Ranking the kdramas you've watched this year

So how did people rate the shows they watched this year and what did they drop?

If I'm ranking what I've watched

16. Love Alarm 2 - watched for some easy escapism but couldn't even deliver on that front

15. L.U.C.A - what an awful second half. Started as a solid sci-fi thriller.

14. Jirisan - impacted by the fact that expectations were pretty high

13. Chimera - a lot of potential as most OCN thrillers have, but I don't think it delivers well enough

12. Squid Game - only watched this after it blew up which may have impacted how I viewed it. When I first heard of it the director/writer and actors didn't make me want to watch it. When I finally got around to it, it was decent but didn't like the second half. Had no idea who the masked man was but as soon as he removed his mask the voice became obvious you wonder how it was missed.

11. Happiness - was hoping to enjoy Han Hyo-joo's return to kdrama's more have to say. Was entertaining enough though

10. The Veil - Didn't live up to my expectations but the fight scenes and Namkoong Min made it just about work. Undeniably, one of the best actors around

9. Vincenzo - A bit too much style over substance for me but entertaining nonetheless

8. Hospital Playlist 2 - 2nd biggest disappointment of the year after Jirisan. Was still good but not on par with S1

7. Youth of May - with a few changes this would be higher. I like shows with a historical backdrop though and the acting was good

6. Move to Heaven - kdramas on netflix this year really delivered. I don't like the 2nd season format some are taking but I like some have less than 16 episodes so the writing is much tighter

5. Lost - If you like My Mister/Just Between Lovers you should watch this. Very slow burn but hits hard. Well written and well acted.

4. Mouse - This was definitely the year of the thrillers. One of the best written thrillers of the last few years with some of the twists and Lee Seung-gi puts in his best performance ever. I say this as someone that does not rate him that highly when it comes to acting, serially over acts usually.

3. D.P. - Another great show from Netflix. The fact that kdramas are now routinely in the top 10 in the UK is great to see. This show delivers a lot in only 6 episodes.

1/2. Beyond Evil - Best acted show of the year. I wouldn't say the story is as interesting as Mouse but the performances take it to another level. Shin Ha-kyun should definitely be winning some Daesangs for this and it's probably the best performance I've seen from Yeo Jin-goo as well. He ha transitioned so well from a child actor.

1/2.Navillera - Mot unexpected hit of the year for me. Only watched due to word of mouth as the story wasn't one I'd give a second look at usually. Very slice of life for nearly every age group.

Dropped: Taxi Driver (don't really like episodic shows), The Devil Judge, Law School, My Name, Doom at Your Service, At a Distance Spring is Green, Lover of the Red Sky, School 2021 (these continue to get progressively worse, 2013 still remains the best) and Undercover.

Still watching: Snowdrop, Bulgasal, The One and Only (didn't realise Joy was in this), The Red Sleeve (though progressing very slowly with this so on the verge of dropping) and Our Beloved Summer (progressing slowly, will probably drop)

On my list to start: Bad and Crazy - reading good things about it

Quote from Haolat

I had a lot of free time this year so I watched a lot of dramas

really enjoyed

D.P.

Beyond Evil

Happiness

Hellbound

Hospital Playlist 2

On the Verge of Insanity

Squid game

Law School

Lost

Mouse

Youth of may

The Veil

One ordinary day

meh dramas

Home town cha cha

Penthouse 2

My Name

High Class

Mine

Chimera

Dr Brain

My roommate is a Gumiho

She would never know

Devil judge

big disappointment/dramas I dropped

Love Alarm 2

Vincenzo

Jirisan

Love ft Marriage and Divorce Season 1 and 2: This drama is really ridiculous I kept watching it just to see how far the writer will go.

Nevertheless

LUCA

Sisyphus the myth

Yumi's cell

Dali and the cocky prince

Monthly Magazine Home

Taxi Driver (this is not how to do revenge)

Still watching

Voice 4

The red sleeve

Snowdrop

Our beloved summer

I plan to watch

Penthouse 3

Silent Sea

Move to heaven (The plot looks like it will make me cry so much so I have been postponing it)

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Hellbound I'll probably get around to watching at some point. I haven't been reading particularly good reviews about it so good to see you enjoyed it.

I've seen the two previous versions One Ordinary Day so have left that off my list at the moment.

I thought Vincenzo was good for what it was and SJK pulled off the role well. Just missing some more substance.

Namkoong Min picked up the Daesang for The Veil the other day. His last few years have been so consistent in terms of his acting, even though he doesn't always pick the right project (Awaken sticks out like a sore thumb)

Haven't heard of On the Verge of Insanity.

