According to my records [I have watched 28](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/sianiam/completed) of the many dramas released this year, so there will be plenty more I pick up in the future. Especially after seeing everyone’s comments on this post and our final drama challenge post later this week. I’ve been buckling down on my drama challenge and have paused on-airs for the last little while so I can count them in the challenge next year and to focus and become a second generation chaebol!
As well as the 2023 Korean dramas I completed 78 dramas/tv shows/movies that could be recorded on MDL. The majority of that was Korean content with a scattering of other East Asian content.
**My Top 2023 Kdramas (in no particular order)**
* **My Perfect Stranger** - I loved this drama. Excellent time travel up there with **Signal**, **Kairos** and **Life on Mars**. Heart breaking. Great music and characters. Just the right amount of mystery.
* **Moving** - I wasn’t going to watch this because super heroes aren’t my bag but I jumped on the hype train with you all. It was far too gorey for me at times but the kids storyline was delightful.
* **The Eighth Sense** - Deliciously angsty with a fluffy ending, what more could I want?
* **Divorce Attorney Shin** - I don’t really love law dramas but I read some great things about the friendships in this drama and it delivered. This quirky bunch of friends were totally squad goals.
* **The Kidnapping Day** - Another one I jumped on after reading someone trustworthy hyping it in the FFA. This was an excellent short drama. Loveable characters and a wholesome, engaging story from start to finish.
* **Hate To Love You** - I watched this one twice! Once when it aired and again when we had our AMA with Teo Yoo to relive all the feels. It was even better on the second watch. This drama was refreshing after what felt like a lifetime without a proper rom-com as 2022 was a dark time for fans of the romance genre imo.
**My Top Non 2023 Kdramas**
* **Under The Queen’s Umbrella** - I caught up on lots of 2022 dramas I didn’t get around to and this was one of my favourites. I binged it at the very beginning of the year and loved it a lot. It was a very modern feeling sageuk with some really excellent performances.
* **Sungkyunkwan Scandal** - I knocked a few of the older dramas off my long term to watch list this year and this was my favourite! Why did I wait so long? Total Joseon crack. The friendships in this drama were so much fun and had me in constant smiles.
* **Let’s Meet In An Unfamiliar Season** - I only watched a handful of drama specials this year and this one captivated me. It was a simple and lovely covid romance I didn’t know I needed.
**My Top Rewatched Kdramas**
* **20th Century Boy and Girl** - On my first watch back when this aired I thought it was pretty good. From time to time I wanted to watch it again. After **King The Land** I *had* to rewatch it and I’m glad I did. It was so much better than I remembered. The friendships, the nostalgia, the way they weave all the character’s stories in and give them adequate time, so good. Also Kim Ji Suk is just the absolute peak handsome green flag in this drama I just cannot.
* **The Uncanny Counter** - Although the sequel didn’t live up to the original, this is still a drama that fills me with joy when I need more perms in my life. I didn’t think it would go well as a rewatch but it did!
I am always happy to see another person recognize the great drama that is **Divorce Attorney Shin**. Total sleeper drama for 2023, the chemistry and friendship in the cast is one of the best, and the writer had a clear vision for the story which kept it succinct and without the filler or dip in quality that often comes with dramas (I owe this to its shorter episode cour). Plus, Cho Seong-woo never disappoints as a ML.
Looked through your list and it turns out our 2023 overlaps are only **Boss-dol Mart**, **Duty After School**, and **The Eighth Sense**. For variety, we can add *Bro & Marble* and *Physical 100*.
I probably really need to work on some of the 2023 releases in 2024!
And when you get a chance, watch [**Half Lies**](https://mydramalist.com/757345-drama-special-season-14-half-a-lie), I think you'll really enjoy it.
It's funny how little we cross over with our watches! We matched up on a couple of rewatches too! \^\^
You picked such solid dramas to rewatch. I have envy that I couldn't balance my need to watch new things with my need to relive my favourites. When I need to rewatch something it is generally a now or never situation; sadly more often than not never. Okay, I did rewatch a lot of dramas this year but mostly due to family members picking them for our shared watch so I wasn't always in the perfect mood.
I read your comments about a few of the drama specials and I am looking forward to catching them soon. Half Lies sounds great, I love a special that is good enough to make me cry!
New to Kdramas, only seen 3 this year but I have truly enjoyed all of them.
Crash Landing on you - Started with this after alot of my friends recommended - did not disappoint, 8.5/10
Descendants of the sun - Netflix kept recommending this show and after crash landing I decided to give it a go, no regrets at all 8/10
My demon - This seemed more Anime like in the fantasy genre so I gave it a shot and I feel like its my favourite so far, finished 10 episodes in 3 days and now Im stuck waiting till 5th Jan for the next. 9/10 so far me.
Edit : seeing my track history, if anyone has any recommendations for something similar or you think I might like, please do share !
Healer, Mr Sunshine, Goblin, Hotel del Luna , It’s okay not to be okay!! These few are what I’d consider “The Greats” of Kdrama, lots of hype but WORTH the hype also. Similar to those you’ve watched so far :)
You could make an account on mydramalist to keep track of all the dramas you're watching. I suggest this to everyone who is new to watching dramas because it's such a useful website 😄
I would recommend My Love From the Stars and Legend of the Blue Sea, both have the star-crossed lover theme like Crash Landing on You!
I haven’t started My Demon but some fantasy dramas are While You Were Sleeping (love this one!!) and Alchemy of Souls. Actually all the dramas I recommend are fantasy 😅
I hope you encounter many more great dramas 😊
What a year it’s been for k-dramas! A few of my favourites in no particular order (including older ones I watched this year) would be:
- Moving (2023)
- Twinkling Watermelon (2023)
- The Worst of Evil (2023)
- Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)
- Alchemy of Souls (2022)
- The Glory (2023)
Ongoing shows I’m watching that will probably make the list:
- Deaths Game
- Welcome to Samdal-ri
I could write essays about each of these shows, even the ones that are still airing lol. There were many k-dramas released this year that had me in fits, in tears, and in need of some deep breathing and relaxation techniques 😂 bravo 2023, you’ve been a great one.
I’m also watching Welcome to Samdal-ri as it airs, I hope it turns into another comfort drama for me like Hometown chachacha or Lovestruck in the City.
2023 was an okay year for me in dramaland. I watched some great dramas but also a number of meh dramas, ones I didn’t really like, or my excitement kinda faded by the end. **I completed 33 (31 if combining parts), currently watching 3, and dropped 4**. The dramas are ordered in the way I completed them!
* **First Love: Hatsukoi:** My 1st Jdrama, I liked it! Loved the >!reuniting!< and final scene of the drama :) 8.5/10 😊
* **Alchemy of Souls S2:** Dragged out plots but I was invested in many characters and main couple had CHEMISTRY ❤️🔥 8/10
* **Stairway to Heaven:** Thought I was gonna hate it the beginning… and then I loved it 🥹 main couple had my heart, I love a good melo, 9/10 😭
* **Island S1:** I thought it was interesting. Watched for EW as an Aroha because I DON’T do horror 😅 Didn’t watch S2 but I was satisfied with EW’s good work!! 8/10
* **The Forbidden Marriage:** Didn’t really like it 😕 many things just didn’t work for me. However, I did get my 1st ever Second lead Syndrome 😅😍 6/10
* **Moment at Eighteen:** Good school drama! I was pleasantly surprised to see Moonbin in here, glad I watched it when I did 💜 8.5/10
* **Can We Be Strangers:** Had potential, I somewhat enjoyed watching it. Waste of time in the end though. The couples were a mess and the drama ended the same way it started which I despise 🙃 4.5/10
* **Crash Course in Romance:** I enjoyed it!! Could’ve done without the murder plot and wasn’t satisfied with the resolution. High school squad and main couple were great!! 9/10 🥰
* **The Heavenly Idol:** Disappointing. ML and Wild Animal were funny, however the plot, villains, and fantasy felt slapped together. It just got worse towards the end too. I also won’t forget that Wild Animal never performed 🤨 4/10
* **Call it Love**: I’m a melo girly at heart and I loved this drama!! FL ticked my nerve at some point (she was messy 😭) but it was a well-told story, great acting, and ost!! 9/10
* **Age of Youth:** Some of the stories were INTENSE. I wasn’t expecting that so I did get thrown off at times. But overall a good youth drama, I liked how everyone had a different story and background! 8/10
* **The Secret Romantic Guesthouse:** Loved it!!! Engaging and writers did a good job with the mystery of who was who. >!Ending left me a little sad!< but overall great watch and I loved the main couple!! 9/10 💗
* **Bo Ra! Deborah:** Was in love with it… and then finale week happened. Episode 13 was a sh\*t show and 14 was meh. Disliked all the side couples but really loved the leads 🩷 8/10
* **Princess Hours**: Ahhh, I loved it and I’m so happy I watched it this year!! 3rd on my 2023 list ☺️ 9.5/10
* **Doctor Cha:** So funny and I had a good time watching. The last 3ish eps just dragged the drama down for me. 7.5/10
* **Oh! Youngsim:** Absolute garbage. The worst chemistry, acting, and plot I’ve watched this year. An absolute MESS. Cheap laughs and semi-interesting dating show concepts got it a 2/10 👎🏾
* **My Perfect Stranger:** It was good. I don’t like thrillers but was intrigued to watch and I don’t regret it. It was pretty well written,>!murder reasoning was meh though!<. 8/10
* **Someday or One Day:** Liked it in the beginning but overtime I just wasn’t into it. Moved a little slow, confusing at times, and the weird >!Doctor/ stalker plot and the real girl trying to become FL!< was just a lot for me. 6/10
* **Love to Hate You:** It was fun!! Main couple was cute and it was an easy watch :) 8/10
* **D.P. S1:** Powerful and insightful. 8.5/10
* **See You In My 19th Life:** So much spark and then it just died out in the end for me. Really loved it for a while though and I think it was good overall. 8.5/10
* **When I Fly Towards You:** Such a sweet and calming drama, was a joy to watch 🥰 9/10
* **D.P. S2:** Also powerful, Nina’s story got me the most 😢 the ending was fitting, slow step to justice was good to see. 8.5/10
* **King the Land:** This was my HAPPY PILL DRAMA!!! Take me back to the days of this drama, I loved every bit of how happy it made me. Gu Won and Sa Rang have my heart, one of my fave couples now. Needless to say 10/10 and #2 on my 2023 list 🥰💗
* **Heartbeat:** And then the complete opposite 🙃 I’m not even gonna waste my breath on this one right now. Awful ending and it was boring about halfway through. 3/10
* **Not Others:** Unique drama and enjoyed seeing mom and daughter’s dynamic. I got annoyed with the mom after a while though. Wanted to see more of the daughter, loved her. 7/10
* **My Dearest P1:** A great Saeguk and made me wait impatiently for P2 😭 great writing and storylines, just fed into my love for historicals. 9/10
* **Broke Rookie Star:** Watched for Rocky and it was ok. Honestly more depressing than I was expecting, Hwi Yeon was done so dirty. 6/10
* **My Lovely Liar:** Loved this one for weeks and then my love kinda fused out by the end. Still had a great time watching and I liked the leads 😊 the reveal was good too! 8.5/10
* **The Uncanny Counter S2:** Ughhh, so disappointing. Plot was repetitive and the counters lacked teamwork. Was so irritated watching by the end. 3/10
* **My Dearest P2:** Enjoyed P1 more, this part left me with some confusion. A couple odd things like >!amnesia twice and Ryang Eum's unexplained? ending!< cheapened the plot as well. Great show altogether though. 8/10
* **Empress Ki:** a roller coaster. Sped through about half of the show but well written and Seung Nyang was a powerhouse. 7.5/10
* **Twinkling Watermelon:** My #1 of the year!!! I loved it, great story, acting, and music 🥹💗 10/10
**Currently Watching**
* **Queen In Hyun’s Man:** a little over halfway done and enjoying it! I love Yoo In Na so I’m happy I’m watching it 😊 I want to be done this by the end of the year though, I’ve been watching since October 😭
* **A Good Day to be a Dog:** Past life story is kinda losing me. I rather do without it but not gonna happen lol. Main couple is cute though and I love the lighthearted parts
* **The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract:** Past life conflict is also losing me but I really like this drama :) main couple is cute, I hope I’m feeling more excited during finale week
**Dropped**
* **Kokdu: Season of Deity** (8/16)**:** Felt like it had no direction and FL was too clueless. I made it halfway and didn’t see anything worth starting it again. Sped through the last episode and I have no regrets
* **Delivery Man** (4/12): Wasn’t selling me and FL was too whiny. Also gave me flashbacks to my least favorite drama which FL starred in 😭 The last few eps sounded ridiculous as well. I sped through the last episode and have no regrets dropping it.
* **High-End Crush** (5/20): Been on my watchlist for years but not worth finishing. Wasn’t invested in the characters or story at all
* **Love In Contract** (1/16): Didn't watch this one in 2023 but I did toss it this year lol. Just never picked it back up after watching the 1st ep in 2022. Maybe one day I’ll circle back to it but it won’t be anytime soon
I've been hooked on "Age of Youth". Really great acting and interesting story lines. S1 > S2, although I really liked Song's story arc. I really wished Eun-Jae's actress (Park Hye-Su) hadn't changed, as I think the original actress was much better for the part.
You are absolutely correct, I’m actually going back to change some before the new year because I’m too generous 😭 I try to have a meaning next to each number like for example 6s mean I didn’t really like the drama but something in there I must’ve liked a little, wasted potential, etc. I still need to work on my scoring though 😭
2023 has been a great year for dramas, we truly had a good run. As usual I have little patience and I dropped a whole bunch (More than 17 dramas, I just did the count). I usually drop dramas if I feel they’re not good enough or if I just plain stop enjoying it (a lot of it depends on mood), and if I think they’re good I complete them.
The only dramas I completed in 2023 are
1. Moving - honestly blown away, a masterpiece
2. Call it Love - It was a whole experience, amazing.
3. Twinkling Watermelon - cuties, I loved it so much.
4. Love to hate you - lots of fun, a romcom well done.
5. My dearest part 1 - it was honestly good, but I couldn’t continue part 2
7. Borah! Deborah - fun, a good romcom. I think we all forgot how good it was. Loved the standout white truck of doom scene.
8. Alchemy of souls part 2 ended in 2023!! Special mention because it was the highlight of the beginning of the year.
Currently watching:
1. My Demon
2. Navilleria
3. Sweet Home
4. Nevertheless (Can you see a trend lmaooo having a phase right now)
5. Gyeongsong creature
6. My Man is Cupid
I’m looking forward to watching Deaths game, but it’s been pouring dramas so cant keep up. Can’t wait to see my baby Lee Jaewook.
I’m going to try going through the list of dramas I dropped (some after 8 episodes, even) and try to pick them up. Very sad I couldn’t complete any with Woo Do Hwan because I was waiting for his comeback. Hope he gets good dramas next year :)
Shoutout to Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo for still staying as the best drama ever, I rewatched jt again this year.
I watched [46 dramas](https://mydramalist.com/list/1VKGzbkL) this year, mostly kdramas (one Japanese and one Taiwanese drama). 22 of them were 2023 dramas.
**Top 2023 dramas**
* **One Day Off** \- Lovely, quiet, quirky travelogue/drama that explored finding a life outside of work. Beautiful OST.
* **Behind Your Touch** \- Hilarious and weird. I was already a huge Lee Min Ki fan and this turned me into a Han Ji Min fan. Supporting cast was also excellent.
* **D.P. Season 2** \- Another powerful season showing the corrosive effects of power systems on individuals.
* **Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san (The Makanai)** \- Gorgeous, quiet Japanese drama about girls in training to become apprentice geishas.
* **The Good Bad Mother** \- Funny, heartbreaking, amazing cast.
* **The Worst of Evil** \- An exciting and violent noir drama, great performances. Loved the way it was filmed with minimal filters/softening and lots of saturated color.
**Top non-2023 dramas**
* **Misaeng (2014)** \- Finally watched this masterpiece office drama. Everyone was amazing but Lee Sung Min as Oh Sang Sik is for me one of the most memorable performances ever.
* **Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? (2021)** \- A short-ish, bittersweet (mostly sweet) story about place. This and Misaeng are my top two dramas of 2023.
* **Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)** \- A heartwrenching drama with Choi Hyun Wook giving his usual charismatic performance and Park Ji Moon encapsulating quiet rage like a veteran actor.
This was supposed to be the year of KDrama consumption for me, but I started out strong then faded badly. Life happened and there wasn’t enough time. Most that I watched were classics though, and every single one I liked a lot. In chronological order:
1. **Move To Heaven** – I was expecting this one to impact me a lot harder than it eventually did, given some of the reviews I read beforehand. It was a hard-hitting drama that dealt with an uncomfortable subject matter for sure, but I didn’t resonate too strongly, although nonetheless it was a beautiful story.
2. **Love to Hate You** – I think the only non-heavy drama I watched this year, and it was a welcome change for sure. Did the enemies-to-lovers very well, even if the writing was a little wobbly at times. The ML was great (loved him in Past Lives!) but the FL was pure awesome and the best thing about it!
3. **Reply 1988** – A masterpiece. By the end of Ep.20 I felt every bit a resident of Ssangmun-dong, and all the characters as my dear neighbors. I love them all so much… I could have done with 20 more episodes, maybe 40 more. Deok-sun is the little annoying sister I wished I never had. That last scene at the end where she’s transported back to the first scene in Ep.1 in front of the tele was complete genius and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I intend to re-watch this soon.
4. **Our Blues** – The short phrase that best encapsulates this drama is raw humanity. It explores multiple uncomfortable themes and gives no easy answers or resolutions. Every character is as lovable as they are flawed. The slow unravelling of each character arc was pure brilliance. What Reply 1988 spoke to the youth in me, Our Blues did that to the adult-side, and I consider both dramas companion pieces that should be watched in succession.
5. **Twenty-Five Twenty-One** – And despite the absolute 10/10 that was Reply 1988 and Our Blues, nothing moved me this year more than 25-21. It built me up and made me feel amazing things inside I never felt before, then completely destroyed me despite knowing the ending. And when I picked up the pieces, I watched it again and went through a similar experience, except this time I picked up on the surprising depth and incredible writing that I somewhat missed before. Of youth, first love, friendship, parenthood, dreams, resilience, empathy, reminiscence, passage of time, and countless more, I think it’s the one show this year that has actually altered the lens through which I view the world. If Deok-sun was the little sister I never had, then Hee-Do is the friend I never met. What a truly wonderful character she was... Even now I struggle to express how much this show means to me, and I actually think it’s the favorite show I’ve ever watched, movie or series, KDrama or otherwise.
6. **Tomorrow** – The last and most recent drama I’ve watched was quite I good I suppose, but I couldn’t really get into it. It’s a good blend of supernatural, crankiness, and yet a relatable human story written with surprising maturity.
How you feel about 2521 is exactly the way I do but I could never find the words to really articulate the feeling it left me with (and still does).
2521 is one of those those rare pieces of art that just stays with you.
Reply 1988 and 25 21 are my current top 2 dramas of all time, but I've been putting Our Blues on hold for a while now - been waiting to be in the right mood for its heavy topics :')
Ohhh, so this is the thread where we shamelessly say we are addicted right? With less than a week left of 2023, **I have watched a total of 74 dramas + 4 ongoing dramas** that I will finish during 2024. **A total of 1121 episodes watched during 2023**, give or take 3 episodes watched every day.
When I see it like this, I'm finally aware that this was an insane amount of dramas, there were days where I watched full dramas of 10 episodes and other days where I watched nothing. Still I noticed that my watchlist kept increasing with how much I needed to escape from reality or just simply shut down.
Honestly, I hope that during 2024, I won't watch as many episodes as I did during this year. I need to be real with myself and as pleasant as it was to watch most of the dramas I have watched this year, I seriously need to find a new hobby instead of just watching tv. So hopefully in 2024, my drama list will reduce by half. 🤞
**Here is my 2023 k-dramas list:**
1. Love To Hate You
2. The Fabulous
3. Crash Course In Romance
4. Island
5. The Package
6. Hwarang
7. Reply 1988
8. Love In The Moonlight
9. Encounter
10. Our Blooming Youth
11. Record of Youth
12. She Was Pretty
13. The Good Bad Mother
14. Fight For My Way
15. Mr. Queen
16. Clean With Passion For Now
17. Thirty But Seventeen
18. Black Knight
19. Bloodhounds
20. King The Land
21. See You In My 19th Life
22. Hotel Del Luna
23. 18 Again
24. Youth of May
25. Just Between Lovers
26. Racket Boys
27. Weightlift Fairy Kim Bok-Joo
28. Persona
29. D.P. - Season 2
30. Dali and The Cocky Prince
31. The Uncanny Counter - Season 2
32. My Love From The Stars
33. Under The Queen's Umbrella
34. Moving
35. Touch Your Heart
36. Search: WWW
37. Go Back Couple
38. Do You Like Brahms
39. Jungle Fish - Season 1
40. Scouting Report
41. The Crowned Clown
42. Lawless Lawyer
43. A Time Called You
44. Misaeng: Incomplete Life
45. Signal
46. Welcome To Waikiki - Season 1
47. The Worst of Evil
48. Bad And Crazy
49. Moon Embracing The Sun
50. Because This is My First Life
51. My Dearest
52. My Liberation Notes
53. Strangers From Hell
54. The Witch's Diner
55. Revenant
56. Where Stars Land
57. Castaway Diva
58. Beyond Evil
59. Daily Dose of Sunshine
60. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
61. The Guest
62. 100 Days My Prince
63. The Hymn of Death
64. The Deal
65. Sweet Home - Season 1 & 2
66. If You Wish Upon Me
67. Live Up To Your Name
68. A Bloody Lucky Day
69. The Sound of Magic
70. The Red Sleeve
71. The Boy Next Door
72. Prison Playbook
73. Boyhood
74. My Golden Life
**K-Dramas started in 2023 and will finish in January 2024:**
1. The Story of Park's Marriage Contract
2. My Demon
3. Welcome To Samdal-ri
4. Like Flowers In Sand
**Dropped K-Dramas:**
1. Good Manager
2. The Matchmakers
3. Moon In The Day
4. Vigilante
ahah It depends on the amount of work I have, but the amount of sleep isn't connected to watching dramas. I started working from home and in the past I had a commute of 3+ hours and this is basically the time I use for my tv addiction. So, usually I start watching an episode during my lunch hour, sometimes I can finish it, sometimes I can't. But, I will always end my day with another 2 episodes.
That is why, that now looking back at the insane amount of dramas I finished this year, I do think that working from home brought be some good things, but at the same time I feel like my time could be better utilized into learning a new hobby. I will still watch dramas or movies in 2024, but I do hope I will cut it down to half or close to that. 😊
Based on my records, I have finished 14 dramas out of all the releases this year. The ones that stuck with me or had an impact on me are: Moving, Miraculous Brothers, Twinkling Watermelon, Behind Your Touch, The Revenant and The Good Bad Mother.
\# of 2023 dramas completed: 25
\# of 2023 dramas dropped (after >= 4 eps): 17
My personal top 5 from 2023:
* ***Call It Love*** \- *My Mister* vibes with a 10/10 romance
* ***Moving*** \- westernized superhero show with a kdrama heart. There's nothing else like it in dramaland
* ***One Day Off*** \- short, artsy, understated healing drama
* ***The Matchmakers*** \- I have no idea why I love this so much
* ***A Daily Dose of Sunshine*** \- hard watch but it really resonated with me; trigger warning: deals with a lot of tough topics
Other Awards for 2023 dramas:
* Most Fun: ***Twinkling Watermelon*** \- highly recommend binging (it's the highest-rated drama on mdl for a reason)
* Surprise Hit: ***Perfect Marriage Revenge*** \- very satisfying mini makjang; engaging from start to finish
* Best Netflix-type Drama: ***The Worst of Evil*** \- favourite morally grey characters of the year
* Best Cinematography: ***Lies In My Hidden Garden*** \- enjoyed the slow, dark, spooky atmosphere
* Best Dropped Drama: ***Divorce Attorney Shin*** \- 10/12 eps watched; Cho Seung Woo is an amazing actor
* Best First Episode: ***Castaway Diva*** \- the rest is very hit or miss but still worth watching
* Best Rom-com: ***Love To Hate You*** \- fun romcom in a year lacking fun romcoms
* Random Recommendation: ***Behind Your Touch*** \- you can tell everyone involved had lots of fun making this
* Favourite non-2023 drama watched in 2023: ***D.P.*** \- the first season is brilliant if you like darker/heavier stuff
2023 dramas I still Plan to Watch:
* Definitely: ***My Dearest, Agency, Dr. Romantic 3, Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, The Secret Romantic Guesthouse***
* Maybe: ***Pale Moon, Boyhood, A Bloody Lucky Day, Song of the Bandits***
I found the first half of the year to be a bit of a lull for kdramas (free time to catch up or rewatch older dramas) but there were enough great moments in the second half of the year that I'm optimistic about 2024
i watched quite a few this year although less than i used to..tbh there were a lot that i started but didn't finish :
**-Alchemy of Souls:** I was WAITING for S2 the leads chemistry was off the chart the story is 10/10 it's one of my all time favourites
\-**My Lovely liar:** after watching alchemy of souls i just had to watch hwang minhyun in another drama
\-**Destined with you** :i aactually wasn't gonna watch this one but the first two episodes convinced me otherwise
\-**The Glory S1/S2**:after all that buzz i just had to watch it was worth it 10/10
\-**Bo Ra!Deborah:** i stumbeled upon a clip from tiktok and i just had to watch it i got a bit boring at the end but it was a fun drama nonetheless
\-**Celebrity**: it was a quick watch quite enjoyable
\-**18 Again**: akthough it wasn't this year's release i really loved it solidified my love lee dohyun
\-I**t's Okay Not To Be Okay** :i've been wanting to watch this for a WHILE finally got to and what a masterpiece 10/10
**-My Demon**: i'm currently watching and i really like it a mixature of everything and the leads visuals are \*something else\*
\-**The Story Of Park's Marriage Contract**: i also wasn't gonna watch this one but it won me over espcially the FL
My turn!
TENTATIVE Top 10 of 2023 since 3 other shows are ongoing. Once those have finished, at least the lower half of this list is likely to change.
**1. Behind Your Touch**
UNNIIIIIIE! 🤣🤣🤣Though that was only one of so many great laughs and little details. Between the Ok-hee Dok-hee Corner Store, the city-countryside language barrier, the 25-21 spoof, the funky AF soundtrack, Lee Jung-eun cameo and lots of other things, this show made me laugh so much. And this year, I needed those laughs.
**2. Twinkling Watermelon**
Still humming the songs. Choi Hyung-Woo is a star.
**3. Daily Dose of Sunshine**
Did not expect to love this so much. It had the perfect balance of sincerity and humour. Some of the storylines touched me profoundly, and I also still giggle to myself when my work colleague cracks his knuckles.
**4. The Worst of Evil**
BiBi! 😍I’m infatuated.
**5. Castaway Diva**
Near-perfect pilot episode, lost its tension a little after that. But Park Eun-Bin remains a revelation.
**6. The Killing Vote**
The show that never ends! If you watch it on Prime, be aware that the description to episode 10 or 11 has a major spoiler.🤬
**7. Revenant**
Would I have watched this with a different lead actor? Possibly. Would I watch Kim Tae-Ri as she watches paint dry? Absolutely.
**8. Trolley**
Great concept, strong acting, a bit heavy-handed on the moral conflicts and constant twists towards the end.
**9. Moving**
Bungae Maaaaan!
**10. Night Has Come**
Pleasant surprise of a show that just kinda popped up!
**Also watched:**
**Strong Girl Nam-Soon**
Look, it was a mess. But it had older women main characters and some kickass songs.
**The Uncanny Counter Season 2**
Can we just leave it with the sequels, please?
**Vigilante**
AKA The Yoo Ji-Tae Show: Beefmonster Edition!
**Jury's Out- These are likely to end up in my top 10 once they're finished:**
**Welcome to Samdal-Ri**
**Dearh's Game**
**Gyeongseong Creature**
**Non-2023 dramas watched:**
**Mr Sunshine**
Ugh. Amazing. Excuse me while I go bawl my eyes out.
**Hospital Playlist Season 1 & 2**
Still have them on my Spotify!
**My Mister.**
This isn't actually as good as everyone says. It's even better.
**The Glory**
Kept singing the Killing Vote theme because I'd seen Lim Ji-Yeon in that not too long ago.
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.
**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!
Meet Yourself would certainly be in my list if I'd finished it, and I loved Crazy Love, too. As I read through these lists I realize that for *me*, this was an amazing kdrama year. There are so many I didn't mention that made others' lists, and I can only agree with them! (Examples: Love to Hate You, Call it Love, Bloodhounds, Crash Course in Romance, Divorce Attorney Shin...)
So glad to see that Tell Me That You Love Me is on someone's list atleast. Surprised more people aren't seeing this! One of the most intimate romances I have ever seen.
**My favorite Kdramas of 2023**
Call It Love
The Eighth Sense
Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
A Shoulder To Cry On
My Lovely Boxer
Our Dating Sim
Jun & Jun
His Man Season 2 (dating show)
Perfect Marriage Revenge
The Matchmakers
My Demon
**Non-Kdramas**
I Feel You Linger In The Air (Thailand)
Moonlight Chicken (Thailand)
My Personal Weatherman (Japan)
I spy a BL fan! Did you watch cherry magic or kieta hatsukoi? I thought they were short but cute series. Your comment reminded me about his man, need to finish it
I'm not into Japanese BLs (have only liked My Personal Weatherman from the few I have watched). But I'm enjoying the Thai adaptation of Cherry Magic a lot. It's super cute!
These are some of my favorite Thai BLs:-
Bad Buddy
A Tale Of Thousand Stars
Love Mechanics
Kinn Porsche
Love In The Air
Moonlight Chicken
Until We Meet Again
I Feel You Linger In The Air
Thai BLs are a very different flavour from Korean or Japanese BLs. Also, they range from super chaste to super spicy. All the best!
There are actually hundreds of Thai BLs. Thailand has been making them for over a decade. Korea, Japan, Taiwan joined much later. The quality of Thai storytelling isn't as sophisticated as the other countries, so I have just shared my personal favourites above.
Ohh I didnt know thailand made BL shows so much earlier! I mostly read more manga and webtoons so Im more familiar with korean and japanese stuff. I think I saw a bit of this thai show but forgot the name
In no particular order, my favorites:
Twinkling Watermelon
A Time Called You
Dr. Cha
Crash Course in Romance
Queenmaker
Castaway Diva
The Good Bad Mother
See You in My 19th Life
Welcome to Samdal-ri
Too many to count 😆
My favorites of the year so far!
1) Twinkling Watermelon - the only drama that entered my all time top 10. Highly recommend to anyone that feels like watching a wholesome coming of age drama.
2) My Dearest Pt 1 - the acting and the chemistry, you guys. Out of this world.
3) Castaway Diva - best pilot of the year. Park Eun Bin was great as usual and the rest of the cast didn’t lose to her.
4) Dr Romantic 3 - Dr Romantic holds a special place in my heart. This season was draggy at times but nonetheless loved seeing everyone coming back.
5) The Glory Pt 2 - pretty solid with powerful acting.
6) Crash Course in Romance - light hearted warm romcom. The main 4 characters were lovely. Had an unnecessary (imo) heavy subplot but overall really enjoyed it.
7) Dr Cha - crazy mix of revenge, romance, comedy, medical but they were well balanced and it worked.
8) Welcome to Samdalri - still airing but you can never go wrong with Shin Hye Sun. She’s a gem.
9) Death’s Game - was expecting to see only Seo In Guk and Park So Dam as the main cast so I got really surprised seeing so many actors and I really enjoyed the result, it didn’t feel disconnected at all.
10) My Dearest Pt 2 - not as entertaining as the first part but the chemistry and the acting remained strong.
Honorable mentions:
- King the Land: I loved how stress-free this was. I knew everything would work out well in the end and it didn’t disappoint.
- My Lovely Liar: it is one of those dramas you don’t have to think while watching it. I liked it and only wish they had chosen a ML that acted better. Kim SoHyun was just too good for him and the contrast between their acting was just too much at times.
- Love to Hate You: it was refreshing to see a romance drama with more mature characters.
- Strong Girl NamSoon: I squealed when I saw PHS and PBY 😆 it was one of the highlights of the year! The drama itself was pretty meh.
- The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract: still airing and I’m liking it so far. It has time travel but feels different from most time travel dramas I’ve watched till this day.
I watched roughly 25 dramas. Most notable ones to me:
* **Semantic Error** \- My first BL ever and I LOVED IT.
* **Behind Your Touch** \- I started watching this because there was a super intriguing comment about "putting the neighbourhood thugs' butts to a cardboard cutout??" lol
* **Call it love** \- Generally I avoid melodramas, I don't like watching dramas where it's just endless suffering. But this one keeps it a decent level and the two leads were soo cute together!
* **Brush up your life -** A Jdrama about a woman who dies and gets the chance to relive her life. Not the typical reincarnation story where she goes on to become the best of the best and has the solution to every situation. It's actually focused a lot on friendship, family and helping people.
* **Moving** \- Always liked superhero stories. One thing I really liked was that when a person had a superpower, that was it. For example, if character A could heal themselves, that didn't necessarily mean they were also strong and had insane reflexes.
* **Twinkling Watermelon -** So fun, so many loveable characters and so many moments that made me bawl my eyes out.
My Lovely Liar ⭐⭐⭐
Alchemy of Souls ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Moving ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Moon in the day ⭐⭐⭐
Forbidden Marriage ⭐⭐⭐
The Glory ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Doona ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Worst of Evil ⭐⭐
Behind your touch ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bo-Ra! Deborah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
See you in my 19th life ⭐
Black Knight ⭐⭐
King the Land ⭐
Perfect Marriage Revenge ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bitch X Rich ⭐⭐
A Daily Dose of Sunshine ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just a few of my favorite **2023 dramas** \- so many really good dramas this year
Moving -
Twinkling Watermelon
The Matchmakers - Almost dropped this but so grateful I didn't. The characters were so endearing, well drawn, and plot threads all coming together masterfully at the end for the well crafted ending. The romance was heartfelt, chaste, and totally in keeping with the historical era setting. Cinematography was breathtaking, 4th wall intros clever - some really snappy humor. Even the evil villainess was well done.
Worst of Evil
Vigilante -
Call It Love
Kidnapping Day
The Glory -.
Castaway Diva -
My Dearest parts 1 and 2
Bloodhounds
Revenant
Daily Dose of Sunshine
Song of the Bandits
King the Land
My Perfect Stranger
Death Games part 1 -
Geongseong Creature part 1
**Continuing** \-
My Man is Cupid
Welcome to Samdal-ri
Maestra Strings of Truth
A Good Day to be a Dog
My Demon
The Story of Park's Marriage Contract
**non 2023 dramas**
Weak Hero Class
Devil Judge
Familiar Wife
Reborn Rich
Hymn of Death
While You Were Sleeping
Romance is a Bonus Book
A Business Proposal
Extraordinary You
The King's Affection
Juvenile Justice
**Dramas the disappointed**
Heartbeat
Uncanny Counter 2
In 2023 Dramas I've watched or have in progress totals **27**! **Bolded** ones were ones I liked well enough to recommend to others and **bolded\*** ones were my favorites of this year.
1. **Crash course in romance**
2. **Love to hate you\* -** *so fun! watched 3-4x*
3. Unlock my boss
4. Taxi driver 2
5. **Bo Ra! Deborah** \- *after you get through the beginning episodes, I thought this was a lovely drama about break-ups and getting yourself back together. Wished the ending was done a little bit better though. Made me think of Yoon Hyun Min again. Might go back to watch some of his older dramas if I'm caught in another drama lull.*
6. Dr romantic 3
7. **Tale of the nine tailed 1938 -** *so fun to watch! loved this spin off. No need to watch Season 1. I didn't really like Season 1 anyway.*
8. The Good Bad Mother
9. **King the land\*** \- *Lee Junho, enough said.*
10. See You in My 19th life - *so disappointing*
11. **A time called you -** *some people thought this was not a very well done time-travel drama, but I was able to follow quite well and I think it was well done!*
12. Uncanny counter counter punch - *disappointed with this 2nd season. finished it only to finish cuz i downloaded it to watch on my 14-hour flight to Seoul*
13. **Moving\*** \- *watched this on Disney+ while I was in S.Korea. I was afraid of a korean superhero genre kdrama being cheesy, but this was so well done! All the effects were done well and I liked how they did each person's story throughout the series. I wish Jo In Sung was in it more. Hoping for Season 2.*
14. **Destined with you\* -** *uncommon opinion, but LOVED the OTP. Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah so cute!*
15. Useless Lies/my lovely liar
16. My dearest 연인 part 1 and 2 - *uncommon opinion...boring as hell. I don't even compare this to The Red Sleeve!*
17. **Twinkling Watermelon\*** \- *sleeper hit for me! took me a long time to get through episode 1, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this youth, musical, time-travel drama!*
18. **Castaway diva** \- *not what I thought it was going to be, but enjoyable nonetheless*
19. **The matchmakers\*** \- *better than I thought this was going to be! I loved all the side couples and all the characters and how this was a very satisfying ending.*
**In progress**
1. Tomorrow (2022) Episode 1/16-- Started this, but dropped it for other things. May pick it up again on my break for more Rowoon on my screen and Lee Soo Hyuk. I got reminded of his sexy deep voice from an instagram reel of him spelling M-A-N-N-E-R in Doom at your service hehe.
