r/KDRAMA Challange 2022 - Chaebol Level

A drama featuring a member of The Heirs cast (Not Lee Min Ho) 

6/5/20222 Came for Min Hyuk stayed for the bromance. Binged through in 24 hours, could not stop. Loved the characters, the plot was one of my favourite tropes found family. Liked this one more than  Shut Up Flower Boy Band. So cute.

A drama as it airs

5/19/2022 I very much enjoyed this, it had a black comedy feel to it. Short and quick it didn't drag, was nice to see a positive representation of a trans person in a kdrama, and while the ending didn't go for the twist it was a satisfying one all the same. I've been participating a lot in various threads of on-air shows but this one was nice because there wasn't an overwhelming amount of posts and it was nice to have some engaged conversations. 

A drama that won an award in the r/KDRAMA awards

(2018 Best Action, Guyliner)

6/20/2022 I had a few false starts, and nearly lost it in the middle, but the payout was worth it. It'll be a long while before I get over the emotional rollercoaster of that show. I'm glad I toughed it out but oh boy that was devastating.

 A drama from the rom-com genre

4/5/2022 I made the terrible, terrible mistake of watching while airing and waiting each week was awful...I fully blame Netflix. But my god this was just fluffy feel-good drama.

 A drama with the main character under 25

30/01/2022 Love a good zombie series, the characters were so well-drawn. Hope there will be a second season with the ending.

A drama featured in a meme/screencap post on r/KDRAMA

07/02/2022 It was a hard slog through the last few episodes it was all over the place. The timelines were confusing and the editing didn't make a lot of sense. They lost the thread of the entire series, it had so many different things going on.

A drama that is a remake or an adaption

04/04/2022 One of the few KBL's that have been legitimately good. Acting, production, killer soundtrack. Park Seo Ham is a class act, not many Korean celebs are willing to speak up for the LGBTQ community. Bummer he's headed for military service, already can't wait to see his next work. I did watch this when it aired by enjoyedt so much and ended up reading the novel and the manhwa and watching the anime. Highly recommend all of it, interesting to compare and contrast the characters across the different platforms.

A drama set in the season you were born

29/03/2022 This was on my list as I had heard it had BL storyline, but then turned out as a bromance. It was not at all what I was expecting however, the story was a lot heavier then I thought. I was curious though so I went and looked up the webtoon and there was a BL side plot with the ML brother and the character he looked up and now I totally wish that'd come to furition. I mean it worth watch; trigger warnings for physical and emotional abuse. 

A drama featured on the r/KDRAMA or r/kdramarecommends banner

14/01/2022 Beautiful but heart-wrenching, the history portion was fantastic, and it tore my heart out. Short but very powerful, I mean the title should have been a giveaway but did not lessen the blow.

A short-form drama

23/01/2022 Ok initially when I watched this I was not having it. But reflecting back on it now, I liked the concept. I think the plot was compelling but the execution of it was poor. I gave it a rewatch lately and tried to just focus on it as it was and I think there is potential, but I doubt they will get another season.

A drama that came out the year you joined the r/KDRAMA community

08/02/2022  Was very good, but it was sort of bland? I'm not a big slice of life so it was hard to watch more than 1 or 2 episodes at a time so took a bit to get through.  

03/22/2022 Nearly dropped this (was so close) but I actually liked the second half much better then the first glad I stuck it out. I wanted to hit the sister though omg....she got off way too easy.

A drama set in the not so distant past

5/30/2022 I quite liked that, despite it being a pain to find to watch. Sort of flew under the rader, but the 90's look and feel gave me Jhorror remake vibes. I actually wish they'd leaned harder into the more horror tropes, and the ending was sort of meh, but overall worthwhile watch.

A drama featuring a found family

05/24/2022 This was surprising, I thought it would be darker, it had dark moments, but there was such an emotional part to it. Loved the concept, the charicters were so well-drawn, and the story didn't fall apart in the second half, very much looking forward to season 2 and want to see where they are going to take it.

A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community

04/01/2022 OMG I loved this, it's absolutely gorgeous. Setting the bar for BL, I am so in love with this series. I want to write a comprehensive piece on it, just beautiful.

A drama starring a Kpop girl/boy group member that debuted before 2010

01/05/2022 That was not good, there were two very different drama's going on, Lee Jae Kyoon was in a completely different series and I would have much rather watched that one. They did Taecyeon dirty in this.

A drama with a supernatural main character

5/21/2022 It will be a while before I get over the emotional damage of this show. I think it could have been longer to be honest I enjoyed seeing all the different stories. The ending was very satisfying though.

