Dramas/Drama Specials completed in 2023

Part of an anthology of sci fi stories, this short film imposed some thought-provoking questions about androids, their decision making and 'human emotions' ability, as well as some ethical dilemmas enriched with religion and filial piety elements.
Strong start, but a bit too much of an ending.
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Part of an anthology of sci fi stories, this short film depicts the impact of interactive social media, school and cyber bullying, and how people create fake online personas in order to be liked and feel accepted.
With a stark setting, an eerie atmosphere and some intriguing symbolisms, this was a compelling and thought-provoking watch.
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A short and easy to watch drama, with Kim Bo Ra as its cute protagonist surrounded by a wonderful found family and delicious food.
A heartwarming, soothing and healing story about grieving, abandonment, estrangement and making amends.
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Though the plot was a bit cliché and rather predictable, the young talented cast, the unique narration approach and the clever use of the fantasy & mystery elements made this bittersweet story of first love and friendship an enjoyable youth drama.
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A sageuk drama that, in spite being 15 years old, was way ahead of its time considering gender bending, sexual desire and orientation, homosexuality.
Though the story felt repetitive, with endless painting competitions and scheming, the chemistry between the two female leads was the most intriguing and memorable part.
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Unique concept of a healing story which deals with serious issues such as depression, social anxiety, insecurities and traumas in a positive and uplifting way, but even if sometimes it's silly and too sugary, it's also has some strong heartwarming moments.
Yamada Ryosuke's character cuteness is overflowing and his smile is contagious - a perfect stress reliever.
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A great, very amusing first half with refreshingly absurd and infuriating characters and situations presented in a comical way that really worked out well.
But, when the second half tried to put logic and redemption in this absurdity and make everyone live happily ever after, the outcome was subpar and disappointing.
Kim Byung Chul, with his drama-queen reactions, his unforced comical expressions and shenanigans was undoubtedly the heart and soul of this drama.
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Much better than its prequel, which is something rare.
Still Kim Bum as Lee Rang is the best and cutest part of the story, but also Kim So Yeon as the quirky, bad*ss Ryu Hong Joo is definitely on par, if not better!
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A bittersweet, slow-paced healing drama that tackles some serious social issues in a positive way.
In spite the awkward beginning, the unbalanced tone, some over-the-top characters and a few questionable situations, it had many heartwarming and touching moments about birth and death, friendship, found family and making amends, that makes this an interesting watch.
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A short jdrama split in two short seasons with unique and refreshing premise, an intriguing theme and some well-built mystery around it.
With a talented young cast, and a surprisingly competent police force, this was definitely nothing groundbreaking, but still an enjoyable watch, in spite the lack of character depth and an acceptable reasoning for some actions, some plot holes that couldn't be ignored and the lukewarm, unnecessary romance.
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Much better and engaging than the first season, though there were still some serious issues with its messy writing and reasoning, plot holes and predictability.
Not perfect, but an enjoyable and bingeable watch.
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An intense, sad and dysfunctional love triangle with a twisted revelation.
Elegantly atmospheric, full of erotism, jealousy, obsession, anguish and pain, this is a demanding slow-paced watch not for everyone.
Young and breathtakingly beautiful Ishihara Satomi, though the most difficult to follow character, was a pleasure to the eyes and the star of this strange movie.
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A dark, twisted story about gaslighting, mental and physical abuse, deception, manipulation, secrets and... lies.
Impressive cinematography, coloring and editing created an exemplary creepy, eerie and unsettling atmosphere, making the plot twists and revelations more impressive than they actually were.
Though the pacing became too slow towards the end, some flashbacks were confusing, and some subplots never had a closure, overall it was a well-done entertaining watch.
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With a great cast and a hilariously absurd script with many parody elements and sneering social commentaries within, even themes like politics, elections, cheating and divorcing can be a fun to watch.
All characters were flawed and did some very annoying/questionable things, but even so it was fun to watch them and even root for them - especially spoiled, slow-witted and horny Taishi, played beautifully by Matsuzaka Tori.
It had some infuriating moments and some repetitiveness towards the end, but overall it was a light, entertaining story.
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Not as good as the 1st season, even though the teamwork and bromance moments were good and the romance was toned down, but still an entertaining watch.
If there weren't so many plot holes concerning the main mastermind and the focus was on the 3 teams combined investigations it would have been much better.
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A historical drama in a non quite historical setting but almost a spaghetti Western feel, with gun fights, bar fights, horse chasing and duels in a wild west style.
Though it had a star-studded cast, beautiful cinematography, music and costumes, fast-paced storytelling and some intense action scenes, some characters and subplots were underwhelming and the outcome somehow rushed and lacking.
But if so, I'd watch anything with Kim Nam Gil in it!
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Short, simple and predictable romcom, with two clumsy, insecure and lacking common sense main leads.
But, it was fast-paced and enjoyable, with no annoying subplots and characters, a few frustrating and lots of cute moments.
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Despite the frustration induced by the outrageously selfless, naive and pathological good Samaritan FL Yae (who was in urgent need of therapy), and the unrealistic behaviour and demands of SML and SFL, this was an enjoyable one-time-watch romcom, if only for the charms and funny scenes of the adorably lovestruck ML Takumi.
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An emotional, healing journey of a lonely, broken and unhappy man through his unconventional encounter and deep bonding with a 'fallen' angel.
Beautifully filmed, even though there where a few noticeable plot holes and flaws in the storytelling, it was a sad but heartwarming story of love, connecting, self-discovery and moving on in life.
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Lighthearted and fun, with an intriguing concept not perfectly executed.
Though the romance became a bit dull towards the end, it was an entertaining watch thanks to its cinematography, some interesting secondary couples and, especially, the most cool and funny king I've seen in a sageuk.
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When a stolen identity and some lies around it can lead to a blooming young romance.
Cute couple, entertaining story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdOtaRKyXfQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Te7vHF2c5U0

