#alchemy of souls best kdrama in ages

[mudeokis]

“There’s no way the two will recognise each other.”

Yet we see Jang Uk LITERALLY stopping himself at the bridge and looking towards her because there is something in him that pulls him towards her. Because there is something that he can’t quite put a name to that’s telling him to focus on the girl in the boat, in the bridge… that girl with whom he’s almost recreating a past moment with Mudeok…

I’m not crying. My eyes are just sweating.

[sexlovelitpodcast]

Sex Love Lit girlies! I watched Crash Landing On You (my first k-drama) and now I have a conundrum: A) I want to watch more k-dramas, and B) No k-drama can seem to measure up to CLOY 😭 Could you put together a playlist of entry-level k-dramas for new fans that capture the CLOY magic? Bonus points if they’re on Netflix

@sliceoflifegirl thanks for the ask!

(Corinne here) First of all, welcome to KDrama land! Crash Landing on You was my second ever KDrama, and the one that really got me hooked. I’m gonna be honest, it’s a hard one to top when you’re mid emotional hangover! That said, I love this ask and recommending KDramas to people, so I’m more than happy to recommend some. My strategy here, rather than recommend something that exactly mimics CLoY (because imo, there’s nothing exactly like it), is to recommend dramas that I think are some of the best of their genre—with some aspect that might help scratch that CLOY itch ;) So, without further ado, here is your KDrama Starter Pack: 

Goblin aka Guardian: The Lonely and Great God—This fantasy romance is a classic for a reason. The set-up: 900+ year old goblin Kim Shin is on a quest to find the goblin bride to pull the sword out of his chest and finally let him die. The catch: when he finds goblin bride Eun-tak and starts to fall in love with her, he wonders if there might be something to this whole “life” thing after all. Also featured: a glum Grim Reaper, with whom Kim Shin has a top tier bromance, who has a doomed romance of his own. Goblin gave me one of the biggest emotional hangovers post-CLOY in my early KDrama days. One caveat: Kim Shin meets Eun Tak when she’s in high school, so if huge age gaps in fantasy romances give you the ick, maybe give this one a pass (in which case the fantasy romances I recommend checking out instead are Alchemy of Souls and Doom at Your Service, both on Netflix atm). (On Viki)

Mr. Sunshine—My pick for one of the best historical (aka sageuk) KDramas out there. Set in early 1900’s Joseon, just before/in the early days of Japanese occupation, this drama follows the lives of five equally compelling characters as they navigate the political turmoil of the time. At the center are Lady Ae-sin, an aristocratic lady with a tendency for dressing up as a man and sneaking around at night on missions for the rebels, and Eugene Choi, an American Marine now stationed in Joseon who escaped enslavement there as a child and has mixed feelings about the land of his birth. This one resonates with the forbidden/doomed love of people from different classes and cultures from CLOY. (On Netflix)

Reply 1988—This slice of live drama set in Seoul in 1988 follows five families who live in the same neighborhood, and especially five of their high school aged children as they grow up during a particularly vibrant time in South Korea’s recent history. Like the other installments in the Reply series, the series uses two of the main characters in the present day (or present to when it was released, anyway) looking back—which means that viewers know the Deok-sun ends up married to one of her four besties, but which one?? Still, while the love triangle mystery is fun, at its heart, this story is about community. It’ll scratch the CLoY itch for the North Korean market lady shenanigans, and a few others as well (especially if you like intense yearning in your dramas). (On Netflix)

Business Proposal—If you’d like romance of a completely different genre than CLOY, look no further than Business Proposal! In this KDrama, Shin Ha-ri goes on a blind date in place of her friend as a favor only find out that the date is with her boss. This tightly plotted romantic comedy plays with more rom com tropes than you can shake a stick at, but never sits with one so long that it gets old. The B couple is also fire, and helps move things along whenever the A couple gets into a rut. This drama also features some chaebol (rich business family) shenanigans a la CLOY.  (On Netflix)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo–If you’re in the mood for a workplace comedy/drama, look no further than Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Featuring the incandescent Park Eun Bin as rookie attorney Woo Young Woo, this legal drama features about a case per episode as Attorney Woo finds her way in the world alongside a delightful main cast of characters. (On Netflix)