Quote from visualkei4402

11. The K2 (it was so bad, I couldn't finish it)

10. High Society

9. So I married an anti fan (nothing happened)

8. Vincenzo (the only good thing about this show is the villains)

7. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bokjoo

6. Her Private Life

5. True Beauty

4. Cheese in the trap

3. Sky Castle

2. The Devil Judge (one of my favourite kdramas of all time)

1. Flower of Evil

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K2's mainly good for the action scenes as JCW always pulls them off well and the 2nd female lead. I think Yoona and her character bring the show down quite a bit, not her best showing.

Ji Sung is one of my favourite actors so Devil Judge I'll probably pick up again at some point when I finish with some others. Tend to avoid romcoms so haven't seen some of these.

Have to say I've never been on board with the love Flower of Evil gets, but it seems pretty universally loved.

Quote from caratnotcarrot

i cant remember all but well

1. Hospital Playlist S1&2 (it's so damn good, i like how simple this drama is and how much happiness it brings me)

2. It's Okay, That's love

3. 18 again

4. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha(another simple but heartwarming drama)

5. Signal

6. Dr Romantic S1

7. Crash Landing On You

8. The World Of The Married(the most intense drama i've ever watched)

9. Prison Playbook

10. Squid Game

11. Jealousy's Incarnate(didn't finish, i dont understand how they screwed up the plot despite having jo jungsuk and gong hyojin in their lineup)

hospital playlist was like my best discovery this year, i really really enjoyed it so much, i watched it 4 times already hehe. i had national exam this year so i didn't watch that many hehe

also can anyone recommend more korean dramas like hospital playlist, hometown chachacha and 18 again, where the plot is more heartwarming and not that stressful and intense, i'll love to watch another one

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It's Okay That's Love is in my top 5 kdramas ever. Have a lot of love for that show. Jo In-sung is incredibly in it.

18 Again is probably my favourite show from last year and if you want something similar I would really recommend Navilerra.

Quote from IU_UI

Great - Hospital Playlist 2, Move to Heaven, The Red Sleeve, Mr Queen, Mad for Each Other, DP

Good - One Ordinary Day, Youth of May, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Yumi's Cells, Run On, My Roommate is a Gumiho, Squid Games

Disapointing - Jirisan, Nevertheless, My Name, True Beauty

Dropped So I Married an Anti Fan, Doom At Your Service, Police Academy

Still Watching Our Beloved Summer, Snowdrop, Uncle

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Run On was a good watch. Shin Se-kyung has to be one of the most improved actresses over the last few years.

Quote from taeric

1. Beyond Evil - one of the best kdramas I have watched, the acting was crazy

2. Mouse

3. The Devil Judge

4. The Veil - a very good start but around the middle it became boring and Namkoong Min's acting was too forced

5. Taxi Driver

6. One Ordinary Day

7. Extracurricular

8.1. Navilliera - it really broke my heart

8.2. The Red Sleeve - I can't miss Junho's drama

9. First 2 seasons of Penthouse, the 3rd was a disaster

10. D.P - somehow I didn't find Haein suitable for this? The story was interesting tho

* I will not put the rest in a top, but I enjoyed watching them *

My name - I fell in love with the actors, they played amazing

Hellbound - Yoo Ah In killed the first part

Vincenzo - I enjoyed it a lot when it aired, but the action was too forced

Move to Heaven

Sweet Home

Squid Game

Romance is a bonus book - it had a lot of potentials, but somehow they forget she had a child, which pissed me so much

Yumi's Cells

Tale of the Nine-Tailed

Nevertheless - good to kill some time

Melancholia - good to kill some time but for sure I wasn't in their target audience lol

The worst kdramas that I finished because I'm a masochist: Imitation, Dark Hole, Love Alarm, Itaewon Class

Dropped: Now, We Are Breaking Up (the biggest disappointment), Chimera (OCN dramas are always a disappointment for me), W, Flower of Evil, She would never know, My roommate is a Gumiho

To finish: The King's Affection, Extraordinary You, Bad and Crazy, Snowdrop

Hope we will get a lot of good kdramas this year too! 2021 had quite a lot of good dramas, I really enjoyed most of the ones released especially in the first half of the year,,, now I'm so empty without The Red Sleeve...

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I dropped Dark Hole barely 4 odd episodes in.

The show joins a long list of good premise, poor execution.

Quote from xx-jenn-xx

this is a list of all that i watched

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Imitation, Sisyphus, Time To Be Together, True Beauty, Vincenzo, Wish You all 10's i love those they were really good, well you can see what score i gave everything lol

Sisyphus was one of the biggest misses for me. I also completely forgot about it as I dropped it half way through.

After all these years I still struggle with Park Shin-hye's acting but thought Jo Seung-woo would get me through it

Quote from caratnotcarrot

i liked jo insung and gong hyojin's chemistry in that show, thanks for the recommendation!!

Having caught up on Our Beloved Summer I'd put it alongside 18 Again as well if you're still looking for recommendations.

It just had an umbrella scene very similar to the epilogue scene in 18 Again with the ML and his two kids, which flashed me back to you asking this question.