People have asked for my drama recommendations. My recommendation however is to follow a writer and see his/her development over time. That’s what I did. I binge-watched not the actors but the screenwriters because I wanted to understand their vision of the world, their moral philosophy, and their creative process.
Here’s a “starter pack.” I’ll add more later. Most Kdrama screenwriters are female so I’ll have to add a couple of male screenwriters.
1. The Hong sisters, aka Hong Mi Ran and Hong Jung Eun
I call them the “zeitgeist” sisters. They capture the spirit and taste of the Korean viewing public.
2005 Delightful Girl, Choon Hyang
-This is a modern-day adaptation of one of their Korean folk tales. It looks outdated but if you want to know what kdramas used to be like 20 years, this is a good start. The soap-opera-ness (or “makjang”-ness) is tolerable but I swear: if you watch this, you’ll know about 75% of all the drama tropes in use until today. lol. This was the Hong sisters’ first hit.
2005 My Girl
-Another hit. If you want a young Lee Dong Wook, the Grim Reaper in Goblin, this is where he made it big.
2006 Couple or Trouble
-Their adaptation of Goldie Hawn’s “Overboard”)
2008 Hong Gil Dong
-Hong Gil Dong is the Korean version of Robin Hood. Sad ending. I skipped this.
2009 You’re Beautiful
-This was one of the Hong sisters’ biggest hits. An innocent postulant pretends to be a man and joins a boy band. Be prepared to fall in love with the second leading man (the “second male lead” phenomenon)
2010 My Girlfriend is a Gumiho
-This too was a big hit. Romcom. I think this kdrama began the trend of human+gumiho romance in kdramas. A gumiho is a human-eating fox with nine-tails but I think this is an adaptation of the “Little Mermaid.”
2011 The Greatest Love
-The hero was kinda neurotic but this was a hit, too.
2012 Big
-Skip this, I did. I don’t know if they were trying to parody Tom Hank’s “Big” (1988).
2013 The Master’s Sun
-Another hit. This was their first attempt at horror romance. The heroine could see ghosts and the only time she was freed from seeing them was if she was touching the guy (lol. Good excuse for skinship!) He was her ghost-repellent.
2015 Warm and Cozy
– My favorite springtime show. Simple romance. Setting in Jejudo. This is the last happy romcom that the Hong sisters would write. The working title was “The Jejudo Gatsby” but I don’t see much of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan in the lead couple here.
2017 Korean Odyssey
– The sisters adapted a Chinese classic, “Journey to the West,” about a monk travelling to retrieve books. He was accompanied by a godlike monkey. In the kdrama, the monkey was the heroine, and the monkey was the hero. The drama offended some of my Buddhist friends because of the romance between the monk and monkey.
2019 Hotel del Luna
-Darker, deals with revenge and death. Each episode featured a dead soul trying to cross over to the afterworld with the hoteliers assist.
2021 Salvation Interpreter
-This is on my watch list.
2. Kim Eun Seok
Love or hate her, you need to watch at least two of her shows (and REALLY understand them) before you decide. She made 7 shows before Secret Garden.
2010 Secret Garden
-I think this started the body-swapping trend in kdramas, didn’t like it but if you want to see Hyun Bin. The heroine was supposedly a kick-ass but turned out a doormat.
2012 A Gentleman’s Dignity
-Dunno. Didn’t like to watch old men bec I’m married to one.
2013 The Heirs
-Lee MinHo. I avoided it like the plague. But go ahead if you want to watch a rich chaebol guy be mean to a poor little girl. I’m so over “Boys over Flowers.”
2016 Descendants of the Sun
-I didn’t watch this but I knew it was a doctor-soldier romance. To me it’s famous because of the crash-and-burn romance of the two leads.
2016 Goblin (or, as it’s called on Netflix, the “Guardian”)
-This is the reason Rue du Petit-Champlain and the lobby of Le Château Frontenac is swarming with Asian tourists. Yeah…you should watch this.
2018 Mr. Sunshine
-If you want slow saga of Korean’s fight for independence from the Japanese, go for this. But not my cup of tea. Warning: sad ending.
2020 The King: Eternal Monarch
-Lee Minho. I hated his character in “Boys over Flower” but he redeemed himself here.
I suggest watching Goblin and The King: Eternal Monarch for comparison.
3. Song Jae Jung
She’s a cerebral writer. If you like science-fiction, try her. You have to pay attention when watching her shows. Don’t watch her kdramas for romance.
2012 Queen In Hyun’s Man
-Time travel, Romance…well, she was just beginning here so yes, there’s romance between this time-travelling scholar-warrior of the Joseon period and this ditzy actress.
2013 Nine: Nine Times Time Travel
– This is still on my to-watch list.
2014 The Three Musketeers
-Never heard of this. I’ll have to check this out…
2015 W
-This started the trend of comic book character coming alive and falling in love with real person.
2018 Memories of the Alhambra
-One of the “deeper” kdramas out there. Hyun Bin’s character finds himself trapped in a visual-reality game. No gaming knowledge required to understand the show. Not really a romcom.
2021 Yumi’s Cell
-This is a collaboration. It’s going to be on my watch list that’s why I’ve to watch “W” before this starts. I’ve a theory that this writer is doing a trilogy.
4. Lee WooJung
The TV station tvN is arguably built by writer Lee Woojung and director Shin Won-ho who developed the Reply series. The writer-director team made an art form of the husband-guessing game. Sure, the shows also purport to be a slice-of-life drama but that isn’t why the viewers of the series have raging fanwars.
To save yourself from the heartache, I suggest that you find out who the girl’s going to end up with before beginning with Ep 1.
2012 Reply 1997
-For me, this has the best parting shot ever said by a hero, after Rhett Butler’s “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Let me look for it again, and edit this later.
2013 Reply 1994
-I skipped this. Couldn’t stand the ugly (whoops, is this a spoiler?) hero and the potty-mouthed heroine
2015 Reply 1988
-my favorite of the three
2020 Hospital Playlist
*This isn’t finished yet. Season 2 is coming in the spring.
5. Park JiEun
2013 You Who Came from the Stars
-Romance between a high-maintenance actress and an alien who can’t exchange bodily fluids
2015 The Producers
-Don’t know I skipped this.
2016 The Legend of the Blue Sea
-Romance between mermaid and a conman played by Lee Minho.
2019 Crash Landing on You
-North Korean soldier meets South Korean chaebol.
Will add more later…
Nice list. I’ve watched a few you mentioned and just throwing my 2-won onto this post for the few you mentioned.
Hong Sisters
*2013 The Master’s Sun (2/5) – A friend recommended it b/c she loves Kong Hyo-Jin. I didn’t love it. I cared more about the 2ndary love affair than the mains. I found Joo Joong-Won character super annoying.
*2017 A Korean Odyssey (4/5) – This goes on my re-watch kdrama list. I fanboy Oh Yeon-Seo b/c her characters are loveable. If you like love affairs from two people that do not seem to go together; this is it.
*2019 Hotel Del Luna (4/5) – This is on my re-watch kdrama list. I have a weird fascination w/ prickly female leads that soften. Be prepared for a lot of yelling by Jang Man-Wol (played by IU).
Kim Eun Seok
*2013 The Heirs (1/5) – I am being generous w/ the 1. I can finish a 16 episode kdrama in 2-3 days, but it took me 6 months to finish it. Yeah, I really didn’t want to go back to it. I would not recommend this.
*2016 Descendants of the Sun (3/5) – I started this b/c I heard it was really good. You follow the love affairs of 2 soldiers–one w/ a doctor & another soldier. I fell for Kim Ji-Won in this one. The ending is just peculiar (think Saturday Night Live out of nowhere).
