2023: Completed

My County:  The New Age is an excellent historical drama depicting the rising tensions in the early years of Joseon.  This drama delivers a high energy and enticing plot of the bonds between two friends as the times and circumstances drive them apart.  I found that this drama quickly drew me in and broke my heart again and again.  This drama is so satisfyingly sad but the emotions it depicts are quite beautiful.  

I am so impressed by the acting in My Country:  The New Age from the three leading actors:  Yang Se Jong, Woo Do Hwan, and Jang Hyuk.  The level of depth and nuance that they are able to instill was incredibly moving.  There was one time in particular when Jang Hyuk's character ordered to collapse the bridge and watching Yi Bang Won's expression seamlessly morph from a hardy laugh to a painful wince was striking.  

I do have to mention that Kim Seol Hyun's wooden expressions start to get under my skin in comparison.  Her presence isn't terribly distracting, but I feel like this drama could have been a lot better if they had cast a different actress.  (3 Jan)

Touching, heartfelt, and tender -- This drama taps into such sweet tenderness around family and food (5 Jan)

Finally, making my way through this drama again after taking almost a year break from it.  I don't know why I struggle with this drama so much.  It's a bit random and absurd for me . . . I guess this is in true KudoKan fashion.  If you choose to watch this expect a drama that is extremely stylized with a quirky and absurd tone.  I personally prefer Manhattan Love Story and Tiger & Dragon more than this.  Don't hate me!  I guess aimless youth isn't quite my style.  Even though this drama isn't for me, I do recognize that yes, this is a classic.  If you are looking for something novel, definitely give this a try! (5 Jan)

I had so much fun watching our lead couple.  Jang Uk and Jin Bu Yeon were absolutely adorable together.  When this drama aired there was some rumblings over Go Yoon Jung taking over for Jung So Min as female lead.  Within the first episode, Go Yoon Jung's performance melted all our hearts.  I loved the chemistry Go Yoon Jung has with Lee Jae Wook.  

For a Hong Sister's drama, expect that they will load up the story with so many winding plot points and will not be able to satisfy them all.  During this second part, the pacing feels rushed and there are a few quite anticlimactic moments.  This is especially applicable when we talk about the final fight of the season  *whelp*.  There was certainly opportunity left on the table and a few storylines that could have been leaned into more.  I personally really wanted Seo Yul to be developed more as a character.  It was set up so well, and then they abandoned it.  

Regardless, I still had a lot of fun with this drama rooting for our lead couple and the wider cast.  I am most relieved to say we got a happy ending this time around!  (8 Jan)

This was a great KudoKan drama.  I loved seeing the three lead characters play siblings.  I really didn't know what to expect with this drama.  It's a surprisingly light-hearted revenge drama with the expected KudoKan flair.  I absolutely loved the absurdity that the drama would break into with their little drama vignettes.  I may be wrong, but I feel like this is an underrated gem.  I wish I had watched it sooner, so if you are on the fence, what are you waiting for?  (8 Jan)

This show is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.  For years, I've loved shows like Terrace House and Ainori.  For season 2, I was always excited to tune in every week for the new episodes.  This is such an easygoing watch. 

I am excited to report I was wrong in all the right ways about season two.  Some of the men had such meme-worthy moments.  I'm looking at you Se Jun!!  (10 Jan)

I am on the fence on how to rate The Island.  I would call it pretty standard fare when we think of demon hunter dramas.  I found some of the episodes fairly slow and boring. 

I guess this serves me right since I shamelessly started this drama purely for Cha Eun Woo's  earrings. (14 Jan)

Rewatched this drama to celebrate it coming to Netflix. It did not disappoint.  There really is some magic combination with the main cast. Their quirkiness and their little idiosyncrasies make this drama so charming and sweet. There are a number of unforgettable debates in this drama such as:  “remon arimasu ka?, SAJ, and Thank You Parsley.  I hope you will enjoy this one! (23 Jan) ↻

A delight (10 Feb)

The lead couple is so adorable in this.  I'm always up for an enemies-to-lovers plot.  As much as I wanted to like this drama for the focus on local politics.  All the politicking grated on my nerves and I often found myself bored and disconnected from the story.  Towards the end of the drama, they did bring things full circle as the corruption plot points became more of a central focus.  This drama has its own charm, I just wish I was able to appreciate it more.  (11 Feb)  

I really appreciated this melodrama about our hopeless couple and their will they, won't they antics.  I liked the poetic nature of it and how the drama examined the pressures and interactions of people in different socio-economic situations.  This drama had a unique feel.  I believe those who were expecting a conventional romance would be sorely disappointed.  This is not a love story, it's about imperfect and flawed characters.

