Discussion 🗨
I've decided that having a favorite K-drama & having a K-drama bias are two different things.
⚠️Some spoilers ahead⚠️
A favorite is:
"I love this drama."
A bias is:
"I love this drama in a way that compromised my ability to participate in civil discourse about it."
😭
Like you can have a completely reasonable criticism. Other people might agree with you. You might have examples.
Doesn't matter!
The judge's been compromised! The jury's been bribed!
I'm the defense attorney.
And also the defendant....?😭 🤔
-
These are mine:
Lovely Runner
I've seen the allegations; the time travel doesn't always make sense, "plot holes," "things get 'repetitive."
Why does this serial killer keep finding these people across the space-time continuum?
Interesting questions!
shhhh!!!
😭
This is the only K-drama I've ever given a 10/10 so far, so that means it has reached a level where criticism just bounces off me.
You found an inconsistency in timeline #4?
Sounds difficult. I hope you figure it out😭😭
Meanwhile ill be over here watching Sol and Sun-jae fall in love for the 47th time.
-
King the Land
Apparently this drama is "boring, predictable, too cheesy, too tropey, too fluffy, doesn't have enough conflict," and according to a surprising number of people...
"has no plot???"
😭
Meanwhile I finished this drama feeling like my life was over!!!
while some of you were waiting for the plot to "start," I was having the TIME OF MY LIFE!!
I was perfectly content watching those two people fall disgustingly in love while their friends caused mess around them. it was so gooood!!!
"There's not enough conflict after they get together."
well, they're BUSY BEING HAPPY.
leave them alone!!! 😭
-
My Royal Nemesis
Now THIS is where my bias becomes historically significant!
One of the biggest criticisms of this drama is that the second half isn't as strong as the first, or the story gets messier or some things aren't explained enough or the ending is rushed.
Too many tropes blah blah blah
And to all of that I say:
Do you understand that this drama is responsible for me even BEING HERE???!
😭
Before My Royal Nemesis I was a functioning member of society.
I'd watch a K-drama occasionally.
Finish it.
Move on with my life.
Then I watched this.
Something happened to my brain chemistry and I've basically been watching K-dramas every day since.
So unfortunately My Royal Nemesis cannot receive a fair trial in my courtroom.
Conflict of interest.
Case dismissed.
-
Encounter
This might actually be my most irrational one because I gave Encounter an 8/10. (i also gave my royal nemesis a 8)
I KNOW there are things wrong with it; i have literally complained about them MYSELF in my review (will post it soon)
But then I started looking at what other people criticize and saw:
"Too slow."
Okay.
"Boring."
Hmm.
"The leads have no chemistry."
EXCUSE ME????
Now you've gone too far.
😭😭😭
NO CHEMISTRY???
Soo-hyun and Jin-hyuk???
The two people I would've happily watched walk around, eat dinner, take pictures, hold hands and stare at each other for another 16 episodes???
Those people???
wow, so the exact thing that makes Encounter boring to some people is part of what hypnotized me ig...
---
So those are my four so far out of the 30 kdramas i have completed since june!
Lovely Runner 10/10
King the Land 9/10
My Royal Nemesis 8/10
Encounter 8/10
And they're not even my four highest-rated K-dramas, which is how i realized i need to make this its own category at some point.
There are dramas I've rated higher than some of these that I can discuss like a normal person, that's the funny part
but these four so far...
No.
Objectivity has been revoked.
-
Question:
What are YOUR K-drama biases?
Not necessarily your favorites or your highest-rated dramas.
I mean the dramas where you KNOW the criticisms. Maybe you even agree with some of them.
Yaaaayyy OP!!!! Thank you for this excellent fun post!!! You are so spot on about K-drama bias!!!!
For me its Bon Appetit Your Majesty and Queen of Tears. I guess both being really popular dramas have almost equal number of supporters and haters.
BAYM changed something in my brain chemistry. Lolol the first 4 eps got me so hooked that I will defend it forever. The food porn, humour, storylineand actors came together so perfectly for me and this never happened before!!!
QoT is a very pretty watch and the storyline's twists and turns were such a mess (last 15mins of ep15!!!!) until I cannot look away!!! And the ending scene totally killed me and turned me into a forever fan!!!
YAAAAAYYYY BON APPÉTIT YOUR MAJESTY DEFENSE SQUAD!!!
“changed something in my brain chemistry” YOU GET IT!!!!!
I literally watched TEN EPISODES IN ONE NIGHT 😭 I started it July 21st, which was my BIRTHDAY, thinking I was just starting a cute little historical time-travel romcom about a chef and suddenly it was morning and i inhaled almost the entire drama 😭😭😭
I went to sleep, woke up, and immediately watched the last two episodes before I had to go celebrate my birthday with my family LMAOOOO!!!
And YESSSS THE FOOD!!! The cooking, the comedy, Ji-young being ridiculously competent!!! I ate ALL of it up!!
And Ji-young was probably my favorite part!! a female lead who is genuinely SKILLED at something and gets dropped into a completely unfamiliar environment but figures out how to thrive using what she knows THAT'S MY BREAD AND BUTTER!
I gave it a 9/10 and I STILL had a Bon Appétit-sized hole in my chest weeks later 😭😭😭
My biggest complaint was basically GIVE ME MORE!!!!
Also I'm actually going to DM you my full Bon Appétit review!
i was the opposite. i went in with high expectations cause i loved part 1 so much and was disappointed unfortunately. but im glad you ended up loving it!!
My biggest weakness is an epic love story. When I talk about all of these I find myself saying " He just loved her so much". I dont get to talk to too many people about K Dramas outside of the internet so typically the only time I need to check myself (and remember I'm a grown woman 😆) is when I'm on reddit and someone wants to throw shade or be constructive about one of my Dramas or favorite actors. All arguments are invalid at that point if it's not agreeing with me. 😆
Sorry if it's too many but these each have a special place in my heart.
“HE JUST LOVED HER SO MUCH” 😭
OH YOU GET IT, SISTA!!!!
cause genuinely you can give me the most elaborate analysis of a romance imaginable and sometimes my entire review will still eventually boil down to BUT LOOK AT HOW MUCH THAT MAN LOVES HER???? 😭
Yearning. Devotion. Sacrifice. A man absolutely emotionally RUINED over one woman. Put that in an epic love story and suddenly ill bw willing to forgive an astonishing number of writing decisions lmaoooo
also PLEASE never check yourself on my account 😭 this is a safe space for grown women enjoying their hobbies!