*2016 Goblin (“Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” or “Guardian”) (3/5) – Sorry, the character age difference bothered me. I preferred the story between Sunny (Yoo In-na) & the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-wook) than the main leads.
*2018 Mr. Sunshine (2/5) – You are not kidding about slow saga; the boat was being pulled by baby turtles. You will just hate the ending. I do not recommend.
*2020 The King: Eternal Monarch (3/5) – Movie level production quality for the small screen. You may get confused regarding the science, the different worlds, and who is who in which world. I still found it enjoyable.
Song Jae Jung
*2015 W (2/5) – I am not a fan of the comic book characters jumping back and forth from comic world and real world. However, I do like Lee Jong Suk. This is where I discovered him.
Park JiEun
*2013 You Who Came From The Stars (“My Love From Another Star”) (4/5) – Again, I love characters that are prickly that become soft. I especially love Cheon Song-yi’s drunk scenes.
*2015 The Producers (1/5) – You get to see the day in the life of a PD (producer). These producers are mainly for Korean variety shows. I wasn’t into it. I was watching it b/c IU is in it, but I did not love her character.
*2016 The Legend of the Blue Sea (4/5) – On my re-watch kdrama list. Jun Ji-hyun has been one of my favorites since My Love From Another Star. She plays the mermaid. I’ve also noticed that she essentially plays the same character in most of her work, but I’m ok w/ that.
*2019 Crash Landing On You (4/5) – This is my all time favorites so far–prickly female lead. The creative story and actors made my heart flutter. What caught my eye was the story of a South Korean heiress falling for a North Korean soldier.
You can throw my 2-won back anytime. Have a nice evening, everyone.
Thank you for the list. I’ve been a fan of your blog since Start-Up and I keep coming back for more. How I wish you can have a review of Arthdal Chronicles it would be so much fun to see your views about the world of arth. Thank you.
Wait! You’re a Jun JiHyun fan?
Do you remember the name of her car in “My Love from Another Star” by chance?
Speaking of prickly female leads,
theres’s one daytime kdrama with 31 episodes that I watched bec of the female lead, Eugene. The title was “Creating Destiny.” She played a Korean-Australian lawyer who was ordered to go back to SK by her father to prevent her from marrying a “foreigner.” (I know it’s racist, but 🤷♀️ it is what it is. Some old folks think like that.)
Her father arranged for her marriage to his best friend’s son who was a doctor. But this son had no intentions of marrying a “liberal” English-speaking lawyer and wanted a conservative Korean. To escape their parents’ plan, they entered a contractual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, then a contractual engagement.
There were lots of fillers bec it was a daytime drama. And I skipped most of the extraneous side stories.
But I found the guy’s consternation to her Western ways funny. She argued with him; she formed her own opinions; she hugged strangers; she was “liberated.” But when she went back to Australia, he followed her.
Kdrama was a novelty to me when I watched that kdrama. I would like to watch it again to see if my opinion of it has changed over time.
I’m one of those viewers who doesn’t bother to check on the PD or Writer of shows. Hence I’m surprised by how many Hong Sisters dramas I’ve inknowingly watched.
2005 My Girl – one of my earliest watches. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Pity Lee Da Hae hardly appears in any shows I want to watch. This was when I was introduced to Lee Joon Gi and Lee Dong Wook.
2008 Hong Gil Dong – I know I watched one version of it, not sure if it was this one. Can’t recall the ending being too bad.
2009 You’re Beautiful – I thought it was crazy that they could ever mistake Park Shin Hye for a guy. Jang Geun Suk’s ever weird hairstyles and guy liner distracted me.
2010 My Girlfriend is a Gumiho – Shin Min Ah was cute. My first intro to Korean Gumiho folklore.
2012 Big – I watched this to the end. This was when my dislike of Suzy started. It was mainly her character that got my goat but unfortunately the sentiment is linked to her. Show was irritating but I was more forgiving then.
2013 The Master’s Sun – It somehow failed to move me.
2015 Warm and Cozy – Unfortunately, I was watching through another lens and dropped this one.
2017 Korean Odyssey – Dropped this too.
2019 Hotel del Luna – This one I liked plus 90+% of IU’s wardrobe.
This is going to be all over the place but I wanted to say this is why I’m on this space, because I always like the same things you do, maybe not for the same reasons but you get me.
I agree with all of the writers chosen so far even when Kim Eunsook writes lack lustre shows they’re still addicting that’s why I find her writing fascinating haha, No matter how bad they are I have watched everything she’s created and her writing style stays the same even in the bad ones, you can always always analyse and break them down with clues she’s left in that’s why it’s easy to fall into her world.
Hong sisters is difficult for me they can be a hit or a miss, some shows the plots are astounding and intense others they lose their way as we get towards their finale. I think they know what they’re doing and they’re great. Gumiho girlfriend was one of my favourite little mermaid adaptation and secret garden by Kim Eun Sook is also based on little mermaid as well (that plot twist/ending still owns my soul). They both were so interesting to watch till the end. Despite my lack of care for the character of the couples. These writers know how to use a fairy tale and spin things in a way you can’t expect, their folk tale based shows also do the same. I live for it
Song Jae is a gift, her shows are so incredible but she can lose her self in her own writing and sometimes she never knows how to close her endings properly she falls into a lot of writing holes. Now I know you don’t like the actress of Queen Inhyun but this drama is still one of my favourite each time I watch it I can’t put it down, I loved it, and it is her first so the world building is not that crazy. Nine times is also another one I was obsessed with as it aired, I didn’t want to put it down but the ending left a weird taste in my mouth, there’s something about her worlds and ideas that just fascinate me. She’s incredible W was hard for me because I was frightened by the premise haha especially the villain I had like actual nightmares thinking about it as a writer. Shivers. Alhambra was incredible but also scared me because I like happy endings okay? I’m shallow and when I know that a show isn’t going that route I shut down, I’m sorry i try to stop it. But Song Jae likes her open endings but I couldn’t complete Alhambra because I guessed where it was going. The only writer I let take me on a sad ending is Kim Eun Sook even her sad dramas i stick till the end. Now knowing Song Jae is involved with Yumi Cell I’m going to watch it but like all her other shows I don’t know if I’ll get to the end. The stakes in her shows truly are high and they terrify me for the characters. I’m a wimp when it comes to her. Queen Inhyun was still worrying but I was thankful for the ending.
Woojung is one of my ultimate. Since the show 1997 I’ve been a fan, because I always learn something or is shown something about humanity with her. Her emotional moments tug your heart and make you think about your life, her couples are alright and the fight to get to their love is always a challenge with ship wars, I never get involved with them because I’ve always liked her final husbands, she’s a teacher of life and her shows are filled with depth and nostalgia. I also learn a lot about Korea through her.
Park Ji Eun is like Hong sisters for me, I know how she writes and when I care about her characters I get addicted, so basically the only show I’ve watched till the end is You from another star, I know terrible. But the rest apart from Producers which I never started, I never got to the end. I wasn’t a big fan of Crash Landing into you it didn’t stick and I know if I keep watching I may have a different opinion like everyone else but I’ve tried to watch it I just didn’t care, I liked Blue Sea but I didn’t care enough to stay till the end. What I like about her is she has female characters, they’re funny, spunky and they grow throughout the series, you can’t help but like them. I like her ideas as well, both her fantasy and drama have a great fish out of water plot line. I’m intrigued to see what else she brings. People like to call her the next Kim Eun Sook but I don’t see it.
