Some tips for your summer:

Did you like Love O2O (great review on this site), which was a CN rom-dram where the characters interacted in a virtual reality game then real life? You might like Love Scenery, which is similar but (in my opinion) the writing and acting is a bit better. And the VR is also better done (more an action game in Love Scenery vs over the top fantasy with tons of CGI for O2O). Youtube with english subtitles. I haven’t finished this one, but so far enjoyable. I think those of you who liked Love O2O will almost certainly enjoy this, and some of the rest of us (I would give O2O a C grade) might be won over to the genre.

Netflix USA just dropped Touch Your Heart (see the great review on this site), a lovely low key office rom-dram with Yu In Na and Lee Dong Wook. Great choice if you’d like to see Lee Dong Wook happy. Of course, if you’d like to see him suffer and cry and suffer some more, you can look up the older “Hotel King” if revenge suffering romance melos are your taste. If you’d like to see him doing a balanced amount of suffering and being happy (more happy really), see My Girl, which is crazy, implausible fun in the way that all great 2005 era kdramas are. 🙂

Last one – was Rational Life just a little too low key and realistic for you to fully enjoy? Or perhaps you liked it but wanted to turn up the drama a bit? In that case, consider Excellent Investor, which is a similar CN business Rom-dram with somewhat more heightened reality and sizzle.

i see youre thinking of watching you are my spring. if i could give some thoughts:

its actually much better than i expected. obviously the cast is incredible but the script is REALLY good and the cinematography is even better. i hope it doesnt become like strong girl do bong soon where they tried to fit every genre into one show, but for now its really well done.

Based on what I have seen in other reviews of shows like Love is Sweet, Find Yourself, and She Would Never Know. You are going to love The Rational Life. It was a beautiful watch, and frankly I never wanted it to end.

Hospital playlist 2 is good. Mild vague spoilers below – stop reading this if this bothers you ***

It is hard to quantify what it is that I like, but part of it that the writers generally avoided tropes and cliches. The drama came rather naturally from the situations and did not require improbable coincidences or psychopaths. Season 2 is good but I was shocked to find the noble idiocy cliche here at the end of episode 4 – at least I’m almost certain that’s what happened. Disappointing. The character had previously been written so well, as both a smart and moral person, that I felt like the writers had just put a knife in the back. The behavior was just so dumb (it will inevitably blow up and hurt the other person more, even from the character’s point of view I cannot see how character expects this to not come out given their tangled relationships, close mutual friends), so disrespectful to the partner. Yuck. They just ruined their previously excellent record of not writing junk like this. Otherwise, great show though, with the other plot threads very enjoyable.

You Are My Spring is also an odd show. Kind of like a rom-com with murder mystery at the same time. I guess this fits in the same category as Abyss and I’ll see you when the weather is nice – both of which would have been much better if the murder mystery elements were thrown in the trash since the romance elements were so much better. I guess we could put I Hear Your Voice into this category as well, as an example where the two parts of the story are much better balanced and integrated. Still very early, but it is unpredictable. I’m not sure I get the characters or the relationships yet, but we will see…

Can you do a reaction for every episode if Nevertheless?

Just started my rewatch of Youth of May, having had to give it breathing room from watching it in sync with weekly productions, hoping I will be up to speed in the near future when you have finished it and will be reviewing it for the site. I hope, despite how truly challenging show is emotionally, you are finding it also movingly rewarding. I do think the echo between the opening scene of episode 11 and opening scene of episode 1 will resonate, particularly in conjunction to the whole construction of show’s drama when you finish. One thought ahead of all that: Myeong Hee’s (Go Min Si’s) hands. I have noticed the hands of many fl’s express something about their character’s personalities, never more so than in Youth of May.

