Reflections on 2020 - Dramas, Dramas, Dramas

[stroppyse]

Perhaps because we had so much more time staying home and social distancing, it feels as if there was a lot of drama watching in 2020. We were curious to know what our members watched - good, bad, and otherwise.

 

 

Here are some of the most popular dramas on JangHaven in 2020, in alphabetical sortings, with links to either the drama thread or to a review, if we have them:

 

K-Dramas

18 Again

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Do You Like Brahms

Flower of Evil

Kairos

Lie of Lies

Start Up

Stranger 2

The Tail of the Nine Tailed

True Beauty

The Uncanny Counter

 

C-Dramas

The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion

Dating in the Kitchen

Go Ahead

The Legend of Fei

Love is Sweet

Professional Singles

To Love

The Wolf

 

However, JangHaven really only started mid-year, so a lot of 2020 dramas were broadcast before we could discuss them at JangHaven. And, there are also big dramas that attracted attention in other forums, but weren't necessarily that popular here. We list some of these as well, since there is a good chance that you may have watched some of these in 2020 as well.

 

K-Dramas

Backstreet Rookie

Crash Landing On You

Dr. Romantic 2

The Good Detective

Hospital Playlist

Hyena

Itaewon Class

It's Okay to Not Be Okay

The King: Eternal Monarch

Mystic Pop Up Bar

Once Again

Record of Youth

Was It Love

When the Weather Is Fine

 

C-Dramas

A Little Thing Called First Love

Under the Power

 

So, tell us. What did you watch in 2020? What did you like? What did you not like?

 

[stroppyse]

So, what did I watch? The ones that come to mind, in no particular order.

 

K-dramas

Life is Beautiful, Life is Wonderful - Good family weekender with an unexpected outcome for the 2nd lead couple. Also had Kim Jae Wook and Seol In Ah who made a OTP.

Backstreet Rookie - Ji Chang Wook and Kim Yoo Jung was an interesting pairing, but the drama felt a little flat.

Hospital Playlist - Loved it! The 5 med school friends who come together to work in the same hospital and also re-form their band from their med school days. Slice of life, mixing episodic cases with the ongoing lives and relationships of the friends and others in their workplace and their lives.

When My Love Blooms - Yoo Ji Tae and Lee Bo Young are stellar as a first love couple who are forced to split up, live their separate lives through various traumas, then meet again and realize the love they had the first time never died and makes them stronger to do the right things.

It's Okay To Not Be Okay - Kim Soo Hyun's comeback drama post-military and he shows why we all missed him so much. Paired with one of the most promising actresses of her time, Son Ye Ji, they delivered on quirk, chemistry, emotions, and telling a different kind of story about mental handicaps and challenges of all kinds, ably abetted by veteran Oh Jung Se.

Itaewon Class - Park Seo Joon is just solid in every drama that I've watched him. Park Se Ro Yi was different in both name and character as he struggles to grow up and mature into a leader of a multi-national crew at a restaurant in the international district of Itaewon in Seoul.

Stranger 2 - Bae Doona and Jo Seung Woo needed more time together. Ultimately, the story came together, but it took its sweet time getting there.

Record of Youth - I really wanted to love this drama because I liked the Park Bo Gum and Park So Dam pairing so much, but ultimately, it tried too hard to be slice of life and ended up being not as engaging as I wanted.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol - Possibly the biggest surprise for me in 2020. Despite admiring the rookie Lee Jae Wook, I had reservations about this drama going in. However, Go Ara and Lee Jae Wook showed charm, chemistry, and an intriguing story that encompassed a little seaside town and kept me hanging on, even at the end when it was twisting me into knots.

Mystic Pop Up Bar - An unexpected delight about a pojangmacha where they help the dead find resolution so that they can cross to the other side in peace.

Tail of the Nine Tailed - Lee Dong Wook and Kim Bum makes for the hottest pair of gumiho brothers! Seriously, the drama's most engaging story has to do with the two half brothers and their love for each other which took some twisted path before they reconciled. The OTP was just okay.

Oh! Samgwang Villa - A funny weekender with nearly every kdrama trope in the book.

The Good Detective - Asking the question of what it takes to be a good detective, and who defines what is good anyway. A story about a detective who tries to do the right thing, even at the cost of career advancement, and his team who look up to him for his integrity.

Man in a Veil - A daily drama that is actually pretty engaging even as it also goes deep into makjang territory.

The Uncanny Counter - The newest crack drama! It has an interesting story line, a very sympathetic hero who gets to join a crew of superhero Grim Reapers who also become his de facto family!

