2024 K Drama Updates

Over the last few years, I finally became a k drama fan. Part of the reason is that my Korean is now good enough to follow the dialogue although i still need subtitles mostly.

Here are some of my favorite k dramas- i provide a synopsis and my comment on each.

In general k dramas come in two forms – movies and series. The series are reminiscent of Mexican telenovelas – usually 16 episodes, occasionally 20, and occasionally fewer. A few have two seasons. Most run for about a month. Almost all are available now on Netflix and Hulu with English sub-titles. A few were quite controversial.

Parasite of course won the 2020 Oscar. And Minuri won best-supporting actress 2023.

10 Best Family-Focused K-Dramas

best K history dramas
Top K Dramas on Netflix

My favorite K dramas so far include:

1. Crash landing on you
2. Vincenzo,”
3. Mine”
4. ,4. “Move To Heaven
5. “Parasite”,
6. DP,
7. Camilla Blooming
8. Itaewon Class
9. . Stranger
10. Mr. Sunshine
11. Last Man Standing
12. Mad About You
13. Minuri Movie
14. Squid Games Season One
15. Squid Game Season Two K Drama
16. Gyesang Creature K Drama Part One B
17. Gyesang Creature K Drama Part Two
18. Parasite the Gray
19. Millionaire First Love K Drama A
20. Hyenna K Legal Drama A
21. Badlands Hunters K Post-Apocalypse Drama A
22. Captivating The King K Historical Drama A
23. Doctor Slump K Drama B
24. Queen Of Tears K Rom-Com
25. Physical Season One K Reality Show
26. Physical Second Season K Reality T
27. Crash landing on you
28. Vincenzo,”
29. Mine”
30. ,4. “Move To Heaven
31. “Parasite”,
32. DP,
33. Camilla Blooming
34. Itaewon Class
35. . Stranger
36. Mr. Sunshine
37. Last Man Standing
38. Mad About You
39. Minuri Movie
40. Squid Games Season One
41. Squid Game Season Two K Drama
42. Gyesang Creature K Drama Part One B
43. Gyesang Creature K Drama Part Two
44. Parasite the Gray
45. Millionaire First Love K Drama A
46. Hyenna K Legal Drama A
47. Badlands Hunters K Post-Apocalypse Drama A
48. Captivating The King K Historical Drama A
49. Doctor Slump K Drama B
50. Queen Of Tears K Rom-Com
51. Physical Season One K Reality Show
52. Physical Second Season K Reality Tv Show
53. Parasite The Grey Korean Version Of Body Snatchers
54. A Typical Family K Drama About A Scheming Family B
55. 12 12 – Day28.
56. Military Prosecutor Doberman K Drama Featuring A Really Bad Ass Female Lead
57. Hierarchy K Drama Rich Teenagers Plotting
58. Flower Of Evil K Drama A
59. Eve K Drama one Of The Best I’ve Seen
60. Culinary Class War K Reality Tv Good Food Challenge Show
61. Virtuous Business K Drama Quite Racy K Romcom With A Twist
62. Mr Plankton K Drama
63. Pilot K Comedy B Movie
64. Check-In Hanyang K Drama
65. Parasite The Grey Korean Version Of Body Snatchers
66. A Typical Family K Drama About A Scheming Family B
67. 12 12 – Day28.
68. Military Prosecutor Doberman K Drama Featuring A Really Bad Ass Female Lead
69. Hierarchy K Drama Rich Teenagers Plotting
70. Flower Of Evil K Drama A
71. Eve K Drama one Of The Best I’ve Seen
72. Culinary Class War K Reality Tv Good Food Challenge Show
73. Virtuous Business K Drama Quite Racy K Rom com With A Twist
74. Mr Plankton K Drama
75. Pilot K Comedy B Movie
76. Check-In Hanyang K Drama
77. Arkndal Chronicles
78. The Last Man Standing K drama
79. Mr. Kim’s convenience
80. Signal (South Korean tv series)

Biggest Disappointment:

Sisyphus: the myth (2021)

started okay but the story ended up all over the place and the ending was rushed and unsatisfactorily. I suppose they were trying to do a remake of ‘A Beautiful Mine” but could not figure out how to tie it all together – A for the attempt B for Acting, C for direction and D – almost how not to write good Sci-Fi. Not worth the time and effort -way too long a series could have worked as stand alone movie with much better writing and direction..