Did any of you like Find Yourself but thought that there was just a bit too much angst and engineered misunderstanding? And perhaps that the leads just should have been a bit kinder and more honest with each other? If so, then consider The Rational Life (on netflix in the US). It’s a nice low key CNdrama noona office romance. It is low key in the relative lack of pain and depraved characters – the worst ones are low grade office bullies, not psychopaths. Reminds me of Love is a Bonus Book in this regard – it’s not about suffering. Some good points relative to other CNdramas:

1. The workplace drama is *relatively* realistic and low key. We do have a FL who sleeps upright at work and has perfect bangs the next day, but otherwise…
2. Characters are competent but not super people. There really should be an embargo on genius billionaire model-handsome athletes in CNdrama…
3. ML and FL consistently treat each other with respect, apologize for (relative minor) screw ups.
4. Parent who you know just will not approve – well she turns out to not be that bad or that unreasonable. Refreshing change of pace from other CNdrama driven by a parent who honestly should be in prison the abuse is so bad.
5. FL is strong without being cruel, arrogant or loud. I don’t know what it is so hard for writers to write competent, respected, effective female characters but they did it here. But they really nailed it – she doesn’t yell or bully, stands up for herself and others, and often thinks three steps ahead of her opponents. FL shows a ton of class and restraint at several points – particularly when she had plenty of justification to publicly humiliate and obnoxious (soon to be ex-) boyfriend early on.
6. Multiple times it seems like we would approach a trope (slimy ex-boyfriend engineers relationship trouble, shocker!) but then short circuit the problem relatively quickly by the characters talking to each other like reasonable adults. Refreshing.
7. Leads show remarkable maturity about what they want in life and willingness to oppose social forces to get it.

The pacing is a bit slow (life sometimes literally doesn’t seem long enough to finish CNdramas, haha). And if you are looking for intense conflict/angst, steam, or a good love triangle – this isn’t for you.

Looking at the Comments, I see people are watching such a variety of shows. My choice of shows is almost always driven by the actor I am crushing on at that moment. Currently, it is Seo In Guk and I can’t get enough of him!! 😀
I have finished all of his dramas saving ‘The King’s Face’..

Hi kfangurl,
I love your reviews so much! I’d like to recommend a few Chinese dramas that I really liked with pretty good ratings in China (according to Douban) because I’d love to hear your opinion 😀
I saw another comment recommending this too, but The Imperial Coroner (御赐小仵作) created a lot of buzz while it was airing! I personally loved it and it was pretty popular in China. Probably one of my favorites from this year so far.
Word of Honor (山河令) was definitely one of the most popular dramas of this year. It had high ratings and I really think it deserved it! BL isn’t really allowed in China but this is considered the closest China would ever allow haha. It’s another one of my favorites from this year. These two may just be my top two from this year.
Both of these were known to be dramas where the production team wasn’t really big and wealthy (Word of Honor literally waited for the actual rain to film a raining scene haha) but produced amazing shows.
Two more from this year that were also pretty good were Moonlight (月光变奏曲) and You Are My Hero (你是我的城池营垒). Both are sweet modern romance dramas but portray the main characters’ careers really well.
I’m Chinese-American and grew up watching cdramas (and later also began liking kdramas) which is why I recommended Chinese ones 🙂
Thank you, even if you don’t review these, because I’ve read so many of your reviews and they’re really cool!!

OMG! i would die to read your opinion on Penthouse!!! I am dying of curiosity! U should definitely watch and review it. If u already watched it please just say a few words about it. I found it mind blowing and extreeeemely addicted, but at the smae time it has some logic inconsistencies. I would love to see how u percieve those. I adore ur posts. They are amazing and so full of ideas I would have neverb thought about. I absolutely love ur blog!!!

Hi kfungirl,
I always check your reviews and they are are amazing. I know you watch Chinese drama. So i want to recommend two Chinese drama to you . Whenever you find time , please check them . They are GEMS.

The Imperial Coroner 2021
Ancient Detective 2020

Hi fangirl!
I hope you’re having a lovely day, I noticed that you are watching Vincenzo which is interesting and I wondered when you finished whether you will write a review on it, as I’m really interested to read what you have to say.
Whether you liked it or not, it doesn’t matter I will still read it that is how good your reviews are.
May I ask how is it going so far? as for me I had watched the writer Park Jae Bum previous works Chief Kim and Fiery Priest which are much lighter though they have serious moments too just not as brutal.
So, I had a basic idea of what to expect when watching the drama and it delivered quite well for what it was given. True there were bits of pieces he could have done better, but then again in every drama there is maybe something you would have done different.
Personally I feel the writer strenght lies in the characters and their dynamic rather than the plot itself.

