go for the PTSD one, but soon realizes that her friendship with the "tomboy" girl is a little... special. After a few interactions, though, he begins to actually like the "tomboy" girl. In between all this, a sensible boy who is deemed "feminine" is thrown into the mix.

I'll be honest, I went into this one thinking it'd be gl but got disappointed it wasn't the case. At the same time, I actually enjoyed tomboy and fuckboy's relationship too. It's all a bit crazy, especially the friendship between the girls, but I was low-key into it. Fuckboy redeems himself, so I was okay with it, I guess? I don't know, jdramas are extreme, man. What I liked a lot about this one (apart from the sick intro that goes really hard) was how they showed the characters' feelings and the overall theme of just being 16 and growing up around prejudice, abandonment, and liking someone regardless of gender.

Our Secret Diary (jmovie) 8.5

Girl finds a love confession note on her classroom desk from the popular guy in school. Confused about it, she decides to answer him and soon begins exchanging secret notes until she realizes that the note was actually meant for her best friend.

This cute little school movie was very cliché but absolutely perfect.

I am Not a Robot (kdrama) 8/8.5

Here's to me never adding this one to my list because I was not into robots and stuff like that at all, and then completely ignoring my watchlist and going for it since I've read it's very cute.

The comments were right. The storyline is a bit wack and unreliable buuuut, as usual, the main leads make up for it with good acting and adorable scenes.

I'm adding these ones even though I didn't really finish them he ⬇️

The Matchmakers (kdrama) 8/8.5, because it's actually good, just a bit heavy.

Another comedy with Rowoon, sign me up. This one took me a while to get into because even though it was clever, the comedy was really good, and the mockumentary style rocked, there were just too many politics in it for me to fully dive into. I’d get lost and bored at times. It picked up after episode 5, though, and by episode 7, it was definitely more fun. It's more entertaining when they focus on the leads and the ladies they are supposed to set up. I still haven't finished it yet because... I don't know. It is a kind of slow drama, and I don't think I fully get what's going on with the murder and politics.

I May Love You (cdrama) 6.5

Oof. I have so many opinions about this one. ML asks FL to help him woo her best friend not knowing that FL has been in love with him for the past four years. FL fails to help him (on purpose lol) and after spending some meaningful moments together decides to confess in what I like to call the lousiest confession ever. ML rejects her but regrets it later on.

I'm always a girls girl, but here... FL was testing me. The ML spends most of the drama groveling because the FL is mad and upset he asked her for help wooing her friend and then rejected her (also rejected her book project which is possibly the worst thing he did) But the thing is, ML didn't even know FL liked him when he asked for help in the first place, and I believe he had every right to reject her after she told him she liked him because he was rich and handsome. Like?? Who confesses like that? And that's basically the whole drama. I don't know why they thought it'd be cute for the FL to have a wall full of his pictures and then forcefully kiss him. Truly not a good-written character.

A Good Day to Be a Dog (kdrama) 8

I'm gonna finish this, I swear. The whole girl turns into a dog and boy has to kiss her in dog form to break the spell is a bit... weird. Buuut aside from that, these characters and their interactions are just the cutest. It works well because Park Gyu Young is amazing with comedy and her chemistry with Eun Woo is perfect.

Now, the past lives part of the story? A bit too much meh. Some aspects are interesting (the whole story of the mountain spirit and the lady. I thought I'd die of boredom, but they actually made it cute and sad lol). The revenge thing? Boring and so over it. Still gotta watch the last four episodes.

#the forbidden marriage #love me love my voice #secret playlist #and yet you are so sweet #dp season 2 #sixteen shoukougun #jdrama #cdrama #kdrama #our secret diary #the matchmakers #I may love you #a good day to be a dog #dovey watches

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kdramacrybaby · 8 months

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My favorite actresses

In no particular order

Kim Se-jeong

What I've watched: Busted, A Business Proposal, The Uncanny Counter

What I want to watch: School 2017, Today's Webtoon

Okay, so though I said it was in no particular order, Se-jeong is definitely my top pick. I just love her, both on- and off-screen. She can nail both a bubbly rom-com protagonist and a hard-core, ass-kicking action star. And off-screen, she's just so happy and excited about everything in variety shows. I'm definitely hoping for a lot more dramas to come from her in the future.

Han Hyo-joo

What I've watched: The Pirates; The Last Royal Treasure, W, Happiness

What I want to watch: Treadstone, Masquerade, Moving

This woman is just so goddamn cool in every role I've seen her in, as well as from what I can tell of her other roles. I'm not really sure what else to say tbh. She's amazing, end of sentence. I cannot wait to see her other projects as well, I'm sure they're fantastic.

Jang Na-ra

What I've watched: The Last Empress, Sell Your Haunted House

What I want to watch: V.I.P., Family; The Unbreakable Bond

The Last Empress was one of the first dramas I watched where I was like; "oh so that's what a kdrama can be" - and her role as Oh Sunny is still one of my favorite characters ever, even years later. Just for that alone, she gets a spot on this list. SYHH was fantastic as well, only adding to my point here.

