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Your K-DRAMA thread

TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME

TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME

Teacake's Pleather Dome
Premium Member
Found a dead Kdrama thread from 2013 but I figured I'd start a new one.

So.. anyone watching Kdramas?

I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Sky Castle which I believe finished this year, it is a black dramedy that is funny, gut wrenching, surprising, witty and utterly gripping. First ep is maybe a little slower but after that you're hooked. It's the highest rating drama on korean tv apparently. Acting is amazing.

I'm currently watching Abyss which is playing every week and is a sci fi, serial killer, fast paced drama. Also watching Mr. Sunshine set at the end of 19nth century and extremely beautifully shot with incredible senery. as well as being a political intrigue and also touching story.

Netflix has a huge Kdrama library :adore:

Please spoiler tag any posts about show content that is relevant regardless of the show age :)
 
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I've watched some Kdramas and should watch more because it's a fun way to learn a new language. I've been a Kpop fan since 2012 and love the culture.

I loved Descendents Of The Sun and had to buy it on DvD. The soundtrack was amazing. David Lee McInnes was a fantastic bad guy.

I also like Man To Man from the same writer.

There was a recent Kdrama about a girl who could see how long she (and others) had to live. That was a cool concept.

I like the historical Kdramas too. Sungkungkwan Scandal, Love In The Moonlight, and Gunman In Joseon. I remember watching a Kdrama called The Red Teacher that was set in 1985.

There are others that I'm forgetting. Kdramas are fun to watch though.
 
Thanks @Obsidian7 ! I looked them all up. Man to Man and Love in the Moonlight are on Netflix, I may well watch Love in the Moonlight after I finish Mr. Sunshine as I am enjoying the historical side very much.

I've been reading Korean translated literature for quite a few years but I've only just started on Kdramas because I only got Netflix for watching Discovery (it aired on Netflix in my country). I'm pretty thrilled with the ease of finding all these excellent Kdramas and movies.

If you like food I couldn't recommend the series Let's Eat highly enough. There are three seasons, I've seen the first two. Decent story, often humourous side characters and lots of eating and discussion of food. I really enjoyed it.

I'm always on the look out for anything not set in Seoul, those seem few and far between.
 
To date, to my utter shock, I've watched two K-dramas start to finish, Boys Over Flowers and Oh My Ghost.

"Flowers" is a story of a high school girl from a working class family who does a good deed and as a result, is given a scholarship to the most prestigious and expensive high school in So. Korea.
Predictably, the boy from the richest family in the school falls for her.

My biggest gripe with the show was that the lead male character, who is a HUGE rich entitled a-hole, is finally redeemed not by finding out what an a-hole he is and making amends, but by simply realizing that he should allow the main female character into his fabulous life.
You've got to have a strong stomach for this one. It's on Hulu.

But, Oh My Ghost! I thought, was excellent.
Starts off appearing to be a supernatural comedy, then morphs into a rom-com, then -- into something much darker. There is also a great, 'young woman coming into her own', story going on alongside everything else.
It's also beautifully shot. I highly recommend this one. It's on Netflix.

@teacake, I just started Abyss. One of the reasons I'm giving it a try is because it stars Park Bo-young, who was the star of Oh My Ghost.

It really is interesting watching the way cultures other than my own, present dramatic (and comedic) productions.
 
I was going to watch Boys Over Flowers when I first started watching them just because it was a name I knew but someone told me there is a

gang rape scene in a school toilet ?!

in like the first or second ep and so I decided not to. Is this the case?

Thanks for the Oh My Ghost rec, I may check it out. One thing I'm not really into is romance, if the rest of the story just props up a romance I'm bored to death.

I'm all caught up on Abyss and it's a pretty good thriller. Park Bo-young is excellent in it. I am enjoying the pace.

I tried to watch My Love from the Star which is purportedly kinda sci fi and I have about 3 eps to go but can't will myself back to it. It has everything I don't like about kdrama romance and seems to have abandoned any plot that doesn't involve our two starcrossed lovers angst. But I want to know what happens so maybe I'll assign myself one ep a week and finish the thing.

gblews said:
It really is interesting watching the way cultures other than my own, present dramatic (and comedic) productions.
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Yes it certainly made me realize how much of what we consider a good trajectory for a story and other things is just cultural. Kdramas can suddenly insert some horrible event into what was a light comedy that I would not have expected and maybe would have been seen as daring or just plain shitty in a hollywood romcom.
 
Look at all the recs, wheee! I'm miles behind the rest of you, but I'll recommend Diary of a Night Watchman (aka Night Watchman's Journal). Joseon-era supernatural drama with great swashbuckling and a wonderful score.