Little Women—My choice for the makjang to include on this list (a genre in which extreme storylines are treated very seriously), this drama focuses on the three Oh sisters as the oldest finds that her friend who died under mysterious circumstances has left her 70 billion that a powerful political family will stop at nothing to get their hands on. Will the story always make complete sense? No. But will the stellar performances, fast-paced, genre-mixing drama, and wild cliffhangers keep you on the edge of your seat as you binge the whole thing? Absolutely. (On Netflix)

Extraordinary You—Youth dramas may or may not be your thing, but if you have the patience for the shenanigans of high schools, Extraordinary You is my top pick. In this fantasy romance, Eun Dan-Oh discovers that she is actually a character in a comic–and she’s not even the main one! While still high school appropriate, Eun Dan-oh’s literally doomed-by-the-narrative and impossible circumstances romance with Haru, another side character, is another one from my early KDrama days to stick with me just as much as Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeokk’s. (On Viki)

Search: WWW—Ayanni’s particular contribution to this list, this modern romantic drama focuses on intersecting lives of three women working in the fast-paced tech industry at the top two competing web portal companies. Just as interesting as each woman’s various romantic entanglement are their entanglements with each other as they put their careers ahead of just about everything else. Ayanni says she especially appreciates this one because it focuses specifically on three women (also in this genre are Be Melodramatic and Because this is My First Life). 

Happy watching--and do let us know if you pick any of these up!

[starcrossed591]

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

[misscrawfords]

Hi, I am going to start watching k dramas, so could you recommend some good ones? Which ones do you like best?

Ooh an excellent life choice, if I may say so!

Honestly, what I'd recommend would depend on what you enjoy. My personal tastes are for:

romcoms very low angst

romances with deeper characters, a bit more realistic

thriller/spy stories, usually light-hearted, romantic subplot

fantasy, romantic subplot

For gateway kdramas, I'd recommend:

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim (romcom, a classic)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (romcom, a few angsty moments)

Crash Landing on You (romcom... ish... angsty!)

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (romcom with adorable female superhero and serial killer subplot)

If you like predominantly romances, I'd recommend in addition:

Her Private Life (Park Min Young (also in Secretary Kim) is basically a romcom goddess - HPL is v similar to Secretary Kim)

Because This Is My First Life (surprisingly relatable and thoughtful take on contract marriage trope)

Romance is a Bonus Book (less well known as some but just so charming if you like books and bookish people)

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (not usually a fan of historical kdramas and this is light on the romcom and heavy on the palace drama but it's genuinely interesting)

Our Beloved Summer (second chances romance, slow burn)

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (cute university sports romcom

Business Proposal (only watch when you are well-versed in romcoms - it's hilarious because it makes fun of all the tropes)

No Gain, No Love (still airing but doing something similar to Business Proposal but a bit more subtlely)

Dali and the Cocky Prince (had some flaws and some painful moments for the FL but overall excellent)

Love Next Door (still airing and I had to stop watching because it suddenly got serious and I need to know it ends happily before I force myself through the difficult episodes but really excellent up to that point - so I'm hopeful)

If you like your romcom with a twist:

Healer (another PMY drama, lots of rom but also main plot is a thriller - really excellent)

Marry My Husband (look, I just love PMY... time travel and revenge plot and swoon-worthy rom with plenty of com)

Vincenzo (the Ultimate kdrama for me - I adore it; mafia, revenge, hilarity, romcom- got everything)

My Roommate is a Gumiho (kind of forgettable tbh but I really enjoyed it a lot at the time - fantasy romcom)

Crash Course in Romance (romcom between middle aged people, crash course in the messed up Korean education system and a serial killer - IDK what is going on with this drama but overall it worked?)

Terius Behind Me/My Beloved Terius (a rather obscure one but A+ if you like spy comedy shenanigans with subtle romance)

The King: Eternal Monarch (mixed reception for this fantasy parallel universes romance but I had a Good Time)

And finally, standing all out on its own:

Alchemy of Souls Parts One and Two: just brilliant. Pure epic fantasy. I want 10 seasons in this universe and the novelisations. Should be bigger than Harry Potter.

Something to bear in mind is that most kdramas are 16 episodes and around episode 11... bad things tend to happen! Sudden illness/death/betrayal/breakup/white truck of doom... And while some of them deal with this well, others... don't. Usually it's worth getting over the hump episodes but I have to admit I have a lot of unfinished kdramas. I do keep meaning to finish them... but then another one comes along and I start that instead!

