Why are these characters so frustrating?? Why does Samdal overreact to their kiss and why is Yongpil so clingy…
I do think this show would land more convincingly if they had the leads 10-12 years younger... Thankfully so many of the side/support characters are likeable that they balance out the time with the leads. I don't mind the leads, but so far they're definitely not up there with my favorite lead couples, to be sure.
I was more than half way through ep 1 & I almost dropped it...infact I did, since the drama came out till now…
The FL was introduced so strangely in Episode 1, I agree! It was kind of driving me crazy how mysterious she was, but it gets better and clearer in Episode 3. :) I like how odd she is; she stands out among FLs (as does the ML in this).
The drama description is totally giving off "hometown cha cha cha " vibes.Is it similar?
It definitely feels a bit similar in that they both take place in small towns near the sea, and there's that gossip-y element where characters can never get away with things without being noticed.
There were some characters in HCCC that I got bored with if they focused on them, but in this drama, they spread time well over all the characters and I like everyone's stories. I don't think the main leads have as much of that "falling in love" pizzazz as HCCC because it's really awkward for the leads in WTS for much of the first half since they're exes. And that's the other big difference, in HCCC you felt like you were discovering the small town alongside the FL; in this drama, you feel like you're getting a window into a world where everyone already knows each other and they're healing past relationships, starting over, etc. You're coming into something that already has past momentum, unlike in HCCC. Hope that helps.
P.S. It also feels more like a PSA for living outside Seoul and getting married and having children. 😂 For instance, in the way they portray the FL with her two sisters is darling, and they aren't shying away from showcasing Jeju's charms, either.
Why is this so popular? Is it really interesting to watch?
Maybe more cozy and comforting than interesting. The characters are portrayed well by the actors and the pacing is good with virtually no filler somehow. I'm still blown away that this drama managed to spend so many episodes on basically one plot, two characters, and very few tumultuous events; even the dramatic parts felt tame compared to most dramas. Episodes 12-15 were my favorite. Episode 13 had some romantic writing I've never seen before (the way the ML pursues the FL once he knows he likes her is unique, in my opinion), oh, and the leads' chemistry is 🔥. No discussion, it's unrivaled in my experience of 100+ dramas.
I started to really enjoy the drama after Episode 8, but you do kind of need the earlier episodes to set up stuff that happens later and connect to those earlier episodes. Some get weirded out by how young the FL is at the beginning (she is older than she looks, and they use the same ML for the earlier episodes and later episodes which throws people off, I think), but NO romantic feelings develop on the ML's part for the FL until she's in college.
What do you propose? They try hiring actors from a country they historically don't have particular love for to…
I suppose they could have dubbed their voices like in Chinese dramas? Since I'm sure they could find people who could at least speak Japanese fluently (Korea's got to have some people who can, right?) even if they couldn't act in the drama? But it is still somewhat distracting since dubbing is never perfect. 🤷♀️
the only exception to this is forum or discussion posts. You can block someone and you won't see their comments…
Got it; I haven't joined those yet. And they aren't visible on the app, right (forums and discussion posts?)? It's kind of annoying that the app doesn't allow you to access the same information as the website since the app is much more user friendly in some ways than the website. Anyway, thanks for the tip! I'm just wondering because I want to stay on this thread but am starting to get a bit tired... I'll leave it at that.
That’s the usual case….any platform won’t let ppl know someone blocked them.Defeats the purpose of avoiding…
Sorry, just to make sure I understand: if I'm on the web page (which I avoid like the plague because of the annoying popups), the blocked posts are still visible, but on the app they don't show up? Is that correct?
