Hey everyone!

Like what we did for the past couple of years, we’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, yay! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok.

My annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: Ele, Natalia, JJ, Sean, j3ffc, Uyen, MC, Elaine.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that lotusgirl is sharing her drama year.

We haven’t seen lotusgirl around as much this past year, but, as you’ll see in her post, she’s been enjoying a full and active life, what with her varied interests AND her expanding brood of grandkids!

Among her many talents, lotusgirl is also a skilled photographer and artist, and you can check out more of her fantastic work at her blog here! 🤩 You can find her on Instagram @lamosscreative as well.

I don’t know how she does it, but in spite of it all, lotusgirl still makes time for dramas, and for us, her pals, over at Patreon.

Thanks lotusgirl, for making time for us – and for taking the time to write this post!

I hope you guys enjoy!

~ KFG ❤️

Lotusgirl’s Year in Dramas

Thank you! Thank you! Here’s to the amazing KFG! The hostess with the mostest!  We love her!

Thanks for entrusting your blog baby to us Drama junkies from Patreon. She is a brave soul! She has really gotten to know us though our interactions on Patreon so maybe that helps her not be worried that we’ll burn the place down or anything.

I always love reading the comments of all those who have already posted their Year in Dramas so far. It’s been fun to get to know and become friends with my fellow readers and KFG on Patreon. It’s a wonderful community.

My Kdrama journey started in late 2016 under my daughter’s influence. The whole story is HERE and HERE if you’re interested.

Just a little bit of an update about me:

I’m getting a new grandson in a few weeks. He’s due at the beginning of February. That will bring the grand total up to 6 grandchildren for this music loving, artist, photographer and crafter who studied Latin and French in school.

I still paint often, but my latest projects have tended to be more in the knitting vein with all the little ones in the family.

Here are the last two animals I made.

The first is directly from the pattern.

The Ram: 

The second is made from the pattern with a lot of creative maneuvering to make it into Fox McCloud at my son’s request for his little girl.

Fox McCloud:

I have very varied tastes in dramas.

Political machinations, I’m good;

gooey romance, I’m good;

musical, I’m very good;

a bit of murder even the serial kind, I’m good (although this has gotten a little or a lot pervasive in romances lately and unnecessarily so);

Action,

Sci-Fi,

Fantasy,

Time hijinks,

Ghosts,

Monsters,

Mysteries,

I’m all good, even modified zombies like the ones in Happiness,

(I’ve had to change this from past years. Zombies used to be a no-go zone.) I’m just not into shows with gratuitous violence or steaminess.

Now that you know all that, let’s get on with the show.

Let’s get this part done at the beginning so there won’t be a downer later. Yes, I am the one who likes the bad news first and then the good.

Disappointments:

You know we all have them! It’s inevitable. A show is so built up, and we are soooo excited to see it… then duh, duh, duh.

Crash Course in Romance  — so many actors I love and so many cute scenes — the story went off the track into a lot of weeds.

King the Land — so anticipated, so much beauty to be found and so many swoony scenes — the story lost its focus and heart.

Sweet Home 2 — I was surprised by how much I loved the first one and was so excited for the continuation of the story — the story went in too many different directions with the mass mayhem in the stadium and too much, too much and not enough focus on the main thread of the story.

It reminded me of Harry Potter book 5 (not in the storyline but in the wondering around nature of things where you get lost in the minutia of something cool or weird happening and there’s not enough editing).

My Lovely Liar — so much great music, some real heart and cuteness with swooniness thrown in on occasion — the story spent too much time in murder and lost what made the beginning work.

Heartbeat — such a unique storyline and so much hilarity from Taecyeon — the story got lost and meandered a bit and some of the humor was too OTT for me.

Castaway Diva — Beautiful music and voices and a unique set up (this should have been a slam dunk. It’s a musical for crying out loud! It should have at least been in my top 10).

Alas as much as I loved it, it drove me kind of crazy. All the murder distraction. Couldn’t this have been more about the amazing success of the girl stranded on an island for 15 years and the comeback of her idol?

I even liked the shifting of what they really wanted into the storyline, so that wasn’t the problem. A little less mayhem and a lot more singing would have made this much better.

I chose all my honorees by how much I enjoyed the shows and, for the individuals, their performances.

Honorable Mentions:

All of these worked for me and I enjoyed them very much. They had their flaws, but were worth the watch.

Not in any particular order:

Call It Love, Divorce Atty Shin, Not Others, The Glory Pts. 1 and 2, The Secret Romantic Guesthouse, Silent (Japanese), Payback: Money & Power, Miraculous Brothers, One Day Off, See You in my 19^th Life, Celebrity, Alchemy of Souls 2, Soundtrack 2, Island Pts. 1 and 2

Top 10 from 2023

10. Black Knight

I watched this because I liked the premise and wanted to see Kim Woo Bin be all cool and tough and take no prisoners!