I also recommend getting onto MyDramaList to get recommendations and read reviews and find new dramas to watch as well as keep track of your watching. My list is here.

Enjoy! :D

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

hello! been following you for a while even if i don't watch a single kdrama you just give off such chill and lovely vibes. could i ask you where should i start if wanna start with k dramas? give me all the recs!! (no pressure, thank you!)

I find it absolutely fascinating that you follow me for vibes while not watching Kdramas. I am honoured that you think I have good vibes!

My favourite Kdramas are on a pinned post, but as for a first one, I think it really matters what genre you like.

Alchemy of Souls if you like coming of age stories, fantasy, and historical shows. The second season is more of a romance, while still fantasy. This show is what got me into Kdramas.

Happiness if you like zombies, thrillers, or murder mysteries. This one is also shorter (only 12 episodes) if you don't want too much of a commitment.

Extraordinary You if you like teen romance, self-aware characters, and meta jokes about the nature of stories.

Lovely Runner if you want a romantic comedy.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo for a legal procedural.

If you don't want any romance: Kingdom.

For me, the best thing is that Kdramas focus on emotional connection before physical, they have some very unique stories, and because they are almost all a single season, you don't have endless will-they-won't-they plots. The good ones also have very cohesive writing, because again, they are only one season so they don't have to leave things open for the next fifty seasons. Also, ALSO, they all have original soundtracks! Which is so cool.

I really hope you enjoy if you decide to try them out!

[kdramacrybaby]

⭐My kdrama 2023 wrapped⭐

I’ve seen some other blogs doing this and thought it would be a fun tradition to start myself. So here’s my 2023 wrapped of the dramas I’ve watched this year (in order of when I finished watching them):

Big Mouth (★★★★☆) I just remember being so engaged, glued to the screen the entire time because I had a hard time keeping up with everything happening. It keeps you guessing the whole time, and at least I never saw the twists coming. The actors were so good, especially during the darker, more heavy scenes, which can sometimes be hard to really get into. After watching, I recommended this to a friend, and she loved it as well.

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (★★★★☆) Oh boy, where do I even start. The world building here blew me away, and the drama is absolutely gorgeous. I adore the characters and all their relationships with each other. I do think season one has the better story overall, as season two did some things I didn’t really love, but overall I love this drama.  

W: Two Worlds (★★★★☆) This was recommended to me by a friend, and I had a lot of fun running all my theories by her (I was usually wrong, but hey). It is a bit of a messy drama for multiple reasons, but in the end, I had a lot of fun watching, which is why it ended up with four stars. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be amazing, it just has to be a fun experience.

Soundtrack #1 (★★☆☆☆) Full disclosure – I only watched his because of Park Hyung-sik. The drama is too short, too superficial. It’s okay for what it is, but I was so bored watching this. I guess it has its cute scenes and all, but it doesn’t do anything for me.

Our Blooming Youth (★★★★☆) Yes, I watched this because I wanted a proper Hyung-sik drama, so what? I ended up liking the drama more for the female leads in the end, though, so that was a happy surprise. A murder-mystery with a badass female lead was not something I thought this drama would give me, but I loved it even more for it.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality (★★☆☆☆) I was so excited about this drama only to end up so disappointed in it all. The writing is just… really not good. The characters annoy me so much and everything just feels fake. The setup itself could have made for such an interesting story, but they really did nothing right with it.

While You Were Sleeping (★★★☆☆) Overall a pretty good drama, though I do remember it dragging out at certain points with repeating storylines. A pretty standard rom-com with a cute couple and actors with good chemistry. Nothing that blew me away, but not a bad drama at all, either.

Black Knight (★★★☆☆) A typical dystopian story produced by Netflix. It was good, everything looked amazing, and the actors were so good. I do think it was too short, and therefore felt rushed in some places – especially the last episode that just went absolutely off the rails. Overall, nothing mind-blowing, which is why it ended up with three stars.

The Glory (★★★★☆) This was everything I had hoped it to be, and it certainly lived up to the hype. Definitely a dark, very heavy drama that deals with a lot of serious trauma, and I think they handled it perfectly. It’s unhinged in the best ways, and really takes you for a ride.

Hidden Love (★★★★★) At first, I was really iffy about the age difference, but I think they handled it beautifully and nothing ever felt wrong or gross to me. This is a love story I’m going to be comparing future romance dramas to for a long time. They are such a cute couple, and I just loved everything about this drama.

