Eleison

The first 8 episodes are definitely the best. :)

👍 Thanks. :)

Yes, maybe that will still happen! 😏

Ooh, when push comes to shove that's kind of hard. I'm going to cheat and break them up between modern and sageuk (sageuks are historical dramas and fusion sageuks are historical-ish dramas with anachronistic or fantasy elements (like #1 or #5 below under Sageuk)):

Modern:
1. While You Were Sleeping (an almost perfect Kdrama in every way; never get tired of revisiting it)
2. Dr. Romantic 2 (1st season is good, too, but I liked this season better and rewatch it more)
3. Crash Landing On You (my first Kdrama, with a special place in my heart, and I can keep watching it a million times)
4. I Can Hear Your Voice (beautiful themes and Episode 17 has one of my favorite scenes in any Kdrama)
5. Stranger or I'm Not A Robot (very different dramas, haha; INAR is fluffy and cute and Stranger is poignant, twisty and powerful as well as heartbreaking and lovely)

Honorable mentions cause I can't help it:
-School 2013
-Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
-Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
-The King2Hearts (I skip all the ridiculous villain scenes until near the end when he becomes important to the plot, cause his earlier scenes are too cringey)
-Reply 1988 (after the first 5 episodes, it's long)
-My Father Is Strange (more of a soapy makjang, called a family drama cause it follows a whole family, so lots of characters and storylines, and VERY long, but the last 1/3 is deeply satisfying)
-Racket Boys (slice of life and pure coziness)

Sageuk:
1. Alchemy of Souls (both parts) (just so colorful and unique with super fun world-building)
2. Under The Queen's Umbrella (The queen in this is an amazing character and the brothers are precious)
3. Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People (super fun to watch them build a character arc over many episodes with lots of adorable bromance, but it's long)
4. Warrior Baek Dong Soo (Ji Chang Wook when he's young and very lovable alongside his character's frenemy, played by Yoo Seung Ho)
5. Splash Splash Love (only 3 episodes) (cute and short but their chemistry is very good)

More than you asked for...

But someone in a rough place might just want to avoid a drama called "Death's Game," anyway, no? Even the title and synopsis should be a trigger warning. And saying a drama can't wrestle with various views of suicide because it might trigger someone is like saying a drama shouldn't have domestic abuse or sexual assault as part of the plot because it might trigger someone. It's a messy issue, and entertainment has never pretended to offer therapy sessions, nor should it. That's why viewers should choose their entertainment with discretion. :)

I think @Coolforsummer coined the phrase "Boys Over Samdal" to describe their friendship, and I'm totally using that moving forward to describe them. 😂 And it's apt because there was a love triangle in the foursome in BOFs, too! (AND in Reply 1988, which is another drama this friendship makes me think of!). 😅

@Jason88 Oh, so many good ones yet to be discovered. 😏 I would recommend Kdramas by the screenwriter who wrote Castaway Diva. Her other dramas are similar but have more romance and are not as controversial or painful in theme as Start-Up (two of hers are in my top five out of the 100+ Kdramas I've seen). Their production quality is a bit lower (except While You Were Sleeping) because they came out before Kdramas got sleek. 😏 Also, the "Popular Dramas" list here on MDL is another good place to start as they're usually popular for a reason. Some are overrated but they have become classics because so many people love them despite their flaws (like Boys Over Flowers (the Thai version is my favorite, but the Korean one is a drama Rite Of Passage, you've got to experience the toxic lovely mess that it is), Goblin (be warned, it's sad) or Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, etc.). Enjoy the journey, but make sure to get sleep! 😋

@Maesmustang I find emotions run higher when a drama is airing or has just finished airing. It's hard to land justified and objective critiques of a drama until someone has seen the whole thing, cause at this point we're all still stabbing in the dark about what this will ultimately be and where it will end up (apart from the ML ending up with the FL; that's, of course, a given 😁). Some have already decided they don't like it (which happens to everyone; you get partway through and then lose interest), and they just really want us all to know why. 😂 My guess is they're fishing for people who agree with them (I want people to agree with me, too, it feels nice) and instead people are getting personally attacked for their gripes and it understandably ruffles feathers.

Here's a thought: we should see if MDL can create three comment threads for every drama. One, for those who want to gush about it, a second, for people who thought it was meh, and a third, for people who deeply disliked it. Then only those who agree with each other would have to interact. 🤣 Ah, isn't the internet lovely?

Also, I've enjoyed the humor in your comments. The most recent one made me really laugh (the one about how you don't trust a Kdrama to be a Kdrama without the SML watching the ML and FL kiss or hug). 🤣🤣🤣 So true!

Yes, I'll continue to wait it out to see. :)

Definitely difficult. *sigh* I lurked on this site for years before I joined as a member as I would use it to pick dramas, and one of the things that grieved me the most were all the personal attacks. My rule for myself when joining was that I would try to do something very un-internet-like and just be nice to people no matter how mean they were back. I joined the site because I wanted to enter into the enjoyment of connecting with people about something we have a shared love for, not personally attack people who disagreed with me. Needless to say, it has been interesting to watch what's happened, because people don't expect kindness and usually soften up a lot and sometimes even get a little sheepish. I had a user send me a friend request after a little back-and-forth session because they were surprised at how nice I was after they went all gangbusters on me. 😅 They even went back and deleted their own comments. Someone gave me good advice once and I try to remember it whenever I can: "People are not their ideas." And I also try to remember that if they sound negative and toxic in their comments, they're probably miserable people already and I'd just be adding coals to their sad little fire if I aggravated them.

