So…I’ve been trying to write more. Write a little every day. And guess what? I’ve been fairly successful, hitting my goal of writing at least 200 words a day. (Not nearly what I used to write every day, but hey, I’ll take what I can get at this point). But of course, in succeeding in writing my fiction stuff, my blog dropped off the radar….so yeah. Here I am again.
This time I thought I’d just start off with something fun and easy: a totally biased ranking of Korean shows I’ve watched….’cause I do love a good Korean show. Plus, I just got back from an amazing trip to Korea, so I’m super pumped to share some of my favorites with you all. A little caveat, if you’re looking for some recommendations for Kdrama romance shows, I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help to you. I’m not a romance fan and have watched very few romantic ones. I’m also not one for “slice of life” or sitcom-y type shows. I like action and crime ones, so….here we are.
Anywho, here we go. Going from my least to most favorite (with titles linked to the trailers if you’re curious):
Okay, we’ll start with my least favorite and work up from there. Tale of the Nine-Tailed follows the story of a former mountain guardian, Yeon, who has given up his guardianship in return for the reincarnation of his only love. Though it’s been hundreds of years and she has yet to appear, he continues to wait and look for her while fighting malevolent spiritual beings who threaten the human world. In his ventures, he attracts the attention of a TV producer, Jiah, who becomes determined to prove that he is supernatural, while he also tries to fend off vicious attacks from his estranged brother.
Pros:
Kim Bum as Lee Rang (Yeon’s brother) is amazing. Honestly, the estranged brother storyline is far more interesting than anything else that happens in the main plot. Their relationship is so compelling as they both struggle with grief and how to handle one another in their new roles. He’s great and I wish the show focused only on the two brothers and their relationship.
I liked the creepy supernatural elements – they made everything feel so much more urgent and intriguing.
I’ll be honest and admit that Lee Dong-wook was one of the primary reasons I picked this show and he didn’t disappoint. He’s just a fun actor to watch.
Cons:
The romance – surprise, surprise, I didn’t like the romance. Now, normally, I can get over the romances (some of the other shows in this list have some decent ones), but I don’t like dumb “I’ll die without you” or “I’ll end the world without you” romances. No person should be worth ending the whole world over – that’s selfish and stupid and you should reexamine your priorities.
Pacing – the show is a bit pokey and spends too much time going over the same plot points over and over again. The ending especially suffered from repetition and too much angst.
Not my fav, obviously, but hey, if you like “end the world” romance, it might be right up your alley.
12. Beyond Evil
Beyond Evil follows two detectives, Lee Dong-sik and Han Joo-wan, as they try to solve a crime that bears an unsettling resemblance to a serial killer crime that took place twenty years before. Lee Dong-sik is particularly ruthless in trying to solve the mystery, as his sister was one of the victims 20 years ago, and Dong-sik was a primary suspect due to his irrational behavior at the time.
Pros: The characters are highly compelling here – particularly Lee Dong-sik and Yoo Jae-Yi. I appreciated the camaraderie between all of the policemen at the station and the small little community. Dong-sik is one of those strange characters that you don’t entirely trust, but he has such an interesting personality, he keeps drawing you in. And Jae-Yi is such a compelling character – she’s feminine and strong without being overbearing and I thought she had one of the more interesting side plots in the show.
Cons: I like it when the detectives and the antagonists meet each other on a level footing, where you’re never quite sure who is going to win because they are both super smart and it’s a race against time to beat the other. This show almost had that….up until the end when the detectives keep getting beaten because they’re making spectacularly dumb decisions. I don’t mind mistakes, that’s understandable, but when you purposefully put yourself in a situation that’s going to completely compromise you, for no good reason, you have lost my attention.
So, this one was okay, but it really lost me at the end there.
11. Weak Hero Class
Weak Hero Class is about angsty boys beating up other boys and having daddy issues.
Okay, I’ll try a little harder on that synopsis. This drama follows Yeon Si-Eun, a model student who is a target for bullies, as he stands up to his bullies and makes friends for the first time.
Pros: The acting is excellent in this series, for the material that they have to work with. Each person is trying really hard to make you feel something and I think if they were given more development, they could be really compelling.
The action is also top-notch, I enjoyed all of the fight choreography, it is very well-coordinated.