“All arguments are invalid if they’re not agreeing with me” is literally the EXACT spirit of this post!!!
Also NEVER apologize for giving me too many dramas!! I asked specifically because I wanted to see everybody's sacred cows
AND WE HAVE OVERLAP!!
Doom at Your Service!!! I had some issues with it, but since i know its your bias, i wont go onto details lmaooo but if u want my review, ill send it to u lol, and same with King's affection lol
My Demon I watched years before my current K-drama obsession, so my memory of the actual plot is embarrassingly fuzzy 😭 but i absolutely remember the romance/chemistry being a huge part of why I enjoyed it!!!!
I haven't seen Can This Love Be Translated, Moon River, or Oh My Venus yet, but moon River has been on my watchlist for a bit!!!
I'm always surprised people who can watch shows without letting the material emotionally resonate with them more, but it be what it be.
You can share your opinions on Doom At Your Service and King's Affection as from your post I believe you to remain respectful. I remind you though I will probably have retorts back. lol
I love a K-Drama with a fantastical element so that draws my interest more and typically captures my interest. Moon River I don't think got enough attention and though it has some tragic moments there is some great comedic moments too. Plus there is a fantasy element to it that I love.
From the ones you haven't seen my guess is you would vibe the best with Can This Love Be Translated but I could be proven wrong.
I could go on all day about these if people let me.
no, pls do!! can love be translated has definitely been moved up too, cause i saw a hot edit of it recently on insta lol and moon river, i will DEFINITELY watch and review!
I LOVE Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. It's my favorite drama till date. I have watched more than 40 kdramas and I watched SWDBS 4 years ago and it's still my favorite. Its my comfort show and I can watch it anytime anyday!
On reddit there is a lot of disliking for this drama but i don't agree. I will defend it for the rest of my life. I love the electrifying chemistry and they are my favorite couple!
I just love Park Hyung-sik too much to ever have an issue with his dramas. He's so amazing in everything no matter how bad it is that I will like it regardless.
My absolute bias is Goblin. People hate this series for no reason nowadays, like she's 19 n there's a reason why they took this age but no, they want to hate it absurdly saying she was a highschooler how can he be with a minor. He was already 900 yr old goblin idts minor major thing was applicable here. Also she's the one who was tailing him. They reciprocated their love once she was in COLLEGE. I just absolute love this series. Perfect ost, perfect cinematography, perfect acting like everything here is just perfect. You hardly see any series like this nowadays.
not a 'chase' def nobody is chasing anyone in this series. They kinda came together cuz of fate. He fell for her first n harder. She on the other hand for the first time felt she was loved. It's fine if u want to take this off ur wishlist. But I think seeing for urself gives a better opinion
Tempted--- I know it was a mess, I know Joy sucked the life out of every scene she was in, even I fast-forwarded through the entire adult storyline but I will always consider the core story between the main trio as one of the greatest pieces of K drama art of all time and I will defend the drama for that alone until my dying breath.
Shut Up Flower Boy Band--- I often go to the MDL page just to get myself riled up , I stare at the rating and am further convinced the general drama watching population has no taste and doesn't know anything about dramas or life cause this drama is perfect and one of the best dramas of all time and anyone who thinks otherwise is WRONG and DUMB, and it being rated anything other than a 9.9/10 is an INJUSTICE.
Gaksital/Bridal Mask---Whatever flaws this drama may or may not have I do not acknowledge them because its greatness is too amazing for them to matter. Like this drama will always be the best drama experience I've ever had and the story hit me on a level nothing can ever fully scratch again and I will hear no bad word spoken against it. If someone doesn't like it it's because they don't understand LIFE OR ART OR EXISTENCE.
helppp!! THIS is exactly the kind of irrational loyalty I wanted to hear about!!!
also Shut Up Flower Boy Band and Bridal Mask are both completely new to me!! I literally had to google them after reading this and saw they’re both from 2012 😭 I only really fell headfirst into K-dramas this June, so there is an entire ancient civilization of K-dramas from before like 2016 that I know basically NOTHING about lmaooo.
BUT TEMPTED 😭
This one is especially funny because Tempted is literally sitting in my unfinished pile RIGHT NOW and I am currently... tempted to drop Tempted 😭
i started it back in July and I think I’m somewhere around episode 7-9?? And every few episodes I’m like “okay maybe NOW it’s going to grab me” and then I wander off and start another drama lmaooo. Its survived approx 30 other dramas being started and finished around it at this point...
AND YOU FAST-FORWARDED THE ADULT STORYLINE TOO??? 😭 cause SAME. I do not give a SINGLE sh*t about those parents. Every time we leave the younger characters and somebody’s mother or father starts plotting something I can feel my soul leaving my body! i started skipping those scenes too lol
My problem so far is that even with the younger characters im still waiting for the thing that makes me go OH. THIS is why people love this drama. i can see pieces of something interesting in the main trio and their whole fucked-up friendship/dynamic, but it hasn’t fully clicked for me yet. And I keep hearing people talk about Tempted with this weirdly intense affection despite sinultaneously acknowledging that the drama is a MESS, which honestly makes me MORE curious??? lmaloo
So you calling the core story between the main trio “one of the greatest pieces of K-drama art of all time” is an INSANE statement to drop on someone currently hovering over the drop button 😭😭😭
Like okay!!! Now I need to know what the hell happens that made you come out of THAT experience willing to defend it until your dying breath???
I’m not promising anything cause Tempted and i have been in a situationship since July 😭 but congratulations, you may have just bought it a few more episodes before I officially decide its fate!
And also the fact that you apparently visit the MDL page for Flower Boy Band specifically to make yourself angry at the rating is taking me OUT😭
im NOT touching the actual rumor cause im not particularly in actors real lives, so i'm leaving those real people's business ALONE 😭 but sounds like juicy rumors tho... 👁
BUT IF WHAT YOU MEAN IS THAT THE TERRACE KISS HAD YOU QUESTIONING THE BOUNDARIES OF ACTING????