Oh, also, I've found the "Popular Dramas" category on MDL tend to be more of the comfort dramas people revisit…
I shared this post with another user, also fairly new to Kdramas, and thought it might be helpful. It will be LONG, just to warn you:
What streaming site(s) do you have access to/use? That also determines what you can see unless you use pirated sites. I use Rakuten Viki and Netflix (in the U.S.). Here are some genres/types and super famous ones that you can try and look into to help you decide what you like (those marked "a favorite" are some of my personal favorites (I also loved CLOY and Stranger! In my top 10!)):
The Replys (these have a family drama feel, with a main focus on romance and friendship): -Reply 1988 (the best of the three; the Replys are a but edgier content/humor-wise than most dramas, but the end of this one wallops a massive gut-punch that left me a weepy mess; Kdramas rarely do that, though the beginning was a slog for me) -Reply 1994 -Reply 1997
The Schools (set in high school and themed around attending school): -School 2013 (the best of the schools, in my opinion--quite good!) -Who Are You: School 2015 -School 2017 -School 2021 (not great, in my opinion; very weak compared to the rest) NOTE: may not enjoy these if you're far removed from high school and don't work in education.
Ghost/Afterlife/Reincarnation Dramas (I will exclude the slough of many recent dramas with the reincarnation trope since I'm not familiar with them yet (some of these below have some romance but are not always "happy" endings; many dramas of this genre have ambiguous endings)): -Hotel De Luna (very famous) -Mystic Pop-Up Bar -Missing: The Other Side (2 seasons) -Tomorrow -Bring It On, Ghost -Ghost Doctor (also a Medical Drama, enjoyable; Kim Bum is adorable) -The Master's Sun (a classic) -Uncanny Counter (has a lot of action (with evil spirits and is also dark despite also being quite comedic))
Modern Gumiho/Goblin Fantasy Dramas: -Goblin: The Lonely And Great God (a classic; super famous, with a beautiful but kind of sad ending; be warned!) -Tales of the Nine-Tailed (2 seasons) -My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho -My Roommate Is A Gumiho -Kiss Goblin
Office Dramas (not usually my thing, I've decided): -Hot Stove League (also a teeny bit of sports) -The Good Manager -Suits -My Mister -Search: WWW -Unlock My Boss (sort of) (cute, with an unecessary sad part 1/3 of the way through) -Shooting Stars (sort of) (cute) -Misaeng: The Complete Life -Start-Up (but also a Healing drama; beautifully written, hard to get through; may want to avoid if you get second male lead (SML) syndrome)
Slice-Of-Life/Romance/Healing Dramas: -Oh My Venus (a classic) -True Beauty -My ID Is Gangnam Beauty -Castaway Diva (also a found family drama with a light suspenseful component) (a favorite; a Park Hye Ryun drama. I have LOVED anything written by her) -Live On -Another Miss Oh -Our Beloved Summer -At A Distance, Spring Is Green -Hometown Cha Cha Cha -Move To Heaven (no romance) -It's Okay To Not Be Okay (very... unique (?) female lead) -Beauty Inside -Hogu's Love -Angel's Last Mission -When The Camellia Blooms -Fight For My Way -Once Upon A Small Town -Romance Is A Bonus Book -Itaewon Class (could also solidly go in the Revenge Drama category) -Go Back Couple -Thirty But Seventeen (or Still 17) -What Happened to Secretary Kim? (a classic) -Do You Like Brahms?