 

Looking at my list, it just occurs to me that I watched and enjoyed more supernatural dramas than usual in 2020 including Mystic Pop Up Bar, Tale of the Nine Tailed, The Uncanny Counter. Of these three, I would definitely recommend Mystic Pop Up Bar and The Uncanny Counter. If I count all of the zombie movies I've watched (#Alive, Peninsula)... was there something about 2020 that caused me to gravitate towards those kinds of stories? Oh yeah, the pandemic which was the reason I was watching so many dramas in the first place.

 

Other dramas

The Mandalorian Season 2 - Grogu! aka Baby Yoda aka The Child. Not sure how I feel about the name, but Grogu and Mando for the win!

[NiteWalker]

CDrama

A Little Thing Called First Love

Under the Power

Chef Hua

Dating in the Kitchen

Hotel Trainees

Go Ahead

Hunting

I've Fallen for You

Love Designer

Miss Truth

My Love, Enlighten Me

My Unicorn Girl 

My Girl

Poisoned Love

Reborn

So What If You’re My Boss?

Professional Single

Perfect & Casual

Maiden Holmes

Be With You

The Blooms of Ruyi Pavilion

The Best of You in My Mind

The Eight

The Love Equations

The Night of the Comet 2

The romance of tiger and rose

Way Back Into Love

Well Intended Love 2

Skate into Love

Symphony's Romance

 

JDrama

Love Last Forever

Kono Koi Atatamemasuka (A Warmed Up Love)

 

Thai Lakorn

Payakorn Sorn Ruk

[SilverMoonTea]

I'm glad this year will finish soon in just a blink of eyes. It was a hard year in real life for me.

 

On the drama watching experience, 2020 was not the best year for me. Many dramas fell flat and with repeated storyline. 

 

Kdrama : 

Only 🌈 Hospital Playlist 🌈 is the most exciting watch for me. And I was able to complete it successfully, as I was so concerned with ❄ Winter Garden ❄ ending. I enjoyed the humour & slice of life pace of the drama too.  

 

Other that I watched (open only if you're in good mood 🤣🤣🤣) :

Spoiler

* Weather is Fine - was fine, until the FL become kind of a bit agressive for my taste and they're sleeping together? Idk it just doesn't fit with this slow pace drama. It's not about morality problem or anything. 

*World of The Married - its a juicy drama, just the ending was so so only, for such an explosive drama. 

*Brahms - the couple annoyed me with their low self esteem and non-existent problem on their mind? Haha... 

*Dodosollalasol - was great until it become so cliche with all of couple angst separation & sickness. 

*Lies Of Lies - I don't really bother to check the ending..  haha... 

*Stranger 2 - Dozed off a lot of times, a bit dissapointed as not as fun S1. Only stay on for my (non-existent) ship. 

*Kairos - tbh after ep 13 I start to lost my concentration. Its a bit repetitive. 

*Crash Landing on You - tbh I don't like this hahahaa... stop at ep 7.

*Flower of Evil - also don't bother to check the ending.. lols

* More Than Friends - easy on eyes, beautiful ppl & gorgeous setting with no storyline lols... 

 

In a good note, I found couple of good Jdrama towards end of the year which I really like it 🦔🦔🦔 : Kono Koi, Remolove & Bokura. You can check the details on Other Drama Section. 

 

[Tofu]

Thanks for creating this, @stroppyse! I'll be back later to list all the dramas I've watched this year. It's probably a long list because I've never watched this much dramas as I did this year. I definitely binged a lot during that long break I had. Haha!

 

By the way, I am curious to see @abs-oluteM's list. 

[abs-oluteM]

10 minutes ago, Tofu said:

By the way, I am curious to see @abs-oluteM's list. 

It is long.... that's why I have not written it out yet 

[NiteWalker]

i just updated my list too....its really not that much after all lols

[stroppyse]

2 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

i just updated my list too....its really not that much after all lols

 

Yes, I keep updating my list as I remember more things I watched this year as well. But with me, it's because I've watched so much. LOL

 

Not even including the dramas where I started it, but then dropped it as @SilverMoonTeadid because that would make the list so long!

[SilverMoonTea]

20 minutes ago, stroppyse said:

Not even including the dramas where I started it, but then dropped it as @SilverMoonTeadid because that would make the list so long!

 

I also kind of forgot what did I watched 😂.

 

Actually Search, Missing The Other Side, Game Towards Midnight, Born Again also were fine. But I guess its not until super remarkable too, cos I just remember it now 🤔

 

More dropping : L cat drama, Forest, Memorist, Good Casting, Tell Me What You Saw. 

 

Lesson learnt for myself : pick just few drama to watch 🤣

[Tofu]

I have a pretty long list of dramas this year because for a better half of the year I was working from home and got quarantined twice from exposure to COVID (as well as being sick with it), plus I took a long break at the beginning of November. I guess what I'm saying is that this is not a normal year for me and I'm very surprised at how many dramas I was able to watch this year. However, I should say that some of the dramas I have listed down under "completed" I may have skipped through much of it but still added them in because I had every intentions of watching the whole thing, it just...didn't live up to my expectation so I skipped through the parts I didn't care for. 

