There was a degree in 2022 when every K-drama that dropped appeared to be on a mission to outdo its predecessor. To say that we had been spoiled for selection was an understatement. After a 12 months that had Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Little Women, Business Proposal, and Our Beloved Summer, the road up this 12 months had a better bar to fulfill.
2023 may not have had as many standout reveals as was the case these final two years, however the ones that hit the mark redefined genres. On the opposite finish of the spectrum had been a big quantity of extremely anticipated K-dramas that started with a lot promise solely to be terribly let down by shockingly inept writing and a mish-mash of themes that appeared to guide nowhere.
The massive hits
Lee Do-hyun and Song Hye-kyo in a nonetheless from ‘The Glory‘
Early in the 12 months, we bought the second half of The Glory, a worthy follow-up to the primary half that was launched in 2022. As Moon Dong-eun, Song Hye-kyo as soon as once more delivered a restrained, career-best efficiency, looking for retribution for the brutal bullying she underwent as a excessive schooler. This was one of the uncommon reveals the place the second half managed to carry onto a lot of the sharp writing, pacing, and performances from its first instalment. Bullying in faculties — an issue South Korea grapples with — has at all times been handled in an offhand, virtually callous approach in most different reveals the place it options as a uncared for plot level. Often graphic and disturbing, The Glory makes an attempt to deconstruct the financial disparity, energy, privilege, and a system that works towards victims like Dong-eun, who’s instructed from the beginning that issues like poetic justice and karma don’t exist in her world.
Poster of ‘Moving’
As a debate between the 2 massive superhero universes in Hollywood, their relevance, and the declining high quality of content material being churned out rages on, Moving, a stunningly authentic and expansive superhero saga got here forth with its compelling writing and glorious ensemble forged. Anything however a easy story of good triumphing over evil, Moving’s strengths lay in its fastidiously conceived characters — their tales, relationships, and how they bear the load of a system that’s decided to take advantage of in addition to ostracise them. For a present that’s heavy on motion and violence, Doo-sik (Jo In-sung) and Mi-hyun’s (Han Hyo-joo) blossoming romance, and Bong-seok (Lee Jung-ha) and Hui-soo’s (Go Yoon-jung) coming-of-age arc as they grapple with their superpowers make for some of the best moments of the present.
Ji Chang-wook’s middling script selections have for some time now agonised his legion of followers, and the proficient actor appeared to have made a aware selection this 12 months to select scripts worthy of his appearing capabilities. In The Worst of Evil, Chang-wook essayed an undercover investigator who infiltrates a drug cartel and lent nuance to an already advanced character struggling underneath the load of his choices and the impact it has on his family members.
Ji Chang-wook in ‘The Worst of Evil’
A a lot favoured (typically excessively so) style, there was no dearth of historic dramas (or Sageuks as they’re identified) and main the cost this 12 months was the affecting interval romance My Dearest, which had extraordinary performances by its leads — the prolific Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin. Set towards the backdrop of the Qing invasion of the Joseon, the collection chronicles the connection between a noblewoman and a warrior, amidst the continued political unrest. While Ji-eun additionally shone in one more lead position as Mi-joo in TheGood Bad Mother, the present finally belonged to the mom and son duo — with masterful portrayals by Ra Mi-ran and Lee Do-hyun. It looks like Do-hyun can do no flawed on the subject of his script selections; the actor has persistently chosen various performances and as Kang-ho in The Good Bad Mother, he slipped with ease and conviction into the position of a no-nonsense prosecutor who later goes again to being his childhood self after dropping his reminiscence in an accident.
The 12 months of romance+fantasy
On the lighter floor, 2023 was the 12 months of the ‘romantasy’. There was A Time Called You, the much-hyped remake of the Taiwanese present Someday or One Day. While K-dramas appear to have totally embraced the concept of throwing in a serial killer for a secondary plot, typically to lower than passable outcomes, A Time Called You was an exception that significantly benefitted from its thriller and time journey narratives. Actors Shin Hye-sun and Ahn Bo-hyun had been the best half of the visually beautiful See You In My 19th Life, which meandered in the direction of closure for its leads who had been torn aside by destiny throughout completely different lives. While the position was a cakewalk for Hye-sun after Mr Queen, Bo-hyun’s quiet and weak portrayal of Seo-ha was a real shock, given his affinity for roles in thrillers and motion dramas.
