I don't really watch a lot of korean dramas actually. Somehow, I hardly ever finish a whole drama. But I did check out a quite a few korean dramas in 2012 and here's a list of what's good & what's bad (in random order):
The Good:
1. The Moon That Embraces The Sun 해를 품은 달 (MBC)
This is a period drama with a good looking cast (you judge). Despite their age difference, Kim Soo Hyun & Han Ga-In are still cute to watch together. The drama also won the MBC Drama of The Year award and Best Drama. The ratings for the show is also
ridiculously high. No reason not to watch it. Don't get your expectations too high though, or you may not like it.
2. Queen Inhyun's Man 인현왕후의 남자 (TvN)
If you like cute rom-coms, you'll like this too. It is like a buffet - you get a bit of everything; rom-com, mystery, period drama + modern world, action, ... you name it, they got it. Ji Hyun Woo & Yoo In-Na have great chemistry throughout the show, which is not a surprise because they are now a couple after JHW confessed to her publicly at a fanmeeting after the drama ended. They are so cute!! JHW plays Kim Boong-Do, a scholar from the Joseon Dynasty who time-travels between his time and our present time in order to protect the queen (ok, I'm suddenly unsure what was his initial purpose for time-travelling). The time-travelling thing may remind you of another 2012 drama, Rooftop Prince, but this is different because he can control when to time-travel.
3. Arang & the Magistrate 아랑사또전 (MBC)
The first few episodes were exciting because there were so many 'mysteries' that make you wanna keep watching to find out the truth. Even up til the last episode, I still couldn't guess how the ending was going to be (don't be spoilerish and read/watch the ending first!!). I got a bit bored halfway through the drama (as always, for me) but started to watch the rest of the drama when it was reaching its finale. And it didn't disappoint! I think half the time I didn't understand what the Jade Emperor and King of Hell (?) were talking about. I like unpredictability, but HAHA I guess I was too annoyed about not getting my questions answered that I gave up on the show halfway. I also love the chemistry between Shin Min Ah and Lee Jun Ki. Most dramas have some comic relief courtesy of the supporting cast. In this show, the "funny" scenes are by the Dolswe (lead actor's manservant) and Bang Wool (a shaman who can only hear ghosts but can't see them). I like Bang Wool but I didn't really LOVE the love-line they made between the two of them. It seemed more silly than cute to me. I like his character. I like her character. but why can't they just make the two of them remain as bickering friends? I don't know. Maybe you'll like the pairing.
I have mixed feelings for this show. There are a lot of funny scenes that are fun to watch. I love the scenes where our "F4" learnt about the modern world. Sadly, the drama got a bit slow for me in the middle. Park Yoo Chun plays a crown prince in the Joseon Era, who time-travelled to present time to find the truth behind the death of his crown princess (I thought he was gonna flip through record books). In present time, he found the reincarnations of his crown princess and other people, and realises that there may be a parallel in the two worlds.. which helped him uncover the truth behind the death of his crown princess. I feel like I only enjoyed the last episode where he returned to the past and we got to find out what exactly happened to the crown princess. The rest of the story in between was just... didn't get me hooked. A small disappointment for me because I like Yoo Chun and I think he is one of the most successful idol/singer-to-actor transition. The "F4" are also really hilarious to watch, right up til the last episode.
2. I Do, I Do (MBC) *spoiler*
I did not have the intention to watch this, but it aired on my local free-to-air channel and I watched the whole drama. It isn't bad, except it was one of those shows which's plot you could predict after a few episodes. It's one of those dramas with the tried and tested formula that won't go wrong: There is the typical attractive & very eligible second lead whom everyone loves and support, but didn't get the girl he likes. And there's also the OTHER girl who also likes the lead actor. Usually the second girl is a bitchy girl who gets in the way of the 2 main characters but this girl doesn't really get in the way. Her love is one-sided and she doesn't really let the guy know, which makes her quite a pitiful character. She's also actually quite nice and also very eligible (and young.. and pretty.. and rich..), save for a few scheming plots.
The Bad:
1. To the Beautiful You 아름다운 그대에게 (SBS)
This is the korean adaptation of Hana-kimi and an idol-drama with Sulli from f(x) and Minho from SHINee. I know there are A LOT of other people who list this as their fave drama in 2012! I just didn't enjoy it as much. I like the OST though. There are a lot of face-palm moments (I shouldn't even try to start listing) and scenes that defy logic. Perhaps the producers aren't even that focused on making a good drama. It seems as if they know that a drama with idols can sell well overseas and they can throw logic out of the window. I think that's one (sad) thing about idol-dramas. The producers just wanna make a good looking show with popular idols because perhaps, that's the whole point. They know people will watch it regardless. The ratings for the show is rather low in Korea. It was up against Bridal Mask & Arang.
2. Dream High 2 드림 하이 2 (KBS)
Dream High was okay, but Dream High 2 was not as good. The girl is liked by her idol, which can be a very nice plot because we all like to watch a story that we would like to imagine ourselves to be in. But sadly, there was zero chemistry between Kang Sora and JB (or any other potential couples). I didn't finish this drama either.
3. Big 빅 (KBS)
Lee Min Jung and Gong Yoo -- What can go wrong? Answer: Everything.
UGHH I feel so disappointed with the drama. I watched it because I like LMJ and GY. but the ending of the show is such a BIG disappointment. I also feel very sad for the actor who had to lie in bed in comatose for almost the WHOLE drama. The whole time I'm thinking, WHEN IS HE GONNA WAKE UP??
I shall elaborate a bit. Kyung Joon is a student of Gil Daran. Gil Daran is engaged to a good looking doctor Yoon Jae. Something happens, and Kyung Joon and Yoon Jae swop bodies. The doctor gets trapped in a coma in the student's body, while Gil Daran falls in love with the student Kyung Joon (who is now in the handsome doctor aka fiance body). The whole drama develops in a way that the viewers will love & support the student+teacher pairing AND the Lee Min Jung+Gong Yoo pairing. The big flaw (to me) of the drama is that they
couldn't make them swop back their bodies, and they also
couldn't make the comatosed dude wake up. It was like they (the writers) made him stay in a coma for convenience's sake. I wonder if he even needed to audition for his part.
I don't know why I finished watching the drama. Perhaps I was hoping that it will be saved by the ending (& also I didn't want to know that I wasted my time). The enjoyable parts are the cute scenes between Gong Yoo & LMJ (
my fave being the panda debate), oh, and how they conveniently made Gong Yoo flaunt his abs for all possible reasons hahaha (in the first few episodes, if you're interested). Gong Yoo was charming and convincing as a hot-headed teenage boy. If you're alright cliff-hanger-y endings and a (supposedly) main character in coma for almost the whole drama, then perhaps it will be quite an okay drama to watch. Afterall, its LMJ & GY!! In one show!! (okay, fine, not everyone likes them like me)
Other notable dramas that I did not watch:
- The King 2 Hearts (MBC)
- Faith (SBS)
- A Gentleman’s Dignity (SBS) (just started watching this, seems pretty good so far!)
- Shut Up: Flower Boy Band (TvN)
- Gaksital/Bridal Mask (KBS)
- Innocent Man/Nice Guy (KBS)
That's all! I apologise if I have made any mistakes with the names or details..
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