Sports/Slice-of-Life (some have romance below) Dramas: -Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (a favorite) -Run-On -Racket Boys (a favorite; very light romance) -My Lovely Boxer
Melancholy Slice-Of-Life/Healing (some with romance) Dramas: -The Good Bad Mother (has some suspense also) -My Mister -Just Between Lovers -Moment At Eighteen -Prison Playbook (has a teeny bit of sports, too)
Romance/Action, and a Thriller element (but light compared to the Crime dramas farther down) (love all of these, and all classics): -The K2 -Crash Landing On You -Vagabond -Descendents Of The Sun -Strong Woman Do Bong Soon -Healer -W: Two Worlds -The King2Hearts (is alternative reality that pretends Korea still has a monarchy, but is also quite dated; I skipped all the ridiculous villain scenes until the end when he became important; something cozy about the classic old dramas despite all their flaws)
Historical (called "sageuk," and can be quite long) Dramas: -Mr. Sunshine (be warned; sad ending) -Six Flying Dragons (a classic) -Moon Embracing The Sun (a classic) -Tree With Deep Roots -Under The Queen's Umbrella (a favorite, cool female lead) -Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People (another favorite) -Warrior Baek Dong Soo -Sungkyunkwan Scandal (cross-dressing) (cool female lead) -Tale of Nokdu (cross-dressing) -100 Days My Prince -The Crowned Clown -The Bridal Mask (also quite dated; prepare yourself for over acting and bad sets 😅, and torture; but there's something special about it still) -The King's Affection (cross-dressing)
Fusion Sageuk (have anachronistic and/or fantasy elements) Dramas: -Alchemy Of Souls (2 Parts) (a favorite) -Gu Family Book -Hwarang (some great bromance that could have been even better) -Forbidden Marriage -Queen In Hyun's Man -Live Up To Your Name (also a Medical Drama) -Splash, Splash Love (only 3 episodes) -Arthdal Chronicles -The Secret Romantic Guest House -Love In The Moonlight (cross-dressing; could be in the sageuk section, but it shamelessly rewrote history so I put it here; a classic) -Mr. Queen (comedy, body-switching (couldn't get past the body-switching))
Medical Dramas: -Dr. Romantic (3 seasons) (2nd season is a favorite; haven't seen Season 3, but Season 1 is also good) -The Good Doctor (American show of the same name based on this) -Hospital Playlist (2 seasons) (quite famous) -Doctor Stranger (end is kind of a train wreck, but Lee Jong Suk is great. :)) -Beautiful Mind
Modern or Urban Fairytale/Fantasy Dramas: -I Can Hear Your Voice (also a Law Drama) (one of my all-time favorites (a Park Hye Ryun drama)) -Pinocchio -While You Were Sleeping (also a Law Drama) (one of my all-time favorites, a classic (a Park Hye Ryun drama)) -I'm Not A Robot (a favorite) -Legend Of The Blue Sea (a classic) (this drama and the next are by Park Ji Eun, who wrote CLOY) -My Love From The Star (a classic) -My Lovely Liar -Are You Human Too?
Law Dramas: -Law School (a favorite) -Miss Hammurabi -Extraordinary Attorney Woo (a new classic) -The Devil Judge (also Revenge and Action/Thriller) -The Lawless Lawyer (also Action/Thriller) -Suspicious Partner (but also heavy on romance; famous but not my favorite)
Action/Thriller/Detective/Crime (serial killer plot) Dramas: -Beyond Evil -Flower Of Evil (a classic) -Stranger (2 seasons, also Law Drama) (a favorite, a classic) -The Good Detective (2 seasons) -Signal (a favorite, a classic) -My Perfect Stranger -Tunnel (a favorite, a classic) -Bad and Crazy -He Is Psychometric -The Memorist -Hello, Monster/I Remember You -Mouse (famous for a major plot twist)
Monsters/Zombies/Paranormal: -Sweet Home (famous, the 1st Season in particular; the monsters have kind of a stop motion kind of movement to them; unique! Very gory) -Zombie Detective -All Of Us Are Dead -Happiness -Search -Duty After School (Part 1 was good (a bit gory for me), but I never watched Part 2 because I heard it was terrible)
Revenge Dramas: -Vincenzo -The Glory
Older Classics: -The Heirs (has a makjang feel, like My Perfect Marriage Revenge) -Dream High -Boys Over Flowers (I like the new Thai version the best, but there's a Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai version; probably THE biggest drama of all time across all the Asian countries, and a must watch, just to say you have; has the famous hard-working poor girl meets chaebol heir that is the most famous romance trope in Kdramas, so, definitely a Kdrama Rite Of Passage) -Coffee Prince -Secret Garden (body-switching; the ML is a jerk for a VERY long time)
There's a bunch of famous makjang ones (these are the soapy dramas), like Penthouse, and there are a bunch like it (you can tell just from the posters, haha). My Father Is Strange and My Perfect Marriage were all I could do.
