Dramas watched in 2023

watched the whole series in one day on 25/2/23

I had been looking forward to this when it was first announced in december 2021

A really good series that was nice to look at, and a good level of dark. Wish the main guy had been fleshed out more because i felt like i cared more about the other two

started around 11/2/23, completed on 5/3/23

Really didn't expect to love this one as much as i did. Only picked it because of a clip i saw on pinterest.

Really enjoyed the themes of studying combined with the drama of the murders and the romance between the leads. It was a nice mix of different themes.

Watched it towards the end of its airing, i.e, i was up to date when only 12 episodes were out, so i watched episodes 13-16 on the days they aired.

started on 6/3/23  completed on 26/3/23

Really enjoyed this one. I find it strange that none of the descriptions of the show mention the literal main plot of Dal-Mi having a penpal relationship with "Nam Do-San" who  is really Han Ji-Pyeong, and then later on the actual Nam Do-San pretends to be the guy from the letters. For me, this is the best part of the show and also the main appeal so i dont know why it isn't advertised more.

Really enjoyed the themes of businessy stuff and tech stuff. The love triangle was painful though, as love triangles tend to be.

started on 27/3/23 completed on 22/4/23

Yes i watched this straight after finishing Start Up just to see Kim Seonho as the first male lead. And I'm so glad I did.  Such a beautiful drama with a fantastic setting and lots of likeable characters. I felt so sad when the finale ended.. knowing that i wouldn't get to follow the lives of the people in Gongjin anymore... 

started on 24/4/23  completed on 29/4/23

likeable drama with likeable characters. Liked the side couple. 

Nothing hugely unique or special about this one. just a standard romance one. wish they'd explored more of having Shin Ha-Ri pretend to be Shin Geum-Hui, and the fake relationship. I suppose i came into it expecting more of a contract relationship plot, so that's maybe my own fault.

I already liked Kim Se-Jeong before this, and knew Ahn Hyo-Seop from Abyss, so it was nice seeing them both in this 

started on 2/5/23  completed on 24/5/23

Good 80's romance. Emotional telling of a tense political situation.

Both leads were pretty likeable. Wish the ending had explored the other characters more. 

started on 3/3/23, completed on 30/5/23

OKAY i know it took me nearly 3 months to complete this, so maybe that sounds like this is a bad drama that i didn't enjoy, but it's quite the opposite lolol.

I actually really enjoyed this drama. I liked the characters, the plot, and REALLY liked the psychometry mechanic and how it was used in the show. That was cool. 

However, around episode 11 or so, i found the show got into a brief slump, so i ended up not returning to it until the end of may, once i had more time after exams ended.

I really enjoyed how it wrapped up for the ending. I just think the slump in the middle (which many dramas unfortunately suffer with) was the only actual bad thing for me.

started on 25/5/23, completed on 5/6/23

An enjoyable enemies to lovers style romance, at a perfect length of 10 episodes. I want more shows to realise that you don't always have to stretch to 16 episodes- sometimes 10 or 12 is perfect for telling a romance story. 

Really liked the main couple. The FL was very likeable, so that was especially refreshing. I LOVED the side couple. I wish we had seen more of the side couple, but I'm still incredibly happy to have seen them even a bit. 

[REWATCH]

originally watched in March/April 2020

Rewatched from 6/6/23 to 24/6/23

Classic. Such a wonderful drama, even years later. Even though I have watched many dramas since watching it, it still holds up as one of the best. There's a reason it's so popular; it's such a fantastic drama.  

started on 9/6/2023, completed on 27/6/23

Watched the first half weekly as it aired, but then binged the second half in one day.

Really sweet and refreshing country romance.  Absolutely loved Yechan, he was so cute. I liked Yul's progression from cold to more likeable.  

Really really loved how it didn't push a narrative that some other country stories can push that's like "oh look the cold city boy decided to give up on city life altogether and stay in the countryside", and instead made it so that both characters still get to enjoy the careers they want, and live in the places they want, while still maintaining contact and meeting up and continuing the relationship. No one had to sacrifice what they enjoy for the relationship. They still get to love life and love eachother.

started on 25/6/23, completed on 30/7/23

this one is a bit difficult to describe. 

the setup is good- the concept of Ban Ji-Eum remembering her past lives and all that is incredibly interesting, and makes you wonder about how it'd be like if that could happen. However, the show boils down to really just being an underwhelming romance that ends up wasting the past life concept.  It builds up to the big payoff that really isnt much of a payoff.  And the ending was just annoying, kinda bittersweet. I prefer either a completely sad ending, or a completely happy one. 

Perhaps the whole past life concept would've been utilised better in a drama that is more plot-heavy, like a mystery, fantasy, or action drama.  Here it felt a bit wasted. 

It kept my attention for 12 episodes, but in hindsight i think it would've been perfectly fine being 8 or 10 episodes instead.

Acting was good, visuals were good, just the plot was boring. 

started on 31/7/23, completed on 8/8/23

MASTERPIECE. SO GOOD.

Absolutely adored every second of this show, it was amazing.  I loved the main duo of Gun-Woo and Woo-Jin.  Loved the different characters who helped them throughout the story. 

There were some absolutely fantastic fight scenes in this show, so well done.

The final two episodes are the reason i gave it 9 and not 9.5.  Hyeon-Ju, who was a main character throughout the show just up and leaves and we never see her again. She's just gone. The actress was caught drunk driving as the show was nearly completed, so it was refilmed and re-edited to take her out of the ending, however it made the ending very very loose and underwhelming.  She gets mentioned literally once by one of the main guys after she leaves, and then never again. It just felt so sloppy and strange.  However, while watching those final 2 episodes, i was still enjoying the show and not too bothered about it, but when the final credits rolled i just stopped and said "that's it?!?!"; it felt like something was really missing from that ending.  

However even after all that, it was such a masterpiece oh my goddddd

started on 9/8/2023, completed on 20/8/2023

I ADORED this drama. It was so good. So much was happening, so much crazy shit. It was brilliant. Everyday i looked forward to watching it.

My favourite character by far was Chu Yan. I really enjoyed his love/hate bickering relationship with Xia Lin that developed into them actually being friends and looking out for eachother. So perfect.

So many twists and turns in this one, i loved every minute of it.

started on 14/8/2023, completed on 1/9/2023

Such a wonderful drama oh my god. I am OBSESSED with the soundtrack. I loved how the plot progressed.  

The main romance felt a bit underdeveloped though.  I liked them and wanted them to get together (as much as i think Jihoo is the better choice), but i felt that they should've given the main couple WAY more time. They spent more time apart and not being able to be together than actually together, which would be ok if it wasn't like 95% of the drama was them not together.