#Mystic Pop Up Bar

[kdramasforever97]

You know a Kdrama is great when you start arguing and have the urge to throw things at your tv. Also the need to pause to absorb everything that just happened.

[mikimeiko]

Mystic Pop-Up Bar | Miniseries (2020), Ha Yoon-ah

[gizkasparadise]

Hi, top 5 Kdramas please!

it was so hard to pick only 5 ;; but not in any particular order since they all have vastly different #vibes:

chicago typewriter. three people--a famous novelist, a ghost writer, and an errand girl--cross paths in modern-day Seoul and in different ways try to help the novelist complete his latest story -- a novel about freedom fighters during the japanese occupation of korea in the 1930s. however, as the story continues, and the trio get more and more involved with one another, it turns out the story isn't just a story, but the retelling of their past lives where they were lovers, comrades, and maybe even enemies. a rare kdrama where the ending is stronger than the beginning, this is a slow burn that takes its time to get going but once it does it's so SO good. drama, comedy, romance, everything!

welcome to waikiki. three losers (a prospective director, an aspiring actor, and a wannabe screenwriter) live in and run a sharehouse. one day, they wake up to find a baby in one of the rooms, and chaos ensues. so fucking funny, i love the ships, and the cast is well balanced between the three male leads and the three female leads. A+++

mystic pop-up bar. kang bae, a 20something who works in customer service, has a curse where whenever anyone touches him, they are compelled to tell him their deepest secrets. one night, he crosses paths with weol ju, a shaman who is cursed to an immortal/unending existence until she resolves the grudges of 10,000 humans because of a grave sin she committed in her mortal life. with her is gwi, a retired ghost cop who now helps her run a pop-up bar where they enter dreams and try to resolve weol ju's debt. kang bae joins them when weol ju offers him a bargain: use his powers to help her resolve the grudges, and once 10k are up, she'll remove his powers. you think this show is run of the mill case of the week, but it all builds together so beautifully and it's such a great found family dynamic. i love this ooone

bridal mask/gaksital. set in 1930s korea during the japanese occupation. kang to is a ratbastard -- a korean who works for the japanese as a police officer and turns in his countrymen. he becomes obsessed with hunting down BRIDAL MASK. a zorro-esque freedom fighter with a hidden identity. to get to him, he tries to capture mok dan, the daughter of a freedom fighter general and bridal mask's suspected lover. the first few eps get you thinking it's going to be a cheesey action show, but it's a fantastic tragedy with so many nuanced character arcs.

extraordinary you. dan oh is a rich high schooler at an elite academy, who has a crush on her aloof and disdainful fiance, baek kyung, and a tragic but non-descript heart condition. one day, she starts realizing parts of her memory are gone, and there's the distant sound of someone turning the page -- turns out she's a character in a romance manga, but not even the heroine-- just a side character. in order to change her fate, she enlists the help of 13 -- a nameless background character. so cute, quirky, and highly HIGHLY addicting. loving meta parody of high school shoujo stories like Boys Over Flowers.

bonus, because they were REALLY close to top 5: beyond evil (serial murder? in a small village? more homoerotic than you'd think.), arthdal chronicles (bronze age-esque fantasy epic with more ambiguous leads than you can shake a stick at), and happiness (when you have to stop the zombie apocalypse but there's only one bed)

[dilebe06]

My Top Female Characters of 2023

[muttonthings]

Kdrama Challenge

Day 24: Show with Best Ending

It's Okay to Not be Okay

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Crash Course in Romance

The Glory

Hometown Cha Cha Cha

[purpleguitar]

KDRAMAS OVER FLOWERS DAY 1: a love so beautiful 💖 favourite couples

seo junghoo and chae youngshin from healer • yoon sol and seo jiwan from nevertheless • do bong soon and an minhyuk from strong woman do bong soon • jang jaeyeol and ji haesoo from it’s okay that’s love • wol ju and mr qwi from mystic popup bar • baek heesung and cha jiwon from flower of evil • park changho and go miho from big mouth

[eunsjisoo]

“love that keeps on giving“ — f. s. yousaf

happy holidays @junghaesin ❤️🎅 

[castlescrumblingdvwn]

kang-bae initially refusing to eat the porridge because it was too precious because it was the first time someone cooked for him at home has me devastated i wanna hug him

[occhronicles]

"If there is a next life, I will be sure to find you. Even if I have to sacrifice my soul, I will protect you."

[rabonghee]

Kdrama Secret Santa: @2amfog

Higher Res.

[drama-pop]

Dramas I Watched in 2023

There was a lot more time between dramas this year and except for 1, all of them were new to me this year.  I ended up watching 9 dramas again, like last year.  Here are the dramas I watched this year and I what I thought of them!