King the Land (★★★☆☆) Now this drama got a lot of hype when it was airing, and it did start out so good. But in the end, it just fell flat for me. It was pretty to watch, but it felt hollow and without real feeling. They did all the typical rom-com clichés that I usually love, but nothing ever really hit properly. It’s not a bad drama by any means, it just didn’t really resonate with me.

The Uncanny Counter: Counter Punch (★★★★★) I’m always so wary about second seasons of shows I love, because it’s so easy to mess up and can really make or break a show, but they really did everything so right with this season. I cannot think of a single thing I don’t like about this drama. The characters, the found family, the friends – it’s just perfection.

My Lovely Liar (★★☆☆☆) Started out fun and quirky, but it just lost me along the way. It’s such a messy drama, and you never really know what’s going on. There wasn’t ever really any feeling in any of the writing, and it felt like they were just pulling storylines out of a hat at random. I think it could have been a good drama, they just made all the wrong decisions.

Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun (★★★☆☆) Now overall I have given this drama four stars, but for just this season, I can’t give it more than three. It has nothing to do with the change of cast, I just kind of felt like nothing ever really happened in the story? Compared to the first season where we were constantly moving around and learning about the world, this season was such a stand-still. Don’t get me wrong, I love this drama – the world-building is absolutely insane, and I will definitely watch another season if they ever actually make it. I just like the first season better.

Strong Girl Nam-soon (★★★☆☆) Just go watch Strong Woman Do Bong-soon instead. Is this a bad drama? Not at all, it’s cute and all, but did it need to be made? No, I don’t think so. Very generic Kdrama overall, nothing special at all about it.

[accidentallyadramablog]

2022 Drama Year in Review

I enjoyed doing a year in review last year and wanted to do it again. I watched significantly fewer Asian dramas this year with 29 completed and 24 dropped compared to 75 total dramas (completed and dropped) in 2021. Some of these started in 2021 and finished in 2022 so they are on both lists.

You can find my full watch list on MDL here. Recap below the cut.

This was a busy year. I've been going to night school for my MBA on top of having a full time job and family. I've also been trying to balance what I do enjoy so I've been watching non-Asian series (The Wheel of Time, Warrior Nun, Willow, etc.), reading (I just finished The Lost Dreamer and currently am reading the Locked Tomb Trilogy), and gaming (I finally finished Horizon Zero Dawn and replayed the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series) this year to balance the time spent on watching dramas. Come on over to see me at @snkrfnd if you want to talk about any of those things!

I'm terrible at lists, but here are prob my favorite dramas that I watched this year (some were released in previous years). Strangely, there are no dramas from Vietnam or the Philippines this year.

Love Between Fairy and Devil - now one of my favorite cdramas of all time. Too many reasons why this is at the top of my list

The King's Affection (I had to put it on pause last year because I was losing my mind whenever Park Eun Bin was on screen and finally finished it this year. Phenomenal. How did Kim Rowoon and Nam Yoon Soo hold it together when acting with her?)

Bad Buddy (Started in 2021, finished in 2022. Just excellent! I think this changes the game for Thai dramas.)

Alchemy of Souls Part 1 -everything I love about fusion sageuks

Tomorrow - everything I love about urban fantasy dramas plus it was so incredibly pro-woman I was really astounded it came out when there's politically such a backlash against feminism in S. Korea right now. Everyone in the drama gets 2 gold stars from me just for being involved in the project

Secret Crush on You - It has hands down the best friend group to ever appear on screen. It reminds me of my own friend group in highschool 20+ years ago! Loved the drama from the POV of the characters that are normally used for punching-down humor. Nerds need love too!

Semantic Error - Everything a KBL should be. It was still authentically a kdrama with the usual tropes. It didn't have to sacrifice what makes a kdrama great to make it BL. I find it so hilarious that DKZ exploded their album sales as a result. Maybe if the industry sees the profits, we'll get more quality lgbtq dramas. (On a side note, I watched the movie and swore they did something in post-production because the coloring was different and it was just because I'd seen too many high quality gifsets with talented content creators that are good at coloring and lighting. HAHAHAHA the movie suffered in comparison to the great production value of the gifsets I've been seeing this year.)

Glitch - the gayest thing I watched all year (affectionate). Aliens, cults, and government conspiracies are for the sapphics now, I'm sorry.