Cons: Unpopular opinion alert – this one is just basic and I think the only reason it’s popular is because it has a cute angsty kpop star as its lead. *dodges tomatoes and various other projectiles* I’m serious though, this show just has sad boy with anger issues beating people up and being a tsundere to his friends. There is very little character exploration – we get vague glimpses of why sad boy is sad but both him and his compatriots feel more like caricatures rather than actual people. There doesn’t seem to be any character development (other than maybe through Beom-Seok), otherwise everything just feels very surface-level and you can tell that most of the development was shelved in favor of “this character has such and such trauma so therefore they are deep (TM)” – but I’m just not convinced.
Also….WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS?!?! As someone who works in education myself, I am utterly appalled and alarmed at how often these students are left alone to beat each other up and generally make the classroom unsafe. I am choosing to believe this is not the case in Korean schools and that the show just wanted to up the tension by having a lot of beatings take place at school, but seriously….where are the teachers?!
The Good Detective follows the story of two detectives, Kang Do-Chang and Oh Ji-Hyeok, and reporter Jin Seok-Kyung as they seek to unravel corruption in both the police force and government as they all dig deep into a solved murder case that appears to have condemned the wrong person with the death penalty. It’s a race against time to save the wrongfully convicted man and find the true murderer while battling against those who covered up the crime.
Pros: There’s a lot of good humor in this show – I particularly like the dynamic between Ji-Hyeok and Seok-Kyung, particularly in regards to Ji-Hyeok’s insomia and low alcohol tolerance (that scene still makes me laugh). I also appreciate the different crime-solving “styles” between the detectives and Seok-Kyung’s struggles to reconcile her career ambitions with her desire for the truth to come out.
Also, the storyline with the wrongfully convicted man is truly well-written and Do-Chang’s guilt at being inadvertently the cause of the innocent man’s suffering is a really interesting story to pursue.
Cons:
While I enjoy Ji-Hyeok’s character, I do find his storyline and background to be a bit empty. He’s the “cute, traumatized cop” trope that seems to frequent these Korean crime shows, but he doesn’t really feel fully fleshed out as a character.
I also thought that there were a few too many storylines happening in this show that didn’t necessarily need to happen and seemed like they were only there to make the story feel complex, but really made it seem bloated.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable romp, but more of a basic, by-the-book Korean crime show.
There is a second season to this show. I haven’t watched it and don’t really plan to, but maybe Ji-Hyeok gets a little more fleshed out there. Who knows?
9. Goblin
So, this show was my introduction to the world of Kdrama – I knew nothing about Kdramas, had no idea where to start, and honestly, I don’t remember why I chose this one in particular, but once I started Goblin (or Guardian as some translations have it): The Lonely and Great God, I was hooked.
Goblin follows the story of Kim Shin who is looking for his destined bride who is the only one able to remove the cursed sword from his chest and end his life. Along the way, he is haunted by a Grim Reaper who seems to have a strange connection with him, a high school student who claims to be his bride, and a nephew who keeps trying to spend all of his money.
Pros: The humor is amazing in this one. I love the frenemy dynamic between Kim Shin and the Grim Reaper (played by Lee Dong-wook – yes, this is where I fell in love with his acting…). They are hysterically funny and their rivalry is one of the best things to ever come out of a kdrama.
I also love the Grim Reaper and Sunny’s relationship – again, so funny and then unexpectedly heartbreaking, it’s so good!
The music is breathtaking – I guarantee you, if you are aware of kdramas at all, you have definitely heard either “Round and Round” or “Stay with Me“.
Ji Eun Tak’s ability to see ghosts and try to help them find peace is another really moving part of this drama – lots of sad and heartwarming moments and I really loved seeing her and the Grim Reaper help people find peace.
Cons:
Okay, is it any surprise at this point that I don’t like the main romance? This one is WEIRD and more than a bit creepy – he’s over 900 years old and she’s….19?! Nope, nope, nope.
I also think this one can tend to drag out the dramatic scenes and repeat itself a bit too much. And some of the romance is just….way too mushy. But again, I realize this is a personal problem of mine, so if cheesy dramatic romance is your cup of tea, have at it!
Overall though, I am still very fond of this one and the Grim Reaper is forever going to be one of my favorite characters.
