Favorite Dramas

... Just when I thought Mother would be top of my favorites list for a long time after it beat Goblin... >.>

I just absolutely just love Mr. Sunshine. There are just 2 parts I think could be better. One is nearer the end... and I try to not spoil, so I won't be talking about that, but the other has to do with the first couple of episodes. The first couple of episodes are somewhat confusing, although the show did add years to help, it was still hard to figure out who we were watching. This is ironed out throughout the though so it's not too negative of a point.

Of course the negatives are the first things addressed since I love basically everything else.
First off, the cinematography, I don't think anyone can discount the cinematography for how beautiful it is.
It almost feels like the actors were made for these characters. It is done so flawlessly. Even if you may not have liked the actor/ess in another role, they all do an excellent job in this show. Each character as well is written so that they are both very strong but also have a weakness they have to deal with and grow because of. There is no jealousy between love interests they each respect their rival's love and express their love towards the person in their own ways, and in fact they form friendships and wish each other well. There was never a moment I was disappointed in the main characters for their actions and could happily keep them as a favorite. Go to my soundtracks list for the music... Ahhh there's so much I want to say, and no space to say it >.<

There is just so much heart in this show. Lee Bo Young(Soo Jin) and the child actress, Heo Yool(Hye Na/Yoon Book), did a beautiful job portraying their characters and really bringing the characters relationship to life and made the show just that much more enjoyable to watch.

Now, I haven't watched the original version and I don't know how they compare, so I'll be talking about this as if it were it's own. However, it's important to note that the original also has really good reviews for it.

Mother brings up, and drives home the fact that a mother is not just someone who has given birth. They are someone who is willing to give up everything for their child so that they can grow up happy and healthy, and most of all, are someone who is going to love the child to the ends of the world and back. The show also revolves around child abuse, and domestic abuse in general and brings up these topics to try to get people to realize it may happen more than they think.
In the show we meet a lot of people, and all of them feel... real... they aren't just caricatures made to play their part just to make the plot move forward. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things, whether their actions in the end are justifiable or not.

Run On is a gorgeous drama. Not talking in terms of cinematography, although it earned a place here, it's beauty comes in the way of the writing; characters are written, relationships form and grow, and wonderful quotes.

Firstly, our characters- Seon Gyeom is a great leading character. He's a bit awkward, having lived alone the majority of his life, but he is can't stand to have anyone hurting around him and will do what he can to help. Mi Joo is super strong, having been looked down on for a lot of her childhood, she refuses to let that get to her and does the best she can. Dan Ah (mostly referred to as CEO Seo) is a CEO of a sports agency. She had a lot in life taken away from her that left her having to fight for what she wants, making her a brilliant CEO, but not so good with one's emotions. Younghwa is a college student aspiring to become a known artist, he's hopeful and cheery, and isn't afraid to be sensitive and let his emotions show when he needs to.
The characters are flawed in their own way, but are willing to correct those flaws. They are each unique in their own way, with Seon Gyeom probably being the most (click aqui)

Then our relationships-  Seon Gyeom and Mi Joo (Fav Couples list). CEO Seo and Younghwa have a lot of learning and growing to do, and I wasn't so keen of their relationship, but the way in progressed, and the sheer amount of growth they achieve in the end due to knowing each other is remarkable.  
In general the relationships are extremely healthy and not over the top. Whether it be between our main couple, or between friendships.

There are so many quotes that one can pull out of the drama. With the main messages of LOVE YOURSELF! love yourself so others can love you that much more.

Not enough room! lol Had to condense/delete so much!