Girlfriend Project Day 1 (they announced a 2nd season!!) I don't know how they pulled off such great, sweet chemistry from such a short webdrama. I'm subscribed to their YT channel now in the hopes of more great GL content.

Roommates of Poongduck 304 - imagine what they could do with a full budget and network support!!!! Amazing they could pull off this enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity/and-they-were-roommates, office romcom (and I HATE boss/employee relationships).

Honorable Mentions in no particular order:

All of Us are Dead - the women needed more to do, otherwise this would be higher in my list. Yoon Chan Young blew me away with his acting. You can always tell who started out as a child star.

Ms. Cupid in Love - a good all-rounder cdrama where the writing for the women didn't make me want to pull my hair out

Gaus Electronics - love Kwak Dong Yeon being pathetic and Aziz stole the show. This was the funniest drama I watched all year. I really should have put it in my top 10, but now I'm too lazy to cut and paste.

Alchemy of Souls Part 2 still in progress and loving it for the same reasons I loved part 1 (the idol actors are still weak tho)

GAP the Series - ongoing, but I'm loving it. I hope this ranks high on my 2023 list. I am not used to seeing writers and directors letting women act like they want to bone. I'm so used to the entertainment industry sanitizing wlw relationships. Thank you Saint Suppapong and IdolFactory!!

My School President - unrequited love that's actually mutual pining? The misunderstanding is that the person you thought hated you actually supports you? Sign me tf up! Good acting to boot. Please don't let me down!

Never Let Me Go - Did you see Ms Thanya standing next to the evil uncle???? The way she towered over him? Whew! Time to look up her back catalog. I love an intimidating woman.

[kuronekonerochan]

Publiquei 400 vezes em 2022

São mais 116 publicações do que em 2021!

19 publicações criadas (5%)

381 publicações reblogadas (95%)

Blogues que rebloguei mais vezes:

@insanityisfine

@scoundrels-in-love

@momo-de-avis

@kuronekonerochan

@cup-ah-jho

Marquei 302 das minhas publicações em 2022

Apenas 25% das minhas publicações não tinham marcadores

#tuga things – 35 publicações

#mood – 29 publicações

#pt stuff – 26 publicações

#cdrama – 24 publicações

#me in a nutshell – 20 publicações

#esc 2022 – 19 publicações

#kdrama – 16 publicações

#funny – 11 publicações

#capitalism – 11 publicações

#tumblr – 11 publicações

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#creatividade sobre pressão e stress intenso e só te dá pânico existencial seguido de exaustão qd acaba o turno e te sai o peso do mundo de

As minhas publicações mais populares em 2022:

N.º 5

Petition for 2022 to be the year kdramaland finally stops teasing and delivers on the promise of “filling the black holes” with “affectionate swords”

20 notas – Publicadas em 6 de fevereiro de 2022

N.º 4

Alchemy of Souls is just Wuxia Kdrama with terrible kpop idol hairstyles...and I love it.

23 notas – Publicadas em 28 de junho de 2022

N.º 3

Random Hanadan/BoF Shitpost

After hearing that Love in Flames of War, a republican era cdrama had Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers/ Meteor Garden/ F4 vibes... but eventually failed to deliver on that front I rambled at @dangermousie​ that, actually, we SHOULD have a Hanadan version of every genre of cdrama.

 No...wait...I’m joking...but also not. My reasoning for this is solid:

 1) No matter what you thing of Hanadan and all it’s objectively toxic and dated glory, you can’t deny it is a hallmark in the history of shoujo manga/anime/asian drama/ live action adaptation/remake pumping machine. It paved the way for all the ItaKiss, Fated to Love You, etc...and it is still to this day a nostalgia magnet for an easy cash grab with each remake (also the latest one might be the best lol).

 2) *Surrender by Cheaptricks plays in the background, talks in “there is no war in ba sing se” mode* There are no new ideas in media. Everything is a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot, retelling, soft reboot, parody, homage, the same thing over and over again but call it by another name (it’s still a rose, yeah Shakespeare, you’re a genius, congrats!).

 3) Let’s face it. Dramaland is going through the lowest of lows. Cdramas are bad and boring, Kdramas are scarce and boring and Jdramas are 10 ep cute little intros to the story you really wanna see that’s about to begin...at the end of ep10, last episode, no 2nd season. So, they might as well try Every Hanadan Set Everywhere all at Once.

