Favorite Dramas

I hadn't even finished it yet, and I already KNEW it was my favorite! The biggest emotional roller coaster I've ever been on! Amazing characters, fantastic plot and execution, and the EMOTION. I didn't want it to end, but I was out of tissues! 

You will crack up, sob, and possibly need ongoing therapy, but it is well worth it. Stunning photography, amazing acting, fantastic music, poetry that squeezes your heart until it cries uncle -- Goblin won't fade quickly from your mind!

Yes, I'm one of those who was OBSESSED with this C-drama. It's a great story, and I love the cccharacters. Ususally C-storytelling kind of drags for or confuses me, and this one did lose me a few times, but the epic romance totally made up for it. Well worth a watch.

An instant favorite. Absolutely adorable, devastating, dark, cute, and funny all at once. Amazing characters and a sweet love story with a good helping of found family and a murder mystery as well.

Genuinely the sweetest story ever, and Young Woo is one of my favorite drama characters of all time!

This was just adorable. I absolutely ADORED Shin Hye Sun as Jang Bong Hwan in Kim So Yong's body. She did an amazing job of capturing that kind of guy-ness that Bong Hwan showed -- the confidence, the sense of humor. The way s/he fell in love with the king was really sweet and unexpected, and I can't say enough about the supporting cast. The politics got confusing and a little convoluted at times, but that's not uncommon in a drama involving court politics. Really loved it!

I didn't originally plan to watch this drama, because I expected it just to be too sad for me. Unfortunately, it seemed I had watched pretty much everything else that had come out in recent years, so I went for it.

I can't heap enough praise on this drama. It's COMPLETELY out of my normal wheelhouse genre-wise, but it moved me SO much. It's such a celebration of the joys and sorrows of life, love, and aging. I just adored it and fell in love with every character. 

Bonus points for Jo In Sun, because... I mean... JO IN SUN. (For real, though, every member of this cast brought in an unbelievable performance.)

Shot to the top in a few episodes. SO hilarious and sad and charming. And yeah, everybody knows I'm a complete Lee Min No freak, but to see how his acting has evolved and matured is just WOW. And I think he just gets more beautiful as he gets older. (Plus his English has gotten 5 BILLION percent better!)

Oh, how I loved this drama. It was COMPLETELY different in every possible way from what I expected.  The stories of the rangers were fascinating and hair-raising,  the scenery of Mount Jiri  is STUNNING. The stories of the mountain were just... I ran out of superlatives. And don't even get me started on the subtle love story and murder mystery that runs through the whole thing. AMAZING. Thrilling. Beautiful.  It's an instant addition to the favorites list!

This is honestly one of my absolute favorite dramas ever. There are so many emotions, so many great characters, great stories. I felt like I became part of the village family too. There just wasn't anything I didn't like about it. It's so sweet and innocent in a way, and funny, but deals with some heavy subjects and life experiences as well. I cried A LOT, but I also laughed a lot. It left me feeling great even though I stayed up all night two nights in a row to watch it.

There is A LOT of psychological and emotional meat in this action/crime drama. The characters are unforgettable, and the actors became some of my favorites. Get your tissues ready!

This is a super-popular drama, and for good reason. The story is interesting, the love story is adorable, uplifting, and sad, and the overall portrayal of people living with psychological issues, portrayed as fully-realized human beings just like everybody else, is admirable. I was really loving this, and it was headed straight to the top of my favorites list for 15/16 episodes.

However, it almost lost me with the depiction of a character's psychiatric hospitalization. So much of it was not only unrealistic, but completely inappropriate and false it was really kind of offensive. I ALMOST dropped it and didn't pick it back up.

But, one of my own neuroses is the compulsion to finish things once I start, and I DID love the lead couple and ensemble of colorful secondary and tertiary characters, so I toughed it out.

It had a dent in it, but the performances, especially by Jo In Sung, were too great to miss. 

I stayed away from this for SO LONG because EVERYBODY said it was a tragic sob-fest. It was, but OMG I loved it. And it's not JUST tragic, it's sweet, funny, romantic, disturbing, intriguing. It became one of my top 10 instantly.  I just loved or loved-to-hate pretty much every character, and don't get me started about the special characters! Bravo to Ji Sung for an AMAZING job!

A gloriously epic romance! There were a few times where the uninterrupted pattern of sweet, romantic, or funny moment/SOUL-CRUSHING LOSS AND SORROW SOBFEST got to be a BIT much, but I still loved it. One of my favorite endings. Knowing that Song-Song got married after this just makes it extra-romantic! 

I went into this expecting an epic paranormal action sort of wild ride drama, so I WAS NOT PREPARED for how deeply emotional it turned out to be. I cried more during this drama than I did during anything in a long time. The stories are just gorgeous, both the episodic stories and the over-arching storyline of the show. I love this so much I would definitely tune in to a second  season! 

When you watch this, bring A LOT of tissues! 

When I first started seeking out "the best" dramas to watch, City Hunter popped up everywhere. When I finally watched it... well, let's just say I didn't get a whole lot of sleep once I started. Lee Min Ho is the BOMB.

Complex feelings for this due to being FALSELY spoiled before watching. In the end though, I can't resist a sweet romance and Gong Yoo.

A new favorite. i loved it less for the love story between people, and more for the love story about books. Very inspiring!

I REALLY loved this one. A great love story with a wonderful cast of lovable and quirky characters. Deals with a heavy subject, but is done with heart. 

My first historical, and what a choice! Action, romance, mystery, and brooding, badass Lee Min Ho with a SWORD? Hello nurse!

I don't know WHY I keep forgetting to add this to my list! It's absolutely adorable, and a LITTLE stress-inducing and even sad in parts, but in the end, it was really satisfying. A great gender-bender.

Bonus: Gong Yoo!

One of the first I ever watched, and will always be a favorite. Great story, and the romance is irresistible. 

What a show! Similar theme to City Hunter, but MUCH lighter in tone. Still angsty elements and come here/go away romance, but a lot more laughter. The plot is amazing, and there are some great twists and turns, with a satisfying ending.

Absolutely RIVETING! Twists and turns, horrible characters, a really dark portrait of South Korean society and educational culture. Really one of the best dramas I've seen!

I REALLY struggle with where to put this on my list, because I was iffy with it a bit in the beginning, then LOVED it, and then the end just TANKED it. GODS that was bad! I was so in love with the princes (Team So!) and the harrowing intrigue... but man, if they just chopped the last 5 minutes, it would be 100% better.

Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but I did enjoy it. I can't resist Lee Joon Gi.

I know, I know. But I LOVE unique vampire stories, and I'm sorry, not sorry, I SOBBED all the way through the last few eps. BUT THAT ENDING! Oy vey! Whoever wrote/directed/edited that ending should be SMACKED.

It manages to find a nice balance between cute and HEAVY.