49 Days – 8/8
9 End, 2 Outs – 6/6
90 Days, Falling in Love Days – 3/5
A Man Called God – 6/5
A Star’s Lover – 7/6
Age of Feeling (Inspiring Generation) – 7/6
Air City – 6/5
All In – 6/7
Answer Me 1997 – 9/9
Arang and the Magistrate – 6/8
Autumn in My Heart – 8/6
Bad Family – 9.5/8
Bad Guy – 5/5
Bad Love – 4/5
Beautiful Days – 9/8
Be Strong Geum Soon! – 7.5/8
Best Love (The Greatest Love) – 7.5/8
Big – 9/5
Boys Before Flowers – 7/6
Bride of the Century – 9/8
Capital Scandal – 6/7
Cheongdamdong Alice – 6/6
Chuno – 7.5/9
Cinderella Unni – 7/7
City Hall – 10/9
Coffee Prince – 7.5/9
Conspiracy in the Court – 9/10
Cruel City (Heartless City) – 10/9
Damo – 10/10
Delightful Girl Choon Hyang – 5/6.5
Dream High – 8/7.5
Dr. Jin – 5/4
Dr. Stranger – 8/6
East of Eden – 4/5
Empress Ki – 7/7
Fantasy Couple – 6/7
Fashion 70’s – 7/8
Fashion King – 3/3
Flower Boy Next Door – 8/8
Flowers for My Life – 8/9.5
Friend, Our Legend – 9/9.5
Giant – 9/9
Gloria – 7/7
God’s Gift: 14 Days – 8/7.5
Goddess of Fire Jeongi – 4/4
Goddess of Marriage – 5/6
Goodbye Solo – 9/9
Goong – 9/7.5
Gourmet – 6/8
Green Rose – 8/8
Gu Family Book – 6/6
Healer – 7/8
Heard it Through the Grapevine – 8/9
Heirs – 7/7
Hero – 7/7.5
Hong Gil Dong – 8/8
Hyde, Jekyll, Me – 5/4
I Am Legend – 5/6
I Do I Do – 6/6
I Live in Cheongdamdong – 10/10
I Need Romance – 7/7
I Summon You, Gold – 4/3
Iljimae – 6/7.5
Invincible Lee Pyung Gyeon – 7/7
Ireland – 6/7
It’s Okay, It’s Love – 9/9
Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love – 7/6
Joseon Gunman – 9/8
Joseon X-Files – 10/10
Jumong – 7/9
Kill Me Heal Me – 9/9
Kim Soo Ro – 6/7
Lie to Me – 9.5/5
Love Marriage – 8/7
Lovers – 5/6
Lovers in Paris – 5/6
May Queen – 4/5
Marriage Not Dating – 6/7
Mary Stayed Out All Night – 8/5
Marry Him If You Dare (Mirae’s Choice) – 5/4
Me Too, Flower! – 8/7
Miss Korea – 9/9
Missing You (I Miss You) – 5/6
My Fair Lady – 7/5
My Girl – 7/8.5
My Love Patzzi – 4/5
My Lovely Girl – 6/5
My Name is Kim Sam Soon – 9.5/9.5
My Princess – 7/6.5
My Secret Hotel – 7/6
New Heart – 8.5/9
Nice Guy (The Innocent Man) – 9/8
OB/GYN – 7/7
Oh My Ghost – 8/8
On Air – 8/8
One Fine Day – 5/3
Only You – 8/6
Operation Proposal – 6/6
Painter of the Wind – 7/8
Pasta – 7/6
Personal Taste – 5/5
Pinocchio – 9/8.5
Playful Kiss – 9/6
President – 9/9
Pretty Boy (Bel Ami) – 8/7
Prime Minister and I – 9/8
Protect the Boss – 8/8
Queen of Housewives – 7.5/8
Resurrection/Revenge/Rebirth – 10/9.5
Robbers – 6/6
Sang Doo, Let’s Go to School – 9.5/9
Save the Last Dance for Me – 7/7
Secret Garden – 6/8
Secret Love Affair – 9/9.5
Seodongyo – 9/6.5
She is Nineteen – 8.5/7
Sly and Single Again (Cunning Single Lady) – 7/8
Snow Queen – 8/8
Spring Waltz – 5/6.5
Spy Myung Wol – 4/4
Stairway to Heaven – 3/4
Summer Scent – 7/7
Super Rookie – 6/6.5
Surgeon Bong Dal Hee – 7.5/8
Swallow the Sun – 5.5/7
Tamra the Island – 9.5/8.5
Tazza – 6/7
Temptation of an Angel – 6/6
Temptation – 7/7
Thank You – 8/8
The Blade and Petal (Sword and Flower) – 8/7
The Devil/Mawang – 8/9
The Duo – 9/9
The Girl Who Sees Smells – 9/7
The King 2 Hearts – 9/8
The Kingdom of the Winds – 5/7
The Master’s Sun – 6/7
The Princess’s Man – 9/9
The Suspicious Housekeeper – 8/8
The Time I Loved You – 7/5
The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry – 9/9
Time Between Dog and Wolf – 9.9/9
Triple – 4/6
Two Weeks – 9/8
War of Money – 3/4
Warm and Cozy – 5/6
What Happened in Bali? – 9/9
What Star are You From? – 6/6