Kim Ji-won

What I've watched: Arthdal Chronicles, Descendants of the Sun, The Heirs, Fight For My Way

What I want to watch: Queen of Tears

This is a case where she somehow just ended up in dramas I had planned to watch, without knowing she was in them. And in every one, she just stole the show. I don't know what it is about her, but she just stands out in the best ways. I was so sad when I found out she wouldn't continue as Tanya in Arthdal, as I just think she was perfect in that role.

Park Bo-young

What I've watched: Strong Girl Bong-soon, Doom At Your Service

What I want to watch: Abyss, Concrete Utopia

She was so heart-shatteringly amazing in Doom At Your Service that I just had to put her on this list. Though the others actors were fantastic as well, she just carried this entire drama on her back. And Bong-soon is just an iconic character all around. It took me a while to realize they were played by the same actress, she's that good.

#drama ranking #kim se-jeong #han hyo-joo #jang na-ra #kim ji-won #park bo-young #i want to do a 'fave female character' post as well someday #and while making this list i realized that it would just be all the same names mentioned 😂#oh well #gonna make it eventually anyway

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mirambles · 1 year

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Wahaj Ali to the Rescue…

I have been in a Kdrama slump having barely watched 3 dramas so far. Dropped 2 and one is ongoing. I have been watching a lot of crime and dark series in British and American TV. Farzi is the only Hindi series I have watched in this new year and I loved it 😍

I have been craving good series from the subcontinent and asked a few folks on twitter to recommend Pakistani dramas. I haven’t watched them in last 7-8 years. So after 3 dramas, I started watching Tere Bin and got totally bowled over by Wahaj Ali’s Murtasim!

So I hunted for more dramas of his and am currently watching Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha which is also currently airing and his 2021 drama Ishq Jalebi. I’m so impressed by his acting, screen presence, charisma and charm with a capital C! The current craze behind him is reminiscent of the craze behind Fawad Khan a decade ago when people discovered Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hain. There is none like Fawad and he is an eternal favourite, but I’m totally falling for each and ever character that Wahaj is essaying with such finesse and panache.

Be it the proud and arrogant but hopelessly in love Murtasim

Be it the soft hearted, reticent Saad who harbours one-sided love for Maheer (literally watching MHPT only for him, cause the show is an utter disaster of a melodrama that reminds me why I don’t watch many series from the sub continent)

Or my favourite character of his right now - Basim from Ishq Jalebi. Basim is so flawed - he is immature, impulsive, stubborn, a tad selfish, sometimes a man child and even carries an inferiority complex but once he realises he is in love with Bela , he fights for it like no one’s business. His comic timing and dialogue delivery is impeccable - his dynamic with his parents is best part of the drama after his lovely, soft chemistry with the female lead Mahida. Her soft spoken, caring , mature Bela is the perfect foil to Basim. The drama is also so wholesome with fun characters that there isn’t a single moment of boredom! It reminded me of my favourite Marathi show Eka Lagnachi Goshta (The story of a marriage).

Wahaj Ali is playing 3 absolutely different characters in the 3 dramas of his that am watching simultaneously and I cannot believe it’s the same actor. The mannerisms, the voice modulation, the gait , the look is completely different. That’s the hallmark of a great actor ! Colin Firth, Fawad Khan, Kim Seon Ho were my biggest actor crushes that gave the most epic characters in history of TV viewing and now Wahaj has entered this elite list. Actors when they are on my screen, I can’t take my eyes off the screen.

Wahaj Ali has saved my 2023 TV viewing cause I have seen his filmography and his drama arc is so similar to Fawad’s that I can’t wait to watch his dramas. Fawad’s Ashar & Zaroon, Wahaj’s Murtasim and Basim are all heavily flawed characters and yet both these actors have made us ladies swoon and fall in love with them thanks to their amazing acting abilities and effortless performance. It’s an added bonus that his voice , his mischievous smile and the look in his eyes when he is in love is totally swoon worthy!

So until I find the right Kdrama again, this space will be reserved to obsess over the awesomeness of Wahaj Ali 😉

#wahaj ali #Ishq jalebi #tere bin #mujhe pyaar hua tha #Murtasim #basim #Saad #colin firth #pride and prejudice bbc series #fitzwilliam darcy #kim seon ho #startup kdrama #han ji pyeong #fawad khan #zaroon #zindagi gulzar hai #pakistani drama #romantic heroes

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relenafanel · 1 year

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@notenoughgatorade Tagged me in the 8 shows for your followers to get to know you game!

😘

Shows that shaped me:

Buffy

We're not going to talk about problematic. We're instead going to talk about how the quippy banter and how Buffy's whole cute valley girl irreverent heroism was very definitive to baby teen me's style of writing (to the point where it needs to be first on this list).

Gundam Wing

I had the biggest crush on Relena. Adult me can identify it as a crush. Baby me just thought I had a crush on Heero (which ngl I also did). Anyway, this manifested in my very first fandom / shipping / foray into writing fanfic! This was the start of it ALL.