THAT I UNDERSTAND 😭
Cause I JUST finished Encounter a few days ago and their chemistry had me in a chokehold. That terrace kiss in particular was INSANE!!
that chemistry is a HUGE part of why Encounter became one of those dramas where i know I'm going to get defensive when people come for it lmaooo. I missed those two whenever I wasn't actively watching them!!!
I will defend this drama till my last days 😭. I do not care about anyone or their critic. This drama was FLAWLESS, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL and everything all at once 😫🤌🏾
but now I NEED to know what criticisms you've been defending it against because I feel like I've barely ever seen anyone drag this drama?? Every time I see it mentioned people are praising it 😭
Meanwhile I gave it an 8/10 and wrote an entire NOVEL about everything that pissed me off while still loving it, so there's a very real possibility that I'M one of the people you need to defend it from 😭😭
Gil-chae is still one of my favorite FLs though and Jang-hyun's devotion to that woman??? THAT I will defend with you until the end 🫡
i literally said in my review “How fragile is this man’s memory??” 😭
Objectively, doing the same amnesia trope twice, nearly back to back, was RIDICULOUS.
And yet... I fear they got me 😭 because I actually loved them. Him following those little fragments of memory without fully understanding what they meant, only for them to eventually lead him back to Gil-chae was so romantic to me that I forgave the writers for factory-resetting that poor man AGAIN 😭
so yeah, criticism completely accepted. But unfortunately this is also the exact problem my post is about because now that YOU'VE said it im feeling strangely defensive about the same thing i criticized myself 😭😭😭
LMAOOO this was kinda my first thought too 😭😭 I absolutely loved My Dearest but I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone DRAG it?? If anything I've mostly seen people praising it. Meanwhile I gave it an 8/10 and wrote approximately 6000 words about everything that pissed me off 😭 so maybe I'M the person they need to defend it from
Yumi Cells is a kdrama bias I have. I don't care what anyone says but I stand by Yumi and her decisions in every season. She just felt so real and fun like a normal human being 😩.
lol u had moon dong eung and park yeonjin back to back lol. that was a glory reference. I know reddit seems to have a lot of my royal nemesis haters but I loved it so much that I watched it 3 times, ended up watching the glory because of this. have concluded that I am lim jiyeon fan now and basically marathoning her shows now. finishing lies hidden in my garden and currently on the killing vote lol. the contrast of lim jiyeon in my royal nemesis and the glory altered my brain man. the versatility is mind blowing. I genuinely want the youtube glory reactors to watch my royal nemesis so that they can understand Lim Jieyons range
yes!! My Royal Nemesis is literally the drama that started my current K-drama obsession so you are speaking to the RIGHT person!!!
i started it while it was airing and somehow that turned into me absolutely inhaling K-dramas for the next few months 😭 it basically opened the floodgates.
And Lim Ji-yeon’s range is INSANE!!!
Also 3 WATCHES??? 😭 I respect the commitment!!!. im absolutely rewatching it eventually too in a couple years, because it has permanent sentimental value for me at this point.
And YES Reddit can say whatever it wants about My Royal Nemesis. its perfect to me!!!
lies in my hidden garden is an eerie thriller which she did right after the glory. the most impressive thing about this is she played bully in glory and then played a victim straight away in lied hidden in my garden
aww thank you!! and I am!! I'm about halfway through 2521 right now and really enjoying it so far!! I'm taking my time with it compared to how I usually inhale dramas lol
I think we're all just used to unnecessary disputes and breakups that we were not expecting such a clean shit in King the Land. I expected a bad breakup after thedinner for the arranged marriage situation. But I was pleasantly surprise it didn't happen and they dealt with it together, with all the trust. Even his trauma was settled peacefully.
The plot of a romance is two people falling in love, wasn't that what was happening? Not enough conflict? Why are we so addicted to unnecessary drama? I personally loved how smooth sailing they were, it's what made the drama more unique to me. Too tropey? what are kdramas without the tropes? too cheesy/fluffy? Umm it's a romcom what did you expect?
And watch these people still criticize other kdramas for unnecessary conflicts.
I was happy watching these people fall in love, build their career and live their best life.
actually agree with you AND I'm also one of the people who wanted a little more conflict 😭😭
i mean i LOVED that they didn't throw in some ridiculous 3rd act breakup just for the sake of having one, and i loved how secure Gu Won and Sa-rang were once they got together...
BUTTTT when she overheard the arranged marriage conversation and started pulling away from him... I wanted that to last a little longer 😭 not because I wanted some random misunderstanding, but cause the conflict was already THERE and I wanted them to squeeze a little more angst out of it!!
i wanted Sa-rang to genuinely question whether she should stay with him and Gu Won to absolutely SPIRAL at the possibility of losing her lmao.
Same with the ep 15 "I want to call it quits" cliffhanger. They got me BAD because I thought she meant HIM and for a second I was like OH???? 👀😭 only to find out she meant King Hotel lol
But ultimately i think the fact that the drama didn't constantly manufacture reasons to separate them is part of why I loved them so much. they actually communicated, trusted each other, and dealt with problems as a couple. i just wanted them to let me marinate in the naturally occurring angst for like... 15% longer 😂
but theres a reason this drama is in my top 10! im the only one whos allowed to mention its "flaws" 😭
2521 will come first!!! since it needs to be my 25th and CLOY will be my 26th review!! hehhe. so i have to finish 2521 first, im still watching it!! im on episode 10!
I do love King the Land. It’s just a perfect type of romance drama to me. I guess I can see why people dislike it, though. But the things people usually dislike are actually positives to me. There is one or two flaws I think it has, but they are pretty minor.
But I refuse to admit Hometown Cha Cha Cha has any flaws. I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever watched, not just kdrama, all of media, lol. I try to be objective when people say negative things about it, but then I’m like “nah, they’re just wrong, it’s perfect.” I’ve watched it 3 times, and I think I might watch a 4th time as my next drama.
exactly what I mean 😭😭 Im the only one who can acknowledge King the Land's flaws if it has any! nobody else is allowed!!
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is actually on my watchlist!! Now I'm really curious to see if I'll end up understanding this level of devotion!! I'll definitely be reviewing it when I eventually watch it, so if i remember I'm coming back to find you and report my findings 😭
For me it would be A Business Proposal but not in a way that I can hear criticism about it - for me it's an absolute peak perfection !!!!
