Rikki Don't Lose That NumberJust a reminder to readers of this thread that these reviews are solely my reactions to the drama as a random media viewer. I just love Korean popular culture so much, for the way it reliably delivers stories that connect with some deep part of my emotional circuitry. Stylistically there is an inventiveness, a sense of excess, and a willingness to push things to the limits of human and technical capabilities.
102/N
Boys Over Flowers from 2009 exemplifies so many elements of why I love K-dramas. This is the earliest drama I've watched so far, and lacks the polish, sophistication and production values of current dramas. What we do get is an expansive, boisterous and soapy exploration of class, family, love and morality. The hair styles and fashion in this series are so very much of its time as well - especially Jun-pyo with his signature curls, and Ji-hoo with his long, emo blond bangs - so great!
103/N
103/N
Our story begins when Geum Jan-di (played by Ku Hye-sun), whose family runs a drycleaning business, is making a delivery to a student at the extremely exclusive "Shinwa Academy," attended by the children of Korea's wealthiest and most powerful families. The top of the academy's social hierarchy is a group of four senior boys known by the acronmym F4 - Gu Jun-pyo, Yoon Ji-hoo, So Yi-jung and Song Woo-bin.
104/N
Jan-di arrives as a gang of school bullies, directed by F4, has tormented a fellow student so brutally that he is about to jump off a rooftop. Jan-di makes her way through the mob of bullies, and when she sees what's happening, grabs the boy just as he jumps and saves his life. The story of the school bullying, and the heroic dry-cleaning girl makes headlines, and negative pulicity for Shinwa.
105/N
Kang Hee-soo, chairwoman of Shinwa corporation, decides to offer Jan-di a scholarship to Shinwa Academy to turn the bad publicity around. Jan-di doesn't want to change schools, but her parents insist. The family, which includes Jan-di's spunky little brother Kang-san, are struggling financially. Her money and status conscious parents see this as an opportunity for Jan-di, and themselves, to climb the social ladder.
106/N
So off to Shinwa academy she goes, and we're off the races with 25 episodes of crazy character arcs and deliciously unhinged story lines. Thematically we're mining the territory familiar to viewers of American movies like Mean Girls, or the Gossip Girl series. What happens when an artless, self-possessed, kind-hearted kid enters a cruel, cliquish social hierarchy?
107/N
Jan-di is surely one of my favorite characters of all time. She is spunky, fearless, and warm. As a student at Shinwa, Jan-di's peers are a pretty detestable bunch of vapid, cliquish, and status conscious rich kids, but Jan-di never once succumbs to the lure of money or status remains true to herself. In short order, by standing up to the F4 guys and their minions, she earns their respect, and the group's leader declares his love for her.
108/N
I'm not going to detail what happens across the show's 25 episodes, but my wife and I were fully involved from start to finish. While the production values are dated by today's standards, this was clearly a big budget series. They really pulled out all the stops with the depiction of the upper class lifestyles - we've got yachts, fast cars, trips on private jets to private islands, and several episodes set in fabulously garish and wealthy Macau.
109/N
Shinwa chairwoman Kang, who is also Jun-pyo's mother, is appalled at her son's romance with the "commoner" Jan-di, and sets in motion a number of vicious plots to separate the two, almost succeeding on several occasions. Over time Jan-di's positive influence begins to counter Jun-pyo's patrician upbringing, and he begins to reveal his boyish and warm nature.
110/N
There are many compelling supporting characters, such as Jan-di's earnest, passionate bestie Ga-eul, as well as Ji-hoo, the first member of the F4 clique to reveal his tender side, who shows up to rescue Jan-di from a number of dire predicaments at key points in the series. While modern viewers may balk at the series' soapiness and cringe elements, Boys Over Flowers became an instant favorite for this reviewer. Five stars!
111/N
cw: spoilers
It's become a joke in our household that when I get drawn into a new drama I will proclaim it to be "the best television show ever". I definitely said that several times during the series "Our Unwritten Seoul," a stellar 2025 drama starring Park Bo-young, Park Jin-young and Ryu Kyung-soo.
112/N
Identical twin sisters Mi-ji and Mi-rae, both played by Park Bo-young, find themselves in very different circumstances at age 30. Mi-rae graduated from college, and has a good job with a financial corporation in Seoul. Mi-ji was an athlete in high school, but went into a tailspin after her running career was ended by an injury. Mi-ji lives at home in their small town, where she helps take care of her grandmother and works a variety of odd jobs.