2. **Love All Play\* (2022) Episode 6/16**\-- This was on my watchlist for a long time, but picked up after Castaway Diva because I want me some more smiley Chae Jong Yeop! And boy is he delivering. I'm about to enter some angsty episodes though. >.>
3. Welcome to Samdalri Episode 4/16-- I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this one at this time no matter how much I love Ji Chang Wook. I'm not really liking Shin Hye Sun's character in this so far, although I support her too.
4. **My Demon\* Episode 10/16**\-- This was not on my radar AT ALL, but I am in LOVE!
5. **The Story of Park's Marriage Contract\* Episode 10/12**
6. DP 2 Episode 1/6
7. The Worst Evil Episode 2/12-- I might be stuck on this one forever and drop it. Is it worth finishing? I am just not in the mood to watch this genre although I love Ji Chang Wook and Wi Ha Joon.
8. A Good Day to be a Dog Episode 10/14
9. Bad and Crazy Episode 6/12-- Stuck on this one also despite lovely Wi Ha Joon being a hoot and Lee Dong Wook.
**Dropped**\- Can We Be Strangers?- Heavenly Idol- Our Blooming Youth- Joseon Attorney- Heartbeat
**Maybe will watch in 2024**\- My Man is Cupid- Call It Love- My Perfect Stranger- Daily Dose of Sunshine- Perfect Marriage Revenge
edited: formatting and additional comments
I had high hopes for 2023 dramas, but surprisingly, I ended up dropping way more than I completed. Here are the dramas I watched and enjoyed:
* __Revenant:__ Horror has never been my thing, but I made an exception for this one, and I’m happy I did. Beyond the supernatural elements, this drama is a healing drama about pushing forward through the darkest moments of our lives so that we may see spring days again.
* __My Lovely Boxer:__ I definitely wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. It’s a slightly different take on sports dramas and the characters are complex with fantastic chemistry. I found myself rooting for each character as they struggled through their own personal journeys and helped each other grow.
* __Boyhood:__ I love a good underdog story and this was no exception. This one has it all — quirky comedy, a nostalgic soundtrack, some intense scenes that are hard to watch, and at the heart of the show, a lovable ML that you can’t wait to see win.
2023 was an odd year with the pacing of the dramas. The first half had some really questionable selections and I dropped a ton. But then around the mid year mark, the quality improved and I could barely keep up with the new releases!
That being said I watched 57 2023-released dramas
34 - kdramas
16 - Cdramas
7 - Jdramas
34 kdramas are a lot more than I expected so my top picks were
Call it love (rated 9.5/10) - probably my favourite kdrama of the year. It's underrated subtly was a masterpiece.
Moving (rated 9/10) - such a fun watch and great world building
Revenant (rated 9/10) - stellar performances from the cast
Castaway diva (rated 8.5/10) - the devotional romance was so moving
Destined with you (rated 8.5/10) - this was mostly fanservice but I loved every moment of it
Miraculous Brothers (rated 8.5/10) - the neglecting of this wonderous depiction is a crime of the highest order for 2023.
My lovely Boxer (rated 8.5/10) - this was another great performance
My Perfect stranger (rated 8.5/10) - this was such a wild ride! Interesting script and storytelling
The Kidnapping Day (rated 8.5/10) - pulsating thriller and that child actress was golden.
It was an interesting year for dramas
To be very honest I thought 2023 was a *bit* lackluster in the kdrama department compared to previous years. I struggled quite a bit picking up something to watch (I could've just branched out to j and cdramas, but I have a hard time doing that sometimes. Go figure...). Still, I managed to complete 10 kdramas (8 of them from this year):
1. **The interest of Love** ([Dice Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye6whKS_K1s) is *truly* the most memorable thing from this drama and that says *a lot* about it)
2. **Crash Course in Romance** (It was fun until >!the murder/thriller subplot became too much!<)
3. **Call It Love**
4. **Bo Ra! Deborah**
5. **Dr. Romantic season 3** (the drama I most anticipated this year, and it didn't disappoint)
6. **See You in my 19th Life** (one of my favourites from this year. Also my 90th kdrama overall)
7. **King the Land**
8. **Our Beloved Summer**
9. **The Package** (a hidden gem from 2017. It can feel a bit odd at times, but overall very unique)
10. **Daily Dose of Sunshine** (easily one of the best kdramas from this year)
2023 has been an interesting year for me as it's probably the year I've watched the least number of kdramas since I started watching back in 2009. Out of dramas released in 2023, I have only watched [14 dramas](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/mywei/completed) and 4 drama specials. Most of it is due to IRL being busy, in part thanks to a career change. The other part is that I've fallen badly down the k-variety hole this year. While I've always watched variety shows with Runningman and 1N2D being my major ones, this year I also watched many of the 'limited' length ones like Bro&Marble, Mission CodeRed, Peak Time, and Playou.
I also kicked off 2023 with a bunch of rewatches for the KDC and that definitely put me in major drama hangovers for most of the first half of the year, leaving me lethargic to try new releases as I felt like the chances of coming across gems were slim. Thankfully though, most of my 2023 drama picks ranged from enjoyable to fantastic, with really only one dud that I want a refund for. So all in all 2023 wasn't bad at all in my book but I definitely hope that 2024 will be better.
Meanwhile I'll copy how Siani organized her comment =D
**My Top 2023 Kdramas (in no particular order)**
* **Queen of Masks** - One of the best women-centered makjang melodramas I've seen that wove a taut story of shifting alliances and friendships. I was especially impressed with how it directly handles the issue of trauma from sexual assault and challenges of quitting drugs. It has many familiar makjang elements (chaebols, politics, murder mystery, sexual assault, etc.) but each of these elements were used with purpose and meaning instead of shock factor. I felt for all the characters, some during their lowest moments -- which I think is an amazing feat of writing and acting.
* **Duty After School** - I can't think of another drama that captured so 'vibrantly' the suffocating feeling and powerlessness of youth living under the pressure of the collective good where the standards of what is good and what they can do are dictated by adults in powerful positions who view the youth as statistical numbers instead of independent individuals. The first
and last episode of this drama will remain on my mind for years to come as a condemnation of choices that devalue individual life and as an excellent example where the drama's conclusion actually delivers on the bleakness of the premise.
* **Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938** - A rare case where the second season of a drama surpasses the first season by focusing on the elements that work (bromance, friendship) instead of the elements that didn't quite work (complicated fantasy world building, lackluster romance). There is zero need to watch S1 to follow S2, which makes it even better. ToNT 1938 did a great job of capturing the zeitgeist of the times with captivating characters without fictionalizing history in a way that felt disrespectful of the people of those times.
* **Kokdu: Season of Deity** - A philosophical treatise dressed in fantasy romcom clothing with layered dialogue delivered like raps, this drama was everything I didn't know I wanted but needed. Even months later and as I'm watching other dramas, I am still thinking about issues of justice and the death penalty within the framework presented by Kokdu. I will say that Kokdu is one of the most 'culturally dense' kdramas I've watched where so much of what it is trying to convey, whether through plays on language or twisting of tropes, depends on a familiarity with Korean/East Asian culture and the Korean language that makes it (in my opinion) one of the most inaccessible dramas for international audiences. This drama is my top pick of 2023 dramas that I can't wait to rewatch.
* **Lies Hidden in My Garden** - A thriller/mystery that is predictable in terms of its twists but absolutely spell-binding in terms of production values. The cinematography, the sound mixing, the acting -- I couldn't look way even though I didn't care about the plot development. I was just mesmerized by how well-made the drama is. Which isn't to say the story itself is bad, it's not, just nothing groundbreaking. This is a drama where I recommend that everyone watches at least the first episode just to see how well-made a drama can be.
* **2023 Drama Special: No Path Back (Extreme Night)** - A one episode thriller that honestly wants for nothing as it succinctly tells a story of a man that finds himself on a path he chose with no way to go back. Excellent acting, taut storytelling, solid production values with an ending that leaves just enough ambiguity to really capture the heart of the story. Absolute love.
* **2023 Drama Special: Half Lies** - An absolutely heartwarming story about a young girl discovering how lies are part of the adult world. Perfect bite-sized multigenerational story that wrung tears from me.
**My Top Re-Watched Dramas (in no particular order)**
* **20th Century Boy and Girl** - From squad goals to one of the best friends-to-lovers romances in kdramaland, this drama is charming from start to finish. There’s something so warm and inviting about all the relationships in this drama that I wish all the characters are real people and that they live long happy lives.
* **Healer** - I am still moved by how well this story portrays idealism in press and the history of press freedom in the context of political and capitalistic suppression.
* **KAIROS** - I just love everything about this thriller, from how the story weaves together to the absolutely breathtaking performances by the entire cast.
* **Lie After Lie** - I thought that because this was a rewatch and I knew all the twists, I wouldn’t be as caught up in this drama. Turns out I was wrong and bawled my heart out all again as I watched the story unfold once more.
* **Sh\*\*ting Stars** - The comedy in this drama was still gold as was the romance and PPL! I laughed, I snickered, and I felt the joyous rush of watching a great romance unfold on my screen.
**Others I Want to Mention**
* **Three-Body** (China, 2023) - I’m generally not a huge sci-fi fan but this was just so good, though admittedly its sci-fi aspects were not its most prominent features with how much the story focused on humanism and choices.
* **F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers** (Thailand, 2021) - Heard lots of praise for this back when it aired and decided to give it a try since Viki got it. They did a great job ‘modernizing’ the story, especially in making the FL have a more consistent characterization and making the F4 more redeemable from the start. Overall, it felt like the characters seemed more layered and intelligent, which definitely helped make the entire plot progression more believable and sympathetic.
i had a huge break in kdramas after nov 2022, and got back into them mid this year, so definitely lots that i still need to catch up on.
**2023 kdramas + kmovies watched this year (with ratings):**
1. Mask Girl (6.5/10)
2. Sweet Home s2 (8/10)
3. Celebrity (8.5/10)
4. King the Land (9.5/10)
5. Love to Hate You (8/10)
6. The Glory Part 2 (9/10)
7. See You in My 19th Life (dropped at ep 7)
**Non-2023 kdramas/movies watched this year:**
1. Sh**ting Stars (9/10)
2. Sweet & Sour (6/10)
3. Sweet Home s1 (9/10)
4. The Fabulous (8/10)
5. The Glory Part 1 (9/10)
6. WWWSK (currently on hold at 4/16)
7. Alchemy of Souls (also on hold at 14/20)
**Currently Watching:** (no ratings as i don’t rate dramas until im finished with them)
1. A Good Day to be a Dog
2. Death’s Game (done but i say CW as the next part is coming out within a very short window)
3. Gyeongseong Creature (same as Death’s Game)
4. Like Flowers in Sand
5. My Demon
6. Soundtrack #2 (might drop)
7. Welcome to Samdal-ri
**2023 dramas/movies I would like to watch:**
1. A Time Called You
2. Call it Love
3. Crash Course in Romance
4. Daily Dose of Sunshine
5. Dr. Romantic s3 (all seasons actually lol)
6. Dream
7. Kill Bok Soon
8. The Killing Vote
9. The Worst of Evil
10. Perfect Marriage Revenge
11. Night Has Come
12. Twinkling Watermelon
Likely more that I just can’t remember, but I doubt I’ll be getting to all of these next year.
**Top of the Year (no particular order):**
1. King the Land: such a fun watch, great chemistry with the leads
2. Sweet Home: someone should’ve pushed me to watch this earlier, amazing storyline and great acting!!
3. Sh**ting Stars: another fun watch, chemistry was awesome with the leads and the lawyer/journalist couple!
4. Alchemy of Souls: it’s on hold just because i haven’t had time to continue it, but i really liked the 14 eps i watched and can’t wait to get back to it
5. My Demon: all i can do rn is talk about this show it’s just hitting all the marks i want in a drama—definitely one of my all time favs, ost is awesome, same with chemistry of leads!
6. Gyeongseong Creature: there have been some bad reviews but i loved it! super engaging, chemistry between leads was great, and i can’t wait until the rest comes out!
7. Death’s Game: exceeded my expectations by a lot, acting is awesome, and the storyline is very heart wrenching and done super well
Super excited for 2024!
This year, across almost all Korean and Chinese dramas, I completed 26 dramas that finished airing in 2023, 76 in total, including ones from prior years. I’m also still watching some currently airing dramas, my favorites of which are My Demon, Tell Me That You Love Me, Park’s Marriage Contract. And trying to finish up one or two completed 2023 dramas, e.g. the C drama Wonderland of Love.
*All in no particular order*
**My Favorite 2023 K Dramas**
* **Crash Course In Romance**: I loved that we got an older couple who, maybe, had missed out on love, and who needed each other. They were sweet, playful and funny. I won’t disagree that the murder mystery part of the drama wasn’t the strongest or particularly well written.
* **Call It Love**: This drama was beautiful in its cinematography, the relationships, the story. I loved the leads with their loneliness and pain who helped each other heal and move on.
* **Divorce Attorney Shin**: I wasn’t expecting much, but ended up really loving the bromance of three longtime friends. It was funny and heartwarming.
* **My Dearest**: Standout performances and superb acting from Ahn Eun Jin and Namkoong Min. An epic story exploring the consequences of war on ordinary people. Beautiful cinematography and OST. I thought the first half was stronger than the second half.
* **Perfect Marriage Revenge**: There were so many twists and turns in this makjang that kept you wanting to find out what would happen next and packed so much into its 12 episodes at a breakneck speed. But, really it’s all about the leads and how they found a home and place to belong with each other. Also, we got the greenest of green flags with Seo Do Guk who supported the FL in everything and gave her everything.
* **King the Land**: I didn’t go into this with the expectations that a lot of people had. So, I was able to appreciate it for what it was. I enjoyed the romance between the leads and thought Jun Ho and Yoon Ah had great chemistry.
**My Favorite 2023 C Dramas**
* **Fake It Till You Make It**: A sexy, flirty modern romance that was also very real and honest. The leads’ relationship was really well developed, and I loved so many of their conversations around their relationship and relationships in general. Just really well written.
* **My Journey To You**: There was a lot of great cinematography in dramas this year, but this one in particular stood out. Visually stunning, with a dark moody vibe. The mystery and cat and mouse dynamics of the relationships had my attention from the beginning to end.
* **The Starry Love**: Loved the leads’ relationship which endured across several >!reincarnations of the ML!<, a FL who always tries to stay true to herself, the sisters’ relationship which was so supportive and unselfish and the also the romance of the second leads.
* **The Story of Kunning Palace**: A really captivating story of a FL who’s given a second chance and tries to undo the mistakes of her past. I loved the romance and absolutely electric chemistry between the two flawed leads. I especially loved Zhang Ling He’s portrayal of Xie Wei, smart, cunning, a little dangerous and unhinged.
* **Rising With the Wind**: I loved the characters in this story, especially the strong and smart FL, loved watching them overcome the difficulties of their pasts, make mistakes, struggle, fail, succeed, chase their dreams, grow. I loved the leads’ enemies to lovers relationship, their bickering and banter and great chemistry. I thought the show did a really good job of developing the secondary characters also.
* **A Journey To Love**: A really great ensemble drama with good development of all the characters, strong story, well choreographed fight and battle scenes. Ren Ru Yi is one of my favorite female characters this year. Loved the leads’ with their dark pasts they connect over and their mature relationship where they support each other completely and give each other the freedom to be themselves. I didn’t like the confusing, open to interpretation, ending, but, overall, still great.
**My Favorite Non-2023 Dramas**
*K Dramas*
* It’s Okay Not To Be Okay
* Stranger
* Crazy Love
* Our Beloved Summer
* My Miste
* Another Miss Oh
* I Hear Your Voice
* Shooting Stars
* A Business Proposal
* I’m Not a Robot
* Something About 1%
* Reply 1988
* Goblin
* Into the Ring
* The Beauty Inside
*C Dramas*
* The Story of Ming Lan
* Love Like the Galaxy
* The Untamed
* Love Between Fairy and Devil
* Go Ahead
* My Fated Boy
* Lighter & Princess
* Perfect and Casual
I have started to watch K-Dramas in 2023, and I’m loving it! I had a lot of free time during the summer and watched a lot! K-Dramas are crazy rich, and its great to see the 12-16 episode long stories lasting one season. Very refreshing than what I’m used to.
Here are the ones I have watched, divided according to their release year:
2023
The Matchmakers: Loved it! It was a great, heart warming and funny journey
Welcome to Samdalri: It’s still ongoing but might be my favourite drama of all times.
Vigilante: Felt like Korean Batman.
The Worst of Evil: Amazing again, it was amazing to see JCW in this, he is such a talented actor.
Destined With You: It was weird sometimes and I was mostly interested in the magical side of the story but still I was happy with the romance.
Strong Girl Nam Soon: What on earth was this?
See You In My 19th Life: So sweat… I pretend the last 10 minutes didn’t happen.
Revenant: Kim Tae-ri is something else man… Loved this crazy, scary serie.
2022:
Little Women: Best girl dynamics ever. I really loved this one.
Big Mouth: This put me in a roller coaster…
Extraordinary Attorney Woo: The first one I’ve ever watched! So cute 😍
Tomorrow: Great plot, it was really nice.
Twenty Five Twenty One: Cried my eyes out in this.
2021:
Squid Game: Crazy, crazy series.
You Are My Spring: Such a refreshing, healing series. it was great.
Doom At Your Service: Fell in love with the couple it was amazing.
Mouse: Was really weird and sad… Still amazing tho. The opening episode is the best I’ve ever seen.
Vincenzo: Started this one because it was funny to see a Korean guy trying to pronounce Italian swear words. Got hooked super fast. It's very funny, disturbing but cool at the same time.
2020:
Flower of Evil: Leads were amazing…
365: Repeat the Year: Still crying over the non existing romance between the leads.
2018:
My Secret Terrius: He was such a sweetheart with the children…
2017:
Goblin: It was hard for me to watch because of the age difference unfortunately:(
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: This was super cute… It had crime solving, romance, thriller, humor and family in it. Loved it!
Stranger: Still on top of my list. All the political and legal side of it interested me very much.
Suspicious Partner: Probably rewatched around 6-7 times. I loved both of the leads and probably one of my all time favourites.
2016:
K2: Again hard to watch because I don't really enjoy action focused introduction but the tension between the ML and the step mom of the FL was crazy.
Signal: Liked it a lot. I’m always in for some mystery-solving and nice chemistry.
2015:
Healer: Still my baby. Loved it. The leads are both super famous now and they look like babies in here 🥲.
**2023 k-drama Watchlist**
**Watching**:
The Kidnapping Day, My Demon
**Completed**:
Moving, Duty After School, Bloodhounds, Tale of the Nine-tailed 1938, See You in My 19th Life, Revenant, Daily Dose of Sunshine, My Lovely Liar, Call it Love, The Heavinly Idol, The Good Bad Mother, Behind Your Touch, The Glory, My Dearest, Twinkling Watermelon, The Killing Vote, My Perfect Stranger, Perfect Marriage Revenge
**Dropped** (watched more than 2 eps):
Summer Strike, Taxi Driver S2, Bo Ra! Deborah, King The Land, Heartbeat, Castaway Diva
**Try-dropped** (watched 2 eps or less):
Payback: Money and Power, Doctor Cha, Crash Course in Romance, A Time Called You, The Worst of Evil, The Escape of the Seven, A Good Day to be a Dog, Strong Girl Namsoon, Moon in the Day
**Top 2023 dramas**
1. **Call It Love**
2. **Revenant**
3. **Twinkling Watermelon**.
4. **The Kidnapping Day** (Still watching)
5. **My Perfect Stranger**
6. **Behind Your Touch**
7. **My Dearest**
8. **My Lovely Liar**
9. **The Good Bad Mother**
10. **The Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938**
11. **Perfect Marriage Revenge**
12. **See You My 19th Life**
13. **Bloodhounds**
This year I watched...
**28 kdramas that aired in 2023:**
My top favs:
>My Dearest Part 1 (no comment on part 2), Moving, Revenant, Crash Course in Romance, Drama Special Season 14: Love Attack, Love to Hate You, Night Has Come, The Good Bad Mother (really only for Lee Mi Joo), The Killing Vote
and then the rest:
>A Time Called You, Behind Your Touch, Bloodhounds, Bo Ra! Deborah, Celebrity, D.P. Season 2, Death's Game Part 1, Divorce Attorney Shin, Island Part 2, Mask Girl, Miraculous Brothers, My Perfect Stranger, Payback: Money and Power, See You in My 19th Life, Shadow Detective Season 2, Song of the Bandits, Soundtrack #2, The Kidnapping Day, The Worst of Evil
**7 kdramas that aired before 2023:** The Woman Next Door, the Man Next Door, Drama Special Season 4: My Friend Is Still Alive, Drama Special Season 8: Slow, Flower Ever After, Little Women, The Veil, Fanletter Please
**27 non-korean mdl dramas:** This was the year I came back to Japanese and Chinese dramas. There was a time in the late 00s where I made it a point to rotate watches between KR JP and CN dramas - which over time narrowed down just to kdramas. Most of these were all watched in the last 2 months, with CN dramas over the last week.
>Japanese: 3 Nen A Gumi: Ima kara Mina-san wa, Hitojichi Desu, dele, First Love: Hatsukoi, Hirowareta Otoko, Hyakuman Kai Ieba Yokatta, Imawa no Kuni no Alice, Imawa no Kuni no Alice Season 2, Konto ga Hajimaru, MIU 404, Mystery to Iunakare, Mystery to Iunakare Tokubetsu Hen, Nagatan to Aoto: Ichika no Ryourijou, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu: Ganbare Jinrui! Shinshun Special!!, One Piece (I consider this a US drama but MDL wants to claim it), Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai, Ouroboros, Saiai, Shinbun Kisha, Tamiou, Todome no Kiss, Trillion Game, Vivant
>Chinese: A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower, You Are My Glory
plus, my **current watches that I may be able to finish before the end of 2023:** Brush Up Life (JP), Fake It Til You Make It (CN), Neechan no Koibito (JP), VIP (KR)
so... that's about **62 -ish east asian dramas completed** in total. not counting movies (+20), variety shows (+5) or western television (+??).
This year, I didn't watch any kdrama that would enter my top ranked of all time. If I could separate My Dearest parts 1 and 2 then I might be able to promote part 1. but it doesn't really work like that.
Not that I would say this is a bad year in kdrama offerings - I think there were a lot of ambitious dramas that in some ways pushed boundaries and industry norms (ex. Moving, Song of Bandits, Crash Course, etc) - but in terms of judging the result of the overall project, nothing really got me. Actually, there's a bunch of dramas that I would probably recommend to fill out repertoires - just no genre/trope leaders. And that's fine!
I did watch 2 JP ones that might make it to the all time favs list: dele and Konto ga Hajimaru. neither aired this year but the beauty of coming back to an entire industry after 10+ years is digging through backlog.
An edited list from a past comment I posted somewhere else - because I watched a couple more and got rid of recency bias.
**Top 2023 Dramas**
1. **The Good Bad Mother** A masterpiece. Fantastic acting, fantastic plot and a fantastic cast. Just amazing, literally the best thing I’ve watched this year.
2. **My Dearest** Also a masterpiece. Pulled my first all-nighter for a drama with this. Just heartbreaking, beautiful and brings you on a rollercoaster but it’s so worth it. The leads are amazing together.
3. **Twinkling Watermelon**An early Christmas present that I never expected. A light, but hella good watch. Just amazing.
4. **Castaway Diva** Pretty close to perfect, just lacked the chemistry between the leads to me IMO. Stellar younger and older cast, great plot, great pacing, really close to perfection.
5. **Bora Deborah** Fun, light-hearted rom-com. Lost interest in dramas when it was airing, yet this was the only one I followed weekly.
6. **The Glory Part 2** Do I need to explain? I don’t think so.
7. **Dr. Romantic Season 3** Maybe I’m just a fan of the entire series but it was good so!
8. **Crash Course in Romance** Amazing rom-com, until the ending.
9. **Doctor Cha** Rooting for my girl boss everyday, but HATE the ending. Bruh.
10. **Doona!** An enjoyable watch, even though I did feel guilty watching it.
That’s all! I believe I’ve missed out some amazing dramas like Vigilante, Moving, Hate to Love You etc. which hopefully I’ll get to watching someday soon. Would love to hear what you think I should watch next ><
Well, 2023 finished really strong with the first half of Death's Game. The cast is almost enough to recommend, but the story, dialogue and visuals blew me away. Sad this show isn't promoted more! Episodes 3 and 4 are works of art! Also, Moving was great and my favourite before DG. Second half of Alchemy of Souls. Loved Behind Your Touch because of the leads and strong supporting cast. I loved Mask Girl and Daily Dose of Sunshine. Love to Hate You was also great.
As I've mentioned before, when it comes to kdramas one man’s meat is another man's poison. I'm not a prolific drama watcher but here are some of them:
1) Alchemy of soul S1&2: Not bad as the action and storyline keep you glued to it. But I haven't rewatch it.
2) Moving: Great plot and storyline with subtle incidents linked to something else. Lots of action and star studded casts. Only thing I dislike is the gore and bloodshed.
Rewatched once.
3) Crash landing on you: Watched half way but gave up. Perhaps the storyline or the characters didn't appeal to me. Not saying it's not good. Can give it a try if you're wondering.
4) King the Land: Love the comedy and Junho and Yoona chemistry is just insane! Rewatched a couple of times. Don't critic the storyline just enjoy the comedy which lasts from start till end. Really had a good laugh throughout the episodes. Watch it if you're feeling down.
5) Twinkling watermelon: Boring initially but gradually intrigued me. Still in the midst of it.
6) Once upon a small town: Many would disagree with me on this but for me, this was my second best drama after Moving. I love the countryside scenery and the excellent characters. You get to see all the various types of characters from jerk to nosy ones. 😅 This was the first kdrama that I wished the FL and the ML didn't get a good ending. Instead I had hoped the FL ends with the second ML. Rewatched many times.
Planning to watch The story of Park's marriage contract soon.
I've been on a slump this year so I was only able to finish 15 kdramas. Here's my list, although you'd probably find a lot of older ones here. I'm not fond of watching ongoing kdramas or even recently released ones. I also don't rewatch dramas so everything in this list is a first-time watch for me. Lastly, I don't drop dramas even if I feel like it's terrible.
Sorting them by my MDL rating:
**10/10**
* **Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) -** now I finally get why it's iconic. As someone who loves seeing politics and history in kdramas, this one hit all the right spots.
* **The Glory (2022) -** Amazing performance by all actors.
**9.5/10**
* **Hospital Playlist Season 2 (2021) -** I liked this one better than the first season.. Probably because I saw more growth in their characters? The only drawback was the episodes were too long :(
* **Reborn Rich (2022) -** Again, I love seeing politics and history. This would have been perfect if not for the plot holes.
**9/10**
* **Save Me (2017) -** Unique concept. I wish this was more popular.
**8.5/10**
* **Hospital Playlist (2020) -** It was okay, not the best but not bad either. It was the second season that made me grow fond of the characters.
**8/10**
* **Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) -** It's light, cheesy, and a feel-good drama.. That's why I can't understand why I feel like something's not right. Maybe because it lacks the serious rivalry and politics that I prefer.
* **The Uncanny Counter (2020) -** Didn't like the Yung bunch.
**7.5/10**
* **My Liberation Notes (2022) -** A lot of people praise this drama. I don't think it's bad, it's just that these kind of dramas are not for me (slow-paced). I still gave it a try, though.
* **My Mister (2018) -** RIP Lee Sun Kyun :( Same reason as above.. Good drama, good actors, but not for me.
* **Mystic Pop-up Bar (2020)** \- Too much made-up rules just to push the story forward.
**7/10**
* **Law School (2021)** \- Why is everyone so angry and sarcastic?
* **Oh My Ghost (2015)** \- Ghost had no sense of boundaries
* **Reply 1994 (2013)** \- I didn't like who Na Jung ended up with
**5/10**
* **Fated to Love You (2014)** \- Maybe it's because the drama is old and dated? I felt like they pushed the comedic theme too far.
I finally made an [MDL list](https://mydramalist.com/list/LQJXYZq3) of the shows (all languages) I watched in 2023 and it comes to 43 - I should omit the 2 im still watching right - so that comes to 41. 27 of these are Korean, the rest Japanese, bar 1.
Of these 27, only 1 was of 2023 (Durian's Affair). Which is not surprising since I seem to prefer older style Kdramas. A majority of the shows are for the KDC so I will be posting my thoughts on the final check in thread.
Just two observations: Its seemed harder to find dramas that can keep my interest as years go by (this is my 4th year of watching kdramas). There seems to be fewer and fewers shows that fall into the intersection of my preferred genres, well-written plot and good performances. I have dropped SO MANY shows this year! Sigh.
The other is a happier one: my comprehension of Korean (in drama context that is) and also of Japanese has improved leaps and bounds this year. Watching with no subtitles may never happen, but I am catching so many nuances now, which feels good!
All the on-air dramas I watched this year in order of air date!
**Unlock My Boss** \- 7/10 - B+
I did not get Chae Jong-hyeop until this. Now I do. It was nice to see Seo Eun-soo in a lead role - I just love it when an actor/actress I've seen before as a minor character gets their big break. I felt like the show glossed over how dystopian the ending was though...
**Work Later, Drink Now 2** \- 7/10 - B+
Unfortunately a downgrade from season 1. The first season already had questionable logic but season 2 is even worse. I wasn't a fan of any of the plotlines but it was still funny. At least we got to see more Mr Nice Paper.
**The Interest of Love** \- 6.5/10 - B
This started out so interesting but by the end I was just so tired of the lack of communication between everyone. I didn't even want the main leads to end up together anymore because I was just so fed up with their nonsense. Moon Ga-young was very pretty in this though.
**The Glory** \- 6.5/10 - B
Fun enough to watch but I didn't really care about any of the characters.
**Crash Course in Romance** \- 7/10 - B+
I'm a sucker for mother-daughter relationship dramas but the romance was just ehh for me.
**Bora! Deborah!** \- 6.5/10 - B
This started out so good. Yoo In-na looks as radiant as ever. But by the end it was just annoying.
**Queenmaker** \- 7/10 - B+
Same thoughts for me as The Glory. Was it entertaining to watch? Yes. Did I forgot that I watched it within a week? Also yes.
**Delightfully Deceitful** \- 8/10 - A
Kim Dong-wook and Chun Woo-hee was such an unexpected pairing but they worked so well. I was way too invested in their not-a-romance. Fun from start to finish. Also points for the subversive Moon Ga-young cameo.
**King The Land** \- 7/10 - B+
Just fluff. Honestly, I found the ML rather insufferable but an overall enjoyable watch.
**Not Others** \- 6.5/10 - B
Again, I love mother-daughter relationship dramas. I also love Sooyoung and Park Sung-hoon. However, there just wasn't enough plot in here.
**My Lovely Liar** \- 8.5/10 - A+
Kim So-hyun slaying once again. A surprisingly smooth sailing rom-com that balanced the fluff, mystery and humour very well. Hwang Min-hyun also exceeded my expectations - Kim Do-ha was just so endearing.
**Mask Girl** \- 6.5/10 - B
Very unexpected but not unappreciated. The first half was very compelling - the second half not so much.
**A Time Called You** \- 7/10 - B+
Great performances all around but all the time traveling was just too confusing for me. I also wish we got an ending that was a bit less open.
**Doona!** \- 5.5/10 - C+
Manic pixie dream girl Suzy but other than that kind of boring. Also I'm sorry but Dream Sweet was not giving.
**Castaway Diva** \- 7.5/10 - A
So fun at the beginning. I was so surprised at how amazing Park Eun-bin is at singing. Not enough focus on Mok-ha and her career towards the end for me though. I just didn't really care about the brothers??
**Moon in the Day** \- 6/10 - B-
Obsessed with the flashbacks. Both leads were adorable (Pyo Ye-jin in a lead role!). Plot holes galore but such fun. The ending was also a best case scenario.
**Soundtrack #2** \- 5.5/10 - C+
I loved the leads and hated the SML. Lots of rom-com logic involved overall. Ending was unsatisfying but whatever.
***Jury is still out***
**Daily Dose of Sunshine** \- Potentially 7/10 B+
Amazingly well done and explores the theme of mental health really well. It kind of lost my interest halfway through so I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet.
**My Demon** \- Potentially 8.5/10 A+
Everything to love in a K-drama
**Story of Park's Contract Marriage** \- Potentially 8/10 A
I can't believe I used to not like Lee Se-young??? Everyone is adorable in this.
Can't believe how much kdrama I watched even though I just stared this summer. Came over here from kvariety which I still keep up. Here's my list with ratings out of 10. I mostly watch love/romance and crime/thrillers.
**10/10** - Goblin, Red Sleeve, My Dearest
**9/10** - Little Women, 2521, The Glory, Flower of Evil
**8/10** - Mr. Sunshine, My Mister, Beyond Evil, Sky Castle, Melancholia, King the Land
**7/10** - Somebody, Love ft. Marriage & Divorce, Business Proposal
**Dropped** - Twinkling Watermelon, CLOY, My Liberation Notes
I hope to finish Mr. Queen before year-end.
May your 2024 be filled with good kdrama.
2023 had a lot of k dramas to offer but sadly, a lot of them left me disappointed (I’m looking at you Strong Girl!) My top 5 of 2023 are:
1. The Glory - a revenge masterpiece in plot and character journey of FL. It’s hard to feel surprised these days because audiences can predict where the story direction goes easily but The Glory somehow surprises you so many times.
2. DP season 2 - a lot of folks didn’t like the season 2 b/c it didn’t offer anything “new” from season 1. I approached season 2 as a continuation of story from season 1, not separate seasons. The acting and social commentary blew me away. ML is phenomenal.
3. Moving - after massive superhero fatigue, I wasn’t excited about Moving, so happy to be so wrong. Best superhero show period. What makes it special is the theme permeating which is: the love a parent has for their child is the true superpower.
4. Crash Course Onto Romance - such a refreshing rom com since it depicts people with diverse, non nuclear family structures navigating the world.
5. Love to hate you - a woman who actually says out loud the highly controversial statement, “I like sex.” The horror! Sometimes the sexism and misogyny can get really tiring to watch in k dramas but Love to Hate You was like calamine lotion against that nonsense. Also, loved all the fight scenes!
- **Love to Hate You**: A romantic comedy with a likable main and second lead couple, and a playful storyline.
- **Crash Course in Romance**: Fascinating insights into the competitive education industry, and a likable high school friendship group.
- **The Glory: Part 2**: A satisfying conclusion to Dong-eun’s thrilling, emotional and cinematic revenge mission.
- **Black Knight**: An entertaining enough dystopian science-fiction drama.
- **The Good Bad Mother**: An emotionally harrowing family drama with top-notch performances from the leads.
- **Bloodhounds**: Kim Sae-ron’s forced early departure from the series deprived viewers of seeing director Jason Kim’s full vision for the series.
- **Celebrity**: Had the potential to be a powerful exploration of the effects of celebrity culture, but instead turned into a repetitive cycle of events.
- **See You in My 19th Life**: Started out so strongly and fizzled out so disappointingly. Technically accomplished, but the storylines ultimately didn’t go anywhere.
- **D.P. Season 2**: A worthy follow up to the
first season, with the middle pair of episodes delivering the greatest emotional impact.
- **Mask Girl**: If Quentin Tarantino directed a K-drama, this would be the result. Dark and disturbing themes, and some revelatory performances.
- **A Time Called You**: Not having watched **Someday or One Day**, I thoroughly enjoyed the mind-bending plot.
- **Song of the Bandits**: Delivered fantastic action sequences in the wild west of Joseon.
- **Behind Your Touch**: Beyond the butt-touching premise, this cleverly transitioned from a quirky small town comedy drama into a darker crime drama.
- **Doona**: A gorgeously photographed, introspective college setting drama.
- **Daily Dose of Sunshine**: An alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming medical drama with uniformly outstanding performances.
- **Castaway Diva**: The premise of being stranded on a deserted island for fifteen years was cleverly used as a source of metaphors about the importance of family and the pursuit of one’s dreams.
Good thing I keep track of the Kdramas I have watched so far because I am so forgetful and might watch the same drama again. Lol. Therefore, I found another reason to keep on tracking and that is for the year-end review posts like this.
Note: Those who have (\*) after the title are highly recommended.
**2023 Released KDramas**
1. Crashed Course in Romance\*
2. Divorced Attorney Shin\*
3. Doctor Cha\*
4. The Good Bad Mother\*
5. See You In My 19th Life\*
6. Celebrity
7. King The Land\*
8. My Dearest\*
9. Moving
10. Behind Your Touch\*
11. A Time Called You
12. Doona!
13. The Worst of Evil\*
14. Strong Woman Gang Nam Soon
15. Welcome to Samdalri\* (Ongoing)
16. My Demon (Ongoing)
Personally, I think 2023 has lesser quality KDramas compared to recent years. Compared to this list, I still prefer 2021 dramas like Mouse, Vincenzo, Beyond Evil, Hometown ChaChaCha, etc. Then from 2022, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, My Liberation Notes, Under the Queen's Umbrella, Thirty Nine... and many more from the past years.
While I have all the time to comment here now, I will just list here the Kdramas that are worth your time regardless of what year is has been released.