I think this one was the second ever Kdrama show that I watched and, again, my nostalgia and fondness for the “newness” of it all may be coloring my view of it. But anyway, here’s the synopsis:
Memories of the Alhambra follows Yoo Jin-woo, an ambitious investor as he seeks to gain the rights to a virtual reality game before his competitor and enemy, Chung Hyung-seok, can make a deal with the creator. But the problem is, no one knows where the creator is and the creator’s sister, Jung Hee-joo, is reluctant to negotiate on her brother’s behalf. And on top of that, something seems to be a little too lifelike about the game, upping the risks of playing the game to life and death stakes.
Pros: I am a gamer, so that also may color my view of this show, but I loved all the gaming aspects of this show and the idea of having a virtual reality game that encroaches in on our own world, while not a new concept, is really well done in this show.
I love Jinwoo’s right hand man, Jung-hoon. His friendship with Jinwoo is such a great dynamic.
It is also amazing when a show follows an action all the way through to the logical consequences. No one gets away scot-free when they try to play God and this show demonstrates those heavy consequences so well.
The music is amazing and the spooky guitar melody that haunts the protagonist throughout the whole show will likely haunt you as well.
Cons: I’m a broken record – I didn’t like the romance. Really, Hee-joo is just a weak character all around…she doesn’t have much agency and spends way too much of the show crying and being too attached to a guy who doesn’t really give her the time of day.
Sometimes the logic of the video game isn’t always consistent and I have heard from others that this show is a little hard to follow, but overall, I enjoyed it and think it’s a pretty good action drama.
7. Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver follows Kim Dogi and his crew at Rainbow Taxi Company as they run a covert operation to mete out justice (or revenge) on those who have escaped punishment from the law. From school bullies to a secret porn distribution ring, the taxi service is there to make sure that no one gets away with their crimes. But hot on their heels is a prosecutor, Kang Hana, who also has a passion for justice but will not abide those who take the law into their own hands.
Pros: Lee Je-hoon is one of my favorite Korean actors and he did not disappoint in this one – he really showcases his ability to play multiple roles as he’s not only the mysterious Kim Dogi, but he also works undercover as a scam artist, shy teacher, ambitious tech guy, etc. His fight scenes are also very well done – some of them remind me a bit of Daredevil‘s famous hallway scenes – though he could do without wearing sunglasses all the time (like why on earth are you wearing them at night?)
All of his team have great background stories and character development – I particularly like Go-Eun’s storyline and the way that they all helped her and each other deal with their trauma. The show also has logical consequences to the “vigilante” lifestyle that are well-explored and I liked how everything wasn’t necessarily black and white.
The main villain (who I won’t give away) is so well-written. I loved the progression of their story and the way that they force the team to step up their game to play toe to toe.
Cons: Sometimes this show tries a little too hard to be “cool” and you can tell because they always amp up the music when they think they’re being particularly action-y or compelling. That always comes off as a bit cheap to me.
I think they could have done with one less side storyline – it feels a little bloated and overdone at times. I didn’t necessarily mind it, but I could see where the pace can drag a bit.
This one also has a second season that I have not watched. It hasn’t shown up on my Netflix account yet, but I’ll probably give it a watch once it’s available.
The Devil Judge is set in a dystopian Korea after a worldwide pandemic (couldn’t possibly be based on real events, right?) and follows the story of Kim Ga-on, a judge who has been selected to be on a Live Court show. The defendants on this show are judged, sentenced, and punished live on tv, while the nation can tune in and have a voice through voting on an app to help determine whether a suspect is guilty or not. Ga-on is put on the judging panel specifically to keep an eye on the head judge, Kang Yohan, who has a reputation for being unexpectedly ruthless and wild in his application of the law.
Pros:
The plot in this one keeps you guessing through the entirety of the show. As I mentioned before, I thoroughly enjoy when protagonists and antagonists can go head to head on a level playing field. This one definitely meets those requirements – it’s never quite sure who is going to win in the corrupt game of politics and the rivalry between Seon-a and Yohan is rife with tension and high stakes (I’m still mad about Seon-a’s move in episode 12, why’d you have to do that?!)
I also appreciate the dynamic between Ga-on and Yohan – neither one of them trust each other, but they each have a mutual respect for what the other accomplishes (though both could do with some anger management classes, especially Yohan).