113/N
However, all is not well for the "successful" Mi-rae. Her life in Seoul is lonely, and she is experiencing bullying at her job after reporting sexual advances by a male colleague. As young adults, Mi-ji and Mi-rae have grown apart, but when Mi-ji discovers that her sister is on the verge of self-harm, Mi-ji convinces Mi-rae to switch places, so that Mi-rae can get a break from her toxic work environment.
114/N
Park Bo-young is phenomenal as the two sisters, portraying their personality differences with exquisite nuance. There is quite a bit of humor as the twins impersonate each other, often leaving those around them scratching their heads. As they literally walk a mile in the other's shoes, the two sisters begin to see the struggles they each have faced alone. Both the girls carry a hidden disability or a trauma that they must face and learn to overcome.
115/N
The girls' former neighbor and childhood friend Ho-su (played by Park Jin-young from boy band GOT7) also lives in Seoul, and works at a top law firm. Ho-su is going through his own crisis of self-doubt. He quits the law firm, and ends up helping "Mi-rae" (actually Mi-ji) with her legal challenges. He confesses to fake Mi-rae that Mi-ji was his first love.
116/N
Meanwhile, Mi-rae has taken over Mi-ji's temporary job at a strawberry farm, owned by an eccentric former investment guy named Han Se-jin. Se-jin used to question his grandfather for toiling at the farm into his old age. After his grandfather's death, Se-jin has a change of heart, and takes over the farm, even though he is comically incompetent.
117/N
Mi-rae, pretending to be Mi-ji, is also initially inept, but after floundering for a couple of weeks she begins to take to farming, rural life and, apparently Se-jin <wink>.
Thinking about the characters and plot of the story, we have a lot of things that come in twos besides the two sisters, which provides a pleasing symmetry to our story.
118/N
The two Moms (Mi-jae/Mi-rae's and Ho-su's) who were childhood friends, two grandmothers (the girls' actual grandmother, and the stubborn old woman restaurant owner that Mi-ji clashes with hilariously, and of course two love interests. As the story unfolds we learn that Mi-ji and Mi-rae are not the only ones who swap identities, which is an interesting wrinkle.
Our Unwritten Seoul really delivers on all levels. Five stars!
119/N
cw: spoilers
After being blown away by Park Bo-young in "Our Unwritten Seoul" it was an easy decision to start "Daily Dose of Sunshine" from 2023. One one level this works as a straightforward medical drama. The story follows Jung Da-eun (played by Park Bo-young), a nurse who is transferred from internal medecine to the psychiatric ward in a busy university hospital.
120/N
The excellent ensemble cast includes Da-eun's fellow nurses, the 'tough as nails' but warm head nurse, doctors, and of course a variety of patients. Da-eun takes some heat initially for being slow to learn the ropes. However, she soon reveals her superpower - a highly empathic nature, kindness and warmth that the other nurses begin to admire.
121/N
The patients under her care are experiencing a spectrum of diseases - depression, schizophrenia, panic disorder, and so on. A Daily Dose of Sunshine gives an unflinching look at mental illness, and many of the scenes are intense. Thematically, A Daily Dose of Sunshine is a message piece about mental illness and the stigma that it carries.
122/N
There is a critique of Korea's competitive, status conscious society: those who struggle to keep up can easily be pushed to a mental breakdown. Among Da-eun's patients is the young man who has attempted and failed to pass the civil service exam 7 times, the white collar worker who struggles at his job, and is teased by his asshole manager, or the high school student who dreams of being a pilot despite being a slow learner.
123/N
Things start to get really real after one of her patients commits suicide. Da-eun herself goes into kind of a dissociative state to cover her grief and guilt. She takes several weeks off from work to recover, but slips deeper into depression. After Da-eun wanders out into traffic in a haze, her mother ends up checking her into the psych ward at a different hospital.
124/N
The way the show highlights the stigma of mental illness is particularly powerful. We have already seen this stigma affecting her patients. After she is discharged from the hospital, Da-eun faces the stigma herself when she returns to work. Some of the patients' family members question her abilities, and protest the hospital to have her fired.
125/N
There is of course a romantic interest, in the form of a rather eccentric but ultimately charming proctologist, who sticks by Da-eun through all her ups and downs. This drama tells a compelling story, with excellent performances all round. Extra credit for making a powerful statement. Four stars!