(and, well. ☝ username)

Teen Wolf

I got into Sterek (and non-heterosexual ships) around the time I stopped repressing thoughts about my own sexuality, so I see this as an actual turning point in my life. Sterek was a lot of fun to ship, and I worked some shit out that first year I was writing about bi Stiles, so that will always be a part of me.

Comfort Shows:

Merlin:

No one is particularly surprised by this. It has fun dialogue, great characters, and while I KNOW a lot of people hated the ending, I actually consider Merlin walking in modern-day one of the best closing scenes I've ever seen.

Leverage:

A lot of what you need to know about my personality and my social ideologies is ☝✔. I've said this before, but the more time that passes since Leverage came out and the more things that were on Leverage that just get casually mentioned in the news these days is just !!!(negative) The version of me from 2008-2012 who watched this show when it was on TV was so naïve.

Yuri on Ice:

MY BABIES. Look, I really just like this because it's a cute gay anime that makes me feel good. It's not deep. I do, however, ship them deeply and love reading canon-divergence fics where they met differently.

My Current Obsession:

The Untamed:

The biggest irony of this show and ship is that when it was coming out I was making posts like "i need a new ship" and people were like "try the untamed!!" and i did not try the untamed. 4 yrs later I have tried the untamed.

uuuh that's only 7, tiktok algorithm what's my fav shows?

I have been watching a lot of kdramas recently - I think Healer is my fav so far, but Hotel Del Luna was the first I was so into I binged straight through. I'm just going to blanket statement kdramas as a current obsession.

Tagging:

@ellebeesknees tell me about your obsession with Kinnporsche.

Anyone else who wants to nerd out with me about shows you love~~

#relenafanel is a dork

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coreancitizen · 1 year

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2022 Year in Review: My Korean drama recommendations

2022 went by so quickly, and I think that's partly because almost every week I had new episodes of shows to look forward to. I'm a bit of a contradiction: I don't have the patience to wait for a new show to be completed so I could binge it, but I (maybe not-so) patiently wait for episodes every week, haha. TBH, I find I'm more invested in a show and its characters when I watch a drama weekly. And there were so many characters worth the investment in 2022: Woo Young Woo, Queen Im Hwa Ryeong, the Oh sisters, Kim Yumi, Jin Do Jun and Jang Uk, to name a few.

I just want to make clear that, as in previous years, this is by no means a list of the best Korean dramas of 2022. These are merely my favorites among the ones I watched that premiered in 2022 (or ended in 2022).

You can find my previous roundups here:

2021: Year in Review 2020: Year in Review

YUMI'S CELLS 2

New season means new love for Kim Yumi (Kim Go Eun) as she begins a romance with co-worker Yoo Babi following her breakup with video game designer Goo Woong. TBH, I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about the new pairing — I have a soft spot for Ahn Bo Hyun — but Jinyoung charmed me even before the series started. He and Go Eun have a sweet and natural chemistry that made me root for Yumi and Babi, even knowing how the relationship ended in the webtoon. Another thing I love about the series is its portrayal of Yumi's pursuit of her dream to be a writer — from the frustrations of earlier rejections to keeping it positive while faced with criticisms and the satisfaction of another job (book) well done. That shot of her jumping on the bed toward the end of the series was cathartic and the perfect cap to Yumi's growth. (Viki)

LITTLE WOMEN

This is NOT Louisa May Alcott's famous novel though it does share some themes and puts sisters at the forefront of the story. The Oh sisters — In Joo, In Kyung and In Hye — just want to live a life not steeped in poverty. So when 2 billion won falls on In Joo's lap, their problems are over, right? Nope. A multitude of troubles arrive as the sisters get entangled with a rich, powerful and corrupt family with a lot of unscrupulous allies. This series got me on the edge of my seat from the very first episode and the thrills and tension never let up until the end. I absolutely love how messy and chaotic the sisters and their relationships with each other are. They love but they also fight, annoy and block each other, LOL! Now please cast Kim Go Eun and Wi Ha Joon in an action comedy series or film and give them the ending on the sunny beaches of Greece that their characters deserve. (Netflix)

BULGASAL: IMMORTAL SOULS

This is the first drama that caught my attention last year, a fantasy with monsters, past lives, immortal love and families. It's the story of how the lives of a man (Lee Jin Wook) who was turned into an immortal monster 600 years ago and a woman (Kwon Na Ra) who has been dying and reincarnating for centuries have been intertwined. The world building is quite interesting and the central mystery keeps you guessing until the very end. Keep an eye out for familiar faces as people from the past emerge in the present. (Netflix)

A BUSINESS PROPOSAL

This romcom is adorable with a capital A. Shin Ha Ri (Kim Se Jeong) shows up to a blind date pretending to be her best friend and does her best to turn off a potential match by behaving outrageously. It's a schtick she and her chaebol best friend had cooked up a long time ago to discourage suitors. Unfortunately, the blind date turns out to be Kang Tae Moo (Ahn Hyo Seop), the young president of the food company where she works. And even more unfortunately, he's interested and now wants to marry her! Hilarious chaos ensues, abetted by the couple's adorable best friends (the second couple), her zany family and his kdrama-loving grandfather. You'll never look at an archaeopteryx (bird-like dinosaur) the same way again. (Netflix)