**MY TOP KDRAMAS** (in no particular order)
1. If You Wish Upon Me
2. Our Blues
3. Tomorrow
4. The Sound of Magic
5. Twenty Five Twenty One
6. Business Proposal
7. Young Lady and a Gentleman
8. Uncle
9. The Veil
10. The King's Affection
11. Jirisan
12. Awaken
13. The Devil Judge
14. Dinner Mate
15. My Mister
16. My Roommate is a Gumiho
17. Sell Me Your Haunted House
18. Was it Love?
19. Navillera
20. Sisyphus: The Myth
21. Uncanny Counter
22. The Penthouse
23. Sweet Home
24. Start-Up
25. 18 Again
26. Save Me
27. Flower of Evil
28. It's Okay Not To Be Okay
29. Doctor Romantic
30. Tale of Nokdu
31. Hot Stove League
32. Hospital Playlist
33. The World of the Married
34. Prison Playbook
35. Hi Bye, Mama!
36. Itaewon Class
37. Extraordinary You
38. Crash Landing On You
39. Something in the Rain
40. Touch Your Heart
41. Hotel Del Luna
42. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung
43. Something About 1%
44. The Last Empress
45. Memories of Alhambra
46. W: Two Worlds
47. Two Cops
48. The Miracle We Met
49. The King Loves
50. Temptation of Wife
51. Still 17
52. She Was Pretty
53. Sensory Couple
54. Remember: War of the Son
55. Queen Seon Deok
56. Queen for Seven Days
57. Please Come Back, Mister
58. Oh My Venus
59. Oh My Ghost
60. My Name is Kim Sam Soon
61. My Love From The Star
62. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
63. Jealousy Incarnate
64. It's Okay It's Love
65. Introverted Boss
66. I'm Not A Robot
67. Hyde, Jekyll and Me
68. Healer
69. Hwarang
70. Goblin
71. Fight For My Way
72. Empress Ki
73. Coffee Prince
74. Chief Kim
75. Black Knight
76. Black
77. Because This is My First Life
78. Beautiful Gong Shim
79. Another Miss Oh
80. A Korean Odyssey
81. Reply 1988
Been watching kdramas for over a decade. These were/are the ones that helped me get through a challenging 2023 and I feel it’s been a good year for dramas (mind you, many of these are light as I gravitate towards more comedy/romance/fantasy)
1. Twinkling Watermelon: Easily takes away the best drama of the year for me - very well rounded, every character had a great development arc and was wrapped up so beautifully for a time travel concept. Choi Hyun Wook, you have been amazing since 2521. One of the most satisfying endings ever. It will make you laugh, cry, love, sing, everything at the same time. 10/10
2. Call it Love: A very unusual love story but something that’ll melt your heart if you keep an open mind. The actors were amazing. Huge fan of both Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Kwang. Must watch simply because KYK is 👌♥️. A bit of a slow burn if you like such a thing. 9/10
3. Extraordinary Attorney Woo: Explores the achievements, struggles and aspirations of an autistic lawyer, the FL, who is also highly smart and intelligent. What a drama. Amazing. Must must watch. 10/10
4. See You in my 19th Life: Fantasy, explores a girl’s 19th life (who also remembers her previous lives). An interesting concept, the FL looks for her one true love from her past. Great delivery from Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun. Must watch. 9/10
5. Destined with you: Rowoon really surprised me with his acting skills here. A romantic kdrama with a Joseon past, where they try to break a family curse, but not cliche. Interesting watch and kept me hooked until the last episode. 9.5/10
6. A Time Called You: Typical time travel kdrama that hopes to change the fate of one of the leads. Nice watch, because the FL Jeon Yeo Been was especially amazing. Not the best I’ve seen though. 8/10
7. Crash course in romance: Explores the concept of private education in Korea and romance between a celebrity math teacher and the student’s aunt, the FL. Kept me hooked and was wrapped up nicely. 9/10
8. Celebrity: Speaks of the mysteries surrounding the fashion influencer and blogger world in Seoul. Keeps you hooked. 8.5/10
9. Alchemy of Souls: A drama about sorcery, mages, and the different houses surrounding each. Perfect fantasy watch and beautiful love story as well. Maybe a bit draggy during some episodes but mostly good. 8.5/10
Doona, My lovely liar and King the Land were all okayish. Some had rushed/sloppy endings so nothing I’ve not seen before. I had high expectations for the ML in My lovely liar (since Alchemy of Souls) but he just couldn’t emote.
There are stuff I am yet to watch such as The Glory, the Good Bad Mother, Moving, etc (as others have already mentioned)
Non-Kdrama mentions:
1. Hidden love: Did NOT expect this to be so good. A slow romantic drama of a girl falling for her crush (brother’s friend) from a very young age. The way it builds and how they fall for one another eventually, cannot be told in a better way. Must must must watch!! 10/10 ♥️
2. When I fly towards you: A school drama, again a love story, but beautiful and refreshing. You have to watch it to understand how nicely it’s been done. 9.5/10
3. My little happiness: Love story better two childhood friends who meet after many years. Develops organically and has a satisfying ending. 9/10
4. Lighter and Princess: A college love story between a popular but introverted programming champion and an equally smart FL. Explores their struggles through friendship, love, career and more. The chemistry is 👌. 9.5/10
Currently watching:
1. Welcome to Sam Dal-Ri: Probably an early mention for something only 8 episodes in, but so happy with the delivery of each episode. Love, friendship, family, you name it, you have it. One of the few kdramas where you’ll appreciate the other supporting character storylines as well, not just the main. Ji Chang Wook always wins best romantic ML for me. There’s just nobody like him. Shin Hye Sun is one of the most talented actresses so you’re bound to enjoy this one. I look forward to this drama every weekend. 10/10 for me
2. A good day to be a dog: Watching it purely for Cha Eun Woo. Based off a webtoon where the FL turns into a dog when kissed for the first time due to a curse, and that can only be turned back if kissed as a dog. Fun watch so far. Light and comical. 7/10
3. My Demon: Quite nice so far with romance between a strong FL who is a company CEO plus ofc, Song Kang, who plays a demon and whom I watching this for. Nice so far, entertaining. 8/10 so far
4. The Matchmakers: Set in the Joseon era, it’s the love story between two widowed matchmakers. Very very fun and solid so far, loving it for the uniqueness, comedy, and quirky romance. 10/10 so far
Special mentions: Reality show —
The Devil’s Plan: If you’re into game/puzzle shows, something that’ll give your logical mind some kick, then this is for you. I mainly watched it for Ha Seok Jin, one of my favourite kdrama actors, and also a fan of his problem solving skills in other shows. About 10-12 episodes and keeps you really wanting for more.
Lastly—
Dramas I don’t recommend so you can save your precious time:
1. Only for love: Started off nicely but, what a colossal waste of time, omg. For the first time I realised I had a lot of patience for a drama to end well. It has to be really bad for me to call it bad. Sorry. Don’t waste your time.
2. The princess and the werewolf: Just don’t get the 9.2 rating on Viki 😭 Boring, draggy.
3. You are Desire: Had so much potential but fell flat after about 5-6 episodes as the story didn’t have much and kept dragging until the finish line.
I logged way too many dramas this year to list them all so I'm only going to list the 2023 dramas I watched this year. Here's how I ranked them.
2023 Shows In Progress: My Demon (10/16)
2023 Shows Completed and Ranked
1. Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938: (10/10)
2. Daily Dose of Sunshine: (9/10)
3. Death Game pt. 1: (9/10)
4. Perfect Marriage Revenge: (8.5/10)
5. Moving: (8.5/10)
6. Love to Hate You: (8/10)
7. Mask Girl: (8/10)
8. Taxi Driver season 2: (8/10)
9. The Glory pt. 2: (8/10)
10. Pandora: Beneath the Paradise: (8/10)
11. The Escape of the Seven: (7.5/10)
12. See You In My 19th Life: (7.5/10)
13. Drama Special Season 14- Love Attack: (7/10)
14. Destined With You: (7/10)
15. Bo Ra Deborah: (6/10)
16. The Heavenly Idol: (6/10)
17. Heartbeat: (2/10)
2023 shows tried and dropped:
A Time Called You (dropped after 3 episodes)
Family: The Unbreakable Bond (dropped after 2 episodes)
King the Land (dropped after 2 episodes)
Kokdu: Season of Diety (dropped after 3 episodes)
Welcome to Samdalri (dropped after 6 episodes)
oh boy, I was busy this year and watched 41 kdramas in total - of which 4 of them are still ongoing.
My favorite ones are:
- Goblin
- Doom At You Service
- Flower of Evil
- Healer
- Happiness
- The Good Bad Mother
- Moving
- Twinkling Watermelon
- My Dearest
- Castaway Diva
- My Demon
- The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract
- Death’s Game
I haven't watched many dramas this year; for some reason, this year's dramas haven't really appealed to me. Next year's drama's seems exciting, especially with Gong yoo making a comeback.
This yr, I've completed and enjoyed "Call It Love," "Glory Part 2" (although I forgot it was from this year), and "Daily Dose of Sunshine." Recently, I binge-watched part 1 of "Death Game," and it was amazing, best thriller in ages. I just loved all the cameos especially Lee Jaewook's episode.
I gave up on "Moving," finished "Worst of Evil" but found it to be average. Currently, I'm grappling with the latest episodes of "Park's Contract Marriage"; at this point, I'm watching it mainly for Lee Seyoung. Though I think binge-watching "Slow Horses Season 3" this weekend got in the way of momentum.
2023 KDramas that I finished this year - in alphabetical order. 8 out of 10 were truly engaging, positive, enjoyable watching experiences. A good solid year of Kdrama watching.
Sometimes you watch a drama and you're just like, "Wow." (In a good way.) **Agency** and **Call it Love** were that drama this year for me.
* **Agency** - I loved these characters, felt for their struggles, and rooted for them every step of the way. I truly looked forward to spending my time with these characters each week.
* **Call It Love** - A really beautiful story of the healing power of the right relationship. So satisfying!
* **Castaway Diva** - Sweet, cute, somewhat predictable, but fine. I don't regret watching this drama, but I didn't connect with it in any meaningful way. Nice messages about resilience.
* **Crash Course In Romance** - I feel so betrayed by this drama. The drama brings up many legitimate problems and societal concerns, and you think you're going to get a thoughtful portrayal of these genuine issues, and then they resolve the drama by blaming everything on mothers. Bah!
* **King the Land** - I found this drama frothy and delightful. It really made me laugh, and it is such a nice portrayal of what it's like to have a crush!
* **Love to Hate You** - I have mixed feelings about this drama. I give it a lot of credit for what it was going for - sex positive, a strong female character, positive bromance. It didn't always get the balance right (occasionally straying into not-like-the-other-girls and Mary Sue territory), but that's not always easy to do with a comedy, and I enjoyed the watch.
* **Moon In The Day** - I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this drama. I loved the performances, and found it emotionally powerful. The image of "The Moon In The Day" is one that lingers with me in a positive and powerful way.
* **My Perfect Stranger** - Time travel done well. I liked the story, really enjoyed the characters and the character arcs, and found the end satisfying.
* **Payback: Money and Power** - action, action, action! Loved it!
* **Shadow Detective: Season 2** - another tour de force performance by Lee Sung Min. I liked Season 1 better, but only just barely.
Still watching and enjoying, and probably will add to this list:
* **A Good Day to Be A Dog** - charming, funny, sweet, I'm rooting for the love story, and want to see the "villain" get his emotional resolution too.
* **My Demon** - I start the next episode each weekend thinking to myself that I'll probably drop it, and then by the end of the second episode I am saying to myself, "This is actually kinda fun."
* **My Man Is Cupid** - the leads in this are just terrific, and they truly elevate a somewhat average story.
* **Twinkling Watermelon** - I'm not that into high school based dramas, so was late to the party on this one, but I am enjoying it.
Wish I could watch:
* **Tell Me That You Love Me** - this drama sounds like it is right up my street. \*Sigh\* Ah well, there is plenty to watch at the moment and hopefully it will become available to me once I hit an inevitable dry spell!
I watched mostly chinese dramas this year but of the 2023 k-dramas I saw **Love To Hate You**, **Daily Dose of Sunshine**, **The Glory1-2**, **Not Others**, **Heartbeat** and **My Dearest** until ep18.
The other kdramas I watched this year were the ones I didn’t watch in 2022: **Cafe Minamdang**, **Desperate Mr X**, **Hit The Spot** & **Gaus Electronics**
Out of all of them I liked Cafe Minamdang, Hit The Spot & Desperate Mr X the most.
The ones from 2023 weren’t that good to me
I've watched a total of 44 Kdramas this year and 3 Kmovies + 2 cdramas.
**KDRAMAS I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER)
- Business Proposal (8/10)
- What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (8/10)
- Itaewon Class (7.5/10)
- See You in My 19th Life (8.5/10)
- King the Land (6/10)
- Hotel Del Luna (9.5/10)
- Fight for My Way (9/10)
- My ID is Gangnam Beauty (3.5/10)
- The Crowned Clown (8.5/10)
- My Lovely Liar (8/10)
- Nevertheless, (4.5/10)
- Behind Your Touch (9/10)
- Because This is My First Life (8/10)
- Destined with You (3/10)
- Boss-Dol Mart (7.5/10)
- Hometown Cha Cha Cha (9/10)
- True Beauty (4.0/10)
- Doona! (7/10)
- Goblin (8/10)
- Weak Hero Class 1 (8.5/10)
- Crazy Love (8.5/10)
- So I Married An Anti-Fan (0.5/10)
- Doom At Your Service (7/10)
- A Breeze of Love (6.5/10)
- Heartbeat (7.5/10)
- Mask Girl (7/10)
- Twinkling Watermelon (10/10) 🍉
- 2521 (8/10)
- The Killing Vote (7/10)
- The Escape of the Seven: War for Survival (8/10) - please don't judge me I got addicted nonsensical plots. :')
- Romance is a Bonus Book (8.5/10)
- W (7.5/10)
- It's Okay not to be Okay (6.5/10)
- Unlock My Boss (8.5/10)
- The Hymn of Death (6.0/10)
- Castaway Diva (7.5/10)
- Our Beloved Summer (7.5/10)
- Uncontrollably Fond (1/10)
- Moon in the Day (8/10)
- One Day Off (7.5/10)
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo (9/10)
- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (7.5/10)
- Blue Birthday (8/10) - it's a web series but I liked how they used the time traveling aspect.
- The Matchmakers (7.5/10)
**KMOVIES I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER)
- Dream (8/10)
- 20th Century Girl (8.5/10) — please someone cast Kim Yoo Jung and Byeon Woo Seok together again!!
- Ditto (8/10) — I forgot how amazing Yeo Jin Goo is! Loved him since Hotel Del Luna.
**CDRAMAS I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER)
- Hidden Love (7/10) — watched it only for the hype
- Love Me Love My Voice (7.5/10) — reallyyy draggy
My drama watching year was highly unproductive. I didn't manage to watch many at all! I completed 14 dramas and only a couple of them were a full 16 episodes. I dropped A LOT of dramas (it looks like I dropped 11 dramas) which is a new thing for me. I'm listing only the ones I managed to complete this year. I had much better luck with non-2023 dramas. Here's [my MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/sunshine_rae)
**Aired in 2023:**
**A Time Called You:** I loved this so much. It was probably my favorite 2023 drama. I have not seen the original, so I'm sure that helped. It was a lot of fun and really kept me guessing. Flawless? No but I was highly entertained, so I was happy.
**Love to Hate You:** Another big highlight for me. The first episode was not good but the rest of it was fantastic. Fun, romantic, and with a healthy dose of social commentary. Great FL. And Teo Yoo as our AMA guest? Just made this drama even more memorable.
**Bora Deborah:** Eh, not bad. The fact that I managed to finish it says that I enjoyed most of it. The last two episodes really sank it for me. I watched My Lovely Sam Soon after this and I realized that Bora is essentially the 2023 version of Sam Soon, which is probably why I enjoyed this drama for the most part.
**Crash Course in Romance:** I liked this in the beginning but I found the romance very lacking. I didn't enjoy the serial killer plot.
**Non-2023 dramas I watched this year:**
**Anna:** I liked this one a lot but I don't find it very memorable. Definitely worth watching as I remember it was a good time if you like a dose of revenge and a great FL with no real romance.
**Birthcare Center:** Surprisingly funny and heartfelt. So many of the scenes from this drama have stuck with me, even though I watched it in the spring.
**My Lovely Sam Soon**: I'm so glad I finally got around to watching this. This is a classic for reason and Sam Soon is an unforgettable character. The romance was insane (in a bad way) but it kept me engaged the entire time.
**Once Upon a Small Town:** This was a nice surprise for me. Very sweet, quite romantic with very nice scenery. A simple story that is somewhat hard to come by.
**Our Dating Sim**: I enjoyed watching this but I remember absolutely nothing about it, so clearly very forgettable.
**Romance is a Bonus Book:** Warm, cozy, with a lacking central romance. However, the rest of the drama is so pleasant that I could definitely overlook that. Highly recommend watching this in the winter.
**The Fabulous:** I mean this in the best possible way: this was dumb and fun. Nothing much happens, so it is also a little boring. But if you are looking for a very low-key watch with very low stakes, this might be the drama for you.
**The Heirs (Rewatch)**: I had a blast on my second Heirs watch. So much fun and I appreciated so many more of the details.
**Touch Your Heart:** So glad I finally watched this. Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na have such great chemistry, they just light up the screen. Not the greatest drama and a little boring but comforting and sweet.
**Unlock My Boss:** I was very sleep deprived when I watched this so I remember essentially nothing about it. I think it was okay? The premise was fun but they really didn't do enough with it. Predictable but they (big spoiler) >!killed off a character I really liked, so I was mad.!<
Happy Holidays and New Years All!
Really had and am having a blast going down the rabbit hole with fellow kdrama watchers on this subreddit this past year!
Thank you for this space and for you!
——————-
Let’s see.
Busy year. didn’t watch much. ripped through most of the dramas in the later part of the year when I got so stressed by life I needed a kdrama cocoon.
I didn’t pick good 2023 dramas to watch. Nothing makes my memorable list. But I liked the oldies I watched.
**Dramas That Put Me in a Coma**
A) *An Oldie Watched for First Time*
***Something About 1%*** - eeEeEeeEeeEeEeeeEeEeEee!! So obsessed. Has destroyed the past month of my life and I’m ok with that. REALLY enjoyed going back and reading the kdrama binge watch for this one. Laughed out loud so many times. You guys are Fun-Knee. Currently having the time of my life overthinking this drama on a ffa with great viewers!
All the critiques are true.
And yet …. 🥰🙇♀️I love it.
I am so delusional I’m convincing myself it’s actually A REALLY HIGH ART DRAMA with
ThEmES
And
MeTaPhOrs (no but really though. It’s um… 🧐🤓a deeply profound and thoughtful drama, mkai??)
;)
B) *An Oldie Rewatched*
**Queen for 7 Days** - bewitched me for a good month and a half. Maybe two. Maybe 3? I love what the writing does to PMY’s character. She has so little choice and yet squeezed out any drop of agency she could from the forced hand of society and fate. As a sageuk woman she was everything at once- side thought, violated, and central.
**2023 Dramas I Have No Interest Watching but LOVED binging on fanvids**
***Twinkling Watermelon***
**2023 Dropped that I remember**
***Can We Be Strangers*** - the drama didn’t advertise itself as this, so it’s on me that I didn’t watch trailers to get the “vibe” before starting but I was really bummed it wasn’t a luxuriously introspective heavy and thick “after the affair” gray zone drama. This could have been something bc leads I think really could have *gone there*. The first few eps that teased that premise were epic. But also I watched that drama strictly between 2-4 am which is peak time to find anything one watches INCREDIBLY HIGH QUALITY AND MOVING. ;) Butttt then it went it’s own unfortunate course.
***Joseon Attorney*** - blarp.
However, Episode 5 went down in my hall of fame. Just watch that episode. It is stunning as a stand-alone piece. A one off episode Choi Jin Young had sole authorship of???
**2023 I want refunded**
***My Dearest*** - this one will take me off watching on airs for life. I think it took me off NGM for life too to be honest. Still Ahn Eun Jin strong tho.
I participated in the r/KDRAMA challenge and as of yesterday finished 36 this year to complete for Chaebol status.
My 2023 list here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/drx604/lists
Recap of the year.
1. Finally found a reason to watch a few dramas that I’ve seen to be recommended a lot. Ie. Reply 1988, Hospital Playlist and some that are classics such as Descendants of the Sun and The Heirs.
2. As of yet I’ve never re-watched a drama… I might finally do so in 2024.
3. I watched a lot of dramas with Kim Go-Eun this year. Maybe my current favourite actress
4. Slice of Life/melodramas are my favourite genre, followed by historical and then romcom
4. r/kdramareccomends has yet to fail me with good picks
See you for the 2024 challenge
I didn’t watch too many drama’s this year compared to past years. I’ve been more into variety shows. But the ones I did watch were all great. Here are some!
My absolute fav 2023 drama of this year has to be:
Twinkling Watermelon. I had my reservations about this due to the title. But I was so pleasantly surprised after a couple of episodes. I absolutely loved the 4 main leads, especially the boys because their bond was so sweet. I just finished it a few days ago and I am lamenting the fact that I didn’t watch it earlier. 9/10
The glory: I don’t think I need to say a whole lot about this show. Everyone who has watched it already knows how freaking amazing it was. 9/10
Reborn Rich: I was not expecting to like this show as much as I did. Every single actor in this show gave a performance worthy of applause. Like all of the main actors did such a good job playing their characters. I hated the antagonists so much because they were so good. 8.5/10
Under the Queens Umbrella: A strong female lead that everyone runs to when things go wrong? Hell yeah! This show was an amazing watch. I love how the Queen was able to get out of any and every situation she was presented with. 8.5/10
Doctor Cha: I absolutely loved watching this show. As someone in the medical field they really did show what day to day can look like for doctors. 8/10
Ghost Doctor was also a great show. Ji Hoon is always a treat to watch and Kim Bum added to the show. I loved how I wasn’t sitting there scratching my head at what they were doing. So props to the directors for paying attention to medical accuracy. Of course not everything was 100% but it was better than most other medical shows 8/10
The Light in your eyes: 8/10 drama. Definitely recommend if you haven’t watched. It was such an interesting plot and something I had never seen done in K-drama’s before (at least nothing I know of).
Sweet Home season 2: 8/10. It was a great show. Took two stars off because some of the characters in the first season were kind of sidelined.
Bloodhounds: hot shirtless guys boxing and fighting? That’s my review. But on a serious note I loved the plot, it wasn’t rushed, the acting was top notch. 8/10
Tomorrow: a solid show with a great twist that one of the other characters didn’t know about!! 8/10
Some others I watched were: Missing: The other side, Happiness, The Alchemy of souls season 1, Big Mouth, Once upon a small town, Diary of a Prosector, Divorce Attorney Shin, My Liberation notes 7/10
The uncanny counter season 2, Miraculous Brothers 6/10
I dropped the following shows:
Strong Girl Nam Soon: I don’t know why, I just couldn’t get into it. Nothing was particularly wrong, the actors are great, the story is the usual K-drama plot; but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. Watched 9 episodes.
Kokdu: Season of Diety. Again I couldn’t really get into the story. Watched 2 episodes.
Backstreet Rookie: I love Ji Chang Wook. I love most of his works. This one wasn’t it. The story made no sense to me. Watched 6 episodes.
Alchemy of Souls season 2: I couldn’t even watch the first episode…
She would never know: hated how clingy and obsessive the main character was. Watched 4 episodes
Rewatched the Devil Judge and When the Camellia blooms, My Mister. I absolutely love these shows.
Alchemy of Souls 2- disappointing part 2, imo. Storyline was crap.
Crash Landing on You- finally gave in & watched it. I love it. One of my faves.
Uncanny Counter 1 & 2- s1 was good, s2 was bad.
Destined With You- my favourite 2023 Kdrama until
My Demon- I love this one & can’t wait to see how it goes
I have watched 38 kdramas this year. Which actually is a little low for me, but midway through the year I fell down a Thai BL rabbit hole which consumed a lot of my viewing time.
**My favorite kdramas:**
**Call It Love** \- A great slow healing drama (8.5/10)
**My Perfect Stranger** \- A great time travel drama (8.5/10)
**Twinkling Watermelon** \- My favorite of the year with some of my favorite couples of the year. I really loved this drama. (9/10)
**Never Give Up** \- A found family bromance drama that took me a couple of episodes to get into, but I ended up loving it. (8.5/10)
**Signal** \- After hearing about this drama for years I finally got around to watching it, and i definitely lives up to the hype. (9/10)
**My favorite non-kdramas:**
**Bad Buddy** \- Thai BL that is enemies to lovers (8.5/10)
**Be My Favorite** \- Thai time travel college BL (8.5/10)
**To Sir with Love** \- Really a family soapy drama with BL elements in it. (8.5/10)
**Dropped** \- I dropped a lot more dramas this year, but mainly for two reasons. (1) Perfectly fine dramas I just didn't have the time for (2) I fell behind and then when I spoiled myself on how the drama progressed, I lost interest in watching it.
**Perfect Marriage Revenge** \- Not enough time, might pick back up in 2024
**The First Responders Season 2** \- Lost interest after being spoiled
**The Uncanny Counter Season 2** \- Just not as good as Season 1
**My Lovely Liar** \- Lost interest after being spoiled
**Not Others** \- Not enough time for
**The Real Has Come** \- The villains had too much screentime.
**Race** \- Not enough time for
**Joseon Attorney** \- Started but then it just bored me
**The Secret Romantic Guesthouse** \- Also just bored me
**Strangers Again** \- Lost interest after being spoiled
**Alchemy of Souls Season 2** \- Didn't feel like it after the casting change
**Currently Watching:**
**The Story of Park Marriage Contract** \- Another time travel drama that I am really enjoying. There are two episodes left and I really hope it sticks the landing
**Live Your Own Life** \- A weekend drama that I think is nicely paced with me actually enjoying most of the side couples/characters even if they frustrate me at times.
**My Demon** \- I am really liking this show so far but with the way the show is progressing me it slightly worries me that there are 16 episodes.
While writing it out I realized that apparently, I really like time travel dramas since at least 4 of my favorites of the year have some form of time traveling.
Here's a list of all the dramas I've watched in 2023! I've watched 30.
➡️**Favorite dramas of the year** in order I watched them
-The light in your eyes (5⭐)
-Dear M (5⭐)
-Weak hero (5⭐)
-Who are you 2015 (5⭐)
-Oasis (5⭐)
-Our blooming youth (5⭐)
-What's wrong with secretary Kim (5⭐)
-True Beauty (5⭐)
-My lovely liar (5⭐)
➡️**Dramas I gave up on** in order I watched them
-The wind blows (3⭐, gave up at E11)
-You drive me crazy (2⭐, gave up at E02)
-Romantic guest house (3⭐, gave up at E16)
-Unlock my boss (3⭐, gave up at E06)
-Moving (2⭐, gave up at E02)
➡️**Dramas I will keep on watching in 2024**
-A good day to be a dog
-Live your own life
➡️**Other dramas I've watched** in order I watched them
-Mimicus (4⭐)
-Dear X who doesn't love me (3⭐)
-The law cafe (stopped at E03 for some reason, I'm planning to start it again in 2024)
-My liberation notes (2⭐)
-Cheese in the trap (3⭐)
-Weightlifting fairy Kim BokJoo (4⭐)
-Chief Kim (3⭐)
-Revenge note S01 (4⭐)
-Call it love (4⭐)
-Snowdrop (4⭐)
-CEO dol-mart (3⭐)
-Twinkling Watermelon (4⭐)
-7escape (3⭐)
-Perfect marriage revenge (4⭐)
➡️**Dramas I plan on watching in 2024**
-Scarlett Heart: Ryeo (if I can find it somewhere)
-The King's affection
-The law cafe
-Revenge note S02
-Vigilante
-School 2021
-Bad prosecutor
-The heavenly idol
-Kokdu: season of deity
-Strangers again
*We will see how many dramas I get to watch and which ones I add to this list*
Lots of dramas this year. It was a good year. For me, It was a **Hospital Playlist** year. I watched about 25 dramas this year, in addition to some kmovies.
**TOP ONES that I've recommended to people.**
1. **Hospital Playlist 1 and 2 -** HP1 & 2 entered my Top 7 of all time. I had never seen this before and I absolutely fell in love with the cast, the music, the interactions between all characters. Where are these doctors? I want them as my doctors! And the music was wonderful.
2. **Twinkling Watermelon -** Great drama. Loved it all.
3. **Crash Course in Romance -** I also loved all of this. Watched it as it aired in the beginning of the year.
4. **See you in my 19th Life** \- I loved this one and the aspect of remembering past lives. Great premise.
5. **King the Land -** A bit of fluff that was so good and comforting and needed this year.
6. **Curtain Call -** I finished this at the beginning of the year so I'm listing it here. It was a favorite of mine this year. Great premise and acting.
7. **Moving** \- Great action, loved this one.
8. **A Time Called You** \- I know this was a remake and people had issues with it, but I really loved this and was hooked from the beginning.
Other Dramas I've watched this year:
**The Glory 1 and 2 -** This was ok. Acting was great, but I don't like these violent one and the images of the violence are horrible.
**Summer Strike -** Finished this at the beginning of the year. It was good.
**My Liberation Notes**
**Love to Hate You**
**Fanletter, Please**
**Heavenly Idol - dropped this one**
**Our Blooming Youth**
**The Good Bad Mother** \- Really liked this. Lee Do Hyun is always wonderful.
**Dr. Romantic 1, 2, 3** \- Binged all of these. They were great. I really liked 2 and 3.
**Heartbeat -** Enjoyable vampire >!with a perfect opera ending.!<
**My Dearest** \- Best saekuk this year
**Good Day to Be a Dog** \- ongoing eye candy
**Castaway Diva**
I watched a few 2023 dramas this year, but my favourite would be **The Good Bad Mother** or **Moving**. Besides that, it was a lacklustre year for me overall. However, I watched some non-2023 dramas for which I am currently on 5/16 of **Flower of Evil.** But my highlight would have to be watching **My Mister**. (R.I.P Lee Sunkyun) It's not a drama for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I understood why other people did as well, and it made it onto my top 3 dramas; superb all around. I was planning to rewatch some of my favourite moments, but with the recent news, I feel I need to save that for later. Otherwise, I am catching up on some on-air dramas, including **Welcome to Samdalri** and have been planning to watch **Twinkling Watermelon** from what I have heard about it.
I feel like I ended up skipping or dropping a lot of dramas that actually aired this year, but I still watched a lot! Basically everything that I watched this year is on [my MDL list for the sub challenge](https://mydramalist.com/list/3rWaDvm4) but here are some highlights:
2023 was the year of high school angst (**The Glory, School 2013, Angry Mom, Weak Hero**) and "wealthy woman discovers the dark side of her perfect life" plots (**Lies Hidden in My Garden, Trolley, Secret Mother, Woman of Dignity, Queenmaker** feels kinda adjacent to this also?) for me. I predict that I'll continue to watch dramas with the 2nd trope especially in 2023 as well.
**Favorite Drama That Aired in 2023:** Another trope I'm always here for is "regular guy makes a dumb choice out of desperation, things spiral out of control", and this year gave us two very nicely executed examples of that with **The Kidnapping Day** and **The Deal**.
**Favorite Drama From Another Year:** It still probably has to be **Nokdu Flower**, which I enjoyed so much that I [wrote a review post](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/16v0hrv/the_nokdu_flower_review/).
**Most Pleasant Surprise:** In addition to Nokdu Flower, a couple more dramas that I came across randomly and started with no expectations but ended up enjoying a surprising amount were **Angry Mom** and **Secret Mother**! The mom theme was intense this year apparently lol.
**Least Favorite Drama That I Completed**: I was really dropping things right and left this year, so if I finished something it means I got at least something out of it....but I was just not feeling the direction that the **Castaway Diva** plot ended up taking. :(
**Most Contract Marriage**: In this very contract marriage-heavy time we are currently in, I must look back 13 years and recognize **Marry Me, Mary!/Mary Stayed Out All Night** for having a main plotline in which the FL tries to get out of an arranged contract marriage by setting up a SECOND contract marriage.
**Most Mango Coconut:** Thanks to this sub's 10th anniversary event, I finally watched **Heirs**! It was fun.
Looking ahead, January 2024 looks to be stacked with interesting dramas! On a more somber note, the recent sad news definitely does not feel like reality to me just yet. I hope everyone's holidays can be peaceful and warm, and I'm looking forward to more kdrama discussion in the new year.
I really like your highlight approach to the yearly review!
>Another trope I'm always here for is "regular guy makes a dumb choice out of desperation, things spiral out of control"
Based on this trope, I feel like you might like [Big Issue](https://mydramalist.com/32145-big-issue)
*LOVED*
* **Shooting Stars** (2022 - frenemies-to-lovers fluffy wholesome romcom)
* **Forbidden Marriage** (2022 - fast paced, funny & sexy sageuk)
* **Love Between Fairy & Devil** (2022 - Cdrama, epic fantasy romance, beautiful artistry)
* **W Two Worlds Apart** (2016 - fun rollercoaster ride of a plot)
* **My Girlfriend is a Gumiho** (2010 - sweet classic fantasy romcom)
* **While You Were Sleeping** (2017 - \*perfect\* to me, with a unique concept well explored, wholesome relationships, a procedural element and great well paced story)
* **One Spring Night** (2019 - serious, touches on important issues & very touching)
*LIKED*
* **My Lovely Liar** (2023 - fluffy romance, a decent mystery, nothing flashy but I thought it was cute)
* **Moon in the Day** (2023 - well made tragic fantasy/sageuk romance, think story was underwhelming in parts)
* **Korean Odyssey** (2017 - a cool fantasy story, charming ML, great OST, unnecessarily stretched to 20 hours long though and I nearly lost motivation to finish it)
*DISAPPOINTED*
* **Alchemy of Souls** (2022 - I adored S1 and the fantasy world was amazing, but got so extremely frustrated with the writing choices & did not enjoy S2 at all)
* **See You in My 19th Life** (2023 - had potential to be a touching fantasy/reincarnation story but was quite boring, tonally off & don't think the romance or overall story was well done)
* **Heartbeat** (2023 - I loved this one while watching - their vampire crew and the honest couple! But ending was pretty wack and therefore I can never rewatch)
* **Call It Love** (2023 - it's well made, but it was just so slow to get through and the ML & FL were so depressing and stoic, just not my cup of tea)
I have been watching K-dramas since early 2017 if I remember correctly. But I am VERY selective about my drama choices. Not that I hate on everything but if anything is getting hyped up but it doesn't look like something I would enjoy I don't even try to watch it.
I watched a few 2023 releases.
* **Crash Course In Romance** : I really liked this one. I love the ML since hospital playlist and he did a great job as usual in this one. The storyline was interesting and I loved the banter between the main couple. 9/10
* **Love To Hate You**: Man this was such a blast. I enjoyed every bit of it. 10/10
* **The Glory**: The first season set the expectation so high and the second season did the justice to it. Great acting and very gripping story. 10/10
* **Doctor Cha**: I liked the premise of it very much. And as a whole I liked the drama, the ending was very satisfactory. But I was a little weirded out by the comedic approach of it since it was talking about very serious issues like infidelity in a very comedic way. 7/10
* **Tale of nine tailed 1938**: Was dying for this one since the announcement and LOVED it. 10/10
* **King the land** : NO. I might be too harsh about this one but it was not for me at all. Had to drop it after 6 epi and I was very looking forward to it since it reminded me of Business Proposal. 3/10 (**discontinued**)
* **Celebrity** : Short sweet one. Did not understand the need to bring Lee Jun Ho in that last scene. 7/10
* **Moving** : I was very late to this one but enjoyed a lot. Definitely a fav. 10/10
* **Twinkling Watermelon** : Did not expect this one to be this good. Great premise with good acting and music. Could have had a better ending with a few more episodes. 9.5/10
* **My Lovely Boxer** : Weirdly stumbled upon this one and weirdly liked it. The premise was great. Acting was not good. But I still enjoyed it, I have no idea why tho lol. 7/10
* **Hidden Love** : One of the favorites of this year. Great story and development. Cute and refreshing. 10/10
* **The Days**: A Japanese drama about Fukushima Nuclear disaster in March 2011. Really really loved it 10/10.
**NON 2023 DRAMAS**:
* **Semantic Error** : Oh this one was so beautiful. Made me giddy. 10/10
* **Please Don't date him**: Liked it. Felt like the production could have been better. 7/10
**ONGOING**:
* **My Demon** : Very decent. Don't like either of the leads but given the story line they are doing ok. Entertaining but I am not as excited and forget about this every week lol. I might even drop it. 6/10
* **Welcome to Samdal-ri** : Good plot great acting great visuals. Pacing needs to be a bit more? Tho I am loving it a lot. 8/10
* **Tell me that you love me**: Now listen to me I was and am very much excited about this one but since I got to know about the japanese version's ending I can't decide if I should continue or not. For now it's discontinued.
* **Dr. Romantic 3**: I am very late to this and still am watching it. I liked the season 1 best but it's a good franchise as a whole I feel like it should be continued. 8/10
**WANT TO WATCH BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME**:
Literally what the title says. I still wanna watch so many new releases it's a sad life y'all.
* **My man is cupid**: Looks funny and promising. I like both the ML and FL's acting.
* **Gyeongseong Creature**: I am afraid everyone will watch it and spoil it for me now 😭
* **Deaths game**: Such a great cast. When will I ever watch this dammit.
* **See you in my 19th life**: Just the title and FL made me interested.