Goblin was my... 3rd kdrama after my friend got me into them. I absolutely loved it, and it basically locked me in after Scarlet Heart Ryeo got me hooked. >.<

I loved goblin, the cinematography was beautiful, every shot was one that got me immersed in the scenery and really brought the show to life. It is also what would have me re-watching the show a million times and still not get bored.
If it were just that however, it would clearly not be enough. The music in Goblin matches it's cinematography in that it was absolutely, unapologetic-ally gorgeous. Before goblin, I will have to admit I was not a fan of kpop (didn't have a good first experience), but after hearing the soundtrack I decided to give it a second chance as there was literally not a song I disliked in the entire OST.
Goblin has a main cast of which I literally love everybody. Gong Yoo(Goblin), Kim Go Eun(Eun Tak), Lee Dong Wook(Reaper), and Yoo In Na(Sunny) brought life to characters so much, I can't imagine anyone else playing the characters quite as well.
The bromance was amazing. There are very few bromances I've seen that can even try to touch how amazing the bromance between the Goblin and Reaper is.
Double the romance. Okay... so I actually don't care about romance that much... but both relationships that we see in Goblin are both really cute and you root for them all and want them to be together and be happy.

So I love fantasy and mythology elements... the title of this show is GOBLIN and their are Reapers and Gods and Ghosts too... I'll just leave this here >.>

Incomplete Life aka Misaeng(which is what I know it best by)  is a very loved, yet still pretty unknown drama. It deserves all the love it gets and more so. While it may be a bit slow to some, and features absolutely no romance, This show portrays just... growth in general. Growth in relationships, in mindset, in ability, and especially Geu Rae's growth in knowledge and experience. Geu Rae especially. We watch him as he grows from a kid flailing around for work to entering a high competitive field he knows nothing about to the BA person we see at the very beginning of the drama. We see everyone in the office learn how Geu Rae's mind works and accept it at their own speeds, and themselves grow because of it.
The way Geu Rae interprets his problems and uses is specialized knowledge to tackle them also is one of my favorite things to see in any show. Geu Rae grew up playing Go(Baduk), and his entire life centered around becoming a professional player. Clearly things didn't work out (or we wouldn't have this show) and instead he's entering an office. In order to tackle problems, he faces it like it's Go. He learns to face everything in life like a convoluted Go game, organizing papers, killing time, relationships with people... It's a really interesting thing to see (I also like Go so...).
He's not the only one. While all the others went to top notch schools, and knew better what they needed to do, they still all struggled. They all still had places where they excelled and where they didn't.

I'd also like to add that I watched Misaeng at a time I completely related to Geu Rae, and was really unsure about life, and to see a character like him really gave me some hope an motivation even though he was a fictional character, it made me feel better. Like even if I find a job I might not feel like I'm qualified for, I can still bring something to the table that is uniquely me. I try to remember that still.

I absolutely loved how this drama seamlessly basically told two stories at the same time, and yet gave away nothing. The past events directly affect the future's situation, yet us viewers are left constantly wondering what's about to happen. Where so and so went, who exactly is another so and so. There are just so many twist and turns that it's extremely hard to understand anticipate who is on what side, who is planing what, how did the world become what it is in the future. I applaud the writers for being able to show case both the past and future, while still not giving away anything, and then seamlessly connecting them all at the same time. It was just so much fun to watch because of this that I was so impressed. 

The acting too was so good. Each actor brilliantly pulled off their part so well that each was believable, and no one was a black hole. Each shone, while also not taking from any of their co stars. Really, A+ for cast.

I would definitely enjoy watching this series again, catching things I didn't notice before, and the size of this show really helps this. With only 12 episodes, this drama only takes 12 hours to watch, and yet never feels rushed, and feels like just the perfect amount to tell what it needed to .

Now, nothing is perfect, and this isn't the exception, but it's darned close. If I had to pick at something, it was the inclusion of the alien, which was never fully explained, though, it was open to a 2nd season, which I feel like it would be explained there easily. 

I really loved the story behind Chicago Typewriter, and I'm probably going to be doing it a disservice in my explanation... 