TOMORROW

This is a lovely, heartbreaking, oftentimes cathartic drama about people desperate enough to consider taking their own lives and the team of resolute grim reapers who work very hard to prevent their deaths. Comatose Choi Jun Woong (Rowoon) is the newbie in the Risk/Crisis Management Team led by Koo Ryeon (Kim Hee Sun). Lim Ryung Gyu rounds up the team. Head of the Soul Collection Team Park Joong Gil, despite being a fellow grim reaper, is a thorn on the team's side — he has a special animosity for Ryeon that may have something to do with the past. Fortunately, the team has a stalwart supporter in the Jade Emperor (Kim Hae Sook). (Netflix)

MILITARY PROSECUTOR DOBERMAN

Legal action drama with a touch of comedy is probably the best way to describe this series and it's the perfect leading man vehicle for Ahn Bo Hyun. Do Bae Man passes the bar with basically just a GED and so finds himself unable to find a spot in a decent law firm until he gets an "offer he can't refuse" from corrupt lawyer Yong Moon Go: Serve in the military for five years as a prosecutor and then join his prestigious firm after. The plan is going swimmingly until he crosses paths with another military prosecutor, Cha Woo In (Jo Bo Ah), who is targeting some members of the military brass for revenge after her beloved father's suspicious death. After long-buried secrets begin to emerge, Do Bae Man finds himself reevaluating what it is he really wants to do with his life. (Viki)

EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO

Woo to the Young to the Woo! The series follows Woo Young Woo, a young lawyer on the autism spectrum. She's got a brilliant legal mind, able to see different angles of a case but struggles with day-to-day interactions. Fortunately, she has the people looking out for her, like her dad, her boss/mentor, her law school friend and, of course, the handsome support team member who might just have more than friendship in mind. Park Eun Bin is brilliant as Woo Young Woo, she truly gets you invested in her challenges and triumphs. The legal maneuverings are fairly interesting, especially when they involve a rival law firm and somebody from WYW's past. (Netflix)

ALCHEMY OF SOULS

In the land of Daeho, an assassin trapped in a blind woman's weak body encounters a young lord from a powerful family who needs help to unlock his powers. Interesting lead and supporting characters, solid world-building, fantastic sword and sorcery action? I was sold from the very beginning. At the end of the second ep, I was absolutely in love with the feisty Mudeok and her rather bratty young master/pupil Jang Uk who just wants his gate of energy opened so he can do what everybody can — cast spells and use a sword. There's a twist at the end of the 20-episode first season, and I guess your enjoyment of the second season would largely depend on how much you accept the change. But in both seasons, the crown prince remains quite the scene stealer and he's possibly my most favorite character of all. (Netflix)

UNDER THE QUEEN'S UMBRELLA

A truly female-driven drama — from the queen and the queen dowager down to the concubines and, yes, even the court ladies. The series begins with Queen Hwa Ryeong's biggest problem being the four grand princes' rather relaxed approach to their education, lagging behind the other sons of the king via his numerous scheming concubines. But tragedy strikes and the queen and her sons suddenly find themselves fighting to make sure they don't lose not just their positions but their very lives. Kim Hye Soo makes it so easy to root for the embattled queen who wields her position and her eyebrows skillfully to thwart ministers, concubines and her mother-in-law, the queen dowager. I also love that her sons, the four grand princes, are unlike other royal brothers in sageuks — they are close, affectionate and loyal, leaving the dirty tricks to their half-brothers. This series probably has the most satisfying ending among the ones I watched last year. (Netflix)

REBORN RICH

Yoon Hyun Woo is a hard-working, loyal, no-questions-asked employee of the powerful Jin Family, which controls the Soonyang Group. One day, on an overseas errand to retrieve some secret money, he is betrayed by someone in the family and murdered — but promptly finds himself "waking up" in the body of the youngest grandson of the Jins, back in 1987. How, you ask? I finished the series but that part is still unclear. What's clear is how charismatic and believable Song Joong Ki is as the twentysomething investment whiz Do Jun. And what an amazing actor Lee Sung Min, as Soonyang chairman and patriarch Jin Yang Cheol is. The push-pull in their relationship is what made the series work for 15 episodes. Not that the supporting cast members are slackers. This is one of the best ensembles I've ever seen, the actors really working to make these characters ones you'd love to hate. Some of the business stuff might put off viewers but I found the whole thing fascinating and easily understood. I cheered when Do Jun/Hyun Woo used his knowledge of the future as well as his relatives' greed to take pieces of Soonyang. I'm recommending this series but with a caveat: I found the ending a bit of a mess and rather unsatisfactory. BUT the previous 15 episodes are fantastic and definitely worth a watch. (Viki)

Bonus recommendations

I recently started dipping my toes into Chinese dramas, even though I'm still intimidated by the episode count. "Love Between Fairy and Devil" is sweet and hilarious and has fantastic special effects. (Netflix and Viki)