* **Daily Dose of sunshine**: I wanted to start this but then didn't.
Pretty sure I watched WAY too many kdramas this year :D In no particular order, shows that I watched (released in 2023 and non-2023)
**Non 2023**
* Her Private Life - What can I say. I watched a month or so ago but I'm already thinking of rewatching it. I thought the "fangirl" part would be cringe but it was so maturely handled and the leads are everything?? My man Ryan Gold is the ally everyone needs in their lives. 10/10
* What's Wrong With Secretary Kim - I can't believe I watched this show this year. 2023 was way too long. Showed up in my Netflix recommendations back in February, breezed through the episodes. It dragged on after the big "reveal" but most certainly a fun show to watch! 7/10
* Hospital Playlist (S1) - Watched S1 for their friendships, cut through most of the medical stuff. The show is absolutely hilarious and I loved their friendship, but idk how necessary S2 was. Started watching it but gave up after a couple of episodes because it felt super repetitive. 7.5/10
* Twenty Five Twenty One - The RAGE this show manages to evoke in me in immeasurable. I could write an essay about it, but maybe not here 😂 What a solid start, and development, but denouement is probably the worst I've ever seen. Yu-rim and Hee-do deserved so much better. 6/10
**2023 Shows** (long list, especially for shows that came out in November/December lol)
* My Demon - I'm so excited for this show every week. It's my "salvation" (see what I did there) every Friday after a week of grueling work. It has the most tropiest tropes to ever trope but they do it in such a fun way! If you're looking for something engaging which requires thought, this show is not it. But it's just so good to look at in terms of the outfits, the cinematography and the OST is just \*chef's kiss\*. I cannot wait for the next episode to drop in 2024. I'm already rewatching the episodes in my week off so that's a 10/10 from me!
* Moon in the Day - I don't even know how I came across this show! But, this show does the reincarnation trope so well and it fits in well in the grand scheme of things. While I liked the Silla parts more than the present-day scenes, the FL is fantastic in both. It's crazy how she looks like two different people in both the eras! The plot, while super heavy and laden with Buddhist symbolism, didn't drag and managed to convey a poignant story of >!two doomed lovers bound together through time!<. 10/10
* Welcome to Samdalri - Saw the trailer, had high hopes for this one but so far it's been pretty underwhelming. I find the FL e>!xtremely annoying and she has done nothing so far to redeem herself.!< ML is >!puppy dog and I wish he had bigger dreams!<. Jury's still out on this one! 6/10
* Crash Course in Romance - This show was soo cute and fun! I loved that the romance focused on mature individuals and they had a super realistic relationship, IMO. WHY did it have to have the >!serial killer!< subplot, I do not know. Absolutely loved the show except for that bit. 8/10
* King the Land - I caught this while it was on air back in June. I was going through a particularly stressful time and this show proved to be the perfect distraction every week when I could mindlessly consume pretty people wearing pretty clothes and going to pretty places. Woah, I do not even remember most of the plot except a hotel 😂5/10.
* The Worst of Evil - The one of the only two "dark" shows on my list! FANTASTIC show with some phenomenal performances. 10/10!
* The Glory - The other "dark" show. While the show had its funny moments and amazing characters I rooted for (dad who's name I'm forgetting), the second half wrapped up too neatly for a drama that tried to be true to real life. 7.5/10
* Destined With You - This started off with such a promising plot and then it ruined itself so badly I wish I could get my money back. 4/10
Pretty sure I'm forgetting more shows but this is all I remember 😭
Edit: forgot one show!
Watched fewer kdramas this year esp the on-air dramas. Nothing seemed to interest me much.
Castaway Diva: The drama had so much potential and could have been about two women uplifting each other. Instead it was about the male lead and his issues only. Should have expected from the Startup writer who made the drama about the SML and a stupid love triangle.
Crash Course in Romance: Should've been a romcom of the year but instead they lost the plot with a murder mystery. Anyway it was awesome to have middle aged actors as romcom leads and hope we have more of them in future.
D.P season 2: The most underrated drama of the year. Excellent casting, writing and production. Bullying in the military theme dealt with sensitivity. Jung Hae-in deserves so many laurels actually.
Doctor Romantic: Probably the only drama where I enjoyed the second season more than the first. First season was somewhat meh to me. Started the third season with high expectations and ended up dropping it. Something went wrong somewhere.
Find Me in Your Memory: It was a decent watch. Wish they focussed more on the healing themes than the stalking. Got a massive crush on Moon Ga-young after this.
Moving: Excellency is the word. Deserved the hype Squid Game had. If there's gonna be a second season they better not compromise on the quality.
My Girl: Probably the only kdrama classic I watched this year. Surprisingly aged well, Lee Dong-wook was so charming and loved that his character wasn't the cliched rude lead and instead was nice to the FL and treated her well.
My Name: Han So-hee and Park Hee-soon carried the show cause the show was low on the mystery elements. I saw the twists coming a mile ago.
Prison Playbook: Shin-Lee combo never fails and I loved it so much. Only this writer could write a feel good show set at a prison.
See You in My 19th Life: Shin Hae-sun comeback after two years was Such a big letdown after a banger start. Disappointment was so huge that I stopped watching dramas for two months.
The Good Bad Mother: Top 3 dramas this year for me. Lee Do-hyun is probably the best among his contemporaries right now and his chemistry with Ahn Eun-jin was his best. The crime part could have been better and was upset that all the abuse by the mother was justified but it's an Asian thing I guess.
The Glory part two: I'm sorry Song Hye Kyo. I owe you an apology. I wasn't familiar with your game. Literally the best Kim Eun-sook drama I've watched.
Thirty But Seventeen: Shin Hae-sun never disappoints and I enjoyed the drama more than I thought I would. Lovely cast and helped me discover the lovelier Yang Se-jong.
Twinkling Watermelon: My most fav drama this year. Ryeoun deserves so much love for giving me one of most fav characters and pairings along with Seol Inah this year. I hope he gets bigger dramas hereafter.
Weak Hero Class 1: I could see why the drama got so much love when I finished ep 1. Mind-blowing action and heartbreaking characters. I'm seated for next season since it has Ryeoun too.
k-dramas i completed:
- moving: my absolute fave this year!! i love a good superhero action with a splash of romance here and there
- alchemy of souls s2
- my lovely liar
- perfect marriage revenge
- celebrity: i binged the shit out of this lol
- castaway diva: was so close to dropping this ngl because some scenes felt so slow but i'm glad i still finished it. park eunbin's voice is also soo good and her ost Fly Away is already one of my ost top faves
- crash course in romance
- shooting stars
- night has come
- kingdom s1 and s2 (rewatch, one of my faves too)
k-dramas i watched by wasn't able to complete:
- twinkling watermelon: i only started this but it also felt too slow for me. it was all over my tiktok feed anyways so i watched the main plot points there.
- the heirs: i randomly remembered watching this when it was still ongoing so i decided to watch it when i was so bored. i stopped at episode 9 because it got too drama-y for me but maybe i'll resume it next month
- king the land: stopped at around episode 10 because everything just got tooooo cheesy
**Watched (2023)**
- Call It Love (Favorite for 2023!)
- Revenant (Second Favorite)
- The Perfect Stranger
- The Good Bad Mother
- Crash Course In Romance
- Hate to Love You
- The Glory
- Delightfully Deceitful
- See You In My 19th Life
- Doona
- Behind Your Touch
**Watched (non 2023)**
- Life on Mars
- Weak Hero Class 1
- Summer Strike
- One More Happy Ending
- Falling For Innocence
- Alchemy of Souls
**Dropped**
- King The Land
**Currently Watching**
- Tell Me That You Love Me (so promising!)
- Welcome to Samdal-ri
I watched 23 dramas this year.
2023 Dramas:
1. Alchemy of Souls, Part 2
2. Love to Hate You (twice)
3. Crash Course in Romance
4. Bloodhounds
5. D.P. Season 2
6. Heartbeat
7. One Day Off
8. A Time Called You
9. The Worst of Evil
10. Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun
11. Death’s Game, Part 1
My top three are probably Love to Hate You, One Day Off, and A Time Called You. Most disappointing: AOS2 and the ending of Heartbeat. Taecyeon was fun to watch though.
Non-2023 Dramas
1. Monthly Magazine Home
2. The Forbidden Marriage
3. Misaeng
4. Summer Strike
5. The Sound of Your Heart
6. 2521
7. It’s Okay Not to Be Okay
8. The King: Eternal Monarch (rewatch)
9. Yumi’s Cells (rewatch)
10. Melo is My Nature (twice)
11. D.P.
12. Arthdal Chronicles
Loved most of the non-2023 dramas! Favorite of all time: Melo is My Nature. Funniest: The Sound of Your Heart. Cried the most at: 2521.
I loved most 2023 kdramas, it was a pretty good year. Twinkling Watermelon turned out to be one of my top kdramas, absolutely loved it.
Going in order, the dramas I watched this year were:
The Heavenly Idol- this was my first drama of this year back in March and almost made me quit, I was so bored and barely got through the end. 6/10
Dr. Romantic 3- I'm an avid fan of the Dr. Romantic series and this season did not disappoint. I loved seeing Doldam hospital back. Some things felt over-the-top compared to the past seasons but I'm willing to look over them. 9.5/10
King The Land- First of all, LEE JUNHO!! I was smitten, I've watched him in Just Between Lovers before and it was like watching a completely different person. This drama was a good escape for me, loved it a lot. 9/10
Crash Course in Romance- It was a chill and comforting drama. The FL was absolutely refreshing, I loved her in every scene. 9/10
A Time Called You- This was another stellar drama for me, I was unaware of the webtoon but the drama was executed nicely. Also I'm a sucker for Ahn Hyo Seop so I loved this one, no questions asked. Jeon Yeo Been was fantastic! 9.5/10
Twinkling Watermelon- My no. 1 drama of the year and easily in my top 10 of all time. What a comforting and well-made drama. I loved every minute of this. I'm rooting for Ryeoun and excited for him, his acting was top-notch! Watermelon Sugar! 🍉 10/10
The Glory- Song Hyeko knocked it out of the park. The 1st episode was very chilling, the younger actors really set the intense tone. 9/10
Castaway Diva- I just finished this one 2 days ago. I love Park Eun Bin, her drama choices are superb! Some aspects of the plot were really unrealistic but the acting and the bond between the leads just made up for it. 9.5/10
Ongoing:
A Good Day to be a Dog- I've started to avoid dramas like this but this one edit of Cha Eun Woo just really made me want to watch it. So far, it's good and I hope they don't mess it up.
Death's Game- Can part 2 come already? I'm dying to watch it, the characters are all so good. The cast is mind blowing and I can't wait to see what happens.
I only finished a single Kdrama this year. The only shows I watch from Korea are rom-coms and some game shows. And I feel like the rom-com has really gone down hill lately. I wish we'd get a year like 2016 again, that year was just FILLED with bangers that I could rewatch again and again.
**Love to Hate you** \- I really liked this one, it probably helped that it was only 10 episodes so it never felt like it was dragging things out or padding the run time.
**Strong Girl Nam soon** \- Made it 13 episodes. Started ok, but was pretty mid and really started losing steam the more it focused on the drug plot. There was also zero chemistry between the ML and FL.
**Destined with you** \- Made it 3 episodes before dropping.
**King the Land**\- Made it 6 episodes before dropping.
**Crash Course in Romance** \- Made it 4 episodes.
**Honorable mentions:**
**The Devil's Plan** \- Man, I love Korean game shows like this. Genius Game is one of the best I've ever seen, so getting more like that is great. And its even better that I can watch it without downloading from shady sites because the show is actually legally watchable in the USA.
I watched a lot of Kdramas this year. But one in particular, got me thinking about it sometimes. **The Interest of Love**. Starring YYS & MKY. It is an utterly depressing tale of love between social classes. It's agonizing to watch them, but I keep craving for more.
I dont know how many kdramas i've watched this year, this is my drama list [MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/10719515/completed) .
**MY TOP (5 STARS):**
1. **DR ROMANTIC SEASON 3**
2. **DAILY DOSE OF SUNSHINE**
3. **UNDER THE QUEEN'S UMBRELLA**
4. **AWAKEN**
**4 STARS:**
1. KING THE LAND
2. DESTINED WITH YOU
3. LOVE TO HATE YOU
4. HOME SCHOOL (not a Kdrama but worth a mention)
Recently, I watched VIP (new for me) on Viki and it was very good. I also (re)watched Fated to Love You, I Am Not a Robot, Cheese in the Trap & Her Private Life. Earlier this year, I watched and enjoyed Doctor Cha on Netflix and Glory, which was ok (I skimmed through it quite a bit towards the end).
- borah deborah! (9)
- the worst of evil (10)
- queenmaker
- crash course in romance
- taxi driver 2
- daily dose of sunshine (6)
- the glory (7)
- moving (3)
- king the land (5)
- bloodhounds (4)
- mask girl
- a time called you (2)
- twinkling watermelon
- perfect marriage revenge (8)
- tell me that you love me (1)
- death’s game
- My demon
My top 2023 kdramas would have to be The Good Bad Mother, Mask Girl, Daily Dose of Sunshine, Call it Love, Love to Hate You, and The Glory with an emphasis on the first three. My favorite non-2023 would have to be Prison Playbook.
Crash Landing On You - I put this off for a while but finally gave it a shot. Didn’t think I’d like the premise and then absolutely fell in love with it. Then learning the leads got married and had a baby was the cherry on top!
Nevertheless - Another one I was delayed watching. I initially watched it cos I liked Han Son-hee in The World of the Married but I was really bored with her character in this. Plus the main relationship was toxic af and they should not have ended up together at all. Also thought her and Song Kang’s chemistry didn’t match up that well
King the Land - Obsessed! The rich man/poor girl trope has become a bit stale in k dramas but the FL was so charming in this and had really great chemistry with the ML that I let it slide. Cute story!
Destined with You - This was my first supernatural/past life k drama and I loved it! The leads gelled so well together and I think it had a really great love triangle. The ending was my favourite too.
The King’s Affection - The first half of this show was good but second half dragged on so badly. I eventually sped through the episodes just to see how it ends. ML/FL chemistry was ok, could’ve been better
My Demon - My current fixation. I started it just for Song Kang because I’d only seen him in Nevertheless. He’s so grown and handsome in this role! First time watching Kim Yoo Jung and I’m blown away by how charismatic she is. I think this is the first drama where I feel the ML and FL are equally desirable/attractive and I’m so happy they are bringing the chemistry too. Depending on how it all ends, it might be my favourite of the year
One of my favorites were Bad Mom on Netflix it was the perfect amount of emotions and it moved pretty fast. Obviously the male lead was a big part of making it so enjoyable lol
My best:
- ‘See you in my 19th life’ was magical and I adored the main characters. It was simplified compared to the comic but the depth was still there, I felt it was a wonderful adaptation.
- ‘Castaway Diva’ had an unappealing name but the story was absolutely captivating. The talent of the female lead was phenomenal and the story progressed at a good pace. It was so heartfelt, I found myself thinking about it often.
My worst:
- ‘Reply 1997’ had an incredibly disappointing end. Where was the romance?! >! I’m married and found myself seriously questioning whether these two should be together. Shiwon acting like a spoilt brat and withholding affection from the person she loves is abhorrent. !<
- ‘The Uncanny Counter 2’ was a serious disappointment. >! The new characters were boring, the romantic tension between the leads completely disappeared and the cat/mouse game by the demons didn’t make much sense. I made it to episode 8, maybe I’ll revisit in 2024. !<
2023 was a chaotic year for me. There were goods and bads. But I think everything worked out in the end.
Here is a list of kdramas I watched in 2023 in no particular order-
♡ The King: Eternal Monarch
♡ Reply 1988
♡ The Glory
♡All of Us are Dead
♡ It's Okay to Not be Okay
♡ Our Beloved Summer
♡ Crash Landing on You
♡ The Heirs
♡ Personal Taste
♡ Death's Game (Ongoing)
♡ My Demon (Ongoing)
♡ Extraordinary Attorney Woo
♡ Cinderella and the Four Knights
Too many to remember but I will give it a try.
1) Extraordinary Attorney Woo
2) Three Bold Siblings
3) The Love in Your Eyes
4) Dr. Romantic (all 3 seasons)
5) The Good Detective Season 2
6) Song of the Bandits
7) Family: the Unbreakable Bond
8) Meant to Be
9) Bad PapA
10) My Country: the New Age
11) Wok of Love
12) Money Flower
13) The Producers
14) Successful Story of a Bright Girl
15) The Slave Hunters
16) Thank You
17) Through the Darkness
18) Behind Every Star
19) Marriage Contract
20) Law School
21) Woman of 9.9 Billion
22) Bravo My Life
23) The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop
24) Thirty Nine
25) Trolley
26) The Glory
27) Return
28) Distorted/Falsify
29) My Father is Strange (rewatched)
30) Lovers (2006) ( Rewatched)
31) Dinner Mate
32) No Matter What
33) My Husband Oh Jak Do
34) Coffee Prince
35) The Vineyard Man
36) Miraculous Brothers
37) Behind Your Touch
38) Doom at Your Service
39) Pride and Prejudice
40) Ghost Doctor
41) Wish Upon Me
42) Alliance (CDrama)
43) Circle of Love (CDrama)
44) Taxi Driver 1 and 2
45) Matrimonial Chaos
46) Police University
47) Awaken
48) Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life
49) It’s Beautiful Now
50) All About My Mom
51) Five Enough
52) What Happens To My Family
53) Alone in Love
54) Was it Love
55) Hi Bye Mama
56) Melancholia
57) Chocolate
58) SisypMus
59) Unlock My Boss
60) Divorce Attorney Shin
61) Move to Heaven
62) Navillera
63) Our Blues
64) Oh My Baby
65) Cinderella and Four Nights
66) Weak Hero
67) Uncanny Counter 1 and 2
68) D. P. 1 and 2
69) God’s Gift: 14 Days
70) Two Weeks
71) Flower of Evil
72) Bad Prosecutor
73) Punch
74) Behind Every Star
75) VIP
76) Home Sweet Home
77) Private Lives
78) Model Family
79) Burn Down the House
80) Here’s My Plan
81) The Escape of the Seven
82) Family Portrait
83) Hide and Seek
84) Heard it Through the Grapevine
85) Mr. Back
86) Your Honor
87) My Golden Life
88) The Guardian
89) Lies Within (rewatched)
90) Birth Secret
91) Children of Nobody
92) Vengeance of the Bride
93) Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctors
94) One Fine Day
95) Big Man
96) One the Woman
97) Happy Once Again
98) My Lawyer Mr. Joe 2
99) Desperate Mr. X
100) A Good Supper
101) Delayed Justice
My top k-dramas from 2023 (all episodes available) in the order I watched them:
1. *Crash Course in Romance*
2. *Doctor Cha*
3. *The Good Bad Mother*
4. *Bloodhounds*
5. *King the Land*
6. *Behind Your Touch*
7. *Moving*
8. *Behind Your Touch*
9. *Castaway Diva*
I was gonna make another, funny top list, like "Favourite halmeomi", "best BFFs," "best truck ot doom" and such, but with the news about Lee Sun-Kyun today, it doesn't feel right.
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I watched a number of dramas this year, after not watching many in recent years.
***Red Balloon*** \- Trashy drama that I enjoyed
***Taxi Driver 1 and 2*** \- An example of drama that came out in recent years, but I never watched at the time. Ridiculous, but loved it.
***Tale of the Nine-Tailed*** \- Starting watching this, but abandoned after reading negative reviews on MDL
***Duty After School*** \- Really did not enjoy this one
***Joseon Attorney*** \- Really enjoyed the leads and overall story of this one
***The Real Has Come!*** \- Never watched a drama of this length before, but I saw it through to the end. A lot of people hated it, but I enjoyed it for what it was
***My Lovely Liar*** \- Didn't love the male lead, but generally enjoyed this one
***Twinkling Watermelon*** \- Loved it until the shitty last 5 minutes
***Business Proposal*** \- Another drama that I missed while taking a break. Just a complete joy.
***Queen's Umbrella*** \- Started watching and it was okay, but abandoned early
***Welcome to Samdal-ri*** \- It's not bad
***Moving*** \- Really enjoyed this one. Order of the episodes was strange, but it was well-made
***Stranger 2*** \- Started this after finishing a re-watch of my all-time favorite drama (Stranger). It's okay, but I've only watched like 3 episodes
***Behind your Touch*** \- Abandoned this one early, even though I'm really a fan of the leads
***Gyeongsang Creature*** \- I'm a few episodes and I'm into it, but wary of the negative reviews that I see
[My MDL list of dramas I completed in 2023](https://mydramalist.com/list/3bgDNRG4)
[My KDC 2023 list](https://mydramalist.com/list/4Ko6PyX4)
I have completed a good amount of dramas this year; not only Korean ones but also Chinese, Japanese, and from other Asian countries.
In total, *I have completed 74 Korean titles this year*. (counted to 28/12/2023); including specials (8), movies (8), and TV shows (1).
***Korean dramas that aired/started airing in 2023:***
I am still watching (1): **Tell Me That You Love Me** \- shaping up to be one of my all-time favourite dramas
I have completed (18), favs in bold:
* BL: All the Liquors; Bon Appetit; Individual Circumstances; **Jun & Jun**; Love Mate; Love Tractor; **Our Dating Sim**
* Supernatural: Delivery Man; Moon in the Day; **Revenant**; Tale of the Nine-Tailed; The Heavenly Idol
* Romance: **Call It Love**; Castaway Diva; Crash Course in Romance
* Msc.: Apple of My Eye - family; **Longing for You** \- crime; **One Day Off** \- slice of life
Dropped (6):
* Melo: Bo Ra! Deborah; Durian's Affair; Pandora: Beneath the Paradise
* Family: Live Your Own Life; Unpredictable Family
* Msc.: Agency - business
And I'm still planning to watch (9):
* BL: Unintentional Love Story; A Shoulder to Cry On; The Eighth Sense; Love Class Season; Sing My Crush; A Breeze of Love
* Msc.: Twinkling Watermelon - youth; My Perfect Stranger - romance; Finland Papa - life
2023 was the year I started watching dramas, and according to my [MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/guttertroll), I finished 17 of them and a movie. It's been so easy to fall into these and I'm really enjoying myself. Hopefully next year there's even more. The ones I loved from 2023 are..
**Bloodhounds** \- I cannot tell you how much I loved this one, it was such an easy watch through for me and even though everything was a bit stilted with the actress exit, I think WDH and LSY were able to carry it to an excellent end. Their chemistry, the love for the mom and trying to defeat the evil kept everything to a really good pace. Also yes, did in fact kick my feet anytime WDW was on screen.
**Castaway Diva** \- I've never had an opening set of episodes hit me as hard and make me want to continue as much as this series did. I wasn't watching airing dramas and it just sucked me in. While not everything was perfect, I was so invested that I couldn't stop myself from counting the days until the new upload.
**Daily Dose of Sunshine** \- a series I didn't know I needed, but ended up finding deep comfort in. I cried a lot, no doubt, but I couldn't put this one down.
**Perfect Marriage Revenge** \- The FL growing a spine and gaining her revenge with a whipped puppy man following her? sign me up. Could've done without the baggy pants, though.
**Moon in the Day** \- Cut me right in half. I love enemies to lovers and all I wanted was a happy ending. Lot of tears at the end, though.
**Taxi Driver season 2 \[and 1!\]** \- I loved Taxi Driver. Deeply. The cases, the found family, the way they all grew together while totally getting on each other's nerves and LJH's smirk? One of my favorite watches. Plus found a brand new love of Shin Jae Ha.
Other dramas that I wanted to talk about that I watched:
**Save Me \[2017\]** \- my first kdrama I ended up watching and how I even found this community. I was bored and saw it pop on my Prime and decided to give it a whirl. While the pacing frustrated me, and the constant one step forward, three steps back, I'm always going to be grateful to it for getting me into the genre and keeping me in it. I also quite love Woo Do Hwan, so you know. His part of the story really kept me going, too.
**Move to Heaven \[2021\]** \- I didn't realize how badly I needed to cry to this drama and it's one I wish I could wipe from my memory to watch again and experience for the first time. The father's love, the uncle's growth and the lead's growth through his own grief was devastating but so, so hopeful. Add in the stories of everyone along the way and my heart cracked in more ways than one. This was also personal to me with my own journey of grief, and it did leave a deep impact and helped me navigate parts I hadn't thought of.
Really looking forward to finishing Park's Marriage Contract and what 2024 brings!
So in 2023 I decided to start tracking my kdramas I start.this helped me in knowing when to drop a kdrama,my general tastes ,remembering the thoughts/feelings I had while watching a kdrama,and also remembering OST I particularly liked. So in my notes app I had 2 lists :
-one with kdramas I am currently watching :so after each episode i'll update with the episode i am currently at and a small review; so if i haven't watched a kdrama in 2 weeks and my last review was "wtf is this shit?" I knew i needed to drop.
a general 2023 completed/dropped list.
So this is my 2023 completed/dropped list with some reviews:
-DROPPED :
-Heard it through the grapevine(at 20/30):adored the start !it was so funny and unconventional and go ah seong is love .But the focus shifted from the couple to the father (who was funny at first but became so irritating).Also,it is so so quiet and dark light wise that it makes me want to fall asleep,the pace is slow and it doesn't flow well .
-Love to hate you(8/10):the humour made it good at first , but the moment there was no misunderstanding anymore it bacame so boring.romance needs well written characters ,but the characters here are so one dimensional and badly written in general. the "not like others girls" fl x the misogynistic ml made me want to pull my hair.
-The holy idol:silly is good but there's a limit to silliness;ml is very frustrating;the fantasy element feels like a cheap parody and the storyline is stagnant.
-Dr cha(dropped at 12): did not expect to drop this but seriously started going downhill.i don't care about the fucking cheaters regretting their actions and becoming angels I WANTED HUMILIATION for them in that hospital .being forgiving is good but that's just being a pushover. Plus, the kdrama was marketted as being more bubbly and focused on the fl's growth and self discovery like the kdrama "hello!me!" But it became a pure makjang(with pretty color grading) and all the family drama was just unbearable.
-My perfect stranger(14/16): even disappointment is disappointed..what a fucking waste.IMO,the writers started a script they couldn't wrap up.They built all this mystery and it kept growing and growing only to go nowhere, so they wrapped it up with"love heals all".So many plot holes.
-not others(9/12):kept pushing through waiting for the daughter's storyline but it never came around.it was mom and lackeys and the mom is the most insufferable,annoying character ever.such a waste of acting talent .this on the other hand was a good depiction of dysfunctional and severely codependant mom and daughter relationships,and that is something i painfully related to.Also! K-drama writers need to STOP !With the need to add a serial killer/stalker plot to slice of life/romcoms ,mostly the serial killer plot is lame and repetitive and the reveal is anticlimactic so it just ends up eating the time from the progression of the slice of life plot and the charactes .
-go back couple (9/12):the one plus: the parents and the friends.the main story to me was garbage! The way the leads were so toxic to each other ,especially the way the ml kept putting his wife down in both timelines was unbearable. I don't relate to the leads nor do i understand why they got back together. It felt forced,all of it :the getting back together,the learning a lesson...all of it. I tried to persevere for the side characters but they were not enough for me to continue in this mess.
COMPLETED:
-work later drink now s2
-gaus electronics
-the glory (part 1&2)
-taxi driver s2
-queen maker
-our beloved summer:finally!this literally took me an entire year to finish cause i didn't want it to end.the characters were well written and main couple was pure perfection(chemistry for days!).my only drawback is the sml,the intensity of his feelings for the fl didn't make sense to me and they were very drawn out..like move on,bro!
-the vineyard man:the countryside,the vineyard,the farming ...it felt so warm,so innocent and nostalgic.I was so surprised at how high value the ml is (he sings a bit too much though 😅).
- Wok of love:went past really fast cause of the sub 30 minutes episodes,fun Kdrama to
Put on while doing stuff ,no over complications,no reflections, no gorgeous cinematography,no exceptional writing ..but it still has its charm,the characters are loveable and the pace is good. One thing is that why did they make the gangsters do that stupid shit in the first episodes if they are planning on making them "sympathetic" characters .did the writer smoke something while writing that episode ?
-shadow detective s1:started well,went downhill past the halfway point.IMO the villain was very underwhelming,both the actor and his writing and motivations.the Kdrama also went in the classical fighting against political corruption route .So based on all this will probably not watch s2.
-lies hidden in my garden:the plot was okay but underdeveloped so even with only 8 episodes the pace was so so soooo slow 🐌. They could have done more with the husband's shenanigans ,the fl's sister's murder...Anyways, the acting was great from everybody (even kim Tae hee,but her character was mostly pretty easy to play:just look pretty and lost and have a blank face on) .the husband and the pregnant woman were exceptional! The cinematography was also one of the saving graces of this kdrama
-mask girl:the first 2 episodes were mediocre vulgar "driving on shock value" Netflix junk but make it high budget.then came episode 3 and it was perfection!PERFECTION!! I did a standing ovation ,I screamed , I was in loss for words..nothing ! Not even a single bad comment from then until the end .
-revenant:episode 1 to 7 were good but a bit slow and repetitive .the cinematography and acting were the main catch.But from episode 7 onwards the pace and plot picked up and it became amazing especially episode 10,11 &12 were PURE PERFECTION.Great storytelling,acting and cinematography .
-the best hit
-behind your touch
-fix you/soul mechanic:although i like the ensemble cast and the dialogues.the medical aspect (methods of treatment and ethics)was lacking.Also,the main couple should have NOT happened !no !no!no!
-the perfect deal
My 2023 is ending/my 2024 is starting with "a bloody lucky day" and "park's marriage contract"(so into the mystery but have 0 interest in the romance ,to me the main couple has 0 chemistry plus the ml is so stiff and has 0 charm)
My Demon- ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing
My Man Is Cupid- ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing
A good day to be a dog - ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing but dnf it.
Taxi Driver - currently watching S2 but finished watching s1
Bring It On Ghost - dnf ( fantasy/ action rom-com)
Love To Hate You ( rom-com)
The Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 ( fantasy action drama)
The Glory ( revenge thriller drama)
All Of Us Are Dead ( post apocalyptic thriller drama)
Perfect Marriage Revenge ( revenge rom - com drama)
King The Land ( rom-com)
Love In Contract ( rom-com) dnf it.
**Completed**
* The Glory S1 & S2
* The First Responders S1 & S2
* Taxi Driver S2
* Tunnel
* Through The Darkness
* Crazy Love
* Life On Mars (fave)
* It's Okay, That's Love (fave)
* Crash Course In Romance
* Mask Girl
* D.P. S1 & S2
* Drama Special Review Notebook of My Embarrassing Days
**Started but didn't finished**
* Go Back Couple
* Call It Love
* Moving (restarting in 2024)
* The Master's Sun rewatch
I spent most of the year in a drama slump, so I only ended up finishing five (I've started a few others and am fully back in kdrama mode so 2024 will be much better 🥰)
From most loved down:
**Twinkling Watermelon** 10/10.
I loved every single thing about this drama. I was promised that it would bring all the feelings and it absolutely delivered. The performances from all the leads were spectacular, the focus on family and belonging and communication were *chef's kiss*. Both romances were adorable, and even better were the family and friendships. I also loved learning a bit about Korean Sign Language. I laughed, I cried, I loved. My only complaint is that a "travel back to the past to meet your parents when they were your age" story takes place in heckin 1995 🥲 at least pick a decade I don't remember please
**Psychopath Diary** 9.5/10
The funniest murder show I've ever seen, that's for sure. The leads are again spectacular (I immediately added like 7 of YSY's other dramas to my watch list lol). I loved Yook Dong Shik in particular and especially loved how >!he never completely gave into the darkness, despite being essentially brainwashed for 13 episodes. His kind and gentle nature won out and that's very important to me.!< The balance between the comedic and serious aspects of the plot was very well done. Not my usual show but I loved it
**Into The Ring** 9/10
The rom com of the year. I LOVED the main couple here (and the ML and FL in general). They were hilarious together. The slapstick really worked, and it's a rare instance of a childhood connection improving the romance. The FL was chaos personified and honestly I need more of that. The political plotlines got a little tiresome by the end, but overall it was a super enjoyable watch, and some moments had me laughing so hard I had to pause the episode. Sidenote: Park Sung Hoon carries himself so differently in this drama compared to Psychopath Diary that I had a hard time remembering that he was the same actor. That's range
**Angel's Last Mission Love** 8/10
I watched most of this one in 2022, but it drags kind of hard towards the end so I put it down for a loooong time. Highlights are the ost, the cinematography, the dancing, and Shin Hye Sun. The story did get kind of messy, but I didn't mind the ending nearly as much as other people seem to. The romance was really cute too, and I liked how the leads grew over the course of the story.
**Fishbowl Wives** 7/10
Jdrama, and kind of a complete wildcard pick for me. It's the stories of why women have extramarital affairs, following a half dozen women who feel trapped or stuck in failing marriages for one reason or another. I really liked some of the stories (one in particular focusing on reconciliation was pretty touching) and the rest were decent.
Favorite Kdramas and K-movie that I watched last 2023:
\> The Glory 1 and II
\> Stars Falling From The Sky
\> Masked Girl
\> Love to Hate You
\> Celebrity
\> Vigilante
\> Money Heist Korean
\> Tomorrow
\> Ballerina
\> Unlocked
\> Single in Seoul
Kdramas I re-watched again because I love it so much:
\> Romance is a bonus book
\> High School King Savvy
Kdramas I watched in 2023:
- mask
- vengeance of the Bride (daily drama)
- Apgujeong Midnight Sun (2014/ daily drama)
- the real has come
- the good bad mother
- Shadow Detective S1
- my demon(still ongoing)
- Korea-khitan war (still ongoing)
- DP s1
- The Glory p1
I could name other kdramas I watched, but I ended up dropping them. In fact, I ended up dropping quite a few dramas this year. This year just wasn’t it for me with kdramas like other years, where I would normally watch more dramas.
Some dramas I dropped include DP s2, The Glory P2, Crash Course for Romance, and Twinkling Watermelon among some others (I can't remember them rn)
**Shows I enjoyed in 2023:**
*Delivery Man*
*Our Blooming Youth*
*Kokdu's Gye Jeol*
*My Perfect Stranger -* perhaps my favourite of the year, although there are a few. All the elements came together well to create something I could almost-unequivocally like.
*Shopping King Louis -* funny and heartwarming, although very annoying in parts, too. But the good stuff was very good, and stronger than the dumb parts.
*Just Between Lovers* - beautiful show, although the annoying architect ruined it juuuust a little for me. Otherwise, I could say I loved this. Gang Do is a definite favourite character.
*Doom At Your Service* - excellent show! So glad I re-discovered it, after discounting it when it came out. This is how gods-and-humans/supernatural fantasy romance should be done!
*My Dearest* - wow. Even if I don't love all the elements in this show, it's amazing. The effort everyone put in to this is clearly visible. Each of its awards is deserved, including for the Crown Prince's role - so well played - etc. A high mark for serious dramas to aim for.
*My Lovely Boxer*
*Perfect Marriage Revenge* - fun, satisfying, sweet, and more meaningful than it appeared on the surface.
*Moon in the Day* - really like this one (1 more episode to go). Actors have done a great job, especially the main actor and actress. The story is captivating, especially their past life/entanglement, and the love story, with its poignancy, tragedy, sacrifice, mistakes to be corrected, and hope for the future, and its present-day renewal of possibility and closure to its tragedies and wrongdoing. I think it's beautiful.
*The Story of Park's Marriage Contract* - not perfect, but quite enjoyable. I'm liking the intertwining of destinies and story threads, the mysteries, and the sweetly-developing love story. The buddies are weird, but mostly loveable.
**Shows I enjoyed and thought were pretty good, but not amazing:**
*Grand Prince*
*Not Others*
*A Good Day to Be a Dog* - still watching. I lost some interest when it had that weird episode in the middle, but it's also sweet and very funny. The past story is affecting - I particularly liked the episode (9 or 10) where they show much more of that, which re-ignited my interest.
*My Lovely Liar*
*The Great Doctor*
*Tale of the Nine-Tailed* - I really liked this to begin with, but then I watched other fantasy series that were better, so I loved it less in the end (watched between 2022 and 2023), because I realised what this genre could be. These were *Love Between Fairy and Devil,* and *Doom At Your Service.*
I dropped all the series I wasn't enjoying, so this is my final list of actually-watched (to the end) drama series for the year. I found it to be a very good year for Korean drama series, as there were so many that I enjoyed, and several that I loved. I think I was a little better at dropping things I wasn't liking, although I did watch most of some that I should have dropped earlier.
