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starcrossed591 · 4 days ago

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KDrama Year in Review 2024

Only a few KDramas took up residence in my unconscious (looking at you, When the Phone Rings) this year, but looking back, there were a good number that I found pretty solid overall and looked forward to watching every week! I’ve been pretty flexible about genre this year, but since I was getting most of my angst from CDramaland (CDrama Year in Review forthcoming), I tended towards KDramas on the lighter and/or otherwise more restrained side. There’s some flotsam and jetsam to wade through first, but here we go:

Disclaimer: Rankings based on my personal preference, not objective quality

15) Romance in the House (dnf)—Did not even remember I watched this. The premise was meh, the deadbeat dad was unlikeable, and it seemed like they wanted me to root for him to win the mom back (no thank you). Some of the actors were doing their darndest to push through, but it did not work for me at all. Dropped.

14) Marriage Impossible (dnf)—I like the two lead actors, especially Moon Sang Min (I really liked him in Under the Queen’s Umbrella), and they had pretty good chemistry, but they were underserved by the weakness of the script. Dropped before they even got together (alas, the gifs of their first kiss looked like great fun).

13) Cinderella at 2am (dnf)—Interesting first two episodes in which the FL takes the money of chaebol boyfriend’s rich mother in order to break up with him, but then lost all momentum from there. Another miss from Moon Sang Min. Pick better scripts, buddy! Dropped.

12) Love Your Enemy—This rom com is fine I guess? I dropped after about six episodes because there’s too much else on my watch list. The actors playing the two leads in the high school flashbacks were unfortunately much more compelling than the ML and FL as adults, which leaves the whole thing feeling unbalanced. I don’t know if it’s the actors or the script, but this one just did not land for me. Dropped.

11) Serendipity’s Embrace—Finished this mostly inoffensive rom com mostly out of fondness for Kim So Hyun and because nothing else was airing that I wanted to watch. Did not actually like that much, do not recommend unless you don’t have much else to do.

10) Captivating the King—Was very obsessed with this sageuk for the first half. Cross dressing FL out for revenge? Vengeful, unhinged (bisexual) king? Yes please! However, they lost me when the FL who was supposed to be Very Smart kept acting Very Dumb, so I got distracted and never came back to it. I do still adore Cho Jung Seok and it was fun seeing him play a darker role after most recently seeing him in Hospital Playlist, but come on! If you want me to believe your FL is a strategic genius, she has to act like one or have a very good reason why she’s not! Dropped.

9) Love Next Door—Hyped up way too much; totally understand why so many people dropped. Mostly finished out of goodwill for Jung Hae In and Jung So Min, both of whom I adore, and a much more magnetic secondary couple. Was ultimately a mid-tier rom com/family drama, though I probably would have liked it better if my expectations hadn’t been so high. Would still recommend if you have fondness for any of the actors, though.

OKAY now time for dramas I actually (mostly) liked!

8) Marry My Husband—Very much enjoyed Park Min Young, the rom com queen, in her transmigration revenge era. I liked it more when the SFL and SML were a sort of everyday awful that still managed to be soul sucking before it all took a hard turn into makjang territory, but still really enjoyable overall. I'm also still struck by the scene in which the FL breaks down after her (fake) bestie betrays her for a second time by sleeping with her husband. The feeling of betrayal she felt, even when she basically knew it was coming, was not actually lessened by that foreknowledge, perhaps because of the forlorn hope that maybe her friend *wouldn't* betray her this time around.

7) Queen of Tears—Kim Ji-won and Kim So Hyun were both fantastic in this much anticipated drama, and watching their relationship develop from married couple fully at odds with each other to ride or die partners was excellent. The ensemble cast also featured many of my favorite secondary characters of the year, including himbo brother and devoted daddy played to perfection by Kwak Dong Yeon and unhinged, excon, serial divorcee aunt played by Kim Jung Nan! Unfortunately, there was a little too much plot bloat and some unearned plot twists (amnesia, anyone?) and the episodes were all just too long (Writer Park Ji Eun really, really needs an editor, but I expect no one could tell her No after the success of CLOY). Still a fun ride overall, though!