I rate all your choices, I’ve had shows from every writer mentioned that are in my top 10, my bias is oddly towards Kim Eun Sook, I’ve accepted something always about her shows, even when bad or toxic I’ve always liked something enough to stay addicted and obsessed. I like her ideas and her plots, i like all her tropes, the bromance, her love stories because she loves making dreamy romances even when they’re problematic, I can’t help but liking them all, the way she writes her dialogues are also interesting, and she never sticks to one genre (something I love about her) even when fantasy, drama, sci fi, etc She stays the same. She also always has the best ost in her dramas and her directors are great as well. Goblin is honestly why you should watch her dramas, they can be slow, but in my opinion something sticks everytime. Even her haters force themself to stay because there’s always something about her shows that make it deep. Korea knows it. I know it. I think everyone knows it tbh. That’s my biased positive opinion about her, she has negatives about her too.
I’ll comment on the rest of your choices later but I’ll drop one that I know isn’t my go to but I think others love
Kim Eun Hee: Her stories are addicting but they scare me, and she doesn’t focus on romance so I never get too invested. Kingdom, Signal and Mount Jiri upcoming. She’s great at focusing on disaster, thrillers and others. Kingdom is so good but it’s so terrifying and I’m a wimp.
Kim Young Han: Long dramas about world building and history. I like her and co writer. She’s the writer of tree with deep roots and six flying dragons. There’s a way she writes historical dramas I’m into. She also has interesting main characters and villains to look into. I also liked Arthdal Chronicles and guessed what they were trying to do but I still think it should have been released as one 50 episode show not as seasons. The momentum would have increased and I think the audience would have loved it later. Anyway her characters are always interesting to look at and if you like political dramas with some romance her shows are for you.
Yoo Hyun Mi; Skycastle and Gakistal both incredible in their own ways, both addicting to watch and both with endings I don’t care about haha. I like her stories, and I like how they effect me. She writes fast paced stories and her characters are always interesting to look into. Looking forward to snow drop
I think these writers are great not my favourite but they’re good at what they do, world building and character arcs.
Anyway that’s my opinion. I’m a shallow person though I swoon at men coming to the rescue with their desperate need to save one girl, i giggle at bromance and fish out of water situations. most of all I like fairytales and adaptations it’s why I liked Psycho but it’s okay. But hey that’s what intrigues me, if a writer knows how to make me laugh and care about her characters, relationships or overall message in her show then I like her despite her problems.
Argh how can I forget a new addition haha: Park Hae Ryun is great, I love her and I always care about her shows. I’ve liked everything by her apart from Pinnichio and I still don’t know why I couldn’t get into it. Start Up as you all know deserves the love and praise for my 2020. I like all her plots, and how she writes her characters, her love stories and her different topics/themes she explores with them. Okay now I’m done
@PM – Jun’s car name is Boom Boomie in My Love From Another Star lol
https://youtu.be/LT-7lGAFfC4
Kim Eun Sook shows:
2010 Secret Garden – made me laugh and cringe.
2012 A Gentleman’s Dignity – This was the first time I saw the symbolic shoe gifting thing and how the guy tells the girl to wear the shoes he gifts her to come to him. The girl infuriated the guy by wearing the shoes and not recalling the significance of that action.
2013 The Heirs – Didn’t care for either the ML or FL.
2016 Descendants of the Sun – Liked it well enough when it aired.
2016 Goblin – I enjoyed this and the leads separately or together. Bromance between Goblin and Reaper was fun. OSTs were good. There was one particular very short instrumental that I liked but it’s very hard to find it.
2020 The King: Eternal Monarch – It was watchable but very hard to follow, and would have been irritating if not for BoD.
@GB That shoe scene in Gentle Man’s dignity was hilarious because of the drama it brought I disliked the female lead in the show and the romance irked me but I stayed for the bromance, that show was hilarious but so overly dramatic and yet I still completed it haha. Sorry if I’m spamming haha
Hot off the press – https://www.soompi.com/article/1447015wpp/song-hye-kyo-confirmed-to-lead-new-drama-by-descendants-of-the-sun-screenwriter-kim-eun-sook
Ice Goddess herself is returning to the screen. I never finished DOTS. But the PD is the same one that helmed Stranger1, Memories of Alhambra and Record of Youth and I was quite impressed with the cinematography and attention to detail there. Not sure what the premise of the show is though or who the ML is.
Sorry I just realized that maybe I should’ve posted the above comment in the “What should we watch” post instead. Feel free to move it there. 🙂
Park Ji Eun
Her first half of the drama always started out great, got me hooked but the second half is where I usually lost my interest and I just realized that I never finished any of her drama you listed in one go. Around Ep10-12 I stopped then I skipped to the ending.
Kim Eun Sook
Her ML character is always larger than life. I think my fave of hers is DOTS follow by Goblin. The Heirs premise didn’t appeal to me. TKEM is still on my one day I will watch list.
The Hong Sister already prepping for their next drama for 2021, fantasy theme set in sageuk environment.
This is a really interesting list – thank you. I’m pleased to see that as a general rule we seem to take notice of who/what is the source of the k-dramas we watch.
I have watched a number of the series on the list, but I have particularly enjoyed/admired the following:
The Master’s Sun: There are some wonderful comic moments in this as well as the scary stuff. I’m thinking particularly of the appearance of the girl band in the episode about the ghost dog. I laughed and laughed.
Korean Odyssey: Again, the comedy attracts me as well as the central storyline. I think the character of the girl zombie is brilliant and is so well-played by Lee Se-young.
The King: Eternal Monarch: Complex and clever. It cast one of the very best villains I have come across. To me a successful and persuasive villain is one who completely believes in his/her own world – like Cho Cheol-gang in “Crash Landing on You”.
You who came from the Stars: I admired the undertone of tragedy running through the plot. Again, some wonderful comic moments.
The Legend of the Blue Sea: This series gave me an early insight into the concept of previous lives and their influence.
Crash Landing on You: The title is about the only thing I dislike about this series. The rest tends to be, for me, pure perfection- except perhaps for the over-sweetened stuff that goes on in Switzerland.
I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t find “Guardian” (or “Goblin”) on Netflix. I may be the only person who has not seen what is obviously a classic – heigh-ho.
Thanks for this! I still have a long list to watch including the Reply Series! I never really cared about the writer but looks like I watched all and loved the works of Kim Eun Seok and Park JiEun.
I remember my entry to the kdrama world… It was Full House (Rain and Hye-Kyo) and Boys Over Flowers (Lee Min Ho) that I binge-watched using DVDs. LOL! LMH is my first love. I was so addicted to The Heirs (was pregnant during that time and I made sure to look at LMH only so my son will be good looking like him) Hahahaha!
My original and all-time favorite is Meteor Garden (F4) but this is a Taiwanese drama.
Whoops! Goblin is on Viki.
Its full title is “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” You have to watch it with “The King: Eternal Monarch.”
That’s how you can tell that they’re her fantasy romances: the paraphrase.
This writer (or a staff member) believes in paraphrases. 😂
I would watch another like Zombie Detective, directed by Shim Jae-hyun. I thought it was so funny and sometimes I really need funny.
I have never pay attention to writers of kdrama since I stumbled upon my first kdrama back in 2002. So, let’s see what I have watched by the recommended writers:
Hong Sisters
1 – 2005 Delightful Girl, Choon Hyang – love this so much! The BGM, the story. I was young back then kekekeke
2 – 2005 My Girl – Watched this for the leads. First introduction to Lee Dong Wook and Lee Junki and Lee Da Hae. It was fun but can’t remember much now.
3 – 2010 My Girlfriend is a Gumiho – As much as I like LSG and SMN, I dropped this. No longer invested.
