embersnewgroove Top 5 Dramas of the Year

My Top Five Dramas of 2024

It has been nearly seven years since I started my k-drama journey, approaching 250 titles as my next milestone. I now feel that I can see the trends from a wider angle, pinpointing which years really nailed their content and which lacked their luster. 2024 was a bit of a “fill in the dots” year. This was my first year since starting this blog series that I had more trouble narrowing down this list, and not from who qualified, but rather who edged their way in.

Not all was lost, and not every year can have a bumper crop. But 2025 is another year, and there are plenty of untapped older dramas to enjoy.

Lovely Runner

Lovely Runner is streaming on Viki

How do you handle finding out that the boy next door had a crush on you in high school but you totally missed it? It takes becoming his fangirl as an adult and getting swept into the quagmire of rewriting history when he suddenly dies one night after she goes to his concert. Can she change the past to save him and take the fangirl love to the next level?

The Atypical Family

Atypical Family is streaming on Netflix

Atypical could not be a more appropriate descriptor for this drama. A family with hidden superpowers can’t seem to get them to work any more, with everyone slowly spiraling the drain as days go by. The mother chances upon Do Do-Hae while getting a massage and invites her to their home for private sessions. Who knew that one small decision could start a chain reaction that doesn’t go as anyone planned.

Family by Choice

Family by Choice is streaming on Viki

This drama would be more appropriately named Mommy Issues, but since it centers on chosen family, the original name stands. After losing her mom as an infant, Yoon Jo-Woon lives alone with her loving, noodle-shop-owning father when a new family moves in upstairs in their apartment building. Jo-Woon latches on to the neighbor boy, having always wanted an older brother. She unwittingly gets a two-for-one deal when her father ends up permanently caring for the his blind date’s son after she disappears and leaves him in his care.

Marry My Husband

Marry My Husband is streaming on Amazon Prime

All it takes to finally realize your self worth is to marry a pathetic mommy’s boy who cheats on you with your so-called best friend and forces you to literally work yourself to death by getting cancer. When an unfair death gives Kang Ji-Won a second chance at life, she takes her situation in her own hands and decides to change her destiny.

Flex x Cop

Flex x Cop is streaming on Hulu

A spoiled rich kid with too much time on his hands shockingly gets himself into trouble and is sentenced to working as a cop as part of his father’s publicity stunt. His boss can’t stand his bravado and tries to bench him, but he manages to be more helpful than she’d care to admit. Maybe the cheeky golden spoon with more than meets the eye can be an asset to the team after all.

Honorable Mention: When the Phone Rings

When the Phone Rings is streaming on Netflix

What happens when a presidential spokesperson refuses to publicly acknowledge his mute wife, confining her in their marriage with no realistic way out? When Hong Hee-Joo is kidnapped in an attempt to blackmail her husband, Hee-Joo takes matters into her own hands to find an escape from her loveless prison.

This drama was demoted to honorable mention purely because of the last episode. From what I’ve seen, the crew ran out of time to fully execute the last leg of the storyline, causing a large portion of the final episode to confuse viewers if they haven’t read the original webtoon. It would have been smarter to adjust the story to fit the schedule for the sake of successfully landing the plane.

embersnewgroove Top 5 Dramas of the Year

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.

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Dramas I Quit Watching

Watching K-dramas has been my main pastime over the last few years, greatly exacerbated by a global pandemic keeping me and everyone else indoors. With over 130 dramas watched so far, I’ve seen a wide range of classic and modern dramas. But there were a few shows that didn’t quite make the cut for me, either from content, styling, or quite honestly, just not being my thing. Here are three dramas that fell short of my standard of quality or expectations. (Look for a part two with dramas that didn’t appeal to my taste.)

#1 The Devil Judge

Set in a dystopian South Korea, this drama feels a bit like Bladerunner in both visuals and tone. Following the viewpoint of a young judge, we see the world unfold as the government tests out a new judicial concept: live televised court cases with the people as the true judges. I was looking forward to this drama for two reasons: I’m a fan of Ji Sung for his role in Kill Me, Heal Me and I’m also a fan of Jinyoung because of GOT7 and the small parts I’d seen him play. My rule is typically to give any TV show at least three episodes before moving on. With that in mind, I did my best to get through the first few episodes while watching with a friend. What finally had me turn off the TV was that it turned justice into a game and I couldn’t take the show seriously anymore. While I understand that no court system can ever be perfect, having justice be almost entirely in the hands of the people felt like no chance for fair treatment. A fickle audience could be swayed by any emotional outburst, as shown by the drama. Not having finished the show, my guess was that this dystopian society was making a commentary on current social justice in South Korea, with the people’s opinion holding sway in court cases despite being based entirely on what the media purports. Unfortunately, the solid cast and intriguing production design weren’t enough to compete with the main plot point and keep me in my seat.  

#2 Sisyphus: The Myth

Despite two exemplary actors headlining this drama, Sisyphus fell short in terms of pacing, character chemistry, and inconsistent action quality. The fighting sequences were typically shot well and engaging to follow, but the reliance on running scenes to fill time bored me. I’m sure the budget was partially to blame, but that could have been reconciled by cutting the amount of episodes down to eight and focusing more on relationship growth and combat sequences. Even the interesting concept of time travel to change past events lost its luster as the show took too long to tell us about the harrowing future. I made it through six episodes before giving up on the little progress made in the plot.

#3 It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

Boy, is this a beautiful drama. The lead actors, costuming, setting, production design, and music all lend themselves to the gorgeous gothic wannabe aesthetic of the main female character, Go Moon-young. At first, the erratic behavior of Moon-young is intriguing and even a bit empowering as we see someone actually stand up to abusive men. But the cracks in the facade eventually reveal someone with a personality disorder and highlight her obsession with a man with his own set of problems. The lead male character, Moon Gang-tae, is the guardian of his older brother, who is on the spectrum and hasn’t found his way to independence yet. After years of neglect from his own mother, Gang-tae is left in charge of his brother as a young teen, forced to fend for himself and ignore his own trauma for the sake of survival. The message of the drama is clear, it IS okay to not be okay. But in my opinion, it’s also important to take the time to heal your own wounds and not focus only on helping others. Getting into a relationship with someone who is also realizing their own trauma can be unwise, as it doesn’t leave much space for introspection. I gave this drama eight episodes of my time before I had to remove it from my watchlist–I couldn’t stand to see another potentially unhealthy relationship portrayed as the role model to follow for many vulnerable viewers.