I do have to say that this drama has a few issues with its editing.  The editing choices often make the narrative as well as the way time is paced quite blurred and often more confusing than it should be. (12 Feb)

This was surprisingly fun.  I ended up binge-ing this in one night.  Love to Hate You is created to feel like many old-school kdramas yet it does offer a bit of a twist in trying to subvert the traditional tropes and cliches.  This drama was light and fun, there were many times when this drama had me laughing out loud.  If you choose to watch this, I hope you fully enjoy the light-hearted and cheesy fun!! (13 Feb)

A buddy cop show focuses-in on two mismatched personalities travel around in a melon pan truck solving crime one case at a time.  We've seen this setup before, but the chemistry between the two leads and the cases profiled offer enough to get a recommendation from me.   I particularly enjoyed the support and guest stars they got for these cases in each episode.  (19 Feb)

I love watching how Im Shi Wan gets into all these psychopath roles.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film especially because of the lukewarm ratings.  Though it may not be anything incredibly remarkable or novel, I did appreciate the choices the film made.  Some of the framing choices they used to highlight activity on the smartphone had a fun feel, for example, the opening scene.  This was fun; I liked it!!  (19 Feb)

Started this drama for the main couple.  It feels like it's been quite a while since Kang So Ra has started in anything.  This drama got lost in the marriage battle of the week.  There was way too much courtroom for my tastes.  This drama tries to dive into everyone's marriage and relationship problems.  This resulted in each story being wilder than the next, leaving for a very over-the-top presentation.  I finished this just to finish it but by the end was for the most part checked out.  (23 Feb)

I loved all the quirky family feels in this drama.  Ore no Ie no Hanashi is laugh-out-loud funny.  This was a great mix of absurd and heart-felt.  (28 Feb)

Unfortunately, I found this drama disappointing.  I assume most started this drama for our lead couple played by Jung Kyung Ho and Jeon Do Yeon.  I liked the setup of a mature love story and the family feels.  Yet the murder mystery parts water down the drama to be almost unrecognizable.  It feels unnecessary and superficial.  It's a shame, since I want to believe that this comedic romance with the prep school drama would be enough without the extra intrigue.  (5 Mar)

Disappointing ... and flat ... The acting ... The story ... it's all soooo very flat.  The story is painfully predictable.  I typically like Kim Nam Gil as an actor, but even his acting chops could not save this drama.  My theory is that it condensed the story too much and in doing so lost a lot of needed character development or even tension to move the story. (10 Mar)

I wasn't expecting to like this drama as much as I did.  I'm not typically drawn to school-age dramas.  I really appreciate the light and breezy tone of the drama.  The students are so zany, each having their own idiosyncrasies.  The love shapes are in the style that only Kudokan can pull off.  It was surprisingly fun!!  (11 Mar)

This was a nice revenge story.  I do like revenge plots that center around women's portrayals.  I wasn't the biggest fan of the change in direction for the last episode, but overall this was an interesting watch.  It's not the first of its genre, but it was still a decent story.  (12 Mar)

This drama was pleasant and easy to watch. It could be a bit cheesy at times, but I did enjoy the unique and mature tone. (17 Mar)

I was really surprised how refreshing this drama was.  I really appreciated the slice-of-life feels and the cohabitation bit.  Hirose Suzu is amazingly refreshing in her role of Asagi Soramame, a bit of a free-spirit trying to find her own way in life.  (23 Mar)

"The wise man admires water; the benevolent man admires mountains."