Chicago Typewriter had two stories taking place at the same time, 1930s and present day(2017). In 1930, Han Se Joo(Played by Yoo Ah In) is a writer, with best friend Yoo Jin Oh(Go Kyung Pyo) and new member to the crew, Jeon Seol(Im Soo Jung). This half of Chicago Typewriter takes place during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and our main characters are doing their best to fight against it and free Korea. Fast forward to present day, and our main characters have been reincarnated, Jeon Seol is an avid reader, but she also has a secret, she has visions that seem to be from another life of killing someone. Se Joo is once again a writer, but this time he is very famous, however he is currently struggling against writer's block (Know the feelin' bro) and is being pressured to write more. The company he is working with tells him to use a ghostwriter, he refuses, yet later finds himself unwillingly with a ghostwriter, Jin Oh, who begins Jeon Seol's new story writing about their past in 1930. There are answers they need to find and mysteries of memories of their past lives that they need to solve. 

There were also so many great quotes that came out of this show, this, this, and this also for example, though I could list more. While I did not like the things the main characters would do in the beginning, they do grow and I really liked Jin Oh.

*I am talking about all 3 parts of season 1*

While I'm not a fan of it being split the way it is, being on Netflix it doesn't really matter any way so that doesn't affect any thing (except lists/reviews lol)

Arthdal Chronicles is a great drama, and I haven't really seen anything even close to like it from Korea. You enter a completely other world, with it's own languages, writing system, advancements, cultures, races, legends, etc. You've got Saram (humans, can't dream) and Neathals (um... super humans heightened strength, speed, and senses), as well as Igutu (those with Saram and Neathal parents, stronger than humans). There's a lot of strife between these people, and Saram are pretty diverse themselves, each having their own tribes and stories that circulate in those tribes.
It may sound confusing, but you pick up on it all pretty fast when watching.

The production team had to use a lot of CGI as well as make an entirely new set just for this project. (You can actually visit it as well!)
Superb acting by all the actors involved. They do a brilliant job of bringing their characters to life in this different world. Joong Ki plays two characters who are very different, and have their own facial expressions for the things happening to them. Ji Won does a brillant job portraying someone who's whole life came crashing down and how she responded to it to survive for her and her tribe. That's not to mention the other characters who are diverse and each having their own goals and wants and how they come together with and use others in order to achieve said goals. A lot, and I mean, a lot, happens over the course of the 3 parts, with more to come (2nd season).

I'd also like to note, from what a reviewer said, it is based on the Korean mythology of Dagun (they write more about it on their review I left a link of). It's pretty interesting.

I loved Mother, so it should come as no surprise to anyone, that I also really enjoyed Hi, Bye Mama. 

Hi, Bye Mama has a lot to do with death, and moving on. Cha Yu Ri has passing on after passing away during childbirth, as she feels cheated and really wants to see her child grow up. Jo Gang Hwa goes through immense grieving, and though he loves his family and 2nd wife, he still has anxiety and periods of intense grief after Yu Ri's loss. Her parents, her sister, her friends, all have various ways they are dealing with the grief, some able to continue their lives better than others, and Yu Ri is able to see it all, and wishes with all her might that she could bring comfort to them in some way.
Suddenly, she finds herself no longer so ghostly. Knowing she won't stay long, and it wouldn't be fair for her friends and family she tries to stay away, but can't stay that way for long (especially as she does need to get close to her child (for reasons explained in the show)), and soon the show has the characters being faced by the person they have let their lives be stopped by, and get told by her she just wants them to be happy. She's HAPPY he's remarried, because that woman made him smile again. She works to let her family see her child again, and make her room change so they can move on easier. She heals the wounds that weren't able to be addressed since her death.

There are some fun parts but mostly this show hurt. With just watching the last episode, my mom was enthralled. The emotions are very real, and very relatable. If you've experienced loss, you understand completely where these characters are coming from, and it's great the show shows the many different ways of grieving. Most importantly, just because that person has passed away, doesn't mean they want to be sorry and sad for them forever. Remember that person with a smile, cause they would want you to be happy.

I watched Tunnel and Signal closer together than I would've liked, so when I think of one, the other always pops into my mind... thus their rankings are pretty similar though, while the main premise of Tunnel and Signal are similar they deal with it differently.