In a dystopian world “devastated by air pollution” according to Netflix, KWB plays 5-8 the toughest of the Black Nights, the deliverymen who bring oxygen and necessities to the general populace.

The storyline was unique and twisty-turny. There is a definite need for suspension of disbelieve which I don’t have a problem with. I tend to go with the flow on that.

I loved the relationship that 5-8 has with his trainee and the trainee’s story. Show kept me on the edge of my seat. It is pretty short at 6 episodes.

I don’t know if you would have the same reaction as I did, but here’s some info in case you need it like I did.

I was so worried about KWB’s health (after his recent recovery from cancer) when I saw him smoking in some scenes. I found out though that the cigarettes were just props and the smoke was CGI. I was so relieved.

9. Doona

I watched this because I liked the premise and have a soft spot for Yang Se Jong. He was in one of the early Kdramas I watched. Also, Suzy Bae had done such a good job with the show Anna last year that I wanted to see her acting again in something.

The first episode about turned me off to it though. Suzy Bae’s character, Doona is so unpleasant that I thought I couldn’t handle watching the whole series with someone like that around.

This is where having a hard time dropping a show is a good thing. I thought I should keep going. I’m glad I did.

Doona’s character arc was very compelling, and I loved the slow deliberate way she changes and conquers her demons and the role that Yang Se Jong’s character, Lee Won Joon plays in her development. I was very impressed with YSJ and SB’s acting in this.

8. Daily Dose of Sunshine

I watched this because I liked the set up and because I generally like Park Bo Young.

I was expecting this to be a very different, very cheery show going in. It was much more serious and realistic about mental illness than I expected.

Show reached in a touched my heart deeply especially when our main character or someone close to her was dealing with some sort of trauma or disorder.

7. A Time Called You

I watched this because I watched the Taiwanese version and enjoyed it and wanted to see what Korea would do with the storyline.

Both shows were great! I know most people in these parts preferred the Taiwanese version, but I preferred the Korean (except for the terrible wig used for one of the characters in some later episodes).

6. The Good Bad Mother

I didn’t like the title or the premise of this one at first, but I heard a lot of good reports about it. I kept putting off watching it until it was all out and, at that point, I hit a hard lull in my watching. I decided to give it a try and blew through all the episodes.

It was not at all like I had thought.

Ra Mi Ran gives an amazing performance. Lee Do Hyun does a great job as the son who returns home after a traffic accident that leaves him different than the ambitious student who made such a great name for himself but thought his mother was so mean to him growing up.

I loved how they came to see each other through the course of the story.

5. Twinkling Watermelon

I watched this because it was a musical and the premise was interesting, too.

I adored the music! And the dancing! And the way performing gave each of the band members such joy!

This watch was basically a fair amount of goofy smiling for me. It was such a fun escape except for when it made me cry.

4. The Kidnapping Day

This one had fallen under the radar for me. It was all out when I found it on Prime Video. I had seen a trailer for it and it seemed like it had potential.

Yoon Kye Sang plays Kim Myung Joon, a desperate man trying to save his daughter who is in the hospital and needs a surgery that he doesn’t have money for. His ex-wife comes to him with a proposal that he kidnap Choi Ro Hee, played amazingly well by Yu Na, and ransom her back to her parents for the money.

Myung Joon decides to do it against his better judgement. When he goes to her neighborhood to kidnap her, he accidentally hits her when she runs into the street.

[SPOILER ALERT]

She ends up with amnesia (yes, tropey, but it works) from the accident. He tells her he is her father and takes care of her. He decides to take her back to her parents but discovers they have both died in a car accident.

What is so great about this show is the relationship between Myung Joon and Ro Hee. She is incredibly smart and figures out pretty quick that Myung Joon isn’t her dad. Still, he’s an amazing dad.

[END SPOILER]

Through all the twisty-turniness, murder, mayhem, torture and mad-scientist’s scheming, and general all-around greed, he is the one person she can count on. I loved it.

3. Dr. Romantic 3

Unlike KFG, I love medical shows. There was a time I wanted to be a doctor and took my fair share of medical classes.

Doctors and nurses taking good care of patients makes me happy.

With Master Kim managing the doctors, they better make the patients their priority. I loved the first 2 seasons of this, so I was eagerly anticipating this one. It was fantastic though not as good as season 2.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Medical hi-jinks, a new trama center for Doldam Hospital, but, no, really just next door to Doldam and basically taking the best trauma people from Doldam.

Oh! No! And the trama center has a lot of rules about who they can and can’t treat. It’s a controversy.  And there are tragedies happening all the while.

Of course, Master Kim, masterfully handles things — well sort of — while his hand cramping and numbness worsen to the point that he often has to stop during operations or can’t operate at all, gasp!

Then, all heck breaks loose! Building collapse! Lawsuits! Fire! Deaths! Injuries! That was why we needed the hospitals to work together people!

