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According to my massage therapist, who is a funny old Korean man, all K-dramas are this: eating, screaming, and love triangles. And he's SO RIGHT.
Here are thoughts on some of the K-dramas I've watched recently. Many spoilers ahead.
Drinking Solo/Let's Drink:
The good: Oh, the food porn. Every episode starts out with one of the characters ruminating on the reason they're drinking at that moment, and invariably, it's paired with something that looks insanely delicious.
This was the drama that introduced me to Key from the K-pop group SHINee, and I gotta tell you, I LOVE HIM. His character Kibum and the two friends he hangs around with Dongyoung and Gongmyung -- students trying to pass a civil service exam, which apparently is extremely difficult -- were the highlight of the series. Their friendship was so much fun. I'd watch a show about the three of them (and Chaeyeon) being dorky together exclusively.
( On the other hand... )
Descendants of the Sun:
I only wanted to watch this because Onew (one of my many future husbands) is in it. I'd heard that it was way overhyped, so I went in with pretty low expectations, which may be why I ended up kind of enjoying it for what it was. It's purdy. Part of it was filmed on location in Greece, so the backdrops are stunning.
( Clench your teeth... )
1% of Something:
I did have high-ish hopes for this. I trawl Dramabeans from time to time to see what people are watching and enjoying, and this one seemed high on everyone's list for a cute romcom. It does start out that way and I liked both leads, but unfortunately, I have such a low tolerance of guys being a-holes to women that I had to jump ship by episode four. ( And here's why )
Reply 1997/Answer Me 1997:
There were things this series did tremendously well. I loved that they captured the feeling of being a teenager so well -- crushes, first loves, unbreakable friendships, obsessing over celebrities you're sure you'll marry someday, taking your parents for granted. Like, I lived all of that. In a different country and an entirely different culture, but I related so much to it. I was also pleasantly surprised by how gracefully they handled Junhee's one-sided love storyline; it was so quietly dignified and sad.
There were also things that I thought were not great. ( Mostly revolving around hyung )
Reply 1988/Answer Me 1988:
JUNGHWAN-AAAHHHHHHHH. ( Those damn traffic lights... )
Hwarang:
This one's a period drama that's currently airing with about six more episodes to go. It's... I have more complaints about it than compliments but that's only because it has so much potential and so many tantalizingly untapped storylines that it really could have been great. The crazy thing about it is that it seems like everyone except the two main leads has an interesting storyline, but we don't get to spend more than, like, five minutes per episode on those characters because we have to watch Aro cry and Sunwoo brood about shit (and we hardly ever know what the hell he's brooding about because there's a whole "mystery" about his background and it's been 13 episodes and WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS). And then when they get together, it's a veritable black hole of chemistry.
( Are you... the king? )
Here are thoughts on some of the K-dramas I've watched recently. Many spoilers ahead.
Drinking Solo/Let's Drink:
The good: Oh, the food porn. Every episode starts out with one of the characters ruminating on the reason they're drinking at that moment, and invariably, it's paired with something that looks insanely delicious.
This was the drama that introduced me to Key from the K-pop group SHINee, and I gotta tell you, I LOVE HIM. His character Kibum and the two friends he hangs around with Dongyoung and Gongmyung -- students trying to pass a civil service exam, which apparently is extremely difficult -- were the highlight of the series. Their friendship was so much fun. I'd watch a show about the three of them (and Chaeyeon) being dorky together exclusively.
( On the other hand... )
Descendants of the Sun:
I only wanted to watch this because Onew (one of my many future husbands) is in it. I'd heard that it was way overhyped, so I went in with pretty low expectations, which may be why I ended up kind of enjoying it for what it was. It's purdy. Part of it was filmed on location in Greece, so the backdrops are stunning.
( Clench your teeth... )
1% of Something:
I did have high-ish hopes for this. I trawl Dramabeans from time to time to see what people are watching and enjoying, and this one seemed high on everyone's list for a cute romcom. It does start out that way and I liked both leads, but unfortunately, I have such a low tolerance of guys being a-holes to women that I had to jump ship by episode four. ( And here's why )
Reply 1997/Answer Me 1997:
There were things this series did tremendously well. I loved that they captured the feeling of being a teenager so well -- crushes, first loves, unbreakable friendships, obsessing over celebrities you're sure you'll marry someday, taking your parents for granted. Like, I lived all of that. In a different country and an entirely different culture, but I related so much to it. I was also pleasantly surprised by how gracefully they handled Junhee's one-sided love storyline; it was so quietly dignified and sad.
There were also things that I thought were not great. ( Mostly revolving around hyung )
Reply 1988/Answer Me 1988:
JUNGHWAN-AAAHHHHHHHH. ( Those damn traffic lights... )
Hwarang:
This one's a period drama that's currently airing with about six more episodes to go. It's... I have more complaints about it than compliments but that's only because it has so much potential and so many tantalizingly untapped storylines that it really could have been great. The crazy thing about it is that it seems like everyone except the two main leads has an interesting storyline, but we don't get to spend more than, like, five minutes per episode on those characters because we have to watch Aro cry and Sunwoo brood about shit (and we hardly ever know what the hell he's brooding about because there's a whole "mystery" about his background and it's been 13 episodes and WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS). And then when they get together, it's a veritable black hole of chemistry.
( Are you... the king? )