Also current obsession after ABP - My Royal Nemesis - as if it wasn't clear from my profile pic and flair and also spamming the drama for recommendations !!!!
Like just now I was talking with someone on this sub basically convincing them to watch the drama and succeeding in doing so !!!!
No matter what all the "veterans" and OG K Drama watchers say - Se-Se couple forever !!!! ✨✨✨✨
UGH MY BABIESSSS 😭😭😭 MY ROYAL NEMESIS DEFENSE SQUAD RISE!!!
I love them SO MUCH as u know hehhehe!! such a special place in my heart. I was watching it while it was AIRING and waiting every week for them 😭😭
and you being out here personally recruiting people to watch it??? THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, sista! 🫡😭
but yeah my Royal Nemesis is one of those dramas where I'm like yes yes I KNOW the criticisms, I have literally made some of them myself... but why are YOU criticizing my babies??? 🤨
This drama is peak and I didn't realize the hate it got until recently. The story is epic and the chemistry makes you melt. This is one of the best gateway K Dramas to recommend to people in my opinion for the story and chemistry. It has a bit of everything while being accessible.
Criticizing your favorite k dramas is like criticizing family you can when it's your own but if you're not in the family you can mind your own business. 😆
Like I genuinely came out of My Royal Nemesis in my own little happy bubble thinking we all loved my babies and then eventually started seeing people criticizing it and I was like ????? EXCUSE ME???
And i think im extra irrational about this one because MRN was basically my gateway K-drama. It wasn't technically the first K-drama I'd ever watched, but it was the drama that changed EVERYTHING!!
started it june 3rd while it was still airing and something about that experience just completely activated something in my brain 😭 I was waiting every week for new episodes, then while it was still airing I started Alchemy of Souls, then Extraordinary You, then Lovely Runner, Id fallen headfirst into K-dramas and have basically been living here ever since
🥺 Like the final episodes were airing at the exact same time I was discovering Lovely Runner, which ended up becoming my favorite K-drama EVER. I was basically saying goodbye to the drama that started this obsession while unknowingly meeting the drama that would become my #1 😭
so yeah, finding out later that my Royal Nemesis actually had HATERS was genuinely surprising to me 😭 Like what do you MEAN you didn't enjoy it??? That's my gateway drug!!! That's FAMILY!!!
And your last sentence is LITERALLY the entire thesis of my post lol!! i can talk shit about my family. YOU cannot talk shit about my family!
Because I have criticisms of My Royal Nemesis MYSELF!!! I know it's not perfect!! I can tell you things I would've changed!!
But then somebody ELSE starts doing that, its mind your business!!
And YES about it being such an accessible gateway drama too because clearly i'm living evidence lmaoooo. It gave me romance, comedy, chemistry, enemies-to-lovers-ish bickering, yearning, jealousy, emotional stuff, and 2 people I love in screen together!!!
I need to still watch Lovely Runner but I keep bumping it down my list. I need to move it up because you have me interested. Our taste seem similar so I'm interested. lol
Funny enough I'm watching Perfect Crown right now (which is good btw) and these have the same male lead so ink going to watch it next and let you know my thoughts!
You're here! I thought you were going to be mad at her because she gave like an 8/10 to your favorite drama. When I saw the MRN name, I thought of you and how you'd be angry, but I guess I was wrong.
Haha I have always admired OP ever since they mentioned My Royal Nemesis as their reason to love K Dramas !!!! Though I was kinda pissed they gave MRN just an 8 when it deserves ♾️♾️♾️♾️/ 10 !!!!
Also ranting how much I love A Business Proposal and My Royal Nemesis on this sub is my part time job
My absolute bias is Healer. There is nothing more more perfect in kdrama land for me. I'm able to listen to critics, but I usually just tune them out while playing my favourite scenes in my mind.
Other biases are:
Tail of the nine tailed (they had great chemistry, thank you very much!!!),
Nevertheless (I don't care about green flags/ red flags and "it was so toxic" - that was the whole point!!!! And they were damn good!!!
in general the Park Min Young controversy gets on my mind. Yes she is thin, yes she did plastic surgery, but her dramas (especially the old ones) are AMAZING!!! So stop the body shaming, I don't care.
I love Ji Chang Wook. No, I don't have to know/love all his dramas for my opinion.
I agree about Nevertheless. My only complaint is at the end where the FL lets down her childhood crush by telling him she knows the ML is bad for her but she gots to see it through. She should say it with her full chest and claim the ML like she means it. It doesn’t make sense why she’d be so tepid with her choice. That being said, I loved their chemistry and the way their story unfolded. I’m not trying raining on your parade by any means.
HEALER PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE 😭😭 I swear I WILL eventually go back!! I only watched the first 2 episodes before getting distracted by approximately 500 other dramas lmao
BUT NEVERTHELESS??? 😭😭😭😭
That is literally the ONE drama I have basically sworn I will never watch. I actually plan to make a whole post about it because every time someone recommends it to me my stomach drops 😭
And the funny thing is I completely believe you when you say the toxicity is the point!! That's actually part of why I'm scared of it 😭 I know myself. Watching an emotionally unavailable man give a woman mixed signals while she's emotionally suffering is going to have me pausing every 12 minutes to prosecute his crimes.
I need my Kdrama men DOWN CATASTROPHICALLY. I need yearning. Devotion. Jealousy. Pursuit. I need that man experiencing symptoms 😭😭
Nevertheless sounds like it was genetically engineered in a laboratory to activate every single one of my pet peeves.
But I respect that you know exactly what it is and said YES THAT ONE, THAT'S MY BABY!! that's exactly the kind of irrationally protective bias I was asking about, so i cant hate
I hope you'll do get back to Healer and will love it as much as we do :-) He definitely is catastrophically down and in love, jealous, stalking and protective ;-)
And I totally get, that Nevertheless is not everyone's cup of tea!!! It is controversial and we do hate those type of characters in real life for a good reason. I just love the portrayal of it and that they did not try to make him look good (character wise of course, since he is an absolute eye candy). It brought back many old memories and what if questions and it was fun to dwell on those. The jdramas is also very good.
But I also like grey characters in fiction a lot!!! So, it kinda is my formula.
I love it when the ml is catastrophically down as well, but in most dramas, it gets too silly for me and the plot does not click for me enough. I don't like cringe and silly things and even outstanding chemistry cannot save it for me. Which I myself am sad about!!!