4 – 2011 The Greatest Love – I keep the files but haven’t watched it yet. Still in ‘to watch list’.
5 – 2013 The Master’s Sun – same reason as #4
6 – 2015 Warm & Cozy – Came for YYS and the rest is history. The story was light. But I am more pulled towards the older couple’s love story and the family’s melo between GW and his step-siblings. Not much on the couple’s melo. Though the bickering is cute :). I am biased – not regretting it a bit kekekeke.
7 – 2017 Korean Odyssey – Everything was fine minus the bad cgi especially when fighting the dragon. *roll eyes*
Kim Eun Seok
1 – 2008 On Air – Best drama. I love all the main leads. Their portrayals were spot on and the story is really good. My all time favorite. Featuring the late Park Yong Ha.
2 – 2016 Descendants of the Sun – Only watched parts of ep 4 because it was on tv at that time. Not intrigued enough to follow through. I have trouble watching SJK emotes after I watched him in Werewolf boy and Innocent Man. There’s not much different in all of them.
2 – 2018 Mr. Sunshine – I love everything about this one. It has 3 of my favorites i.e. LBH, Kim Min Jung and YYS. Perfectly casted, written and executed. Of course, I am a part of Dong Mae nation. hahahahaha.
3 – 2020 TKEM – Dropped. hehehehe.
Lee Woo Jung
1 – 2012 Reply 1997 – Currently watching or should I say, and analysing haha. FL is too loud, Daddy also too loud. I can also already see the endgame but ShinLee really be playing with their viewers lmao.
2 – 2013 Reply 1994 – Watched post airing i.e. 2017. Have no idea what it was about. Picked it up because of YYS. The girl has chosen her man as early as ep. 1. They are practically husband and wife. Period. Not a fan of the lead couple but I love the friendship so I stayed. Plus I love the melo that is Chilbong. I didn’t regret it, I enjoyed the experience and my crying hours for him. Haitai and Samcheonpo are comedy gold. My favorite of the three series when it comes to friendship and crack, minus the main loveline.
3 – 2015 Reply 1988 – Currently watching and analysing. Loud. I got distracted a number of times. The families’ stories are heartwarming.
4 – 2020 Hospital Playlist – I am keeping faith. The end. lol
Park Ji Eun
1 – 2015 The Producers – I didn’t get the deliveries from the acting that I was expecting. Dropped.
If anyone is interested you can try this drama:
Story of a Man (or The Slingshot) by Song Ji-Na. A thriller. It won best drama at the 2009 Seoul International Drama Awards. It was that good and intense, at that time kekekeke.
When I started watching kdramas, I was influenced by the actors and their work. Now that I have watched several, I’d like to shift my choices to more of writer-based so this list is really helpful, @PM3! Thank you all for the insights.
One thing I have to say is – Isn’t it fantastic that these top kdrama writers are mostly female?!! Hollywood is still behind at getting the diverse viewpoint and voices of women story tellers. I can see the difference in approach, story line focus and character development hence the kdrama resonates with me more than the Hollywood drama series.
Hugs!!! I thought I was the only one who loved “Delightful Girl, Choon Hyang.” The male lead there was annoyingly childish — because he was a teenager — but somehow he ended up doing the right thing despite himself. How many times did they break up?
Isn’t his dad, the Counters’ Financier in “The Uncanny Counter”?
Re. Reply 1988. I was going through the confession scene of Seo InGuk’s character and what he said could be a blueprint for our Songhwa, “the girl with the secrets.”
**********************
There were at the karaoke place. (This writer does love the noraebang, doesn’t she?) EunJi’s character asked for her ring.
EunJi: My birthday gift. Aren’t you going to give it to me? I thought I told you last year. My birthday last year.
Actually, she said she wanted a ring. She told HIM that he should go out and tell any boy who liked her that she wanted a (couple) ring for her next birthday…but she didn’t want a ring from him. Anybody but him. Gosh! She was cruel in her blindness.
EunJi: You forgot about it. I’ve been talking about it since last year.
Inguk: You should get that from my brother. That present. Wasn’t it supposed to be from anyone but me?
He remembers the details!
Inguk: (sighing) You’re really so cruel. How can you ask me for it?
EunJi: Why? I guess I’m too dumb to understand. Why don’t you explain it to me?
Inguk: I like you. I like you a lot. I’ve been with you since I was born. There hasn’t been a day I haven’t seen you. I remember even the day of your first period. But I still see you as a woman. On the entrance ceremony day of high school, I thought you were pretty for the first time in my life, and ever since then, I kept sending you a signal, staying around you. That I like you. And to like me, too. But you’re clueless. I thought, “That’s right. I guess because we’ve been friends for too long. So I’ll have to confess.” That’s why on the day of the exam, I asked you to meet me at 8pm at the school yard. That was my D-Day. But 10 minutes before, my brother tells me. To me. That he likes you. What could I do? There are only two people I love in this whole wide world. One is my brother. The brother who gave up everything for me. The other is you. It’s you. And my brother likes you. A lot, too. Like me. What should I do? What do you want me to do? What should I do, you wench?
He stands up to leave. Their friend interrupts them to tell them to start singing the last song. But the friend leaves again to get another tape.
EunJi: YoonJae. Can’t we be comfortable friends again like before? Like you said, we’ve been together since birth. I’m a little slow. You know. I know that you’re the world’s best friend. So, you’re still be my friend, right?
Inguk: When a guy, to his first love, pours out pathetically, everything in his heart, it means he’s not planning on ever seeing her again.
He stands up and leaves the ring that she jokingly asked for as a birthday gift.
Inguk: You throw this away. Friend? Fucking bullshit.
*The sub said “first love,” but Inguk’s character actually said “jjaksarang” which is “one-sided love.” He knew that his feelings were unrequited when he confessed that he loved her. So he was burning all his bridges because he didn’t expect anything from them anymore.
lol. Should we infer then that Kim EunSook is taking Song HyeKyo’s side here in that divorce?
The drama lost me after I saw the helicopter pick up Song JoongKi from the rooftop to bring him to an important rescue mission in some war-torn country. Yeahhhhhh, right.
It would have been okay if it was a fantasy drama but in real life? It was over-the-top.
Yes I watched that! kekekeke… Me and Kanaya are recapping all series, including Prison Playbook. ^^
Remember Siwon’s line in the karaoke room with her parents in ep. 1? “There’s one minute left.” and fastfwd… it was repeated by their guy friend as he jumped into the room when they were discussing about the ring … kekeekeke… and remember who said this line in HP? Yup, PG said it and the venue? Of course yet another karaoke room, same setting. I want to see an extended version of that karaoke scene. I think there must be one. The three guys have a session. A confession session is highly likely. kekeekeke… That is the use of the karaoke room and of course, the famous “one minute left” line. Lmao.
Taewoong bought Siwon a diamond ring but he didn’t give her that ring. Ik Jun bought Shwa one too and he threw it away.
Siwon climbed into Tony’s house, met him and confessed she loves him, crying. Then he rubbed/patted her head lmao. Ok I shall stop here kekeekeke…
Thanks for this post, @pm3!
I was such a big fan of the Hong Sisters when I was introduced to Kdramas (in my teens!), but I realized now that the last Hong Sisters drama I watched fully was Master’s Sun.
I remember trying Warm and Cozy but dropped it after one ep. Hmmm maybe I’ll pick it up again.🤔 Also dropped Hotel de Luna, but seeing Lee Dohyun in Sweet Home inspires me to watch it haha.
