Eleison

I'm in Episode 11 and wondering who the villain will be now that the evil step mother has been done away with... ? 🤔 Obviously need to finish, but my impressions so far.

Keep watching. :) It ends well!

Those are some good ones to start with! :) And yes, it's interesting to see how those in Korea respond versus Koreans not in Korea, then Asians in general, and then just people completely unrelated to Korea who get into the content. Definitely seems like some dramas explode with foreign audiences but don't always do well domestically (even though the webtoons many dramas are based off of are usually for domestic audiences, I think? Which is interesting). Though Kdramas seem to do better with western audiences than Jdramas (which I, for one, have not been able to get into, haha; also, the relationship values and morality of Japan is hard for me to relate to). Netflix is doing different stuff with Kdramas and experimenting to cater to western audiences and I'm not a huge fan. I watch Kdramas cause I like that they're NOT like the stuff western media is churning out, haha. I watch almost nothing else on Netflix because I think most of it is... how do I say this nicely?... very mediocre, lewd or just plain bad. Haha, anyway, enjoy!

Yeah, figuring out who the ML was definitely a bit of a task! I was trying to think of a drama I'd seen that teased who the ML was in this way and I couldn't really think of one; it's kind of different, and I realized that some viewers (like you) might find that frustrating. And I get it, haha. Definitely tried to increase everyone's suspense! I also went off of the placing of CJH and CHY in the cast list and that helped steady my suspicions. Also, this comment section was doing all it could to answer the "Who is Ki Ho?" question from the get-up so for those of us reading this while it was airing, it was impossible to miss the hints. 😂 But they were very subtle; they tried to make it difficult to tell!

I would check out this screenwriter's other dramas and see if any look familiar; if you liked them, then you will like this one, as the feel is very similar, and the writer is consistent. I didn't want the FL with the SML, but again, everyone has their preference. You could start it and see what you think, but romance doesn't really pick up until Episode 7.

There is romance, but it's not heavy. I'd say the friendship of the ML and FL is half the emphasis of the plot, but romance is about 1/3 of the emphasis. So it shows them being close friends more than it shows them being overtly romantic. There is a good kiss in Episode 11. :) Some people don't think they had romantic chemistry, but I disagree. 🤷‍♀️ My two cents. :)

Oh, my post was about the male leads. :) But yeah, that's why I wasn't a huge fan of Suspicious Partner. The FL (love the actress) was not my favorite the way she was written.

I usually do, too. :)

First rule of a Kdrama ML is they are pure and inexperienced in love OR they have become reformed at some point for some reason. They vary in personality: clumsy, kindhearted doormat to cold, stand offish, misunderstood jerk, etc., but this purity is standard. That's why I said these men don't exist in real life in my last post to you. :) If you keep watching Kdramas, you'll see. This is just the stereotype, and you will probably continue to get frustrated if you will expect the men to be different. Also, there are love triangles in 90% of romantic Kdramas. If you stick to non-romance genres of Kdramas, you will probably enjoy the way men are written a bit more (just a hunch, I could be wrong!). More of those non-romance dramas are also written by men. :)

I gave this analogy to another user who was frustrated with their experience of 'the formula' in Kdrama: if you eat the same candy that's wrapped differently each time, expecting the candy to taste different, sadly, it will still taste the same.

I think healing dramas can have generally two different moods: 1) life is hard and there's no fixing that but maybe it will get a tad brighter with you and these other people who love me (but yeah, there's no getting around the fact that life is rough (i.e. My Mister, When The Weather Is Fine, Missing: The Other Side, the Good Bad Mother, etc.)) and 2) life was really hard and awful but it can get so much better and end up being sweet because of these people's love for me (i.e. True Beauty, HCCC, Castaway Diva, My Lovely Liar, Oh My Venus, Go Back Couple, etc.)

Appreciate you taking the time, that was thoughtful of you!

😂😂😂 Hasn't there been sufficient time for the fans to grow up (I mean literally, not figuratively) and come to terms with the quality of those movies? 😉 Hopefully you're safe.

Same! I think for a lot of people, this was our "Gateway Drama." 😂

The first 8 episodes are definitely the best. :)

👍 Thanks. :)

Yes, maybe that will still happen! 😏

Ooh, when push comes to shove that's kind of hard. I'm going to cheat and break them up between modern and sageuk (sageuks are historical dramas and fusion sageuks are historical-ish dramas with anachronistic or fantasy elements (like #1 or #5 below under Sageuk)):

Modern:
1. While You Were Sleeping (an almost perfect Kdrama in every way; never get tired of revisiting it)
2. Dr. Romantic 2 (1st season is good, too, but I liked this season better and rewatch it more)
3. Crash Landing On You (my first Kdrama, with a special place in my heart, and I can keep watching it a million times)
4. I Can Hear Your Voice (beautiful themes and Episode 17 has one of my favorite scenes in any Kdrama)
5. Stranger or I'm Not A Robot (very different dramas, haha; INAR is fluffy and cute and Stranger is poignant, twisty and powerful as well as heartbreaking and lovely)

Honorable mentions cause I can't help it:
-School 2013
-Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
-Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
-The King2Hearts (I skip all the ridiculous villain scenes until near the end when he becomes important to the plot, cause his earlier scenes are too cringey)
-Reply 1988 (after the first 5 episodes, it's long)
-My Father Is Strange (more of a soapy makjang, called a family drama cause it follows a whole family, so lots of characters and storylines, and VERY long, but the last 1/3 is deeply satisfying)
-Racket Boys (slice of life and pure coziness)

Sageuk:
1. Alchemy of Souls (both parts) (just so colorful and unique with super fun world-building)
2. Under The Queen's Umbrella (The queen in this is an amazing character and the brothers are precious)
3. Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People (super fun to watch them build a character arc over many episodes with lots of adorable bromance, but it's long)
4. Warrior Baek Dong Soo (Ji Chang Wook when he's young and very lovable alongside his character's frenemy, played by Yoo Seung Ho)
5. Splash Splash Love (only 3 episodes) (cute and short but their chemistry is very good)

More than you asked for...

But someone in a rough place might just want to avoid a drama called "Death's Game," anyway, no? Even the title and synopsis should be a trigger warning. And saying a drama can't wrestle with various views of suicide because it might trigger someone is like saying a drama shouldn't have domestic abuse or sexual assault as part of the plot because it might trigger someone. It's a messy issue, and entertainment has never pretended to offer therapy sessions, nor should it. That's why viewers should choose their entertainment with discretion. :)

I think @Coolforsummer coined the phrase "Boys Over Samdal" to describe their friendship, and I'm totally using that moving forward to describe them. 😂 And it's apt because there was a love triangle in the foursome in BOFs, too! (AND in Reply 1988, which is another drama this friendship makes me think of!). 😅

@Jason88 Oh, so many good ones yet to be discovered. 😏 I would recommend Kdramas by the screenwriter who wrote Castaway Diva. Her other dramas are similar but have more romance and are not as controversial or painful in theme as Start-Up (two of hers are in my top five out of the 100+ Kdramas I've seen). Their production quality is a bit lower (except While You Were Sleeping) because they came out before Kdramas got sleek. 😏 Also, the "Popular Dramas" list here on MDL is another good place to start as they're usually popular for a reason. Some are overrated but they have become classics because so many people love them despite their flaws (like Boys Over Flowers (the Thai version is my favorite, but the Korean one is a drama Rite Of Passage, you've got to experience the toxic lovely mess that it is), Goblin (be warned, it's sad) or Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, etc.). Enjoy the journey, but make sure to get sleep! 😋