Looking forward to checking out your suggestions. :)
 
teacake said:
I was going to watch Boys Over Flowers when I first started watching them just because it was a name I knew but someone told me there is a

gang rape scene in a school toilet ?!
Click to expand...
You know, it's not an actual rape, though a young woman gets grabbed by a bunch of guys. It gets interrupted so it's not real clear what they were supposed to have looked like they had planned. There are several scenes where this same young girl is essentially "kidnapped" by the super rich high school guy. But the show presents these scenes to illustrate development of a friendship and a romance.
From what I have read, this show was WILDLY popular in many Asian countries, but is about 10 years old now. The show's age is probably the reason for some of the social sensibilities that might have been less questionable back then.

BTW the lead female actor is what holds this whole thing together as it were, IMO. Very charismatic and emotive.
Thanks for the Oh My Ghost rec, I may check it out. One thing I'm not really into is romance, if the rest of the story just props up a romance I'm bored to death.
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Yeah, I'm pretty much with you on romance. There is a romance in Ghost, but it ties into the supernatural story and is cleverly presented, but is eventually pushed to the side by two other more interesting arc's. I think it's really good.
I'm all caught up on Abyss and it's a pretty good thriller. Park Bo-young is excellent in it. I am enjoying the pace.
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I've also seen her in a show called Bong Soon, Strong Girl, in which she plays a young girl who has genetically acquired super strength. The problem is, a bad romance and not enough Bo-young. I'm slogging through it.

Yes it certainly made me realize how much of what we consider a good trajectory for a story and other things is just cultural. Kdramas can suddenly insert some horrible event into what was a light comedy that I would not have expected and maybe would have been seen as daring or just plain shitty in a hollywood romcom.
Click to expand...
Yes, the sudden shifts from tragedy to sometimes slapstick comedy can be jarring.
HopefulRomantic said:
Look at all the recs, wheee! I'm miles behind the rest of you, but I'll recommend Diary of a Night Watchman (aka Night Watchman's Journal).
Click to expand...
What streaming service is this on?
 
gblews said:
You know, it's not an actual rape, though a young woman gets grabbed by a bunch of guys. It gets interrupted so it's not real clear what they were supposed to have looked like they had planned. There are several scenes where this same young girl is essentially "kidnapped" by the super rich high school guy. But the show presents these scenes to illustrate development of a friendship and a romance.
From what I have read, this show was WILDLY popular in many Asian countries, but is about 10 years old now. The show's age is probably the reason for some of the social sensibilities that might have been less questionable back then.

BTW the lead female actor is what holds this whole thing together as it were, IMO. Very charismatic and emotive.

Yeah, I'm pretty much with you on romance. There is a romance in Ghost, but it ties into the supernatural story and is cleverly presented, but is eventually pushed to the side by two other more interesting arc's. I think it's really good.

I've also seen her in a show called Bong Soon, Strong Girl, in which she plays a young girl who has genetically acquired super strength. The problem is, a bad romance and not enough Bo-young. I'm slogging through it.


Yes, the sudden shifts from tragedy to sometimes slapstick comedy can be jarring.

What streaming service is this on?
Click to expand...

I've seen Bong Soon recommended ( I like to google top 20 kdramas for inspiration lol) but I think must have avoided that one because, romance.

As to Boys over Flowers.. I would like to watch the classics, the ones that everyone talks about but.. I am pretty bad at tv these days and with so many new things that may not be as problematic as something a decade ago it seems I'm unlikely to catch up. But because of your rec of the lead I will watch a few eps at some point.

I tried to watch My ID is Gangnam Beauty because that's always topping the lists and.. oh god it was unbearable. The unavailable male who fluctuates between cold and cruel towards the pretty girl and that's supposed to make our hearts flutter, no thanks. And that's leaving out the whole premise.
 
HopefulRomantic said:
I found it on Viki and Tubi. There was a link on Google to Netflix, but that led to an error message, so I guess they don't have it anymore, boo. And DramaFever got shut down?! Bummer.
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Ah see I can't watch Viki, keep getting told it's unavailable in my country. Haven't seen Tubi but probably the same. I'm sure there is a workaround but with the huge library on Netflix of kdrama I can't be bothered.

One I do want to watch is Goblin which Netfix doesn't have yet.
 
K-dramas are great. I have watched several ones over the years( Some Chinese and Japanese shows, too)
I agree what was said about Sky Castle earlier, that is an excellent show.

