r/KDRAMA Challenge 2021 List (Archive)

1. A drama featuring Lee Min Ho 

Short and simple CF drama about two friends becoming something more romantic. Nothing spectacular, this CF relies on the charisma brought by our two leads. I didn't realize this was under 15 minutes; I'm going to have to find another Lee Minho drama. 

(01 Jan 2021)

2. A drama from r/kdramarecommends community official recommendation lists 

Writer Lim Soo-mi returns with another heartfelt and mouth-watering Let's Eat drama. Part mukbang and part slice-of-life drama, we continue the tradition of well-shot food inserts, quirky characters, and a sweet romance. And while the execution of this drama was not as strong as its predecessors, its a still an easy watch.

I very much like the structure of this third installment: two tales, 14 years apart, told in parallel. As present day Goo Dae-yeong becomes neighbors with college friend Lee Ji-woo, we get flashbacks to their college years and his formative years as a gourmand. Its a fitting juxtaposition: the older Dae-yeong is reinvigorated by reacquainting himself with his origins.

As always, we have a charismatic performance by Yoon Doo-joon and great chemistry with Baek Jin-hee. Very fun second couple as well! Admittedly despite these strengths and the amount of mukbang scenes, the writing is loose, the themes underdeveloped, and the romance reasonable but ultimately lacking.

Regardless, this drama series makes a case for why dramas shouldn't feel restricted to a single season. With multiple seasons, we get the chance to see various periods of a character's life and the arcs they undergo in each. Like the others in the series, I recommend watching this drama with a nice Korean dish, lest you're in the mood for another meal.

(17 Feb 2021)

3. A drama off the r/KDRAMA or r/kdramarecommends banner 

4. A drama that begins with the first letter of your user name 

5. A drama that references a real historical event in Korea 

6. A drama featuring character(s) who speak in dialect 

Since this Hong sisters drama takes place on Jeju-do, I came in expecting quirky characters, zippy dialogue, and a ton of Jeju colloquialisms. And while I did get all of those things in this drama, it was less warm and cozy and more sweet and sour. The cutesy moments between romantic pairs were great and I especially liked the diver and chaebol romance. However the characters have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone and less spine than a jellyfish. The plotlines follow dumb logic and the acting dips too far into camp for my taste. This drama is by far the weakest of ones I've seen from the Hong sisters. Watch this drama with your brain off.

(03 Feb 2021)

7. A drama that takes place in a location other than Seoul 

Funny drama with two of my favorite people in the K-biz: Kim Ji-seok and Jeon So-min. Filmed on the beautiful island of Daemo-do, this drama is chock full of zany villagers, hilarious cringe comedy, and a great heart. The romance between our emotionally studented leads isn't the most developed, the rival romance was pretty weak, and I didn't like how it was resolved. Also while I liked the most of the characters, I never really loved any of them. Despite being light on episodes (11!), the drama did a nice job of wrapping things up. This drama definitely would have benefited from a few more episodes to develop the romance and the characters more.

(25 Jan 2021)

8. A drama that features one of the top 10 locations in 2020 on KDL 

The Japanese restaurant Asosan seems like the perfect fit for this amazing character drama set in the high class world of a business lawyer firm. The visuals are clean and the audio design is solid. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the Korean remake of Suits: plenty of sleek, grit, and sass. The dialogue is sharp and the acting is strong despite how weakly developed the side characters are. This drama rides tall upon the performances of our two leads, who fill every scene they appear in with swagger, wit, and intensity. This drama could easily have been without romance and still rocked my socks, but the unique romance between our lawyers elevates this drama to another level. The ending conflict of this drama is weak however, not as motivated nor as deftly written as the earlier cases. Still, it was very satisfying to see our maverick duo trounce their foes.

(01 Feb 2021)

9. A drama that is an adaptation or a remake 

This is one helluva popcorn drama: nothing groundbreaking but utterly delightful. The drama is an adaptation of the webtoon of the same name (경이로운 소문) and does a great job of bringing to life the plotlines and characters. A Kdrama that fits the Japanese shounen genre well.

The supernatural action is fun, cinematography is stylish and energetic, the dialogue is witty and campy, and the sound design is fantastic. The best part of this drama is its core: the family of Counters.

Ultimately, the drama requires a lot of dramatic faith for its audience. The worldbuilding thins out quickly, characters don't stray from their archetypes, and secondary conflicts are disposable plot devices driven by serial deus ex machinas.

But if you're willing to ignore the plotholes that pile up towards the end, thin character writing, and a few drawn-out melodramatic scenes, its very easy to enjoy this drama.

(24 Jan 2021)

10. A drama where the main story doesn't involve romance 

Regardless of genre, romance between leads is a common staple of Kdramas. But Strangers is focused on mystery over romance. After finishing this drama, I can understand why tvN went back for seconds.

Alongside notable performances from Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Joon-hyuk and Shin Hye-sun, the leads are strong. Jo Seung-woo is able to convey tension and emotion through an expressionless face.  Bae Doo-na is a righteous pillar of ideals, grounded by kindness and compassion, with great chemistry with everyone. Connection and trust is the keystone between our prosecutor-cop duo as they uncover corruption at every turn.