Stranger is amazing! If you like an extremely good crime/ thriller I’d recommend it

Can I put in a word for “Hello, Me!” on netflix? No major spoilers, this is in the promo – a 37 yo woman whose life has not gone well literally runs into her 17 yo self (queen of her high school) magically shifted forward in time. On the surface this is pretty straightforward dramedy and some elements of the plot of predictable.

But the show has a lot of heart and there’s more going on beneath the surface than first appears. There is this psychological undercurrent of an adult woman having to make peace with and learn to love her younger self (who was self-centered and reckless about how her actions could affect others) – and connect with the things about here younger self that were great (energy, love of life, courage). And the younger self has to see her older self not just as a loser but as someone who has matured, learned to be much more considerate of others and much more humble – and someone who still has a lot of the sparkle inside her. The lead is really processing some serious guilt and grief under the surface, but the tone of the show is still hopeful and kind. None of this is done in a heavy handed way, but this thread seems to be growing steadily through the story. There’s a lot of warmth and humanity in almost all of the characters (so far with one exception, but I wonder if that one is in for growth as well), even some who start off as antagonists.

Can I say I really like this? Recommended if you want a low angst drama to brighten your pandemic experience!

Looking for advice from the larger community (or of course, from kfangurl, if she has time). I just finished three dramas in a single day and am struggling over what to pick up next. They were “Secret Garden”, “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay”, and “Chuno” (with the group watch). So my three slots to fill would be shows different from the first two and different from each other (while I’ll accede to the group on the Chuno replacement). I’ve given thought to “Hospital Playlist”, “Do You Like Brahms”, “The Beauty Inside” (totally want to see another Seo Hyun-jin vehicle but am saving “Another Miss Oh” for a special occasion), “Stranger”, or “Ms. Queen”.

I often make these whiny requests for suggestions so certainly feel free to roll your eyes and scroll past. I get it.

Take care, all, and stay safe. It’s a hard world out there.

Hi @kfangurl – I would like to suggest a daily k-drama – “A Good Supper”. This is my first daily/weekday k-drama and I absolutely love it so far. The show somehow feels both slow and super fast at times. I am amazed at how good the child actors are – The casting is so well done – the child actors personality/portrayal is so similar to the adult actors. I just wish it was a 16 episode k-drama..

Hi kfangurl,
I’ve enjoyed Run On so much and I look forward to your review. The last episode is airing today and I hope it stays on course. I felt compelled to add this comment because I think it deserves a big audience.

The script has been consistently excellent, there is nothing superfluous, and nothing cliched, which is something I cannot say for all of the dramas I’ve watched so far. The actors’ lines make me think; many lines carry layers of meaning and I often had to pause and rewind so I could digest and comprehend all the unspoken things that are being said. I think that the only flaw are the subtitles but to be fair, it’s hard to fault the subtitled/translator because nuances are so difficult to translate. Oh, the many nuances that were lost in translation. The subtitler-nim had a real tough job with this one. This is a drama where I really wished I understood Korean so I could fully appreciate each line. The irony is that the leading female character is a translator / subtitler herself.

The comedic parts made me laugh out loud. And the parts that made me tear up aren’t your typical angst ridden scenes. The ending scene of episode 14 between the two lead characters – I hadn’t realised how it went straight to my heart and I surprised myself when my tears fell. I feel like this is the scene which gives meaning to the title Run On.

This is the first time I’ve watched Yim Siwan’s acting and he has portrayed his cheeky but lonely character so well and naturally that he could be playing himself. I wasn’t a fan of Shin Se Kyung’s stilted acting before but she’s changed my mind with this drama. They both just absolutely click as the leads. The second leads are just as interesting a pair, providing a welcome contrast to the main leads. I applaud the entire supporting cast of characters as well. Shout outs to her roommate, May, with her spot on delivery and deadpan expressions; Mr Jeong, the personal assistant, ditto his deadpan expressions; the younger sister of Ye-Jun; and Woo-sik, the bullied junior athlete, just to name a few. The plot is well-balanced, everyone gets their fair share of screen time.