 

Taiwanese

Lost Romance (Completed)

The Devil Punisher (Currently airing, but I am behind and slowly watching this)

 

Chinese

Legend of Fei (Currently Airing)

 

Completed

Spoiler

A Little Thing Called First Love

Dating in the Kitchen

The Wolf

Love is Sweet

Go Ahead

And the Winner is Love

Intense Love

Handsome Siblings

The Romance of Tiger and Rose

Renascence

 

Slowly Watching

Spoiler

The Untamed

 

Korean

Run On (Currently Airing)

The Uncanny Counter (Currently Airing)

 

Slowly Watching

Spoiler

Please Don't Date Him

The Good Detective

 

Completed

Spoiler

A Piece of Your Mind

Dinner Mate

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Do You Like Brahms?

Dr. Romantic 2

Find Me in Your Memory

Flower of Evil

Forest

Good Casting

Itaewon Class

It's Okay to Not Be Okay

Love is Beautiful, Life is Wonderful

Memorist

More Than Friends

My Holo Love

Mystic Pop-Up Bar

Nobody Knows

Once Again

Tale of the Nine Tailed

The King: Eternal Monarch

 

Dropped

Spoiler

Chocolate

Record of Youth (I can't say I finished this because I still have two episodes left)

Rugal

Search

 

I will come back and edit if I missed any, pretty long list already though. Hahaha!

[SilverMoonTea]

Chocolate is like half 2019 half 2020, if its including this, then I super love this one... hee hee.. @Tofu But actually the ending also a bit lacklustre, as they forced the trope "I'll go to overseas, before we reunite back", just to create some unnecessary angst & drama lols....

 

Piece of Your Mind, just realized this also 2020, I just watched this recently. I finished this, but I don't really enjoy 2 episodes before the finale. I can't really understand the FL own angriness and she's kind of hating the pianist too much. Its not even about her? The ML character is so sweet. This time I like this non-tsundere guy for a change 😂

[Tofu]

@SilverMoonTea: Haha! I did enjoyed it at first but then mid-way through, I just lost interest. I got through most of it and just stopped when there were only a few episode left. I think I watched it because it was aired after My Country and Itaewon Class was aired after Chocolate. I liked both My Country and Itaewon Class. I had counted it in my 2020 dramas because it finished airing in 2020 and I stopped watching it in 2020. Haha!

 

Yeah, A Piece of Your Mind aired during the spring of this year! When I was looking back through my list, I was like, "Wow, that was this year?!" 

[40somethingahjumma]

It is ridiculous the number of dramas I watched this year especially in the second half of the year. 

 

K-Dramas

Ones that I enjoyed from start to finish:

Hospital Playlist... of course! 

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Hot Stove League

Train

Missing: The Other Side

Stranger 2 -- I'm one of the few people that really liked it, I think.

The Good Detective

It's Okay to Not Be Okay

365: Repeat the Year

Flower of Evil (It does get quite nutty towards the end)

Lie after Lie

Search

Tell Me What You Saw

 

Ones that were "meh" or not completed:

Alice

The King Eternal Monarch

Start Up

Record of Youth 

Forest 

Hi Bye Mama

Woman of 9.9 Billion

 

Ones still watching:

Kairos

Awaken -- not sure about the longevity of this one; weak script

Uncanny Counter

 

Because of Kim Seon-ho:

Catch the Ghost

Strongest Delivery Man (Used the FF facility a fair bit)

You Drive Me Crazy

 

 

C-Dramas

Ones that I enjoyed and completed:

Miss Truth

Ancient Detective

To Love

The Blooms of Ruyi Pavilion

Handsome Siblings

Detective

Miss S

Psych-Hunter

Poisoned Love (Yes... shock horror... I finished a trashy rom com and enjoyed it)

Reunion: Sound of Providence (Seasons 1 and 2)

Under the Power (First half better than second half)

Joy of Life (2019)

Kidnapping Game

 

Ones that I completed that were okay to mediocre:

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty (for the kids I think)

My Roommate is a Detective (cases were interesting but too much bickering between male and female lead)

Dating in the Kitchen (That's what the FF facility was made for)

Art in Love (2017) (Too long, too makjang, too much unnecessary push and pull. Used the FF button to make this palatable)

 

Ones I started and dropped:

Maiden Holmes (Too much rom com not enough Holmes)

The General's Lady (Not serious enough for me)

Renascence (FL unlikeable, pacing slow)

The Wolf (ML didn't do anything for me. Too slow)

Sisyphus (very interesting premise but dropped it when I found out that they butchered the last two eps)

Insect Detective (Liked the first half but then got a bit too makjang for me)

 

Ones on hold:

Legend of Xiao Chuo

Bad Kids

Edited January 1, 2021 by 40somethingahjumma

[abs-oluteM]

Oooooo @40somethingahjumma I thought I watch a lot ...but your list is 

But thanks to you we also have some really wonderful posts and reviews on the forums

 

Dramas I finished & enjoyed ( no particular order)

1. 365 Repeat The Year (oppa!!!!)