126/N
cw: spoilers
Taxonomically "Because This Is My First Life" is a by the numbers romantic comedy. The storyline put me in mind of the classic American screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's. It would be worth a watch if only for the fact that every aspect is executed exceedingly well. However, Because This Is My First Life also offers a deep examination of love and marriage and a surprisingly progressive message.
127/N
FL Yoon Ji-ho (Jung So-min) has been working as a screenwriter for daytime dramas for 10 years. A series of unfortunate events finds her out of a job, and out of her apartment in a matter of days. Our girl has to find an affordable room ASAP. Luckily friend of a friend knows about a room that's just become available for $300 per month with no deposit. The only condition is that she needs to feed the cat and take out the recycling.
128/N
The landlord works long hours as a software developer, and in fact Ji-ho doesn't even get a chance to meet her before moving in. It's not until several days later they meet face-to-face, and Ji-ho discovers that her landlord Se-hee (played by Lee Min-ki) is in fact a he! There is some awkward exchange, and Ji-ho states that she will look for another place - but we sense they are both hesitating.
129/N
On his part, he appreciates her tenderness for Kitty, perfect recycling, and that she has kept the apartment spotless. Ji-ho has already bonded to the cat, and the apartment is better than anything she could find for that price. Meanwhile, Se-hee's mother has been setting him for blind dates, and nagging him about marriage. He is 38, after all. Se-hee comes up with the perfect solution - why don't they have a marriage of convenience?
130/N
This sets up the central conceit of the story. Of course we get the gradual realization on both their parts that they have feelings for each other, which results in many comedic moments, as well as tender ones. Ji-ho has never had a boyfriend or even kissed a man. She's been too busy with her career. Se-hee's affect is emotionally distant and very rational. As we learn his backstory, we understand why.
131/N
As a young man, Se-hee lived with his girlfriend, and they were deeply in love. That relationship ended painfully, in large part because his parents opposed it - the girlfriend was from a poor family. Since then, Se-hee has been an emotional husk, focused only on himself, his mortgage and his cat. Although Se-hee clearly likes Ji-ho, he cannot express his feelings.
132/N
Ji-ho realizes that Se-hee does like her, but she needs him drop his emotional armor. Ji-ho shows a high degree of pluck and risk-taking to break through Se-hee's emotional armor and achieve the kind of love she wants. This underscores themes of communication and forming authentic partnerships, even if doing so goes against their parents and societal expectations.
133/N
Ji-ho's two friends from high school provide counterpoints to Ji-Ho's marriage of convenience. Bubbly Yang Ho-rang works in a wine bar and lives with her boyfriend of 7 years, Sim Won-seok. They are very compatible and very much in love, but Ho-rang is ready for marriage and children. Won-seok is the CEO of his own company, but he's struggling to get funding and is financially precarious.
134/N
Won-seok doesn't feel ready to be a husband and father, and breaks things off with Ho-rang. He doesn't want to hold her back from finding a partner who shares her goal of starting a family. Ji-ho's other bestie is Woo Su-ji, an ambitious and no bullshit kind of gal who works in a fast-paced corporate office. Su-ji is openly sexual, and dates for physical pleasure - she is not looking for a relationship.
135/N
Ma Sang-goo is Se-hee's boss at the tech company where they make a dating app called called "Don't Marry, Date". Sang-goo has a fling with Su-ji, but he wants to take things to the next level. Will he be able to break through her emotional barriers?
136/N
As this is a romcom, everyone does end up with the person with whom they belong. There are nonetheless some really unexpected character arcs, and challenges that must be overcome. Ji-ho displays both self-awareness and tenacity in achieving the kind of relationship she wants with Se-hee. She doesn't want to settle for a suffocating, conventional marriage like their parents have.
137/N
"Because This Is My First Life" deals with love and sexuality in more frank, and modern ways that most of the other dramas I've seen so far, which is refreshing. Beyond that there is a deep examination of what love and marriage mean, and how different couples can find ways of loving that suit them. This flawless drama instantly became a top 5 for me - 5 enthusiastic stars!
138/N
cw: spoilers
Wife's turn to pick the drama. She chose "Eve," a revenge drama from 2022 starring Seo Ye-ji (of It's Okay Not To Be Okay fame) and Park Byeong-eun. This is a gripping, visually stunning and frequently violent tale of a 13-year plot by Lee La-el (played by Seo Ye-ji) to exact revenge on the powerful individuals responsible for the death of her parents.
