No, not that kind. LOL.
I just finished Backstreet Rookie if that helps. I loved KYJ, but she came across as infatuated and DH seemed like more of a mentor. It was a Rom-Com without the Rom. I also hated the ending of course, it seems like a match with no substance. As much as the RB character was annoying, he had a better Romance than DH and SB. I know all about the censorship fiasco, so I'll end my rant here.
I'm looking for a Romance where the leads are adults and somewhat equally matched, eg. the FL is not portrayed as a dolt. Also it would be nice if stupidity/misunderstanding is not used as a plot device.
I was looking at Doom at Your Service, but I'm not actually a huge Bo-Young fan and I read about the contract nonsense. I just did that with Because it's my First Life and the girl ran away at the end of that one too. ? I did like Love to Hate You, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, and the Jun Ji-Hyeon fluffers.
How about Descendants of the Sun?
In addition to DOTS, here are some to check out:
- Something about 1%
- Run On
- My Name is Kim Samsoon
- Its Okay Thats Love
- Crash Landing On You
- Beauty Inside
Thanks, I've been putting off CLOY, since it seems like another contorted plot. I guess that's why they call it Drama! ?
I just watched You Drive Me Crazy, cuz it was short. The girl ran away again, ? was it something I said.
I wanted to watch Goblin, the movie, but it's not streaming anywhere. I'm still stalking Little Girl K too, but no luck so far.
I’m with you. I seem to constantly be in search of a health, adult romance. I have a few suggestions that may not be totally up your alley, but the romances are good. I’ve been trying desperately to find some good romances where the focus is on the romance…hard to find, unfortunately.
You Are My Glory (Chinese) – I loved this one, though I admit to fast forwarding through A LOT of it because of the over-abundance of gaming and aerospace engineering. The couple was fabulous, though.
My Little Happiness (Chinese) – the main couple is wonderful.
Touch Your Heart – starring the second leads from Goblin.
Romance is a Bonus Book – beautifully filmed. I thought the leads were better friends than a couple, but I loved it anyway.
Dali and the Cocky Prince – this one just made me happy. Another one that was beautifully filmed. They take time showing us how they become acquainted and you can actually understand why they like each other. First kiss was awkward, but better after that.
Crazy Love – Full of drama tropes, in a good way. This show didn’t take itself too seriously and was over the top in a lot of ways, but you could see the progression in their relationship and ultimately the respect and love they had for one another.
30 but 17 – She’s been in a coma and he’s been psychologically stunted by trauma, but theirs was a lovely relationship.
Her Private Life – Once you get past the first couple of episodes of her being a rabid fan-girl, this is a wonderful show. Amazing chemistry between leads.
Once Upon a Small Town – full of quirky characters, low angst, easy watch. My only complaint was the Ex GF coming back, I wish they didn’t use this trope so much!
Something about 1% - I TOTALLY agree with this suggestion. This is one I’ve revisited multiple times, when I need to watch something I KNOW I’m going to like.
If you want some mystery with your romance, these two are my top suggestions. Both of them, the first time I tried to watch them, I hated them with the heat of a thousand suns. They were recommended to me again when I was looking for a good romance, and I loved them!
- Legend of the Blue Sea – some silliness, some mystery, lovely romance, and one of the best non-rushed endings of any K-drama I’ve seen.
- Chicago Typewriter – This one is slow-moving. I was kind of “meh” on it until episode five, when it grabbed me by the chest and wouldn’t let go. I had to go back and watch the first four episodes again before continuing on. Good mystery, good romance, rocking bromance. Cinematography/sets/costumes were all amazing.
I hope you find some of these suggestions helpful.
Thanks michelleoc, I'm actually an an action fan, but there seem to be so few of those that are done well and they pretty much all include Romance anyway. I just finished DOTS, which I liked but there wasn't much skinship. I think all Koreans are going to die as virgins, if the Dramas are true. I realize they aren't, so no offense to anyone. I think DOTS could make the favourites list, although the ending was lame and it was slightly corny, although nothing like others I've seen. I enjoyed the helicopter scene in the first episode, KMY is like WTF, so maybe I do like corn. LOL.
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out. I think I might watch Healer again. I enjoyed Legend of the Blue Sea, except that JJH was portrayed as a bit of an idiot. Seems to be how she gets typecast, although her movies were better
KDrama Boy - I love your comments about Koreans dying as virgins! That goes along with what I like to call "open-eyed, dead fish kisses". Prevalent in so many of the romances. But, one of the reasons I started watching K-Dramas was to escape all the sex/violence/language in what is offered in the US. So, I do have some other suggestions which are not romances. Some of them have action tag, some are psychological thrillers/mysteries:
Drama Special Series Season 1: White Christmas. I watched it for Kim Woo Bin (superficial, I know!). Good mystery.
Kill Me Heal Me. Ji Sung is the lead with multiple personalities. He did an excellent job. This one was exhausting. Psychological/mystery/romance.
Love Me If You Dare: Chinese, 24 episodes. It was a solid 10 for me until about halfway through when bad American acting came in. Psychological/mystery/romance.
Missing: The Other Side, Seasons 1 & 2. Very entertaining. Thriller/mystery/supernatural.
Terius Behind Me. (Superficial again, So Ji Sub). I've watched this numerous times. You must be willing to suspend disbelief, but it's so fun. Action/comedy/romance.
The Good Detective 1 & 2. I enjoyed Season 1 more, but they were both good. Action/thriller/mystery.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Another show that I revisit periodically, mainly for the romance. I didn't care for some of the slapstick stuff, but overall, I loved it. Action/comedy/romance/supernatural.