In addition, the way the scriptwriter has used movies and re-enacted famous movie scenes as a recurrent theme is just so freshly brilliant. Apparently the scriptwriter is a rookie and if that is so, he or she demonstrates a talent in articulating and conveying so well an innate and intimate understanding of human emotions.

In short, Run On is a heartfelt, thoughtful, intelligent and funny gift of a drama. I watched it mostly with a smile on my face. Can’t wait for your review.

100 days My Prince. Was interested in seeing more with D. O. after watching Hello Monster. He does deadpan sad eyes better than anybody else doing Korean television! “Is anyone else uncomfortable?” A lonely little boy who finds someone he adores, then loses her, then is a lonely boy and man again until he finds her once more and finds he has something to fight for. The show dragged a bit in the middle. The endless plotting by the minister can be a tiresome trope. But I’ve found I can fast forward through those parts without missing too many plot lines.

I am relatively new to Korean television dramas and films, starting watching them in early 2019, and probably your oldest member at age 70. I absolutely adore them. My husband gets confused when I suddenly start sobbing (Goblin: Lonely and Great God) as I watch with iPad and ear buds. I am making my way through the classics thanks to my Rakuten Viki subscription and watching new ones on Netflix and sometimes Prime Video, which has a better selection of movies than it does television dramas. I get frustrated because I can’t find the really early ones anywhere. Not available most sites.

I really look forward to hearing your reviews on these, especially Uncanny Counter and 100 days.

Uncanny Counter is fun. It is a bit dark (makes going to school in Korea look almost as dangerous as going to maximum security prison in the USA). But the characters are fun and well drawn. So I’m enjoying seeing their histories and back stories come out bit by bit. Especially Ha Na (the actress playing her, Kim Se-Jeong, does a great job of expressing the sadness and compassion in this character, little of which is in the script but rather in her expressions, well done). Something to look forward to seeing every weekend.

100 days my prince – I bet you will really will enjoy this one. These period pieces usually aren’t my preferred type of drama, but this one is very well done. Some of the best points (no major spoilers):
1. Most of the evil characters aren’t really depraved but have their own motivations and problems. There is maybe one character who just needs to be put down (stock Joseon evil courtier, you know if you’ve watched episode 1), but you end up hoping most everyone else does ok. And you end up hoping for a happy ending for most of them. (3 episodes to go, I cannot spoil this for you because I don’t know what will happen to them!)
2. The characters who are smart, often act intelligently and reason things out (especially the ML, who is supposed to be smart and well educated – and then generally acts that way). He does seem a bit clueless immediately after the memory loss (a negative of this show, the human memory system does NOT work this way where you can forget who you are but retain all your other knowledge. It just doesn’t). But we can get over that and maybe chalk up some of his behavior to the head injury. But then he starts to use his brain, reason through problems, pick up when things others are telling him don’t make sense. Good writing.
3. Mostly the costumes and make-up are reasonable and characters look realistic. They avoid the big pitfall of these shows (and kdrama in general) of having everyone look too good or out of place. Poor students who wear $400,000 worth of coats in one winter, the workaholic chef with a $500 haircut… One exception – did bad guy assassins in Joseon really dress in black like ninjas? Really? They couldn’t just wear the same sort of outfit as normal “good” soldiers? They would actually be much scarier if they looked like totally normal guys until they act.
4. The angst and conflict seems to evolve naturally from the story so far and does not seem excessive or gratuitous. The forces driving ML and FL apart arise logically rather than coming from stupid misunderstandings that could be resolved with one adult conversation, or from noble stupidity or childish behaviors. (The problems ML and FL have where I am in ep 13 are serious and not trivial even though the are trying to do the right thing and be honest with each other. The have REAL problems pulling them apart).
5. FL is strong and brave without needing to be crazy unrealistically physically strong martial artist.

Happy watching and happy holidays – thank you for all the great tips!