[END SPOILER]

It was a fun ride! Lots of adrenaline!

2. My Dearest

I watched this because Sean said it was maybe one of his all-time favorite shows. I hadn’t watched it before because of the mixed reviews I was getting. I usually agree with Sean over on Patreon and so I bit the bullet and gave it a try.

The first episode is not my favorite. Kind of like with Doona, some of the main characters were kind of grating. I persisted in part because some of the cinematography was so nice. That got me through until the characters had grown some.

Then, wow! The story filled out and the characters grew and changed and their honest natures shown through sometimes and became who they were.

The cinematography and the music were characters in their own right to me. It is a show that was just beautiful to watch, and, when the music was playing, listen to. There were so many stunning shots! Namgoong Min was also amazing!

1. Moving

As soon as I saw the trailer for this, I knew it was special. Unique storyline. Amazing cast. Gifts or Curses. New approach.

As I recall it was on Disney+ in Asia, but I couldn’t get it in the US. I was so mad. Why would they exclude the US on such an amazing show? It was obvious someone had spent a lot of money on it. The special effects, costuming, make-up, set, etc., were all the next level.

I was complaining on Patreon about not being able to see it and someone told me that some of the Disney+ shows end up on Hulu. I went and looked, and, lo and behold, it was on Hulu. I did a little happy dance.

A new channel providing Kdramas that I’m already paying for. That’s rare.

I don’t know if they dropped all the episodes at once or if I just didn’t get to see it until all the episodes were out, but I binge watched it late into the night.

It did not disappoint.

The script is tight. The characters are fully developed. The depth of the script is pretty incredible.

As things get revealed little by little and the full picture of the magnitude of what our teenage protagonists face is stunning. Their parents pick up whatever slack there is as best they can.

I love the teens and their parents so much! I’m discovering that some of the best and most original shows are, like this one, based on a webtoon. (Congratulations, Kang Full!)

I’m so impressed with this show! I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there is some significant violence in some episodes (and I think anyone watching it should know that). There is basically a war going on.

If you haven’t seen it. At least give it a try. If the violence isn’t too much for you, and you don’t dislike shows about people with special abilities, I think you’ll love it.

Awards

Best Lead Actor, Actress

Han Hyo Joo — Moving

From loving mother and all she went through to stealthy spy (sometimes in a flash) and awkward young woman falling in love. She played them all.

Namgoong Min — My Dearest

Wow! His expressions captured so much: the mask he wore as a fop or when hiding his true intensions; the rawness when he allowed the mask to drop. The incredible athleticism of his roll was really something as well.

Best Supporting Actor, Actress

Lim Ji Yeon — The Glory

To be able to shift from goddess to devil and back to complete innocence like lightning was so cool and frightening. She’s got some serious skills. Wow!

Ryu Seung Ryong — Moving

I adored his character and he made me feel and bawl, not just cry, but ugly bawl. That’s impressive.

Best OTP

Li Mi Hyun and Kim Doo Shik — Moving

Their romance was so cute at first and then so deep and real. They were perfect together and even when they were apart.

Best Music

My Dearest

Twinkling Watermelon

Castaway Diva

Movies I just have to mention:

The Night Owl

—actually from 2022 but just became available on Viki in the US. I had to rent it, but I was glad I did (Alas, that’s not always the case. I’m looking at you, Love Reset).

The film has historical parameters but is fictional.

Set in the Joseon Dynasty in 1645 when the crown prince dies. Ryu Jun Yeol plays a blind acupuncturist who can see normally in the dark and witnesses the death. I don’t want to reveal more than that if you haven’t seen it.

It is so well done and completely gripping. Edge of your seat.

Kill Boksoon

—on Netflix in the US.

Violence warning if you have problems with that. Jeon Do Yeon plays a famous assassin, who’s a single mom to a teenage daughter. Her relationship with her daughter is great. It’s non-stop. Funny, scary, poignant.

It hit me while I was writing this section up that the two leads in these movies were the leads in my favorite movie in 2021. I suppose they are both still working hard.

Wrap up

It was mostly a good year for kdramas.

I dipped my toes into Jdoramas a bit this year. I didn’t have a favorite from 2023 that made my top ten. Silent made the honorable mentions though.

My favorite was one from 2016 called The Full-time Wife Escape Artist. I love how the episodes incorporated dance breaks for the title shot and the end credits. So fun!

What I’m still in the process of watching now:

This means I at least like it enough to keep watching.

On Netflix:

My Demon

Song of the Bandits

Why didn’t I tell you a million times? (Japanese)

The Makanai:  Cooking for the Maiko house (Japanese)

Welcome to Samdal-ri

On Prime Video:

My Man is Cupid

Viki:

The Matchmakers

Moon in the day

My Lovely Boxer

The Story of Park’s Wedding Contract

A good day to be a dog

Hulu:

Maestra: Strings of Truth

Merry K-watching!

~lotusgirl