What’s With This Family – 8/8
When a Man Loves – 5/6
When It’s at Night – 7/6
Who Are You (Yoon Kye Sang version) – 8/8
Who Are You (Kim Jae Wook version) – 6/6
Will You Love and Give It Away? – 6/6
Winter Sonata – 7/7
Wish Upon a Star – 7/7
Witch Amusement – 4/6
Wonderful Days – 8/8
You’re Beautiful – 8/8
You From Another Star – 8/8.5
Any drama I rated 8 or higher on the objective quality scale (second number) is a drama I would recommend for whatever genre it falls under.
MY TEN FAVORITE K-DRAMAS (in no particular order, and no testament to the quality of said drama – only that I liked them so very much):
– Time Between Dog and Wolf – Guns, amnesia, undercover operatives, beautiful first love, gorgeous overseas locale, stellar soundtrack, and, oh yeah, six different versions of Lee Jun Ki. I think that about sums it up. HK cops procedural combined perfectly with Korean melo-angst.
– What Happened in Bali – THE love triangle to end all love triangle debates – even the leading lady isn’t so sure who she loves. Outstanding acting by everyone involved. You won’t stop thinking about it for awhile after you finish watching it.
– City Hall – Mature, sexy, sizzling romance wrapped in a feel-good shell of a political fairy tale. The single best ending to a drama I have ever watched. It gives you everything you want, and then some more.
– Tamra the Island – Fun, poignant, dreamy – a fairy tale for young and old, innocent and jaded. Breathtaking cinematography, lyrical soundtrack, and the introduction of Team Park Kyu to the world.
– Damo – Naeuri-ahhhhhh! *collapses into a heap of tears and sobs*
– My Name is Kim Sam Soon – Not over-rated at all. Deserving of every accolade and recommendation. A romantic comedy where being unmarried and nearly on-the-shelf is not sugar-coated, but the possibility of romance is still heart-thumpingly good.
– Seodongyo – The drama that introduced me to K-dramas. You can call my love for it nostalgia, but its good on every re-watch. The one sageuk where the romance is given equal treatment with the historical intrigue. The OTP gets thrown every obstacle in the world, but you get all the ooey-gooey sweet moments and the forceful separations. In the end, you also get your happy ending.
– Beautiful Days – The only early Hallyu drama I adore to pieces. Watched it for the first time nearly ten years after it first aired, and everything worked perfectly to deliver the melodrama with the catharsis and the romance.
– Lie to Me – The qualitative absolute worst drama in this group, but quite possibly personally made me the happiest. The only drama to make me tangibly feel like I am experiencing falling in love all over again through two people onscreen.
– Sang Doo, Let’s Go To School – A story about first love, nurtured by the quiet strength of a man and the perseverance of a woman, a love story so pure and untainted that it reminds you that love is truly a beautiful thing to see.
THE TOP TEN K-DRAMAS I’VE WATCHED (again in no particular order, the best is my subjective standard of quality only, and I’m judging each drama within the standards of it’s respective genres – also, there are so very many K-dramas I have not yet watched):
– Mawang/The Devil
– Friends, Our Legend
– Goodbye Solo
– My Name is Kim Sam Soon
– City Hall
– Damo
– Joseon X-Files/Secret Investigation Record
– Giant
– Conspiracy in the Court
– Resurrection
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