But my heart truly belongs to Li Wei and the sixth young prince of Xin State as they figure out family, politics and love as their "New Life Begins." (Viki)

Last but certainly not the least, "Pachinko," which even though it stars some of the biggest names in Korean entertainment is not considered K-Drama by its creators. Based on Min Jin Lee's critically acclaimed novel, the series — Youn Yuh Jung, Lee Min Ho and Kim Min Ha are key parts of the ensemble — follows the trial and tribulations of a Korean family over four generations. The story begins in Korea, moves to Japan and eventually spreads to the United States. The story is rich and emotional, the direction precise and the acting superb. It has been recognized in a lot of year-end lists and recently won the Critics Choice Award for best foreign language series. (Apple TV +)

#kdrama reccs #yumi's cells 2 #tvn little women #bulgasal #military prosecutor doberman #mbc tomorrow #a business proposal #extraordinary attorney woo #alchemy of souls #under the queen's umbrella #reborn rich #love between fairy and devil #new life begins #pachinko

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quarter-life-crisis2 · 9 months

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~tag game~

list eight shows for your followers to get to know you

thanks @btscontentenjoyer for the tag, this is coming ages later cause I wanted to properly reply because I love this shit so much, I watch so many media video essays it's borderline unhealthy

I have a hard time maintaining favourites and always get a recency bias but anyway, in no particular order, some of my favourites/ most impactful shows with my thoughts that no one asked for under the cut

No pressure, but if you wanna get involved, gonna tag @moni-logues, @gimmethatagustd, @jjkeverlast, @magicshopaholic & @sailoryooons, @simp47koreancrackheads, @yoongiphoria cause I am curious :)

White lotus - a recent favourite for sureeeeeeeee. I devoured this show and absolutely loved it. When it was finished, I watched about 10 hours of youtube content about it, from set breakdown, additional details missed, interviews, costume design, psychoanalysis of the characters etc

Fleabag - all time classic, should be required viewing for everyone, so so so good, and I love that it didn't get extended past what the story needed. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an amazing actress and creator

I may destroy you - watched it around the same time as Fleabag. Another great show, with such complex characters and discussion around intense topics, once again Michaela Coel is an amazing actress and creator. Watched a few long talks from her after this show regarding her life, career and this show

Death Note (the final one to steal from @btscontentenjoyer while I am brainstorming for these) - the anime that first got me into anime, and for sure one of the most memorable. So much room for discussion. Would love to sit and drink a glass of wine while philosophising on the nature of good and evil, power and who gets to decide the appropriate level of punishment. I've read some of the manga but need to go back and finish it

Attack on titan - (I am NOT up to date on this, I'm about 1-2 years behind. I know some of the twists towards the end but not the full picture) Another great one for conversation, so so many topics to cover, pretty controversial at times as well, so I would love to debate it with someone equally interested in chatting shit with endless pauses during watching

The good place - it's been a while since I watched this so I hope it stood the test of time, but what I will say is certain aspects of it really stuck with me and I reference it often. I think the premise and some of the conversation were very interesting and thought-provoking once again, and the way they presented the repercussions of our actions or what it means to be/do good was very intriguing

Game of Thrones - I mean, it's problematic and it ended... well it ended... let's leave it at that, BUT I watched it religiously for years, I used to go to my friend's house after high school and we'd all gather to watch it which was lots of fun (also maybe not age appropriate?). I did enjoy most of it for the insane plots and completely unhinged and fucked up characters, it was so meaty and could really get into character motivations and psychology which is my jam

Arcane - I devoured this when it came out. This led me to look into the animation style and watch breakdowns of it because it was so amazing. But even without it, the story is amazing and very well delivered, even for someone not interested in LoL. Another one filled with grey characters, impossible decisions, societal analysis and dystopian settings. I really hope they continue in the same style and quality for the following season.

I have so many shows I love. Love, sex and robots, Hearstopper (haven't seen the recent season), Sex Education, Skins UK - watched as a kid, for sure problematic but fucking loved it at the time, Misfits, The Boys, OMG THE BOYS, Black Mirror, still.... though not all of it, which is to be expected, Thirty Nine OMG Thirty Nine, Hospital Playlist!!!!! these last two are my favourite kdramas for sureeeeee, Tokyo Ghoul, Stranger Things, Scarlet Heart - my gateway drug into Korean entertainment, aaand I'm gonna stop but I very obviously like a lot of shit and have minimal editing and summarising abilities.....

#lia thoughts

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leia-organaa · 2 months

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Okay so I’m back and only a really spectacular piece of media could bring me back to fandom life. I’m talking about Moving (무빙) (2023). Warning: spoilers ahead.

Wow, this show. So, so, so good. I know the whole teenagers with superpowers and protective parents vs evil shady government/bad guys thing has been done before in different ways, but this one still felt so refreshing in its approach. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I’m biased towards kdramas, but there’s something about this show that its western predecessors like Heroes and Stranger Things etc. don’t have, and I think it is its distinct cultural and political identity that makes it unique.