I found this film truly captivating. The acting, the story, and the editing are superb. A poem beautifully captured in film framing the mountain against the sea. (25 Mar)

This was an easy watch.  I really enjoyed seeing Inoue Mao and Sato Takeru in a drama together.  The cast was a huge draw even when I was unsure about the premise.  Though we've seen this setup before and the drama doesn't bring anything really groundbreaking to the formula, the drama was enjoyable and easy.  The finale takes an out-of-the-blue turn that doesn't quite suit the overall drama.  Nevertheless, this was surprisingly cute and worthwhile.  (1 Apr)

Is it bad that this drama has become my background play drama of the season?  I haven’t been paying much attention to the political power moves and schemes since early on and was holding out for more cute between our love triangle.  Yet the show could have been a lot better off to lean hard into the cute.  

I am terrible; I haven’t even kept up with what the reasoning of the curse was.  Even the big reveals in the last quarter, are kind of silly to me and overdone.  The acting just isn’t very good … I assume this is a fault of the director … Is this all because I wasn’t paying attention?  

I can’t recommend that anyone watches this.  There are much better historical dramas out there whether you are looking for palace politicking or sweet romance, you can do much better than this.  (11 Apr)

This was such a lovely drama to watch with a perfect touch of whimsy.  Based on the premise, this drama could have been an angst fest, but it’s actually quite tastefully done.  

I really appreciated how this drama balances the fantastical elements with the everyday.  The focus on the three siblings and their relationships made this drama special.  It’s a sweet drama, though I don’t know that it’s groundbreaking.    

If you are looking for a pretty easy-going healing romance, this may be the ticket.  (12 Apr)

Meh ... This isn't for me.  It's too episodic, and the cases are too unrealistic and outlandish.  (15 Apr)

This is a pretty standard friends-with-benefits story.  It’s fairly predictable, and I found the ending rushed.  Even though I picked it up for Son Suk Ku, I stayed for Jun Jong Seo.  

(23 Apr)

I spent the majority of this film confused about what I was watching, but it had nice payoff.  The last 30 seconds or so brings the film to a nice conclusion. (23 Apr)

I was hoping this would be a fun action drama.  It seemed to have a decent setup, but the character depictions are painfully bland.  After sitting through all six episodes, I don’t feel drawn to any of the characters or care about their plight.  I was so bored watching this. (16 May)

This is the lowest score, I've ever given on MDL. (16 May)

Love Village is my cozy watch.  I live for the fact that this show showcases members over the age of 35.  The housemates are soooo sweet and eccentric.  

I love how it plays the same 3 to 4 Backstreet Boys songs in every episode.  

Honestly, once I saw that Becky was part of the panel, I had no choice but to pick this show up.  Tamura Atsushi is surprisingly precious in this.  I love how he’s always crying.  It makes me want to check out Rea(L)ove.  (30 May)

Guys, this isn’t a great drama … I found it terribly uneven.  This tends to happen with a lot of Korean dramas these days; they are overly ambitious.  Rather than focus on doing one thing well, they try to hit all the genres all at once:  family, comedy, law, and revenge.  And it just falls to pieces and none of the plot points really hit home.  This drama has no identity.  It’s just an uneven mess filled with ridiculous angst and badly timed comedy. 

If you are looking for a touching family drama that pulls at your heartstrings, you would be better off with Dear My Friends, Our Blues, or My Mister. (8 Jun)

This is the first asadora that I was able to complete.  I can certainly understand why people love asadoras, it’s so refreshing how they focus on female protagonists and throughout the show, we watch them seek out their dreams.  Tsuchiya Tao is so refreshing as Mare.  The romance in Mare is sooooo precious and heartwarming.  The chemistry between Tsuchiya and Yamazaki is great.  This was such a treat. 

I feel what makes Mare special is her relationship with dreams through the show’s run.  Through the different stages of her life, her dream changes and morphs. 

For being 156 episodes, I found that Mare was pretty easy to watch.  I have a much easier time thinking about the show in weeks rather than episode numbers.  I look forward to watching more asadoras in the future. (12 Jun)

This drama is overflowing with charm.  The scenery and cinematography are beautiful.  I appreciate how One Day Off taps into the connections you make along the way.    

Through my first watch, it was a bit too slice-of-life for me.  Yet, I think I should try to give it a rewatch sometime.  (13 Jun)

(19 Jun)

I just wanted to see you one more time. 