EL

are you thinking about adding kairos ? i havent started it yet but have heard all good things about it . Also suggesting “Our sister’s soulmate”, a japanese drama. It’s kind of healing one and I love it and fell so positive watching it .

Hey Fangurl! Just had a quick question, I was considering watching Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and was wondering what your thoughts were on the show if you have seen it. Hope you are doing well 🙂

Good luck with Some Day or One Day! It is a long investment period (over half the show) but once you get to the midpoint, boy, does it ever pay off! I was writing timelines on paper and discussing plot theories with my friend on several late nights. The soundtrack is incredible and I really wish I could rewatch it with fresh eyes/mind for the surprise of all the plot twists. Alas, it is so memorable that it’s been over half a year and I still can’t forget! Taiwanese dramas have really suffered from an exodus of talent and budget in the past decade so I was thrilled to see this gem.

Would also recommend The World Between Us for another spectacular recent TW drama that is thought provoking and culturally important (especially in today’s environment).

Glad to see uncanny counter on the watchlist! Had no expectations for this show but the opening week was surprisingly good (and different) and with Start Up ending it looks to be the only show I am excited for thats airing. Basically the opposite of Awaken, which I had high expectations for and had a pretty bleh opening week 🙁

Dear Kfangurl.

did you drop “do do sol sol la la sol” i was really looking foward to your thoughts on that drama. i have watched up till episode 10 and don’t know if i should continue

Oh yay, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

@kfangurl, Hi

Wow i see u moved 18 again & start up and moved down Lies & Lies to the soonish.
Can’t wait for the 18 again (I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE) and start up (BECAUSE OF THE SECOND MALE LEAD) reviews

Hi fangurl!

I think you mentioned feeling a bit of drama fatigue/slump and I can relate a bit because the current batch of shows has very little appeal for me and I feel like I have almost run out of shows from the past I want to watch as well. I wasn’t sure if you ever got around to trying My Strange Hero, which I believe I saw on a list of maybes for a year end list. If you haven’t, wanted to recommend giving it a try. It touches on a lot of the cozy school themes that I really enjoy and the OTP is hearts in my eyes adorable. This is complete and total puppy love and Yoon Seung Ho and Jo Boa were like a combination of rainbows and sunshine :). There is also some meatier substance in the character dynamics of our main 3 but it never felt like that dragged down the overall tone of cute, happy, and more cute. I hope I convinced you to at least give it a try, and hope you are doing well 🙂

Only bad new dramas this year. Really hard to find good stuff these days.

Glad you will be watching “more than friends” I almost dropped it after ep 2 . But it actually gets bettwer with more and more episode . Ong Seong Wu is so amazing here and so different from “moment at eighteen”. It is really pretty drama with great visuals .

Hello kfangurl!!!
Because of Halloween & Autumn season, I have been switching out my fluffy k-drama diet for darker, psychological offerings.
Was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a j-dorama called Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteru (aka ‘is something wrong with us?’). If 1.murder mystery with slight-makjang reveal; 2.background setup of quaint traditional japanese sweet-making; 3. fast paced story (8 one-hour episodes); 4. revenge plot with a dash of conflicted romance….. <3
sounds interesting, you could check it out 🙂
also, bonus is the eye-candy actor (plus faithful acting to the manga version)

I love your reviews and it is so detailed. I know you have many dramas in your plate. So I want to recommend you Chinese drama ” Perfect and Casual “and “waiting for you in the future”. I hope when you will be free,you can give it a try . They are both a gem. Waiting for your review on Into the ring. Love you very much❤❤❤❤❤.

Hi fangurl 🙂
No clue if you will see my comment but wanted to recommend Start Up. Its another Park Hye-ryun show and I know how much you enjoyed I can hear your voice, Pinnochio, and Dream High. Has the trademarks of her show so far, well written lovable characters with strong dynamics with each other. I know you aren’t fond of Suzy but I find her to be solid so far in the show, and the more exciting dynamic is between the two male leads which I know you will love 🙂

Hi! I’d love to read a review of The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty if you ever watch it. I found it incredibly fun and well done.

