Alhambra - such a interesting series - time to rewatch!
I'm watching Phantom Lawyer, but I've got a list of approaching a hundred mostly k dramas to watch, going back decades.
I watch a few C Dramas, but they tend to be very very long, which rule out most of them. Also rate dozens of J dramas and dramas from other places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand & Taiwan.
IU is pure class. She always looks elegant, her vlog shows how eloquent she is in conversation and how warm and relaxed she is, too, she's a great actress with an eye for good projects, she's generous with sharing the limelight, modest, welcoming and charming, her singing voice is fabulous, but it's her acting which is sublime. I thought she was amazing in Hotel del Luna and she blew my mind in Persona, but then I saw My Mister, and that was way beyond everything else. I've still to watch Tangerines, which was a huge hit. In my view she is probably in the top ten actresses in Korea.
"Through the actress Park Bo Young, audiences will be able to experience the process of everyday life transforming into a genre."
Something lost in translation there, maybe it was saying watch Park Bo Young transform as the story takes its toll on her character?
Whatever the meaning, looking forward to this. She's a beautiful and fun actress to watch, and is trying to take on roles which require more of a range and that challenge her appearance, such as Daily Dose of Sunshine and Our Unwritten Seoul.
That's brave. The changes can take the sparkle out of her performance, meaning that facial expression becomes much more important.
Alhambra - such a interesting series - time to rewatch!
The best shows are way ahead of anything from other countries, truly inventive and engaging, often ridiculously whacky, but still fun, like Alchemy of Souls, Glory, My Mister, and the first series of Gyeongseong Creature.
Incredible how seriously South East Asian countries takes the looney opinions of self entitled nobodies. I mean, grumbling about an actor not saying a lot, and deducing from that, that he didn't prepare for the role? Crazy.
I love K dramas, they often cover great social issues, such as feelings of worthlessness which, living in a highly competitive society, must be a terrible strain on many people. Anything which makes it easier for socially shy or awkward people to reach out and talk to someone is always worthwhile.
Korea is unique in using this trope, where the villain or villainess is given a chance at redemption and forgiveness. It is a remarkably effective plot device when used wisely. I'm looking forward to watching this if it ever comes to the UK.
Love Korean film and TV, so whenever someone in that industry dies i mourn their loss. It's a bit strange coming from a 61 year old Brit, but Korea seems to have a uniquely supportive industry (between it's actors and crew, less so from the cancel culture company heads) and the extras that the poor actors have to film to support their work really does humanise them. All those silly Netflix quizzes and those lovely chummy interviews between costars.
Korea lost a veteran actor at the very end of 2025, and now another at the very beginning of 2026. I really don't want to see another death for the rest of the year.
Ye Jin is absolutely top drawer actress, him...not so much 😃
This is a reply to all the above. I'm going to have to look out for his expressions in future. Whilst he doesn't have many, i assumed he was being subtle about it, because many Korean actors and actresses ham it up a lot because of the nature of how adults are perceived as children in many S Korean rom-coms. I was actually thinking, this makes a change! 🤣
Now I'm going to have to watch those dramas again to see if my personal bias has skewed my outlook.
Ye Jin is absolutely top drawer actress, him...not so much 😃
Not many men make top drawer actresses, tbh, but to be serious, I'd need to see him in a drama which required those long close ups, see if he can do subtle as well as dynamic.
Alhambra proved Bin could act, Thirty Nine that Ye Jin could act. Together, in Crash Landing, I found the chemistry between them really helped sell their characters' growing relationship.
Neither of them are top drawer, but they're very close to it and the projects they choose work very well for them.
These are solid, entertaining series, with great casts, perfect for the roles. There are few roles that require a truly heightened set of emotions or tightly, subtly nuanced performances. The Glory is one of them in Korea, with a crazy over the top set of characters; and in Oldboy it was the anti hero, whose growing realisation of what he's done truly horrifies him.
But you don't need that in series like Crash Landing. With that in mind, it seems a little churlish to criticise the lack of depth in his acting. Especially when the role is partly fulfilled by the direction and editing.
I'm really looking forward to watching another project with these two acting side by side.
They should just show it. The actor is too central to replace or edit out, just show it and have confidence they…
A lot of about scheduling. I'm dying to see another five more series of Attorney Woo, let alone one more series 😄 but Bin, who is an incredibly popular actress, has one series after another lined up, and when she's available the others aren't. It is incredibly frustrating, but Korea's TV industry is unique. It pumps series after series out. Hell, i can't keep up just watching them. And most of them are very good. The standard is insanely high, with a couple of hundred excellent actors and actresses filling the rosters. And in amongst all these series there are a handful of gems, perfect in every way, and that's where you find actors like Park Eun-bin.
It is a common thing for follow up series in Korea to be five years or more apart. Taxi Driver is one of those shows that buck the trend. They're all just so busy.
But a reasonable delay is one thing, cancelling is another. I'm dying to see the next series. Signal was one of the most original series I've ever seen from any country, and that's in a crowded market in Korea of shows replete with whacky ideas. The country have this ability to tap right into the psyche creating their shows. I couldn't give up on them, and might even hang around after death as a disgruntled spirit, until i catch up with everything.
It has completed filming though. Your suggestion would mean rewriting and re-filming the entire thing.
Possibly. I'm not entirely convinced. But maybe they could reshoot, i somehow think it might not be that easy, but yeah, maybe I'm overcomplicating it. Let's see what happens.
I watch a few C Dramas, but they tend to be very very long, which rule out most of them. Also rate dozens of J dramas and dramas from other places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand & Taiwan.
Something lost in translation there, maybe it was saying watch Park Bo Young transform as the story takes its toll on her character?
Whatever the meaning, looking forward to this. She's a beautiful and fun actress to watch, and is trying to take on roles which require more of a range and that challenge her appearance, such as Daily Dose of Sunshine and Our Unwritten Seoul.
That's brave. The changes can take the sparkle out of her performance, meaning that facial expression becomes much more important.
Korea lost a veteran actor at the very end of 2025, and now another at the very beginning of 2026. I really don't want to see another death for the rest of the year.
Now I'm going to have to watch those dramas again to see if my personal bias has skewed my outlook.
Neither of them are top drawer, but they're very close to it and the projects they choose work very well for them.
These are solid, entertaining series, with great casts, perfect for the roles. There are few roles that require a truly heightened set of emotions or tightly, subtly nuanced performances. The Glory is one of them in Korea, with a crazy over the top set of characters; and in Oldboy it was the anti hero, whose growing realisation of what he's done truly horrifies him.
But you don't need that in series like Crash Landing. With that in mind, it seems a little churlish to criticise the lack of depth in his acting. Especially when the role is partly fulfilled by the direction and editing.
I'm really looking forward to watching another project with these two acting side by side.
It is a common thing for follow up series in Korea to be five years or more apart. Taxi Driver is one of those shows that buck the trend. They're all just so busy.
But a reasonable delay is one thing, cancelling is another. I'm dying to see the next series. Signal was one of the most original series I've ever seen from any country, and that's in a crowded market in Korea of shows replete with whacky ideas. The country have this ability to tap right into the psyche creating their shows. I couldn't give up on them, and might even hang around after death as a disgruntled spirit, until i catch up with everything.