This is also one of the few shows where I didn’t mind the romance – it was actually pretty cute. Soo-hyun is a great counterpoint and foil for Ga-on’s character and I think their friendship/budding romance feels natural and compelling.
The music in this one is also beautiful – I highly recommend the track Enemy of Truth if you’re looking for a good song to listen to.
Cons: This one can definitely strain credulity at certain points – like the extremes to which Yohan is able to carry out his sentences on Live TV ( I do like how there are some steep consequences to that though, so it balances out for me).
The bad guys, aside from Seon-a and most of the other female antagonists, can feel a bit cartoonish at times. I know that seems to be the vibe they were going for with the president, but the rest of them also feel a little too mustache-twirling evil bad guy for me. At least Seon-a and Cha Kyung-hee bring a level of serious threat that prevents the show from devolving into campy.
Overall, really enjoyed this one.
5. Watcher
Watcher is about a 15-year-old murder case that forever changes the lives of Detective Do Chi-Kwang, Kim Yeong-goon, and prosecuter Han Tae-Joo. As all three come together as an unlikely team to investigate corruption in the police force and justice department as they discover a terrible cover up related to the murder that shaped each of their lives.
Pros: This one has great tension throughout whether it is via the mystery that they are solving or their own personal conflicts. I particularly like how Chi-Kwang and Tae-Joo handle their relationship with Yeong-goon, especially since they both feel guilty/responsible for what happened to Yeong-goon. The action scenes are also really well-done and I think they handled the serial killer (because when is it ever NOT a serial killer?) and making you believe that the characters are in real danger.
Cons: I distinctly remember when they wrapped up the investigation on the serial killer and there were still several more episodes to go. I honestly thought that there was something wrong with the investigation or that it hadn’t fully been solved or something like that because it felt so abrupt and unfinished, but no…that was not the case at all. Of course, the general mystery continued moving forward, but to this day, I still find that discovery abrupt and anti-climatic. I also think that Chi-Kwang and Yeong-goon sometimes make their lives more complicated than they need to by not communicating very well, but I understand that this is a common trope to keep up the tension.
4. Squid Game
I know Squid Game has been super hyped, but this is one of those shows that is actually hyped for good reason. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the storyline, Squid Game primarily follows down-on-his-luck Seong Gi-Hun who is given the opportunity to participate in a competitive game with hundreds of other contestants for the opportunity to win 45. 6 billion won. But he and the other contestants soon realize that the games, while technically children’s games, have life or death stakes and they must determine whether they’re willing to give their lives for the chance to make billions.
Pros: The storyline here takes so many rather dislikeable people and draws you into their stories so well. Some of them you actually end up liking or at least understanding a bit better (some of them you definitely want to strangle), but I think the character development is so well done here. And the dialogue is absolutely gut-wrenching. Each of the episodes continues to scale up the tension, but I think “Gganbu” is the straw that breaks the camel’s back – that one will break your heart. Overall, it’s such a compelling story of greed, human ambition, and surprising sacrifice in the face of terrible odds.
Cons: This is very violent and rather explicit, so if blood and gore is not your cup of tea, this one’s not for you. Also DO NOT let your young, impressionable kids watch this – I can’t tell you how many elementary students were talking about this show – it is NOT kid friendly. It’s also very heavy on the soul – and I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely got to be in the mood to watch something this dark and heavy. Your young impressionable kids definitely don’t need to see it.
3. Sky Castle
Sky Castle follows the story of five mothers and their quest to get their children into the best universities in Korea. As they compete for the best tutors and pressure their kids to study all hours of the day, the cracks in their pristine society begin to show, leading to suicide and murder.
Pros: This show made me so angry. That doesn’t seem like a good thing, but honestly, if a show can make me feel that much, then they must be doing something right. I got so fed up with all of the pressure that these moms put on their kids to make perfect grades and to be prestigious – it really hit home for me because I have seen so many students who are under similar pressures and I just want to give them all a break.
I also think this show has great pacing – I wasn’t sure about watching it because it is not my usual cup of tea, but I found each of the storylines to be so compelling that I couldn’t help but keep watching. The characters, even the nasty ones (okay, well, maybe not ALL of them), grow and change so much, it’s excellent storytelling and character development.
