not-best-of-but-close-enough!!
- a collection of dramas/films that are worthy of the time spent on them!
- titles to recommend to people
- see here for the cream of the crop
-
1. Catch the Ghost
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
best bits: this one was really great to watch! the pacing was good without room for fillers and i appreciated that the romance was secondary. i absolutely adore kim sunho and moon geunyoung put on such an amazing performance as yooryung and her twin!
what i would've liked: did feel the romance was very much an accessory
-
2. 38 Task Force
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
best bits: filled to the brim with amazing twists and turns. i love cheeky seo inguk, but this is only one to watch once only!
what i would've liked: the main area for improvement is probably the relationship between inguk's character and sooyoung's - i don't remember there being significant closure for them and it wasn't really a necessary part anyway
-
3. He is Psychometric
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
best bits: again i liked that this one was an investigation one w supernatural elements driving the story. yeeun's character was nice to watch and of course seeing jinyoung on screen is a big plus! dasom and kim kwon also did a great job
what i would've liked: i admit elements of bias here but i thoroughly enjoyed!
-
4. Tunnel
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
best bits: tunnel is my perfect mix of supernatural + thriller + mystery/investigation. choi jinhyuk and yoon hyunmin were such a beautiful pair, to see them on the same screen made me feel like i'd Won something. the story was well thought out and intricately woven together
what i would've liked: i was pretty happy with this one!
-
5. Eulachacha Waikiki
Korean Drama - 2018, 20 episodes
best bits: this one was brillant! i loved the shenanigans and the situations the trio got into were so absurd and sometimes pitiful. lee yikyung carried a lot of the comedy for me, no wonder they signed him again for season 2
what i would've liked: of course the romance lines were predictable and this is a bit unrelated to season 1, but season 2 was almost a complete repeat of the tropes used in the first season. i had such high expectations since i enjoyed s1 so much, but for the same things to happen again? it fell short.
-
6. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes
best bits: one of my favourite romcoms! boyoung played the strong protagonist perfectly and there was great chemistry between her and the mischievous boss played by hyungsik. i liked that they weren't stupidly in denial about their feelings and their moments together were so precious.
what i would've liked: i don't have any complaints to make!
-
7. W
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
best bits: w was one of the first dramas i watched that weren't a recommendation or something that i'd heard other people talking about. it was one of the dramas that got me watching dramas seriously! i honestly loved the concept and kim euisung's performance was incredible
what i would've liked: i've read a lot of comments about the romance being subpar, the story not being well-written and the world creating more unanswered questions (more complaints than compliments) but honestly i really enjoyed it? it could be that i watched it as a complete drama newbie and that if i had watched it now, my thoughts would've been different. but ultimately from when i did watch it, it was fun and i had a good time!
-
8. One Shot Scandal
Korean Drama - 2023, 16 episodes
best bits: the CHEMISTRY between the leads!! and how sweet haeyi was!!!
what i would've like: they threw a lot of tropes in, perhaps unnecessarily? it just seemed like it was saturated with Too Much,, and i'm so sick of the extremist parents and netizen hyperbole, but perhaps this is my denial about this as a reality