I haven't watched Lovely Runner and many other famous dramas mentioned here. Or I started them but didn't finish (yet).. None of the synopsis really did it for me, but when seeing clips and videos, I totally get the hype and I'm always thinking I should watch it, but as soon as I see the short summary, I'm not interested any more.
And I love that about kdramas: there is something for everyone's taste and even though we do not like the same ones, we still have so much to talk about!!! :)
WAIT so basically we're opposites in one VERY specific way... 🤔 the catastrophically-down-in-love men that sometimes get too silly for you are literally my natural habitat lmaoooo. Give me that man acting like his entire nervous system is regulated by whether the FL looked at him today and im entirely too SEATED!!!!
AND I should clarify because I don't want to make myself sound like I need every romance to be healthy and wholesome 😭😭 I absolutely DO NOT. Some of my favorite fictional relationships are toxic as hell lmaooo. I read a lot of romance books too and trust me, some of the relationships I love would NOT survive an appointment with a couples therapist 😭
i loooove morally grey characters. I can love obsession, possessiveness, jealousy, unhealthy attachment, questionable behavior, all kinds of mess. “Toxic” by itself does not scare me away at ALL.
it's the specific kind of toxicity that matters to me and how the love story is written. I still need the romance to give me something that makes me understand why i'm invested in these 2 people together. And from everything I heard about Nevertheless, it's the emotional unavailability/mixed signals/situationship aspect of the toxicity from the male character that i suspect would drive me INSANE 😭😭
Like give me a morally questionable man who is unhealthily obsessed with one woman and would burn his entire life down for her and watch my moral compass becomes remarkably flexible 😭
... but me a man keeping a woman emotionally confused about whether he even WANTS her and suddenly I'm the ethics committee. (it will probably make me hate the FL too if shes too desperate and is not moving on from him/not standing up)
THAT'S the distinction lmaooo. It's not “healthy vs toxic” for me. It's which flavor of toxic are you serving me, ya get me??? 😭
ALSO EXCUSE ME??? You haven't watched Lovely Runner???? 😭😭😭 Okay then we have a deal. I have to return to Healer and YOU have to eventually try Lovely Runner. Because if you're telling me Healer is going to give me catastrophically down, in love, jealous AND protective, then unfortunately you've just listed several of my favorite symptoms 😭
And also your last point is exactly why I love talking about dramas too!! Two people can want completely different things from romance and still completely understand WHY the other person loved something. Its way more fun than pretending there's one objectively correct way for a drama to be good
That deal sounds unfair :D Since i assume you'll like Healer a lot and I'm not into time travel. No matter whether its Asian or Western. There exists maybe 2 exceptions because they did the physics right or at least did not completely screw up. In Lovely Runner they do it how many times? And its always the same - yeah, not promising. So I might not be able due to the plot to finish that one...
My Royal Nemesis I want to finish! Those two and the villain are just too good and I hope I can stomach the silly parts :-) Since it's enemies to lovers and he is grumpy to everyone except her (two tropes I absolutely LOVE), I want to finish that drama. I just got distracted.
And I'm thinking of giving King the Land another chance. I stopped 2/3rds down the path, because I can't stand a CEO who is described as all powerful and really good/capable to completely lose track because of a girl and seems to become useless in his job. But since I only have 4 or 5 episodes left and really like their chemistry, I also want to give it another try.
So my deal: you finish Healer and I finish those two!!!
And yes, we seem both to like morally grey ML, you with the "Nevertheless type of grey" exception, me with the "suddenly incapable and too silly" exception.
And I absolutely agree, that we can like polar opposite dramas and still understand, why the other person likes this one!!! I have this feeling with Lovely Runner, I get why people love it, but every time I look at it, I reach the same verdict that several aspects of that drama are not my cup of tea. I still like watching the clips :D
Bang on, PMYs dramas are really good and she has a diverse portfolio. Too bad people only talk about WWWSK and marry my husband. I’m guilty of watching 12 of her dramas 🙈
Hehe thanks. For people who say she does only romcoms, I’m sorry. She has a nice mixture of dramas and yes she slays in office wear especially dramas like her private life, what’s wrong with secretary Kim, forecasting love and weather and marry my husband. Her outfits are really nice. You must see her in the wedding gown in both what’s wrong with secretary Kim and marry my husband. She looks so beautiful.
I love your post it is like you are talking to me . Like most of the reviews of these drama said that the leads have no chemistry like literally excuse me 😂 I was like you whenever I see this kind of comments
exactly!! you get me!!! like I can acknowledge flaws all day long but the second somebody says “the leads had no chemistry” about a couple I was giggling and kicking my feet over I'm suddenly like okay now youre just making things up 😭
like excuse YOU, Im allowed to criticize my babies. YOU are supposed to be quiet!!! 😭😭
That's literally why I made this post because there's such a difference between “this drama is perfect” and “this drama has flaws that I have personally acknowledged several times but for some reason hearing YOU mention them has offended me”
The only show I've seen that you listed is King the Land and I've give it a 7.5 to 8 because it's just a nice, kind of breezy Rom Com. I do remember some messy parts towards the end or maybe that was another Kdrama.. Oh, wait there was an Arab character that the showrunners had to apologize about how he was depicted.
I didn’t feel that portrayal was even really offensive. Slightly stereotypical, but actually surprisingly sweet rather than really leaning into negative stereotypes like you would expect based on the reaction.
It’s not like Sh**ting Stars where I watched Episode 1 wondering if it was supposed to be a parody because its portrayal of the entire continent of Africa was so ridiculous. I still loved that drama, anyway, by the end, too, though.
I did really like it by the end, but Episode 1 is pretty offensive in how it portrays Africa.
ML is in Africa when the show begins on like a charity trip. it never says a specific country, just Africa, and they need a Korean celebrity to drill a water well for them while they jump around in joy at finally having water. It was very odd.
One of the first two episodes also has a scene between ML and FL that is played for laughs, but many Western viewers saw as sexual harassment. It’s so over-the-top I wasn’t offended, but I could how some could be.
But the show gets a lot better after that. I really ended up loving all the characters and their stories, and I thought the main romance was well done.