Cons: This is going to sound like a weird con, but I thought this show ended way too happily. For how messy all of the moms are and all of the chaos they caused, I thought the end tied everything up a little too neatly and not everyone got the come-uppance that they deserved. But overall, it is a fascinating look into the elite academic culture of Korea.
2. The Glory
The Glory follows the story of Moon Dong-Eun, a highschooler who is tormented and permanently scarred by four bullies to the point of causing her to drop out of school. Years later, she comes back to her hometown to set in motion an elaborate plot to seek revenge on those who seemingly got away with it all.
This is one show that I almost skipped out on because it’s not my particular cup of tea, but after one of my friends highly recommended it, I decided to give it a try and boy, am I glad I did. I often dislike revenge shows because I think they are mishandled and give people free range to do whatever they want to those they deem have done them wrong, but this one was handled so well – really, it was more of a mind game that causes Dong-Eun’s tormentors to turn on each other and (unknowingly) themselves and dig their own graves.
Pros: Dong-Eun is so clever – she masterfully weaves her web and yet, at the same time, she’s not all-competent or perfect. She does get things wrong and she often uses people for her own ends, whether they are her friends or not. She is flawed, but so well-developed, you can’t help but be drawn into her story. The bullies are also brilliantly portrayed – nasty people, but not so inhuman that they don’t have their own desires and soft spots that give you a (very BRIEF – welllll….maybe only for Hye-jeong) moment’s pity for them. Kang Hyeon-nam is also amazing as housekeeper turned spy and provided some great spots of needed humor in a rather heavy story. I also appreciated Joo Yeo-jeong’s bright intervention in Dong-Eun’s life.
Cons: Is it any surprise that the romance was again a bit problematic for me? Yeo-jeong needs to calm down a bit in his devotion to Dong-Eun and really evaluate how she is using him. He’s far too devoted to a woman he barely knows. Also, this one is less of a con and more of a warning, but there is a lot of strong language, violence, and a few (brief) explicit scenes (which can fortunately be seen coming a mile away and therefore skipped, if you’re like me and don’t want to see that kind of thing).
Overall though, this show was so well-written and filmed, definitely deserving of one of my top spots. Also, it introduced me to one of my favorite songs of the year: The Land Farther than the Sky.
1. Signal
Find the show that all the other shows are trying to emulate and you find gold. Or, in my case, watch it first, and then never find another show like it again. This has happened to me twice now. (I’m looking at you, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood). I watched Signal in the beginning of my Korean show journey and, now that I have watched several Korean crime shows, all filmed after this one, I realized that they were all trying to capture the magic and heart that this one had.
Signal follows the story of a cold case profiler, Park Hae-young, in 2015, and a police detective, Lee Jae-han, in 1989, as they work together to solve crimes using a mysterious walkie talkie that connects them to each other, but only for a few minutes at a time at precisely 11:23pm. Not only are they connected by the walkie talkie, but also by detective Cha Soo-hyun, who used to be Jae-han’s subordinate and is now Hae-young’s supervisor.
Pros: There’s not enough space to write down all of the pros, but the characters are the heart and soul of this show – from Soo-hyun’s unlikely start as a starry-eyed police officer to shrewd cold case solver, to Jae-han’s uncompromising and compassionate desire for truth to win out, to Hae-young’s heartbreaking desire to vindicate his brother and clear out corruption. The mysteries are compelling and intense, the music is beautiful, and the humor is spot on. Though I must say, some of the stories are so sad that you’ll be thinking about them for a long time after.
Like, I cannot handle the omurice scene….CANNOT.
Cons: Some of the scenes are a bit cheesy, particularly (surprise surprise) when there’s any hint of romance. I have also heard from others that the ending leaves a bit to be desired, but I really liked the unconventional ending – it suited the unconventional show.
Overall, this one is my favorite and so far, I haven’t found anything to replace it. Highly recommend!
So there you have it, my totally biased and not-definitive ranking of Kdramas. I almost included a list of shows that I started but didn’t finish, but figured this was already long enough already. Maybe I’ll do one on Japanese shows some time (or at least on Alice in Borderland, because omg, that show was intense). American entertainment may be failing us, but Korea’s gotcha covered if you’re willing to give it a try!
ali oleary 