I loved how understated past lives was, but at the same time building up so much glorious tension and longing between our two leads. The level of emotion that this film evokes is unsettling. What a beautiful film?! (15 Jul)

This was entertaining and funny, but it’s certainly not one of KudoKan’s best.  The show gets a bit bogged down with all the politics. (16 Jul)

The lead couple is sooooo very precious.  The chemisty between them is unmatched, and the way they resolve things through conversation is quite rare in dramaland. (5 Aug)

For me, this was really boring ... (13 Aug)

I am obsessed with this show!!  The love shapes are unmatched.  Fang Feng Bei has stolen my heart.  This show has started an appreciation for Tan Jianci that cannot be explained logically.

Can't wait for more episodes. (19 Aug)

(9 Sept)

Stick with the anime on this story.  The live action's choices greatly water down the story as well as a surprising amount of the character development. (10 Sept)

The story and acting are quite good. 

Though the show experiments with some horror elements, it’s more of a mystery story as the team chases after an evil spirit and their motives.  If you were looking for true horror, you’re probably disappointed.  I did find that the build-up and the setup can be quite slow in parts.  Which is one of the reasons I can’t give it full marks. 

I did really love evil Kim Tae Ri.  She was an absolute delight!

Overall, this series reminds me a lot of Jirisan.  It does make sense that it’s part of Kim Eun Hee’s body of work.  (17 Sept)

This was a fun, cute show.  Jo In Sung and Han Hyo Joo's story is the stand-out!!  (20 Sept)

Not as gut-wrenching as season one, but season two was still able to delivery a number of high intensity moments.  Season two follows a more conventional corruption plot that is a mainstay in Korean dramas.  

Part of me wishes, that D.P. would have stayed a limited series of its original six episodes, but overall this series was well-written and well-executed. (25 Sept)

I really wanted to love this drama, but I didn't ... It failed to catch my attention.  The procedural approach in the beginning was a bit of a chore to get through.  By the time hints at an overarching plot came about, it was too little too, too late.  It's probably a fine drama with a reasonably good plot, but I could not pay attention to save my life.  It makes me reconsider whether I like crime as a genre at all ... (30 Sept)

This was cute and simple.  I watched this because I really wanted to see more of the Romance 101 characters.  It was cute to see the key points of the early story.  Obviously, as a special the story seems overly rushed.  Still, this was cute enough!

I am still waiting for my full-length drama adaption of the webtoon!! (8 Oct)

This wasn't for me.  Iljimae struggles with tone issues.  The humor made it feel particularly dated.  Otherwise, it felt that the 20 episodes were unwarranted.  It was incredible how many episodes they dedicated to setup rather than true plot.  Iljimae felt incredibly uneven and surprisingly rushed especially in its final episodes.  (17 Oct)

I LOVED the second season of Arthdal.  Lee Joon Gi has killed it with his portrayal of Eunseom and Saya.  I am so very proud of him.  

Though there has been a lot of skepticism around this second season changes including a change in the director, the recasting of two lead characters as well as many of the supporting cast, and a change in streaming platforms, I am so relieved with the direction and quality of the series. 

Arthdal is proving to be quite the epic fantasy tale.  I am in love with the world-building and how the story explores lore and prophecy.  Its portrayal of motive and power has been truly fascinating.

My biggest gripe of this season is Shin Sae Kyung’s performance of Tanya.  Her portrayal was quite underwhelming and lackluster.  Is this how she always acts in more historical dramas?  Her performance pales in comparison to the performances of Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ok Bin and Lee Joon Gi.  Kim Ok Bin and Lee Joon Gi have some of the best scenes together.  The onscreen chemistry is off the charts.   

The ending felt rushed, but that was expected considering the scale of Arthdal.  Overall, season two still kept the quality up, even when it resolved its plot lines in the most predictable ways possible.  This was a fun world to jump into! (22 Oct)

Doona is a fairly straightforward manic pixie dream girl setup, where an unremarkable nice guy, Lee Won Joon falls in love with unobtainable ex-idol, Lee Doona. While early on I appreciated the whimsy and dreamy aesthetic which honestly seems a bit forced due to the abuse of filters (filter manipulation), in the last third it suddenly throws itself into an angst spiral with the reappearance of Doona’s manager.  Maybe it’s just my dislike for Lee Jin Wook, but this is where I would say the plot drops off the cliff of quality. The audience then has to deal with Won Joon’s waves of jealousy and inadequacy as he begs and pleads with Doona. It was so uncomfortable and embarrassing to watch him.  