6) Tell Me that You Love Me—(Started airing in 2023 but ended in 2024 and wasn’t available to stream in my area until 2024, so I’m counting it!) This quiet, slice of life romance was a very comforting watch for me. I found Mo Eun (Shin Hyun Been) a restful character to watch as she tried to figure out her life while trying to make it as a working actress while also falling in love with Cha Jin Woo, an artist who is also deaf. YMMV re: the ending (and I hear the JDrama it’s based on may be a bit better), but if you want a drama that’s soothing while still grounded, I recommend this one.

5) My Sweet Mobster—Had no expectations for this drama—in fact, I saw the descriptions and promo material and thought it would be a hard pass for me—but then ended up completely charmed by this goofy rom com that nonetheless took recidivism and the real challenges faced by excons to integrate into society after serving their time very seriously. Honestly, worth checking out just for Uhm Tae Goo as swoon worthy, deep-voiced, former mob boss Seo Ji Hwan—easily my favorite new-to-me actor of the year.

4) No Gain No Love—Again, I had no expectations for this rom com, but then ended up totally sucked in by Shin Min-A’s performance as Son Hae-Young, a successful career woman who has reached her ceiling promotion-wise at work solely because she is unmarried. Her insistence on not suffering losses even in relationships and her resulting conviction that that insistence made her unlikely to find a partner also struck a chord. My mileage varies with Kim Young Dae, but his turn as the convenience store clerk she convinces to fake-marry her was charming. Rom com tropes follow, some with more success than other, but the pointed critique of the gendered double standard many of the characters face made this one really land for me. Bonus points for Hae-young’s relationship with her two foster sisters, the only two of the many children her mom fostered to stick around.

3) The Midnight Romance at Hagwon—I know a lot of people had high expectations for this one and then dropped it when it wasn’t what they expected, but it ended up being a highlight of the year for me. I came for Wi Ha Joon in a romance, and stayed for the unexpectedly earnest commentary on what education is actually for, especially when it has turned into teaching children how best to win at taking a test. When the first big fight between the FL and ML was a yelling match about a pedagogical disagreement on the best way to teach literature, I was a goner. The thought of a former student showing back up in my life to seduce me at my place of work irl gives me hives, but I honestly loved this drama so much. Highly, highly recommend.

2) When the Phone Rings—I know I’m being premature by putting this drama so high on my list when it hasn’t yet concluded, but I CAN’T HELP IT, SUE ME. I’m so obsessed with this drama, it has taken over my dreams. Hong Hee Joo and Baek Sa-eon’s messy relationship is so, so fun, and I’m rooting for them so much. I do sometimes see the twists coming in this makjang thriller romance, but am still surprised often enough to keep me on my toes. Also, more red flag heroes please, Baek Sa-eon is so so fun when he’s being little extra unhinged.

1) Lovely Runner—Im Sol and Ryu Sun Jae had my whole heart for the entirety of this drama’s run. This is another one where the premise did not originally appeal to me—Im Sol going back in time to save her idol from dying is not at all sexy to me—but it’s another one where it took so many twists and turns that a non-spoiler description just can’t do it justice. Sol and Sun Jae had such good chemistry and were so ride or die for each other. I honestly loved that (spoiler) you go in thinking that Im Sol’s love for Sun Jae, just to learn that Sun Jae fell for her both first and much, much harder. Im Sol’s time travel shenanigans were never totally explained, but I’m just fine leaving it all a little timey wimey because I loved the journey so much.

Favorite Female Character: Look, I love a KDrama Lost Girl (tm), so it’s gotta be Hong Hee Joo (Chae Soo Bin) from When the Phone Rings for me. I love the balance between (spoilers) how adrift she feels in her personal life with how unhinged she can get when making calls with the mask of 406. I also love her artful use of sign language, especially when she deploys it specifically because she knows the person she’s talking to won’t understand her.