In Tunnel, Park Gwang Ho(Played by Choi Jin Hyuk) is a police detective in 1986 and while trying to solve a stream of murders, finds himself suddenly transported to present day(2017). There he, along with detective Kim Seon Jae(Yoon Hyun Min), and psychologist Shin Jae Yi(Lee Yoo Young). As someone who absolutely loves anything to do with time travel and crime shows, this was right down my alley, and it did somethings well, but it did not really explain the time travel and left really big paradoxes in the end... not to mention whilst trying to catch the psychopaths, the characters would do really stupid things that would leave them open and potentially leave them in positions where they almost died because they forgot to make sure to have back up. However the show did keep me on the edge of my seat and wanting to watch the next episode (so waiting the week was really hard >.<)
Although while, I loved that this crime show had time travel, what really made it really stand out to me was Gwang Ho's love for his wife and seeing just how much she means to him. in fact, every character had a point that was charming, their interactions with those they are close to especially so. Gwang Ho and his wife was my favorite, but the softness Seon Jae has towards Jae Yi is equally adorable not to mention Gwang Ho and Seon Jae's budding bromance. I'm not going to go further, but for me the moments these characters interacted really made the show for me.

Now Signal is under Tunnel only because that's the order I watched them in, and it's easier for me to talk about this way.

Signal succeeds where Tunnel failed. The writers of Signal obviously did their research while working on the show. In Signal, Park Hae Yeong(Played by Lee Je Hoon), a criminal profiler, finds a walkie-talkie that is, for some reason unbeknownst to us, connected to the past, and talks to Jae Han(Played by Jo Jin Woong), a police officer from... the past... (sorry can't remember the year well). After solving a kidnapping case from the past, Hae Yeong gets assigned to the new cold case squad. Together hae Yeong and Jae Han solve some of Korea's most famous cold cases and reveal police corruption. 

For me, everything in this show was done well, any changes that were made to the past due to their communication is clearly seen affecting Hae Yeong and present day, but they are to varying degrees, sometimes it's so minuscule, they hardly notice it, sometimes it's so large that it ends up changing serious parts of their life.
The writers also did their job in researching for Hae Yeong as he is a criminal profiler. Now, I can't test it too much, as I'm not officially studied in it or anything, but from the classes I've taken every reason Hae Yeong gave checked out from what he learned of the person doing.

All the actors and actresses also did a really good job and no one really over acted or felt stiff, and while I wouldn't say any ONE stood out, they all all worked well together to create the world together.

RYAN GOOOOOLLLD!!!!! 'nuff said.

haha sorry, but seriously, gotta love Ryan Gold. Just not from the first episode. Like every other drama, Her Private Life attempts to introduce Ryan as a jerk, all due to a tragic past (of not being able to draw). Being way over this trope I was ready to almost drop. Luckily for it, the show flipped his character 360 real quick. The best point about Ryan Gold is how accepting of people he is. We first see this switch in character when he buys a hotel room but the main female character and her friend wanted it and so the friend goes to him but he brushes her off. He later sees the two girls being close and assumes that they were gay but trying to hide it, he reflects on himself and gives them the room. This misunderstanding continues as he attempts to help the female lead keep her secret. Of course this would carry over once he also finds out that Sung Deok Mi is a hard core fangirl, which would then lead to Ryan Gold being dubbed the best boyfriend a fangirl could dream of.

Now if you want more relationship talk click here and you can hear me gush all about them. Sung Deok Mi is also a solid character. They could have made her a crazy fangirl and stop there, but thank the Lord they didn't. Deok Mi isn't even a crazy fangirl. She is very much a fangirl and is running a fansite, but she knows her limits with her idol. Fangirling also doesn't over take her job. She keeps a lead curator job, and is darned good at it. Honestly, she is probably the best portrayal of a fangirl ever.

The show doesn't stop with the two of them, filling the drama with lovable characters, although many may act annoyingly selfish at times, they all do grow and don't lock themselves into that annoying state.