2. Hospital Playlist (I became a Winter Garden stan :D)

3. Hyena ( fiery chemistry between the leads)

4.. The Spies who Loved Me ( good balance of action & romance, )

5. Hi Bye Mama ( cry fest , touched me every episode)

6. Good Detective ( more crime dramas should be like this)

7. Tale of Gumiho ( lee dong wook & kim bum!)

6. Oh My Baby ( love that Go Joon got his 1st lead rom-com role, plus Jang Nara)

8. When My Love Blooms ( loved Yoo Ji Tae & Lee Bo Young in this )

9.  My Unfamiliar Family  ( Kim Ji Suk :D)

10. Lie of Lies ( a makjang well done)

11.  Beautiful Love Wonderful Life ( 2019-2020) ( the only weekender I ever finished because of Kim Jae Young)

12. 18 Again ( discovered Lee Do Hyun, reminds me of Go Back Couple) 

13. Chocolate ( 2019 to 2020) ( somebody called @SilverMoonTea hard sold this to me.. slow burn romance)

14. Do You Like Brahms ( loved the OTP a lot)

15. The Diary of a Prosecutor 

16. Into The Ring

 

Dramas I laboured to finish   

1. Good Casting ( FL didn't have chemie with Lee Sang Yeob , wasted)

2. Secret Forest 2 ( I needed more Lee Joon Hyuk)

3. Start-Up ( Han Ji Pyeong )

4. Private Lives ( they sold the drama with OTP chemistry but they had so little screen time)

5. Woman of 9.9 billion (what was with that ending???)

 

Dropped  

 

1. When The Weather Was Fine ( it was just too slow for me zzz)

2. More Than Friends  (...hmmmm the love triangle killed me)

3. Forest - the drama was just all over the place

4.. When I Was The Most Beautiful ( if you wanna torture your soul, watch this)

5.. Rugal

6.. Zombie Detective ( think I would have continued if I was less busy)

7. My Holo Love

 

 

I watched a few c dramas this year 

1. To Love  ( really the best !)

2. The Blooms of Ruyi Pavillion ( so happy my all time fave OTP from Legend of Yunxi  reunited)

3. Love Designer ( I had to use the FF button but there's no denying Johnny Huang & Reba's chemistry)

4. Thunder ( very good crime drama with my baby Johnny Huang)

5. Something Just Like This ( on hold as I have way too many dramas)

6. The Romance of Tiger & Rose ( typical idol drama but was fluffy cute)

 

Still watching

1. Awaken  

2. If I Cheat I Die

3. The Uncanny Counter  (please watch this everyone)

4. Run On ( love the 1st two episodes)

5. Kairos

 

[abs-oluteM]

Goodness @Tofu I opened your spoilers ...that's a lot of dramas. I remembered now that I also dropped My Holo Love. I am so sad that after Tunnel , I don't seem to be able to finish any Yoon Hyun Min dramas. How's his latest makjang offering @SilverMoonTea?

I believe @mademoiselle and @ktcjdrama watched a lot this year.  I know they are both drama -holics! 

[40somethingahjumma]

@abs-oluteM Haha yes... this is what happens when one has a bit more free time when the world is in lockdown.

 

I also enjoyed Chocolate as well but I considered that one a 2019 drama. I guess we did finish it 2020.

 

Oh yes, I also finished that thing called Forest as well. Forgot about that and it was immensely forgettable. That was rough going that one. Only my affection for Park Hae-jin got me to the finish line. Even that was a hard ask. I'm not usually this loyal. 

[SilverMoonTea]

2 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Goodness @Tofu I opened your spoilers ...that's a lot of dramas. I remembered now that I also dropped My Holo Love. I am so sad that after Tunnel , I don't seem to be able to finish any Yoon Hyun Min dramas. How's his latest makjang offering @SilverMoonTea?

 

Ya, I just watch Goddess of Revenge to kill time. Not too bad, but not super excited as well.  I have feelings maybe I won't complete this lols... 

 

I did finish Holo Love, but was so draggy behind. 

[40somethingahjumma]

I just remembered that I also watched 4 eps of Hi Bye Mama and then dropped it. 