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A twisted story of achieving one's dreams through a prism of extreme competition, backstabbing and manipulation...

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When words/online comments can kill...
A dark mystery thriller about the rise and fall of a young delivery man who obtains supernatural powers and punishes the wicked on the Internet like an avenger anti-hero.

Corruption, gender harassment and sexual assault in a military base.

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Too much crying, eyeing, dying...
Even our poor Crown Prince's cute turtle was moving on faster than this dragging story with all its fillers...

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Nothing groundbreaking but enjoyable, with a cute couple and satisfyingly short duration.

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Cute and bubbly, with a comforting and healing vibe, nice for a weekend watch.

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A samurai historical fiction about a group of expendable strong peasants forming the Ichigeki (One strike, One kill) squad, trained to attack and run away -and no defense whatsoever- while carrying out missions against Satsuma han.
Though the film is not so informative about the political backdrop of the Meiji Restoration, the cast (especially the three main leads) and their characters make this an enjoyable watch, at least for the lovers of this genre.

Disappointingly underwhelming...
No matter how stellar the cast is or how high the production value is, when the story and the pacing are subpar, the outcome can only be mediocre.
Perhaps because the plot (and the characters) got more serious than needed, or because the main trio's interactions and bantering were minimum, the story lost its spark and excitement.
Will there be a season three? I don't know and, frankly, I don't think I care...
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Promising cast, interesting premise, subpar outcome.
Unfortunately, Kim Min Gue's cuteness and Park Sang Nam's charms couldn't save this lukewarm story with its disappointingly underwhelming villains, the cringy over-the-top scenes and the illogical plot holes.
Watchable, but only as a filler...
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Part of an anthology of sci fi stories, this short film focuses on society's addiction to mobiles, as well as people's need to knew their future, find something to believe in and depend on, even if it is a questionable AI fortune-telling application.
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Part of an anthology of sci fi stories, this short film was technically beautiful and its premise interesting, but the outcome was lukewarm and the romance underdeveloped. Not that bad, just a missed opportunity for something memorable.
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Part of an anthology of sci fi stories, this short film explores the modern trend of dating, as well as the physical appearance modification with plastic surgery, through a love story on a virtual dating app.
Too sugary and superficial for my taste, but the pairing of Choi Si Won and Uee was worth the watch.
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I must admit that Woo Do Hwan and his charms were the only reason why I kept watching this below average drama.
Though very weak on the romance and lukewarm on the revenge part, and with some awkward and untimely comic scenes, it did have some good points, especially during the first episodes where the focus was on the legal cases. But, the most engaging parts were WDH's interactions and bromance with his best friend Dong Chi, his rivalry and collaboration with Ji Sun and his friendship with the most likeable King I've seen in a saeguk lately.
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Short and cute first love/unrequited love story with a not-so-open ending.
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A short, fast-paced family drama with an unorthodox concept and approach, unbalanced pacing and tone, many cheesy moments, but surprisingly some heartwarming and cute ones too.
Nothing memorable, just an easy watch.
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Not as good as its parent story, just a cute filler watch.