To be honest, I didn’t catch the show when it was initially released last year because life caught up to me, and I regret not being there during its height of popularity. I just binged it in two days during a holiday break because the Baeksang nominees came out recently, and got curious because of the list. I have no regrets losing sleep over it. It was genuinely exciting and heart-wrenching, and so beautifully made. Thank you, Disney+, for the big budget, and for letting Kang Full adapt his work.

Anyway, I don’t really want to make a whole essay about how good the show was so I’ll just list down my thoughts and ramblings.

Jo In Sung is gorgeous. I already knew that prior to this show but he makes such an excellent Doosik, a smooth and dangerous spy with superpowers, who can be tender and romantic at the same time.

Han Hyo Joo — love her. So pretty as a spy, and to see her transform into a mousy single mother who is simply trying her best? Amazing.

Doosik and Mihyun’s storyline is my favorite. Spies who fall in love, and in the nineties? Omg. Mulder and Scully, seriously. The retro styling and production design was well done, too. Not cartoonish or obviously fake like they do in some kdramas. You can see there was genuine effort made to make it look somewhat realistic and believable to have been set during that time period. Maybe the shoulder pads and women’s blazers could have been slightly bigger, but the hair and unflattering trousers on Mihyun and Doosik’s and Juwon’s oversized coats? The filters? Excellent.

Back to their storyline. The set up was so good. The way it developed was so natural. The cutlets! Those trees! Their life together! All the tender feelings! God. What a beautiful couple. I love them. I want them to be happy. It broke my heart that their lives were stolen away from them.

There is a reason why Ryu Seung Ryong was nominated and why he is a legend. That man is a force. He is a beast. Juwon is their Wolverine. But my favorite parts are when he is being an awkward suitor then husband to Jihee and loving dad to Huisoo.

Lee Jung Ha’s smile as Bongseok can light up the world. What a sweetheart. I’m excited to see what happens next for him in the sequel (there will be a sequel, right?).

Cannot wait for Huisoo to become even more badass than she already is. If she takes after both her parents, she’d be terrifying.

Ganghoon is definitely the kind of guy I would have had a crush on at that age. Handsome, mysterious, a good son. Kind of sucks to see him turn into the very thing all the parents wanted their kids to avoid, but seems like he has the potential to be the new Doosik.

Now that I’ve read the story behind Hyewon, okay, I’m really intrigued to see where this goes.

Kim Sung Kyun as Ganghoon appa! My Reply 1988 heart.

The North-South conflict really gives the show its distinct flavor. The espionage is cool and all, but the traces of commonality give the show a lot of heart and humanity. I like how a lot of South Korean media humanize the enemy. It’s a reminder that they were one people a long time ago.

How does this have only 40-something fics on AO3????? Please, people, this deserves everything.

I had a lot more thoughts on this as I was watching but these are what stuck. I really hope to see more of these characters, hopefully soon, but I’m also interested to explore the other stories in this same universe that Kang Full has created.

#kdrama #moving kdrama #moving #무빙 #jo in sung #han hyo joo #ryu seung ryong #Lee jung ha #go youn jung #Kim do Hoon

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gizkasparadise · 5 months

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2023 wrapped: kdrama edition!

taking a page from @dangermousie, here's a list of all the kdramas ive watched this year, in order from least liked to most liked! because i dont have a spotify wrap-up to share :'D

cdrama one here!

and i'll do a webtoon one too /o/

overall i didnt watch too many kdramas this year, and finished less. kind of a "meh" kdrama year for me overall (with 1-2 exceptions). with that in mind, full disclosure that i didnt love a ton of what i watched this year in kdramaland:

we barely knew ye: ones i dropped only a few eps in

sweet home 2. dropped after ep 2. direction it went in is v much not my thing, my fave surviving characters were either killed off or put on the bench, and im not that motivated to see what happens next. might jump back into the franchise if word-of-mouth on s3 is good, we'll see

moon in the day. first ep was actually great and i enjoyed it a lot!! but im not doing cancer storylines rn so that killed momentum. may try this one again later

king the land. watched the first ep. simply did not vibe.

death's game. ditto ^

black knight. i LOVE a good dystopian scifi. this was not that. i was really bored after the first ep and didnt bother with the rest

my dearest. i watched the first ep and liked it, but just wasnt in the mood/wasn't immediately hooked. i'm going to give this one another try when i hit the Angsty Sageuk craving again

dramas i watched at least half of

6. twinkling watermelon.

it's pretty wild to put what i believe is the current #1 show on mydramalist as my bottom pick for the year, especially since it's written by my favorite screenwriter, but here we are. this one is far from objectively the worst drama but it's here because it made me the most mad!! the female lead and second male leads were both off-putting and selfish to me, and the whole drama i was actively rooting for ryeoun's earnest and endearing male lead and shin eun soo's underwritten second female lead to escape and have mother/son adventures on their own away from the rest of everyone else

5. arthdal chronicles: sword of aramun.

sigh. i was a big believer/supporter of this season, even with all of the recasts. but despite a few moments of brilliance, it was overall a slog to watch and just kind of joyless. too much time spent on the ago tribe, too many nonsensical victories and deus ex machina coincidences, and the bag was very much fumbled with some of the characters (particularly saya, who was to me the most interesting character in s1 and you KNOW ljk could have rocked that ruthlessness). positive standouts were kim ok bin flawlessly scene-chewing as taealha and lee joon ki working what he was dealt

4. worst of evil.

adored this drama for the first 2/3rds! it was gritty, neo-noir that reminded me a lot of the old school hong kong crime films like infernal affairs. lots of style, great acting, messy and flawed characters. but the last arc/ending was a boring dud for me. still very much enjoyed the ride up to that point though!