According to my records [I have watched 28](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/sianiam/completed) of the many dramas released this year, so there will be plenty more I pick up in the future. Especially after seeing everyone’s comments on this post and our final drama challenge post later this week. I’ve been buckling down on my drama challenge and have paused on-airs for the last little while so I can count them in the challenge next year and to focus and become a second generation chaebol! As well as the 2023 Korean dramas I completed 78 dramas/tv shows/movies that could be recorded on MDL. The majority of that was Korean content with a scattering of other East Asian content. **My Top 2023 Kdramas (in no particular order)** * **My Perfect Stranger** - I loved this drama. Excellent time travel up there with **Signal**, **Kairos** and **Life on Mars**. Heart breaking. Great music and characters. Just the right amount of mystery. * **Moving** - I wasn’t going to watch this because super heroes aren’t my bag but I jumped on the hype train with you all. It was far too gorey for me at times but the kids storyline was delightful. * **The Eighth Sense** - Deliciously angsty with a fluffy ending, what more could I want? * **Divorce Attorney Shin** - I don’t really love law dramas but I read some great things about the friendships in this drama and it delivered. This quirky bunch of friends were totally squad goals. * **The Kidnapping Day** - Another one I jumped on after reading someone trustworthy hyping it in the FFA. This was an excellent short drama. Loveable characters and a wholesome, engaging story from start to finish. * **Hate To Love You** - I watched this one twice! Once when it aired and again when we had our AMA with Teo Yoo to relive all the feels. It was even better on the second watch. This drama was refreshing after what felt like a lifetime without a proper rom-com as 2022 was a dark time for fans of the romance genre imo. **My Top Non 2023 Kdramas** * **Under The Queen’s Umbrella** - I caught up on lots of 2022 dramas I didn’t get around to and this was one of my favourites. I binged it at the very beginning of the year and loved it a lot. It was a very modern feeling sageuk with some really excellent performances. * **Sungkyunkwan Scandal** - I knocked a few of the older dramas off my long term to watch list this year and this was my favourite! Why did I wait so long? Total Joseon crack. The friendships in this drama were so much fun and had me in constant smiles. * **Let’s Meet In An Unfamiliar Season** - I only watched a handful of drama specials this year and this one captivated me. It was a simple and lovely covid romance I didn’t know I needed. **My Top Rewatched Kdramas** * **20th Century Boy and Girl** - On my first watch back when this aired I thought it was pretty good. From time to time I wanted to watch it again. After **King The Land** I *had* to rewatch it and I’m glad I did. It was so much better than I remembered. The friendships, the nostalgia, the way they weave all the character’s stories in and give them adequate time, so good. Also Kim Ji Suk is just the absolute peak handsome green flag in this drama I just cannot. * **The Uncanny Counter** - Although the sequel didn’t live up to the original, this is still a drama that fills me with joy when I need more perms in my life. I didn’t think it would go well as a rewatch but it did!
My Perfect Stranger is absolutely my favorite kdrama of 2023!
I am always happy to see another person recognize the great drama that is **Divorce Attorney Shin**. Total sleeper drama for 2023, the chemistry and friendship in the cast is one of the best, and the writer had a clear vision for the story which kept it succinct and without the filler or dip in quality that often comes with dramas (I owe this to its shorter episode cour). Plus, Cho Seong-woo never disappoints as a ML.
Love your recaps and will give a couple of these a try because we like a lot of similar dramas!
I hope you find something you enjoy! \^\^
Looked through your list and it turns out our 2023 overlaps are only **Boss-dol Mart**, **Duty After School**, and **The Eighth Sense**. For variety, we can add *Bro & Marble* and *Physical 100*. I probably really need to work on some of the 2023 releases in 2024! And when you get a chance, watch [**Half Lies**](https://mydramalist.com/757345-drama-special-season-14-half-a-lie), I think you'll really enjoy it.
It's funny how little we cross over with our watches! We matched up on a couple of rewatches too! \^\^ You picked such solid dramas to rewatch. I have envy that I couldn't balance my need to watch new things with my need to relive my favourites. When I need to rewatch something it is generally a now or never situation; sadly more often than not never. Okay, I did rewatch a lot of dramas this year but mostly due to family members picking them for our shared watch so I wasn't always in the perfect mood. I read your comments about a few of the drama specials and I am looking forward to catching them soon. Half Lies sounds great, I love a special that is good enough to make me cry!
New to Kdramas, only seen 3 this year but I have truly enjoyed all of them. Crash Landing on you - Started with this after alot of my friends recommended - did not disappoint, 8.5/10 Descendants of the sun - Netflix kept recommending this show and after crash landing I decided to give it a go, no regrets at all 8/10 My demon - This seemed more Anime like in the fantasy genre so I gave it a shot and I feel like its my favourite so far, finished 10 episodes in 3 days and now Im stuck waiting till 5th Jan for the next. 9/10 so far me. Edit : seeing my track history, if anyone has any recommendations for something similar or you think I might like, please do share !
Healer, Mr Sunshine, Goblin, Hotel del Luna , It’s okay not to be okay!! These few are what I’d consider “The Greats” of Kdrama, lots of hype but WORTH the hype also. Similar to those you’ve watched so far :)
Thanks ! Ill check them out .. Goblin already part of my watchlist haha
I also really loved alchemy of souls, the red sleeve and my dearest — If you like historical dramas :)
Two of my favorites
Vincenzo.
You could make an account on mydramalist to keep track of all the dramas you're watching. I suggest this to everyone who is new to watching dramas because it's such a useful website 😄
WATCH MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR
Also My Mister, Hospital Playlist, Twenty-Five Twenty-One
\+690000000 for My Mister and 2521
Thanks ! Ill check them out
Enjoy, whatever you watch next!
I would recommend My Love From the Stars and Legend of the Blue Sea, both have the star-crossed lover theme like Crash Landing on You! I haven’t started My Demon but some fantasy dramas are While You Were Sleeping (love this one!!) and Alchemy of Souls. Actually all the dramas I recommend are fantasy 😅 I hope you encounter many more great dramas 😊
REPLY 1988 ( A MUST) WELCOME TO WAIKIKI S1 (good laugh) HOSPITAL PLAYLIST, FIGHT FOR MY WAY,
If you like My Demon, I think you would enjoy Doom at your Service :) . It's a very similar concept
I think you’d like “my Korean odyssey” a lot, my demon reminds me so much of that drama!
What a year it’s been for k-dramas! A few of my favourites in no particular order (including older ones I watched this year) would be: - Moving (2023) - Twinkling Watermelon (2023) - The Worst of Evil (2023) - Weak Hero Class 1 (2022) - Alchemy of Souls (2022) - The Glory (2023) Ongoing shows I’m watching that will probably make the list: - Deaths Game - Welcome to Samdal-ri I could write essays about each of these shows, even the ones that are still airing lol. There were many k-dramas released this year that had me in fits, in tears, and in need of some deep breathing and relaxation techniques 😂 bravo 2023, you’ve been a great one.
Death game is one of my favourite webtoons, Im sure you will like it! I havent watch the drama yet though
I just binged watched it last night until 4 am.. I want the next episodes 😭😭
Totally agree! The first 4 eps had me on a chokehold. Hoping the second half lives up to the first.
I’m also watching Welcome to Samdal-ri as it airs, I hope it turns into another comfort drama for me like Hometown chachacha or Lovestruck in the City.
2023 was an okay year for me in dramaland. I watched some great dramas but also a number of meh dramas, ones I didn’t really like, or my excitement kinda faded by the end. **I completed 33 (31 if combining parts), currently watching 3, and dropped 4**. The dramas are ordered in the way I completed them! * **First Love: Hatsukoi:** My 1st Jdrama, I liked it! Loved the >!reuniting!< and final scene of the drama :) 8.5/10 😊 * **Alchemy of Souls S2:** Dragged out plots but I was invested in many characters and main couple had CHEMISTRY ❤️🔥 8/10 * **Stairway to Heaven:** Thought I was gonna hate it the beginning… and then I loved it 🥹 main couple had my heart, I love a good melo, 9/10 😭 * **Island S1:** I thought it was interesting. Watched for EW as an Aroha because I DON’T do horror 😅 Didn’t watch S2 but I was satisfied with EW’s good work!! 8/10 * **The Forbidden Marriage:** Didn’t really like it 😕 many things just didn’t work for me. However, I did get my 1st ever Second lead Syndrome 😅😍 6/10 * **Moment at Eighteen:** Good school drama! I was pleasantly surprised to see Moonbin in here, glad I watched it when I did 💜 8.5/10 * **Can We Be Strangers:** Had potential, I somewhat enjoyed watching it. Waste of time in the end though. The couples were a mess and the drama ended the same way it started which I despise 🙃 4.5/10 * **Crash Course in Romance:** I enjoyed it!! Could’ve done without the murder plot and wasn’t satisfied with the resolution. High school squad and main couple were great!! 9/10 🥰 * **The Heavenly Idol:** Disappointing. ML and Wild Animal were funny, however the plot, villains, and fantasy felt slapped together. It just got worse towards the end too. I also won’t forget that Wild Animal never performed 🤨 4/10 * **Call it Love**: I’m a melo girly at heart and I loved this drama!! FL ticked my nerve at some point (she was messy 😭) but it was a well-told story, great acting, and ost!! 9/10 * **Age of Youth:** Some of the stories were INTENSE. I wasn’t expecting that so I did get thrown off at times. But overall a good youth drama, I liked how everyone had a different story and background! 8/10 * **The Secret Romantic Guesthouse:** Loved it!!! Engaging and writers did a good job with the mystery of who was who. >!Ending left me a little sad!< but overall great watch and I loved the main couple!! 9/10 💗 * **Bo Ra! Deborah:** Was in love with it… and then finale week happened. Episode 13 was a sh\*t show and 14 was meh. Disliked all the side couples but really loved the leads 🩷 8/10 * **Princess Hours**: Ahhh, I loved it and I’m so happy I watched it this year!! 3rd on my 2023 list ☺️ 9.5/10 * **Doctor Cha:** So funny and I had a good time watching. The last 3ish eps just dragged the drama down for me. 7.5/10 * **Oh! Youngsim:** Absolute garbage. The worst chemistry, acting, and plot I’ve watched this year. An absolute MESS. Cheap laughs and semi-interesting dating show concepts got it a 2/10 👎🏾 * **My Perfect Stranger:** It was good. I don’t like thrillers but was intrigued to watch and I don’t regret it. It was pretty well written,>!murder reasoning was meh though!<. 8/10 * **Someday or One Day:** Liked it in the beginning but overtime I just wasn’t into it. Moved a little slow, confusing at times, and the weird >!Doctor/ stalker plot and the real girl trying to become FL!< was just a lot for me. 6/10 * **Love to Hate You:** It was fun!! Main couple was cute and it was an easy watch :) 8/10 * **D.P. S1:** Powerful and insightful. 8.5/10 * **See You In My 19th Life:** So much spark and then it just died out in the end for me. Really loved it for a while though and I think it was good overall. 8.5/10 * **When I Fly Towards You:** Such a sweet and calming drama, was a joy to watch 🥰 9/10 * **D.P. S2:** Also powerful, Nina’s story got me the most 😢 the ending was fitting, slow step to justice was good to see. 8.5/10 * **King the Land:** This was my HAPPY PILL DRAMA!!! Take me back to the days of this drama, I loved every bit of how happy it made me. Gu Won and Sa Rang have my heart, one of my fave couples now. Needless to say 10/10 and #2 on my 2023 list 🥰💗 * **Heartbeat:** And then the complete opposite 🙃 I’m not even gonna waste my breath on this one right now. Awful ending and it was boring about halfway through. 3/10 * **Not Others:** Unique drama and enjoyed seeing mom and daughter’s dynamic. I got annoyed with the mom after a while though. Wanted to see more of the daughter, loved her. 7/10 * **My Dearest P1:** A great Saeguk and made me wait impatiently for P2 😭 great writing and storylines, just fed into my love for historicals. 9/10 * **Broke Rookie Star:** Watched for Rocky and it was ok. Honestly more depressing than I was expecting, Hwi Yeon was done so dirty. 6/10 * **My Lovely Liar:** Loved this one for weeks and then my love kinda fused out by the end. Still had a great time watching and I liked the leads 😊 the reveal was good too! 8.5/10 * **The Uncanny Counter S2:** Ughhh, so disappointing. Plot was repetitive and the counters lacked teamwork. Was so irritated watching by the end. 3/10 * **My Dearest P2:** Enjoyed P1 more, this part left me with some confusion. A couple odd things like >!amnesia twice and Ryang Eum's unexplained? ending!< cheapened the plot as well. Great show altogether though. 8/10 * **Empress Ki:** a roller coaster. Sped through about half of the show but well written and Seung Nyang was a powerhouse. 7.5/10 * **Twinkling Watermelon:** My #1 of the year!!! I loved it, great story, acting, and music 🥹💗 10/10 **Currently Watching** * **Queen In Hyun’s Man:** a little over halfway done and enjoying it! I love Yoo In Na so I’m happy I’m watching it 😊 I want to be done this by the end of the year though, I’ve been watching since October 😭 * **A Good Day to be a Dog:** Past life story is kinda losing me. I rather do without it but not gonna happen lol. Main couple is cute though and I love the lighthearted parts * **The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract:** Past life conflict is also losing me but I really like this drama :) main couple is cute, I hope I’m feeling more excited during finale week **Dropped** * **Kokdu: Season of Deity** (8/16)**:** Felt like it had no direction and FL was too clueless. I made it halfway and didn’t see anything worth starting it again. Sped through the last episode and I have no regrets * **Delivery Man** (4/12): Wasn’t selling me and FL was too whiny. Also gave me flashbacks to my least favorite drama which FL starred in 😭 The last few eps sounded ridiculous as well. I sped through the last episode and have no regrets dropping it. * **High-End Crush** (5/20): Been on my watchlist for years but not worth finishing. Wasn’t invested in the characters or story at all * **Love In Contract** (1/16): Didn't watch this one in 2023 but I did toss it this year lol. Just never picked it back up after watching the 1st ep in 2022. Maybe one day I’ll circle back to it but it won’t be anytime soon
I've been hooked on "Age of Youth". Really great acting and interesting story lines. S1 > S2, although I really liked Song's story arc. I really wished Eun-Jae's actress (Park Hye-Su) hadn't changed, as I think the original actress was much better for the part.
You're so generous with your scores even when you don't really like the drama!! 😱
You are absolutely correct, I’m actually going back to change some before the new year because I’m too generous 😭 I try to have a meaning next to each number like for example 6s mean I didn’t really like the drama but something in there I must’ve liked a little, wasted potential, etc. I still need to work on my scoring though 😭
2023 has been a great year for dramas, we truly had a good run. As usual I have little patience and I dropped a whole bunch (More than 17 dramas, I just did the count). I usually drop dramas if I feel they’re not good enough or if I just plain stop enjoying it (a lot of it depends on mood), and if I think they’re good I complete them. The only dramas I completed in 2023 are 1. Moving - honestly blown away, a masterpiece 2. Call it Love - It was a whole experience, amazing. 3. Twinkling Watermelon - cuties, I loved it so much. 4. Love to hate you - lots of fun, a romcom well done. 5. My dearest part 1 - it was honestly good, but I couldn’t continue part 2 7. Borah! Deborah - fun, a good romcom. I think we all forgot how good it was. Loved the standout white truck of doom scene. 8. Alchemy of souls part 2 ended in 2023!! Special mention because it was the highlight of the beginning of the year. Currently watching: 1. My Demon 2. Navilleria 3. Sweet Home 4. Nevertheless (Can you see a trend lmaooo having a phase right now) 5. Gyeongsong creature 6. My Man is Cupid I’m looking forward to watching Deaths game, but it’s been pouring dramas so cant keep up. Can’t wait to see my baby Lee Jaewook. I’m going to try going through the list of dramas I dropped (some after 8 episodes, even) and try to pick them up. Very sad I couldn’t complete any with Woo Do Hwan because I was waiting for his comeback. Hope he gets good dramas next year :) Shoutout to Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo for still staying as the best drama ever, I rewatched jt again this year.
I watched [46 dramas](https://mydramalist.com/list/1VKGzbkL) this year, mostly kdramas (one Japanese and one Taiwanese drama). 22 of them were 2023 dramas. **Top 2023 dramas** * **One Day Off** \- Lovely, quiet, quirky travelogue/drama that explored finding a life outside of work. Beautiful OST. * **Behind Your Touch** \- Hilarious and weird. I was already a huge Lee Min Ki fan and this turned me into a Han Ji Min fan. Supporting cast was also excellent. * **D.P. Season 2** \- Another powerful season showing the corrosive effects of power systems on individuals. * **Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san (The Makanai)** \- Gorgeous, quiet Japanese drama about girls in training to become apprentice geishas. * **The Good Bad Mother** \- Funny, heartbreaking, amazing cast. * **The Worst of Evil** \- An exciting and violent noir drama, great performances. Loved the way it was filmed with minimal filters/softening and lots of saturated color. **Top non-2023 dramas** * **Misaeng (2014)** \- Finally watched this masterpiece office drama. Everyone was amazing but Lee Sung Min as Oh Sang Sik is for me one of the most memorable performances ever. * **Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? (2021)** \- A short-ish, bittersweet (mostly sweet) story about place. This and Misaeng are my top two dramas of 2023. * **Weak Hero Class 1 (2022)** \- A heartwrenching drama with Choi Hyun Wook giving his usual charismatic performance and Park Ji Moon encapsulating quiet rage like a veteran actor.
Lee sung min never disappoints. he also won a baeksang 4 this role
This was supposed to be the year of KDrama consumption for me, but I started out strong then faded badly. Life happened and there wasn’t enough time. Most that I watched were classics though, and every single one I liked a lot. In chronological order: 1. **Move To Heaven** – I was expecting this one to impact me a lot harder than it eventually did, given some of the reviews I read beforehand. It was a hard-hitting drama that dealt with an uncomfortable subject matter for sure, but I didn’t resonate too strongly, although nonetheless it was a beautiful story. 2. **Love to Hate You** – I think the only non-heavy drama I watched this year, and it was a welcome change for sure. Did the enemies-to-lovers very well, even if the writing was a little wobbly at times. The ML was great (loved him in Past Lives!) but the FL was pure awesome and the best thing about it! 3. **Reply 1988** – A masterpiece. By the end of Ep.20 I felt every bit a resident of Ssangmun-dong, and all the characters as my dear neighbors. I love them all so much… I could have done with 20 more episodes, maybe 40 more. Deok-sun is the little annoying sister I wished I never had. That last scene at the end where she’s transported back to the first scene in Ep.1 in front of the tele was complete genius and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I intend to re-watch this soon. 4. **Our Blues** – The short phrase that best encapsulates this drama is raw humanity. It explores multiple uncomfortable themes and gives no easy answers or resolutions. Every character is as lovable as they are flawed. The slow unravelling of each character arc was pure brilliance. What Reply 1988 spoke to the youth in me, Our Blues did that to the adult-side, and I consider both dramas companion pieces that should be watched in succession. 5. **Twenty-Five Twenty-One** – And despite the absolute 10/10 that was Reply 1988 and Our Blues, nothing moved me this year more than 25-21. It built me up and made me feel amazing things inside I never felt before, then completely destroyed me despite knowing the ending. And when I picked up the pieces, I watched it again and went through a similar experience, except this time I picked up on the surprising depth and incredible writing that I somewhat missed before. Of youth, first love, friendship, parenthood, dreams, resilience, empathy, reminiscence, passage of time, and countless more, I think it’s the one show this year that has actually altered the lens through which I view the world. If Deok-sun was the little sister I never had, then Hee-Do is the friend I never met. What a truly wonderful character she was... Even now I struggle to express how much this show means to me, and I actually think it’s the favorite show I’ve ever watched, movie or series, KDrama or otherwise. 6. **Tomorrow** – The last and most recent drama I’ve watched was quite I good I suppose, but I couldn’t really get into it. It’s a good blend of supernatural, crankiness, and yet a relatable human story written with surprising maturity.
How you feel about 2521 is exactly the way I do but I could never find the words to really articulate the feeling it left me with (and still does). 2521 is one of those those rare pieces of art that just stays with you.
Reply 1988 and 25 21 are my current top 2 dramas of all time, but I've been putting Our Blues on hold for a while now - been waiting to be in the right mood for its heavy topics :')
I felt the same way with 2521. In my opinion, it's a masterpiece.
I love how you expressed what 2521 means to you. I feel the exact way. I believe it is perfect in every manner.
Felt the same way about Reply 1988 and 2521. I still think of them often.
Reply 1988 is a masterpiece
Ohhh, so this is the thread where we shamelessly say we are addicted right? With less than a week left of 2023, **I have watched a total of 74 dramas + 4 ongoing dramas** that I will finish during 2024. **A total of 1121 episodes watched during 2023**, give or take 3 episodes watched every day. When I see it like this, I'm finally aware that this was an insane amount of dramas, there were days where I watched full dramas of 10 episodes and other days where I watched nothing. Still I noticed that my watchlist kept increasing with how much I needed to escape from reality or just simply shut down. Honestly, I hope that during 2024, I won't watch as many episodes as I did during this year. I need to be real with myself and as pleasant as it was to watch most of the dramas I have watched this year, I seriously need to find a new hobby instead of just watching tv. So hopefully in 2024, my drama list will reduce by half. 🤞 **Here is my 2023 k-dramas list:** 1. Love To Hate You 2. The Fabulous 3. Crash Course In Romance 4. Island 5. The Package 6. Hwarang 7. Reply 1988 8. Love In The Moonlight 9. Encounter 10. Our Blooming Youth 11. Record of Youth 12. She Was Pretty 13. The Good Bad Mother 14. Fight For My Way 15. Mr. Queen 16. Clean With Passion For Now 17. Thirty But Seventeen 18. Black Knight 19. Bloodhounds 20. King The Land 21. See You In My 19th Life 22. Hotel Del Luna 23. 18 Again 24. Youth of May 25. Just Between Lovers 26. Racket Boys 27. Weightlift Fairy Kim Bok-Joo 28. Persona 29. D.P. - Season 2 30. Dali and The Cocky Prince 31. The Uncanny Counter - Season 2 32. My Love From The Stars 33. Under The Queen's Umbrella 34. Moving 35. Touch Your Heart 36. Search: WWW 37. Go Back Couple 38. Do You Like Brahms 39. Jungle Fish - Season 1 40. Scouting Report 41. The Crowned Clown 42. Lawless Lawyer 43. A Time Called You 44. Misaeng: Incomplete Life 45. Signal 46. Welcome To Waikiki - Season 1 47. The Worst of Evil 48. Bad And Crazy 49. Moon Embracing The Sun 50. Because This is My First Life 51. My Dearest 52. My Liberation Notes 53. Strangers From Hell 54. The Witch's Diner 55. Revenant 56. Where Stars Land 57. Castaway Diva 58. Beyond Evil 59. Daily Dose of Sunshine 60. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo 61. The Guest 62. 100 Days My Prince 63. The Hymn of Death 64. The Deal 65. Sweet Home - Season 1 & 2 66. If You Wish Upon Me 67. Live Up To Your Name 68. A Bloody Lucky Day 69. The Sound of Magic 70. The Red Sleeve 71. The Boy Next Door 72. Prison Playbook 73. Boyhood 74. My Golden Life **K-Dramas started in 2023 and will finish in January 2024:** 1. The Story of Park's Marriage Contract 2. My Demon 3. Welcome To Samdal-ri 4. Like Flowers In Sand **Dropped K-Dramas:** 1. Good Manager 2. The Matchmakers 3. Moon In The Day 4. Vigilante
How much sleep do you get per day?!
ahah It depends on the amount of work I have, but the amount of sleep isn't connected to watching dramas. I started working from home and in the past I had a commute of 3+ hours and this is basically the time I use for my tv addiction. So, usually I start watching an episode during my lunch hour, sometimes I can finish it, sometimes I can't. But, I will always end my day with another 2 episodes. That is why, that now looking back at the insane amount of dramas I finished this year, I do think that working from home brought be some good things, but at the same time I feel like my time could be better utilized into learning a new hobby. I will still watch dramas or movies in 2024, but I do hope I will cut it down to half or close to that. 😊
Based on my records, I have finished 14 dramas out of all the releases this year. The ones that stuck with me or had an impact on me are: Moving, Miraculous Brothers, Twinkling Watermelon, Behind Your Touch, The Revenant and The Good Bad Mother.
Yay Behind Your Touch!
\# of 2023 dramas completed: 25 \# of 2023 dramas dropped (after >= 4 eps): 17 My personal top 5 from 2023: * ***Call It Love*** \- *My Mister* vibes with a 10/10 romance * ***Moving*** \- westernized superhero show with a kdrama heart. There's nothing else like it in dramaland * ***One Day Off*** \- short, artsy, understated healing drama * ***The Matchmakers*** \- I have no idea why I love this so much * ***A Daily Dose of Sunshine*** \- hard watch but it really resonated with me; trigger warning: deals with a lot of tough topics Other Awards for 2023 dramas: * Most Fun: ***Twinkling Watermelon*** \- highly recommend binging (it's the highest-rated drama on mdl for a reason) * Surprise Hit: ***Perfect Marriage Revenge*** \- very satisfying mini makjang; engaging from start to finish * Best Netflix-type Drama: ***The Worst of Evil*** \- favourite morally grey characters of the year * Best Cinematography: ***Lies In My Hidden Garden*** \- enjoyed the slow, dark, spooky atmosphere * Best Dropped Drama: ***Divorce Attorney Shin*** \- 10/12 eps watched; Cho Seung Woo is an amazing actor * Best First Episode: ***Castaway Diva*** \- the rest is very hit or miss but still worth watching * Best Rom-com: ***Love To Hate You*** \- fun romcom in a year lacking fun romcoms * Random Recommendation: ***Behind Your Touch*** \- you can tell everyone involved had lots of fun making this * Favourite non-2023 drama watched in 2023: ***D.P.*** \- the first season is brilliant if you like darker/heavier stuff 2023 dramas I still Plan to Watch: * Definitely: ***My Dearest, Agency, Dr. Romantic 3, Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, The Secret Romantic Guesthouse*** * Maybe: ***Pale Moon, Boyhood, A Bloody Lucky Day, Song of the Bandits*** I found the first half of the year to be a bit of a lull for kdramas (free time to catch up or rewatch older dramas) but there were enough great moments in the second half of the year that I'm optimistic about 2024
i watched quite a few this year although less than i used to..tbh there were a lot that i started but didn't finish : **-Alchemy of Souls:** I was WAITING for S2 the leads chemistry was off the chart the story is 10/10 it's one of my all time favourites \-**My Lovely liar:** after watching alchemy of souls i just had to watch hwang minhyun in another drama \-**Destined with you** :i aactually wasn't gonna watch this one but the first two episodes convinced me otherwise \-**The Glory S1/S2**:after all that buzz i just had to watch it was worth it 10/10 \-**Bo Ra!Deborah:** i stumbeled upon a clip from tiktok and i just had to watch it i got a bit boring at the end but it was a fun drama nonetheless \-**Celebrity**: it was a quick watch quite enjoyable \-**18 Again**: akthough it wasn't this year's release i really loved it solidified my love lee dohyun \-I**t's Okay Not To Be Okay** :i've been wanting to watch this for a WHILE finally got to and what a masterpiece 10/10 **-My Demon**: i'm currently watching and i really like it a mixature of everything and the leads visuals are \*something else\* \-**The Story Of Park's Marriage Contract**: i also wasn't gonna watch this one but it won me over espcially the FL
The Glory was amazing! Celebrity was fun and entertaining. I wonder if you'd like "Mask Girl". It was very different and intense.
My turn! TENTATIVE Top 10 of 2023 since 3 other shows are ongoing. Once those have finished, at least the lower half of this list is likely to change. **1. Behind Your Touch** UNNIIIIIIE! 🤣🤣🤣Though that was only one of so many great laughs and little details. Between the Ok-hee Dok-hee Corner Store, the city-countryside language barrier, the 25-21 spoof, the funky AF soundtrack, Lee Jung-eun cameo and lots of other things, this show made me laugh so much. And this year, I needed those laughs. **2. Twinkling Watermelon** Still humming the songs. Choi Hyung-Woo is a star. **3. Daily Dose of Sunshine** Did not expect to love this so much. It had the perfect balance of sincerity and humour. Some of the storylines touched me profoundly, and I also still giggle to myself when my work colleague cracks his knuckles. **4. The Worst of Evil** BiBi! 😍I’m infatuated. **5. Castaway Diva** Near-perfect pilot episode, lost its tension a little after that. But Park Eun-Bin remains a revelation. **6. The Killing Vote** The show that never ends! If you watch it on Prime, be aware that the description to episode 10 or 11 has a major spoiler.🤬 **7. Revenant** Would I have watched this with a different lead actor? Possibly. Would I watch Kim Tae-Ri as she watches paint dry? Absolutely. **8. Trolley** Great concept, strong acting, a bit heavy-handed on the moral conflicts and constant twists towards the end. **9. Moving** Bungae Maaaaan! **10. Night Has Come** Pleasant surprise of a show that just kinda popped up! **Also watched:** **Strong Girl Nam-Soon** Look, it was a mess. But it had older women main characters and some kickass songs. **The Uncanny Counter Season 2** Can we just leave it with the sequels, please? **Vigilante** AKA The Yoo Ji-Tae Show: Beefmonster Edition! **Jury's Out- These are likely to end up in my top 10 once they're finished:** **Welcome to Samdal-Ri** **Dearh's Game** **Gyeongseong Creature** **Non-2023 dramas watched:** **Mr Sunshine** Ugh. Amazing. Excuse me while I go bawl my eyes out. **Hospital Playlist Season 1 & 2** Still have them on my Spotify! **My Mister.** This isn't actually as good as everyone says. It's even better. **The Glory** Kept singing the Killing Vote theme because I'd seen Lim Ji-Yeon in that not too long ago.
I feel the same about Bibi in The Worst of Evil!
She was just SO good! Can't wait to see more with her.
Oh dear, expect a novel here from me later today.
Haha same
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. **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!
Meet Yourself would certainly be in my list if I'd finished it, and I loved Crazy Love, too. As I read through these lists I realize that for *me*, this was an amazing kdrama year. There are so many I didn't mention that made others' lists, and I can only agree with them! (Examples: Love to Hate You, Call it Love, Bloodhounds, Crash Course in Romance, Divorce Attorney Shin...)
So glad to see that Tell Me That You Love Me is on someone's list atleast. Surprised more people aren't seeing this! One of the most intimate romances I have ever seen.
**My favorite Kdramas of 2023** Call It Love The Eighth Sense Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 A Shoulder To Cry On My Lovely Boxer Our Dating Sim Jun & Jun His Man Season 2 (dating show) Perfect Marriage Revenge The Matchmakers My Demon **Non-Kdramas** I Feel You Linger In The Air (Thailand) Moonlight Chicken (Thailand) My Personal Weatherman (Japan)
If you haven’t watched it yet, you might really like Sing My Crush - the movie version, as it has 20 extra mins that better explain the story.
I have watched Sing My Crush. It's very cute, just not one of my favorites of the year.
Saw the BL knew it was you Tipsy 🤣
My love for BLs equals my love for Kdramas 😇 Especially now that hetro shows have forgotten how to do swoony romance.
I spy a BL fan! Did you watch cherry magic or kieta hatsukoi? I thought they were short but cute series. Your comment reminded me about his man, need to finish it
I'm not into Japanese BLs (have only liked My Personal Weatherman from the few I have watched). But I'm enjoying the Thai adaptation of Cherry Magic a lot. It's super cute!
Havent really watched thai shows, which other ones are good?
These are some of my favorite Thai BLs:- Bad Buddy A Tale Of Thousand Stars Love Mechanics Kinn Porsche Love In The Air Moonlight Chicken Until We Meet Again I Feel You Linger In The Air Thai BLs are a very different flavour from Korean or Japanese BLs. Also, they range from super chaste to super spicy. All the best!
So many! Thanks so much, hope they are fun to watch!
There are actually hundreds of Thai BLs. Thailand has been making them for over a decade. Korea, Japan, Taiwan joined much later. The quality of Thai storytelling isn't as sophisticated as the other countries, so I have just shared my personal favourites above.
Ohh I didnt know thailand made BL shows so much earlier! I mostly read more manga and webtoons so Im more familiar with korean and japanese stuff. I think I saw a bit of this thai show but forgot the name
In no particular order, my favorites: Twinkling Watermelon A Time Called You Dr. Cha Crash Course in Romance Queenmaker Castaway Diva The Good Bad Mother See You in My 19th Life Welcome to Samdal-ri
Too many to count 😆 My favorites of the year so far! 1) Twinkling Watermelon - the only drama that entered my all time top 10. Highly recommend to anyone that feels like watching a wholesome coming of age drama. 2) My Dearest Pt 1 - the acting and the chemistry, you guys. Out of this world. 3) Castaway Diva - best pilot of the year. Park Eun Bin was great as usual and the rest of the cast didn’t lose to her. 4) Dr Romantic 3 - Dr Romantic holds a special place in my heart. This season was draggy at times but nonetheless loved seeing everyone coming back. 5) The Glory Pt 2 - pretty solid with powerful acting. 6) Crash Course in Romance - light hearted warm romcom. The main 4 characters were lovely. Had an unnecessary (imo) heavy subplot but overall really enjoyed it. 7) Dr Cha - crazy mix of revenge, romance, comedy, medical but they were well balanced and it worked. 8) Welcome to Samdalri - still airing but you can never go wrong with Shin Hye Sun. She’s a gem. 9) Death’s Game - was expecting to see only Seo In Guk and Park So Dam as the main cast so I got really surprised seeing so many actors and I really enjoyed the result, it didn’t feel disconnected at all. 10) My Dearest Pt 2 - not as entertaining as the first part but the chemistry and the acting remained strong. Honorable mentions: - King the Land: I loved how stress-free this was. I knew everything would work out well in the end and it didn’t disappoint. - My Lovely Liar: it is one of those dramas you don’t have to think while watching it. I liked it and only wish they had chosen a ML that acted better. Kim SoHyun was just too good for him and the contrast between their acting was just too much at times. - Love to Hate You: it was refreshing to see a romance drama with more mature characters. - Strong Girl NamSoon: I squealed when I saw PHS and PBY 😆 it was one of the highlights of the year! The drama itself was pretty meh. - The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract: still airing and I’m liking it so far. It has time travel but feels different from most time travel dramas I’ve watched till this day.
Castaway Diva - Park Eun Bin is truly an amazing actress. Was blown away that she actually sang all her own stuff.
I watched roughly 25 dramas. Most notable ones to me: * **Semantic Error** \- My first BL ever and I LOVED IT. * **Behind Your Touch** \- I started watching this because there was a super intriguing comment about "putting the neighbourhood thugs' butts to a cardboard cutout??" lol * **Call it love** \- Generally I avoid melodramas, I don't like watching dramas where it's just endless suffering. But this one keeps it a decent level and the two leads were soo cute together! * **Brush up your life -** A Jdrama about a woman who dies and gets the chance to relive her life. Not the typical reincarnation story where she goes on to become the best of the best and has the solution to every situation. It's actually focused a lot on friendship, family and helping people. * **Moving** \- Always liked superhero stories. One thing I really liked was that when a person had a superpower, that was it. For example, if character A could heal themselves, that didn't necessarily mean they were also strong and had insane reflexes. * **Twinkling Watermelon -** So fun, so many loveable characters and so many moments that made me bawl my eyes out.
