Confession - I recently became hooked on K-Dramas. A couple of months ago I was recovering from Covid and wanted to find some good, escapist entertainment. I kept hearing about the popularity of K-Dramas, so I selected something from my Netflix recommendations, and I was off to the races. I'm just going to post a thread of the ones I've watched and recommend. #kdrama
1/X
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Doona was the first title I watched. I figured I was already a K-Pop fan, so this seemed like a logical place to start. This 8-episode series tells the story of a former K-Pop idol Lee Doona (played by idol turned actress Bae Suzy) who is recovering from a breakdown suffered at the apparent peak of her career.
2/X
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Normy college student Won Joon moves into her apartment complex, and after some hilarious false steps, they start hanging out. It turns out I'm a sucker for romance. The story is beautifully told, and the cast is excellent. Five stars.
3/X
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My next series was another Bae Suzy vehicle, titled Start Up. This tells the story of two sisters, who are separated through the divorce of their parents. Dal-mi, played by Suzy, stays with her Dad, a warm but struggling tech entrepreneur. Dal-mi eventually is raised by her grandma with a heart of gold who runs a corn dog stand. The two sisters meet again as rivals at a hackathon/start-up incubator called Sandbox.
4/X
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The plot takes many twists and turns as the two sisters compete in the hi-tech startup environment. As a tech person, I appreciated the realistic portrayal of technology and business. There is a touching romance, involving mistaken identity, with two suitors for Dal-mi's heart. Who will win? The story, characters, and intricate plot details were well handled. Five stars.
5/X
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Needing to branch out from Bae Suzy, my third K-Drama was Hometown Cha cha cha. This was a pretty straight up romance, in which big city dentist Hye-jin finds herself opening a practice in a quaint seaside village called Gongjin. She meets a charming but annoying handyman character Du-sik who keeps popping up.
6/X
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In a way the real star here is the village of Gongjin, and a cast of colorful and charming local characters - the restaurant owners, shop keepers, the cop, and the three adorable old women who work cleaning squid at the docks, and always bring cauldrons of delicious food to every local gathering. The plot takes many interesting turns, and we discover Du-sik's dark secret, which threatens the budding relationship. Five stars.
7/X
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My fourth K-drama was a switch to action/thriller genre, though we're back to Bae Suzy. She plays a somewhat indifferent NIS (National Intelligence Service) agent Go Hae-ri stationed in Morocco. She becomes entangled with martial artist and former stuntman Cha Dal-Geon, whose nephew was killed in the crash of a Korean jetliner under mysterious circumstances.
8/X
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What ensues is a nonstop action movie with intense chases and fight scenes. There is a crazy web of intrigue that keeps you guessing until the end, and a rich cast of characters running the gamut from courageous patriots, greedy politicians and supervillain level bad guys. Some great character arcs as Hae-ri and Dal-Geon eventually fall in love. Five stars.
9/X
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Wanted to switch gears again, so number five was Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a sort of feel good story of a young attorney who has autism spectrum disorder. Park Eun-bin delivers an amazing performance as the title character, Woo Young-Woo. Park is not autistic, but clearly did her homework, and delivers a performance which is at once sensitive and charming.
10/X
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I understand the show, which was enormously popular in Korea, helped raised awareness around autism in that country. Again, the plot, and courtroom drama is really well done. There is a blend of comedic moments, and very powerful emotional and even political commentary. Five stars.
11/X
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By this time, I'm almost exhausted by how good these dramas all are. There are a lot of familiar tropes and cliches, but the acting and plots are all well done and satisfying. For my next K-drama I wanted to find something dorky and mid, so I clicked on a coming-of-age romance called Twenty-five twenty-one. This follows the story of high school fencer Na Hee-do as she pursues her dreams to win Olympic gold.
12/X
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This story mostly takes place from 1998 to 2009, against a backdrop of a financial crisis and IMF imposed austerity. Many of the characters are facing bankruptcy and economic uncertainty. Hee-do is such an appealing character, a terrible student, loves manga, a fierce competitor who also wears her heart on her sleeve. Her romantic counterpart is Baek Yi-Jin, four years her senion. Yi-jin is a former rich kid whose family has been shattered by bankruptcy.
13/X
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Again there are a lot of familiar tropes, but the situations and characters are beautifully handled. The feeling of Y2K Korea is beautifully portrayed, and fencing scenes are really exciting. Not mid at all. Five stars.