A drama inspired by a review written in r/KDRAMA

5/16/2022 - Based solely on this recommendation, it didn't disappoint. Although I was watching in OnDemandKorea and down to the last 3 episodes when all of a sudden it was gone. No warning just boom. Had to find another way to watch.

A drama that shows your profession or lifestyle

6/5/2022 I liked that! It was disjointed and sort of fever dream-like. I was trying to watch a more legit one about teaching but it was hitting too close to home and giving me anxiety. I'm a teacher and this was far enough removed, but man that scene where the teachers are making fun of the kids.....urgh

A drama set in multiple timelines

01/17/2022 Liked this a lot more than I thought I would, pleasantly surprised. The plot didn't drag in the middle like I find so many of them do, and the ending was actually well done.

A drama that was nominated in a technical category of the Baeksang Awards -Best Director 2014

16/02/2022 Loved this, not my usual pick but so compelling beautifully shot, directed, and acted. Hit so close to home for anyone who works in or has worked in an office. Netflix recommends ftw.

A drama with a main character that is over 40

2/3/2022 Lot of fun, OST was amazing, the story was engaging, and the characters were so interesting.

A drama featuring sandwich product placement

5/26/2022 The second half of this was a slog. The only reason I stuck it our was my side quest to watch all horror-tagged kdrams, the Subway was blink and you miss it but it counts. It reminded me a lot of Possession, the way the last few episodes went I thought it was going to end just as bleakly. 

A drama where one of the lead actors contributed an OST to the drama

TREASURE - Suprsingly enjoyed this, music was great even if the horror was lacking and usually the acting is meh but was very impressed with the acting chops of the idols.

 A drama with a podcast episode about it - K-Botak Ep. 1-4

3/8/2022 I actually found this because of the podcast! Korean Black Mirror seems to be the consensus, accurate but so genuine gems here. Not all can be winners, but I love that they feature strong female leads and female-centric plotlines for the most part. The podcast only covered the first 4 but I watched all 8.

A drama you dropped but decided to give another chance

3/27/2022 Dropped this last year after just watching  2 episodes, but it came to Netflix so I decided to give it another go as the second part has been announced as well. Got better 3 episodes in, I do appreciate that the plot of liner, made sense, and they didn't try to convolute it a million different plotlines. The last episode dragged a bit, but the couple was very likable and I'm interested to see where the second season goes.

A drama featuring a randomly selected trope - Truck of Doom

3/7/2022 Came for the Truck of Doom and stayed for the bromance. Some huge actors in this was so surprised. Some of it felt a little dated but honestly, it was very engaging.

A drama based on a myth, fable, fairy tale, or other folklore

4/4/2022 I absolutely loved this! The plot was genuinely interesting, the characters well developed and the ending omg I loved it. The best part was the consistency through to the end. It made sense to me that the motivations, the reasonings, were just great absolutely making my top 10.

A drama that takes place in a fictional city, country, or world

4/29/2022 Loved the premise, and ended up watching despite the mixed reviews and very much enjoyed it I liked the meta concept of it and how it left you guessing right to the end.

A drama directed by a female or written by a male

Male screenwriters: Yeon Sang Ho & Ryu Yong jae

5/3/2022 It was ok,  I had high expectations because of the cast but it felt really rushed. A lot of things sort of left, not sure if it was supposed to be longer and they cut it but it's unfortunate because I was really looking forward to it. 

A drama featuring an umbrella on one of the promotional posters

2/21/2022 If I were to describe it; Crack treated seriously.  Really liked the ML until I found out he was a trash person. It seemed low budget but a lot of fun, however after ending up down a rabbit hole about the controversy surrounding the ML it really ruined it.

A drama with less than 500 watchers on MDL - 273 watchers

02/27/2022 Redo really liked this one! Actually, all 3 were pretty good, but think I enjoyed 8 year anniversary the best. But the other 2 were also very well done, worth the watch as well. 

A Child Who Would Not Come

Karma

A drama released before 2010

3/18/2022 This was surprisingly good, I liked the plot but if you started pulling on threads it unravelled pretty quickly. Was neat to see pre-censorship though.

A drama from the makjang genre

4/7/2022 My first venture into makjang and that was a poor one. I know it's supposed to be over the top and wild but that plot was borderline nonsensical (and I've sat through some garbage). Honestly, the bloopers at the end were the best part. 

A long-form drama 50+ hours

6/30/2022 Turned into a slog towards the end, but just made it. 

Bonus Korean movie. 

Found footage horror? Sign me up! Found this gem on Tubi for free.