2016 Korean Drama Recommendations

W – a ratings powerhouse

My Rating: Must Watch (5/5)
Title: W / W Two Worlds / 더블유
Episodes and Genre: 16, Fantasy, Suspense, Romance
Broadcast Period: Jul 2016 MBC
Starring:
Lee Jong Suk as Kang Chul
Han Hyo Joo as Oh Yun Joo

Synopsis:
W – Two Worlds.

Comments:
To say the trailers were cryptic is an understatement because I was thoroughly as confused as Han Hyo Joo who looked like a deer in headlights most of the time but what an epiphany when I actually started this unassuming k-drama because it is so wonderfully written, gripping, intense, cute.. I’m running out of compliments just watch it, please. 

Oh Hae Young Again

Title: Another Oh Hae Young / Oh Hae Young Again / 또 오해영
Episodes and Genre: 18, Romantic Comedy, Fantasy
Broadcast Period: May 2016 TVN
Starring:
Eric as Park Do Kyung
Seo Hyun Jin as Oh Hae Young
Jun Hye Bin as Oh Hae Young

Synopsis:
Two women have the same name and Park Do Kyung, a man who can see the future, does everything in his power to avoid them.

Comments:
Honestly, the plot doesn’t sound particularly appealing neither does the cast but adding it to the list anyway because word is out that it is that good and I can’t wait to see it for myself.

Beautiful Mind

Title: Beautiful Mind / 뷰티풀 마인드
Episodes and Genre: 14, Medical Thriller
Broadcast Period: Jun 2016 KBS2
Starring:
Jang Hyuk as Lee Young Oh
Park So Dam as Gye Jin Sung

Synopsis:
Lee Young Oh is a highly-skilled surgeon without a care for anyone. He works at the prestigious Hyeonseong Hospital yet something is amiss. 

Uncontrollably Fond

Title: Uncontrollably Fond / 함부로 애틋하게
Episodes and Genre: 20, Romantic Comedy
Broadcast Period: Jun 2016 KBS2
Starring:
Kim Woo Bin as Shin Joon Young
Bae Suzy as Noh Eul
Im Joo Hwan as Choi Ji Tae
Im Joo Eun as Yoon Jung Eun 

Synopsis:
Noh Eul is a PD and Joon Young is a top actor who meet again after being separated when they were young. 

Doctors – a ratings powerhouse

Title: Doctors / Dakteoseu / 닥터스
Episodes and Genre: 20, Medical Romance
Broadcast Period: Jun 2016 SBS
Starring:
Kim Rae Won as Hong Ji Hong
Park Shin Hye as Yoo Hye Jung
Yoon Kyun Sang as Jung Yoon Do
Lee Sung Kyung as Jin Seo Woo 

Synopsis:
Yoo Hye Jung had a difficult childhood and she grew up strong-willed, rebellious and a fighter until the day she meets Hong Ji Hong who becomes her mentor and lover. 

Signal

My Rating: Must Watch (5/5)
Title: Signal / Shigeunul / 시그널
Episodes and Genre: 16, Crime Suspense, Fantasy
Broadcast Period: Jan 2016 TVN
Starring:
Lee Je Hoon as Park Hae Young
Kim Hye Soo as Cha Soo Hyun
Jo Jin Woong as Lee Jae Han

Synopsis:
Park Hae Young is a skilled profiler who works for police force, which is the very same organization that he despises to the core. He comes across a non-functional walkie talkie and realizes that it can be used to communicate with the past in an effort to stop crime. 

Comments:
I am not normally a fan of crime thrillers unless it warrants its own playing field like the critically-acclaimed Infernal Affairs, whose Hollywood remake won an Oscar in 2007.

I have no idea whether cable drama Signal swept any awards shows during its time but it certainly deserves to for being a drama that has been highly lauded by netizens and entertainment sites alike. It tells a gripping and emotional tale between two detectives solving crime in the most uncanny setup and is a cinematographic masterpiece in its own right. Click for more stills. 