And by the way, these are all Korean dramas. JDramas are not my thing (neither are Thai dramas, usually, since most are BLs (Boys Love), and I don't watch those), and I've only watched a few Chinese Dramas that were super highly rated (Hidden Love (modern romance drama), When I Fly Towards You, (modern romance drama with high schoolers growing up together) and Love Like The Galaxy (historical drama)), and they were very good. Chinese Dramas just have a different feel than Kdramas and I'm not sure I'm into it, and I kind of started with the best so I'm scared to venture into lower rating territory as I tried one and quickly dropped it. Cdramas are even more unrealistic and fluffy than Kdramas, which is saying something. 😏
This is probably WAY more than you wanted, haha, but I had fun compiling this and trying to decide what categories to use to group them. I'd also recommend you track the screenwriters you like as you watch, because they tend to write similar types of things and have consistent quality; tracking them can help you know what you'll like and what to look for (for instance, Castaway Diva, I Can Hear Your Voice and While You Were Sleeping are dramas I dearly love, and all have the same screenwriter; I know now she's always going to be one of my favorites). :) Enjoy!!
Thanks! :) You listed some really good ones! There are some great older dramas, too, and I find tracking screenwriters…
I sometimes do a spoiler tag for my comments that I know will be long, just to spare the users scrolling down. 😂 A professor in college once said I had "prolix (verbose, wordy (I had to look up "prolix" when I got his feedback cause I'd never heard it before!)) prose," and I've never forgotten his critique. Still struggle with it, just try to be more self-aware about who is subjected to my wordiness. 😂 Thanks for the kind words. :) Happy to share. It's conversations like this on MDL that I really enjoy!
Have you seen The K2? Another Kdrama that's pretty over-the-top but also just fun and entertaining to watch. It's…
Zhao Lusi is absolutely adorable. I was bothered by her voice at first in Hidden Love, but after watching that and Love Like The Galaxy, I'm now a big fan. I was shocked by the hype around her (most users on here are women, I think, so I expected a male actor to be ranked first on this site, but if I'm not mistaken it's Zhao Lusi (or was not too long ago)), but after seeing her act, I get it. :)
There were some characters in HCCC that I got bored with if they focused on them, but in this drama, they spread time well over all the characters and I like everyone's stories. I don't think the main leads have as much of that "falling in love" pizzazz as HCCC because it's really awkward for the leads in WTS for much of the first half since they're exes. And that's the other big difference, in HCCC you felt like you were discovering the small town alongside the FL; in this drama, you feel like you're getting a window into a world where everyone already knows each other and they're healing past relationships, starting over, etc. You're coming into something that already has past momentum, unlike in HCCC. Hope that helps.
P.S. It also feels more like a PSA for living outside Seoul and getting married and having children. 😂 For instance, in the way they portray the FL with her two sisters is darling, and they aren't shying away from showcasing Jeju's charms, either.
I started to really enjoy the drama after Episode 8, but you do kind of need the earlier episodes to set up stuff that happens later and connect to those earlier episodes. Some get weirded out by how young the FL is at the beginning (she is older than she looks, and they use the same ML for the earlier episodes and later episodes which throws people off, I think), but NO romantic feelings develop on the ML's part for the FL until she's in college.
What streaming site(s) do you have access to/use? That also determines what you can see unless you use pirated sites. I use Rakuten Viki and Netflix (in the U.S.). Here are some genres/types and super famous ones that you can try and look into to help you decide what you like (those marked "a favorite" are some of my personal favorites (I also loved CLOY and Stranger! In my top 10!)):
The Replys (these have a family drama feel, with a main focus on romance and friendship):
-Reply 1988 (the best of the three; the Replys are a but edgier content/humor-wise than most dramas, but the end of this one wallops a massive gut-punch that left me a weepy mess; Kdramas rarely do that, though the beginning was a slog for me)
-Reply 1994
-Reply 1997
The Schools (set in high school and themed around attending school):
-School 2013 (the best of the schools, in my opinion--quite good!)
-Who Are You: School 2015
-School 2017
-School 2021 (not great, in my opinion; very weak compared to the rest)
NOTE: may not enjoy these if you're far removed from high school and don't work in education.