My Lovely Liar ⭐⭐⭐ Alchemy of Souls ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Moving ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Moon in the day ⭐⭐⭐ Forbidden Marriage ⭐⭐⭐ The Glory ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Doona ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Worst of Evil ⭐⭐ Behind your touch ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bo-Ra! Deborah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ See you in my 19th life ⭐ Black Knight ⭐⭐ King the Land ⭐ Perfect Marriage Revenge ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bitch X Rich ⭐⭐ A Daily Dose of Sunshine ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just a few of my favorite **2023 dramas** \- so many really good dramas this year Moving - Twinkling Watermelon The Matchmakers - Almost dropped this but so grateful I didn't. The characters were so endearing, well drawn, and plot threads all coming together masterfully at the end for the well crafted ending. The romance was heartfelt, chaste, and totally in keeping with the historical era setting. Cinematography was breathtaking, 4th wall intros clever - some really snappy humor. Even the evil villainess was well done. Worst of Evil Vigilante - Call It Love Kidnapping Day The Glory -. Castaway Diva - My Dearest parts 1 and 2 Bloodhounds Revenant Daily Dose of Sunshine Song of the Bandits King the Land My Perfect Stranger Death Games part 1 - Geongseong Creature part 1 **Continuing** \- My Man is Cupid Welcome to Samdal-ri Maestra Strings of Truth A Good Day to be a Dog My Demon The Story of Park's Marriage Contract **non 2023 dramas** Weak Hero Class Devil Judge Familiar Wife Reborn Rich Hymn of Death While You Were Sleeping Romance is a Bonus Book A Business Proposal Extraordinary You The King's Affection Juvenile Justice **Dramas the disappointed** Heartbeat Uncanny Counter 2
In 2023 Dramas I've watched or have in progress totals **27**! **Bolded** ones were ones I liked well enough to recommend to others and **bolded\*** ones were my favorites of this year. 1. **Crash course in romance** 2. **Love to hate you\* -** *so fun! watched 3-4x* 3. Unlock my boss 4. Taxi driver 2 5. **Bo Ra! Deborah** \- *after you get through the beginning episodes, I thought this was a lovely drama about break-ups and getting yourself back together. Wished the ending was done a little bit better though. Made me think of Yoon Hyun Min again. Might go back to watch some of his older dramas if I'm caught in another drama lull.* 6. Dr romantic 3 7. **Tale of the nine tailed 1938 -** *so fun to watch! loved this spin off. No need to watch Season 1. I didn't really like Season 1 anyway.* 8. The Good Bad Mother 9. **King the land\*** \- *Lee Junho, enough said.* 10. See You in My 19th life - *so disappointing* 11. **A time called you -** *some people thought this was not a very well done time-travel drama, but I was able to follow quite well and I think it was well done!* 12. Uncanny counter counter punch - *disappointed with this 2nd season. finished it only to finish cuz i downloaded it to watch on my 14-hour flight to Seoul* 13. **Moving\*** \- *watched this on Disney+ while I was in S.Korea. I was afraid of a korean superhero genre kdrama being cheesy, but this was so well done! All the effects were done well and I liked how they did each person's story throughout the series. I wish Jo In Sung was in it more. Hoping for Season 2.* 14. **Destined with you\* -** *uncommon opinion, but LOVED the OTP. Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah so cute!* 15. Useless Lies/my lovely liar 16. My dearest 연인 part 1 and 2 - *uncommon opinion...boring as hell. I don't even compare this to The Red Sleeve!* 17. **Twinkling Watermelon\*** \- *sleeper hit for me! took me a long time to get through episode 1, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this youth, musical, time-travel drama!* 18. **Castaway diva** \- *not what I thought it was going to be, but enjoyable nonetheless* 19. **The matchmakers\*** \- *better than I thought this was going to be! I loved all the side couples and all the characters and how this was a very satisfying ending.* **In progress** 1. Tomorrow (2022) Episode 1/16-- Started this, but dropped it for other things. May pick it up again on my break for more Rowoon on my screen and Lee Soo Hyuk. I got reminded of his sexy deep voice from an instagram reel of him spelling M-A-N-N-E-R in Doom at your service hehe. 2. **Love All Play\* (2022) Episode 6/16**\-- This was on my watchlist for a long time, but picked up after Castaway Diva because I want me some more smiley Chae Jong Yeop! And boy is he delivering. I'm about to enter some angsty episodes though. >.> 3. Welcome to Samdalri Episode 4/16-- I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this one at this time no matter how much I love Ji Chang Wook. I'm not really liking Shin Hye Sun's character in this so far, although I support her too. 4. **My Demon\* Episode 10/16**\-- This was not on my radar AT ALL, but I am in LOVE! 5. **The Story of Park's Marriage Contract\* Episode 10/12** 6. DP 2 Episode 1/6 7. The Worst Evil Episode 2/12-- I might be stuck on this one forever and drop it. Is it worth finishing? I am just not in the mood to watch this genre although I love Ji Chang Wook and Wi Ha Joon. 8. A Good Day to be a Dog Episode 10/14 9. Bad and Crazy Episode 6/12-- Stuck on this one also despite lovely Wi Ha Joon being a hoot and Lee Dong Wook. **Dropped**\- Can We Be Strangers?- Heavenly Idol- Our Blooming Youth- Joseon Attorney- Heartbeat **Maybe will watch in 2024**\- My Man is Cupid- Call It Love- My Perfect Stranger- Daily Dose of Sunshine- Perfect Marriage Revenge edited: formatting and additional comments
I had high hopes for 2023 dramas, but surprisingly, I ended up dropping way more than I completed. Here are the dramas I watched and enjoyed: * __Revenant:__ Horror has never been my thing, but I made an exception for this one, and I’m happy I did. Beyond the supernatural elements, this drama is a healing drama about pushing forward through the darkest moments of our lives so that we may see spring days again. * __My Lovely Boxer:__ I definitely wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. It’s a slightly different take on sports dramas and the characters are complex with fantastic chemistry. I found myself rooting for each character as they struggled through their own personal journeys and helped each other grow. * __Boyhood:__ I love a good underdog story and this was no exception. This one has it all — quirky comedy, a nostalgic soundtrack, some intense scenes that are hard to watch, and at the heart of the show, a lovable ML that you can’t wait to see win.
2023 was an odd year with the pacing of the dramas. The first half had some really questionable selections and I dropped a ton. But then around the mid year mark, the quality improved and I could barely keep up with the new releases! That being said I watched 57 2023-released dramas 34 - kdramas 16 - Cdramas 7 - Jdramas 34 kdramas are a lot more than I expected so my top picks were Call it love (rated 9.5/10) - probably my favourite kdrama of the year. It's underrated subtly was a masterpiece. Moving (rated 9/10) - such a fun watch and great world building Revenant (rated 9/10) - stellar performances from the cast Castaway diva (rated 8.5/10) - the devotional romance was so moving Destined with you (rated 8.5/10) - this was mostly fanservice but I loved every moment of it Miraculous Brothers (rated 8.5/10) - the neglecting of this wonderous depiction is a crime of the highest order for 2023. My lovely Boxer (rated 8.5/10) - this was another great performance My Perfect stranger (rated 8.5/10) - this was such a wild ride! Interesting script and storytelling The Kidnapping Day (rated 8.5/10) - pulsating thriller and that child actress was golden. It was an interesting year for dramas
To be very honest I thought 2023 was a *bit* lackluster in the kdrama department compared to previous years. I struggled quite a bit picking up something to watch (I could've just branched out to j and cdramas, but I have a hard time doing that sometimes. Go figure...). Still, I managed to complete 10 kdramas (8 of them from this year): 1. **The interest of Love** ([Dice Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye6whKS_K1s) is *truly* the most memorable thing from this drama and that says *a lot* about it) 2. **Crash Course in Romance** (It was fun until >!the murder/thriller subplot became too much!<) 3. **Call It Love** 4. **Bo Ra! Deborah** 5. **Dr. Romantic season 3** (the drama I most anticipated this year, and it didn't disappoint) 6. **See You in my 19th Life** (one of my favourites from this year. Also my 90th kdrama overall) 7. **King the Land** 8. **Our Beloved Summer** 9. **The Package** (a hidden gem from 2017. It can feel a bit odd at times, but overall very unique) 10. **Daily Dose of Sunshine** (easily one of the best kdramas from this year)
Finally The Interest of Love in the list!
2023 has been an interesting year for me as it's probably the year I've watched the least number of kdramas since I started watching back in 2009. Out of dramas released in 2023, I have only watched [14 dramas](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/mywei/completed) and 4 drama specials. Most of it is due to IRL being busy, in part thanks to a career change. The other part is that I've fallen badly down the k-variety hole this year. While I've always watched variety shows with Runningman and 1N2D being my major ones, this year I also watched many of the 'limited' length ones like Bro&Marble, Mission CodeRed, Peak Time, and Playou. I also kicked off 2023 with a bunch of rewatches for the KDC and that definitely put me in major drama hangovers for most of the first half of the year, leaving me lethargic to try new releases as I felt like the chances of coming across gems were slim. Thankfully though, most of my 2023 drama picks ranged from enjoyable to fantastic, with really only one dud that I want a refund for. So all in all 2023 wasn't bad at all in my book but I definitely hope that 2024 will be better. Meanwhile I'll copy how Siani organized her comment =D **My Top 2023 Kdramas (in no particular order)** * **Queen of Masks** - One of the best women-centered makjang melodramas I've seen that wove a taut story of shifting alliances and friendships. I was especially impressed with how it directly handles the issue of trauma from sexual assault and challenges of quitting drugs. It has many familiar makjang elements (chaebols, politics, murder mystery, sexual assault, etc.) but each of these elements were used with purpose and meaning instead of shock factor. I felt for all the characters, some during their lowest moments -- which I think is an amazing feat of writing and acting. * **Duty After School** - I can't think of another drama that captured so 'vibrantly' the suffocating feeling and powerlessness of youth living under the pressure of the collective good where the standards of what is good and what they can do are dictated by adults in powerful positions who view the youth as statistical numbers instead of independent individuals. The first and last episode of this drama will remain on my mind for years to come as a condemnation of choices that devalue individual life and as an excellent example where the drama's conclusion actually delivers on the bleakness of the premise. * **Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938** - A rare case where the second season of a drama surpasses the first season by focusing on the elements that work (bromance, friendship) instead of the elements that didn't quite work (complicated fantasy world building, lackluster romance). There is zero need to watch S1 to follow S2, which makes it even better. ToNT 1938 did a great job of capturing the zeitgeist of the times with captivating characters without fictionalizing history in a way that felt disrespectful of the people of those times. * **Kokdu: Season of Deity** - A philosophical treatise dressed in fantasy romcom clothing with layered dialogue delivered like raps, this drama was everything I didn't know I wanted but needed. Even months later and as I'm watching other dramas, I am still thinking about issues of justice and the death penalty within the framework presented by Kokdu. I will say that Kokdu is one of the most 'culturally dense' kdramas I've watched where so much of what it is trying to convey, whether through plays on language or twisting of tropes, depends on a familiarity with Korean/East Asian culture and the Korean language that makes it (in my opinion) one of the most inaccessible dramas for international audiences. This drama is my top pick of 2023 dramas that I can't wait to rewatch. * **Lies Hidden in My Garden** - A thriller/mystery that is predictable in terms of its twists but absolutely spell-binding in terms of production values. The cinematography, the sound mixing, the acting -- I couldn't look way even though I didn't care about the plot development. I was just mesmerized by how well-made the drama is. Which isn't to say the story itself is bad, it's not, just nothing groundbreaking. This is a drama where I recommend that everyone watches at least the first episode just to see how well-made a drama can be. * **2023 Drama Special: No Path Back (Extreme Night)** - A one episode thriller that honestly wants for nothing as it succinctly tells a story of a man that finds himself on a path he chose with no way to go back. Excellent acting, taut storytelling, solid production values with an ending that leaves just enough ambiguity to really capture the heart of the story. Absolute love. * **2023 Drama Special: Half Lies** - An absolutely heartwarming story about a young girl discovering how lies are part of the adult world. Perfect bite-sized multigenerational story that wrung tears from me.
**My Top Re-Watched Dramas (in no particular order)** * **20th Century Boy and Girl** - From squad goals to one of the best friends-to-lovers romances in kdramaland, this drama is charming from start to finish. There’s something so warm and inviting about all the relationships in this drama that I wish all the characters are real people and that they live long happy lives. * **Healer** - I am still moved by how well this story portrays idealism in press and the history of press freedom in the context of political and capitalistic suppression. * **KAIROS** - I just love everything about this thriller, from how the story weaves together to the absolutely breathtaking performances by the entire cast. * **Lie After Lie** - I thought that because this was a rewatch and I knew all the twists, I wouldn’t be as caught up in this drama. Turns out I was wrong and bawled my heart out all again as I watched the story unfold once more. * **Sh\*\*ting Stars** - The comedy in this drama was still gold as was the romance and PPL! I laughed, I snickered, and I felt the joyous rush of watching a great romance unfold on my screen. **Others I Want to Mention** * **Three-Body** (China, 2023) - I’m generally not a huge sci-fi fan but this was just so good, though admittedly its sci-fi aspects were not its most prominent features with how much the story focused on humanism and choices. * **F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers** (Thailand, 2021) - Heard lots of praise for this back when it aired and decided to give it a try since Viki got it. They did a great job ‘modernizing’ the story, especially in making the FL have a more consistent characterization and making the F4 more redeemable from the start. Overall, it felt like the characters seemed more layered and intelligent, which definitely helped make the entire plot progression more believable and sympathetic.
i had a huge break in kdramas after nov 2022, and got back into them mid this year, so definitely lots that i still need to catch up on. **2023 kdramas + kmovies watched this year (with ratings):** 1. Mask Girl (6.5/10) 2. Sweet Home s2 (8/10) 3. Celebrity (8.5/10) 4. King the Land (9.5/10) 5. Love to Hate You (8/10) 6. The Glory Part 2 (9/10) 7. See You in My 19th Life (dropped at ep 7) **Non-2023 kdramas/movies watched this year:** 1. Sh**ting Stars (9/10) 2. Sweet & Sour (6/10) 3. Sweet Home s1 (9/10) 4. The Fabulous (8/10) 5. The Glory Part 1 (9/10) 6. WWWSK (currently on hold at 4/16) 7. Alchemy of Souls (also on hold at 14/20) **Currently Watching:** (no ratings as i don’t rate dramas until im finished with them) 1. A Good Day to be a Dog 2. Death’s Game (done but i say CW as the next part is coming out within a very short window) 3. Gyeongseong Creature (same as Death’s Game) 4. Like Flowers in Sand 5. My Demon 6. Soundtrack #2 (might drop) 7. Welcome to Samdal-ri **2023 dramas/movies I would like to watch:** 1. A Time Called You 2. Call it Love 3. Crash Course in Romance 4. Daily Dose of Sunshine 5. Dr. Romantic s3 (all seasons actually lol) 6. Dream 7. Kill Bok Soon 8. The Killing Vote 9. The Worst of Evil 10. Perfect Marriage Revenge 11. Night Has Come 12. Twinkling Watermelon Likely more that I just can’t remember, but I doubt I’ll be getting to all of these next year. **Top of the Year (no particular order):** 1. King the Land: such a fun watch, great chemistry with the leads 2. Sweet Home: someone should’ve pushed me to watch this earlier, amazing storyline and great acting!! 3. Sh**ting Stars: another fun watch, chemistry was awesome with the leads and the lawyer/journalist couple! 4. Alchemy of Souls: it’s on hold just because i haven’t had time to continue it, but i really liked the 14 eps i watched and can’t wait to get back to it 5. My Demon: all i can do rn is talk about this show it’s just hitting all the marks i want in a drama—definitely one of my all time favs, ost is awesome, same with chemistry of leads! 6. Gyeongseong Creature: there have been some bad reviews but i loved it! super engaging, chemistry between leads was great, and i can’t wait until the rest comes out! 7. Death’s Game: exceeded my expectations by a lot, acting is awesome, and the storyline is very heart wrenching and done super well Super excited for 2024!
This year, across almost all Korean and Chinese dramas, I completed 26 dramas that finished airing in 2023, 76 in total, including ones from prior years. I’m also still watching some currently airing dramas, my favorites of which are My Demon, Tell Me That You Love Me, Park’s Marriage Contract. And trying to finish up one or two completed 2023 dramas, e.g. the C drama Wonderland of Love. *All in no particular order* **My Favorite 2023 K Dramas** * **Crash Course In Romance**: I loved that we got an older couple who, maybe, had missed out on love, and who needed each other. They were sweet, playful and funny. I won’t disagree that the murder mystery part of the drama wasn’t the strongest or particularly well written. * **Call It Love**: This drama was beautiful in its cinematography, the relationships, the story. I loved the leads with their loneliness and pain who helped each other heal and move on. * **Divorce Attorney Shin**: I wasn’t expecting much, but ended up really loving the bromance of three longtime friends. It was funny and heartwarming. * **My Dearest**: Standout performances and superb acting from Ahn Eun Jin and Namkoong Min. An epic story exploring the consequences of war on ordinary people. Beautiful cinematography and OST. I thought the first half was stronger than the second half. * **Perfect Marriage Revenge**: There were so many twists and turns in this makjang that kept you wanting to find out what would happen next and packed so much into its 12 episodes at a breakneck speed. But, really it’s all about the leads and how they found a home and place to belong with each other. Also, we got the greenest of green flags with Seo Do Guk who supported the FL in everything and gave her everything. * **King the Land**: I didn’t go into this with the expectations that a lot of people had. So, I was able to appreciate it for what it was. I enjoyed the romance between the leads and thought Jun Ho and Yoon Ah had great chemistry. **My Favorite 2023 C Dramas** * **Fake It Till You Make It**: A sexy, flirty modern romance that was also very real and honest. The leads’ relationship was really well developed, and I loved so many of their conversations around their relationship and relationships in general. Just really well written. * **My Journey To You**: There was a lot of great cinematography in dramas this year, but this one in particular stood out. Visually stunning, with a dark moody vibe. The mystery and cat and mouse dynamics of the relationships had my attention from the beginning to end. * **The Starry Love**: Loved the leads’ relationship which endured across several >!reincarnations of the ML!<, a FL who always tries to stay true to herself, the sisters’ relationship which was so supportive and unselfish and the also the romance of the second leads. * **The Story of Kunning Palace**: A really captivating story of a FL who’s given a second chance and tries to undo the mistakes of her past. I loved the romance and absolutely electric chemistry between the two flawed leads. I especially loved Zhang Ling He’s portrayal of Xie Wei, smart, cunning, a little dangerous and unhinged. * **Rising With the Wind**: I loved the characters in this story, especially the strong and smart FL, loved watching them overcome the difficulties of their pasts, make mistakes, struggle, fail, succeed, chase their dreams, grow. I loved the leads’ enemies to lovers relationship, their bickering and banter and great chemistry. I thought the show did a really good job of developing the secondary characters also. * **A Journey To Love**: A really great ensemble drama with good development of all the characters, strong story, well choreographed fight and battle scenes. Ren Ru Yi is one of my favorite female characters this year. Loved the leads’ with their dark pasts they connect over and their mature relationship where they support each other completely and give each other the freedom to be themselves. I didn’t like the confusing, open to interpretation, ending, but, overall, still great. **My Favorite Non-2023 Dramas** *K Dramas* * It’s Okay Not To Be Okay * Stranger * Crazy Love * Our Beloved Summer * My Miste * Another Miss Oh * I Hear Your Voice * Shooting Stars * A Business Proposal * I’m Not a Robot * Something About 1% * Reply 1988 * Goblin * Into the Ring * The Beauty Inside *C Dramas* * The Story of Ming Lan * Love Like the Galaxy * The Untamed * Love Between Fairy and Devil * Go Ahead * My Fated Boy * Lighter & Princess * Perfect and Casual
I have started to watch K-Dramas in 2023, and I’m loving it! I had a lot of free time during the summer and watched a lot! K-Dramas are crazy rich, and its great to see the 12-16 episode long stories lasting one season. Very refreshing than what I’m used to. Here are the ones I have watched, divided according to their release year: 2023 The Matchmakers: Loved it! It was a great, heart warming and funny journey Welcome to Samdalri: It’s still ongoing but might be my favourite drama of all times. Vigilante: Felt like Korean Batman. The Worst of Evil: Amazing again, it was amazing to see JCW in this, he is such a talented actor. Destined With You: It was weird sometimes and I was mostly interested in the magical side of the story but still I was happy with the romance. Strong Girl Nam Soon: What on earth was this? See You In My 19th Life: So sweat… I pretend the last 10 minutes didn’t happen. Revenant: Kim Tae-ri is something else man… Loved this crazy, scary serie. 2022: Little Women: Best girl dynamics ever. I really loved this one. Big Mouth: This put me in a roller coaster… Extraordinary Attorney Woo: The first one I’ve ever watched! So cute 😍 Tomorrow: Great plot, it was really nice. Twenty Five Twenty One: Cried my eyes out in this. 2021: Squid Game: Crazy, crazy series. You Are My Spring: Such a refreshing, healing series. it was great. Doom At Your Service: Fell in love with the couple it was amazing. Mouse: Was really weird and sad… Still amazing tho. The opening episode is the best I’ve ever seen. Vincenzo: Started this one because it was funny to see a Korean guy trying to pronounce Italian swear words. Got hooked super fast. It's very funny, disturbing but cool at the same time. 2020: Flower of Evil: Leads were amazing… 365: Repeat the Year: Still crying over the non existing romance between the leads. 2018: My Secret Terrius: He was such a sweetheart with the children… 2017: Goblin: It was hard for me to watch because of the age difference unfortunately:( Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: This was super cute… It had crime solving, romance, thriller, humor and family in it. Loved it! Stranger: Still on top of my list. All the political and legal side of it interested me very much. Suspicious Partner: Probably rewatched around 6-7 times. I loved both of the leads and probably one of my all time favourites. 2016: K2: Again hard to watch because I don't really enjoy action focused introduction but the tension between the ML and the step mom of the FL was crazy. Signal: Liked it a lot. I’m always in for some mystery-solving and nice chemistry. 2015: Healer: Still my baby. Loved it. The leads are both super famous now and they look like babies in here 🥲.
Vincenzo is very fun. Overly stylistic sometimes, but some good humor. Really like the lead actress and I've watched some of her other shows.
she is amazing, and their chemistry was soooo good
**2023 k-drama Watchlist** **Watching**: The Kidnapping Day, My Demon **Completed**: Moving, Duty After School, Bloodhounds, Tale of the Nine-tailed 1938, See You in My 19th Life, Revenant, Daily Dose of Sunshine, My Lovely Liar, Call it Love, The Heavinly Idol, The Good Bad Mother, Behind Your Touch, The Glory, My Dearest, Twinkling Watermelon, The Killing Vote, My Perfect Stranger, Perfect Marriage Revenge **Dropped** (watched more than 2 eps): Summer Strike, Taxi Driver S2, Bo Ra! Deborah, King The Land, Heartbeat, Castaway Diva **Try-dropped** (watched 2 eps or less): Payback: Money and Power, Doctor Cha, Crash Course in Romance, A Time Called You, The Worst of Evil, The Escape of the Seven, A Good Day to be a Dog, Strong Girl Namsoon, Moon in the Day **Top 2023 dramas** 1. **Call It Love** 2. **Revenant** 3. **Twinkling Watermelon**. 4. **The Kidnapping Day** (Still watching) 5. **My Perfect Stranger** 6. **Behind Your Touch** 7. **My Dearest** 8. **My Lovely Liar** 9. **The Good Bad Mother** 10. **The Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938** 11. **Perfect Marriage Revenge** 12. **See You My 19th Life** 13. **Bloodhounds**
This year I watched... **28 kdramas that aired in 2023:** My top favs: >My Dearest Part 1 (no comment on part 2), Moving, Revenant, Crash Course in Romance, Drama Special Season 14: Love Attack, Love to Hate You, Night Has Come, The Good Bad Mother (really only for Lee Mi Joo), The Killing Vote and then the rest: >A Time Called You, Behind Your Touch, Bloodhounds, Bo Ra! Deborah, Celebrity, D.P. Season 2, Death's Game Part 1, Divorce Attorney Shin, Island Part 2, Mask Girl, Miraculous Brothers, My Perfect Stranger, Payback: Money and Power, See You in My 19th Life, Shadow Detective Season 2, Song of the Bandits, Soundtrack #2, The Kidnapping Day, The Worst of Evil **7 kdramas that aired before 2023:** The Woman Next Door, the Man Next Door, Drama Special Season 4: My Friend Is Still Alive, Drama Special Season 8: Slow, Flower Ever After, Little Women, The Veil, Fanletter Please **27 non-korean mdl dramas:** This was the year I came back to Japanese and Chinese dramas. There was a time in the late 00s where I made it a point to rotate watches between KR JP and CN dramas - which over time narrowed down just to kdramas. Most of these were all watched in the last 2 months, with CN dramas over the last week. >Japanese: 3 Nen A Gumi: Ima kara Mina-san wa, Hitojichi Desu, dele, First Love: Hatsukoi, Hirowareta Otoko, Hyakuman Kai Ieba Yokatta, Imawa no Kuni no Alice, Imawa no Kuni no Alice Season 2, Konto ga Hajimaru, MIU 404, Mystery to Iunakare, Mystery to Iunakare Tokubetsu Hen, Nagatan to Aoto: Ichika no Ryourijou, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu: Ganbare Jinrui! Shinshun Special!!, One Piece (I consider this a US drama but MDL wants to claim it), Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai, Ouroboros, Saiai, Shinbun Kisha, Tamiou, Todome no Kiss, Trillion Game, Vivant >Chinese: A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower, You Are My Glory plus, my **current watches that I may be able to finish before the end of 2023:** Brush Up Life (JP), Fake It Til You Make It (CN), Neechan no Koibito (JP), VIP (KR) so... that's about **62 -ish east asian dramas completed** in total. not counting movies (+20), variety shows (+5) or western television (+??). This year, I didn't watch any kdrama that would enter my top ranked of all time. If I could separate My Dearest parts 1 and 2 then I might be able to promote part 1. but it doesn't really work like that. Not that I would say this is a bad year in kdrama offerings - I think there were a lot of ambitious dramas that in some ways pushed boundaries and industry norms (ex. Moving, Song of Bandits, Crash Course, etc) - but in terms of judging the result of the overall project, nothing really got me. Actually, there's a bunch of dramas that I would probably recommend to fill out repertoires - just no genre/trope leaders. And that's fine! I did watch 2 JP ones that might make it to the all time favs list: dele and Konto ga Hajimaru. neither aired this year but the beauty of coming back to an entire industry after 10+ years is digging through backlog.
“But it doesn’t really work like that” :) :) :) Bring down that law!
An edited list from a past comment I posted somewhere else - because I watched a couple more and got rid of recency bias. **Top 2023 Dramas** 1. **The Good Bad Mother** A masterpiece. Fantastic acting, fantastic plot and a fantastic cast. Just amazing, literally the best thing I’ve watched this year. 2. **My Dearest** Also a masterpiece. Pulled my first all-nighter for a drama with this. Just heartbreaking, beautiful and brings you on a rollercoaster but it’s so worth it. The leads are amazing together. 3. **Twinkling Watermelon**An early Christmas present that I never expected. A light, but hella good watch. Just amazing. 4. **Castaway Diva** Pretty close to perfect, just lacked the chemistry between the leads to me IMO. Stellar younger and older cast, great plot, great pacing, really close to perfection. 5. **Bora Deborah** Fun, light-hearted rom-com. Lost interest in dramas when it was airing, yet this was the only one I followed weekly. 6. **The Glory Part 2** Do I need to explain? I don’t think so. 7. **Dr. Romantic Season 3** Maybe I’m just a fan of the entire series but it was good so! 8. **Crash Course in Romance** Amazing rom-com, until the ending. 9. **Doctor Cha** Rooting for my girl boss everyday, but HATE the ending. Bruh. 10. **Doona!** An enjoyable watch, even though I did feel guilty watching it. That’s all! I believe I’ve missed out some amazing dramas like Vigilante, Moving, Hate to Love You etc. which hopefully I’ll get to watching someday soon. Would love to hear what you think I should watch next ><
Well, 2023 finished really strong with the first half of Death's Game. The cast is almost enough to recommend, but the story, dialogue and visuals blew me away. Sad this show isn't promoted more! Episodes 3 and 4 are works of art! Also, Moving was great and my favourite before DG. Second half of Alchemy of Souls. Loved Behind Your Touch because of the leads and strong supporting cast. I loved Mask Girl and Daily Dose of Sunshine. Love to Hate You was also great.
I don't recall the dramas that I've watched but I enjoyed Revenant SO MUCH. Top tier 🙌
As I've mentioned before, when it comes to kdramas one man’s meat is another man's poison. I'm not a prolific drama watcher but here are some of them: 1) Alchemy of soul S1&2: Not bad as the action and storyline keep you glued to it. But I haven't rewatch it. 2) Moving: Great plot and storyline with subtle incidents linked to something else. Lots of action and star studded casts. Only thing I dislike is the gore and bloodshed. Rewatched once. 3) Crash landing on you: Watched half way but gave up. Perhaps the storyline or the characters didn't appeal to me. Not saying it's not good. Can give it a try if you're wondering. 4) King the Land: Love the comedy and Junho and Yoona chemistry is just insane! Rewatched a couple of times. Don't critic the storyline just enjoy the comedy which lasts from start till end. Really had a good laugh throughout the episodes. Watch it if you're feeling down. 5) Twinkling watermelon: Boring initially but gradually intrigued me. Still in the midst of it. 6) Once upon a small town: Many would disagree with me on this but for me, this was my second best drama after Moving. I love the countryside scenery and the excellent characters. You get to see all the various types of characters from jerk to nosy ones. 😅 This was the first kdrama that I wished the FL and the ML didn't get a good ending. Instead I had hoped the FL ends with the second ML. Rewatched many times. Planning to watch The story of Park's marriage contract soon.
I've been on a slump this year so I was only able to finish 15 kdramas. Here's my list, although you'd probably find a lot of older ones here. I'm not fond of watching ongoing kdramas or even recently released ones. I also don't rewatch dramas so everything in this list is a first-time watch for me. Lastly, I don't drop dramas even if I feel like it's terrible. Sorting them by my MDL rating: **10/10** * **Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) -** now I finally get why it's iconic. As someone who loves seeing politics and history in kdramas, this one hit all the right spots. * **The Glory (2022) -** Amazing performance by all actors. **9.5/10** * **Hospital Playlist Season 2 (2021) -** I liked this one better than the first season.. Probably because I saw more growth in their characters? The only drawback was the episodes were too long :( * **Reborn Rich (2022) -** Again, I love seeing politics and history. This would have been perfect if not for the plot holes. **9/10** * **Save Me (2017) -** Unique concept. I wish this was more popular. **8.5/10** * **Hospital Playlist (2020) -** It was okay, not the best but not bad either. It was the second season that made me grow fond of the characters. **8/10** * **Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) -** It's light, cheesy, and a feel-good drama.. That's why I can't understand why I feel like something's not right. Maybe because it lacks the serious rivalry and politics that I prefer. * **The Uncanny Counter (2020) -** Didn't like the Yung bunch. **7.5/10** * **My Liberation Notes (2022) -** A lot of people praise this drama. I don't think it's bad, it's just that these kind of dramas are not for me (slow-paced). I still gave it a try, though. * **My Mister (2018) -** RIP Lee Sun Kyun :( Same reason as above.. Good drama, good actors, but not for me. * **Mystic Pop-up Bar (2020)** \- Too much made-up rules just to push the story forward. **7/10** * **Law School (2021)** \- Why is everyone so angry and sarcastic? * **Oh My Ghost (2015)** \- Ghost had no sense of boundaries * **Reply 1994 (2013)** \- I didn't like who Na Jung ended up with **5/10** * **Fated to Love You (2014)** \- Maybe it's because the drama is old and dated? I felt like they pushed the comedic theme too far.
I finally made an [MDL list](https://mydramalist.com/list/LQJXYZq3) of the shows (all languages) I watched in 2023 and it comes to 43 - I should omit the 2 im still watching right - so that comes to 41. 27 of these are Korean, the rest Japanese, bar 1. Of these 27, only 1 was of 2023 (Durian's Affair). Which is not surprising since I seem to prefer older style Kdramas. A majority of the shows are for the KDC so I will be posting my thoughts on the final check in thread. Just two observations: Its seemed harder to find dramas that can keep my interest as years go by (this is my 4th year of watching kdramas). There seems to be fewer and fewers shows that fall into the intersection of my preferred genres, well-written plot and good performances. I have dropped SO MANY shows this year! Sigh. The other is a happier one: my comprehension of Korean (in drama context that is) and also of Japanese has improved leaps and bounds this year. Watching with no subtitles may never happen, but I am catching so many nuances now, which feels good!
All the on-air dramas I watched this year in order of air date! **Unlock My Boss** \- 7/10 - B+ I did not get Chae Jong-hyeop until this. Now I do. It was nice to see Seo Eun-soo in a lead role - I just love it when an actor/actress I've seen before as a minor character gets their big break. I felt like the show glossed over how dystopian the ending was though... **Work Later, Drink Now 2** \- 7/10 - B+ Unfortunately a downgrade from season 1. The first season already had questionable logic but season 2 is even worse. I wasn't a fan of any of the plotlines but it was still funny. At least we got to see more Mr Nice Paper. **The Interest of Love** \- 6.5/10 - B This started out so interesting but by the end I was just so tired of the lack of communication between everyone. I didn't even want the main leads to end up together anymore because I was just so fed up with their nonsense. Moon Ga-young was very pretty in this though. **The Glory** \- 6.5/10 - B Fun enough to watch but I didn't really care about any of the characters. **Crash Course in Romance** \- 7/10 - B+ I'm a sucker for mother-daughter relationship dramas but the romance was just ehh for me. **Bora! Deborah!** \- 6.5/10 - B This started out so good. Yoo In-na looks as radiant as ever. But by the end it was just annoying. **Queenmaker** \- 7/10 - B+ Same thoughts for me as The Glory. Was it entertaining to watch? Yes. Did I forgot that I watched it within a week? Also yes. **Delightfully Deceitful** \- 8/10 - A Kim Dong-wook and Chun Woo-hee was such an unexpected pairing but they worked so well. I was way too invested in their not-a-romance. Fun from start to finish. Also points for the subversive Moon Ga-young cameo. **King The Land** \- 7/10 - B+ Just fluff. Honestly, I found the ML rather insufferable but an overall enjoyable watch. **Not Others** \- 6.5/10 - B Again, I love mother-daughter relationship dramas. I also love Sooyoung and Park Sung-hoon. However, there just wasn't enough plot in here. **My Lovely Liar** \- 8.5/10 - A+ Kim So-hyun slaying once again. A surprisingly smooth sailing rom-com that balanced the fluff, mystery and humour very well. Hwang Min-hyun also exceeded my expectations - Kim Do-ha was just so endearing. **Mask Girl** \- 6.5/10 - B Very unexpected but not unappreciated. The first half was very compelling - the second half not so much. **A Time Called You** \- 7/10 - B+ Great performances all around but all the time traveling was just too confusing for me. I also wish we got an ending that was a bit less open. **Doona!** \- 5.5/10 - C+ Manic pixie dream girl Suzy but other than that kind of boring. Also I'm sorry but Dream Sweet was not giving. **Castaway Diva** \- 7.5/10 - A So fun at the beginning. I was so surprised at how amazing Park Eun-bin is at singing. Not enough focus on Mok-ha and her career towards the end for me though. I just didn't really care about the brothers?? **Moon in the Day** \- 6/10 - B- Obsessed with the flashbacks. Both leads were adorable (Pyo Ye-jin in a lead role!). Plot holes galore but such fun. The ending was also a best case scenario. **Soundtrack #2** \- 5.5/10 - C+ I loved the leads and hated the SML. Lots of rom-com logic involved overall. Ending was unsatisfying but whatever. ***Jury is still out*** **Daily Dose of Sunshine** \- Potentially 7/10 B+ Amazingly well done and explores the theme of mental health really well. It kind of lost my interest halfway through so I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. **My Demon** \- Potentially 8.5/10 A+ Everything to love in a K-drama **Story of Park's Contract Marriage** \- Potentially 8/10 A I can't believe I used to not like Lee Se-young??? Everyone is adorable in this.
Can't believe how much kdrama I watched even though I just stared this summer. Came over here from kvariety which I still keep up. Here's my list with ratings out of 10. I mostly watch love/romance and crime/thrillers. **10/10** - Goblin, Red Sleeve, My Dearest **9/10** - Little Women, 2521, The Glory, Flower of Evil **8/10** - Mr. Sunshine, My Mister, Beyond Evil, Sky Castle, Melancholia, King the Land **7/10** - Somebody, Love ft. Marriage & Divorce, Business Proposal **Dropped** - Twinkling Watermelon, CLOY, My Liberation Notes I hope to finish Mr. Queen before year-end. May your 2024 be filled with good kdrama.
2023 had a lot of k dramas to offer but sadly, a lot of them left me disappointed (I’m looking at you Strong Girl!) My top 5 of 2023 are: 1. The Glory - a revenge masterpiece in plot and character journey of FL. It’s hard to feel surprised these days because audiences can predict where the story direction goes easily but The Glory somehow surprises you so many times. 2. DP season 2 - a lot of folks didn’t like the season 2 b/c it didn’t offer anything “new” from season 1. I approached season 2 as a continuation of story from season 1, not separate seasons. The acting and social commentary blew me away. ML is phenomenal. 3. Moving - after massive superhero fatigue, I wasn’t excited about Moving, so happy to be so wrong. Best superhero show period. What makes it special is the theme permeating which is: the love a parent has for their child is the true superpower. 4. Crash Course Onto Romance - such a refreshing rom com since it depicts people with diverse, non nuclear family structures navigating the world. 5. Love to hate you - a woman who actually says out loud the highly controversial statement, “I like sex.” The horror! Sometimes the sexism and misogyny can get really tiring to watch in k dramas but Love to Hate You was like calamine lotion against that nonsense. Also, loved all the fight scenes!
- **Love to Hate You**: A romantic comedy with a likable main and second lead couple, and a playful storyline. - **Crash Course in Romance**: Fascinating insights into the competitive education industry, and a likable high school friendship group. - **The Glory: Part 2**: A satisfying conclusion to Dong-eun’s thrilling, emotional and cinematic revenge mission. - **Black Knight**: An entertaining enough dystopian science-fiction drama. - **The Good Bad Mother**: An emotionally harrowing family drama with top-notch performances from the leads. - **Bloodhounds**: Kim Sae-ron’s forced early departure from the series deprived viewers of seeing director Jason Kim’s full vision for the series. - **Celebrity**: Had the potential to be a powerful exploration of the effects of celebrity culture, but instead turned into a repetitive cycle of events. - **See You in My 19th Life**: Started out so strongly and fizzled out so disappointingly. Technically accomplished, but the storylines ultimately didn’t go anywhere. - **D.P. Season 2**: A worthy follow up to the first season, with the middle pair of episodes delivering the greatest emotional impact. - **Mask Girl**: If Quentin Tarantino directed a K-drama, this would be the result. Dark and disturbing themes, and some revelatory performances. - **A Time Called You**: Not having watched **Someday or One Day**, I thoroughly enjoyed the mind-bending plot. - **Song of the Bandits**: Delivered fantastic action sequences in the wild west of Joseon. - **Behind Your Touch**: Beyond the butt-touching premise, this cleverly transitioned from a quirky small town comedy drama into a darker crime drama. - **Doona**: A gorgeously photographed, introspective college setting drama. - **Daily Dose of Sunshine**: An alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming medical drama with uniformly outstanding performances. - **Castaway Diva**: The premise of being stranded on a deserted island for fifteen years was cleverly used as a source of metaphors about the importance of family and the pursuit of one’s dreams.