The Flower in Prison

Title: The Flower in Prison / Okjunghwa / 옥중화
Episodes and Genre: 50, Legal, Historical
Broadcast Period: Apr 2016 MBC
Starring:
Jin Se Yeon as Ok Nyeo
Go Soo as Yoon Tae Won

Synopsis:
Ok Nyeo is a girl who is born and bred in prison due to her mother who dies a mysterious death. Determined to uncover the truth, she trains to become a a female detective where she will find a purpose that is greater than her own. 

Comments:
Click for more stills.

Please Come Back Mister

Title: Please Come Back Mister / Dolawayo Ajeossi / 돌아와요 아저씨
Episodes and Genre: 16, Romance, Comedy, Fantasy
Broadcast Period: Feb 2016 SBS
Starring:
Rain as Lee Hae Joon
Oh Yeon Seo as Han Hong Nan

Synopsis:
Two middle-aged men, one a salary man and the other a gangster, die unexpectedly. Given another chance, they return in the body of a man (Rain) and a woman (Oh Yeon Seo) in the prime of their life but underneath that facade are two people desperate to make the most of what little time they have left.

Jackpot

Title: Jackpot / The Royal Gambler / Daebak / 대박
Episodes and Genre: 20, Historical, Gambling
Broadcast Period: Mar 2016 SBS
Starring:
Jang Geun Suk as Baek Dae Gil
Yeo Jin Goo as King Yeongjo
Jun Kwang Ryul as Lee In Jwa
Choi Min Soo as King Sukjong
Lim Ji Yeon as Dam Seo
Yoon Jin Seo as Sook Bin Choi

Synopsis:
Dae Gil is a commoner known as the best gambler in Joseon and his brother is the future King Yeongjo. Their disparate lives cross paths and they enter into the match of a lifetime.

Comments:
I am waiting for the next episode, please come out soon. Click for more stills.

Remember – War of the Son

Title: Remember – War of the Son / Son’s War / 리멤버 – 아들의 전쟁
Episodes and Genre: 20, Legal Melodrama
Broadcast Period: Dec – Feb 2016 SBS
Starring:
Yoo Seung Ho as Seo Jin Woo
Park Min Young as Lee In Ah
Park Sung Woong as Park Dong Ho
Nam Goong Min as Nam Gyu Man

Synopsis: 
Seo Jin Woo is a man with perfect memory but his father suffers from severe dementia. When his father is framed for a brutal crime that shook the nation, Jin Woo takes it upon himself to become a lawyer.

Descendants of the Sun – a ratings powerhouse
(meaning TV ratings over 20%)

Title: Descendants of the Sun /太陽的後裔 / 태양의 후예 / Taeyangui Hooye
Episodes and Genre: 16, Romance / Melodrama
Broadcast Period: Feb – Apr 2016 KBS
Starring: 
Song Joong Ki as Yoo Shi Jin
Song Hye Kyo as Kang Mo Yun 
Jin Goo as Seo Dae Young
Kim Ji Won as Yoon Myung Joo

Comments: 
“It’s dangerous being around a guy with a gun… one day, he’ll never come back,” narrates the trailer. I’m admittedly hesitant due to my disinterest for sad endings and war movies yet Descendants of the Sun is a k-drama phenomenon set to take over the world that it would be wrong to ignore it any longer. 

Song Joong Ki has always reminded me of the boy next door with his nice guy image from stints at Running Man and in rom-coms. If i ever had doubts of him as a man in uniform, a captain nonetheless, it has all been put to rest from heaps of raging reviews on his stellar performance. 

The drama is seriously killing it and it’s only March but can this be THE drama of the year?

Jang Yeong Sil

Title: Jang Yeong Sil: The Great Scientist of Joseon / 장영실
Episodes and Genre: 24, Historical
Broadcast Period: Jan 2016 KBS1
Starring:
Song Il Gook as Jang Yeong Sil

Synopsis:
Details the rise of historical figure Jang Young Sil, a man with humble beginnings and his significant contributions to Joseon amidst an era where class difference is rife.