A number of things didn't make sense to moi. 

 

Mystic Pop-up Bar did a better job doing the same sort of thing.

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by 40somethingahjumma

[SnowBlob]

Ehh..let me see.. in 2020 I watched/ am still watching these:

 

Still watching (and please let me take this moment to advertise this drama...WATCH IT hahaha)

• Cheat on me if you can 
• Delayed Justice
• Cold Case 3 (Japanese Drama)
• 1night2days season 4 (variety show)

Finished watching (in alphabetical order):

 

K-dramas/movies: (I put * next to the ones I enjoyed watching)

1. Ashfall (movie in 2019)
2. Crash Landing on You
3. Flower of Evil 
4. The Good Detective (*)
5. Graceful Friends (skipped a few eps towards the end but did watch the finale and read recaps)
6. Hospital Playlist (*)
7. Hot Stove League (the best in 2020)
8. Hyena
9. Kingdom Season 2 (*)
10. Kundo: Age of the Rampant (movie - 2014)
11. Lies of Lies (*)
12. Mystic Pop-up Bar (*)
13. Nobody Knows
14. Oh My Baby (*)
15. Stranger 2 (*)
16. Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation (*)
17. Tell Me What You Saw 

J-dramas:

1. BG: Personal Bodyguard Season 2 (*)
2. La Grande Maison Tokyo (aired in 2019) (*)
3. Hanzawa Naoki Season 2 (*)

Dropped:

• Children of A Lesser God (aired in 2018)
• Little Giants (Japanese Drama aired in 2017)

 

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM Drama-holic is an apt nickname, LOL. I told @SilverMoonTea I wanted to sit this one out because compiling drama/movie list will kill me. However I had to find something to distract me so I won't finish Sweet Home too quickly. It's an infinite failed attempts since I'm down to the last one. Ugh.

 

Spoiler

Still in progress

1. True Beauty - Cha Eun Woo & Moon Ga Young of course I've to check it out! Entertaining so far!
2. The Uncanny Counter - Surprisingly well written superheroes drama so far.
3. Mr. Queen - Need some laughter & this is perfect!
4. Run On - Siwan's character is unique. He's doing a good job with the portrayal of such character. Not sure I'll like the story but I wanna see it through for Siwan's acting for this character.
5. Kairos - Would have been better if shorten down to 10 or 12 episodes

 