Ghost/Afterlife/Reincarnation Dramas (I will exclude the slough of many recent dramas with the reincarnation trope since I'm not familiar with them yet (some of these below have some romance but are not always "happy" endings; many dramas of this genre have ambiguous endings)):
-Hotel De Luna (very famous)
-Mystic Pop-Up Bar
-Missing: The Other Side (2 seasons)
-Tomorrow
-Bring It On, Ghost
-Ghost Doctor (also a Medical Drama, enjoyable; Kim Bum is adorable)
-The Master's Sun (a classic)
-Uncanny Counter (has a lot of action (with evil spirits and is also dark despite also being quite comedic))
Modern Gumiho/Goblin Fantasy Dramas:
-Goblin: The Lonely And Great God (a classic; super famous, with a beautiful but kind of sad ending; be warned!)
-Tales of the Nine-Tailed (2 seasons)
-My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho
-My Roommate Is A Gumiho
-Kiss Goblin
Office Dramas (not usually my thing, I've decided):
-Hot Stove League (also a teeny bit of sports)
-The Good Manager
-Suits
-My Mister
-Search: WWW
-Unlock My Boss (sort of) (cute, with an unecessary sad part 1/3 of the way through)
-Shooting Stars (sort of) (cute)
-Misaeng: The Complete Life
-Start-Up (but also a Healing drama; beautifully written, hard to get through; may want to avoid if you get second male lead (SML) syndrome)
Slice-Of-Life/Romance/Healing Dramas:
-Oh My Venus (a classic)
-True Beauty
-My ID Is Gangnam Beauty
-Castaway Diva (also a found family drama with a light suspenseful component) (a favorite; a Park Hye Ryun drama. I have LOVED anything written by her)
-Live On
-Another Miss Oh
-Our Beloved Summer
-At A Distance, Spring Is Green
-Hometown Cha Cha Cha
-Move To Heaven (no romance)
-It's Okay To Not Be Okay (very... unique (?) female lead)
-Beauty Inside
-Hogu's Love
-Angel's Last Mission
-When The Camellia Blooms
-Fight For My Way
-Once Upon A Small Town
-Romance Is A Bonus Book
-Itaewon Class (could also solidly go in the Revenge Drama category)
-Go Back Couple
-Thirty But Seventeen (or Still 17)
-What Happened to Secretary Kim? (a classic)
-Do You Like Brahms?
Sports/Slice-of-Life (some have romance below) Dramas:
-Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (a favorite)
-Run-On
-Racket Boys (a favorite; very light romance)
-My Lovely Boxer
Melancholy Slice-Of-Life/Healing (some with romance) Dramas:
-The Good Bad Mother (has some suspense also)
-My Mister
-Just Between Lovers
-Moment At Eighteen
-Prison Playbook (has a teeny bit of sports, too)
Romance/Action, and a Thriller element (but light compared to the Crime dramas farther down) (love all of these, and all classics):
-The K2
-Crash Landing On You
-Vagabond
-Descendents Of The Sun
-Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
-Healer
-W: Two Worlds
-The King2Hearts (is alternative reality that pretends Korea still has a monarchy, but is also quite dated; I skipped all the ridiculous villain scenes until the end when he became important; something cozy about the classic old dramas despite all their flaws)
Historical (called "sageuk," and can be quite long) Dramas:
-Mr. Sunshine (be warned; sad ending)
-Six Flying Dragons (a classic)
-Moon Embracing The Sun (a classic)
-Tree With Deep Roots
-Under The Queen's Umbrella (a favorite, cool female lead)
-Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People (another favorite)
-Warrior Baek Dong Soo
-Sungkyunkwan Scandal (cross-dressing) (cool female lead)
-Tale of Nokdu (cross-dressing)
-100 Days My Prince
-The Crowned Clown
-The Bridal Mask (also quite dated; prepare yourself for over acting and bad sets 😅, and torture; but there's something special about it still)
-The King's Affection (cross-dressing)
Fusion Sageuk (have anachronistic and/or fantasy elements) Dramas:
-Alchemy Of Souls (2 Parts) (a favorite)
-Gu Family Book
-Hwarang (some great bromance that could have been even better)
-Forbidden Marriage
-Queen In Hyun's Man
-Live Up To Your Name (also a Medical Drama)
-Splash, Splash Love (only 3 episodes)
-Arthdal Chronicles
-The Secret Romantic Guest House
-Love In The Moonlight (cross-dressing; could be in the sageuk section, but it shamelessly rewrote history so I put it here; a classic)
-Mr. Queen (comedy, body-switching (couldn't get past the body-switching))
Medical Dramas:
-Dr. Romantic (3 seasons) (2nd season is a favorite; haven't seen Season 3, but Season 1 is also good)
-The Good Doctor (American show of the same name based on this)
-Hospital Playlist (2 seasons) (quite famous)
-Doctor Stranger (end is kind of a train wreck, but Lee Jong Suk is great. :))
-Beautiful Mind
Modern or Urban Fairytale/Fantasy Dramas:
-I Can Hear Your Voice (also a Law Drama) (one of my all-time favorites (a Park Hye Ryun drama))
-Pinocchio
-While You Were Sleeping (also a Law Drama) (one of my all-time favorites, a classic (a Park Hye Ryun drama))
-I'm Not A Robot (a favorite)
-Legend Of The Blue Sea (a classic) (this drama and the next are by Park Ji Eun, who wrote CLOY)
-My Love From The Star (a classic)
-My Lovely Liar
-Are You Human Too?