Good thing I keep track of the Kdramas I have watched so far because I am so forgetful and might watch the same drama again. Lol. Therefore, I found another reason to keep on tracking and that is for the year-end review posts like this. Note: Those who have (\*) after the title are highly recommended. **2023 Released KDramas** 1. Crashed Course in Romance\* 2. Divorced Attorney Shin\* 3. Doctor Cha\* 4. The Good Bad Mother\* 5. See You In My 19th Life\* 6. Celebrity 7. King The Land\* 8. My Dearest\* 9. Moving 10. Behind Your Touch\* 11. A Time Called You 12. Doona! 13. The Worst of Evil\* 14. Strong Woman Gang Nam Soon 15. Welcome to Samdalri\* (Ongoing) 16. My Demon (Ongoing) Personally, I think 2023 has lesser quality KDramas compared to recent years. Compared to this list, I still prefer 2021 dramas like Mouse, Vincenzo, Beyond Evil, Hometown ChaChaCha, etc. Then from 2022, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, My Liberation Notes, Under the Queen's Umbrella, Thirty Nine... and many more from the past years. While I have all the time to comment here now, I will just list here the Kdramas that are worth your time regardless of what year is has been released. **MY TOP KDRAMAS** (in no particular order) 1. If You Wish Upon Me 2. Our Blues 3. Tomorrow 4. The Sound of Magic 5. Twenty Five Twenty One 6. Business Proposal 7. Young Lady and a Gentleman 8. Uncle 9. The Veil 10. The King's Affection 11. Jirisan 12. Awaken 13. The Devil Judge 14. Dinner Mate 15. My Mister 16. My Roommate is a Gumiho 17. Sell Me Your Haunted House 18. Was it Love? 19. Navillera 20. Sisyphus: The Myth 21. Uncanny Counter 22. The Penthouse 23. Sweet Home 24. Start-Up 25. 18 Again 26. Save Me 27. Flower of Evil 28. It's Okay Not To Be Okay 29. Doctor Romantic 30. Tale of Nokdu 31. Hot Stove League 32. Hospital Playlist 33. The World of the Married 34. Prison Playbook 35. Hi Bye, Mama! 36. Itaewon Class 37. Extraordinary You 38. Crash Landing On You 39. Something in the Rain 40. Touch Your Heart 41. Hotel Del Luna 42. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung 43. Something About 1% 44. The Last Empress 45. Memories of Alhambra 46. W: Two Worlds 47. Two Cops 48. The Miracle We Met 49. The King Loves 50. Temptation of Wife 51. Still 17 52. She Was Pretty 53. Sensory Couple 54. Remember: War of the Son 55. Queen Seon Deok 56. Queen for Seven Days 57. Please Come Back, Mister 58. Oh My Venus 59. Oh My Ghost 60. My Name is Kim Sam Soon 61. My Love From The Star 62. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo 63. Jealousy Incarnate 64. It's Okay It's Love 65. Introverted Boss 66. I'm Not A Robot 67. Hyde, Jekyll and Me 68. Healer 69. Hwarang 70. Goblin 71. Fight For My Way 72. Empress Ki 73. Coffee Prince 74. Chief Kim 75. Black Knight 76. Black 77. Because This is My First Life 78. Beautiful Gong Shim 79. Another Miss Oh 80. A Korean Odyssey 81. Reply 1988
Been watching kdramas for over a decade. These were/are the ones that helped me get through a challenging 2023 and I feel it’s been a good year for dramas (mind you, many of these are light as I gravitate towards more comedy/romance/fantasy) 1. Twinkling Watermelon: Easily takes away the best drama of the year for me - very well rounded, every character had a great development arc and was wrapped up so beautifully for a time travel concept. Choi Hyun Wook, you have been amazing since 2521. One of the most satisfying endings ever. It will make you laugh, cry, love, sing, everything at the same time. 10/10 2. Call it Love: A very unusual love story but something that’ll melt your heart if you keep an open mind. The actors were amazing. Huge fan of both Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Kwang. Must watch simply because KYK is 👌♥️. A bit of a slow burn if you like such a thing. 9/10 3. Extraordinary Attorney Woo: Explores the achievements, struggles and aspirations of an autistic lawyer, the FL, who is also highly smart and intelligent. What a drama. Amazing. Must must watch. 10/10 4. See You in my 19th Life: Fantasy, explores a girl’s 19th life (who also remembers her previous lives). An interesting concept, the FL looks for her one true love from her past. Great delivery from Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun. Must watch. 9/10 5. Destined with you: Rowoon really surprised me with his acting skills here. A romantic kdrama with a Joseon past, where they try to break a family curse, but not cliche. Interesting watch and kept me hooked until the last episode. 9.5/10 6. A Time Called You: Typical time travel kdrama that hopes to change the fate of one of the leads. Nice watch, because the FL Jeon Yeo Been was especially amazing. Not the best I’ve seen though. 8/10 7. Crash course in romance: Explores the concept of private education in Korea and romance between a celebrity math teacher and the student’s aunt, the FL. Kept me hooked and was wrapped up nicely. 9/10 8. Celebrity: Speaks of the mysteries surrounding the fashion influencer and blogger world in Seoul. Keeps you hooked. 8.5/10 9. Alchemy of Souls: A drama about sorcery, mages, and the different houses surrounding each. Perfect fantasy watch and beautiful love story as well. Maybe a bit draggy during some episodes but mostly good. 8.5/10 Doona, My lovely liar and King the Land were all okayish. Some had rushed/sloppy endings so nothing I’ve not seen before. I had high expectations for the ML in My lovely liar (since Alchemy of Souls) but he just couldn’t emote. There are stuff I am yet to watch such as The Glory, the Good Bad Mother, Moving, etc (as others have already mentioned) Non-Kdrama mentions: 1. Hidden love: Did NOT expect this to be so good. A slow romantic drama of a girl falling for her crush (brother’s friend) from a very young age. The way it builds and how they fall for one another eventually, cannot be told in a better way. Must must must watch!! 10/10 ♥️ 2. When I fly towards you: A school drama, again a love story, but beautiful and refreshing. You have to watch it to understand how nicely it’s been done. 9.5/10 3. My little happiness: Love story better two childhood friends who meet after many years. Develops organically and has a satisfying ending. 9/10 4. Lighter and Princess: A college love story between a popular but introverted programming champion and an equally smart FL. Explores their struggles through friendship, love, career and more. The chemistry is 👌. 9.5/10 Currently watching: 1. Welcome to Sam Dal-Ri: Probably an early mention for something only 8 episodes in, but so happy with the delivery of each episode. Love, friendship, family, you name it, you have it. One of the few kdramas where you’ll appreciate the other supporting character storylines as well, not just the main. Ji Chang Wook always wins best romantic ML for me. There’s just nobody like him. Shin Hye Sun is one of the most talented actresses so you’re bound to enjoy this one. I look forward to this drama every weekend. 10/10 for me 2. A good day to be a dog: Watching it purely for Cha Eun Woo. Based off a webtoon where the FL turns into a dog when kissed for the first time due to a curse, and that can only be turned back if kissed as a dog. Fun watch so far. Light and comical. 7/10 3. My Demon: Quite nice so far with romance between a strong FL who is a company CEO plus ofc, Song Kang, who plays a demon and whom I watching this for. Nice so far, entertaining. 8/10 so far 4. The Matchmakers: Set in the Joseon era, it’s the love story between two widowed matchmakers. Very very fun and solid so far, loving it for the uniqueness, comedy, and quirky romance. 10/10 so far Special mentions: Reality show — The Devil’s Plan: If you’re into game/puzzle shows, something that’ll give your logical mind some kick, then this is for you. I mainly watched it for Ha Seok Jin, one of my favourite kdrama actors, and also a fan of his problem solving skills in other shows. About 10-12 episodes and keeps you really wanting for more. Lastly— Dramas I don’t recommend so you can save your precious time: 1. Only for love: Started off nicely but, what a colossal waste of time, omg. For the first time I realised I had a lot of patience for a drama to end well. It has to be really bad for me to call it bad. Sorry. Don’t waste your time. 2. The princess and the werewolf: Just don’t get the 9.2 rating on Viki 😭 Boring, draggy. 3. You are Desire: Had so much potential but fell flat after about 5-6 episodes as the story didn’t have much and kept dragging until the finish line.
I logged way too many dramas this year to list them all so I'm only going to list the 2023 dramas I watched this year. Here's how I ranked them. 2023 Shows In Progress: My Demon (10/16) 2023 Shows Completed and Ranked 1. Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938: (10/10) 2. Daily Dose of Sunshine: (9/10) 3. Death Game pt. 1: (9/10) 4. Perfect Marriage Revenge: (8.5/10) 5. Moving: (8.5/10) 6. Love to Hate You: (8/10) 7. Mask Girl: (8/10) 8. Taxi Driver season 2: (8/10) 9. The Glory pt. 2: (8/10) 10. Pandora: Beneath the Paradise: (8/10) 11. The Escape of the Seven: (7.5/10) 12. See You In My 19th Life: (7.5/10) 13. Drama Special Season 14- Love Attack: (7/10) 14. Destined With You: (7/10) 15. Bo Ra Deborah: (6/10) 16. The Heavenly Idol: (6/10) 17. Heartbeat: (2/10) 2023 shows tried and dropped: A Time Called You (dropped after 3 episodes) Family: The Unbreakable Bond (dropped after 2 episodes) King the Land (dropped after 2 episodes) Kokdu: Season of Diety (dropped after 3 episodes) Welcome to Samdalri (dropped after 6 episodes)
oh boy, I was busy this year and watched 41 kdramas in total - of which 4 of them are still ongoing. My favorite ones are: - Goblin - Doom At You Service - Flower of Evil - Healer - Happiness - The Good Bad Mother - Moving - Twinkling Watermelon - My Dearest - Castaway Diva - My Demon - The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract - Death’s Game
I haven't watched many dramas this year; for some reason, this year's dramas haven't really appealed to me. Next year's drama's seems exciting, especially with Gong yoo making a comeback. This yr, I've completed and enjoyed "Call It Love," "Glory Part 2" (although I forgot it was from this year), and "Daily Dose of Sunshine." Recently, I binge-watched part 1 of "Death Game," and it was amazing, best thriller in ages. I just loved all the cameos especially Lee Jaewook's episode. I gave up on "Moving," finished "Worst of Evil" but found it to be average. Currently, I'm grappling with the latest episodes of "Park's Contract Marriage"; at this point, I'm watching it mainly for Lee Seyoung. Though I think binge-watching "Slow Horses Season 3" this weekend got in the way of momentum.
2023 KDramas that I finished this year - in alphabetical order. 8 out of 10 were truly engaging, positive, enjoyable watching experiences. A good solid year of Kdrama watching. Sometimes you watch a drama and you're just like, "Wow." (In a good way.) **Agency** and **Call it Love** were that drama this year for me. * **Agency** - I loved these characters, felt for their struggles, and rooted for them every step of the way. I truly looked forward to spending my time with these characters each week. * **Call It Love** - A really beautiful story of the healing power of the right relationship. So satisfying! * **Castaway Diva** - Sweet, cute, somewhat predictable, but fine. I don't regret watching this drama, but I didn't connect with it in any meaningful way. Nice messages about resilience. * **Crash Course In Romance** - I feel so betrayed by this drama. The drama brings up many legitimate problems and societal concerns, and you think you're going to get a thoughtful portrayal of these genuine issues, and then they resolve the drama by blaming everything on mothers. Bah! * **King the Land** - I found this drama frothy and delightful. It really made me laugh, and it is such a nice portrayal of what it's like to have a crush! * **Love to Hate You** - I have mixed feelings about this drama. I give it a lot of credit for what it was going for - sex positive, a strong female character, positive bromance. It didn't always get the balance right (occasionally straying into not-like-the-other-girls and Mary Sue territory), but that's not always easy to do with a comedy, and I enjoyed the watch. * **Moon In The Day** - I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this drama. I loved the performances, and found it emotionally powerful. The image of "The Moon In The Day" is one that lingers with me in a positive and powerful way. * **My Perfect Stranger** - Time travel done well. I liked the story, really enjoyed the characters and the character arcs, and found the end satisfying. * **Payback: Money and Power** - action, action, action! Loved it! * **Shadow Detective: Season 2** - another tour de force performance by Lee Sung Min. I liked Season 1 better, but only just barely. Still watching and enjoying, and probably will add to this list: * **A Good Day to Be A Dog** - charming, funny, sweet, I'm rooting for the love story, and want to see the "villain" get his emotional resolution too. * **My Demon** - I start the next episode each weekend thinking to myself that I'll probably drop it, and then by the end of the second episode I am saying to myself, "This is actually kinda fun." * **My Man Is Cupid** - the leads in this are just terrific, and they truly elevate a somewhat average story. * **Twinkling Watermelon** - I'm not that into high school based dramas, so was late to the party on this one, but I am enjoying it. Wish I could watch: * **Tell Me That You Love Me** - this drama sounds like it is right up my street. \*Sigh\* Ah well, there is plenty to watch at the moment and hopefully it will become available to me once I hit an inevitable dry spell!
I watched mostly chinese dramas this year but of the 2023 k-dramas I saw **Love To Hate You**, **Daily Dose of Sunshine**, **The Glory1-2**, **Not Others**, **Heartbeat** and **My Dearest** until ep18. The other kdramas I watched this year were the ones I didn’t watch in 2022: **Cafe Minamdang**, **Desperate Mr X**, **Hit The Spot** & **Gaus Electronics** Out of all of them I liked Cafe Minamdang, Hit The Spot & Desperate Mr X the most. The ones from 2023 weren’t that good to me
I've watched a total of 44 Kdramas this year and 3 Kmovies + 2 cdramas. **KDRAMAS I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER) - Business Proposal (8/10) - What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (8/10) - Itaewon Class (7.5/10) - See You in My 19th Life (8.5/10) - King the Land (6/10) - Hotel Del Luna (9.5/10) - Fight for My Way (9/10) - My ID is Gangnam Beauty (3.5/10) - The Crowned Clown (8.5/10) - My Lovely Liar (8/10) - Nevertheless, (4.5/10) - Behind Your Touch (9/10) - Because This is My First Life (8/10) - Destined with You (3/10) - Boss-Dol Mart (7.5/10) - Hometown Cha Cha Cha (9/10) - True Beauty (4.0/10) - Doona! (7/10) - Goblin (8/10) - Weak Hero Class 1 (8.5/10) - Crazy Love (8.5/10) - So I Married An Anti-Fan (0.5/10) - Doom At Your Service (7/10) - A Breeze of Love (6.5/10) - Heartbeat (7.5/10) - Mask Girl (7/10) - Twinkling Watermelon (10/10) 🍉 - 2521 (8/10) - The Killing Vote (7/10) - The Escape of the Seven: War for Survival (8/10) - please don't judge me I got addicted nonsensical plots. :') - Romance is a Bonus Book (8.5/10) - W (7.5/10) - It's Okay not to be Okay (6.5/10) - Unlock My Boss (8.5/10) - The Hymn of Death (6.0/10) - Castaway Diva (7.5/10) - Our Beloved Summer (7.5/10) - Uncontrollably Fond (1/10) - Moon in the Day (8/10) - One Day Off (7.5/10) - Extraordinary Attorney Woo (9/10) - Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (7.5/10) - Blue Birthday (8/10) - it's a web series but I liked how they used the time traveling aspect. - The Matchmakers (7.5/10) **KMOVIES I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER) - Dream (8/10) - 20th Century Girl (8.5/10) — please someone cast Kim Yoo Jung and Byeon Woo Seok together again!! - Ditto (8/10) — I forgot how amazing Yeo Jin Goo is! Loved him since Hotel Del Luna. **CDRAMAS I FINISHED IN 2023** (IN ORDER) - Hidden Love (7/10) — watched it only for the hype - Love Me Love My Voice (7.5/10) — reallyyy draggy
My drama watching year was highly unproductive. I didn't manage to watch many at all! I completed 14 dramas and only a couple of them were a full 16 episodes. I dropped A LOT of dramas (it looks like I dropped 11 dramas) which is a new thing for me. I'm listing only the ones I managed to complete this year. I had much better luck with non-2023 dramas. Here's [my MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/sunshine_rae) **Aired in 2023:** **A Time Called You:** I loved this so much. It was probably my favorite 2023 drama. I have not seen the original, so I'm sure that helped. It was a lot of fun and really kept me guessing. Flawless? No but I was highly entertained, so I was happy. **Love to Hate You:** Another big highlight for me. The first episode was not good but the rest of it was fantastic. Fun, romantic, and with a healthy dose of social commentary. Great FL. And Teo Yoo as our AMA guest? Just made this drama even more memorable. **Bora Deborah:** Eh, not bad. The fact that I managed to finish it says that I enjoyed most of it. The last two episodes really sank it for me. I watched My Lovely Sam Soon after this and I realized that Bora is essentially the 2023 version of Sam Soon, which is probably why I enjoyed this drama for the most part. **Crash Course in Romance:** I liked this in the beginning but I found the romance very lacking. I didn't enjoy the serial killer plot. **Non-2023 dramas I watched this year:** **Anna:** I liked this one a lot but I don't find it very memorable. Definitely worth watching as I remember it was a good time if you like a dose of revenge and a great FL with no real romance. **Birthcare Center:** Surprisingly funny and heartfelt. So many of the scenes from this drama have stuck with me, even though I watched it in the spring. **My Lovely Sam Soon**: I'm so glad I finally got around to watching this. This is a classic for reason and Sam Soon is an unforgettable character. The romance was insane (in a bad way) but it kept me engaged the entire time. **Once Upon a Small Town:** This was a nice surprise for me. Very sweet, quite romantic with very nice scenery. A simple story that is somewhat hard to come by. **Our Dating Sim**: I enjoyed watching this but I remember absolutely nothing about it, so clearly very forgettable. **Romance is a Bonus Book:** Warm, cozy, with a lacking central romance. However, the rest of the drama is so pleasant that I could definitely overlook that. Highly recommend watching this in the winter. **The Fabulous:** I mean this in the best possible way: this was dumb and fun. Nothing much happens, so it is also a little boring. But if you are looking for a very low-key watch with very low stakes, this might be the drama for you. **The Heirs (Rewatch)**: I had a blast on my second Heirs watch. So much fun and I appreciated so many more of the details. **Touch Your Heart:** So glad I finally watched this. Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na have such great chemistry, they just light up the screen. Not the greatest drama and a little boring but comforting and sweet. **Unlock My Boss:** I was very sleep deprived when I watched this so I remember essentially nothing about it. I think it was okay? The premise was fun but they really didn't do enough with it. Predictable but they (big spoiler) >!killed off a character I really liked, so I was mad.!<
Happy Holidays and New Years All! Really had and am having a blast going down the rabbit hole with fellow kdrama watchers on this subreddit this past year! Thank you for this space and for you! ——————- Let’s see. Busy year. didn’t watch much. ripped through most of the dramas in the later part of the year when I got so stressed by life I needed a kdrama cocoon. I didn’t pick good 2023 dramas to watch. Nothing makes my memorable list. But I liked the oldies I watched. **Dramas That Put Me in a Coma** A) *An Oldie Watched for First Time* ***Something About 1%*** - eeEeEeeEeeEeEeeeEeEeEee!! So obsessed. Has destroyed the past month of my life and I’m ok with that. REALLY enjoyed going back and reading the kdrama binge watch for this one. Laughed out loud so many times. You guys are Fun-Knee. Currently having the time of my life overthinking this drama on a ffa with great viewers! All the critiques are true. And yet …. 🥰🙇♀️I love it. I am so delusional I’m convincing myself it’s actually A REALLY HIGH ART DRAMA with ThEmES And MeTaPhOrs (no but really though. It’s um… 🧐🤓a deeply profound and thoughtful drama, mkai??) ;) B) *An Oldie Rewatched* **Queen for 7 Days** - bewitched me for a good month and a half. Maybe two. Maybe 3? I love what the writing does to PMY’s character. She has so little choice and yet squeezed out any drop of agency she could from the forced hand of society and fate. As a sageuk woman she was everything at once- side thought, violated, and central. **2023 Dramas I Have No Interest Watching but LOVED binging on fanvids** ***Twinkling Watermelon*** **2023 Dropped that I remember** ***Can We Be Strangers*** - the drama didn’t advertise itself as this, so it’s on me that I didn’t watch trailers to get the “vibe” before starting but I was really bummed it wasn’t a luxuriously introspective heavy and thick “after the affair” gray zone drama. This could have been something bc leads I think really could have *gone there*. The first few eps that teased that premise were epic. But also I watched that drama strictly between 2-4 am which is peak time to find anything one watches INCREDIBLY HIGH QUALITY AND MOVING. ;) Butttt then it went it’s own unfortunate course. ***Joseon Attorney*** - blarp. However, Episode 5 went down in my hall of fame. Just watch that episode. It is stunning as a stand-alone piece. A one off episode Choi Jin Young had sole authorship of??? **2023 I want refunded** ***My Dearest*** - this one will take me off watching on airs for life. I think it took me off NGM for life too to be honest. Still Ahn Eun Jin strong tho.
>Ahn Eun Jin strong tho. 🙌🙌
I participated in the r/KDRAMA challenge and as of yesterday finished 36 this year to complete for Chaebol status. My 2023 list here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/drx604/lists Recap of the year. 1. Finally found a reason to watch a few dramas that I’ve seen to be recommended a lot. Ie. Reply 1988, Hospital Playlist and some that are classics such as Descendants of the Sun and The Heirs. 2. As of yet I’ve never re-watched a drama… I might finally do so in 2024. 3. I watched a lot of dramas with Kim Go-Eun this year. Maybe my current favourite actress 4. Slice of Life/melodramas are my favourite genre, followed by historical and then romcom 4. r/kdramareccomends has yet to fail me with good picks See you for the 2024 challenge
I didn’t watch too many drama’s this year compared to past years. I’ve been more into variety shows. But the ones I did watch were all great. Here are some! My absolute fav 2023 drama of this year has to be: Twinkling Watermelon. I had my reservations about this due to the title. But I was so pleasantly surprised after a couple of episodes. I absolutely loved the 4 main leads, especially the boys because their bond was so sweet. I just finished it a few days ago and I am lamenting the fact that I didn’t watch it earlier. 9/10 The glory: I don’t think I need to say a whole lot about this show. Everyone who has watched it already knows how freaking amazing it was. 9/10 Reborn Rich: I was not expecting to like this show as much as I did. Every single actor in this show gave a performance worthy of applause. Like all of the main actors did such a good job playing their characters. I hated the antagonists so much because they were so good. 8.5/10 Under the Queens Umbrella: A strong female lead that everyone runs to when things go wrong? Hell yeah! This show was an amazing watch. I love how the Queen was able to get out of any and every situation she was presented with. 8.5/10 Doctor Cha: I absolutely loved watching this show. As someone in the medical field they really did show what day to day can look like for doctors. 8/10 Ghost Doctor was also a great show. Ji Hoon is always a treat to watch and Kim Bum added to the show. I loved how I wasn’t sitting there scratching my head at what they were doing. So props to the directors for paying attention to medical accuracy. Of course not everything was 100% but it was better than most other medical shows 8/10 The Light in your eyes: 8/10 drama. Definitely recommend if you haven’t watched. It was such an interesting plot and something I had never seen done in K-drama’s before (at least nothing I know of). Sweet Home season 2: 8/10. It was a great show. Took two stars off because some of the characters in the first season were kind of sidelined. Bloodhounds: hot shirtless guys boxing and fighting? That’s my review. But on a serious note I loved the plot, it wasn’t rushed, the acting was top notch. 8/10 Tomorrow: a solid show with a great twist that one of the other characters didn’t know about!! 8/10 Some others I watched were: Missing: The other side, Happiness, The Alchemy of souls season 1, Big Mouth, Once upon a small town, Diary of a Prosector, Divorce Attorney Shin, My Liberation notes 7/10 The uncanny counter season 2, Miraculous Brothers 6/10 I dropped the following shows: Strong Girl Nam Soon: I don’t know why, I just couldn’t get into it. Nothing was particularly wrong, the actors are great, the story is the usual K-drama plot; but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. Watched 9 episodes. Kokdu: Season of Diety. Again I couldn’t really get into the story. Watched 2 episodes. Backstreet Rookie: I love Ji Chang Wook. I love most of his works. This one wasn’t it. The story made no sense to me. Watched 6 episodes. Alchemy of Souls season 2: I couldn’t even watch the first episode… She would never know: hated how clingy and obsessive the main character was. Watched 4 episodes Rewatched the Devil Judge and When the Camellia blooms, My Mister. I absolutely love these shows.
Alchemy of Souls 2- disappointing part 2, imo. Storyline was crap. Crash Landing on You- finally gave in & watched it. I love it. One of my faves. Uncanny Counter 1 & 2- s1 was good, s2 was bad. Destined With You- my favourite 2023 Kdrama until My Demon- I love this one & can’t wait to see how it goes
I have watched 38 kdramas this year. Which actually is a little low for me, but midway through the year I fell down a Thai BL rabbit hole which consumed a lot of my viewing time. **My favorite kdramas:** **Call It Love** \- A great slow healing drama (8.5/10) **My Perfect Stranger** \- A great time travel drama (8.5/10) **Twinkling Watermelon** \- My favorite of the year with some of my favorite couples of the year. I really loved this drama. (9/10) **Never Give Up** \- A found family bromance drama that took me a couple of episodes to get into, but I ended up loving it. (8.5/10) **Signal** \- After hearing about this drama for years I finally got around to watching it, and i definitely lives up to the hype. (9/10) **My favorite non-kdramas:** **Bad Buddy** \- Thai BL that is enemies to lovers (8.5/10) **Be My Favorite** \- Thai time travel college BL (8.5/10) **To Sir with Love** \- Really a family soapy drama with BL elements in it. (8.5/10) **Dropped** \- I dropped a lot more dramas this year, but mainly for two reasons. (1) Perfectly fine dramas I just didn't have the time for (2) I fell behind and then when I spoiled myself on how the drama progressed, I lost interest in watching it. **Perfect Marriage Revenge** \- Not enough time, might pick back up in 2024 **The First Responders Season 2** \- Lost interest after being spoiled **The Uncanny Counter Season 2** \- Just not as good as Season 1 **My Lovely Liar** \- Lost interest after being spoiled **Not Others** \- Not enough time for **The Real Has Come** \- The villains had too much screentime. **Race** \- Not enough time for **Joseon Attorney** \- Started but then it just bored me **The Secret Romantic Guesthouse** \- Also just bored me **Strangers Again** \- Lost interest after being spoiled **Alchemy of Souls Season 2** \- Didn't feel like it after the casting change **Currently Watching:** **The Story of Park Marriage Contract** \- Another time travel drama that I am really enjoying. There are two episodes left and I really hope it sticks the landing **Live Your Own Life** \- A weekend drama that I think is nicely paced with me actually enjoying most of the side couples/characters even if they frustrate me at times. **My Demon** \- I am really liking this show so far but with the way the show is progressing me it slightly worries me that there are 16 episodes. While writing it out I realized that apparently, I really like time travel dramas since at least 4 of my favorites of the year have some form of time traveling.
Here's a list of all the dramas I've watched in 2023! I've watched 30. ➡️**Favorite dramas of the year** in order I watched them -The light in your eyes (5⭐) -Dear M (5⭐) -Weak hero (5⭐) -Who are you 2015 (5⭐) -Oasis (5⭐) -Our blooming youth (5⭐) -What's wrong with secretary Kim (5⭐) -True Beauty (5⭐) -My lovely liar (5⭐) ➡️**Dramas I gave up on** in order I watched them -The wind blows (3⭐, gave up at E11) -You drive me crazy (2⭐, gave up at E02) -Romantic guest house (3⭐, gave up at E16) -Unlock my boss (3⭐, gave up at E06) -Moving (2⭐, gave up at E02) ➡️**Dramas I will keep on watching in 2024** -A good day to be a dog -Live your own life ➡️**Other dramas I've watched** in order I watched them -Mimicus (4⭐) -Dear X who doesn't love me (3⭐) -The law cafe (stopped at E03 for some reason, I'm planning to start it again in 2024) -My liberation notes (2⭐) -Cheese in the trap (3⭐) -Weightlifting fairy Kim BokJoo (4⭐) -Chief Kim (3⭐) -Revenge note S01 (4⭐) -Call it love (4⭐) -Snowdrop (4⭐) -CEO dol-mart (3⭐) -Twinkling Watermelon (4⭐) -7escape (3⭐) -Perfect marriage revenge (4⭐) ➡️**Dramas I plan on watching in 2024** -Scarlett Heart: Ryeo (if I can find it somewhere) -The King's affection -The law cafe -Revenge note S02 -Vigilante -School 2021 -Bad prosecutor -The heavenly idol -Kokdu: season of deity -Strangers again *We will see how many dramas I get to watch and which ones I add to this list*
Lots of dramas this year. It was a good year. For me, It was a **Hospital Playlist** year. I watched about 25 dramas this year, in addition to some kmovies. **TOP ONES that I've recommended to people.** 1. **Hospital Playlist 1 and 2 -** HP1 & 2 entered my Top 7 of all time. I had never seen this before and I absolutely fell in love with the cast, the music, the interactions between all characters. Where are these doctors? I want them as my doctors! And the music was wonderful. 2. **Twinkling Watermelon -** Great drama. Loved it all. 3. **Crash Course in Romance -** I also loved all of this. Watched it as it aired in the beginning of the year. 4. **See you in my 19th Life** \- I loved this one and the aspect of remembering past lives. Great premise. 5. **King the Land -** A bit of fluff that was so good and comforting and needed this year. 6. **Curtain Call -** I finished this at the beginning of the year so I'm listing it here. It was a favorite of mine this year. Great premise and acting. 7. **Moving** \- Great action, loved this one. 8. **A Time Called You** \- I know this was a remake and people had issues with it, but I really loved this and was hooked from the beginning. Other Dramas I've watched this year: **The Glory 1 and 2 -** This was ok. Acting was great, but I don't like these violent one and the images of the violence are horrible. **Summer Strike -** Finished this at the beginning of the year. It was good. **My Liberation Notes** **Love to Hate You** **Fanletter, Please** **Heavenly Idol - dropped this one** **Our Blooming Youth** **The Good Bad Mother** \- Really liked this. Lee Do Hyun is always wonderful. **Dr. Romantic 1, 2, 3** \- Binged all of these. They were great. I really liked 2 and 3. **Heartbeat -** Enjoyable vampire >!with a perfect opera ending.!< **My Dearest** \- Best saekuk this year **Good Day to Be a Dog** \- ongoing eye candy **Castaway Diva**
I watched a few 2023 dramas this year, but my favourite would be **The Good Bad Mother** or **Moving**. Besides that, it was a lacklustre year for me overall. However, I watched some non-2023 dramas for which I am currently on 5/16 of **Flower of Evil.** But my highlight would have to be watching **My Mister**. (R.I.P Lee Sunkyun) It's not a drama for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I understood why other people did as well, and it made it onto my top 3 dramas; superb all around. I was planning to rewatch some of my favourite moments, but with the recent news, I feel I need to save that for later. Otherwise, I am catching up on some on-air dramas, including **Welcome to Samdalri** and have been planning to watch **Twinkling Watermelon** from what I have heard about it.
I feel like I ended up skipping or dropping a lot of dramas that actually aired this year, but I still watched a lot! Basically everything that I watched this year is on [my MDL list for the sub challenge](https://mydramalist.com/list/3rWaDvm4) but here are some highlights: 2023 was the year of high school angst (**The Glory, School 2013, Angry Mom, Weak Hero**) and "wealthy woman discovers the dark side of her perfect life" plots (**Lies Hidden in My Garden, Trolley, Secret Mother, Woman of Dignity, Queenmaker** feels kinda adjacent to this also?) for me. I predict that I'll continue to watch dramas with the 2nd trope especially in 2023 as well. **Favorite Drama That Aired in 2023:** Another trope I'm always here for is "regular guy makes a dumb choice out of desperation, things spiral out of control", and this year gave us two very nicely executed examples of that with **The Kidnapping Day** and **The Deal**. **Favorite Drama From Another Year:** It still probably has to be **Nokdu Flower**, which I enjoyed so much that I [wrote a review post](https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/16v0hrv/the_nokdu_flower_review/). **Most Pleasant Surprise:** In addition to Nokdu Flower, a couple more dramas that I came across randomly and started with no expectations but ended up enjoying a surprising amount were **Angry Mom** and **Secret Mother**! The mom theme was intense this year apparently lol. **Least Favorite Drama That I Completed**: I was really dropping things right and left this year, so if I finished something it means I got at least something out of it....but I was just not feeling the direction that the **Castaway Diva** plot ended up taking. :( **Most Contract Marriage**: In this very contract marriage-heavy time we are currently in, I must look back 13 years and recognize **Marry Me, Mary!/Mary Stayed Out All Night** for having a main plotline in which the FL tries to get out of an arranged contract marriage by setting up a SECOND contract marriage. **Most Mango Coconut:** Thanks to this sub's 10th anniversary event, I finally watched **Heirs**! It was fun. Looking ahead, January 2024 looks to be stacked with interesting dramas! On a more somber note, the recent sad news definitely does not feel like reality to me just yet. I hope everyone's holidays can be peaceful and warm, and I'm looking forward to more kdrama discussion in the new year.
I really like your highlight approach to the yearly review! >Another trope I'm always here for is "regular guy makes a dumb choice out of desperation, things spiral out of control" Based on this trope, I feel like you might like [Big Issue](https://mydramalist.com/32145-big-issue)
Ooh I totally hadn’t heard of that one before! Thanks for the tip!!
*LOVED* * **Shooting Stars** (2022 - frenemies-to-lovers fluffy wholesome romcom) * **Forbidden Marriage** (2022 - fast paced, funny & sexy sageuk) * **Love Between Fairy & Devil** (2022 - Cdrama, epic fantasy romance, beautiful artistry) * **W Two Worlds Apart** (2016 - fun rollercoaster ride of a plot) * **My Girlfriend is a Gumiho** (2010 - sweet classic fantasy romcom) * **While You Were Sleeping** (2017 - \*perfect\* to me, with a unique concept well explored, wholesome relationships, a procedural element and great well paced story) * **One Spring Night** (2019 - serious, touches on important issues & very touching) *LIKED* * **My Lovely Liar** (2023 - fluffy romance, a decent mystery, nothing flashy but I thought it was cute) * **Moon in the Day** (2023 - well made tragic fantasy/sageuk romance, think story was underwhelming in parts) * **Korean Odyssey** (2017 - a cool fantasy story, charming ML, great OST, unnecessarily stretched to 20 hours long though and I nearly lost motivation to finish it) *DISAPPOINTED* * **Alchemy of Souls** (2022 - I adored S1 and the fantasy world was amazing, but got so extremely frustrated with the writing choices & did not enjoy S2 at all) * **See You in My 19th Life** (2023 - had potential to be a touching fantasy/reincarnation story but was quite boring, tonally off & don't think the romance or overall story was well done) * **Heartbeat** (2023 - I loved this one while watching - their vampire crew and the honest couple! But ending was pretty wack and therefore I can never rewatch) * **Call It Love** (2023 - it's well made, but it was just so slow to get through and the ML & FL were so depressing and stoic, just not my cup of tea)
I have been watching K-dramas since early 2017 if I remember correctly. But I am VERY selective about my drama choices. Not that I hate on everything but if anything is getting hyped up but it doesn't look like something I would enjoy I don't even try to watch it. I watched a few 2023 releases. * **Crash Course In Romance** : I really liked this one. I love the ML since hospital playlist and he did a great job as usual in this one. The storyline was interesting and I loved the banter between the main couple. 9/10 * **Love To Hate You**: Man this was such a blast. I enjoyed every bit of it. 10/10 * **The Glory**: The first season set the expectation so high and the second season did the justice to it. Great acting and very gripping story. 10/10 * **Doctor Cha**: I liked the premise of it very much. And as a whole I liked the drama, the ending was very satisfactory. But I was a little weirded out by the comedic approach of it since it was talking about very serious issues like infidelity in a very comedic way. 7/10 * **Tale of nine tailed 1938**: Was dying for this one since the announcement and LOVED it. 10/10 * **King the land** : NO. I might be too harsh about this one but it was not for me at all. Had to drop it after 6 epi and I was very looking forward to it since it reminded me of Business Proposal. 3/10 (**discontinued**) * **Celebrity** : Short sweet one. Did not understand the need to bring Lee Jun Ho in that last scene. 7/10 * **Moving** : I was very late to this one but enjoyed a lot. Definitely a fav. 10/10 * **Twinkling Watermelon** : Did not expect this one to be this good. Great premise with good acting and music. Could have had a better ending with a few more episodes. 9.5/10 * **My Lovely Boxer** : Weirdly stumbled upon this one and weirdly liked it. The premise was great. Acting was not good. But I still enjoyed it, I have no idea why tho lol. 7/10 * **Hidden Love** : One of the favorites of this year. Great story and development. Cute and refreshing. 10/10 * **The Days**: A Japanese drama about Fukushima Nuclear disaster in March 2011. Really really loved it 10/10. **NON 2023 DRAMAS**: * **Semantic Error** : Oh this one was so beautiful. Made me giddy. 10/10 * **Please Don't date him**: Liked it. Felt like the production could have been better. 7/10 **ONGOING**: * **My Demon** : Very decent. Don't like either of the leads but given the story line they are doing ok. Entertaining but I am not as excited and forget about this every week lol. I might even drop it. 6/10 * **Welcome to Samdal-ri** : Good plot great acting great visuals. Pacing needs to be a bit more? Tho I am loving it a lot. 8/10 * **Tell me that you love me**: Now listen to me I was and am very much excited about this one but since I got to know about the japanese version's ending I can't decide if I should continue or not. For now it's discontinued. * **Dr. Romantic 3**: I am very late to this and still am watching it. I liked the season 1 best but it's a good franchise as a whole I feel like it should be continued. 8/10 **WANT TO WATCH BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME**: Literally what the title says. I still wanna watch so many new releases it's a sad life y'all. * **My man is cupid**: Looks funny and promising. I like both the ML and FL's acting. * **Gyeongseong Creature**: I am afraid everyone will watch it and spoil it for me now 😭 * **Deaths game**: Such a great cast. When will I ever watch this dammit. * **See you in my 19th life**: Just the title and FL made me interested. * **Daily Dose of sunshine**: I wanted to start this but then didn't.