3. perfect marriage revenge.

so! much!! fun!!! just. full commitment to making a show as gloriously makjang/soap operay as it could get and it was a blast watching because of it. made on pocket lint for a budget but it rocked what it had and a special shoutout to lee min young's absolutely fantastically camp evil stepmother. the excitement died down a little toward the end, but still a good time overall

2. the glory, part 2.

a satisfying ending to a really excellent first half. love that the female lead just got to execute revenge and there was no moral or sanctimonious hangups about it. enjoyed the way the ending was set up as "the adventure continues," and all in all this was a really solid and enjoyable dark drama! only thing that was kind of a bummer is that the time split between airing the first and second halves killed the momentum a little, but that's entirely netflix fuckery and not the fault of the show

moving

hands-down the best kdrama i watched this year, and possibly my favorite kdrama ever. i didnt plan to watch this one because im sick of superhero everything, but the cast got me wanting to at least try it and omg im glad i did. great acting from literally everyone, wild action scenes, and just beautiful characters and dynamics across every level. the family narratives are so, so good and the whole show is expertly grounded in the concept of planting seeds so your children can see flowers. please give this one a try if you're on the fence about it!

2023 kdramas that i plan to watch (but didnt get to yet!)

my lovely liar

a good day to be a dog

my perfect stranger

revenant

mask girl

bloodhounds

my demon

AWARDS

Favorite ship: juwon and jihee from moving absolutely destroyed me in the like 3 eps they were in, so they win this one. he's a gangster who gets the shit kicked out of him for a living and loves stories with happy endings. she's a weary but always brave sex worker (coded, but still) who decides to trust a lonely man crying in the street. i never thought a motion-sensor light could wreck me the way theirs did. "you have worth to me, and i have worth to you."

Favorite FL: song hye kyo's dong eun in the glory just barely edges out han hyo joo's mihyun in moving. song hye kyo needs to play, like, all the villains and anti-heroes ASAP because that's been the most fun ive had watching her. she took on a dark character and rocked it

Favorite ML: juwon from moving, definitely. to quote my older post:

Moving really said hi this is Juwon. he has scars from gunshots all down his arm. he opened a chicken restaurant. he’s a gangster. he loves pro wrestling because the good guys win. he tried to rip out his own galbladder to prove a point. he’s a proud girl dad. he is unkillable. he stands in the street and cries.

Favorite 2FL: lee min young's incredible, over the top, villainous camp queen lee jung hye from perfect marriage revenge was just so much fun to watch and she ate every single scene she was in. 10/10 would watch her throw lawn chairs in a ballgown all day

Favorite 2ML: i would die for bongseok from moving. precious sunshine child who deserves only the best

Best Cast: im a broken record, but moving. so many characters with such great depth given to them and this was truly an ensemble show A+++

Best WTF: yura eating her paternity results in perfect marriage revenge!!

#kdrama #gizka 2023 wrapped

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looosey · 10 months

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Film Review: Summer Movie Rec Masterlist

Getting this out early for @notesoncrocs, sorry I'll add more descriptors later!

There has not been a more apt time to post a list of recommendations, as a lot of us actual ihouse are apart from each other, away from home. I watched these in the past month, so best believe these are certified fresh.

Movies.

Asteroid City: artsy Wes Anderson film about science fairs and plays, and alien visitations with a star-studded cast.

Past Lives: a slow-burn angsty A24 film about 인연 (in-youn), a Korean American girl and her childhood crush reignite sparks as they live their separate lives throughout the years and reminisce on what could've been. I thought some parts were funny, but movie overall just made me think that ordinary love is unspectacular but still moving/spectacular.

Pride and Prejudice: the classic enemies-to-lover story. I don't know if Mr. Darcy wooed me as a watcher, but I will say the movie captures the feeling of "yearning" really really well, much better than Past Lives.

The Roundup: No Way Out: stellar action movie from Korea. I am a sucker for these.

Barbie: Hilarious and fun for my eyes. Some scenes really hit for me, a deep fear of the world as it is today. Made me think of Virginia Woolf's writing:

"The most transient visitor to this planet, I thought, who picked up this paper could not fail to be aware, even from this scattered testimony, that England is under the rule of a patriarchy. Nobody in their senses could fail to detect the dominance..." - Virginia Woolf's, A Room of One's Own

Nothing Serious: a nerdy columnist is tasked with writing a sex column, so he dives into hook up apps and meets a girl, a low-key sex addict. I liked the blend of fun in the movie, casual sex, and the more moral questions, ethics of surveillance.