It portrays a positive relationship, makes each art style unique, and mixes in a puzzle to be solved.

Scarlet Heart Ryeo was my first kdrama as my friend was trying to get me into them... Well she was obviously successful. There were probably a couple reasons for her quick success.
I also want to start this with saying I haven't watched the original or the director's cut version yet.

This show has some of my favorite aspects in it. It's got time travel as Go Ha Jin(Played by IU) travels back to the Goryeo Dynasty and takes the body of a girl who looks exactly the same, Hae Soo. Now I absolutely love stories that take place in different times as you may be able to tell by this list >.>, and I especially like seeing what clothes people wore in the past, for me they are just beautiful and really cool, so seeing the hanbok (especially since the characters have money to have extra designs on them) was really beautiful and made the show even better for me.
Now, I'm not usually one for romance actually She says while watching dramas with just romance as their plot... >.>, so I won't actually talk about that too much, but I really loved how the characters slowly changed due to their interactions and their ambitions would change slowly as well.
Also, as someone who doesn't cry very much (My friends and I also have a thing where we try to make each other cry at shows/movies/songs, and this was my friend's attempt.), I did feel a sharp pang in my heart due to a scene in the ending of this show, which to me shows that this show did something right with emotions.

Side note: this show introduced me to Lee Joon Gi(Played Wang Soo(4th Prince)) and after seeing him in more I loved his acting.

Ok, I'm not going to sugar coat this... Uncontrollably fond is your basic melodrama, it's got your basic melodramatic storyline of main character has a terminal illness but keeps it secret and someone falls in love with them. Many of the characters themselves are also rather annoying, and are also their basic melodrama molds. There really isn't much new to find in this show, so why is it on my list you may ask, and to be on this list, why is it so high?
Well, Uncontrollably fond affected me emotionally by the end more than most anything else I have watched, to the point where I start feeling sad and thinking about the show a lot every time I see a picture or listen to a certain song from it's OST.  The show has a continuity to it that things that are said in the beginning of the show, then come back either physically or mentally later, and for me that makes it a lot of fun, although also rather painful(for me) to think about. And for me that's why it's so high, there's just so much emotion attached to this show for me, that I loved the show so much even though there wasn't much new in terms of concepts.

Side Note: This show introduced me to Kim Woo Bin(Played Shin Joon Yeong) and thought he did a really good job of portraying his character. Hope he's doing okay!

...I am so glad I'm not a reader of this manwha... it's so messed up by the end...

What I really like in W is the premise... and laughing at the fans of the manwha getting mad at it getting crazy near the end as a manwha that WAS action and crime fighting for years randomly became a convoluted romance story. >.< (I really understand the poor fans who'd been following it for years.)
In W,  Oh Yeon Joo(Played by Han Hyo Joo) is pulled into her father's manwha that has come to life and meets the main character of said manwha, Kang Chul(Lee Jong Suk), who she has a crush on. I'm pretty sure this is something we've all wanted to do before, meet our favorite characters, maybe visit the world ('cause lets be real, some of these worlds would kill us quick if we stayed too long), which makes this drama really fun to watch as in it, this DOES happen. While the overall plot is perfect for hooking people, the romance just wasn't really there? For me it felt rather forced, and the characters themselves were rather 2 dimensional.
However, even with these problems I still really enjoyed W. I enjoyed the transitions between people and their drawings in the manhwa. I enjoyed the acting, though the actors had to fight against 2 dimensional characters which is rather hard to still be good with.
... I think I'm having a hard time putting into words well why I liked this drama... I just can't leave out things dramas fell short in when I'm talking about them even if I really enjoyed and liked them... (In fact I'll probably point them out more lol)

This was hard, I wanted to only really have Weightlifting Fairy or Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, and ultimately decided on Weightlifting Fairy. Why? Well...