Law Dramas:
-Law School (a favorite)
-Miss Hammurabi
-Extraordinary Attorney Woo (a new classic)
-The Devil Judge (also Revenge and Action/Thriller)
-The Lawless Lawyer (also Action/Thriller)
-Suspicious Partner (but also heavy on romance; famous but not my favorite)
Action/Thriller/Detective/Crime (serial killer plot) Dramas:
-Beyond Evil
-Flower Of Evil (a classic)
-Stranger (2 seasons, also Law Drama) (a favorite, a classic)
-The Good Detective (2 seasons)
-Signal (a favorite, a classic)
-My Perfect Stranger
-Tunnel (a favorite, a classic)
-Bad and Crazy
-He Is Psychometric
-The Memorist
-Hello, Monster/I Remember You
-Mouse (famous for a major plot twist)
Monsters/Zombies/Paranormal:
-Sweet Home (famous, the 1st Season in particular; the monsters have kind of a stop motion kind of movement to them; unique! Very gory)
-Zombie Detective
-All Of Us Are Dead
-Happiness
-Search
-Duty After School (Part 1 was good (a bit gory for me), but I never watched Part 2 because I heard it was terrible)
Revenge Dramas:
-Vincenzo
-The Glory
Older Classics:
-The Heirs (has a makjang feel, like My Perfect Marriage Revenge)
-Dream High
-Boys Over Flowers (I like the new Thai version the best, but there's a Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai version; probably THE biggest drama of all time across all the Asian countries, and a must watch, just to say you have; has the famous hard-working poor girl meets chaebol heir that is the most famous romance trope in Kdramas, so, definitely a Kdrama Rite Of Passage)
-Coffee Prince
-Secret Garden (body-switching; the ML is a jerk for a VERY long time)
There's a bunch of famous makjang ones (these are the soapy dramas), like Penthouse, and there are a bunch like it (you can tell just from the posters, haha). My Father Is Strange and My Perfect Marriage were all I could do.
And by the way, these are all Korean dramas. JDramas are not my thing (neither are Thai dramas, usually, since most are BLs (Boys Love), and I don't watch those), and I've only watched a few Chinese Dramas that were super highly rated (Hidden Love (modern romance drama), When I Fly Towards You, (modern romance drama with high schoolers growing up together) and Love Like The Galaxy (historical drama)), and they were very good. Chinese Dramas just have a different feel than Kdramas and I'm not sure I'm into it, and I kind of started with the best so I'm scared to venture into lower rating territory as I tried one and quickly dropped it. Cdramas are even more unrealistic and fluffy than Kdramas, which is saying something. 😏
This is probably WAY more than you wanted, haha, but I had fun compiling this and trying to decide what categories to use to group them. I'd also recommend you track the screenwriters you like as you watch, because they tend to write similar types of things and have consistent quality; tracking them can help you know what you'll like and what to look for (for instance, Castaway Diva, I Can Hear Your Voice and While You Were Sleeping are dramas I dearly love, and all have the same screenwriter; I know now she's always going to be one of my favorites). :) Enjoy!!