I also realized quite late that some of the dramas I really like are written by the same writer, Noh Heekyung. I have watched only like a quarter of her dramas though.
Excited for your update of the other writers, especially Park Hyeryun!
With the Hong sisters, I like how they rework an original piece and add their own interpretation. Their take on fairy tales is a bit like a Disney movie for grown-ups. Everything ties up in the end. But their past two dramas have become “heavy.” 🙂 In general, I get their worldview and their sense of humor.
Kim Eun Hee? I watched “Signal.” I liked it. But I haven’t watched anything else of hers. I wanted to watch the zombie’s “Kingdom” but I’m waiting for all the seasons to be completed.
I don’t like makjang. If the scenario gets too dramatic, my mind shuts down.
I also don’t like it when dramas become too involved with social, political, and legal issues. I don’t want to waste two months on the writer’s perspective on Issue X, when I can easily read up on it…or I know about it already through work. Kdrama is a form of escapism from me.
But yes, I agree with you. I like a screen writer who can move me with words. Above all, I like writers who are “closers” — who can leave me satisfied with the ending that MAKES SENSE to me. I dislike it when a writer just slaps on a happy ending to a story shut the viewers up; I want the happy ending to be convincing; I’m not stupid; I know when the writer is patronizing.
But I dislike it too when a writer, pretending to be deep and philosophical (cough cough “Alice”), just craps on the ending. For example, I get “Memories of the Alhambra” and I understand (and even expect) the ending to be open. (It was about faith.) But I don’t get the open-ending of “Rooftop Prince.” To me, the writer just ran out of time to close it out.
@packmule3 don’t know about the divorce and whose side she’s on 🤷♀️ But SHK is a megastar and I think her star has continued to shine post divorce. JoongKi I think came out of that with mud sticking so his career has taken a bit of a nosedive since. KES likes megastars for her dramas. I think that’s what I really dislike. It’s the hype and the grandiosity of it. Everything is just over the top. Even before the drama even starts? Expectations are sky high so it actually works against the drama. But SHK has legions of fans. In fact now that you brought it up, there were quite a few who were shipping her with HyunBin (a reunion of sorts because they dated) and they raised a ruckus with the Dispatch reveal that he was in fact dating Son YeJin. They were bitterly disappointed.
@miracle23 @packmule3 good catch on the Reply links. I didn’t watch R1997. I still haven’t finished R1994 – I started watching it backwards 😂. From the finale. And there were definitely crossover mentions and nods to the R1994.
Fern, I checked mydramalist.
The screenwriter, Baek Eun Jin, and Director, Shim Jae Hyun, have no other works listed under their names. If this is their first outing, then they did pretty well.
A continuation of whether I can even recall these shows …
Shows by Song Jae Jung
2012 Queen In Hyun’s Man – I liked it. One of the first shows where I saw the girl make the move and kiss the guy.
2013 Nine: Nine Times Time Travel – I liked this one too. Somehow the time travel and changes made to the present made sense. One version of ML had to end in order for his future to change.
2014 The Three Musketeers – This one was great.
2015 W – I became annoyed somewhere along the line because the logic was all over the place. I wanted a clearer line of logic about what the virtual villain could or could not do, but felt that his abilities kept changing as the script required it to add more tension/conflict.
2018 Memories of the Alhambra – They should have excluded the romance entirely. It made no sense. I was really tired of seeing his dead friend in VR popping up over and over to kill him.
Shows by Lee WooJung
I only watched Reply 1988 and snippets of a couple of others. I liked the slice of life part more than the romance part.
2020 Hospital Playlist – Have not watched it. Maybe I will.
Shows by Park JiEun
2013 You Who Came from the Stars – I was very impressed that the dorky Song Sam Dong of Dreamhigh was the coolest alien Do Min Joon. Loved this pairing and the sentiment.
2016 The Legend of the Blue Sea – I dropped this although Jun Ji Hyun/Gianna Jun was good. I was amused by the number of high end coats she could get out of the 2nd hand clothes dumpster (or whatever it’s called).
2019 Crash Landing on You – It was good while it lasted but does not make we want to rewatch. I hope the ‘reel life’ couple make it for the long term in real life.
Rooftop Prince – My first Han Ji Min drama, yup the ending was weird, from the beginning the drama setting up this doppelganger storyline only to brushed it off and then brought him back the last few minutes. The ending did not make sense. One of the king entourage was squid from Extraordinary You.
I like Signal, I recommend this to my guy friend when they want to get a taste of non romance kdrama.
@GB regarding Hospital Playlist I suggest waiting for it to finish before you start it. But you will have to wait a while because of the seasonal format. The fan wars are intense. And whilst most of us WANT to focus on the slice of life segments (which is the vast majority of it), the fact that there is obviously a “guess the end game couple(s)” game intertwined in there tends to overwhelm the poignant elements. A bit like Start Up. Where with the current second rewatch here everyone is able to look beyond the fan wars and see all the other elements woven in the plot (which was just lost in the heat of the battle). If you want to start it you’re more than welcome of course but steel yourself for the war. Just sayin’. 😂
Kim Eun Sook likes everything over the top though haha, her stories always feel like fantasy world even when not. Haha. I do think she’s taking SHK side since they’re closer. And Kim Eun Sook has a certain type of female lead she likes, she likes to recast her same actors and actresses. I’m hoping she gives the lead to Park Seo Jeon. I want new people.
What genre do you guys think she’s going to try next, her new director for her new drama directed Memories of Alhambra, Secret Forest and Record of Youth, I’m not really sure about him but I’m guessing a law drama or a sci fi again? What do you think?
I think maybe the heaviness of the newer Hong Sisters dramas have been pushing me away from them a little. Hotel de Luna was fantastic but I didn’t care for the romance of the main couple I was more invested in her past story and was dying for her to reunite with her ex. I didn’t like Hwayugi despite loving it at the beginning.
I agree with your like for writers that are closers. I also end up getting frustrated when the ending ruins a show. Urgh. I just can’t stand it when that happens. I think Song Jae’s endings are always open ended apart from Queen Inhyun they always make sense with what she shows so it always feels sad but it’s understandable.
I remember liking the plot twist of rooftop prince and screaming with frustration at that ending. After all the build up and pain and emotional turmoil it just felt like a cheap lazy cop out and I was annoyed.
@nrllee
Interesting when I watched Hospital Playlist, I didn’t spend much time on social media or forum so I was not aware of the intense fan-war, Is it on SongHwa character?
Me personally did not connect with any of the couple on the show because it just happened?? Like YooYeonSoek and that resident, sure she’s obsessed with him but never realized he’s that into her to abandoned his dream of being a priest lol.. and JungKyungHo with the army major relationship also felt a bit meh for me.
The friendship between the five in the Hospital Playlist is the star for me, felt like an upgrade friendship from Reply 1988 and as you mentioned the slice of life segment, the doctor-patient story, the doctor’s background story.
“ Me personally did not connect with any of the couple on the show because it just happened?? Like YooYeonSoek and that resident, sure she’s obsessed with him but never realized he’s that into her to abandoned his dream of being a priest lol”
Bingo. Did that relationship (and the purported kiss in the last ep) make sense to you? Yes we can definitely see it from her (the resident Dr Maggot’s) perspective. But did it make sense for him to make that move in the end – when he hardly spoke a word to her other than for work related issues? 😂🤔. That “ship” – WinterGarden is the biggest one around right now in HP. It would be similar in size and “voice” to JP shippers. BOD is the FlowerGarden (SHwa JMD -JWon YYS) haven. Just like it became the default DS haven to discuss the drama away from the JP shippers. Because as soon as you state that you see something happening in the FG space, you will get a hoard of WGrs bearing down on you and ridiculing your point of view in an attempt to drown it out. Exactly what happened in Start Up except I would say even more intense because we had it coming from IkJun (the single dad) and SHwa shippers as well. Because for FG to sail, the other 2 ships have to sink. 🙂
Thank you for the good warning @nrllee. I was vaguely aware since BoD had restrictions up and all. I don’t normally bother about stuff going on outside of the show. Although I don’t plan to start watching it at the moment, I believe I’d be sort of solitary in my viewing since the first season has passed. Anyway it’s just a maybe for watching.