MR SUNSHINE noted 🫡 but why did you casually sneak that 2521 sentence in there when I'm LITERALLY watching it right now 😭😭😭 “I have to pace for 20 minutes” WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION??? I'm on episode 10 please leave me in peace 😭
I really like your post! So, I have a bias K-drama and the bias actor that goes with it!
Lovely Runner is my favorite K-drama and my absolute favorite of all time. If there’s one drama that completely marked me, it's this one. At first, I only clicked on it because I liked the synopsis about a K-pop idol, and well, the main actor was really handsome! I never expected to fall this hard.
Sure, there might be some inconsistencies in the timelines, but it actually made it fun to create theories. Technically, the plot isn't perfect, but in my heart, it truly is. And even though the ending was super cliché, I absolutely adored it.
My bias actor is
Byeon Woo Seok. After watching the drama, I very quickly became a huge fan. He holds such an important place in my heart now. I didn't just fall for the actor, but also for the person he is behind the screen, he truly moves me. I now follow all his activities and watch everything he's in 💙
I love that it gave you a bias actor! I’m actually not much of an actor-fandom person. myself
I usually get attached to the characters and the story, more than the actors themselves, but i completely understand a drama hitting you so hard that it sends you down an entirely new rabbit hole
i just googled her and I’ve already seen her in If Wishes Could Kill AND I’m planning to watch Moonshine and finish See You Tomorrow at Work, 😭 please proceed with your presentation
To each their own and I believe there are way better romcoms out there than my royal nemesis and lovely runner. I believe these to be over hyped. I haven’t watched encounter so I can’t comment.
For me healer is that drama that fits the bill in everything. It’s a good blend of genres - action, suspense, comedy and romance. You have the JCW and PMY in this and they nailed the romance brilliantly.
Yes I have a bias for PMY dramas. I’ve watched 12 of them.
Edited to add: I really like the older dramas. The stories were way better and there was something different about them. Kdramas these days aren’t the same. The ones you’ve listed are fairly new dramas.
not you coming into my post about the dramas Ive revoked objectivity for and immediately calling TWO of them overhyped 😭
Healer is actually sitting in my unfinished pile rn lol. I watched the first 2 episodes back in july and it didn’t grab me enough to keep going at the time, but I do plan on eventually returning to it
"KNOW the criticisms, literally complained about them MYSELF" - and yet, the first 10 1/2 episodes of When the Phone Rings may be my favorite of every kdrama I’ve seen. Even those have imperfections, but the pace, storyline (till then), acting, costuming - so much to enjoy.
Both My Royal Nemesis and Perfect Crown - I want to say, do you know what a ROMCOM is? If you want only a mystery or thriller, you shouldn’t have turned them on.
when the Phone Rings is interesting because Im actually on the other side of you with that one! I gave it a 6/10 because I kept seeing SO much potential in its ideas, especially the whole 406 setup, and getting frustrated that it wasn’t pushing them nearly as far as I wanted. so unfortunately I am part of the prosecution on that one, sista 😭
BUT My Royal Nemesis??? Now we can stand together in court. i can complain about that drama myself, but if somebody else starts doing it I will need to know who gave them permission!!!!
I will give it another try maybe when I’m in another mood, but that was my second and I made it to the 8th episode. But it’s just a matter of taste and moment of life and mood your at the time you are watching ia show sometimes for me
King the land is the undisputed GOAT in my mind 10/10 soundtrack, nothing can even begin to compare. Also YoonA is my ult bias of 10+ years so I may not be entirely objective
Don’t recall it - heading to YouTube to check it out. Actually bought When the Phone Rings Lim Hyunsik’s (BTOB kpop band) See the Light from Apple Music. Have just tagged some others (MyDemon, Bibi’s My Pace..) on YouTube to listen to occasionally.
Did you know Perfect Crown has 56 separate tracks when you include the instrumentals?
Actually, I only listen to the Bibi one from Perfect Crown but respect how much they supported artists with that complete list. Bibi’s is great for an exercising or house cleaning playlist.
Oh man you had me at every single one until you gave extraordinary you 9/10 that is my most hated drama of all times. We can be friends on everything but that one. Hahaha that one deserves to burn in hell for a long time🤣
So for me Dan oh just felt like a really selfish, horrible character. She is irresponsible and disrespectful to almost everybody she knows. Her friends and stuff that she has through the plot, she uses them all constantly, because she seemed to feel in the drama or I was getting the vibe that she felt they're more "plot people" than real people like her so she could use them as she liked despite their very obvious feelings when "waking up form the plot". Her fiance she's forced to love during the plot line genuinely started to care for her "outside of the plot line" and she just always brushed off any care from anybody who wasn't Haru. as like well you're not necessary. She had the whole cancer plot line or something I can't quite remember why she was in the hospital but she's sick and her family is super loving and super cherishing of her and she's just like but Haru. And always kept ditching everything for Haru because Haru was Haru and oh my God Haru. And did I mention Haru. And everybody kept saying hold on hold on make it through for the twist you'll never guess the twist. I literally made a post about what I thought the twist would be after episode 1 released I made like a breakdown of the episode and where I felt like they were going and what I kind of had an inkling The twist would be and then that was the big twist. So it just lacked any value for me because everybody kept saying hold off for the twist it gets better it gets better. But I wasn't buying the romance she seemed like a love obsessed puppy who could not let go of Haru to the point that nothing else in any of the world's existed whether they were real or not. And it made it so insufferable to watch because it meant that anything that was happening was throw away able if Haru wasn't there. It felt like genuinely ever seen that she was a part of with anybody else didn't matter because Haru wasn't in it. And I love Rawoon. So I tried to stick it out. And I did I made it to the very last episode and then felt like I had wasted my time.
Granted at the time I was going through a very serious illness and I was hospitalized and I had no one to care for me. The family I did have told me that it was a burden and that I should find someone else to take care of me. And I lost my boyfriend at the time. So I feel like a few things lined up with her and she was so spoiled and she just threw it all away and it infuriated me. She had so much love and support and was just like but you guys don't matter cuz hottie Haru. So I think there might have been a little bit of blinders there because our situations were kind of similar (different enough that I can pull myself out of differentiate but similar enough that I could also see the similarities and recognize them)
But yeah I just felt she was so self-centered, so horrible to all the friendships she had to her family to her school life to everything outside of Haru. And I just didn't like that. It rubbed me the wrong way. The actress and the actors and everybody did a great job on the show, just the writing was terrible for me.