 So, without further ado, introducing...every genre of Cdrama Hanadan (with crazy plot eggs for some and none for others bc I say so):

Starting with contemporary…

1)      Reverse hanadan where the fl is a rich asshole and the ml a poor little meow meow

2)      Time loop hanadan

3)      Modern Fantasy hanadan (sort of like the beginning of Bulgasal but more petty and less angsty lol)

4)      Transmigration low budget web drama romcom hanadan

5)      *barfs* modern office corporate romance hanadan

6)      *barfs again* gaming hanadan

7)      Sports hanadan (aka if HanaKimi wasn’t genderbender or cute but toxic instead)

8)      Coming of Age/ Youth to Adult Married life Hanadan 

Syke! Too late! There is already an OG classic toxic Hanadan of this Genre, it’s called Itazura na Kiss (and it’s my guilty pleasure, my personal hanadan lol)

9)      Ice sports hanadan....yesss...get gory with the bullying with ice skating blades muahahaha. The red card locks her on the ice rink and they oil the railings/plexiglass around it so she can't even climb out and she nearly freezes to death. They rope her to the back of a zamboni and drag her through the ice. While she is trapped on the ice rink, they rig a bucket of water to fall over her so she freezes faster.

Now for the period dramas…

10)   Republican Era hanadan

They could use the boat scene ending from the finale of the anime as a convenient plotpoint to escape the republican era without dying in the republican turmoil. "Oh, they just reunited dramatically on a boat post amnesia and went abroad together and missed all the political fatal shit and lived happily ever after. Their kids returned to China and lived happily under the great CCP rule (/s)!

11)   Palace hanadan

It’s hanadan meets legend of Ruyi where he is the Crown Prince but the Empress Dowager holds all the power and on some humiliation move has him take a barbarian slave as a concubine...and the red card is that it's open season on her from every noble or regular consort of his harem and his friends in the court...all is fair the only rule is she cannot be murdered, everything else is fair game. So she is beating to the brink of death, poisoned daily with agonizing pills only to be given antidotes at the last minute, drowned, flayed, etc.

12)   Wuxia hanadan. Similar. Dude is the leader of the jianghu, declares her a demon bc she offended him and has all the pretentious righteous sects go after her with agonizing Gus pushed on her body, plenty of chains, kebab her in multiple ways with stakes in torture chambers to cast out the evil.

13)   BL Wuxia hanadan. (this one is just here by popular demand. Mine. No, I will not elaborate on that).

14)   And at last…my personal favorite….drum rolls… Xianxia hanadan (here is the plot):

She spilled peach wine on his cloud robes once by accident before the Great Heaven's Ceremony so he scribed her name carelessly on the stone of the doomed as petty revenge hoping she'd get some bad karma. But at the time the Demon Overlord was fighting the Lord of Fate and the Dijun on Kunlun and as they made their final strike the demon overlord turned into a cloud of heavy miasma that swirled away swiftly for miles and landed on the stone of the doomed. Hence, for the next 10.000 years the calamities and heavenly tribulations of every god were transferred into the unlucky FL.

In the first 300 years, the gods were unsure of what was happening, but soon word spread of a small menial demigoddess who seemed to be getting an abnormal amount of calamities and trials and yet never ascended into a higher level god. But other gods were getting past their fated tribulations dates without experiencing the event itself but still ascending afterwards. Soon this bizarre phenomenon was being gossiped throughout all the heavenly realms and the gods were rushing to get their hands on every magical item capable of moving forward their tribulation dates... After all, who knew how long this free meal would last? So it follows that our female lead spent the next 10.000 overbooked from torturing calamity to the next without a break or a reward.

Our cloud cloaked protagonist came to learn of this business about 500 years into it. It was not his intention for the karmic payback to be that harsh...but then again it was his best cloud vest that the annoying, insignificant little demigoddess had ruined...and if the consequences had been that rough, who was he to question the Great Design. He soon forgot all about it, surely none of that pesky matter would come back to bother him...

10.000 later: Our fuming fl finally had enough...after experiencing every form of dismemberment as a human, for eons, though she didn't collect an ounce of heavenly grace to ascend to higher goddess....she sure damn well accumulated enough yin to form a monumental grudge...and she would use all of that energy into one single punch for a certain cloud clothed god that would send him so high the gods would finally know what lies above the heavenly realm...not that he'd get the opportunity to tell the tale.