Dream High (7/10)

2nd watch – My sister and I watched this through winter break and finished early in the year.  It wasn’t as fun as I remember it being in my first watch, but I still enjoyed it a lot.  It took several episodes for my sister to be convinced that this was going to be worth watching.  The fashion, camera quality, and acting hasn’t aged that well, but the music and desperation of youth still endures.

Hometown Cha-cha-cha (6.5/10)

1st watch – I have a love-hate relationship with this drama.  I liked it a lot at the beginning and end, but once Hye-jin started on her whiny “Hong Banjang,” I kind of stopped caring about her character.  The townspeople are quirky, yet lovable.  I thought they did a good job fleshing out the character of the second male lead as well.  I cried a lot in the final episodes of the show though!  It’s worth a watch.  “Romantic Sunday” is an excellent driving song on a sunny day, just throwing that out there.

Little Women (7/10)

1st watch – I had to watch this one in small doses because it was quite disturbing at times.  The acting was very strong all around.  If you’re like me and developed a crush on Wi Ha-joon after Squid Game, I’m happy to report that he’s looking as fine as ever, even though I wasn’t sure if I could trust his character (or anyone else, for that matter!).  Had the show been the traditional 16 episodes, I would not have made it.  12 dark episodes was enough for me!  If you like mystery thrillers, I recommend Little Women!

Crash Course in Romance (7.5/10)

1st watch – I liked a lot about this drama.  Jung Kyung-ho and Jeon Do-yeon were fantastic and it was refreshing to see a cast with older leads (despite my initial hesitation).  Sure, there were a few twists that felt a bit contrived, but it’s a K-Drama!  What was I expecting? This is one where I couldn’t wait to start the next episode and find out what would happen next.

Mystic Pop-Up Bar (9.5/10)

1st watch – This was the highlight of the year for me.  I loved the characters as individuals and as an ensemble. The casting was perfect, in my opinion. The overarching story was mysterious and the cases that Wol-ju had to solve were touching.  One episode in particular had me bawling my eyes out.  This drama is one that you can enjoy casually or one that could inspire you to reflect on your life and the people in it that you love.

King the Land (7/10)        

1st watch – Sadly, I can’t recall much about this one.  I remember that I liked the characters, especially the lead and how hard she worked.  It had a nice balance of silliness and touching moments.  One thing that I thought this drama did well was develop the female lead’s friends.  They had their own side stories and shared a genuine friendship.  And this show has a vacation episode, which I live for!

Crash Landing on You (7.5/10)

1st (full) watch – My mom and I tried to watch this one in 2020 and completely gave up on it after the first episode.  I know in my heart not to judge a K-Drama by its first episode, so we gave it another try this year.  It was really well done and the ensemble is fabulous.  Seriously, if you only watch it for Captain Ri’s soldiers (or for Captain Ri…what a handsome guy), I wouldn’t blame you! While I had a hard time warming up to the second female lead, I thought that the way she was written had some refreshing twists. She's not the confident woman you'd think she is from her appearance and ice. The show made some choices near the end that I didn’t agree with, but it was an overall great watch.  I’m glad I gave it another try!

Touch Your Heart (7/10)

1st watch – I loved seeing Yoo In-na and Lee Dong-wook back together again and with a happier ending than in Goblin!  The drama was a little silly at times and took a while for me to get into, but I grinned a lot at their cute relationship.  If you like seeing your leading male looking confused and lovestruck, this is a good one!  Lee Dong-wook makes the most endearing faces.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (4/10)

1st watch – I’m so sorry.  I wanted to like this drama a lot and kept watching episodes hoping that it would grip me, but it just didn’t.  There were a lot of plot elements that I couldn’t get behind and some that I flat out said, “that’s it, I’m not watching this show anymore.”  Of course, I did finish, but it took everything in me not to give this drama up. I personally know someone who puts this as her top drama, but it just wasn’t it for me. Mimi the dog is too cute to be real.

And that’s it!  I hope that you have a happy new year and that 2024 brings good things for you!  Feel free to send me any drama recs!

[kdramasforever97]

Me, when I start a Kdrama and its the dubbed version:

[imblocking-you]

Romanticizing the life that is uniquely mine because of Mystic Pop-up Bar.

[nthngtoseehere-blog]

I need a day where I have absolutely nothing to do so that I can binge the rest of Mystic Pop-Up Bar because it's SO GOOD but I keep having to turn it off to, like, work. Run errands. Do family things. Sleep. 😭

They're the best tho srsly:

[dilebe06]

My Top Female Characters of 2023

[muttonthings]

Kdrama Challenge

Day 18: Underrated Show

One Ordinary Day

Yumi's Cells

Tomorrow

The Witch's Diner

Mystic Pop-up Bar