Completed

1. Sweet Home - It is SUPER AWESOME and should not to be missed!
2. Anne with An E - Binged 3 seasons and wished it wasn't axed. Anne of Green Gables is such a lovely interesting character.
3. Alice - So much potential to be great in the beginning. Sigh. Looking on the bright side, I learnt Joo Won has a nice bod. 
4. Hyena - Kim Hye Soo has really bad hairstyle but watching Ju Ji Hoon getting all flustered by her was pretty enjoyable & their antics were hilarious. The weird fashion is worth checking out too, LOL.
5. Train - Not my cuppa.
6. Search - Action was not as well executed as I had hoped for an OCN drama. Storyline is so-so too.
7. 18 Again - Romance, comedy, family, touching moments and well-rounded writing. An extremely underrated gem with beautiful people.
8. Start-Up - A fun, light and entertaining drama. Just don't torture yourself by developing SLS.
9. Memorist - Bad execution of story-telling. Too much red-herring and convoluted.
10. Kingdom 2 - I complain SK made too many zombies shows but I couldn't sit this one out due to the quality of the drama and acting performances. It's worth it.
11. Dinner Mate - I thought SSH & SJH are beautiful in visual & I love food but overall not a great show. Not much food porn too.
12. Itaewon Class - Love Park Sae Ro Yi & Jo Yi Seo's badassness. The Show gives out a lot of positive energy & hope to those being trampled by bullies & negativities in life. It's a feel good drama.
13. Secret Forest 2 - Has the writer lost her touch? SF1 was much better executed. S2's story-telling is too convoluted & hard to keep up.
14. Was It Love? - Jesus, what show is this again?? Give me back my time. Should have dropped this like a fly.
15. Flower of Evil - First half was better because I enjoyed Lee Jun Ki played the misunderstood protagonist. Latter half loses its suspense by revealing the villain too soon.
16. Hi, Bye Mama! - Strangely addictive. I've never cried for a drama for EVERY SINGLE episode. This show set a world's record for doing so. Luckily it was aired on weekend. This writer has a knack of writing family-love-friendship drama.
17. Hospital Playlist - Not as great as Prison Playbook. Loved the friendships of the main casts & the oldies though. Lots of respect for the actors learning an instrument. Acting was great. The medical themed plot was a let down.
18. My Holo Lover - Just a normal romance drama. Nothing special.
19. Extracurricular - Not my cuppa but soldier on to see why the hype.
20. The Ghost Bride - This kept coming up on recommendation. Not a bad watch overall.
21. Mystic Pop-Up Bar - Entertaining. The trio was great. Reminds you of Hotel Del Luna but it has its own unique flare.
22. More Than Friends - Had the potential to be good & the cinematography was so aesthetically beautiful in the beginning. Bad writing towards the end.
23. Do You Like Brahms? - It's great challenge making a drama surrounding classical music since not many do it right yet the Brahms team showed us it can be done. Kudos to Park Eun Bin & Kim Min Jae learning the violin & piano themselves making it believable on-screen (although they still use a double in some scenes). Towards the latter half it got a bit too heavy for my liking but it's all forgiven since the finale is rewarding & the OTP get their character growth. Best ending for one could hope for for an on-screen OTP. This review summarises about the show quite aptly → Click Me
24. A Piece of Your Mind - Slow burn healing drama. Jung Hae In & Chae Soo Bin makes a gorgeous visual OTP. Wish Hae In didn't have to obsess about Ji Soo for 6 long episodes & that there are more OTP interactions. Soo Bin & Hae In need to work together again.
25. 365: Repeat the Year - Normally I like this kind but it just didn't intrigued me. Soldier on for Lee Joon Hyuk since he's finally the leading man on National TV station & with Nam Ji Hyun too!
26. Crash Landing On You - Not my cuppa. From a character like Zinu to this was disappointing.
27. Diary of A Prosecutor - May be difficult to get into at first but once you do, strangely you wanna keep going. The camaraderie of the B team is quite adorable.
28. Tale of the Nine-Tailed - Lee Dong Wook suits playing supernatural beings. Kim Bum surprises me. Bromance rules over romance.
29. The Queen’s Gambit - Don't even know Chess but love the protagonist's sassy character & story. Chess looks more exciting on TV than real life, LOL.
30. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol - Started off strong, finished off weak. Disappointed with this writer who once did a good job with Shopping King Louis.
31. The School Nurse Flies - Thought it'll be fun like the manga I've read. Ended disappointingly with anti-climax ending.
32. Love Will Last Forever - I never thought Satoh Takeru can be so handsome & attractive. A much better version of set up similar to It Started With A Kiss.
33. It’s Okay Not to be Okay - Awesome cinematography, art direction, music, acting, production & story (except one lil' flaw at the end which I shall not spoiled it for those who hadn't seen it).
34. Find Me in Your Memory - Kim Dong Wook anchor-nim is charming. Good chemi with Moon Ga Young.
35. Eccentric Chef Moon - Eric Mun and food? Had to check it out but struggle to the end as the plot moved to the typical drama tropes. Aish.
36. When the Weather is Fine, I Will Come Find you - A good, soothing & poetic drama with some mystery suspense.
37. The King: Eternal Monarch - It was an enjoyable entertaining watch. Glad that he's no longer playing an 18 years old fussing over first world issues. And this time it really is first world issue. Thank God this king has a purpose and works hard juggling between protecting the universes and pursuing his happiness.
38. Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim 2 - Not as awesome as season 1. Disappointed that it's a rehash of the same template with different characters. It's still nostalgic to see some of the original casts though.
39. #Alive - The isolation echoed the COVID lockdown. It's relatable.
40. The Call - Just another one of those suspense thriller.
41. Peninsula - Not as good as Train to Busan. Lotsa action but weak on the plot.

 

Dropped

1. Rugal - Interesting at first but plot became draggy.
2. Born Again - Even good-looking Oppas cannot save this show.
3. Private Lives - Couldn't get into it.
4. Record of Youth - Another good example why TV ratings is not entirely reliable. Dropped this after Park Seo Joon's cameo.
5. Backstreet Rookie - Was OK with high school KYJ bobo adult JCW & find no issue with its attempted presentation. But after the scene of a real dark-skinned cameo talking gibberish with Han Dal Sik thinking this was supposedly humourous, it lost its ground for creative rights. This scene serves no purpose to the plot.
6. The Spies Who Loved Me - The premise was interesting but the execution wasn't great & the spy thing dragged on too long.
7. To All The Guys Who Loved Me - It's just two guys, not all.
8. Forest - Couldn't get into it.
9. Dating in the kitchen - The kisses are hot. The food porn was great but the pace of development was too slow.
10. Oh My Baby - Tried on episode 1 didn't like the emphasis of why women must have a baby as if that's the sole purpose of being a woman. But plan to pick it up again some other time to see it through what message this show wants to convey.
11. Good Detective - Couldn't get into it at the time but wants to give another go.
12. Kono Koi Atatamemasuka - Up to episode 3 & lost the will to carry on because I don't want to see Takumi getting on with second female lead. @SilverMoonTea you lied, there's not much food porn! Took them 3 episodes to launch a cream puff!
13. Gokushufudo - Few episodes of no brainer, slapstick humour were ok but too much is overbearing & boring.
14. Isekai Izakaya "Nobu" - There were food porn every episode but couldn't handle the exaggerated reactions actors gave to the food, especially those that look mediocre. Where has the quality once shown in Osen gone?
15. The Devil Punisher - The very intentional I-fall-you-catch or close-up staring scenes made me cringe. They need to study kdramas a bit more to make it more visually acceptable. It had good concept however still lacking in the execution/graphic department. Kdrama watching is the culprit because it raises the expectation to a high level that other Asian countries cannot match.
16. Chief of Staff - I will pick this back up one day!!
17. Welcome - Thought it'd be cute that L plays a cat but one episode in I just couldn't get into it. Another good-looking Oppas drama that couldn't save the show.