139/N
Teenage La-el watched the horrible Han chaebol family torture her father to death, and subsequently gain control of his semiconductor company. She returns 13 years later with a new identity, seeking revenge on the four individuals she holds responsible. One such is Kang Yoon-gyeom, part of the family by marriage to hieress Han So-ra. Kang is a shrewd and successful executive, currently running the business that by rights should belong to La-el and her father.
140/N
Yoon-gyeom (played by Park Byeong-eun) is a greatly admired businessman, whose stony exterior conceals psychological wounds received in childhood. Despite Yoon-gyeom's appearance of icy efficiency, we see through small gestures that he has deep feelings. When he was younger, he was stationed in Argentina, where he formed a love for tango and the music of Piazzola.
141/N
Le-el's plan is to seduce Yoon-Gyeom, who she captivates by performing the tango at an open house at the fancy nursery school their daughters both attend. Several lovely and cinematic tango sequences are a welcome part of the series' appeal. While La-el's intentions towards Yoon-gyeom are solely malicious, as the seduction proceeds she realizes that he is a man of integrity and deep emotion. Yoon-gyeom is suspicious of La-el, but he falls for her.
142/N
Yoon-gyeom is married to Han So-ra (Yoo Seon), the spoiled hieress to a powerful and ruthless chaebol family. The marriage was arranged, and while So-ra covets Yoon-gyeom, he clearly has no feelings for her. Yoo Seon turns in an over-the-top, but brilliant performance as the spurned wife. When she discovers that her husband is having an affair with La-el, things just really go off the rails.
143/N
Of course the role of Lee La-el is perfect for Seo Ye-ji, and she really delivers the goods as the femme fatale, in turns seductive, then twisting the knife in the guts of her victims. It feels like the camera focuses on La-el for minutes at a time, and it does not seem excessive - making her slow motion entrance in a stunning gown with every eye upon her or emerging from a pool of rose petals.
144/N
Some commenters have expressed that the chemistry is lacking between La-el and Yoon-Gyeom, but I thought they worked well together. I felt the emotions of attraction, suspicion, love and hate - even as they're trying to conceal their feelings. Eve is not breaking any new ground as a suspense-thriller, but there's plenty of intrigue and plot reversals to keep your heart racing.
145/N
Eve contains quite a bit of violence as well, so if you watch, be prepared for some gruesome scenes of cruelty and torture. 4/5 stars.
146/N
cw: spoilers
Dynamite Kiss (2025) was our next watch. Imagine if you will: a handsome leading man with finely chiseled features, opposite a wholesome beauty with a radiant smile, the plot a literal greatest hits of sure-fire tropes, and a sly self-awareness that 'yes, we're throwing all your favorite cliches at you, and you're going to love it'. You will have come up with a drama very much like Dynamite Kiss.
147/N
Go Da-rim (Ahn Eun-jin) is a warm-hearted, financially struggling young woman who appears to be flailing at life. Gong Ji-hyeok (Jang Ki-yong) is a successful, dashing young businessman who happens to be single. They meet randomly on Jeju island. Through a series of improbable coincidences, Ji-hyeok recruits Da-rim to pose as his girlfriend for the day, as part of a scheme to headhunt a star developer for a client.
148/N
Da-rim is convinced to go along because she’s desperately broke, and Ji-hyeok is offering a handsome sum. The plan is going well until their target begins to suspect whether the two are really dating. Da-rim improvises and plants a passionate kiss on Ji-hyeok’s surprised lips. The first ‘dynamite kiss’ and we’re only in episode 1. They end up back at his hotel room and things look steamy.
149/N
However, while Ji-hyeok is in the shower, Da-rim gets a call. Her mother had a heart attack and wound up in the hospital. Da-rim is so panicked she leaves without saying goodbye. Ji-hyeok is stunned when he comes out of the shower to find her gone. Despite having only just met, Ji-hyeok felt something special in the carefree, spontaneous Da-rim.
150/N
Obviously they meet again in Seoul, but a couple of months have elapsed. Da-rim, having been backed into a corner financially because of her debt-ridden brother-in-law, has fabricated some details about her personal life on a job application. So Da-rim is now working for Ji-hyeok at Natural Bebe, his family’s baby goods conglomerate, but she has to act like their moment in Jeju never happened.
