My K-drama list of 2020

Franckly, after watching the taiwanese masterpiece "Your Name Engraved Herein / The Name Engraved in Your Heart" on Netflix, this little drama on viki.com seemed quite bland. Cute story, though.

Goblin a.k.a Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

I had been saving this drama for "later" and now I thought it is finally time to see what Kim Go-eun's break-through role was all about. Unfortunately I was left slightly unsatisfied with the story. The drama started with flying colors. I loved the historical background story and the production of the Joseon-era events. But then... the story got stuck somehow. Or maybe it was me? I felt uncomfortable with the whole relationship with a 30-something man and a 19-year old teenager.

My favourite part of this drama were the interactions between
Lee Dong-Wook (the Grim Reaper) and Gong Yoo (the Goblin). They were hilarious together! I found there to be more chemistry between them than the main couple.

Yes, Love Alarm. One of the best K-dramas of 2020, they say. And they are not wrong.

I enjoyed this a lot. Damn good cliffhanger in the end. Can't wait for the next season.

I am writing this review after a couple of months since I watched this drama, so I have forgotten a lot already.

I remember expecting a romantic comedy with sparking chemistry between Park Bo-Young and Park Hyung-sik. I mean, they had dating rumors afterwards and Park Hyung-sik admitted falling for Bo-Young during filming this, so... And I guess they did well. It's just that the story itself was somewhat old fashioned. Instead of falling for the self centered CEO, I found myself cheering for the handsome policeman (Ji Soo). Second lead syndrome, I guess. I thought he seemed such a nice, sincere guy. Haha!

At times I wasn't quite sure whether this drama was a bit homophobic, or was it just the translation that gave the idea. At least one time I realized that what sounded homophobic in the Finnish subtitles (sairaat juorut) was actually just poor translation from English (ill rumors). I have no idea, what the original Korean term was implying. Probably nothing too bad. The subtitles on viki.com are generally surprisingly good, but this drama was very poorly translated from English. It gave me a headache.

I hated the comedic relief characters. Kim Won-Hae is a solid comedian and a good actor, but I wasn't really sure about his portrayal of the gay AD. It was a bit much. I know Koreans tend to overact in comedic roles, but this seemed borderline homophobic to me. Sorry.

Park Seo-joon, you handsome devil, you can act! I wasn't too impressed after Secretary Kim, but now I'm a fan for life.

I just loved, loved, loved this drama. Had I known Itaewon Class was this good, I would have watched it much earlier. I had seen it on many must-watch-lists of K-drama, but I still wasn't too interested. Thank goodness I decided to check it out.

Itaewon Class (despite it's stupid name) is a breath of fresh air amongst K-dramas. It has diversity and realism that is lacking in many of these South Korean dramas. The story of Park Saeroyi's vengeance keeps you engaged from first episode to the last. And the obligatory romance isn't the one you would expect. At least I wasn't.

The young actress Kim Da-mi is impressive in her role as the (allegedly) sociopathic Jo Yi-seo. Although I'm not sure if sociopaths can actually care about people like she eventually does. But who cares. I loved her character.

I recommend Itaewon Class to anybody, who loves K-drama. This is definitely worth every second of that 16 hours it takes.

Movie version (I read on viki.com comment section that this has also come out as a series, but it is not available on Viki at the moment.)

This was a sweet love story. I think the drama version might have had even more depth, but unfortunatery it is not available. The actors gave believable performances as two people desperately yearning for each other. And thank god the other guy got rid of that horrible haircut in the end. (What's up with korean men and bangs? I don't get it.)

Btw is it common in Korea for male friends to sleep in the same bed if they live together? It took me a while to realize, that these guys aren't a couple, but friends, since they were living with each other and slept in the same bed.

I was told by several YouTube K-drama listings that this is either the best or at least in top five of the best romantic K-dramas ever made. So, I think my expectations were maybe a bit too high.

Don't get me wrong. I did like Descendants of the Sun. Chemistry between the main couple was intense from the first episode until the end. I learned from the all-knowing internet, that they actually started dating after filming this drama and married 2017 (but are now divorced). Action parts were entertaining, disaster scenes exciting, love scenes believable... so, why was I disappointed in the end.

First of all, I found it confusing, that they had invented a country (Urk) for the drama. I couldn't quite grasp the idea behind it. Where was it supposed to be? There were Eastern Europeans, Americans, Arabs and so on, all living in this country. Like... what? I think it was a UN-operation? I don't know. It was unclear to me. The non-Asian actors and extras were terrible. Just awful. It was bothering me a lot. After that I was just irritated by every little thing, like a doctor wearing high heels in a desert.

Everything that didn't include non-Korean actors, was still excellent. So, I am giving this four stars. I can't help feeling, it was lacking something in the end.

Spoiler alert: It took them 13 episodes to get busy in bed, but only 3 more to get married. Very korean.

A lighthearted feel-good comedy about a self centered, yet charming boss and his very up-to-task secretary. This cliché of almost forgotten childhood friendship and a traumatic past is getting a bit old though.

Giving 4/5, 'cause I was hugely entertained and Park Seo-joon's abs are worth all the advertising. This series also contains the hottest kissing seen I've witnessed in a K-drama so far. 와!

a.k.a Piece of Your mind

Jung Hae-in is my favourite romantic K-drama male lead (such a sweet little cupcake), so I had high hopes. Nevertheless this series left me a bit cold. The start was promising: slow takes with dreamlike cinematography. But the story itself never really took off.