The drama has a moody palette of dark and gray, accompanied by tense strings. The pacing is slow, pensieve, and deliberate. The editing, cinematography, and direction is (almost always) clean, controlled, and effective: conveying the uncertainty and tension inherent in the scene. It is interesting to note that this drama is founded upon Kdrama archetypes: the stoic hero and the lively heroine, the hoobae over her head, the two-faced joker, the martyr, and the villain. Yet it is the deft writing that elevates this drama above its ilk with strong dialogue and gripping narrative.

This is not a drama for new viewers, but its great for those looking for grimier side of Kdramas. There's a certain obsessive justice and desperate vengeance that runs deep in these darker dramas that is hard to find elsewhere. One of the best Kdrama's I've seen: a trifecta of an enrapturing cast, deft direction, and sublime writing. I'll be keeping an eye out for Writer LEe Soo-yeon's future works.

(13 Feb 2021)

11. A drama featuring great friendships 

12. A drama with a lead actor/actress you haven't seen in a leading role before 

13. A drama written by a renowned screenwriter 

14. A drama directed by a renowned director 

15. A drama by a writer or director whose works you haven't watched 

I'm very fond of this show for its quirky characters and its witty dialogues. There is a vibrancy of youthful energy and confidence found in people in their 20s (and yet the vulnerability, hopelessness, and tension against old institutions is very real). The attitudes are refreshingly modern and frank, its treatment of sexual attraction noticeably so. At times, the dialogue reminds me of the quick wit found in an Edgar Wright movie.

The four leads that bring the romance to the drama are all delightful, though my favorite was the eccentric Seo Dan-ah. The main pair is one of the healthiest relationships I've seen in Kdramaland: full of communication and mindfulness. And while the second pair works towards the same standard, both relationships are harried by the realization that sometimes love is not enough to get a happy ending.

The direction is strong and deft with an obvious love for cinema. The sound design is similarly strong; Starlight by Jeong Hyo Bean especially so. As a slice-of-life, the plot itself is nothing groundbreaking. But it is dressed up wonderfully with lively characters, fun and frequent conversations, and many movie references. The writing itself is very tight actually: Act 1 itself could have been a drama special in its own right. Writer Park Shi-hyun's  debut is quite strong, yet another writer to keep an eye on.

(24 Feb 2021)

16. A long-format drama (at least 50 hours) 

17. A short-format drama (under 10 hours) 

Coming in at 8 35-minute episodes, this tiny drama tells the whimsical romance of a struggling artist, reeling from a past tragedy. Its got a similar premise to Garfield as our protagonist has an adorable inner-monologuing cat, though Han Ye-ri's Bok Gil is less sardonic and more cute. The best parts of this slice of life are the small moments between our protagonist and his cat. Overall the acting, writing, and production is competent at telling this sweet story. This drama's best enjoyed in bite size pieces like during a coffee break between long hours.

(04 Feb 2021)

18. A drama in a genre outside of your comfort zone 

19. A drama with a rating less than 7.5 or with less than 5000 viewers on MDL 

This is yet another friends-to-lovers romance featuring a main pair with fantastic chemistry. Its an easy template, so I went in hoping for something noteworthy. The editing is quite good with plenty of good audio fills and folio. Directing is also solid, with clean compositions and framing that really bring out the closeness of our main pair. Subsequent narrative choices drain this initial charm inthe middle 8. The noble male lead is correct about timing being important however it also requires the spine to communicate truthfully. All of the romantic tension hinges upon the secrets that everyone insists on keeping from one another *for years*. When you throw in toxic second leads, its all just so very frustrating when characters flip-flop for the sake of drama. This drama fizzled into mediocrity for me, despite its promising start and tidy conclusion.

(04 Feb 2021)

20. A drama featuring a profession or lifestyle different from your own 

21. A Baeksang award winning drama 

22. A pre-2010 drama 

23. A drama you have been putting off watching 

I started the first episode like a year ago and got distracted by other dramas that entered the Netflix library. Finishing it now, I can say that its a cute farce comedy about a comic artist, his family, and his girlfriend. The editing is really fun here: lots of composition and paneling inspired by the original web-comic source material. There's not much plot in this show, as it mostly goes from one gag to another. But I did appreciate the heartwarming moments between Lee Kwang-soo's Jo Seok and Jung So-min's Choi Ae-bong. The comedic chops of all of the actors are great and the cameos are always enjoyable surprises. The OST for this drama is also dope, full of groovy R&B and pop. A simple watch, for when you need some absurdity in your life.

(26 Mar 2021)

24. A rewatch of a drama you have previously watched 

I really enjoyed this drama the first time around when it aired. I really like this drama now over a year later. Interestingly, I'm enjoying this more because I'm picking up more of the dialogue this go around. The Hong sisters really know how to write beautiful dialogue and so much of the chemistry between the two leads is carried through it. Unfortunately it doesn't translate well through subtitles, so on my first watch, I wasn't as enraptured by the romance. On this second watch though, many more of the scenes (the beach scene!) were more impactful and I'm just loving the moments our two leads have. So good that I had to bump up my rating from an 8 to a 9.

(29 Jan 2021)

25. Bonus challenge: A drama that is not Korean 

Bonus: My pick for #1 didn't seem sufficient. It was only 6 minutes long! Decided to rewatch a real Lee Minho drama.