The Merchant: Gaekju

My Rating: Downright boring (1/5)
Title: The Merchant: Gaekju / God of Trade – Innkeeper / 장사의 신 – 객주
Episodes and Genre: 41, Historical
Broadcast Period: Sep 2015 – Feb 2016 KBS2
Starring:
Jang Hyuk as Chun Bong Sam

Comments:
After several attempts at watching then falling asleep, I abandoned ship. I was half-expecting Merchant Gaekju to be a historical version of Midas, a k-drama also starring Jang Hyuk about the power struggles in the business world. While the result was definitely a period drama revolving around merchants and their trade, the lengthy prose and drama simply wasn’t my cup of tea.

One More Happy Ending

My Rating: Pretty Good (4/5)
Title: One More Happy Ending / Hanbun Deo Happy Ending / 한번 더 해피엔딩
Episodes and Genre: 16, Romantic Comedy
Broadcast Period: Jan 2016 MBC
Starring:
Jang Nara as Han Mi Mo
Jung Kyung Ho as Song Soo Hyuk
Yoo Da In as Baek Da Jung 
Yoo In Na as Go Dong Mi
Seo In Young as Hong Ae Ran
Sandara Park as Seul Ah (cameo)

Synopsis:
Han Mi Mo is the CEO of a successful match-making agency but in spite of her unique skill set, she is a divorcee that has had an unlucky streak in love. She remains good friends with the members of the defunct k-pop group called Angels and the story revolves around the friendships and relationships surrounding the lives of these thirty-something women.

Comments:
Getting Sex and the City vibes and it’s absofukinlutely awesome. Isn’t it crazy that Conan O’Brian cameos? It could have been perfect but it does turn extremely angsty towards the end so minus points for that.

Cheese in the Trap

My Rating: Just Another Drama (3/5)
Title: Cheese in the Trap / 치즈 인 더 트랩 
Episodes and Genre: 16, Romantic Comedy
Broadcast Period: Jan 2016 TvN
Starring:
Park Hae Jin as Yoo Jung
Kim Go Eun as Hong Seol

Synopsis:
Yoo Jung is a certified heartthrob who is dubbed as Mr. Perfect for being tall, rich, smart and handsome. Hong Seol is your average college junior who works part-time to pay for her schooling and she seems to be the only person in the school to find something hidden behind Yoo Jung’s friendly smile. 

Comments:
When something that started out so inexplicably good combusts into a fiasco just about sums up the Cheese in the Trap controversy, which you can read in detail on dramabeans. I was lured by the cheese but it’s a trap I tell you!  

Moorim School

My Rating: Tolerable (2/5)
Title: Moorim School / 무림학교
Episodes and Genre: 16, Martial Arts School Drama / Fantasy
Broadcast Period: Jan 2016 KBS2
Starring:
Lee Hyun Woo as Yoon Shi Woo
Seo Ye Ji as Sim Soon Duk
Hong Bin as Wang Chi Ang
Jung Yoo Jin as Hwang Sun Ah

Synopsis:
Yoon Shi Woo is a k-pop idol who is slowly losing his hearing. Desperate, he enrolls into Moorim School in hopes that this mysterious martial arts school can heal him. However, this new journey may inadvertently lead him to find himself.

Comments:
The concept drew me in like no other, thanks to my undying support for martial arts dramas, which is why I made it through the end despite the fact that I didn’t actually like it. 

Moorim School tells a generic story with mediocre acting. There’s fantasy, action and romance made less by a weak storyline that drags on for 16 full episodes. This is a case where I really understand why a primetime drama is lagging behind with mere single digit ratings so low that it’s worse than cable.

If you’re skeptical, watch Volcano High to spot the difference.

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this drama’s take on how to show what I call the 4 stages of time travel 1) utter denial thinking that she must have been transported to the filming of some period drama 2) adjusting to primitive life and being the coolest for having a phone, a pen or any other gadget from the future 3) falling in love 4) fallout from having to stay or leave. Yes, I cried.

This is one drama where I recognized nobody other than the lead actress being the ghost in Oh My Ghost. She was utterly hilarious and unafraid to just go there with the wackiest expressions. Then it was like an epiphany when I read that she used to be part of the cast of SNL Korea. Overall, a predictable but fun TV movie.

 

One of my new year’s resolutions is to update the site regularly because I watch too much for my own good so I feel the need to turn it into something productive. Would appreciate your suggestions on what you’d like to see in the comments section below.