A nonetheless from ‘Twinkling Watermelon’
One of the most important surprises and successes right here, Twinkling Watermelon, a Okay-drama with comparatively much less established actors, offered a heady combine of nostalgia, friendships, love, and time journey thrown in for good measure. The protagonist right here, Eun-gyeol (Ryeon), is a CODA (Children of deaf adults) who’s the one listening to member of his household. Eun-gyeol travels again in time and finds himself in the thick of his mother and father’ teenage years, all of the whereas navigating his musical aspirations, friendships, and discovering love. Consistently heat, light-hearted and charming, Twinkling Watermelon additionally felt like a giant win for illustration in mainstream K-dramas.
Contract Marriages, romance, and more
There might need been rebirth and revenge in Perfect Marriage Revenge starring Sung-hoon and Jung Yoo-min, however the much-loved Okay-drama contract marriage trope and the resultant chemistry between the leads was the place the present struck gold. Contract marriages and relationships appeared to make a giant comeback this 12 months, with The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract starring Bae In-hyuk and Lee Se-young, and more just lately, My Demon, which has been the topic of a lot dialogue and cheer from an viewers that has been largely starved of a swoony, frothy romance.
A nonetheless from ‘My Demon’
Starring Song Kang and Kim Yoo-jung, My Demon appears to have had little to no missteps in each the romance and fantasy facets in its first ten episodes. In a 12 months the place the romance in many reveals felt missing, the 2 have rapidly turn out to be a beloved onscreen couple.
If Teo Yoo has had a wonderful 12 months with Celine Song’s Past Lives, which ranks excessive on each best movies of 2023 listing, he emerged because the quintessential Okay-drama grumpy lead with an aversion to romance in the online collection Love to Hate You, which made for one of the more simple, enjoyable watches of the 12 months. Also becoming a member of the rom-com listing was Bora Deborah, the place a glowing Yoo In-na and Yoon Hyun-min put their best foot ahead in a present the place the writing took a nosedive in its previous few episodes.
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Probably among the many most hyped reveals this 12 months, King the Land may have significantly benefited from a stable plot and a greater exploration of the lives of the three ladies at its core, however as an alternative, it relied closely on its charming leads Jun-ho and Lim Yoon-a. The appeal did work, however the present may have been a lot more.
Stories that centred on older protagonists and relationships commanded discover this 12 months, with Crash Course in Romance early on in the 12 months starring Jung Kyung-ho and Jeon Do-yeon. The actors led a present that squeezed in peer stress, examination stress, and parental trauma alongside their characters’ budding romance, and made all of it work regardless of the chaotic jumps in genres. An offbeat concept that labored for me, for essentially the most half, because of its protagonist and her quest for independence and empowerment, Doctor Cha had Uhm Jung-Hwa take the lead on a stay-at-home mother who goes again to the medical area after a chronic break.
Among the mature tales we noticed onscreen, Bae Suzy and Yang Se-jong starrer Doona! offered an affecting story of friendships and therapeutic. And Call it Love, starring Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-kwan, offered a transferring, slow-burn romance with a sort, charming and empathetic male lead who was a lot cherished. A present I’m but to look at, however has acquired a lot approval for its tackle psychological well being was Park Bo-young starrer Daily Dose of Sunshine, a restricted internet collection that was praised for its writing and performances.
A nonetheless from ‘Behind Your Touch’
An underrated comedic gem this 12 months that additionally managed to see a good suspense factor by way of was the comedy-thriller Behind Your Touch, in which a small-town veterinarian (a wonderful Han Ji-min) causes a lot chaos when she acquires psychometric powers. With a serial killer on the free, the grumpy, newly appointed detective performed by Lee Min-ki turns to her for assist, typically ending up with laughable outcomes. It was initially arduous to imagine that the present shared a director with the intense, slice-of-life My Liberation Notes (which additionally starred Min-ki), however Behind Your Touch managed to get lots proper, particularly because it was among the many more persistently well-written reveals this 12 months.
While a number of streaming platforms are actually churning out Korean authentic collection in addition to platforming K-dramas being broadcast on tv, we’ve had an avalanche of content material by way of the 12 months to meet up with. The quantity of reveals that launched this 12 months might need been staggeringly excessive, however many amongst these fell sufferer to the not-so-curious case of the underwhelming second half. This was surprisingly true in the case of many tropey K-dramas, and the few reveals that selected to experiment appeared to land higher. It stays to be seen if that is going to be a rising pattern in 2024, given how the rising quantity of reveals to select from don’t essentially translate into high quality content material.
A nonetheless from ‘Doona!’
For now, nevertheless, my 2024 want listing contains stable writing that continues to be constant by way of all sixteen episodes, various themes, and more reveals that target romance and don’t succumb to the temptation of throwing in a serial killer on the free.