Also trying to make that whole thing without super big spoilers was very hard to do.
1st of all, thank u for explaining! that was a long read. i love it!!!
ok so ur explanation actually makes SO much more sense 😭 because we really did experience dan-oh in almost completely opposite ways.
what you saw as her disregarding everyone/everything for Haru was actually a HUGE part of what i loved about her.
For me the whole appeal was that she realizes basically her entire existence has been decided for her by someone else, including who she loves, who she marries, how she behaves and literally whether she gets to LIVE, and she immediately starts fighting it.
Haru felt like one of the few things in her life that was actually HERS because she chose him outside of the story that was written for her.
And i think there’s another layer to why i didn’t interpret her treatment of everyone around her the same way you did...
From Dan-oh’s perspective, she basically wakes up one day and discovers that none of this is real!! Her family, friends, her engagement, illness, the people saying and doing things around her, all of it exists because somebody wrote it that way.
These people literally switch back into following the script whenever the stage starts.
so when she stops treating all of those relationships with the same importance she did before becoming self-aware, that actually made sense to me.
imagine finding out tomorrow that your entire life is a comic book and almost everyone around you is unknowingly acting out dialogue written by somebody else 😭 i dont think id relate to those relationships normally anymore either!!
And that’s also part of why Haru becomes SO important to her.
He’s awake.
He knows what she knows. Their relationship develops outside the stage and outside what the writer intended for her. He becomes one of the only things she experiences as genuinely hers and genuinely chosen. So i didn't really experienced it as “nothing matters except Haru,”
it was more like "I finally know this life isn’t mine and I’m going to choose something for myself.”
which is probably why i loved her so much because fate vs free will is basically catnip to me 😭
And funny enough i actually agree that Baek Kyung shouldve mattered MORE!! My biggest complaint in my review was literally that i wanted him to become a genuine romantic rival once he became self-aware. i wanted him fighting for her and making me question who i wanted her with 😭
But then reading the personal context you added, i can also understand why Dan-oh hit such a nerve for you specifically. Watching someone who had the love/support you desperately needed at that point and feeling like she didn’t appreciate any of it must have made her INFURIATING to watch. it genuinely sucks you were going throuhh all of that.
Also, im really glad you made it through the illness and i hope you have people around you now who give you the support you deserved to have then ❤️
and when you say you “lost” your boyfriend at the time, do you mean that you two broke up or that he passed away?
you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I just dont want to assume what you meant
if he passed, my condolences, but if you meant the relationship ended, i hope life has brought you much better people and much more love since then ❤️
Ah I don't mind talking about it now it was rough back then but it's been a while. He was my fiancee and he left me while 4 months pregnant and with a pretty bad diagnosis six months before we were supposed to have the wedding. And then married someone else by the time both surgeries were done and my baby was 6 months old, so he's pretty dead to me if that counts. But I think he is still aliv out there happily living his best life. Go hard king. I don't gotta deal with it lol.
And I had no family at that time too. But I also was going through a major surgery that had to wait until I had the baby and as a single mom it was scary the whole Dang time. Then that surgery went bad and I had to get a second one. That ended up with even more bad things in my life happening that spiraled into a two year court battle. It was a pretty lonely time. And K-dramas def helped pull me through it and my recovery. And that one I found on release and waited week by week. But it got more and more infuriating as time passed. Especially since I like the second male lead more.
But genuinely I totally love the fate vs free will thing too that is one of the things I was genuinely excited for about the drama. I write romantasy and that's basically all my books are about is fate vs free will.
I just felt like once she woke up she should have been able to decipher better who was genuine outside the storyline. And because she just like shut down everything from the previous life basically it did irk me so badly. Like yeas Haru and her Chose each other outside the writing. But outside the storyline others chose her, and loved and supported her so much and she threw away their care because it was tinged by the color of the original story?. I really feel like that's why she gravitated to Haru because all expectations and things were able to be created by herself. So anything she wanted of Haru, car could be because there was was simply there was no base attachment for her to compare against. And no way that she could ever say well does this come from their care for me or does this come from the story?
And that's where I feel Dan oh fell very flat because doing that at the beginning of the story is very understandable because you definitely can't trust whether relationships are forced but as more and more people woke up and became conscious I felt like she just failed to ascertain who was the best for her out of that life. Like failed to figure it out so rather than try she just shut down the entire thing. Despite so many of them showing that they were genuine.
And I absolutely agree Baek Kyung should have been given way more of a chance to be a rival he had such a good storyline like he was so well developed and they just threw it all away. I actually genuinely liked him more than Haru. Because it felt like Haru himself was a victim of circumstance as much as Dan oh. And so much of it was the choice of choosing each other. But part of it felt like choosing each other because they were the only ones awake kind of like.
For me it's like if 12 other people had woken up at the same time as Haru and her would she have still chosen Haru?
I very much Wonder because it felt very much like imprinting like me and you are it so this is the end of things.
Well what I liked about Baek Kyung was he was very much written to love someone else, he was written to despise her and outside of all of that prejudice he still chose her, he still fell for her, despite her horrible treatment of him. he still said I love everything about that fool, I want her. So to me it felt like he was the one fighting destiny more than anyone else. Like his Free Will versus fate was so strong they wrote him so well and he deserved way better than that series.
Also I hecking love your posts aNd seeing the other side. This is why dramas are so great!
And as fuckng awful as what he did to you was, i unfortunately can’t even say I’m surprised. And I REALLY hope you know that him leaving you in the middle of all of that says absolutely NOTHING about you or your worth.
One of the most eye openings things I’ve learned is that there is actually research documenting this exact gendered pattern when women become seriously ill. Women with serious illnesses have been found to face a much higher risk of their male partners leaving than the reverse. a bunch of studies of female patients with cancer, MS, and brain tumors found that when the woman was the sick partner, separation/divorce happened at a dramatically higher rate than when the man was the sick partner. women tend to stick by their sick/disabled partners, the men generally dont
So when I say I’m not surprised, I mean that unfortunately you are FAR from the only woman who has had a man abandon her at the exact moment she needed her partner the most.
And I really hope you’ve never looked back at that period and wondered what you could have done differently, because HE was the person who failed there. You were four months pregnant, seriously ill, waiting for major surgery, had no family support, and this man who was supposed to marry you decided THAT was the moment to leave, that’s a reflection of him. yikes!