Ver a publicação completa

29 notas – Publicadas em 20 de maio de 2022

N.º 2

Reset (cdrama)

Just finished Reset and it’s my fav cdrama of like...the whole of the plague years?! I haven’t even liked any cdramas this year, barely tolerated a few, but this? this was flawless. On every level. Better than most western dramas of its genre. They have a cool concept, keep it simple, add only necessary elements and the attention to detail, character building, etc is on point. The acting is good, the leads especially, subtle but detailed, their chemistry is great and it’s one of those dramas that keeps you on edge for every minute of it. Did I mention I love the main characters? smart and good people, yet not annoyingly perfect. They mess up (the whole drama is trial and error) sometimes in impulsive ways, but never in unbelievably dumb ways. Perfect length too (ok could have been 12eps instead of 15... but still, excellent runtime management coming from a cdrama!). And most of all...it doesn’t F*Ck it all up at the ending. Do you know how many of the few dramas I almost reaaally loved (not liked, not tolerated, actually loved) while airing turned out to have such a shitshow of an ending that ruined the whole thing? Probably 90% of them... it’s a thing, cdramas have terrible or mediocre endings by definition and then only a few miraculously escape that fate.

45 notas – Publicadas em 6 de fevereiro de 2022

A minha publicação número 1 de 2022

The bastard son & the devil himself

I predict the tumblr craze for the next weeks is Netflix's the bastard son and the devil himself. It's a story between two rival clans of witches that are brutal and try to kill each other (ones are sort of cannibal too, the others succeed in the genocide of their rivals from their country) and the mc is the son of a mass murderer for the other side, raised by the rival clan and constantly abused by his half sister who is a psycho who wants to kill him. Also along the way he runs away with the daughter of that clan's leader and they both fall in love with a bi wizard who helps them escape.

Supernatural+rivalry+gore+threesome mc relationship? This the the most tumblr thing ever.

49 notas – Publicadas em 3 de novembro de 2022

Vê agora o teu Ano em Revista de 2022 do Tumblr →

[winterballads]

Hi friends ✨ I was tagged by @enbymoomin @korre @ashinlae @fractured-ice and @yilinglaozu in a few tag games, thank you so much! 🌈🦋

—tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Favourite colour: green in all shades, pink and purple 💚💗💜

Currently reading: haven’t had the energy to open a book in ages rip, only been reading a bit of fic here and there :’)

Last song: Stray Kids - MANIAC 🔥

Last series: currently watching Alchemy of Souls, Love Between Fairy and Devil and Joy of Life - obsessed obsessed obsessed with the first two 😭👌💕 

Last movie: can’t really remember 🥲 these days, I almost never watch movies and focus my attention on shows instead

Currently working on: world-building for my fics 🥺

—10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags

Let’s go with a few fandoms (aka kdramas and cdramas haha) I’ve recently been invested in 🌸 

Love Between Fairy and Devil - Dongfang Qingcang

Alchemy of Souls - Crown Prince / Go Won

Beyond Evil - Han Ju-won

Arthdal Chronicles - Saya

Joy of Life - Fan Ruoruo

Who Rules the World - Feng Qiwu

Legend of Fei - Wu Chuchu

—works in progress

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it, and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I don’t actually have any wips atm 😭 But I can give you the title of three short stories I wrote not too long ago for a mini-series I’m doing about two ocs 💖

running deep

doors wide open

when the cicadas sing

—this or that?

hot shower or cold shower // texting or calling // earbuds or headphones // paperback or hardcover // matte or gel // 12 hour clock or 24 hour clock // blue or green // sunsets or sunrises // tulips or orchids // candle light or moonlight // sci-fi or horror // pen or pencil // pandas or koalas // gold or silver // sneakers or boots // denim jacket or leather jacket // pink or purple // chocolate or sour candy // deodorant or perfume // drive-in movie theater or the cinema // pastel colors or neutral earth tones // lemonade or fruit juice // past or future //

—this or that? tropes edition

slow burn or love at first sight // fake dating or secret dating // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // oh no there’s only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt-comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // smut or fluff // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one-shot or multi-chapter // kid fic or road trip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high school romance or middle aged romance // time travel or isolated together // neighbours or roommates // sci-fi au or magic au // body swap or gender bend // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane

For anyone who hasn’t done it yet and would be interested, I also created a fantasy this-or-that a while ago 👀✨

I’m tagging everyone who tagged me + @amantisegreti @technicallysideacc @byallaccountsitdoesntmakesense @no-straightlines @baichoufeis @hendery @stregaorionis to do whatever part of this you want 🥰💛

[mixedstyles]

YEAH A LONG POST IS DEFFO OKAY <33

- 🌸

This is mainly for 🌸 Anon but if anyone else is interested in Kdramas, this is for you too.