An unfathomable incident introduces a genius engineer to dangerous secrets of the world — and to a woman from the future who’s come looking for him. Han tae Sul, a co-founder of quantum and time, is a genius engineer with the highest level of coding skills and outstanding looks that outweighs his engineer fashion sense. Due to his innovative achievements, quantum and time is a world-class company, dubbed “the miracle of south Korea’s engineering industry.” in reality, tae Sul has constantly caused his company’s stocks to fluctuate after his brother’s death ten years ago. One day, he witnesses something unbelievable. To reach the truth, he sets off on a dangerous journey. Kang seo hai is a survivor of a future dystopian world. With the survival skills that she’s learned from living amongst gangsters and warlords, she travels back to save han tae Sul. (source: netflix, newsmen) edit translation

English
Native title: 시지프스: the myth

jo seung woo
Han tae sul
Main role

park shin hye
Kang seo hai
Main role

kim Byung chul
Seo won ju / “sigma”
Main role

sung dong-il
President park [president of Asia mart]
Support role

tae in ho
Eddie kim / kim seung bok [tae Sul’s friend / co-founder of quantum & time]
Support role

Chae Jong hyeon
Sun / choi jae sun [Chinese restaurant delivery guy]
Support role

All you need is love
Sisyphus: the myth is an intriguing drama. The thrilling teaser that was released late last year stoked the flames of excitement for many avid k-drama viewers. Coupled with a cast that’s headlined by bankable stars the likes of cho seung woo and park shin hye, it became one of the most talked-about and highly anticipated shows for 2021. When it finally aired, however, it polarized opinions here in mdl and left several viewers’ expectations somewhat unfulfilled, to the extent that the ratings steadily declined to the current score hovering at around 8.

Some continued to enjoy the show, for various reasons, and i happen to be one of them. Allow me to share my (spoiler-free) thoughts and then you can make your own decision on whether or not to embark on what has largely been a fun-filled escapist roller coaster ride.

What is it about?
In a nutshell, a woman from the dystopian future of south Korea travels back in time in the hopes of altering the course of history by preventing the seemingly inevitable fate that befell the country, the looming catastrophe of nuclear war. Central to this mission is the man who invented the time-traveling machine. These two characters are played by park shin hye and cho seung woo, respectively.

The drama contains a mix of science fiction, action, drama, and romance genres imbued with themes of revenge, redemption, remorse, love, friendship, and familial bond. The director is jin hyeon, who notably helmed the legend of the blue sea, the master’s sun, and city hunter, among others. The screenplay is written by the husband and wife team of jeon chan ho and lee je in, for only their third production.

This show is jointly produced by drama house and job and has been publicized as the network’s 10th-anniversary special drama. Its title is derived from the ancient character from Greek mythology, king Sisyphus of Corinth, and is completely pre-produced with principal photography that has taken place toward the end of 2020.

What’s great about it?

The production values
as expected of a job production, this drama is very well, made. I love the cinematography (in particular the indoor lighting), the many gorgeous scenic views of both seoul in the present time and the vast landscape of the dystopian future. The set designs for various settings are quite exemplary while the special effects (CGIs, firefights, and pyrotechnics) are considered top tier for a show of this nature.

The acting and cast
in my humble opinion, the leads are fantastic and i have absolutely no complaints. While cho seung woo fully embodies the character of han tae Sul, the same goes for park shin Hye’s kang seo hai. They deliver very strong performances in their portrayal of deeply flawed and emotionally scared individuals. These are the types of roles that perhaps mature actors with adequate professional and life experiences are better-equipped to articulate and convey convincingly, which is very much the case here.

It’s interesting to note that unlike cho seung woo’s other more serious roles, especially that of Hwang shi mock in stranger, here his han tae Sul is much more comedic and mischievous with a copious dose of flamboyance and swagger. Despite possessing similar social awkwardness, this character is remarkably more fun while his ingenuity in getting out of tricky situations bears an uncanny resemblance to the MacGyver persona.

Such nuanced characterization is depicted by the other veteran supporting cast as well, notably sung dong il, kim Byung chul, and kim Jong tae. Kim Byung chul in particular surprised me with his depiction of seo won ju. Despite being slightly ot, i suspect he had the time of his life being “unleashed” from his usual more understated roles. Here he plays “dual characters” where his versatility is quite commendable.

Special mention goes to the young actor lee joo won, who plays the young version of seo won ju. This kid truly gave me goosebumps with his chilling portrayal.

The action
for the most part, the choreography has been outstanding. From the numerous unarmed combat sequences to the firefights involving some pretty impressive military hardware. It’s not often that we see plenty of intense (and at times, logic-defying) gun battles in a non-military drama so this aspect of the production is indeed praiseworthy. Other forms of action include a lot of hard running in chasing (and being chased by) a multitude of characters.

The romance
this particular theme is so beautifully and convincingly conveyed. It helps immensely that cho seung woo and park shin hye abundantly possess such wonderful chemistry which is poignantly manifested amidst the ensuing intrigue and mayhem. The pairing of han tae Sul and kang seo hai, in many ways, makes a lot of sense. They are each plagued by a traumatic past and rendered seriously flawed, emotionally damaged, and are now fighting against the odds to change their fate.

