Mature audience watchers over 30+ what dramas do you watch?

I'll be falling into the "40s" category this month, and I enjoy them all: young adult/high school, the more mature/serious ones, and those with mature/adult content.

I've watched a lot of dramas over the years, and the only one I've dropped because I felt it was "too young" for me, was Dream Knight.  But... that wasn't the only reason I didn't like it.  What really put me off was the silly, over-the-top comedic aspects, and the stiff, awkward acting.

I agree. I grow so tired of those silly memes.  My favorite shows that address life as an adult are "It's ok, that's love" and "Gentlemen's Dignity". While the cast in "Coffee Prince" is young, I liked that there was a unique topic regarding LGBT-ish issues.  That was unique and more adult-like.  I'm sure there are others but they are not common.

@Mariola I'm not sure if your response is directed at me, but I'll answer anyway!! :)

I have chosen not to watch Hotel King, Angel Eyes and Marriage, Not Dating. Hotel King and Angel Eyes just strike me as too makjang and Marriage, Not Dating apparently has a very intense love triangle and a frustrating push/pull relationship between the leads that I can't really be bothered with. 

However, I have seen Secret and Boss & Me and I enjoyed both, though Secret a little bit less so. I'm planning to watch Someone Like You & That Winter, the Wind Blew.

I find it funny that you like Lie to Me. So do I, but there are soooo many of my friends and other MDL folks who think it's a ridiculous drama. LOL I can't really fathom why so many people hate it. I quite liked it. I've liked Yoon Eun-Hye since her Coffee Prince days and I liked her here too. She's one of those actresses who doesn't act all goody goody, she kind of owns her sexuality in a subtle way so for her a kiss is the real deal. No flat faced business. I've got to be honest and say it's one of the reasons why I like the girl. Sure, Lie To Me had its fair share of crazy WTF moments (like towards the end when she goes off looking for 'treasure'), but for the most part it was enjoyable and I appreciated the attempt at portraying a more believable intimate relationship, even if it didn't hit the spot full 100%.

@Mariola 

Very true. It's all in the taste. I didn't even look side ways at I Hear Your Voice. Not only do I tend not to like noona romances (it's not really that I don't like them, I just don't like how they're done in Korean dramas), but I'm also not very fond of the leads. Both of them are on my blacklist so it was a natural choice for me not to watch it. I felt even more confident in my decision when friends whose opinion I listen to gave it the same verdict as you: overrated with an absurd plot line, esp when it came to the female lead and her profession. I'm pretty sure IHYV's hype is linked to the male lead who is an 'idol' for many. I can't really deal with the guy, his face kinda creeps me out, but the younger girls love him! Anyway, that's usually the case ... when a drama is hyped up on MDL there's a very good chance I won't like it or it turns out to be a perfectly 'meh' type of drama for me. It has happened so many times I've lost count. Queen In Hyun's Man, Cruel City, Healer, KMHM ... I mean, they are all okay dramas, but none of them lived up to the hype. I was mostly underwhelmed (in fact I ended up dropping QIHM, though I'm considering picking it back up since I only had 1 ep left) while shows I thought were really great (like Lovers & City Hall) didn't really find an audience.

I am 55 an I have a special liking for the young love stories and school stories. Give me a silly romance any day. Ah the memories :P

Oh dear, I hope I won't lead you astray @Mariola haha
I don't want to build up your hopes too much, but personally I really loved these two dramas. If you get around to watching them, I hope they'll be to your taste. They're from the same screenwriter as A Gentleman's Dignity. I noticed you mentioned it in your recommendation to me above so I'm guessing you liked it? If you liked the tone and vibe of AGD, then you can pretty much expect the same in City Hall and Lovers. 

Be aware of the backdrop these dramas are set against as depending on your taste, that may or may not influence on your enjoyment. Lovers is about a reforming gangster falling in love with a minister's daughter. It's part crime drama and part romantic drama with some comedic elements, but more the latter than the former. Excellent chemistry between the leads with witty, intelligent, playful banter. Some people didn't like the gangster backdrop, but since I love the crime/gangster genre it was great for me! 

