r/KDRAMA challenge 2025

1. A drama featuring a sweater worthy of The Heirs. Simple but nice, many good sweaters.

2. A drama chosen by the Wheel of Chance: Korean Culture Highlight (A drama where laundry is done by foot in a tub). A really nice drama!! IU has never steered me wrong.

3. A drama chosen by the Wheel of Chance: Food Scenes: A drama where a rooftop BBQ is had. Sometimes you finally get around to watching a drama everyone loves and it's really that good. 

4. A drama chosen by the Wheel of Chance: Common Scenes: A drama where a character yells "바다"! (bada/sea) at the ocean. Did not care about the main relationship at all but there were some funny moments and ML is very cute and sometimes just that is not bad!

5. A drama chosen by the Wheel of Chance: Character Surname: Oh. Plot felt different and interesting even if imho it didn't live up to its full potential in the end. 

6. A drama chosen by the Wheel of Chance: Medical Emergency! (Character has a fever after being caught in the rain) Now That's What I Call Kdrama. 

7.  A drama that was originally broadcast on one of Korea's terrestrial big 3 stations. I watched this while really tired and teared up any time the main girl was even mildly unhappy. 

8. A drama where a character watches a kdrama. Very wholesome! Liked the lead and the OST.

9. A drama where a character makes a wish. (Episode 8) Kinda the Welcome to Waikiki of family sitcoms.

10. A drama featuring a mentor-mentee relationship. (The lead and his boss.) This had its moments but unfortunately I did not really like or care about Mr. Kim for a lot of the run time! 

11. A drama where a character has a pet. Thin plot that dissolves into conveniences towards the end, overreliance on violence and shock value, it's a no for me. 

12. A drama where changes in time are visible. On paper this is a drama I should have loved, but it just didn't really click in a way that worked for me?

13. A drama which aired across two years. The kind of plotline that I always really like in a drama! Needed a couple more episodes at the end I think.

14. A drama with a character who moves or has previously lived abroad. It's nice having a slightly longer drama (by Netflix original standards lol) where the plot can develop a bit more. Great performances from both the leads. 

15. A drama starring a beloved grandpa of Kdramaland. (Jang Gwang) I loved the episodic cooking competition stuff and loved the last couple of episodes a little less. 

16. A drama where a character wears a nondescript black cap for no particular reason. (At least 2 different characters in different scenes.) I lowkey don't think this season needs to exist, that said the formula still works for me.

17. A drama featuring two characters wearing matching items. This started sooo sugary sweet and then it got kinda dark but wasn't long enough or substantial enough to really do anything with that. 

18. A drama starring a lead actor who goes by a stage name. (Gong Myung) Really exceeded my expectations! Liked both leads a lot too.  

19. A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member. (Sunmi) Short but good! 

20. A drama where one of the main characters is a celebrity. Very bleak drama with some odd pacing in places but pretty good.

21. A drama which features a sibling relationship. The plot and characters left like no impression on me at all, but the fight scenes were intense as promised and it was inoffensively short! 

22. A drama where a main character has a part-time job. (Selling drugs.) Thrillingly bananas.

23. A drama featuring a scene where a character prepares for or takes an exam. Just give me a few more episodes please. ?

24. A drama that features location/tourism product placement. (Cathay Pacific in ep 3, probably other things too.) Just a very pleasant slice of life/workplace drama! 

25. A drama featuring a scene where characters are at a traditional market. Fine. 

26. A drama where a character calls another character by their professional title instead of name. (Various characters call Lee Ju Yeon "Doctor"/"선생님".) This required a lot of suspension of disbelief, but I enjoyed it pretty well! If I could rate it like...8.75, I would.

27. A drama that fills a wheel of chance option from previous drama challenges you wish you got. Restaurant PPL! Is it even PPL if it's just a whole commercial lol? Anyway this was surprisingly kinda cute as just a very brief webdrama. 

28. A drama that is listed in last year's Drama Database. Second time watching....it's still such a weird story, but in a way that works for me I think. 

29. A drama previously covered by r/KDRAMA's The Weekly Binge. There was a lot of stuff that I found to be frustrating and/or poorly aged, but there's still just something about early 2010s romcoms that's very soothing to my soul lol. It's like...a 7.8 for me. 

30. A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community. First 3 episodes are 8-8.5 territory, last ~2 and a half episodes would probably be a 7 max for me. =/ PS: Why does the summary of this show on MDL call the games "The Squid Game"? That's a pet peeve of mine lol.  

31. A drama that aired before 2010. Lowkey I got quite into this....

32. A drama that aired in the 2010s. Rewatch, loved it just as much the second time around. <333

33. A drama from the sageuk genre. This one ended up being DARK. I sort of didn't feel invested in the characters at first, but the makjang/crime drama plot held my interest and moved at a pace that worked for me, plus it felt like something a little different for a sageuk drama which was a treat. Also good OST!

34. A single episode drama. Hit pretty much all the notes I predicted, they were notes I enjoyed though!

35. A mid-long form drama. Really hit the spot for my need for sageuk dramas without too much of a "scheming in the royal court" plot. 

36. A drama featuring a Truck of Doom™. All the drama was really drama-ing for me!! I personally liked the ending. Fun performances from the 3 main male roles, also the RUDEST Truck of Doom of all time probably lol.