Sometimes people also mistake bluntness for rudeness or fail to catch on to the humor in a comment. And I wonder sometimes if subtlety or tone is lost in translation at times on this site, too, since not everyone here is from English-speaking countries. 🤷‍♀️

I suppose these are the risks we face venturing on to a public forum! The internet is toxic everywhere else, too, as anonymity tends to breed monsters. 😈 It's the air we're breathing!

I agree with these reasons. Well-put!

@CatoCat Yep, true, and I can guess most Kdrama rom-com endings without even watching the trailer! 😏 And that's what I mean by 'copy and paste' and 'a formula.' Copy and paste as in the basic plot or premise, where they then change up details, characters, scenarios, mix and match different tropes, etc. for a different flavor, theme or emphasis each time.

I will say, I admire your perseverance in trying to find a Kdrama that does not copy and paste, but my hunch is your efforts will be largely frustrated. That said, Netflix seems to be experimenting with the 'Kdrama formula' more lately so maybe your search will land you some original gems. :) I've also heard Korean movies are much more experimental. Anyway, all the best! 😊

Yes, Kdramas do 'copy and paste' in a way because they are formulaic. The fun comes in when you discover how they will change it up this time around. Kdramas resemble Hallmark movies (pardon the comparison) in this way, they are just much more artfully and creatively done, usually have much better acting, much more variety and much better scripts with less cringey dialogue.

Hallmark movies aren't everyone's cup of tea; Kdramas aren't either. Maybe consider it like this: if you continually try the same candy over and over because it's wrapped differently each time expecting it to taste different, sadly, it will continue to taste the same. 🙃

True! If a good actor gets hold of a good script, it does wonders for them and their career. :)

Yeah, that makes sense! And he has done a good job at all the roles he's played. His looks make him stand out, but he has also delivered in his acting. And you're right, he hasn't done the cold, rich, misunderstood chaebol, which I feel like is a Kdrama ML Rite of Passage. 😅 Whelp, he managed to squeeze into people's hearts another way, haha. But yeah, contrary to popular opinion, I do think Lee Min Ho can act, but he's a good example of someone who doesn't pick much variety in roles. Cha Eun Woo's another example, though recently I think he's been trying a bit more, but I think he's also solidified his role already so it might be too late...

Yes, and the small towns have their downsides, and they're stifling to the young and ambitious, but every place has its upsides and downsides, it's just a matter of which ones we are willing to put up with. I think as people age and mature and progress through stages of life, what we find important in a community and a place to live changes. Isn't that why you always find the trendy spots in cities mostly populated by young people unless they're rolling in money and can seclude themselves in a mansion away from the fractious craziness of city life? It's not a life that can be sustained by most unless they're willing to discard or pass up other good things in life (like having a family, getting to be with your kids as they grow up rather than leaving them in daycare most of the time cause you're too busy at work to spend time with them, a slower pace in your day, etc.). Yes, the rustic charm is cozy.

If I remember, Our Beloved Summer did get a lot of hate (it was certainly quite slow, much slower than this drama and much more of a somber, regret-filled tone to it and more melodramatic), but it still has maintained high ratings. 😏 Another drama with a male lead who couldn't get over the female lead after years of separation. 🤔

In this drama, he reminds me a bit of younger Baek Dong Soo (JCW's younger self, not when his character was played by Yeo Jin Goo) before the character "grows up," and his alias in Healer.

"No one can ever be happy or achieve real success by putting another down, it won't last." --Neither can you succeed or last by cheating your way to the top! Eventually your real self will be exposed, because you can't deliver on other people's excellence when you haven't cultivated their skill.

I actually think that's the clever thing Sam Dal realized. This actually makes Eun Joo probably more upset than being sued for defamation because then it would have looked like Sam Dal cared (and before Sam Dal showed up, Eun Joo might have convinced herself she could do this on her own (I loved how they teased her failure when she told the creative team they had to figure out the styling and hair for the models themselves, and everyone was like, "What? What do you mean WE have to do it? That's usually YOUR job." 😅), but after Sam Dal was confident about her failure, I'm sure it sparked a flame of doubt that won't be easily snuffed out). Also, this way, it looks like Sam Dal can't be bothered, which made both her betrayers feel like dirt, and really gets their goat, haha. It's not a realistic way to handle this situation, but I'm looking forward to watching her nemeses crash and burn as Eun Joo tries to be the creative she's not (like you said).

As some others have pointed out, the downside to how she's handling this is her family's being dragged through the mud as well, and they are being affected by her choices. However, neither sister looked like they had much going for them in Seoul at the beginning, anyway, so I think we'll watch things turn out for them, too. So far this does seem to be a very anti-Seoul PA, haha. I'm sure many can relate to finding Seoul not all it's cracked up to be.