The actors were good though. This was my first time seeing Chae Soo-bin and she is delightful. Hope to see her again in a another drama.

I was recommended to watch this drama and it was ok. Not quite as good as I had hoped for, but a solid 8/10. I liked the modernized Little Mermaid story. Not too serious, just the right amount.

A gay drama? Didn’t think I’d see the day, but what do you know! A cute little story, although a bit awkward. Things k-dramas present as romantic gestures often seem a bit creepy or borderline stalking to me.

So, now I have seen it with my own eyes. Yes, a korean gay romance. Interesting.

I had no expectations when I started watching this drama. All I knew was, that it had one of my favourite actors, Jung Hae-in in it. I had also seen a couple of clips on YouTube. Therefore I was happily surprised, that this was actually a very good drama. A bit of a cliche with the childhood friendships and dramatic family events in their past, but otherwise I liked it.

I am not a big fan of Lee Jong-suk. In my opinion he is not that good of an actor. He is good looking, I guess. And I suppose that's why he is so popular. I just cannot get past his weird Michael-Jackson-like nose. Not my cup of tea.

Correct year 2010, not 2015.

This drama seemed old. Visually it looked like it was made in the 1990s, which is weird, because in reality it’s only 10 years old. The story also felt dated and Hyun Bin looked like a baby. Lee Song-suk was actually a baby, but he still looks the same today, go figure.

I was surprised to see a gay storyline in a drama this old, but also disappointed as it didn’t seem to have any other point than showing Oska is wanted even by boys.

Hyun Bin’s character was a total dick for about 90% of the time. In my opinion Gil Ra Im should have left with that hot action director (Phillip Lee), who seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and leave the rich boy and his obnoxious mother play their games with each other.

The best part of this show was the switching of Kim Joo Won’s and Gil Ra Im’s bodies. Hyun Bin’s acting made my day! Munja wa shong!

My Country - The New Age

Let’s face it: Seo Hwi’s true love was Nam Seon-Ho, not that ihwaru-girl. And who could blame him? Woo Do-hwan is so pretty. Hwi really should have kissed him in the end. What a beautiful (b)romance!

Rakuten viki, here I come! No turning back now. I`m hooked.

First series watched via viki.com was this one. Terrible subtitles, but a beautiful story.

(Would lie, if I told u this wasn’t because of Woo Do-hwan.)

Well, this was an entertaining fairy tale.

I realise that Lee Min-Ho is the big star here, but I personally seem to be immune to his charm. Kim Go-Eun is quickly becoming my favourite korean actress and the breathtakingly handsome Woo Do-Hwan stole the show in double (or should I say quadruple?) role as Jo Yeong/Jo Eun Seob. That young man is going places! Next in line is “My Country” with more Woo Do-Hwan!

This series was a joy to watch. The main couple (Kim Soo‑hyun and Seo Ye-ji) is disturbingly beautiful, all actors are good in their roles, and Oh Jeong Se deserves a medal for his portrayal of the autistic brother Sang Tae. Good job!

An ok historical drama. Quality production.

Too much candy, too little beef.

I heard this is one of the best romantic movies in Korean film history. Starring the amazing Son Ye-Jin (she was only 22 at the time, I think).

Personally I wasn't overly exited about this film, though. It was a good movie, I admit that. Very slow, but I'm Finnish, so I can handle it. Very sad. Very melodramatic. Maybe even a bit too melodramatic for my taste.

This movie should have been a whole 16-episodes K-drama. It would have given the story more room to develope. Otherwise I liked it.

Jung Hae In has won me over as an actor. First I thought he was just a pretty face. I was wrong.

I am now officially in love with Hyun Bin. What a beautiful man and a very good actor. This drama was exciting and the plot inventive. Hoping for a second season, maybe?

Sweet Jesus, what a ride! Those Koreans really do know how to write a romance!

I have now watched three romantic Korean dramas with mostly the same actors and mostly the same pattern: boy meets girl, they fall in love, everything is peachy even though there are some underlaying issues, then reality hits, everybody cries, they break up, love seems impossible - but finally in the last episode they find eachother again. Happy end.

As a cynical northern european I tend to find the representation of love in these dramas sometimes a bit cheesy and naive. On the other hand I think the Korean culture is fascinating as it is so different from my own culture. Apparently kissing in public places isn’t ok in Korea. Therefore there is a lot of hugging in these shows. I don’t always quite understand the characters’ behaviour and motives. One Spring Night was so poorly translated from (apparently) English translation to Finnish, that it was incomprehensible at times. The two others had good translations, but still some things seemed odd to me. This is due to the cultural differences, I guess.

From all the three series that I`ve seen so far, this one was my favourite. I think this might get on my top 10 list of best love stories of all times. I actually might be watching only Korean tv-dramas from now on. I’m becoming fluent in Korean too! I can already say “yes”, “no”, “mom”, “dad” and “very well”. Haha!

One more thing. The actors are superb! I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be comfortable with the same familiar actors playing new roles in Something in the Rain, but boy, was I wrong! They had no problem becoming completely new people in this one. Very talented people. Good job!

First I thought this is really silly. Then it got to me. Good fun. Although I fail to see what is so terrible about being a single dad.

This was my first K-drama.

Little did I know, when I started watching this with absolutely no expectations what so ever. If I was expecting something, it was a low quality tv-entertainment and overly romantic kitsch (never a bad thing, though!). I had no idea, I was watching the best actors in korean show business and one of the best dramas of 2010s. Long story short: I was sold. I wanted more. No turning back. I'm now a fan of K-drama!