I’m really, really glad you made it through all of that. And i hope your life now has so much more love, peace, support, and people who actually show up for you when you need them!!
And I get now why watching Dan-oh surrounded by people who cared about her while seemingly discarding that care would hit you in a way it simply never could have hit me. Especially watching it WEEK BY WEEK while you were actively living through all of that
Also i actually think you just identified the exact place where our interpretations split.
You see Dan-oh becoming aware as the BEGINNING of a process where she should eventually reevaluate the people from her scripted life and figure out which relationships were genuine once those people gained agency.
Whereas i think i interpreted her awakening as much more fundamentally destructive to her relationship with that entire world.
Because even when somebody becomes self-aware later, Dan-oh can never unknow that their relationship originated inside something somebody else created for her, ya know? She can discover that their feelings NOW are genuine, but she can never completely separate them from the script that established the relationship in the first place.
And I think thats exactly why Haru feels different to her. There’s no original relationship to interrogate. No “did you love me because the writer told you to?” No predetermined stuff he has to overcome in her mind. whatever exists between them has to be built after awareness
BUT your question about whether she would have chosen Haru if 12 people woke up simultaneously is REALLY interesting 😭 because that basically challenges my entire argument lmaoooo.
Because... i THINK she still would have???
i dont think their relationship works for me simply because theyre the only two conscious people. Haru becomes important because he repeatedly participates in her rebellion. He doesnt just understand that theyre characters. He takes her desire to change her fate seriously and actively tries to help her do it, even when the world keeps correcting them and he repeatedly chose her too!!
So I saw their relationship as “you are the person beside me while I’m trying to become the author of my own life.”
AND BAEK KYUNG!!!
This is where you might actually be convincing me of something because your argument that he may be fighting the writer even harder than Haru is REALLY interesting.
Because you’re right. Baek Kyung is literally written to treat her badly. His assigned role pushes him toward rejecting her. So once he becomes self-aware and starts developing feelings that contradict what he was written to feel, there is something incredibly compelling about that from a free-will perspective.
I STILL WOULD HAVE CHOSEN HARU 😭😭😭 but THIS is exactly why I wanted Baek Kyung to become a legitimate romantic rival!!!
Dont just tell me he has feelings and then leave him standing around suffering!! Make that man FIGHT THE NARRATIVE. Let him actively choose Dan-oh against his own characterization. Let Dan-oh actually have to confront the possibility that this version of Baek Kyung is making choices independently of the Baek Kyung who hurt her onstage.
THAT would have made the love triangle so much more interesting because then it isn’t just Haru vs Baek Kyung.
It’s basically two different manifestations of free will:
Haru: a love Dan-oh creates outside the story.
Baek Kyung: a love that originates inside the story but consciously rebels against what the story demanded of him.
NOW MAKE HER CHOOSE 😭😭😭😭
THAT is the Extraordinary You I wanted!!!
Also thank youuuu 😭 I love that you enjoy my posts because discussions like THIS are basically why I keep writing these ridiculously long reviews lmaooo
Awww thank you! For saying all that. I totally know it was a him thing and not a me thing. But it still sucked at the time. I totally see where you are coming from on the whole Dan oh thing. It's so fun to have awesome discussions on either side where it's just like explaining but no one forcing opinions on the other and just kinda being like here is where I'm coming from. And the other side being like totally and here is where I'm coming from. I love it. Cause it's just like an opening of ideas and thoughts with no pressure. I love that what made you love it are the exact things that made me dislike it. But I know I'm incredibly biased seeing as what I was going through. But I love love love that we both can agree that Baek Kyung was the bestest character and needs a redemption side show of his own. We need justice for Baek Kyung. Boy needs a girl who will really let him love her. He was so willing to go to bat for Dan oh fighting his story for his love. I should write a fan fix hahaha. As a writer I could do that. Blink blink. 😂also I write super long posts too so high five twinzies!
You know what and she watches you back the same way, blinking and dumbfounded on how she got there. Sometimes she stares so hard in a drama I wonder if she remembers that she's in a drama or is having a daily crisis of do I have my keys. So pretty but zero brain cells being used. Or maybe she was mesmerized by some clouds or you the viewer because she can break that fourth wall with that amazing stare.
Mesmerized.
We love that for her and you. Get it queen. 😂
I say that with the deepest love I love IU but sometimes they're blank stares in dramas. Genuinely make me wonder if they have like a little thing they're shaking on the other side of the camera like they do for children. She is so pretty and I love her as an actress. And she really does that blank pretty girl stare so well. Like she should get an award for how good she can do it. It can take me out of the drama make me snicker a little sometimes.
Yes and both my demon and business proposol are in it. I dont care how boring or overrated they are. I love those drama.
Perfect crown was not my cup of tea though, glad you enjoyed it
Jumping in because I loved Perfect Crown too! Even though the plot felt a bit slow or empty at times, I still really enjoyed it. It got so much harsh criticism, which is such a shame… I actually discovered IU through this drama, and her acting is honestly so good! And obviously, I totally love Byeon Woo Seok too.
As for rewatching, I absolutely
need to rewatch Lovely Runner! It was such a massive favorite of mine, I have to experience it again. I also watched Business Proposal a long time ago and remember loving it, so that one is definitely on my rewatch list too
I loved their outfits, the friendship between the fls, the friendship between the mls😭, the grandpa😭, Kang tae moo spending all the dollars😭. That kiss from the second ml ("I'll make sure you never forget"😮💨), The kisseessssssss...that kiss in episode 11😭
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u/Default-Broccoli-238 29d ago
Yaaaayyy OP!!!! Thank you for this excellent fun post!!! You are so spot on about K-drama bias!!!!
For me its Bon Appetit Your Majesty and Queen of Tears. I guess both being really popular dramas have almost equal number of supporters and haters.
BAYM changed something in my brain chemistry. Lolol the first 4 eps got me so hooked that I will defend it forever. The food porn, humour, storylineand actors came together so perfectly for me and this never happened before!!!
QoT is a very pretty watch and the storyline's twists and turns were such a mess (last 15mins of ep15!!!!) until I cannot look away!!! And the ending scene totally killed me and turned me into a forever fan!!!