2024 watched/dropped dramas

Knight Flower has it all - great comedy, a strong yet empathetic female lead, lovable set of secondary characters, and dazzling chemistry between the main leads (even without any skinship!). And above others, a well thought-out and satisfying conclusion for every character. A hard to find gem.

I'm a sucker for a good youth drama. And this is undoubtedly one of the best ones. Every character was so well fleshed-out. The ending was heart breaking but made a lot of sense too. I'm still re-listening to the OST.

[dropped at ep 8] Park Ji Hoon is the only redeemable quality of this drama. Other than that, it's a low-budget drama stretched beyond belief.

Fun for the first 10 eps (I'm always down for a cinderella cliche), then it went downhill, too draggy and making no sense in the last eps.

Great premise, actors, music, atmosphere. But the FL just didn't deliver. I get that not every character has to be a badass, but the has literally zero going for her and was constantly being saved by everyone. Maybe the second season will be better, sigh

Appreciated the portrayal of the horrors of domestic violence. Didn't appreciate how the 2FL was out there trying to make something of herself but ended up resigning from having any true influence on her work, and reunited with her boyfriend who was abusive to her in his own way. 

Beautiful show through and through, I just love me a well reseached youth show. As it presents multiple perspectives on life, it admits that there is simply no one right way to live it. People can be wrong, but can redeem themselves if they wish to change - even if their mistakes will never be fully erased. Even if you have no exam ahead of you, it leaves you feeling hopeful for the future. 

Also, one of the best confession scenes ever.

Had some potential in the initial eps (I actually liked the chemistry) but then it became  a hot piece of mess.

Wow, just wow. We just don't get this sort of well thought-out shows these days anymore. It was so satisfying (when I finally got who is who lol).

Fun until the last story arc, but not really memorable overall. Had some nice cinematography tho.

[dropped at ep 6] Couldn't stand the awful boat CGI...

This was fantastic! I usually can't get behind the low quality of korean BL, but LFLS was very good in terms of acting and cinematography. I'd love more eps cause it seems like a lot of the scenes were cut short. But it was very moving and Lee Tae Vin was shining so bright.

Scandalous for a kdrama! Left me wishing more dramas would treat adults like adults, not like 15year olds who just saw the opposite sex for the first time.

Heartbreaking story. Not for the weak of heart.

[dropped at ep 2] Tried for Woo Shik, but it definitely doesn't stand the test of time.

[dropped] The Hope shows that a 30ep drama about students learning for their high school final exam can be a thrilling ride. But The Midnight Romance In Hagwon does not introduce us to any student really, teachers' stories are also not engaging, neither is the romance. It's a political drama and it's tiring and boring as hell. And here I was waiting for another One Spring Night.

[dropped at ep 6] Had really high hopes for another Sky Castle or even Penthouse type drama, but it did not deliver. It was not commited to being a revenge story,  andnot fully commited to be a makjang. Many insufferable characters, no one to root for, the FL was neither likeable nor clever. And from what I read, it gets even worse as the story goes on.

[on-hold at ep 3] I can't lie, I got lost in the political/economical plot.

This was a pretty cute drama. Nice chemistry between the leads. The ML basically carried the whole thing for me. However, the drama is cliched as hell, and doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Not saying that it must, but I'm feeling more and more that kdramas tend to follow the same patterns. At least there wasn't a murderer in the background or something (for more than 2 eps at least).

I am pretty mad with one thing tho - the whole aspect of ML's 'healing' journey. ML tormented by a thing from the past, that he must work through - that's ok with me, I'm all for redemption stories. HOWEVER. In most dramas, the ML is not really responsible for any wrongdoings. So how is it healing when it's not even their fault? People do mistakes, yes, and need some examples in culture to show them that it's possible to live on. But here the ML did NOTHING wrong imo. Maybe it's the difference between Korea's culture and mine. But it's been bugging me lately. Say that I caused a road accident, it was my fault but I didn't wish that to happen. Will I get any comfort from watching kdramas? No, cause it always turns out that the leads take accountability for something that wasn't even their fault. Sigh. Some examples - My Lovely Liar, 30 but 16, just from the top of my head...

Kept me at the edge of my seat, and I'm not one to be easily surprised by a plot twist!

[dropped at ep 2] I'm not a fan of crime dramas, unless they have at least one intriguing element, but this one does not... Just another run of the mill 'dark' D+ drama, nothing that would get me through the first 3 eps.

Ou Yang best boy. And the others... Are truly a set of flawed, realistic (but definitely sometimes frustrating) characters.

I had no idea what was going on

It certainly isn't perfect like some people may say, but it has a lot of charm and keeps lingering in my memory. 

Too many plots and characters (the hair salon's clients) and too little time, so the main characters feel underdeveloped. But had some very charming plots, including the romance. Still a nice surprise and  pretty good nonetheless. 

Oh I loved it. It brought me so much enjoyment. And I didn't mind the ending. Good one!

Scary as hell, and I'm still not sure who is the bad guy. 

A touching and heartbreaking story of two people who look out for each other, as no other person will.

A wild and exciting ride!

[dropped at ep 8] Cringy 30+ year-olds acting like little kids. Not my cup of tea.

The business part wasn't explained the best, even though I work a corporate job myself, in the first episodes everything was happening so fast that I was not sure what was going on, who is who and what is actual job of the leads. I also found it really weird how many times the main leads had the conclusion that health/personal life is more important than work, but they still had a shitty work-life balance even after that...

But the 1st couple was fire, the relationship was very well portrayed. I could feel that they were truly close and dear to each other. The best part of the drama by far. Though before they got together I sometimes wasn't sure what the hell are they talking about, they tried to be so misterious...

Good if you're in the mood for a makjang.

I can't remember anything from it lol.

I liked it more after they finished the college plot. Can't deny that the relationship was kinda toxic, but the chemistry made it up for me.

Perfect for a movie night with friends / family, even if they aren't kdrama fans.

Great first half, ending was meh, but had some unexpected and exciting moments for a kdrama. Over all, pretty unmemorable tho. 

I could barely stomach the first ep, it has nothing going for it, 60 mins of the FL running from the ML. Not funny to me at all.

Had an interesting start, then it turned into a makjang, finished the main plot but still kept going (?) It had a story for 8 eps tops. And they are making a 2nd season...

Entertaining! Great when you get a cold lol.

[on-hold at ep 2] It's pretty low budget, which throws me off. The fact that I know how it ends doesn't help with picking it up again.

[on-hold at ep 2] Same with Winter Begonia - started it while on a drama slump, but didn't suck me in from the beginning. So I had no patience to go forward.

[on-hold at ep 6] Again, crime dramas have to really suck me in for me to enjoy them. This one has a great cast but I get lost in the drug plot.

Stuck around mainly for the ML, as he is an interesting character and I love Lee Jong Won. But overall it's skippable, filled with cliche comedy (villagers) and unconvincing love story of 2nd leads.

Even better on the 2nd rewatch.

[on-hold at ep 2] I started it during a drama slump, and it didn't engage me from the start, so I put it on-hold. Might come back later.

[on-hold at ep 2] Barely started it. Will go back when I'm ready for such a long drama again.

[dropped at ep 12] I tried for LYN, but it really tired me out...

[dropped at ep 12] I could only take one drama of Esther Yu acting like a 5 year old, and that was LBFAD.