What could’ve been better?

The science
i love the concept here about time traveling to the past to change the future which gives me vibes of the twelve monkeys where the premise is quite similar. However, i do feel that the science as depicted in the show is super messy. Many technical aspects are open to interpretation and left to the viewers to fill in the blanks, as the story progresses. It’s a process of trial and error where we discover new things during every episode. The finale is possibly the most mind-blowing of all.

The screenplay
a parallel narrative and converging plot format are used to tell the story, which includes numerous flashbacks and flashforwards by various major characters in multiple timelines – the past, present, and future. Sometimes title cards are used to indicate the date, but not when the scene is obvious. It can get a little disorienting unless viewers pay close attention to the details.

How and why certain events transpire are quite convoluted and require too much deductive reasoning to derive a sense of what the answers could be. The credibility of certain characters is questionable while quite a number of the sequences appear utterly ridiculous and fantastical, despite the sci-fi tag. The seeming lack of logic in certain respects of the overarching plot has led me to strongly suspect the screenwriters were high on recreational psychoactive substances as they were writing this.

Overall
the sooner viewers suspend disbelief and forgo questioning how the technology works by accepting the science as it is, the less confusing the show would appear to be. Regardless of the perceived weaknesses resulting from the flawed execution of the concept, i found myself enjoying the wild and, at times, exhilarating ride once i shut down my cerebral process and went instinctive. I would advise you to do the same because this is the only way to truly appreciate Sisyphus: the myth. And if you do decide to watch this, be rest assured – the ending is very much a happy one, for everyone (kind of).
Mediocre myth
At outset, the drama starts with an interesting and pioneering perspective of time travel. With the use of new ideas like uploader and downloader, the science-fiction aspect is on par with that of the contemporary world of science fiction entertainment.

Along with this, is the backdrop of a nuclear war involving Koreas, it provides an exquisite playing field for proficient storytelling. These themes remind me of the “tenet” movie.

The show is almost convincible scientifically about time travel*. But that’s where the spectacle of this show ends. This show has countless flaws.

One, after setting the story, the show becomes more character-driven and not plot-driven. Thus, giving little scope for further exploring the sci-fi elements or packing it with more plot elements. Viewers are taken through detailed narratives about various side characters. These insights could have been less detailed.

Two, will over wits. Almost every scene has some sort of test for characters to make a choice. Almost every character ends up making emotion-driven decisions and not reason-driven. This leads to a countless loop of bad folks coercing good folks to fall into their traps. Countless episodes are wasted in these cat-and-mouse endeavors.

Three, lack of an alternate answer to the recurring question “girl or world?” right in the first instance of asking this question, the answer is undeniably obvious. Yet, the protagonist delays choosing the answer giving false hope of the possibility of an alternative answer. Had this been answered earlier, it would have ended the show quicker.

Four, romance: the leads’ relationship feels more like comradeship and less like a romantic one. If at all it is present, it is not so passionate and intense given their life-threatening circumstances.

Five, the beginning of the time loop. How did all this begin? That is, the events right before the first loop are hardly explained. I believe that explaining a bootstrap paradox is an unimaginable task.

Despite the flaws, there are a couple of appreciable elements like one, ambitious production. The initial fights and stunts scenes felt amateurish in CGI. But the events of the future were well produced. The drone chase scene was a personal favorite. The fights scenes were really good, especially the last fight of the future timeline. Two, despite the ever-looming question of “save the world”, the intermittent scenes of future events were very imaginative. Three, badass FL and genius ml both bring something unique to the plot. Four, the “act of kindness” (without letting the spoiler out), was the best moment in the entire drama and gave the best “glimmer of hope”, an essential feature of the sci-fi genre.

Acting-wise, both the leads are exceptional. Push stunt scenes are awe-worthy. Kim Byung chul does an incredible job. Music-wise, i liked the title music of whizzing sound and the end song. Rewatch value is lower as sci-fi elements are hardly convoluted.

Sisyphus: the myth is an inventive concept but fails in storytelling.
~~
*logical inconsistencies do exist.
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Comment::

I have to agree with the consensus on this one. It just did not work for me. The plot was just too convoluted and contradictory. The acting was superb but the writing was sub-par, particularly the ending. One principle of creative writing is that when you write you are creating an alternative world. And every world has rules. Violating the rules of your alternative universe leaves the readers or viewers confused, disappointed, or even angry. The special effects were good, not great. The plot had too many holes in it. In the end, it was defeated by the writing. End comment

Memories of the Alhambra

Also an incoherent mess but filmed in Spain and Korea.

On my list

Sky castle
Kingdom (South Korean TV series)
My mister
Hospital playlist
The Guardian

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