Argo: Action movie about the CIA operation in the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis that put together a whole fake Hollywood alien movie script/company in order to extract 6 Americans who escaped the embassy and were hiding in Tehran for months.

TV Shows.

Atlanta: College dropout (Donald Glover) sees his cousins rise as a rapper as a way to change their lives. The humor, the colors in the shots, the range of the fundamental human experiences covered, and the crazy crazy episodes that leap out of the story line, make this show like no other I've ever seen.

My Mister: Written by my favorite kdrama TV-writer, a girl in her early 20s lives a miserable, lonely, guilt-ridden life, chased by loansharks, burdened her ailing grandmother, and with no hope for any better. She enters a 9-5 company as a temp, and meets an older married guy who is as miserable as she is. She likes him a lot and the drama teeters around her morals and their ill-adjustment to society.

My Liberation Notes: Same writer, this time a depiction of what it's like to be in the outskirts of Seoul life, but quite literally/geographically. A girl in her late 20s finds little meaning in what every one in her Seoul office find meaningful, nor her family in the country side. This ones as equally about familial love as it is about romance, about hatred.

Beef: Y'all have all already watched it already. I'm watching it again with Hanu and Diego.

#movie recommendations #tv recommendations #tv shows #kdrama #netflix

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ashortstoryaboutlove · 5 months

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2023 Drama Year in Review

I watched 21 Kdramas released in 2023. I am relatively new to this—I watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo last fall, then started watching things Netflix suggested in the new year, then started finding things on other platforms and wow! In total I watched 83 Kdramas this year 👀 (I also watched 17 Cdramas and 8 Jdramas this year). A lot of this was over the summer but yeah it’s a lot. Putting my list of favorites below the cut:

My favorites released in 2023:

Daily Dose of Sunshine was a hard watch but so relatable for someone like me who has struggled with depression in the past. This one has stuck with me for a while. Sad but hopeful.

Moving is one of the few I’ve recommended to people irl. My brother is a fan of Marvel & DC stuff and I know he’d enjoy it. It’s one of the best superhero series I’ve seen.

Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 was a riot! I had so much fun watching this one and the wardrobe is A+. Also loved the gumiho bros getting a chance to reunite.

Love to Hate You was also super fun to watch! I watched this twice this year, once alone and once with my oldest kid (18). Love the chaotic bits and the romance was so satisfying!

Call It Love was quietly beautiful. The characters’ struggles made my heart ache and although it had a last minute reunion (I’m not usually fond of those), it was still a moving and steady show that stayed near the top of this year’s list.

My Dearest blew me away! Such a master class in character development and longing! Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin stole the show with their acting but I was fond of the support cast as well. Unfortunately I wasn’t as satisfied with the second half of the series (pacing and double amnesia was meh) but it was still really good and near the top of my list for the year.

Perfect Marriage Revenge was a perfect makjang with what I consider some of the best pacing and romance of anything I watched this year. The villains were fantastically villain-y and the revenge was so, so sweet. Loved it!

D.P. 2 is somewhat different in tone from most of the stuff I watch but sometimes a serious show looking at serious social issues is just what I need. Love the way the characters fight for each other—their little found family dynamic is the best.

Twinkling Watermelon was lovely for the family dynamics—I loved the son getting to know his parents as teens. And I really liked the way deaf characters were a major part of the story as characters with feelings and relationships and not just one-off side characters.

Honorable mention: King the Land for romantic fluff with very little conflict, Moon in the Day for complicated past lives and ghosts and beautiful romance, Vigilante for Nam Joo Hyuk being badass, Castaway Diva for nice music and Chae Jong Hyeop playing an ML who was the greenest of flags.

Other faves I watched this year that were released before 2023:

Crash Landing on You will always near the top of my list. Love that found family.

Mr. Queen made me see that historicals could be fun and omg Shin Hye Sun being the best!

Tomorrow could have been too difficult, but even with the concept of trying to save suicidal people, it gave so much hope. The comfort women episode was so moving. Rowoon was also adorable.

Our Beloved Summer had one of my favorite soundtracks and a lot of heart. The scene where FL watches ML doing his art at the event was sweet.

25 21 was the best sport-related drama with perfect 90s vibes (haha I was a teen in the 90s), sweet friends-to-lovers romance, and a realistic (if disappointing) ending.

Crazy Love was so chaotically funny at the beginning and I loved it. I will never forget the revenge onions.

My Lovely Sam Soon was the oldest show I watched (2005) and I just adored Sam Soon. ML wasn’t my favorite but I can overlook that bc she stole the show for me.

My fave Cdramas I watched this year: Meet Yourself, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Love Like the Galaxy

Favorite Jdramas watched this year: On a Starry Night and First Love: Hatsukoi

Currently watching and enjoying: Tell Me That You Love Me (this will prob be at the top of my list next year if it doesn’t fall apart before it ends in January), Welcome to Samdal-ri, Like Flowers in Sand

Looking forward to what 2024 has to offer!

#my 2023 in review #kdrama #cdrama #jdrama

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