Hello Monster. Excellent cast. This was one I stayed up all night to watch "just one more episode". Thriller/mystery/psychological.
Alchemy of Souls. I just finished this one and it is action-packed. I was mad at the ending and now I have to watch season 2. Action/historical/romance/fantasy.
I hope that some of these might be of interest to you.
Michelleoc,
I did watch SWDBS, the beginning was great, but the gangster corn became too much. I ended up watching some of it at high speed and skipping the gangsters all together.
Yeah, I'm not offended by some of the American sex and violence, but it can be a bit gratuitous. I do like a good shootemup though, maybe why Wuxia appeals to me.
I'm also guilty of watching some series just for the Eye Candy, even if the series is not the best. Guilty pleasures were IU in Hotel Del Luna or Kim Yoo-Jung in Backstreet Rookie. I'm NOT a fan of the Hong Sisters, but I did watch AOS for Mu Deok; might be why I watched Because This is My First Life. LOL. I thought IU was much better in My Mister, she didn't have one expression for the entire series.
Thanks for the suggestions, I'm looking at Gu Family Book and ?????, Sageuk about a bunch of female warriors and some guy chasing them.
Watch Pawn if you haven't seen it, not Romance or Action, but I liked it. The Man From Nowhere was also good, but definitely violent.
You could check out:
One Spring Night https://mydramalist.com/32977-spring-night
The Happy Loner https://mydramalist.com/23442-the-happy-loner
Go Back Couple https://mydramalist.com/24863-go-back-couple
18 Again https://mydramalist.com/52941-eighteen-again
On the Way to the Airport https://mydramalist.com/18618-on-the-way-to-the-airport
Before We Get Married (Taiwan) https://mydramalist.com/30619-before-we-get-married
The Rational Life (China) https://mydramalist.com/68431-wu-fa-lian-ai-de-li-zhi-pai
Also:
EXchange Season 2 https://mydramalist.com/725901-transit-love-2 (Dating show)
KDrama_Boy:
I'll add Pawn to my list, though it's going to make me ugly cry. I struggle with sad/open/tragic endings. What did you think of Miracle in Cell No. 7? That's on my list to watch as well.
Have you watched Taxi Driver 1 & 2? That looks like something you might like. I like the actors, but when someone described the show as "gruesome", I had to cross it off my list.
Also, you will probably like Bloodhounds. It will be premiering June 8th on Netflix. Another one of my "eye candy" faves, Woo Do Hwan, is in this, but unfortunately it will be too violent for me. I will, however, probably just watch scenes with him in it.
Did you watch Black Knight? If so, thoughts? I love Kim Woo Bin, but this show is definitely not my genre.
The gangster parts were EXACTLY what I skipped in SWDBS! Completely spoiled the flow for me.
I, too, am in the "meh" camp for the Hong Sisters, though I did love HDL. Maybe because they are hyped up so much, they can't meet my expectations, I don't know.
You should write K-drama descriptions! "Gu Family Book and ?????, Sageuk about a bunch of female warriors and some guy chasing them. " LOL! That's a great cast, but after Alchemy, I need to get back to contemporary life, plus it seems a little too "tragedy" for me.
So, I'm just going to say that you need to write more reviews for the things that you've watched. I'd love to get your take on them.
Have a great day!!
michelleoc
KDrama_Boy:
I'll add Pawn to my list, though it's going to make me ugly cry. I struggle with sad/open/tragic endings. What did you think of Miracle in Cell No. 7? That's on my list to watch as well.
Pawn and Miracle in Cell 7 are similar in a lot of ways, but Miracle in Cell 7 is a bit deceptive, as it contains a bit of slapstick. If you need a box of tissues for Pawn, you'd better buy two boxes for Miracle in Cell 7. The FL is Pawn is a bit better I think, but she is also older. The ML in Miracle in Cell 7 is quite good, as he plays a role like Extraordinary Attorney Woo. He's played a lot of supporting roles in other things I've seen, like SWDBS.
Have you watched Taxi Driver 1 & 2? That looks like something you might like. I like the actors, but when someone described the show as "gruesome", I had to cross it off my list.
Taxi Driver is one of my favourite series, I can't wait for Season 3. Season 1 was better than Season 2, more violence and less corn. The violence is mostly over the top, so it's not too bad. There are some sad moments, some happy moments, no Romance and quite a bit of comedy. They tend to deal with a lot of social issues, like child trafficking, real-estate scams, etc.
Did you watch Black Knight? If so, thoughts? I love Kim Woo Bin, but this show is definitely not my genre.
I looked at it, but it seemed a bit unrealistic. Probably more my genre, but I can only suspend my belief so far.
I, too, am in the "meh" camp for the Hong Sisters, though I did love HDL. Maybe because they are hyped up so much, they can't meet my expectations, I don't know.
The scene with IU in the purple outfit and the Winchester still makes me laugh.
IU in HDL
You should write K-drama descriptions! "Gu Family Book and ?????, Sageuk about a bunch of female warriors and some guy chasing them. " LOL! That's a great cast, but after Alchemy, I need to get back to contemporary life, plus it seems a little too "tragedy" for me.
I couldn't remember the name at the time, but it was The Tale of Nokdu. Yeah, the Hong Sisters love to F*ck with their audience, I can do without the contrived plot twists and open endings.
So, I'm just going to say that you need to write more reviews for the things that you've watched. I'd love to get your take on them.
I wrote a lot of technical manuals and testing requirements in a previous life, so my reviews might be a bit dry. I was also a consultant for a while too, so I tend to be FoS as required. LOL.
Have a great day!!
U2