151/N
This is familiar territory for drama fans, but we’ve got some great characters energetically portrayed by the talented cast. I felt our two leads had great chemistry, and Ahn Eun-jin is particularly adorable as the earnest young woman with a heart of gold who gets into impossible scrapes. The secondary, and mostly one-sided romance between daughter of chaebol family Yoo Ha-young and Da-rim’s best friend and single dad Kim Sun-woo is also very appealing.
152/N
We've got a lively power struggle going on at Natural BeBe, providing the dramatic counterpoint to the romance. Yoo Tae-young is another corporate raider who bears a grudge against Ji-hyeok, having been bested by him on a series of deals. Tae-young conspires with Ji-hyeok’s half sister Gong Ji-hye to discredit Ji-hyeok and his team. My wife and I thought this was an appealing romcom, well worth a watch if you enjoy the genre 4.5/5 stars.
153/N
cw: spoilers
Our next watch was "My Girl" from 2005. This was inspired by a previous discussion about the recent drama Dynamite Kiss. There are indeed many parallels between Dynamite Kiss and My Girl. We've got Jeju Island shenanigans. We've got the plucky, adorable FL who's in trouble with loan sharks due to an irresponsible family member. We've got a handsome and extremely rich ML with whom she becomes entangled through a series of improbable coincidences.
154/N
And most importantly, having established some fiction making their romance taboo, the two leads are placed in close proximity. In this case ML Gong-chan has hired FL Yoo-rin to impersonate his long lost cousin, in order to ease the conscience of his dying grandfather. Cousins dating cousins is a strict taboo in Korea.
155/N
Lee Da-hae as the scrappy, spontaneous Yoo-rin has to be one of the most delightful screen ingenues ever - she truly lights up the screen. Lee Dong-wook as Gong-chan is the achetype of the reserved, self-important rich boy who ultimately reveals his warm-hearted and loyal nature. Lee Joon-gi as Gong-chan's "playboy" best friend provides the cool and waggish counterpart to Gong-chan's seriousness, and becomes a rival for Yoo-rin's affections.
156/N
And there are countless more fun characters, from Yoo-rin's adorable friends, to Gong-chan's associates and family members. My Girl does have some clumsy plot devices, but when a climactic scene is teed up there is a big payoff. Well past the halfway mark Yoo-rin and Gong-chan have finally confessed their feelings, just as the fiction about her being the missing granddaughter is exposed.
157/N
Yoo-rin is convinced the only honorable course is to break off with Gong-chan and family decisively. In a dramatic moment she confesses (falsely) and very elaborately to Gong-chan's entire family that she deceived all of them for the money from the start. She delivers her long and very detailed confession, and then walks out, believing she's said farewell forever to Gong-chan.
158/N
My wife felt the final episodes dragged, where their ultimate reunion is hindered by an endless series of missed connections and second thoughts. My Girl has a lot of overacting and soapy melodrama like other older dramas, but to me that's part of its charm. There is also a dizzying sense of madcap spontaneity lacking in modern dramas. This masterpiece - the writing debut of the famous Hong sisters - became the blueprint for many romcoms to follow. 5/5 stars!
159/N
cw: spoilers
Can This Love Be Translated? is a drama that explores themes of language, communication and love. This 2026 series written by the Hong sisters also throws in some childhood trauma, (fictional) zombies and split personality disorder to spice things up.
160/N
Kim Seon-ho plays ML Joo Ho-jin, a multilinguist and professional translator. Our story starts in Japan when Ho-jin encounters Mu-hee (Go Youn-jung), an unknown Korean actress, in a ramen shop in a charming seaside town. Mu-hee's boyfriend left her 2 months ago, and has re-appeared as the chef of this restaurant. Mu-hee has come to Japan to confront him and presumably win him back.
161/N
Unfortunately the boyfriend is nowhere to be found, and instead we get an awkward and comically embarrassing confrontation between Mu-hee and the boyfriend's Japanese lover Momo who comes out of the kitchen and is very obviously pregnant. Mu-hee pressures the Ho-jin to translate the exchange, despite his (reasonable) reluctance. Our OTP is off to a somewhat inauspicious start. Mu-hee is a hot mess, and Ho-jin is kind of stiff and priggish.
162/N
hanktank61@girlbandgeek
I might suggest watching "Sassy Girl Chun- hyang"
The first #HongSisters - #kdrama
With similar vibe, and still as fresh as ever.
@hanktank61 Thanks for the rec 🙌 Added to my queue.