[Kdrama Review] 2018 dramas

Due to late night feeding of baby #2 and also for the sake of maintaining the sanity as a work-from-home mom (read: no time and energy to go out and socialize), I’ve watched a significant number of Kdrama in 2018. It’s so significant till I know almost all the dramas mentioned in the year-end drama awards.

My wish is to have enough time to review one by one, gushing over the great ones and bitching about the unbearable ones. But for now, I shall be practical and just provide a ranking. Here it goes:

Recommended (4.5 – 5 stars):

• Live (라이브) -> It’s tvN’s police drama starring Lee Kwang Soo, not to be confused with JTBC’s Life
• Suits (슈츠)
• Your Honour/ Dear Judge (친애하는 판사님께)
• The Smile Has Left Your Eyes/ Hundred Million Stars From The Sky (하늘에서 내리는 일억개의 별)

If I have to pick just one drama to watch out of these, it is a hard decision but it would likely be tvN’s Live. It’s different and raw in a good way. Definitely not the typical Kdrama I’ve watched so far. It’s also not filled by the typical pretty/ plastic boys and girls, but almost each actors and actress is able to strike a chord with me in their own unique storylines.

Not so bad (3 – 4 stars):

• Radio Romance (라디오 로맨스)
• Misty (미스티)
• Wok of Love/ Greasy Mellow (기름진 멜로)
• Come and Hug Me (이리와 안아줘)
• What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (김비서가 왜 그럴까)
• Lovely Horribly (러블리 호러블리)

Watched halfway and ditched:

• Lawless Lawyer (무법 변호사)
• Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food/ Something In The Rain (밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나)

I rarely ditch a drama halfway because a small part of me is either curious about the ending or hoping that the actors’ acting will negate the bad writing/ plot. I reluctantly ditched that 2 dramas even though I’m a fan of Lee Joon Gi and Jung Hae In. I had high hopes on their acting and it was true, but it still wasn’t enough to make me continue watching. Such a waste of talent. They should better pick a better project next time.

I’m still trying to catch up with a few more under my to-watch list. So the list will be updated as I complete watching more dramas. The review on each drama will also be posted gradually.