14/X
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I don't want to over-analyze why I find K-dramas so satisfying, but I can't resist a little musing on the topic. Based on my familiarity with K-Pop, the Korean entertainment industry is a juggernaut which enjoys government subsidies, and is a source of pride for the Korean people. There is a Disney-like pursuit of perfection and attention to detail.
15/X
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The actors are not only astonishingly good-looking, but have clearly mastered their craft. Likewise production values are extremely high and gorgeous cinematography is the norm. The stories and writing are likewise top notch. Yes, the plots are larded with time-honored tropes - unlikely or forbidden romance, crazy coincidences, parents sacrificing for children and vice versa, overcoming adversity to achieve a dream or goal, and so on.
16/X
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But there's a reason these tropes are so time-honored. They reinforce our moral and emotional frameworks, and therefore are extremely satisfying. As portrayed in these dramas, Korean society is more repressed and hierarchical than what I'm used to in America. These social mores and customs introduce a kind of friction, i.e. romance unfolds at a very slow pace, which paradoxically makes for good television.
17/X
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Characters often hold on to shame around money or family problems to an exaggerated extent, which again makes for good television. I appreciate the way that the plot unfolds in a more leisurely way than in American tv, which gives me emotional whiplash by the way it bombards me with terrifying or cringey situations rapid-fire. Anyway, that's the end of my TED talk. Let me know if I convinced you to drink the K-Drama Koolaid.
18/X
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My next title was another attempt to pick a show that was cheesy and dumb. I literally picked the first title Netflix recommended, Backstreet Rookie. The show, which is based on a web comic, revolves around Saet-byul, a beautiful yet troubled teen in a working class Seoul neighborhood. Her father was a martial arts master, whose untimely death left Saet-byul to raise her unruly younger sister Eun-byul.
19/X
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Her love interest is Dae-hyun, the cute and good-hearted operator of a convenience store. Dae-hyun is currently dating Yeon-ju, whose family owns a marjority stake in the entire convenience store chain. Yeon-ju loves Dae-hyun, but she is conflicted because of their differing social class. Yeon-ju's mother disapproves of the match, and she sets in motion a number of plots to sabotage their relationship.
20/X
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When the dazzling Saet-byul comes to work at the convenience store it sets off a series of unhinged and hilarious events. This comedy is indeed cheesy and soapy, but of course I got totally involved. I really enjoyed the exploration of class, and how the working class characters inevitably come across as much more genuine and likeable than the upper class ones.
21/X
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Predictably the convenience store is a nexus for a cadre of kookie and lovable characters and side stories. We see Eun-byul go behind her older sister's back to secretly debut as part of the K-pop group "Fancy Girls," causing numerous complications. And we see Saet-byul utilize the martial arts skills learned as a child to deliciously trounce legions of girl gangs, bullies, and delinquents trying to rip off Dae-hyun's store. A dorky and satisfying romp. Five stars.
22/X
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Reply 1988 was my next title. This was the result of a search on some forums for highly regarded, or iconic dramas. The story follows the lives of 5 teenagers and their families in a close-knit neighborhood in Seoul, starting in 1988. It has a compelling nostalgic feel, and the central character Deok-Sun is so lovable, despite her awkward goofiness.
23/X
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It's the most naturalistic series I watched so far, in the sense that characters, pacing, and everyday situations are the most unvarnished picture of working class Korean families in the 80's. The parents bicker a lot, the kids are mostly fuck-ups, and everybody is worried about money. Against this day-to-day struggling there are little moments of tenderness and caring that seem so poignant. This drama unfolds over 20 long episodes, spanning 6+ years.
24/X
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We ultimately see how the kids turn out, find love, and start their journey into adulthood. I cannot tell you how involved I got in the lives of these 5 families, and how hard I balled at the end 😭😭😭😭😭 Really beautifully done in my opinion, and a sweeping, epic work of storytelling. Five enthusiastic stars!
25/X
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My wife, an avid television watcher, had not so far succumbed to the K-Drama spell, though she would occasionally be in the room during my sessions. She thought the teaser for It's Okay To Not Be Okay looked promising, so we embarked on this one together. It's a romance with some darker elements of fairy tales, mental illness and a sprinkling of homicide.
26/X
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The story revolves around Ko Moon-Young (played by Seo Yea-ji), an antisocial children's book author, and Gang Tae (Kim Soo-hyun), a caregiver who works in mental hospitals. Gang Tae also takes care of his autistic older brother Sang Tae (played by Oh Jung-se). Sang Tae likes art, and loves Moon-Young's fairytales. When Gang Tae takes his brother to Moon-Young's book signing event, their lives become entangled with the beautiful and unpredictable author.