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo feels more real; the relationship, the situations they find themselves in, everything really. It also didn't have the potty humor SWDBS had... I don't know if it's because WFKBJ is inspired by a real person or not, but for me it was just more real. (Not to mention the two leads WERE dating at the time which, although they have now broken up, doesn't make the feelings they had at the time any less real, and any less cute, like random ad lib.s the two would have.) You can really feel the warmness and struggles these kids go through trying to reach their goals. This realness provides for viewers the ability to relate better to the characters in the show. 

Nine Times Time Travel is a time travel show that does time-travel right, and that's my favorite thing about it. The writers focused on the time travel and worked hard to figure out how it would function. There are clearly set rules; 1) One goes back in time using special incense sticks, 2) Each incense stick burns for a total of 30 min., 3) One can only go back exactly 20 years, 4) Time is linear, and events that changed in the past affect the future as that change happens. An example I can think of early in the show would be Park Sun Woo traveling to the past, and telling a girl to call a number. The affect of this will only impact present day if and exactly when the girl calls the number, 5) The time-traveler will keep their memories, the memory of their original past, and of their new past, as will anyone aware of said time-travel. These rules help set up the show, and are brilliantly followed with twists and turns set forth by the time-travel. While it may be confusing at times to wrap one's head around all the various complications may have been set in motion by Sun Woo's actions, the writers still make it easy for the viewers to understand.

Sun Woo is also a lovable character. His mean for being in the beginning is to expose the big bad and finally get justice. He is intelligent, quick-witted, and rather stubborn. He isn't out time-traveling to make his own life better, but to save people and help his family live better. This makes it incredibly easy to get an emotional attachment to him and we are quickly rooting and hurting with him.

Real quick, I'll admit to it's faults. While I love the Sun Woo, I wasn't too keen our big bad as well as the female lead's acting. Despite this, I enjoyed the ride.

He is Psychometric is by no means perfect. In fact it really doesn't fall close to being perfect. The beginning starts you off nice and cute (I mean as cute as 1 kid's parents die and the other has lasting trauma) but cute, and focuses around their relationship, but then it turns dark, which, to be honest, it was hinting to become. 

The acting was done nicely; Park Jin Young did a good job as Lee Ahn was adorable, Shin Ye Eun as Jae In was cleanly her character and I had no doubt, Kim Kwon as Sung Mo was perfectly emotionless and filled with emotion, and Kim Da Som as Ji Soo was so sweetly our light in the darkness, as well as the other actresses and actors. They all portrayed their characters so well that I had no problem connecting their lives to the story and how it affected each character, and the way the emotions were shown was really well done.

I also just like his psychometric powers, and watching him try to avoid touch and yet still use it at times and grow in ability... 

All in all this drama wasn't with out problems, and is not for everyone, but I enjoyed it enough to put on this list, though not at all high >.<

Ok... so I honestly forget why this show was on this list. I think it was a change of pace I hadn't gotten in a while and while watching I always get caught up in excitement (which is why I usually rate a day or two later). So this may be jumping lists to almost favorites... 

I think what I really liked in this show were the characters, especially Choi Yoo Jin, who is a bad guy, but someone the viewer also end up feeling for. In fact many of the characters were fleshed out a lot, and that is always very nice to see. They had their good parts, and their bad parts. Also the acting was done very well, the actress for Yoo Jin did a good job of making her character despicable, yet with so many layers acted out that she was also somewhat understandable. The main leads were also well acted, though Kim Je Ha was almost too perfect of a character at times, and Ko An Na was very often times a damsel in distress, the acting of the two saved their characters pitfalls, and made them more realistic and gave them depth to what would have been basic character tropes, successfully making them likable.

Word of Honor is by no means perfect, but the amount of joy it's brought me for the time it was airing it more than worth the rating I gave it (which to others may be very high).
I picked it up first as a random "well looks like there's action scenes" one more forgo into Cdramas where I hadn't picked up I liked yet. Little did I know I'd come to love it so much. I literally knew nothing going in, but by the 3rd episode I picked up there were quotes of poetry I didn't know, the most direct indirect flirting I have ever seen, and fun flying martial artists.