Doona ends up being a rather forgettable story about two people who were never meant to be. Yet this story makes little impact, and the characters never made any connection. Most things felt too superficial and two-dimensional.  (27 Oct)

Season 2 introduces, Setsuko, a love rival for our, Akiko.  Their rivalry is the primary driving force of this season, which mean there is less nebby father antics.  Which is a real shame.  

Though I preferred the first season, season two was still an easy, breezy watch.  (27 Oct)

Flashy and Bold

A stylish re-imagination of the making of the erotic variety show from the 90s, Gilgamesh NIGHT.  Clearly, this won’t be for everyone considering the subject matter, but this was a novel watch as the team figures out how to increase ratings. (28 Oct)

"When I asked you if you ever hated me, you said this, 'The day you left me forever, I stared a long time as I hated you so much, but no matter how long I stared at you, I did not feel hatred for you. So I just hated myself.' And you asked me, 'As cruel as you are, did you even fathom how I felt?' I can tell you now, I could not even fathom. It is just that … my heart shattered into 1,000 pieces, and I wished you would not feel like me.  I prayed desperately so."

Sweet, sweet misery (29 Oct)

Daily Dose of Sunshine is an intriguing study of mental illness.  It does a nice job exploring everyone’s individual insecurities and struggles both patients and the hospital staff alike.  This drama really shines when its art direction plays with the surreal.  A good reminder that everyone has their stuff.  (12 Nov)

While the first part was nearly perfect, part two ran into some issues that seemed to drag down the plot a bit.  Regardless, I absolutely loved our lead couple.  I just couldn't get enough of Lee Jang Hyun and Yoo Gil Chae. (Nov 18)

This wasn't my favorite ... It may be interesting if you are looking for a story about a fairly harmless attorney slip into the underworld of crime. (27 Nov)

It was fun to see these characters brought to living color, but it’s a shame how much they had to condense this down.  It seems crazy to me that they attempted to cover all this is just five episodes. Because of these choices, it’s not surprising that the drama lacks a lot of the emotional gravity and character development that was present in the anime. (14 Dec)

I forget exactly why I dropped this back in 2019.  It looks like I was in a serious kdrama rut that year.  

Looking back, it wasn’t that this was a terrible drama.  I just think it didn’t have anything particularly special to keep me invested.  It’s kind of interesting to see how many stereotypical drama tropes this drama hits on … especially in later episodes.  It really goes whole hog on the tropes!!   (16 Dec)

So far this is a great concept.  I’m curious to see how this show will unfold and how everything is interconnected.  (18 Dec)

I really appreciated Soundtrack No. 2.  
I was surprised at how much I liked the couple in this.  Ji Soo Ho was quite relatable.  Watching him fight with himself on his feelings regarding Do Hyun Seo was a pleasure.  I liked the couple’s banter and their petty.  

I wasn't a big fan of the plot decisions in ep 6. (20 Dec)

This show is super easy breezy.  Watch this if you are looking for some cozy coupley vibes.  This show is pretty conflict-free.  

I do want to mention, this drama is pretty light on plot.  There is only cute fluff here. (21 Dec) 

Revenge of the nerds with a fun, quirky tone!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Boyhood.  Unsurprisingly, Im Shi Wan in the role of underdog Byeong Tae is an absolute joy.  I found myself again and again rooting for our nerdy protagonist.    

I also just selfishly wanted my romance to ship between Jang Byeong Tae and Park Ji Young.  (23 Dec)

Gyeongseong Creature is a compelling monster drama set during Japan’s colonial rule in 1945 during World War II.  I found it rather intriguing how it re-imagines if Japan duplicated the human experiments it conducted in Manchuria’s Unit 731, and they ended up creating a blood-thirsty monster.  

This is primarily a dark, gooey survival story but I appreciated the historical backdrop.  The premise lent itself well to the story.  (pt1)(23 Dec)