City Hall is set in the world of politics. I don't really like politics so there were a few boring bits for me (that's one of the reasons I gave it an 8), but again what's great about this drama is the chemistry between the leads. The characters are well matched. They both acted like adults, I felt a real connection between them. Cha Seung Won is great as the opportunistic politican vying for the South Korean presidency and Kim Sun Ah shines as the erudite country girl who sweeps him off his feet. lol It's really cute, in a grown-up sort of way.

This screenwriter tends to write for female audiences, aged 30 - 45. There's a pattern to her stories and she doesn't shy away from using cliches, but she offers up very satisfying romances with lots of humour and strong chemistry between her main characters. Even though her shows might appear as very standard K-drama fare she challenges herself to come up with situations in which the cliches kind of fit into the story she's telling. So they feel less arbitrary compared to other dramas, imo. I've read a lot of interviews where she explains her process. She says she likes cliches, and that the process of finding stories that can make the cliches seem fresh & logical is exciting and challenging for her. She hates 'fish' kissing and warns the actors she works with that if they accept a role in her drama they have to kiss like real people. I loved her the moment I read that! haha

That said, I don't like all her dramas. Favourites, in order of preference, have been Lovers(10), AGD(9), City Hall(8), Secret Garden(6), Lovers in Prague(5), The Heirs(3).

With SG, I didn't like the female lead and the story was kind of not so engaging. The chemistry didn't fly off the screen like in her other dramas, and I found the characters a tad bit juvenile (something that's not very usual for her shows). Lovers in Prague is the 2nd drama in her 'Lovers' series (Lovers in Paris, pt 1; Lovers in Prague, pt 2; Lovers pt 3) and  was disappointing because this was from very early on in her career. It was clear to me she hadn't found her voice yet, her process, so she kind of followed in the footsteps of most other K--dramas with the frustrating (as opposed to somewhat refreshing) way of using cliches and awkward intimate interactions. What's funny is that right after this drama, she did Lovers, which I thought was great! So it goes to show that with each new drama she gets better and better. Except for Heirs.

Heirs was a misstep in her career. It's a drama for young adults and teenagers, an audience she doesn't usually write for and unfortunately she did a poor job of it. Heirs was really repetitive and boring. The drama was star-studded, but many people feel she wasted a very talented cast. Then there's Park Shin Hye in the lead role. That girl is on my blacklist; the way she kisses ... ::eyeroll:: 

So yeah, this writer is definitely a hit and miss, but her hits have been very good to me so that's why I still follow her career. She has a new drama coming up in October, Descendants of the Sun, and I'm excited, but then I'm not. I like the cast individually as people and actors, but I can't see them having good chemistry on screen. Song Joong Ki still looks like a high school kid even though he recently left the army. Next to his more mature looking leading lady, Song Hye Kyo, something just doesn't feel right. They look more like brother & sister to me, rather than lovers. So I'm worried about that. I had the same problem with Secret Garden where I felt Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin did not have good chemistry. Guess we're gonna have to wait and see.

P.S Thnks for the tip on TWTWB. I plan to watch it in the near future. I like the cast and I'm familiar with the story, having watched the movie its based on. Sorry for yet another long post! :)

Oh and I agree too @Mariola about the overly emotional and shrill female leads. I mean, when they have women behaving like that it kind of unfairly minimizes the male lead's own faults! Because really who wants to deal with a woman like that??? I wouldn't and I'm female my damn self! haha. Thankfully, because I'm so picky with what I watch these days I mostly avoid these type of heroines, but you can't completely stay clear of them in dramaland. I intend to watch I Need Romance, 1 & 2,, and I somehow had a feeling from the get-go that they'd feature less than reasonable female leads. That's why I initially chose not to watch them, but for some reason I can't remember now I changed my mind. We'll see if I end up dropping them like you! :)


Hehe, I have seen Temptation of Eve! I really liked the first story, the one with the cop. While I'm not necessarily looking for this level of intimacy in a TV show, I don't mind it as long its relevant to plot / the situations the characters find themselves in. Another decent one is Bang Ja Chronicles. It's based on a Korean folktale called Chunhyang and you can find it on Netflix. I had already seen two movies featuring the story so the drama didn't really offer any new twists, but if you don't know the story and haven't seen any of the movies, it may be a pleasant surprise. Since I like the story I was still able to enjoy it. It was pretty hot!! :)