My Top Five Dramas of 2023

2023 brought a number of new heavy hitters to my favorites list with each gaining their spot for different reasons. Since too many top tier dramas came out last year, I had to include an honorable mention this time since it deserved to make the cut. As with every year, or so it seems, the K-drama machine continues to duplicate itself and iterate on a theme. Some used those tropes a bit better than the rest, so check them out below.

Twinkling Watermelon

Twinkling Watermelon is streaming on Viki

A story so sweet and refreshing it feels like taking a bite of the title of this drama. Taking a page from the Oscar-winning film CODA, this feel-good tale follows Eun-gyeol as he struggles to be his own person as the only hearing member of his family. After a blow-up between Eun-gyeol and his dad, a mysterious guitar shop takes him back to 1995 right into the path of, well, his 18-year-old dad. Eun-gyeol shapes his own dream while standing up for those without a voice in this reminder of the promise of youth.

Moving

Moving is streaming on Hulu & Disney+

Not your mother’s K-drama. (Even though I made my mom watch it?) But more in the vein of recent gritty dramas (i.e. Squid Game), this grown-up version of Sky High still has the heart of why we love K-dramas through the detailed characterization and beautiful relationships portrayed in this show. A government program recruits “skilled” agents for the off-the-book missions that normal operatives can’t do. When the first generation starts aging out, the offspring of said “skilled” agents are ripe for the taking, after careful observation. But not everyone is happy with their children following in their footsteps. Blossoming romances and fierce stand-offs litter this drama with a second season on the way.

See You in My 19th Life

See You in My 19th Life is streaming on Netflix

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes this drama feel like the secure embrace from a loved one you haven’t seen in a long while. Maybe it’s the cinematography, the music, or the writing, but what truly sells this drama’s atmosphere is the astounding performance of Shin Hye-Sun. Don’t be deceived by her youthful appearance, her character Ban Ji-Eum radiates an old soul with 19 lives’ experience walking in a 24-year-old’s body. When her 19th life begins differently from the previous lives she remembers, Ji Eum sets out to reconnect with her best friend in her last life but discovers that the forgotten past might be repeating itself.

Daily Dose of Sunshine

Daily Dose of Sunshine is streaming on Netflix

Don’t take this drama at face value: one will need to up their daily dose of sunshine after watching this drama. The beauty and complexity of friendship interweave with facing one’s fears and what lurks in the depths of one’s mind. A nurse in her final year of residency makes an abrupt turn from internal medicine to the psychiatric wing of the hospital, forcing herself to face the reality that she’s more like her patients than she knew. As the varied cast of characters confront their issues and support one another, the viewer comes along for the ride of discovering how life can get just a little bit better by finding those they can trust so that they never walk through the darkness alone. Another day is coming and sunshine is just around the corner.

The Good Bad Mother

The Good Bad Mother is streaming on Netflix

Confusing title modifiers aside, this drama is a masterclass in acting. A hard-working mom loses everything and moves her son to deep in the countryside to start a new pig farm. She forces her son to study night and day in order to become a prosecutor, at the cost of his own desires, and for what? The threads slowly unravel to reveal the true motivation: is she the “good” bad mother her son sees her as or has she been a good “bad” mother all along?

Honorable Mention: Castaway Diva

Castaway Diva is streaming on Netflix

Sometimes being a fangirl actually pays off in mysterious ways. After an incident leaves Seo Meok-ha stranded on a desert island for 15 years, she is reunited with civilization and runs into her favorite singer, Yoon Ran-joo, who has been through the gambit since Meok-ha last saw her. Despite a rocky childhood and intense time alone, Meok-ha exudes hope and still dreams of becoming a singer. This hope rubs off on Ran-joo, jumpstarting her own dying career and inspiring her to help Meok-ha follow her dream. With reality checks and ghosts from the past, this drama reminds the viewer that it’s never too late to take a chance on a dream. Sometimes it will work out better than one hoped or a door will open to an even better path.