27/X
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My wife and I were riveted for 16 long episodes as the plot unfolds. We discover that Moon-Young and the two brothers grew up in the same small town a couple hours from Seoul and, indeed, the 'kindergarten kismet' trope comes into play. Through flashbacks we learn that Moon-Young's mother was a writer of thrillers, and isolated the young Moon-Young from other children. They lived in an opulent but spooky mansion built by her father, who worships the mother until things go psycho.
28/X
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There is a rich cast of secondary characters including Moon-Young's publisher, the staff of the psychiatric hospital, and the nurse Nam Ju-ri who works there and has carried a torch for Gang Tae since childhood. Ju-ri's mom Kang Soon-deok plays the role of the wise and warm woman who nurtures everyone who comes into her orbit, providing homespum wisdom and delicious food.
29/X
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I don't want to give away too much, but there is some genuine menace at play, and some surprise twists before things come to a conclusion. Ko Moon-Young is one of the more compelling characters that has been brought to screen, and one of the more dazzling beauties. Many excellent performances here, and overall a sophisticated and compelling drama. Five stars.
30/X
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It’s Okay To Not Be Okay addenda. We loved the show so much that I made my wife a Mang Tae “Nightmare Catcher” doll as a gift (and another smaller one to hang from her rear view mirror (if you know, you know) 😉
31/X
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Now that my wife is caught in the K-drama spell, my project of finding 'important and influential' dramas will be set aside, as we cruise through a series of slick, recent dramas with mass-market appeal. If you cannot stomach 'Kindergarten Kismet' and related tropes, I advise you to stop reading 😉 Love Next Door, a romcom from 2024 was our next watch. Some light spoilers follow.
32/N
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Our story begins when Bae Seok-ryu (played by Jung So-min) returns to Korea after her successful career with an American conglomerate called Greip suddenly (and at first mysteriously) implodes. The love interest is (duh) her next-door neighbor Choi Seung-hyo or Choisseung (played by Jung Hae-in), who she has known since they were small children.
33/N
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Through flashbacks we gradually see how their relationship evolved from her bossing him around in a big sister-ly way, to becoming platonic besties through high-school, until she goes to the US to attend college on a scholarship. Choisseung stays in Korea, pursuing architecture when his dreams of competitive swimming are crushed after being hit by a vehicle. He's gained some recognition in the architecture world, but is struggling to get his newly opened firm off the ground.
34/N
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Seok-ryu's parents, especially her mother Mi-sook, are furious that she has foolishly quit a successful career and broke off an engagement, both of which were considerable sources of pride to the Mom. Mi-sook is especially shamed because her best friend Young-nam, who happens to be Choisseung's mother, is a wealthy and somewhat superior acting diplomat. Mi-sook has bragged incessantly about her successful daughter, and hates to eat crow in front of her fancy friend.
35/N
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Choisseung's parents Young-nam and her physician husband Seung-joon are wealthy, and their house is posh, though sterile, while Seok-ryu's family is struggling financially. The father Geun-sik runs a tteokbokki restaurant that seemingly attracts zero customers. Though their home is modest, as we see over time Seok-ryu's family is warm and expressive, while Choisseung's is frigid and unable to express their feelings.
36/N
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We come to realize that Choisseung has indeed harbored love for Seok-ryu since high school, but has not been able to say anything for all these years. This is one of the most common and infuriating kdrama tropes: dude who cannot say 'I love you' to save his life, and we have to endure episode after episode of him tying himself in knots to not say what has been evident from the first 15 minutes. But that's just how it works, folks.
37/N
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We have a healthy buffet of cliché tropes and plot devices on offer here, but they are employed with enthusiasm and there are a plenty of great comedic moments. There are many well done characters here, and there is much to keep you hooked for 16 episodes. I found Seok-ryu to be a very compelling and vulnerable FL. Her best friend Mo-eum (played by Kim Ji-eun) is the cutest, along with Mo-eum's sometimes reluctant suitor Dan-ho (played by Yoon Ji-on). 4/5 totally entertaining.
38/N
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Friendly Rivalry is a dark, stylish story about Korea's cutthroat competition for achievement that takes us on quite a journey in 16 short episodes. The plot revolves around Woo Seulgi (Chung Su-Bin), a teenage girl with no parents, who is trying to get ahead in a small town in Korea. In pursuit of her dreams of becoming a doctor, Seulgi starts using performance enhancing drugs to become top in her class, and thus transfer to an elite high school in Seoul.
39/N
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