It’s ridiculous that bullying goes online with faceless trolls. Might be disenfranchised individuals who need a power trip.
@nrllee
I thought that the shipping war is between SongHwa-IkJun and SongHwa-TheOtherDoctorWhoGaveHerShoes sorry I forgot his name, thank you for clearing it up. Wow it must be hard for FlowerGarden shipper, I can imagine how smug the other side would be with that ending LOL
I saw the protected HP post but since I’m too late anyway I thought I’ll join HP discussion when Season 2 start.
Gotta give credit to SongHwa, she’s so likeable. She’s naturally cute without aegyo, smart, and has such a big heart.
Bingo!
It’s YYS and that resident. (Same here: the army soldier relationship didn’t set me on fire but that’s okay. I don’t mind side stories anyway.)
But that resident made zero sense. You know how I said that JP’s scrunchie incident was a deal breaker? Well, this resident’s dealbreaker came early in the drama. A child was wheeled into emergency room, and she scolded the distraught mom for not knowing how to give CPR and do “chest compression” on her child. 🤡 What the heck?
And there were more red flags, to list a few:
She didn’t want YYS to perform a complicated surgery bec it wasn’t likely to be successful. She said that Songhwa’s niceness was all fake — and got smacked down for that one. She passed around pretzels and reserved the choco pie for herself. She was the only General Surgery resident so all the department heads were “courting” her. She chose to assist at IkJun’s surgeries only so she could be set up with YYS. Does that make sense? Is the hospital a dating service? 🤦♀️
And you know what’s uncanny? Most fangirls who were shipping Dalmi with JP are shipping YYS with this resident. 🙂
Btw, I’m reposting all the Hospital Playlist discussions on the hiatus thread. That way, miracle23 can see them later on and won’t be searching for our comments. 🙂
And you know what really takes the cake with their fans is that they’ve been harassing our people on social media. And it never stops. These fools doxxed a member of our group just recently. I went on my twitter account @crankypackmule3 yesterday to lend support to one of our posters because she was harassed and bullied online for having an opinion different from the rest.
She wasn’t the only one though….
You said it, nrllee. 🙂
Thank goodness “Start-Up” finished in one season!
Hospital Playlist is now — what?? — guaranteed one more season?? multiple seasons? Oh gosh!
Surely, this can’t be like the saga of Rachel and Ross on “Friends.” That’s what the director said he wanted to do, right? A Korean version of “Friends.” And Ross even married a couple of times to other girls before finally ending up with Rachel.
That’s why I wasn’t worried about that resident’s kiss at the end of Season 1. The Winter Gardeners thought it was the “end,” but I believed it was only the first lap of a long race. I said so, too. At the season finale, I said if this series was going to have a three-season run, then the tide was going to turn for us in the later season, AND that it was better for our girl Songhwa come in slow but steady. Just like she tossed the empty water bottle at the runaway dad (for the knockout!!) after THAT poor resident chased him all around the hospital.
And yes, this blog became the default site for the Flower Gardeners after they were chased away from other drama sites.
Yes, that ending for “Rooftop Prince” was a “cop out.” The script was written by a man, if you must know. Lee Hee Myung.
I tried to give him a second chance with his “The Girl Who Sees Scents” (starring that “Run On” girl, lol) but nope, he petered out after the 6th episode or so. He couldn’t seem to develop a plot twist at the right moment of the drama. He would miss the boat.
(Kim EunSook was over-the-top but there was never a dull moment. lol.)
@packmule3 🍪🍪🍪 for you for taking us (FGrs) in. Currently cast have signed on 2 seasons for sure. Even in the official script reading, it was mentioned that it was definitely going for 2. Future seasons I guess depends on whether the cast can commit to something like this long term. It does tie them down and forces them to turn down other projects. And if LeeShin want to move on from the medical genre to another in the “Wise Living” series. Prison Playbook was the first in this series. HP is the second installment. Not sure where they will take us in the 3rd.
This was what Shin told them in his opening address during the official script reading. The inspiration behind HP and how they birthed the idea.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T574tjTVSHc_VCcgXq-_btPsVm0JeuumYQACbrm_XFQ/
I’ve noticed that recently we have shared the dealbreakers for the second leads on the dramas we watch here in BoD. It’s interesting because I could never find discussions like this on other platforms because so many would have the infamous second lead syndrome. It would be awesome to have a list of something about these deal breakers.
I could only refer to Jipyeong (Start Up), Byeongin (Mr. Queen), Baek Kyung (EY), and Dohyun’s character (HDL) cause they’re the 2nd leads that I know of. [Also Seojun (TB) but I don’t watch this drama so he’s not counted]. Because of BoD (but initially when I found the TKIL forum and met @packmule3 etc.), I become less likely rooting for the 2nd leads. Tho I’d still sometimes get the syndrome, somehow I become less salty that my teams lose.
It’d be awesome to have comparisons of the traits of kdrama 2nd leads and like see the trend that goes on or something. Hihi just my fleeting thought.
I just saw your post on twitter that is seriously messed up 🙄
As crazy and loud as jp/sh’s fangirl are, JooHyuk and SuZy already have an established army ready to fight for them. Case in point when SH fangirl was badmouthing JooHyuk and SuZy at his fancafe, it got reported and there’s even articles written about it which ended up with the fan cafe admin officially apologizing.
So I can only imagine the harrasment FlowerGarden squad receive especially if it’s a number or who’s louder game 😑
On HP the only pairing I kinda like was Seokhyung-Minha bear-bear couple because they established the relationship and I can see the progression.
Byeongin’s dealbreaker for me was the kiss. 🙂 Normally, his head really should have rolled off for touching the “King’s woman.”
But I’m giving him a chance since I had the impression (or MISimpression) that he helped out the Queen in the Chinese version of this drama.
JP was the scrunchie. I said that if we applied the same standards we used for the “Other Woman/The Evil Girlfriend” then it’s obvious this JP was scum.
As for Baek Kyung, it was his anger issues (part of it was from the cartoon writer who was controlling him, though). SeoJun also had anger issues but thank goodness, it was only directed at SuHo.
DoHyun from “Hotel Del Luna” — visually, his dealbreaker was his smile (hahaha. See I’ve allergies for guys who smile too much). Seriously though, the dealbreaker was his psychological torture. I discussed it at length during Hotel del Luna. I said that he deliberately caused Manwol to go berserk. He drove her to insanity. How:
1) He knew that Manwol loved her “brother” and he had him killed in front of her. 2) He made Manwol think that she was the reason her whole gang of bandits was killed when actually he brokered a deal to get himself out of trouble with the king. Manwol went on a rampage to avenge the massacre of her people. 3) He wanted Manwol to kill him, too, so he could have his death on her conscience. Manwol was a better swordsman than he was.
If Manwol had to pay the price for all the deaths, then DoHyun had a BIGGER price to pay because he lit the fuse in her. He should have stopped at their farewell at the beach and let her go her own way peacefully.