Favorite Male Character: If I was in my green flag era it would be Sun Jae, but since I’m in my red flag era, it’s absolutely Baek Sa-eon (Yoo Yeon Seok) from When the Phone Rings. He’s been unhealthily obsessed with Hee Joo for 20 years, and I love that for him. Also, I adored YYS in both Mr. Sunshine and Hospital Playlist, so seeing him play a character here somehow halfway between his polar opposite roles in those dramas is a real treat.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: I adored Nam Cheong Mi (So Joo Yeon) as the SFL in Midnight Romance in Hagwon. She started out *totally* out there in her quest to be hired as a lecturer at the elite hagwon for which the drama is named, and I empathized her total dedication to being a fantastic teacher that became more and more apparent as the drama went on. I also appreciated her growing friendship with FL Hye Jin. She refused to let herself be used by others as Hye Jin’s rival, even when it would have been really easy to do so for her own gain.

Favorite Secondary Male Character: A tie here for Baek In Hyuk (Lee Seung Hyub) as Sun Jae’s bestie and eternal wingman and SML Kim Tae Seong (Song Geon Hee), both from Lovely Runner. The delightful ensemble cast is part of what made this drama so strong, and the scene where these two were on screen with Sun Jae were some of the funniest. I also really, really liked Tae Seong’s unexpected friendship/relationship with Im Sol in each variation of the timeline, especially since he was the first person to consistently recognize future Sol as distinct from past Sol.

Favorite Ship (runner up): Look, I know I should just choose one couple, but it’s my list so I make the rules, and I’m so obsessed with Hee Joo and Sa-eon right now that I have to give them their own slot.

Favorite Ship: Sun Jae and Im Sol’s (in Lovely Runner) determination to protect the other even at the cost of their own lives takes the cake here for me. I also loved seeing Sun Jae recognize Im Sol’s feelings for him multiple times across different possible timelines, and always, always choose her. I was rooting for them so hard and they made my heart flutter so many times across so many timelines that it has to be them.

Favorite Secondary Ship: I ended up really loving the romance between spicy romance web novelist Nam Ja Yeon (Han Ji Hyun) and chaebol/her internet troll Bok Gyu-heon (Lee Sang Yi) in No Gain No Love. Seeing how these two went from true enemies to lovers was such a treat. I do some research on Webtoons in my professional life, so seeing this drama take seriously the toll that internet hate can take on creatives felt really profound (and pointed) to me, and seeing Gyu Heon realize how much harm he caused in trolling her so hard and figure out how to legitimately make restitution really resonated for me. Plus, the bonus episodes in their spin off, Spice Up Our Love, were a nice treat! These two are totally ready to carry their own dramas as leads, if they want to.

Favorite Platonic Relationship: I’m a sucker for friendships between women, especially for some reason when there are three of them, so the friendship/sisterhood between Son Hae Young, Nam Ja Yeon, and Cha Hui Seong in No Gain No Love was catnip for me. The way they always showed up for each other even if they didn’t agree with the other’s choices really, really worked for me. Ja Yeon and Hui Seong’s roles as Hae Young’s only foster siblings to stick around long term was really touching, though also bittersweet.

Dramas I Missed: I meant to watch A Virtuous Business, because who doesn’t love middle aged women selling sex toys? I still might, but that one will likely stay on the back burner for a while. I might also pick up Atypical Familyat some point, since enough people liked that one well enough for me to be at least a little intrigued. Anything else I ought to check out?

Non-2024 Drama Spotlight: I watched Link: Eat, Love, Kill at the end of last winter break, and it was such a fun little drama! It had that unexpected mixing of genres-- the perfect balance of romance, thriller, murder mystery, and magical realism—that made me love KDramas in the first place. I adored Moon Ga Yong as the ne’er-do-well FL forced to move back in with her mother and grandmother by her lackluster career, and her romance with the chef starting a restaurant across the street (played hilariously by Yeo Jin Goo) who, for reasons unknown, shares a psychic connection and can sometimes feel her emotions! Throw in a murder (maybe?) that the mom and grandmother help the FL cover up; a cold case; a fridge that somehow keeps ending up with a body in it; and unexpectedly sharp commentary on domestic violence, and you have yourself a winner, at least in my book. I highly, highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t yet!

Dramas I'm looking forward to: Idk I live under a rock and am happily surprised when fun dramas show up on my dash. I do like the Webtoon for The Remarried Empress, so hopefully the drama for that will be good? Not over all the articles describing this story as a "historical" when the plot depends on the ML being able to *turn into a bird*, so we'll see I guess

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