Those who want to watch a very good Korean crime drama I recommend the excellent Stranger( or Bimilui Soop/Secret Forest) from 2017, starring Cho Seung-Woo and Bae Doo-Na. This is one of the best Korean TV-shows ever made, without a doubt. I also recommend watching a hospital drama called Life/Laipeu from the same screenwriter. This one is more slow moving but very rewarding series to watch. Both should be available on Netflix.
 
teacake said:
I tried to watch My ID is Gangnam Beauty because that's always topping the lists and.. oh god it was unbearable. The unavailable male who fluctuates between cold and cruel towards the pretty girl and that's supposed to make our hearts flutter, no thanks.
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I've run into this in most of the shows I've watched. In Oh My Ghost, the guy's "issues" were resolved satisfactorily, but in "Flowers" it was not. Not sure if this is a cultural thing or if is just due to the age of the shows I've watched. I hope it has to do with age.

Finished the first episode of Abyss. It picks up considerably when Bo-young comes on at the end. Looking forward to more.
JRS said:
Those who want to watch a very good Korean crime drama I recommend the excellent Stranger( or Bimilui Soop/Secret Forest) from 2017, starring Cho Seung-Woo and Bae Doo-Na. This is one of the best Korean TV-shows ever made, without a doubt.
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Found Stranger on Netflix and saved it to My List. Definitely will check it out.

Couldn't find Sky Castle on Netflix, Hulu, or Prime.
 
I love KDramas, but also JDramas and TDramas (Taiwanese). If you want to see the best version of Boys Over Flowers, don't even bother with the Korean version. Go straight to the Japanese version, Hana Yori Dango, which is, granted, 15 years old now--but which is funny, smart, and a muuuuuuuuch better telling of the story. The female lead in it was amazing.

Coffee Prince (Korean) is also great, as is Samurai High School (Japanese) and Otomen (Japanese). Oh! And duh, Absolute Boyfriend (Japanese)! I apologize, my suggestions are from the 2000s, which was when I was really into them and when there were some really wonderful dramas out there. They're all so good, though! I gotta rewatch!
 
galleywest said:
I love KDramas, but also JDramas and TDramas (Taiwanese). If you want to see the best version of Boys Over Flowers, don't even bother with the Korean version. Go straight to the Japanese version, Hana Yori Dango, which is, granted, 15 years old now--but which is funny, smart, and a muuuuuuuuch better telling of the story. The female lead in it was amazing.
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Oh, I didn't know there were any other versions of "Flowers" out there. Where are the other versions streaming?
 
gblews said:
Couldn't find Sky Castle on Netflix, Hulu, or Prime.
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Oh that's too bad, it's on Neflix in Aus. You may be able to watch it on Viki, a site I can't watch anything on because of geo blocking:

https://www.viki.com/tv/36348c-sky-castle?locale=en

JRS said:
Looks like a Korean remake of the US show "Designated Survivor" will hit Netflix very soon:
https://www.hellokpop.com/kdrama/designated-survivor-60-days-netflix-drama/
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WOW ! I have been told to watch that show but haven't gotten around to it, maybe I'll have a go so I can then watch the Korean version. Though I guess I better check out if it will be on Aus netflix.

I have two more eps of Abyss left. Pretty good, hasn't gotten too repetitive, still interesting! Romance is not horrible :lol:

This week I went to see Parasite, the film that won the Palme d'Or in Cannes by Bong Joon-Ho who did Snowpiercer, the The Host and Okja. IT WAS FANTASTIC. I highly recommend it, really pulls you in and never misses a beat. I won't say more, it should not be spoiled!

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Since it won this prestigious award it's showing in a lot of places for at least a short time so if you have the opportunity to see it in the cinema it's well worth it! I hope to see it again.
 
Thanks for your recommendations, which I need to check out :). There's a lot of Korean and Taiwanese films I like but haven't seen any of the TV dramas on Netflix. I had this longstanding image of Korean TV being mostly gameshows like Running Man, soap operas and historical dramas. Can we recommend J-dramas as well? So far I've really enjoyed Atelier, Good Morning Call, Million Yen Women and Midnight Diner
 
Korean dramas are pretty diverse but you do need to do your research.

The historical drama I'm watching (Mr. Sunshine) has been intense and also resulted in lots of history reading on my part. I've read a few older korean novels set in that period and that's helped.

EDIT: Mr. Sunshine is the greatest sageuk (historical drama) I have ever watched, it has lived with me in my heart. it's a sprawling, beautiful, fascinating drama.

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I am a kind of hyper focused person.. I'd like to watch those J dramas but I feel like it will distract from my current K education :lol: I'm like that with books too. I've been reading korean translated fiction for a few years now and I have only taken one break.. for a Japanese dystopian novel (The Last Children of Tokyo) and that was because dystopian is like my favorite thing ever. It was a short book though and I was soon back on the K horse :lol:
 
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