Also, the media write-up about the show, prior to its airing, said this:
“A woman who has been cursed for a sin she committed in the past. Because she cannot find a soul who has committed a greater sin than herself, she has been forced and trapped to be the president of the Hotel de Luna for 1,000 years. — source: soompi forum
I only found out about this blurb after the show ended but it totally made sense. Of course, the “soul who has committed a greater sin than herself” was no other than DoHyun. She couldn’t “find” him because he was trapped as a firefly himself. And because he drove her to insanity, he was punished as a firefly for a thousand years, which was worse than being punished as a HUMAN for a thousand years. It was a curse that he brought upon himself, both literally and symbolically.
And after she found him again, “the one who committed a greater sin than herself,” she was freed and released from her tenure as president of the hotel.
Taek’s rival in Hospital Playlist was JH. JH’s main fault was that he wasn’t a baduk player, but a Chinese Checkers guy. lol.
Kidding aside, it was his fangirls who insisted that he was even a serious contender. I told them at soompi to watch the EYES. Taek was a quiet one but his eyes were always on her. Sure enough, it was revealed in the end, that he and Deoksun had always been closer than everybody thought, because of his accident when they were kids. I also told them that he did NOT cross the line when the whole point of Episode 8 (?) was about taking that extra step to cross the line. These went over their heads…
Same thing with Hospital Playlist. I say that Songhwa is keeping secrets. 🙂
Total mindblowing moment when I read the highlighted sentence @packmule3. Woah, just woah 🤯.
Gonna keep this in my memory whenever I decide to rewatch HDL.
I don’t watch Hospital Playlist but I was so intrigued with the ship names used so I researched them. And seeing that Songhwa (Flower) is a main lead and Gyeo Wool (Winter) is a supporting, I would support you flower gardeners in the sidelines 😁. What a bummer that they made this drama into a seasonal one when there’s still a third one to be made. I wonder what world/occupation would the 3rd wise life be.
Yes, it’s messed up. I always told the Flower Gardeners here NOT to fight with them on social media. I also told our people NOT to post my blog articles on social media to start a fight with them. 🙂 It creates more “clutter” for me when I’ve deal with their spams. (Just like some of JP fans tried to spam me.)
It’s not my problem who people want to ship. They can ship whomever.
In the same token, they shouldn’t tell me who I could let in on my blog, or what to think or post on my blog. It drives them nuts that this blog exists and it’s off-limits to them.
It’s sad how they want to censor opinions, or stalk and harass people that they don’t agree with. They have problems distinguishing between real people and fictional characters, and between real people whose lives they try to wreck and these actors-who-don’t-know-them-at-all who they would gladly kill for. There’s a mental disconnect when they could get their panties (or boxers) in a twist whenever I dissected a character, but they would, without hesitation, dox a real person on social media because she happens to have a different opinion. One is drama; the other one is real world. What is so hard to understand there?
Sigh. So shameful. So shameless.
If these are the youngsters (goodness, I hope none of the were adults!) who will later rule the earth, the future doesn’t look so bright.
Second Lead Syndrome Deal Breaker what a fun idea LeeDale9198 👍🏻
StartUp – teenage jp was emo but I forgive NamDaReum easily, but then Jp badmouthed DoSan in front of Halmeoni was the big turn off, the scrunchie incident was the pinnacle of why jp is a villain in the story of DoSan and DalMi.
Reply 1988 – It came as early as Ep1 for me when JH kneed DS who was washing lettuce. I thought what a douche.
Extraordinary You – Baek Kyung was simply a grumpy ass (LeeJaeWook did great though)
Hotel Del Luna – CM was dead so for me not much of a contender for SL, plus his backstory was horrifying
And that’s on the internet culture here in my country @packmule3. So many here lack critical thinking, it’s really difficult to get your deviant opinions out because the collective mind here is just so. PH netizens are vicious and unforgiving. No qualms at all, just straight up attack and bully and they’d be not guilty.
I can’t fully comprehend it myself, and it’s also not easy for me to explain complicated things.
And worst is, the bullies could just get away with it really. As much as you want to report it to authorities, little to no action would be made because of factors like the victims having the burden of looking for evidences, also having no means or money to report and file cases on something like this. Add the pandemic now to the mix and it’s just so disappointing and sickening.
It really hits straight to the heart as I’ve been brutally crucified on a provincial scale on FB because of my opinion about our representative in a national pageant. I just said that I don’t think she had what it takes to win the national pageant, don’t think she could win the title but I’d look forward to her future endeavors in pageantry. They didn’t like that I was not supportive of the person who’s bringing the name of our province in the national pageant. So they shared my post and my profile and invited everyone to basically bully me. They body shamed and smart shamed me. Edited photos of me, even comparing me to the candidate. They said horrible and nasty things to me and my family. Even death threats because some challenged me to come out of my house because they’d stone me.
I was not ready at all at the backlash. I don’t think someone is ready to receive this much harrasment online. Yes I had my faults, maybe it was conceited of me to not believe or to be not impressed by the candidate, maybe I should’ve kept my opinion to myself and my friends only. It was oversight on my part that my post is public because usually my posts’ privacy are set to friends only but because I resetted the FB app so I forgot the privacy settings would change to default.
That day passed by like nothing happened. Our candidate didn’t win the pageant like I predicted to. People on my side encouraged me to file cases, sending me screenshots of the posts of those who harrased me. But my mother just said to let it go, things happened; just not post my opinions anymore. I felt like I was cut off. It’s best to just be silent about it. I didn’t receive apologies. Nothing.
It was and still is a horrible memory for me, I’m still reminded by it once in a while.
Forgive me for posting such a depressive out of topic comment.
Stoning? Death threats over a post??? What’s the world coming to, LeeDale9198? Weren’t you scared of walking out at night?
I hope there was somebody to defend you, too. Or to call out the bullies. My heart goes out to you, LeeDale9198.
I’m proud of how MitchiGreenTea and the others came out to defend Jane. The Flower Gardeners are such a small group that they’re easy targets to harassment from the Jang fans. That’s how they were chased out of most drama sites, FB and even the Korean forum (I think).
I think it helped that she could speak their language, too, because she could say it best in a most effective way. There’s no miscommunication or translation required.
Social media has really contributed greatly to the coarsening of public discourse. Used to be, you could debate, argue, and still invite each other for drinks (without poison, of course). But nowadays…sigh… I don’t know what’s wrong with them.
Oh dear @LeeDale9198 that’s really horrible. I can understand your being traumatised by so much unwarranted bullying and even death threats!!! Just for expressing an opinion. Very wrong of all who participated in that.
I will go around with much circumspection if ever I want to state an opinion.
There are so many shows that portray bullying but few if any ever have the bullies called out on it or punished. I was hoping to see some light there in Uncanny Counter but I’m not sure if the Yung spirits, themselves, are not also implicit bullies, where their welfare trumps anyone else’s.
@LeeDale 9198
The experience you describe is a horrible one. You have all my sympathy and support, if it is needed. Social media have made it so easy for people to pour out what Carl Gustav Jung (the founder of analytical psychology) calls the “Shadow”.
Facebook, and internet communication in general has become a field full of dangers for people with common sense and good opinions. I think that is why our honoured leader has established this blog, so that we can comment on k-dramas in a safe way and, to some extent, make personal contact with respect, decency and an inoffensive use of the language.
Don’t expect those nasty persons who became your critics to apologise to you; they will not feel the necessity. They will not have the intelligence to see that what they have done is in any way unacceptable to other, more sensible people.
The basic advice I would offer is: hide your identity on Facebook and other media platforms as much as you can. Keep on participating, but give out the absolute minimum of information.