I do want to note that I have this horrible tendency to skip over massive chunks of tv shows if it doesn't hold my interest, makes me uncomfortable, second-hand embarrassment, and so on. A lot of these dramas I did that with I’ll make a note of which

Did Not Finish (don’t plan on finishing)

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim — felt a little drawn out to me even though I like both main actors. I have like an episode or two left.

It's Okay to Not Be Okay — ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know this has a huge fan base (at least I think) but I didn’t really like it. or the main female character

Into the Ring — couldn’t hold my attention. Also there was some law stuff involved? Thought it was a romcom

She Would Never Know — I love Rowoon but I didn’t like how creepy his character seemed in the first episodes

Run On — I only liked the main couple. It was easy to watch when the two couples weren’t super intertwined but when they all started to become friends it lost my attention because it’s wasn’t as easy

Did Not Finish (plan to eventually finish)

Extraordinary You — I’m taking a break from this one but I’m really enjoying it. I haven’t skipped through anything, even the parts that are embarrassing/stressful. I’m testing my ability to restrain myself

Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

The King’s Affection

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Completed

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo — rewatching this one rn but watching it all the way through without skipping stuff because I skipped through most of it the first time. I didn’t like the brother storyline.

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon — this one of my best friends favorite kdramas. She watched it around 2018 I think, so close to the OG release date. Some of the dialogue did not age well. I skipped over the side character stuff and stuck to the main storyline. I loved how soft the main guy was for Bong-soon.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One — destroyed me. This isn’t really a spoiler because you find it out within the first 10 minutes of watching. But they don’t end up together. This is drama I posted about where I was sobbing in my bed at 2:30 pm. I love it and hate it and I still don’t know what my feelings are towards it. If they ended up together it would be one of my favorites of all time. But they didn’t.

Hospital Playlist (1 + 2) — THIS is one of my favorites of all time. one of the few shows that I didn’t skip through anything. Season 1 is better than season 2 imo but it’s got that found family trope, the dialogue, the friendship, the FOOD. I swear that show made me hungry for things I know I wouldn’t like.

Alchemy of Souls — I like the fantasy aspect of it and I REALLY like the chemistry between Jung So-min and Lee Jae-wook (SPOILERS if you haven’t watched it all: I’m so upset that they’re changing the female lead. I wanted Somin to stay. Idk if I’ll continue watching because I stayed for her)

Fight for My Way — I only liked the main couple storyline. I didn’t care for the secondary couple.

Her Private Life — never really skipped over anything in this one either! I really liked that their relationship was really healthy and they talked about things that bothered them instead of getting mad and ignoring each other for 2 episodes.

A Business Proposal — I don’t really remember a whole lot about this I know that I didn’t finish it though. I have half of the last episode left. I don’t plan on finishing it but I’m putting it here because I remember that I enjoyed it and thought it was funny

Record of Youth — same reasoning as the one above

Lawless Lawyer — started skipping around episode 10. I really like Seo Yea-ji even though I didn’t like it’s okay to not be okay

Shooting Stars (stylized as Sh**ting Stars 😭) — watched mainly for Lee Sung-kyung (MC in weightlifting fairy). I wouldn’t have skipped through anything if they removed this one random plot line that came in around the halfway point. Might have been one of my top if they didn’t include it. OH thé Africa part was so problematic like wtf??

Because This is My First Life — I literally forgot to add this one. I watched it because of Jung So-min only.

If you made it this far I’m honored. I like romcom kdramas (preferably with no breakups) and happy endings so if you have suggestions lmk!! Also I’m interested in what you’ve watched too!!

[mudeokis]

alchemy of souls part 2 spoilers!

“what crime are you guilty of?”

“being alive. existing in this world. i am guilty of existing in this world when i should not.”

the way these words resonated deep within jang uk because that’s what he always believed and was told too from the moment he was born.

[mudeokis]

the funniest scene from episode 18 being mudeok wondering which powerful mage she should shift her soul into while the rest of the mages are outside the barrier about to start a war for the stone that disappeared when she was brought back to life.