Do you plan on watching Dinner Mate? I don’t know how it got low ratings, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved Seo Ji-hye in it! Maybe I was a little biased because I felt like she got shafted so bad in CLOY. Would love to read your thoughts on Dinner Mate.

I hope you get around to check out this show called “Live” (if you haven’t already)

It stars Jung Yumi and Sung Dong il. And Its available on Netflix

It was a new find for me. Feels like a good slice of life show,
Revolving around the lives of Patrolling police officers.

ah, can’t wait for your review on Flower of Evil. Loved that show <3

I’m especially loving “Do You Like Brahms?” right now. I’m starting Record of Youth today, since I now have to wait for more eps. of DYLB. I also finally watched Reply 1988. What an amazing show! Thanks for recommending it.

Hey, K. Good to see that you’re picking up Flower of Evil–nothing too graphic here, fortunately. 😂 Well-paced plot and great acting by Joon-gi and Chae-won. 🤗

And because mystery melos (with a dash of romance) 😂 are clearly my niche, I’ve picked up Lie After Lie. The premise–a woman (who may or may not be an ex-con), pretends to fall in love with a man who adopted her daughter, to be her daughter’s stepmom–seems right uo my alley.

On the lighter side, School Nurse Files seems to be a fresh quirky comedy, while 18 Again looks an interesting fantasy romance, ala Familiar Wife 😂

Do you watch any thai series?

Hi! I love your blog and I constantly check your watching list. Looking forward to your reviews of the dramas you are watching currently! (Especially Someday or Oneday, I loved that show!)
PS: I would highly recommend watching The Untamed! It made this lockdown not as terrible for me and I am sure it would brighten your life as well! ^^

I will start out with saying this, I love your blog!!!
As I have gotten older, I have gotten much more selective with what I watch. Unlike in my hay days where I watched anything and everything. And the lovely part of it all is that when I discovered your blog, I found shows you had rated not so well (which people loved) were also shows I had similarly not liked so much. I had finally found a source that did not follow what the public opinion of a show was and just gave their honest opinion about things which in most cases perfectly matched my tastes. (Thank you so much for unintentionally being my mind twin). Now, your opinions on a show is a solid go to for me before starting anything new.

P.S. Do give The Untamed a try, you might be surprised. (If you haven’t read the novel, first 3 episodes might be confusing) but do give it a shot when you have time

I would be interested to see your review on Someday or One Day. I’ve finished watching it and I loved it!

curious on what you think of the king eternal monarch!

Can’t wait to read your review on Its okay not to be okay!

This is a tip for those who periodically browse for recent comments to KFG’s Currently Watching post.

There are now five pages worth of comments and replies. Unfortunately — and for reasons outside her control — the oldest page lists first, starting with a comment by Rainbow on December 17, 2012.

Here’s how to advance quickly from the Joseon era to modern times:

1. Click the “End” key on your keyboard to jump to the very bottom of the page
2. Find and click the light blue link for “Newer Comments” to advance to page #2
3. Repeat those steps four times to advance to the most recent comments

The good news is that once you make it to page #5 the newest comment will be at the very top.

Have just put in a recommendation:
Empress Ki
;-p

Anyone here watching Was It Love on Netflix? I’ve only watched the trailer and read a review, but it looks pretty good. Six episodes have aired thus far.

The premise sounds a teeny bit like Love is A Bonus Book — woman in her later 30s with a daughter, frozen out of the job market. Except in this case, she aspires to be a film or K-Drama producer.

It stars Song Ji-hyo plus four, count em, four male suitors: Son Ho-Jun,Song Jong-Ho, Kim Min-Jun and Koo Ja-Sung.

I hope you do a review on romance of tiger and rose! 🙂

Just finished Hi Bye, Mama and now started Coffee Prince and Come Hug Me. I absoltely loved My Mister. I basically binge watched it. Ops!
Thanks to Netflix, I have started watching K-drama a couple of years ago and I’m totally amazed by the number of series there. Wow. Anyway… I’m a novice really. Happy to have found your website. Thanks for sharing! 감사합니다