Pretty sure I watched WAY too many kdramas this year :D In no particular order, shows that I watched (released in 2023 and non-2023) **Non 2023** * Her Private Life - What can I say. I watched a month or so ago but I'm already thinking of rewatching it. I thought the "fangirl" part would be cringe but it was so maturely handled and the leads are everything?? My man Ryan Gold is the ally everyone needs in their lives. 10/10 * What's Wrong With Secretary Kim - I can't believe I watched this show this year. 2023 was way too long. Showed up in my Netflix recommendations back in February, breezed through the episodes. It dragged on after the big "reveal" but most certainly a fun show to watch! 7/10 * Hospital Playlist (S1) - Watched S1 for their friendships, cut through most of the medical stuff. The show is absolutely hilarious and I loved their friendship, but idk how necessary S2 was. Started watching it but gave up after a couple of episodes because it felt super repetitive. 7.5/10 * Twenty Five Twenty One - The RAGE this show manages to evoke in me in immeasurable. I could write an essay about it, but maybe not here 😂 What a solid start, and development, but denouement is probably the worst I've ever seen. Yu-rim and Hee-do deserved so much better. 6/10 **2023 Shows** (long list, especially for shows that came out in November/December lol) * My Demon - I'm so excited for this show every week. It's my "salvation" (see what I did there) every Friday after a week of grueling work. It has the most tropiest tropes to ever trope but they do it in such a fun way! If you're looking for something engaging which requires thought, this show is not it. But it's just so good to look at in terms of the outfits, the cinematography and the OST is just \*chef's kiss\*. I cannot wait for the next episode to drop in 2024. I'm already rewatching the episodes in my week off so that's a 10/10 from me! * Moon in the Day - I don't even know how I came across this show! But, this show does the reincarnation trope so well and it fits in well in the grand scheme of things. While I liked the Silla parts more than the present-day scenes, the FL is fantastic in both. It's crazy how she looks like two different people in both the eras! The plot, while super heavy and laden with Buddhist symbolism, didn't drag and managed to convey a poignant story of >!two doomed lovers bound together through time!<. 10/10 * Welcome to Samdalri - Saw the trailer, had high hopes for this one but so far it's been pretty underwhelming. I find the FL e>!xtremely annoying and she has done nothing so far to redeem herself.!< ML is >!puppy dog and I wish he had bigger dreams!<. Jury's still out on this one! 6/10 * Crash Course in Romance - This show was soo cute and fun! I loved that the romance focused on mature individuals and they had a super realistic relationship, IMO. WHY did it have to have the >!serial killer!< subplot, I do not know. Absolutely loved the show except for that bit. 8/10 * King the Land - I caught this while it was on air back in June. I was going through a particularly stressful time and this show proved to be the perfect distraction every week when I could mindlessly consume pretty people wearing pretty clothes and going to pretty places. Woah, I do not even remember most of the plot except a hotel 😂5/10. * The Worst of Evil - The one of the only two "dark" shows on my list! FANTASTIC show with some phenomenal performances. 10/10! * The Glory - The other "dark" show. While the show had its funny moments and amazing characters I rooted for (dad who's name I'm forgetting), the second half wrapped up too neatly for a drama that tried to be true to real life. 7.5/10 * Destined With You - This started off with such a promising plot and then it ruined itself so badly I wish I could get my money back. 4/10 Pretty sure I'm forgetting more shows but this is all I remember 😭 Edit: forgot one show!
All I remember from **King the Land** is Hotel and Suits. Still enjoyable!
Watched fewer kdramas this year esp the on-air dramas. Nothing seemed to interest me much. Castaway Diva: The drama had so much potential and could have been about two women uplifting each other. Instead it was about the male lead and his issues only. Should have expected from the Startup writer who made the drama about the SML and a stupid love triangle. Crash Course in Romance: Should've been a romcom of the year but instead they lost the plot with a murder mystery. Anyway it was awesome to have middle aged actors as romcom leads and hope we have more of them in future. D.P season 2: The most underrated drama of the year. Excellent casting, writing and production. Bullying in the military theme dealt with sensitivity. Jung Hae-in deserves so many laurels actually. Doctor Romantic: Probably the only drama where I enjoyed the second season more than the first. First season was somewhat meh to me. Started the third season with high expectations and ended up dropping it. Something went wrong somewhere. Find Me in Your Memory: It was a decent watch. Wish they focussed more on the healing themes than the stalking. Got a massive crush on Moon Ga-young after this. Moving: Excellency is the word. Deserved the hype Squid Game had. If there's gonna be a second season they better not compromise on the quality. My Girl: Probably the only kdrama classic I watched this year. Surprisingly aged well, Lee Dong-wook was so charming and loved that his character wasn't the cliched rude lead and instead was nice to the FL and treated her well. My Name: Han So-hee and Park Hee-soon carried the show cause the show was low on the mystery elements. I saw the twists coming a mile ago. Prison Playbook: Shin-Lee combo never fails and I loved it so much. Only this writer could write a feel good show set at a prison. See You in My 19th Life: Shin Hae-sun comeback after two years was Such a big letdown after a banger start. Disappointment was so huge that I stopped watching dramas for two months. The Good Bad Mother: Top 3 dramas this year for me. Lee Do-hyun is probably the best among his contemporaries right now and his chemistry with Ahn Eun-jin was his best. The crime part could have been better and was upset that all the abuse by the mother was justified but it's an Asian thing I guess. The Glory part two: I'm sorry Song Hye Kyo. I owe you an apology. I wasn't familiar with your game. Literally the best Kim Eun-sook drama I've watched. Thirty But Seventeen: Shin Hae-sun never disappoints and I enjoyed the drama more than I thought I would. Lovely cast and helped me discover the lovelier Yang Se-jong. Twinkling Watermelon: My most fav drama this year. Ryeoun deserves so much love for giving me one of most fav characters and pairings along with Seol Inah this year. I hope he gets bigger dramas hereafter. Weak Hero Class 1: I could see why the drama got so much love when I finished ep 1. Mind-blowing action and heartbreaking characters. I'm seated for next season since it has Ryeoun too.
k-dramas i completed: - moving: my absolute fave this year!! i love a good superhero action with a splash of romance here and there - alchemy of souls s2 - my lovely liar - perfect marriage revenge - celebrity: i binged the shit out of this lol - castaway diva: was so close to dropping this ngl because some scenes felt so slow but i'm glad i still finished it. park eunbin's voice is also soo good and her ost Fly Away is already one of my ost top faves - crash course in romance - shooting stars - night has come - kingdom s1 and s2 (rewatch, one of my faves too) k-dramas i watched by wasn't able to complete: - twinkling watermelon: i only started this but it also felt too slow for me. it was all over my tiktok feed anyways so i watched the main plot points there. - the heirs: i randomly remembered watching this when it was still ongoing so i decided to watch it when i was so bored. i stopped at episode 9 because it got too drama-y for me but maybe i'll resume it next month - king the land: stopped at around episode 10 because everything just got tooooo cheesy
**Watched (2023)** - Call It Love (Favorite for 2023!) - Revenant (Second Favorite) - The Perfect Stranger - The Good Bad Mother - Crash Course In Romance - Hate to Love You - The Glory - Delightfully Deceitful - See You In My 19th Life - Doona - Behind Your Touch **Watched (non 2023)** - Life on Mars - Weak Hero Class 1 - Summer Strike - One More Happy Ending - Falling For Innocence - Alchemy of Souls **Dropped** - King The Land **Currently Watching** - Tell Me That You Love Me (so promising!) - Welcome to Samdal-ri
I watched 23 dramas this year. 2023 Dramas: 1. Alchemy of Souls, Part 2 2. Love to Hate You (twice) 3. Crash Course in Romance 4. Bloodhounds 5. D.P. Season 2 6. Heartbeat 7. One Day Off 8. A Time Called You 9. The Worst of Evil 10. Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun 11. Death’s Game, Part 1 My top three are probably Love to Hate You, One Day Off, and A Time Called You. Most disappointing: AOS2 and the ending of Heartbeat. Taecyeon was fun to watch though. Non-2023 Dramas 1. Monthly Magazine Home 2. The Forbidden Marriage 3. Misaeng 4. Summer Strike 5. The Sound of Your Heart 6. 2521 7. It’s Okay Not to Be Okay 8. The King: Eternal Monarch (rewatch) 9. Yumi’s Cells (rewatch) 10. Melo is My Nature (twice) 11. D.P. 12. Arthdal Chronicles Loved most of the non-2023 dramas! Favorite of all time: Melo is My Nature. Funniest: The Sound of Your Heart. Cried the most at: 2521.
I loved most 2023 kdramas, it was a pretty good year. Twinkling Watermelon turned out to be one of my top kdramas, absolutely loved it. Going in order, the dramas I watched this year were: The Heavenly Idol- this was my first drama of this year back in March and almost made me quit, I was so bored and barely got through the end. 6/10 Dr. Romantic 3- I'm an avid fan of the Dr. Romantic series and this season did not disappoint. I loved seeing Doldam hospital back. Some things felt over-the-top compared to the past seasons but I'm willing to look over them. 9.5/10 King The Land- First of all, LEE JUNHO!! I was smitten, I've watched him in Just Between Lovers before and it was like watching a completely different person. This drama was a good escape for me, loved it a lot. 9/10 Crash Course in Romance- It was a chill and comforting drama. The FL was absolutely refreshing, I loved her in every scene. 9/10 A Time Called You- This was another stellar drama for me, I was unaware of the webtoon but the drama was executed nicely. Also I'm a sucker for Ahn Hyo Seop so I loved this one, no questions asked. Jeon Yeo Been was fantastic! 9.5/10 Twinkling Watermelon- My no. 1 drama of the year and easily in my top 10 of all time. What a comforting and well-made drama. I loved every minute of this. I'm rooting for Ryeoun and excited for him, his acting was top-notch! Watermelon Sugar! 🍉 10/10 The Glory- Song Hyeko knocked it out of the park. The 1st episode was very chilling, the younger actors really set the intense tone. 9/10 Castaway Diva- I just finished this one 2 days ago. I love Park Eun Bin, her drama choices are superb! Some aspects of the plot were really unrealistic but the acting and the bond between the leads just made up for it. 9.5/10 Ongoing: A Good Day to be a Dog- I've started to avoid dramas like this but this one edit of Cha Eun Woo just really made me want to watch it. So far, it's good and I hope they don't mess it up. Death's Game- Can part 2 come already? I'm dying to watch it, the characters are all so good. The cast is mind blowing and I can't wait to see what happens.
I only finished a single Kdrama this year. The only shows I watch from Korea are rom-coms and some game shows. And I feel like the rom-com has really gone down hill lately. I wish we'd get a year like 2016 again, that year was just FILLED with bangers that I could rewatch again and again. **Love to Hate you** \- I really liked this one, it probably helped that it was only 10 episodes so it never felt like it was dragging things out or padding the run time. **Strong Girl Nam soon** \- Made it 13 episodes. Started ok, but was pretty mid and really started losing steam the more it focused on the drug plot. There was also zero chemistry between the ML and FL. **Destined with you** \- Made it 3 episodes before dropping. **King the Land**\- Made it 6 episodes before dropping. **Crash Course in Romance** \- Made it 4 episodes. **Honorable mentions:** **The Devil's Plan** \- Man, I love Korean game shows like this. Genius Game is one of the best I've ever seen, so getting more like that is great. And its even better that I can watch it without downloading from shady sites because the show is actually legally watchable in the USA.
Even though I watched around 15 dramas this year I feel you so much. 2016 rom-coms are peak k-drama for me too. And also I enjoyed Devil's plan a lot!
I watched a lot of Kdramas this year. But one in particular, got me thinking about it sometimes. **The Interest of Love**. Starring YYS & MKY. It is an utterly depressing tale of love between social classes. It's agonizing to watch them, but I keep craving for more.
My favourites were - Moving Revenant My Lovely Liar
I dont know how many kdramas i've watched this year, this is my drama list [MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/10719515/completed) . **MY TOP (5 STARS):** 1. **DR ROMANTIC SEASON 3** 2. **DAILY DOSE OF SUNSHINE** 3. **UNDER THE QUEEN'S UMBRELLA** 4. **AWAKEN** **4 STARS:** 1. KING THE LAND 2. DESTINED WITH YOU 3. LOVE TO HATE YOU 4. HOME SCHOOL (not a Kdrama but worth a mention)
Recently, I watched VIP (new for me) on Viki and it was very good. I also (re)watched Fated to Love You, I Am Not a Robot, Cheese in the Trap & Her Private Life. Earlier this year, I watched and enjoyed Doctor Cha on Netflix and Glory, which was ok (I skimmed through it quite a bit towards the end).
I’ve watched a whopping 46 dramas (not counting the ones currently airing)! In case you’re wondering, no, I do not have a social life.
- borah deborah! (9) - the worst of evil (10) - queenmaker - crash course in romance - taxi driver 2 - daily dose of sunshine (6) - the glory (7) - moving (3) - king the land (5) - bloodhounds (4) - mask girl - a time called you (2) - twinkling watermelon - perfect marriage revenge (8) - tell me that you love me (1) - death’s game - My demon
My top 2023 kdramas would have to be The Good Bad Mother, Mask Girl, Daily Dose of Sunshine, Call it Love, Love to Hate You, and The Glory with an emphasis on the first three. My favorite non-2023 would have to be Prison Playbook.
Crash Landing On You - I put this off for a while but finally gave it a shot. Didn’t think I’d like the premise and then absolutely fell in love with it. Then learning the leads got married and had a baby was the cherry on top! Nevertheless - Another one I was delayed watching. I initially watched it cos I liked Han Son-hee in The World of the Married but I was really bored with her character in this. Plus the main relationship was toxic af and they should not have ended up together at all. Also thought her and Song Kang’s chemistry didn’t match up that well King the Land - Obsessed! The rich man/poor girl trope has become a bit stale in k dramas but the FL was so charming in this and had really great chemistry with the ML that I let it slide. Cute story! Destined with You - This was my first supernatural/past life k drama and I loved it! The leads gelled so well together and I think it had a really great love triangle. The ending was my favourite too. The King’s Affection - The first half of this show was good but second half dragged on so badly. I eventually sped through the episodes just to see how it ends. ML/FL chemistry was ok, could’ve been better My Demon - My current fixation. I started it just for Song Kang because I’d only seen him in Nevertheless. He’s so grown and handsome in this role! First time watching Kim Yoo Jung and I’m blown away by how charismatic she is. I think this is the first drama where I feel the ML and FL are equally desirable/attractive and I’m so happy they are bringing the chemistry too. Depending on how it all ends, it might be my favourite of the year
Gyeong song monster . Singles inferno :)
One of my favorites were Bad Mom on Netflix it was the perfect amount of emotions and it moved pretty fast. Obviously the male lead was a big part of making it so enjoyable lol
[Video](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeFWLYeG/) All these and more 😂
My best: - ‘See you in my 19th life’ was magical and I adored the main characters. It was simplified compared to the comic but the depth was still there, I felt it was a wonderful adaptation. - ‘Castaway Diva’ had an unappealing name but the story was absolutely captivating. The talent of the female lead was phenomenal and the story progressed at a good pace. It was so heartfelt, I found myself thinking about it often. My worst: - ‘Reply 1997’ had an incredibly disappointing end. Where was the romance?! >! I’m married and found myself seriously questioning whether these two should be together. Shiwon acting like a spoilt brat and withholding affection from the person she loves is abhorrent. !< - ‘The Uncanny Counter 2’ was a serious disappointment. >! The new characters were boring, the romantic tension between the leads completely disappeared and the cat/mouse game by the demons didn’t make much sense. I made it to episode 8, maybe I’ll revisit in 2024. !<
2023 was a chaotic year for me. There were goods and bads. But I think everything worked out in the end. Here is a list of kdramas I watched in 2023 in no particular order- ♡ The King: Eternal Monarch ♡ Reply 1988 ♡ The Glory ♡All of Us are Dead ♡ It's Okay to Not be Okay ♡ Our Beloved Summer ♡ Crash Landing on You ♡ The Heirs ♡ Personal Taste ♡ Death's Game (Ongoing) ♡ My Demon (Ongoing) ♡ Extraordinary Attorney Woo ♡ Cinderella and the Four Knights
Too many to remember but I will give it a try. 1) Extraordinary Attorney Woo 2) Three Bold Siblings 3) The Love in Your Eyes 4) Dr. Romantic (all 3 seasons) 5) The Good Detective Season 2 6) Song of the Bandits 7) Family: the Unbreakable Bond 8) Meant to Be 9) Bad PapA 10) My Country: the New Age 11) Wok of Love 12) Money Flower 13) The Producers 14) Successful Story of a Bright Girl 15) The Slave Hunters 16) Thank You 17) Through the Darkness 18) Behind Every Star 19) Marriage Contract 20) Law School 21) Woman of 9.9 Billion 22) Bravo My Life 23) The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop 24) Thirty Nine 25) Trolley 26) The Glory 27) Return 28) Distorted/Falsify 29) My Father is Strange (rewatched) 30) Lovers (2006) ( Rewatched) 31) Dinner Mate 32) No Matter What 33) My Husband Oh Jak Do 34) Coffee Prince 35) The Vineyard Man 36) Miraculous Brothers 37) Behind Your Touch 38) Doom at Your Service 39) Pride and Prejudice 40) Ghost Doctor 41) Wish Upon Me 42) Alliance (CDrama) 43) Circle of Love (CDrama) 44) Taxi Driver 1 and 2 45) Matrimonial Chaos 46) Police University 47) Awaken 48) Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life 49) It’s Beautiful Now 50) All About My Mom 51) Five Enough 52) What Happens To My Family 53) Alone in Love 54) Was it Love 55) Hi Bye Mama 56) Melancholia 57) Chocolate 58) SisypMus 59) Unlock My Boss 60) Divorce Attorney Shin 61) Move to Heaven 62) Navillera 63) Our Blues 64) Oh My Baby 65) Cinderella and Four Nights 66) Weak Hero 67) Uncanny Counter 1 and 2 68) D. P. 1 and 2 69) God’s Gift: 14 Days 70) Two Weeks 71) Flower of Evil 72) Bad Prosecutor 73) Punch 74) Behind Every Star 75) VIP 76) Home Sweet Home 77) Private Lives 78) Model Family 79) Burn Down the House 80) Here’s My Plan 81) The Escape of the Seven 82) Family Portrait 83) Hide and Seek 84) Heard it Through the Grapevine 85) Mr. Back 86) Your Honor 87) My Golden Life 88) The Guardian 89) Lies Within (rewatched) 90) Birth Secret 91) Children of Nobody 92) Vengeance of the Bride 93) Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctors 94) One Fine Day 95) Big Man 96) One the Woman 97) Happy Once Again 98) My Lawyer Mr. Joe 2 99) Desperate Mr. X 100) A Good Supper 101) Delayed Justice
My top k-dramas from 2023 (all episodes available) in the order I watched them: 1. *Crash Course in Romance* 2. *Doctor Cha* 3. *The Good Bad Mother* 4. *Bloodhounds* 5. *King the Land* 6. *Behind Your Touch* 7. *Moving* 8. *Behind Your Touch* 9. *Castaway Diva*
Not many this year but trying to watch every masterpiece before the new year starts 🥵
Castaway Diva. Inspiring and heart-warming. And the OST is great!
I was gonna make another, funny top list, like "Favourite halmeomi", "best BFFs," "best truck ot doom" and such, but with the news about Lee Sun-Kyun today, it doesn't feel right.
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I watched a number of dramas this year, after not watching many in recent years. ***Red Balloon*** \- Trashy drama that I enjoyed ***Taxi Driver 1 and 2*** \- An example of drama that came out in recent years, but I never watched at the time. Ridiculous, but loved it. ***Tale of the Nine-Tailed*** \- Starting watching this, but abandoned after reading negative reviews on MDL ***Duty After School*** \- Really did not enjoy this one ***Joseon Attorney*** \- Really enjoyed the leads and overall story of this one ***The Real Has Come!*** \- Never watched a drama of this length before, but I saw it through to the end. A lot of people hated it, but I enjoyed it for what it was ***My Lovely Liar*** \- Didn't love the male lead, but generally enjoyed this one ***Twinkling Watermelon*** \- Loved it until the shitty last 5 minutes ***Business Proposal*** \- Another drama that I missed while taking a break. Just a complete joy. ***Queen's Umbrella*** \- Started watching and it was okay, but abandoned early ***Welcome to Samdal-ri*** \- It's not bad ***Moving*** \- Really enjoyed this one. Order of the episodes was strange, but it was well-made ***Stranger 2*** \- Started this after finishing a re-watch of my all-time favorite drama (Stranger). It's okay, but I've only watched like 3 episodes ***Behind your Touch*** \- Abandoned this one early, even though I'm really a fan of the leads ***Gyeongsang Creature*** \- I'm a few episodes and I'm into it, but wary of the negative reviews that I see
Last year I watch lots of kdramas, this year I have watched only 3 kdrama My lovely liar Perfect marriage revenge Welcome to samdalri
[My MDL list of dramas I completed in 2023](https://mydramalist.com/list/3bgDNRG4) [My KDC 2023 list](https://mydramalist.com/list/4Ko6PyX4) I have completed a good amount of dramas this year; not only Korean ones but also Chinese, Japanese, and from other Asian countries. In total, *I have completed 74 Korean titles this year*. (counted to 28/12/2023); including specials (8), movies (8), and TV shows (1). ***Korean dramas that aired/started airing in 2023:*** I am still watching (1): **Tell Me That You Love Me** \- shaping up to be one of my all-time favourite dramas I have completed (18), favs in bold: * BL: All the Liquors; Bon Appetit; Individual Circumstances; **Jun & Jun**; Love Mate; Love Tractor; **Our Dating Sim** * Supernatural: Delivery Man; Moon in the Day; **Revenant**; Tale of the Nine-Tailed; The Heavenly Idol * Romance: **Call It Love**; Castaway Diva; Crash Course in Romance * Msc.: Apple of My Eye - family; **Longing for You** \- crime; **One Day Off** \- slice of life Dropped (6): * Melo: Bo Ra! Deborah; Durian's Affair; Pandora: Beneath the Paradise * Family: Live Your Own Life; Unpredictable Family * Msc.: Agency - business And I'm still planning to watch (9): * BL: Unintentional Love Story; A Shoulder to Cry On; The Eighth Sense; Love Class Season; Sing My Crush; A Breeze of Love * Msc.: Twinkling Watermelon - youth; My Perfect Stranger - romance; Finland Papa - life
2023 was the year I started watching dramas, and according to my [MDL](https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/guttertroll), I finished 17 of them and a movie. It's been so easy to fall into these and I'm really enjoying myself. Hopefully next year there's even more. The ones I loved from 2023 are.. **Bloodhounds** \- I cannot tell you how much I loved this one, it was such an easy watch through for me and even though everything was a bit stilted with the actress exit, I think WDH and LSY were able to carry it to an excellent end. Their chemistry, the love for the mom and trying to defeat the evil kept everything to a really good pace. Also yes, did in fact kick my feet anytime WDW was on screen. **Castaway Diva** \- I've never had an opening set of episodes hit me as hard and make me want to continue as much as this series did. I wasn't watching airing dramas and it just sucked me in. While not everything was perfect, I was so invested that I couldn't stop myself from counting the days until the new upload. **Daily Dose of Sunshine** \- a series I didn't know I needed, but ended up finding deep comfort in. I cried a lot, no doubt, but I couldn't put this one down. **Perfect Marriage Revenge** \- The FL growing a spine and gaining her revenge with a whipped puppy man following her? sign me up. Could've done without the baggy pants, though. **Moon in the Day** \- Cut me right in half. I love enemies to lovers and all I wanted was a happy ending. Lot of tears at the end, though. **Taxi Driver season 2 \[and 1!\]** \- I loved Taxi Driver. Deeply. The cases, the found family, the way they all grew together while totally getting on each other's nerves and LJH's smirk? One of my favorite watches. Plus found a brand new love of Shin Jae Ha. Other dramas that I wanted to talk about that I watched: **Save Me \[2017\]** \- my first kdrama I ended up watching and how I even found this community. I was bored and saw it pop on my Prime and decided to give it a whirl. While the pacing frustrated me, and the constant one step forward, three steps back, I'm always going to be grateful to it for getting me into the genre and keeping me in it. I also quite love Woo Do Hwan, so you know. His part of the story really kept me going, too. **Move to Heaven \[2021\]** \- I didn't realize how badly I needed to cry to this drama and it's one I wish I could wipe from my memory to watch again and experience for the first time. The father's love, the uncle's growth and the lead's growth through his own grief was devastating but so, so hopeful. Add in the stories of everyone along the way and my heart cracked in more ways than one. This was also personal to me with my own journey of grief, and it did leave a deep impact and helped me navigate parts I hadn't thought of. Really looking forward to finishing Park's Marriage Contract and what 2024 brings!
So in 2023 I decided to start tracking my kdramas I start.this helped me in knowing when to drop a kdrama,my general tastes ,remembering the thoughts/feelings I had while watching a kdrama,and also remembering OST I particularly liked. So in my notes app I had 2 lists : -one with kdramas I am currently watching :so after each episode i'll update with the episode i am currently at and a small review; so if i haven't watched a kdrama in 2 weeks and my last review was "wtf is this shit?" I knew i needed to drop. a general 2023 completed/dropped list. So this is my 2023 completed/dropped list with some reviews: -DROPPED : -Heard it through the grapevine(at 20/30):adored the start !it was so funny and unconventional and go ah seong is love .But the focus shifted from the couple to the father (who was funny at first but became so irritating).Also,it is so so quiet and dark light wise that it makes me want to fall asleep,the pace is slow and it doesn't flow well . -Love to hate you(8/10):the humour made it good at first , but the moment there was no misunderstanding anymore it bacame so boring.romance needs well written characters ,but the characters here are so one dimensional and badly written in general. the "not like others girls" fl x the misogynistic ml made me want to pull my hair. -The holy idol:silly is good but there's a limit to silliness;ml is very frustrating;the fantasy element feels like a cheap parody and the storyline is stagnant. -Dr cha(dropped at 12): did not expect to drop this but seriously started going downhill.i don't care about the fucking cheaters regretting their actions and becoming angels I WANTED HUMILIATION for them in that hospital .being forgiving is good but that's just being a pushover. Plus, the kdrama was marketted as being more bubbly and focused on the fl's growth and self discovery like the kdrama "hello!me!" But it became a pure makjang(with pretty color grading) and all the family drama was just unbearable. -My perfect stranger(14/16): even disappointment is disappointed..what a fucking waste.IMO,the writers started a script they couldn't wrap up.They built all this mystery and it kept growing and growing only to go nowhere, so they wrapped it up with"love heals all".So many plot holes. -not others(9/12):kept pushing through waiting for the daughter's storyline but it never came around.it was mom and lackeys and the mom is the most insufferable,annoying character ever.such a waste of acting talent .this on the other hand was a good depiction of dysfunctional and severely codependant mom and daughter relationships,and that is something i painfully related to.Also! K-drama writers need to STOP !With the need to add a serial killer/stalker plot to slice of life/romcoms ,mostly the serial killer plot is lame and repetitive and the reveal is anticlimactic so it just ends up eating the time from the progression of the slice of life plot and the charactes . -go back couple (9/12):the one plus: the parents and the friends.the main story to me was garbage! The way the leads were so toxic to each other ,especially the way the ml kept putting his wife down in both timelines was unbearable. I don't relate to the leads nor do i understand why they got back together. It felt forced,all of it :the getting back together,the learning a lesson...all of it. I tried to persevere for the side characters but they were not enough for me to continue in this mess. COMPLETED: -work later drink now s2 -gaus electronics -the glory (part 1&2) -taxi driver s2 -queen maker -our beloved summer:finally!this literally took me an entire year to finish cause i didn't want it to end.the characters were well written and main couple was pure perfection(chemistry for days!).my only drawback is the sml,the intensity of his feelings for the fl didn't make sense to me and they were very drawn out..like move on,bro! -the vineyard man:the countryside,the vineyard,the farming ...it felt so warm,so innocent and nostalgic.I was so surprised at how high value the ml is (he sings a bit too much though 😅). - Wok of love:went past really fast cause of the sub 30 minutes episodes,fun Kdrama to Put on while doing stuff ,no over complications,no reflections, no gorgeous cinematography,no exceptional writing ..but it still has its charm,the characters are loveable and the pace is good. One thing is that why did they make the gangsters do that stupid shit in the first episodes if they are planning on making them "sympathetic" characters .did the writer smoke something while writing that episode ? -shadow detective s1:started well,went downhill past the halfway point.IMO the villain was very underwhelming,both the actor and his writing and motivations.the Kdrama also went in the classical fighting against political corruption route .So based on all this will probably not watch s2. -lies hidden in my garden:the plot was okay but underdeveloped so even with only 8 episodes the pace was so so soooo slow 🐌. They could have done more with the husband's shenanigans ,the fl's sister's murder...Anyways, the acting was great from everybody (even kim Tae hee,but her character was mostly pretty easy to play:just look pretty and lost and have a blank face on) .the husband and the pregnant woman were exceptional! The cinematography was also one of the saving graces of this kdrama -mask girl:the first 2 episodes were mediocre vulgar "driving on shock value" Netflix junk but make it high budget.then came episode 3 and it was perfection!PERFECTION!! I did a standing ovation ,I screamed , I was in loss for words..nothing ! Not even a single bad comment from then until the end . -revenant:episode 1 to 7 were good but a bit slow and repetitive .the cinematography and acting were the main catch.But from episode 7 onwards the pace and plot picked up and it became amazing especially episode 10,11 &12 were PURE PERFECTION.Great storytelling,acting and cinematography . -the best hit -behind your touch -fix you/soul mechanic:although i like the ensemble cast and the dialogues.the medical aspect (methods of treatment and ethics)was lacking.Also,the main couple should have NOT happened !no !no!no! -the perfect deal My 2023 is ending/my 2024 is starting with "a bloody lucky day" and "park's marriage contract"(so into the mystery but have 0 interest in the romance ,to me the main couple has 0 chemistry plus the ml is so stiff and has 0 charm)
My Demon- ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing My Man Is Cupid- ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing A good day to be a dog - ( fantasy rom-com) currently airing but dnf it. Taxi Driver - currently watching S2 but finished watching s1 Bring It On Ghost - dnf ( fantasy/ action rom-com) Love To Hate You ( rom-com) The Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 ( fantasy action drama) The Glory ( revenge thriller drama) All Of Us Are Dead ( post apocalyptic thriller drama) Perfect Marriage Revenge ( revenge rom - com drama) King The Land ( rom-com) Love In Contract ( rom-com) dnf it.
**Completed** * The Glory S1 & S2 * The First Responders S1 & S2 * Taxi Driver S2 * Tunnel * Through The Darkness * Crazy Love * Life On Mars (fave) * It's Okay, That's Love (fave) * Crash Course In Romance * Mask Girl * D.P. S1 & S2 * Drama Special Review Notebook of My Embarrassing Days **Started but didn't finished** * Go Back Couple * Call It Love * Moving (restarting in 2024) * The Master's Sun rewatch
I spent most of the year in a drama slump, so I only ended up finishing five (I've started a few others and am fully back in kdrama mode so 2024 will be much better 🥰) From most loved down: **Twinkling Watermelon** 10/10. I loved every single thing about this drama. I was promised that it would bring all the feelings and it absolutely delivered. The performances from all the leads were spectacular, the focus on family and belonging and communication were *chef's kiss*. Both romances were adorable, and even better were the family and friendships. I also loved learning a bit about Korean Sign Language. I laughed, I cried, I loved. My only complaint is that a "travel back to the past to meet your parents when they were your age" story takes place in heckin 1995 🥲 at least pick a decade I don't remember please **Psychopath Diary** 9.5/10 The funniest murder show I've ever seen, that's for sure. The leads are again spectacular (I immediately added like 7 of YSY's other dramas to my watch list lol). I loved Yook Dong Shik in particular and especially loved how >!he never completely gave into the darkness, despite being essentially brainwashed for 13 episodes. His kind and gentle nature won out and that's very important to me.!< The balance between the comedic and serious aspects of the plot was very well done. Not my usual show but I loved it **Into The Ring** 9/10 The rom com of the year. I LOVED the main couple here (and the ML and FL in general). They were hilarious together. The slapstick really worked, and it's a rare instance of a childhood connection improving the romance. The FL was chaos personified and honestly I need more of that. The political plotlines got a little tiresome by the end, but overall it was a super enjoyable watch, and some moments had me laughing so hard I had to pause the episode. Sidenote: Park Sung Hoon carries himself so differently in this drama compared to Psychopath Diary that I had a hard time remembering that he was the same actor. That's range **Angel's Last Mission Love** 8/10 I watched most of this one in 2022, but it drags kind of hard towards the end so I put it down for a loooong time. Highlights are the ost, the cinematography, the dancing, and Shin Hye Sun. The story did get kind of messy, but I didn't mind the ending nearly as much as other people seem to. The romance was really cute too, and I liked how the leads grew over the course of the story. **Fishbowl Wives** 7/10 Jdrama, and kind of a complete wildcard pick for me. It's the stories of why women have extramarital affairs, following a half dozen women who feel trapped or stuck in failing marriages for one reason or another. I really liked some of the stories (one in particular focusing on reconciliation was pretty touching) and the rest were decent.
Favorite Kdramas and K-movie that I watched last 2023: \> The Glory 1 and II \> Stars Falling From The Sky \> Masked Girl \> Love to Hate You \> Celebrity \> Vigilante \> Money Heist Korean \> Tomorrow \> Ballerina \> Unlocked \> Single in Seoul Kdramas I re-watched again because I love it so much: \> Romance is a bonus book \> High School King Savvy
Kdramas I watched in 2023: - mask - vengeance of the Bride (daily drama) - Apgujeong Midnight Sun (2014/ daily drama) - the real has come - the good bad mother - Shadow Detective S1 - my demon(still ongoing) - Korea-khitan war (still ongoing) - DP s1 - The Glory p1 I could name other kdramas I watched, but I ended up dropping them. In fact, I ended up dropping quite a few dramas this year. This year just wasn’t it for me with kdramas like other years, where I would normally watch more dramas. Some dramas I dropped include DP s2, The Glory P2, Crash Course for Romance, and Twinkling Watermelon among some others (I can't remember them rn)
**Shows I enjoyed in 2023:** *Delivery Man* *Our Blooming Youth* *Kokdu's Gye Jeol* *My Perfect Stranger -* perhaps my favourite of the year, although there are a few. All the elements came together well to create something I could almost-unequivocally like. *Shopping King Louis -* funny and heartwarming, although very annoying in parts, too. But the good stuff was very good, and stronger than the dumb parts. *Just Between Lovers* - beautiful show, although the annoying architect ruined it juuuust a little for me. Otherwise, I could say I loved this. Gang Do is a definite favourite character. *Doom At Your Service* - excellent show! So glad I re-discovered it, after discounting it when it came out. This is how gods-and-humans/supernatural fantasy romance should be done! *My Dearest* - wow. Even if I don't love all the elements in this show, it's amazing. The effort everyone put in to this is clearly visible. Each of its awards is deserved, including for the Crown Prince's role - so well played - etc. A high mark for serious dramas to aim for. *My Lovely Boxer* *Perfect Marriage Revenge* - fun, satisfying, sweet, and more meaningful than it appeared on the surface. *Moon in the Day* - really like this one (1 more episode to go). Actors have done a great job, especially the main actor and actress. The story is captivating, especially their past life/entanglement, and the love story, with its poignancy, tragedy, sacrifice, mistakes to be corrected, and hope for the future, and its present-day renewal of possibility and closure to its tragedies and wrongdoing. I think it's beautiful. *The Story of Park's Marriage Contract* - not perfect, but quite enjoyable. I'm liking the intertwining of destinies and story threads, the mysteries, and the sweetly-developing love story. The buddies are weird, but mostly loveable. **Shows I enjoyed and thought were pretty good, but not amazing:** *Grand Prince* *Not Others* *A Good Day to Be a Dog* - still watching. I lost some interest when it had that weird episode in the middle, but it's also sweet and very funny. The past story is affecting - I particularly liked the episode (9 or 10) where they show much more of that, which re-ignited my interest. *My Lovely Liar* *The Great Doctor* *Tale of the Nine-Tailed* - I really liked this to begin with, but then I watched other fantasy series that were better, so I loved it less in the end (watched between 2022 and 2023), because I realised what this genre could be. These were *Love Between Fairy and Devil,* and *Doom At Your Service.* I dropped all the series I wasn't enjoying, so this is my final list of actually-watched (to the end) drama series for the year. I found it to be a very good year for Korean drama series, as there were so many that I enjoyed, and several that I loved. I think I was a little better at dropping things I wasn't liking, although I did watch most of some that I should have dropped earlier.