Edited December 19, 2020 by mademoiselle

[SilverMoonTea]

@mademoiselleI think you kept dairy for your drama watching ! Lols what a comprehensive list.... 

 

 You don't love my J drama *cry* haha... Some spoiler for you : 

Spoiler

Takumi just didnt realize his feeling to the FL. Now that he's on it. He's at lightning speed to get her. Love ep 9, I even watching it raw! I won't say he's perfect guy, he's problematic. But I think he's perfect for Kiki. 

 

Btw yeah I also watch Sato Takeru Jdrama, it's quite enjoyable. Prosecutor Diary also nice ♥️

[abs-oluteM]

Omg @mademoiselle that’s a lot . Bravo 

I forgot about the Diary of the Prosecutor ! 

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea Looks like I've aced my homework judging by your reactions LOLLL.

Mind you, this list only encompasses 2020 produced shows. And I tried a bit harder to extend the time of me watching the finale of Sweet Home. When are you guys gonna try this out? I don't hard sell unless I'm 90% confident it's good. @Lynne can testify to this along with all the good raving reviews both on Weibo and English SNS platforms.

 

@SilverMoonTea Hmm yes, "Diary of a Drama Watcher"

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by mademoiselle

[LaLa]

While I can't choose my top 5 favorite drama, I can share short reviews about my 2020 kdrama watching list 

Several dramas that I watched this year were quite special because I met new online friends while watching it and enjoyed watching the drama together 

 

Currently Watching:

Homemade Love Story / Oh Samgwang Villa – I like the main couple chemistry, and the side story of the elders love

The Uncanny Counter – This is currently my favorite drama, but I’m wary to watching it during night time 

 

Tentative (means I haven’t decided either I will continue or drop the drama)

Mr Queen - I rarely watch sageuk genre because didn’t really interested with the palace politics. But I love the comedy and jokes

Hush – The premier episode looks good and the plot about reporter life quite interesting. But the dirty tricks of that world will probably make me angry.

Run On – Plan to check out this drama soon

 

Finished watching in 2020 (In order according to the broadcasting stations: KBS, MBC, SBS, tvN, JTBC, other channels)