A bizarre and unbalanced multi-genre drama about a love story between a vampire and a human, mixed with a police investigation concerning a series of murders.
Unfortunately, and in spite of the great cast involved, the lack of character depth, the sloppy writing and the rough switch between fluffy, comic and intense scenes resulted in a lukewarm, subpar outcome.
Sometimes the talented cast and the great chemistry between them aren't enough to overcome a mediocre storytelling...
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An unusually weird but charming and very japanese-like manga adaptation.
Unique concept, absurd structure and outlandish outcome, with a bittersweet and nostalgic feeling.
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A sugary romcom with a simple story, a lot of overacting, a very naive -borderline simpleton- FL and a too good to be true but charming ML.
It had its fun and cute moments but, overall, nothing memorable.
The only saving graces of this drama were its short duration and the ML!
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A unique and heartwarming story about people with disorders and how those can affect their communication with others, their relationships, work and daily lives.
With a thoughtful and optimistic approach, though sometimes too bubbly and simplified, it had a refreshingly positive vibe and two nice leads.
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A light-hearted short series, evident that is a shoujo manga adaptation.
Overly exaggerated characters and storyline (plus the FL is a minor) but both leads are cute in their own way: the ML is an arrogant, super narcissist conglomerate heir, while the FL is a feisty, strong-willed schoolgirl. Their bantering and support were the best part of this easy bingeable drama that didn't have any useless/annoying subplots or characters.
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A social commentary on media and newspapers, misinformation and manipulation of information, trust and betrayal.
Though it was a bit slow-paced (especially during the first 3 episodes) and its pacing felt a bit flat, the intriguing story concept and the great cast were reasons enough for this drama to be a nice watch.
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A mystery - investigation drama, slightly spiced with supernatural and bromance elements.
Short, well-paced, with believable cases and short enough not to be boring.
Nothing spectacular, just a decent one-time watch.
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A short omnibus drama serving as a social commentary on the overuse/abuse of the internet and social media, their dark and obsessive sides, and how those affect the daily lives, relationships and mentality of young people.
Gloomy and intense, with interesting stories and a proper episode duration, this was a decent and quite enjoyable watch.
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Stunning visuals, detailed production, captivating photography and an undeniable chemistry between the leads in a promising story of love and healing that soon became toxic and burdening, with some unnecessary side-stories and lots of smoking close-ups.
Unfortunately, not Bae Suzy's best work, though she was ethereally, breathtakingly beautiful in this.
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It felt like watching a j-drama version of a typical makjang, with all the familiar characters and tropes.
Better than expected, in spite of the toxic relationships and the extremely frustrating miscommunication and lying.
Not bad for a one time binge-watch.
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Couldn't really get into their love story (I found the friendship of the trio more interesting).
Either it was really below average, or I'm too old for this kind of stories - or both.

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Messy writing and production in a below average story, with only Kim Young Kwang's charms worth watching...

Definitely not the best of Seo Kang Joon's works...

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After a promising start for something unconventional and innovative, unfortunately this ended up being a rather disappointing, below average romcom with the usual cliches.
Sloppy writing and directing, with an annoying, childish FL who kept breaking the 4th wall unnecessarily too many times and an intriguing, mysterious ML who transformed into someone ordinary and predictable in the blink of an eye...

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Not bad, but not good either...
Though the cast did the best they could, the sloppy writing, the slow-pacing and the repetitive back and forth made this drama a real chore to watch.

An ambitious but weakly executed social commentary on digital sex abuse and its consequences.

Though it had a promising start, with a unique concept and a cute fluffy couple, it soon went downhill mainly due to the weak, subpar mystery arc, some useless annoying subplots and a lot of wasted potential. To sum it up:
1. Give Kim So Hyun a better script and a stronger character - she can do much better.
2. Give Seo Ji Hoon his well-deserved main lead role - when he can finally have all the spotlights?
3. Give Hwang Min Hyun his mask back - he was much better with it!
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A great cast and a fresh idea aren't enough for a drama to be successful if the writing is weak, repetitive and relies on overused tropes, cringy dialogues, annoying side characters and a forced, non-sensical stalker subplot which is present in every romcom lately.
It was very promising and entertaining at first, with a satisfying bickering couple, an intriguing fantasy premise with magic, spells and love potions, but soon became a dull cycle of repetition full of wasted potential, second-hand embarrassment and too many filler scenes with uninteresting characters.
The only saving grace was Rowoon's charms and confidence, and his chemistry with Jo Bo Ah.
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1. Can we just pretend that season 2 never happened?
2. Why the heck did they lure us with lieutenant Lee in the poster?
The only thing worth watching from this infuriatingly dumb and disappointing part was the post-credits scene of the last episode.
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Not my kind of humour, I guess...

Such a waste of Kim Jung Hyun's talent and charisma...

Too absurd of a story, too cringey dialogues...