Let this unpleasantness fade into the distance of time. The hurtful sting will pass, and you will be more internet expert because of it.
Now that the Twitter thing has passed, we hope we can have our discussions and interactions with our mutuals in peace. The principle is very easy actually : Agree to disagree and stay at your own backyard while you are at it.
Targeting BoD, its members views and bringing it to other platform like Twitter for public harassment is really crossing the line.
Those who seek to enjoy the games called socmed should understand and learnt from this – You reap what you sow. The kind of mindset and attitude you make a habit from being in socmed will define you. Hence, be cautious not to get swallowed into becoming a dark person hiding behind keyboard that you will later regret. Everything has its consequences, be it good or bad. 😑
@LeeDale9198
I’m sorry to hear what you went through. You mentioned that you’re not ready for the backlash but no one should have to be ready or go through what you did. Cyber bullying using death threat is no joke.
Self restraint is as dead as a doornail for some people under the guise of keyboard. Not to mention that the anonymity of social media brings out a mob mentality. Who cares about casualty when you don’t have to confront the victim face to face. Likes and followers are the ultimate goal.
Agree with Miracle23 everything has consequences, people should not be complacent because they think no one can touch them behind the screen.
Hey @packmule3 and everyone!
What an amazing thread! I have seen some of these series you have said @packmule3 and so far I have decided :
1. To follow an actor / actress I really like
2. To follow the scriptwriters.
Based on the info you gave us above:
I haven’t seen anything from The Hong Sisters. Although I have started Hotel De Luna this past summer, I stopped watching it, hence I don’t know what else to say about them.
From Kim Eun Seok, I have seen The King Eternal Monarch and the Goblin.
I want to see though Mr. Sunshine (it’s my mom’s favorite) and the Secret Garden.
From Song Jae Jung, I am currently watching W:Two Worlds Apart and I am really enjoying so far. The funny thing is circa 2013 I have written a short story in greek about an author who kills one of his characters and what happens to the character next. I love this piece so very much and when I found these series it intrigued me, because of the arc.
It is rather interesting to see a whole play about an author, the world he created and what happens to that world. Can the world have a life of its own or not? If yes, can the author stop it or not?
So, her work intrigues me so far and I want to see more. I have heard that Nine: Nine times Time travel is pretty good and that Merories of Alhambra has a weird ending. I also heard that Yumi’s Cell will be out in 2021 so I might give it a try.
As for Lee Woo Jung and the Reply series. I have heard that they are pretty good, but seriously I didn’t have time to watch them. I am trying my best, but at the same time I don’t want to overload my system – lol!
Lastly, as for Park Ji Eun I have seen the Legend of the Blue Sea, It was good.
I have seen the first episode of My Love From the Star / You who come from the stars but I wasn’t in the mood I guess to continue it.
As for Crash Landing On You I haven’t watched it. Although I want to and everyone arounds me tell me to watch it already, I cannot seem to agree yet.
So I basically follow my guts.
That’s all for now… *smiles*
P.S. @LeeDale9198 I just read what happenend on twitter. I am so sorry you had to go through these stuff!
One of the reasons I am not using twitter any longer, although I have an account is that I am really tired from all those people who don’t know how to communicate and attack the others, if they express any different thoughts. I have become a social media hermit and I kinda like it.
I wrote a big comment and I lost it *facepalm*
I got it, @ Cleopatra. Wait a second.
Okay @Packmule3 !
*phew* I didn’t keep a copy and I had to start over writing it again.
Do you see it now? You thought you lost it but it did go through just fine (welll…it went to my spam box, lol). 🙂
Yes I just did! Thank you!
I hope all is well with you!
Hello everyone 🙂. It took me long but Thank you all so much for the support and advice you give me.
The death threats are nonsense because I believe those who posted those just said it without meaning it(?) you know what I mean?. They also lived on different towns/municipalities. Yes I’m kinda safe because of the pandemic and also I don’t really go out of my house. But receiving those threats still hurt. People just have no qualms at all blurting things like that.
Most of my FB friends understood what I was trying to say and defended me. Tho it was like a double edged sword because they sent me the screenshots of the nasty posts for me to compile in case I would like to file a lawsuit against the bullies. Still I appreciate them. They know how I am as a person and as their fellow resident of our hometown. My mother’s a respected teacher here so I’m kinda known as well so everyone’s on my side.
With that experience on hand, I become more vigilant on my FB usage. I don’t post as much anymore (My FB presence was at a minimum to begin with, now it’s zero, just posted only the obligatory holiday greetings). My only concern now is on how to rid all the posts and edited pictures about me. I’d have to deactivate my current fb account and make a new one. But those posts, I still don’t know. I have no plans of opening FB right now after all.
Dear LeeDale9198,
I don’t know where you live, but from what I know in Greece, those cases make a complain at the cyber crime unit of police.
This is not a joke and you should be protected.
I am glad you are okay. I didn’t know how extended that matter was.
*sending positive thoughts and hugs*
GUYS Kim EunSook has her new drama synopsis and I am fascinated by it but also I’ve heard some plagiarism in apparently involved because there’s a Japanese manga that is similar to the plot. Now I don’t know how to feel about that, the plot is oddly similar however I think she just took an idea and ran with it like inspiration? What do you think. I am excited to analyse this plot because it’s going to question morals and more. Also I think she was inspired probably by sky castle, and that’s probably why she chose to do this plot? What do you think
Here’s the plot for you: The Glory
A high school student dreamed of one day working as an architect. She became a victim of high school violence perpetrated by her fellow students. She dropped out of high school because of the bullying. She then planned revenge on her tormentors and also the bystanders who did nothing.
That student is now an adult. She has waited for the leader of her tormentors to get married and have a child. That child is now an elementary school student. The women who was once a victim of school violence, is now the homeroom teacher of her tormentor’s child. Her cruel revenge plot begins in earnest.
Is this the one starring Song ?? –whoops! Brain Freeze! I forgot her name — the actress in “Descendants of the Sun”? @nrllee mentioned something.
Yeh it’s the new drama with her
SongHyeKyo new drama, from news it will have multiple season and the plot @beingwritten describe will run for 8 episode
“We may be in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
I recently watched the 2019 Chinese movie “Better Days” after it turned up on a search of MyDramaList for movies in the romance drama genre. (I’m getting burned out bingeing 16+ episodes of c/k drama series, so thought I’d try movies instead for awhile.). “Better Days” was brutal but also a very moving love story. I saw that it’s recently been nominated for an Oscar in the Best International Film category in the upcoming Academy Awards.
I would highly recommend this movie to the BoD community because:
1) While I have never personally experienced or witnessed girls/young women bullying other girls, I felt it was important for me as a woman to see this. Maybe I led a sheltered life as a middle-class American teenager growing up in the 1970s (although I did attend an inner-city high school)?
2) Although we mainly watch dramas like Love O2O for entertainment, it’s important to occasionally remind ourselves of the real conditions of many people living in these countries. And it was the first time I felt viscerally the sheer magnitude of 1.4 billion people in China – something like 9-10 million students sit the national entrance exam for university in one day! Mind boggling.
3) Finally, I would like to nominate ML ‘Bei’ for best boyfriend of the antihero type. If I had to raise my family in such a tough neighbourhood, I would definitely want him as my daughter’s boyfriend.
Oh, I almost forgot!
Be sure to keep watching “Better Days” past the initial end credits. There’s an epilogue to the story. I didn’t do this the first time and couldn’t understand the ‘ending’ until I re-watched the final scenes and initial credits before seeing there was more!
@Rebecca – thanks for the recommendation! Better Days is in Amazon Prime for rent. Will put it in my watch list.
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