1. Soul Mechanic / Fix You – It’s a good drama telling about psychology. I didn’t really pay attention to the romance though.
2. Once Again – A great family drama. What I learn throughout the 50 episodes are the up and down as a married couple; the relationship between parents and their children; becoming a better person, not for others but importantly for your happiness.
3. People with Flaws – This was actually a 2019 drama that finished airing in Jan 2020. While writing this, I wonder what made me watch this drama until finished. I think I have dropped this in the middle but forgot what made me continue.
4. The Spies who Love Me – Just finished watching the finale. It’s a light spy drama with romance and quite interesting although if they omitted several unimportant parts, we can finish it with 12 episodes.
5. Never Twice – It’s a family drama where strangers come to live in an old inn together and becomes family with each other while sharing about life stories. Quite a good one
6. Romantic Doctor Kim 2 – I watch this series without watching the first season (I did read recaps for it while waiting for the new episodes) and because the hype about the drama. Feeling a little bit queasy watching the surgery procedure, but finished it safely. Han Seok Kyu is the perfect actor for Master Kim!  
7. Nobody Knows – The title made me curious and throughout the series, I was surprised several times by the unexpected plot. Usually didn’t watch this kind of genre but I enjoyed it until the end.
8. Good Casting – It’s a comedy drama for me rather than for a spy drama. I stayed for the laugh and good action scenes from Choi Kang Hee. Lee Sang Yeob’s character could have participated more but oh well, his voice sounds lovely and he’s quite cute acting as a man in love.
9. Hyena – Kim Hye Soo, Joo Ji Hoon in one drama. Their chemistry is great and they made a good team while working with each other.
10. Hospital Playlist – Loved it. A heartwarming drama that I looked forward every Thursday night and wished that it could air more than 1,5 hours and twice a week. Because of this drama I met new online friends too. Looking forward to the season 2.
11. Crash Landing on You – Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin chemistry are perfect. The romance, the friendship and little stories by supporting characters were really great. I started to watch drama live again because of this and become more active in the other community after hiatus for about a year.
12. Hi Bye Mama – Watched this because of the writer, Kim Tae Hee and Lee Kyu Hyung. Until now haven’t watched the finale with subs until now because I bawled my eyes during the live streaming.
13. It’s Okay not To Be Okay – It’s another drama that tells about psychology but wrap it with unique way. Start it because of Kim Soo Hyun’s comeback drama buy stayed because of the plot.
14. Start Up – Starting to watch this because I felt touched because of the premier episode but struggling to finish it. Han Ji Pyeong is the male lead to me and my OTP is Han Ji Pyeong and Halmeoni. That’s it. It’s quite informative drama about start-up world to me who didn’t really know about that world before.
15. Diary of Prosecutors – The trailers were fun and interesting. When other law drama talked about big and juicy stories about rich and influential people using their ability to play with the law, it focus with how a prosecutor dealing with small cases in the countryside.
16. 18 Again – It reminds me of Go Back Couple. Laughing for few minutes but then crying in the next seconds. I’d like to recommend this for people who look for light but meaningful drama.
17. Mystic Pop Up Bar – The trailer and highlight preview were interesting. It’s unexpectedly a warm drama.
18. Chocolate – I was hungry while watching this. Usually I would stay away from melodrama like this, but Ha Ji Won and Yoon Kye Sang made me stay. Cried because of the patients story T_T
19. Itaewon Class – I think I almost have watched Park Seo Joon for the past few years. He did great job playing as Park Sae Ro Yi.
20. Lies of Lies – Start to watch this unexpectedly but loved it. The plot wasn’t new but the executions were great.
21. My Holo Love – I wished my glasses can have holo feature too LOL

 

Watched the drama but didn’t finish it (finished it with recaps)

• Find Me in Your Memory – Lost interest after reaching episode 10. The stalker plot was being dragged long.
• Do You Like Brahms – I’m sorry for writing this for those who loved it, but I felt a little bit tired watching the lead characters with their low self esteems and slow action in taking a decision.
• My Unfamiliar Family – I was too behind to catch up with the drama when it aired and end up read the recaps because I was quite full with many dramas at that time.
• Record of Youth – I lost interest after reaching ep 12 because what I expected from the premier and the synopsis was different with how the drama goes.
• Black Dog – I watched the first 4 episodes but because of busy with RL I finished it with recaps. It’s quite a good drama honestly.
• Oh My Baby – I lost interest in the middle. Read it with recaps just to know about the ending.
• Was it Love – Lost interest but want to know about the father and whether they become family or not.
• Delayed Justice – The story was interesting, but I was annoyed with the corrupt police and prosecutors.

 

Dropped (Watch for several episodes and didn’t continue until the end)

Forest – Err the drama plot felt a little bit weird to me

Alice – The time travel thing was confusing because it didn’t have any basic theories about it. For the first half it’s quite interesting actually.

 

Watch the premier only and knew about the drama from spoilers only (read drama articles, watched short clips here and there)

The King : Eternal Monarch : Interested to watch because of the writer but it’s too confusing and too much PPL so I didn’t continue

Tale of The Nine Tailed – I want to watch because of Lee Dong Wook and Kim Bum but lost interest before reaching ep 4

The World of Marriage – Too makjang for my taste but because of the hype I several clips only.

 

[Tofu]

I'm loving seeing everyone's list of dramas they watched in 2020. It makes me not alone in how much I consumed this year and of how much time I spent on watching dramas. I was really amazed at how much I watched when I put my list together. With that said, my new year's resolution is to be closer to @mademoiselle in drama consumption next year. 

 

11 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

Oh yes, I also finished that thing called Forest as well. Forgot about that and it was immensely forgettable. That was rough going that one. Only my affection for Park Hae-jin got me to the finish line. Even that was a hard ask. I'm not usually this loyal. 

Forest was a bit of a mess. I don't know how I got through it, but I definitely fast forwarded a lot of scenes. I like Park Hae Jin, but I wasn't so impressed with his dramas this year. Maybe his upcoming drama will be better? It's called Crime Puzzle. I'm hoping that it takes us back to his Bad Guys/Man to Man days which I loved him the best in. 

 

@abs-oluteM: I think I fast forwarded a bit with My Holo Love. It was a cute drama, but after Witch's Court, I just haven't enjoyed very many Yoon Hyun Min dramas. It's falls in the same boat as Park Hae Jin for me this year -- wasn't too excited for any of their dramas.