The year is almost ending, which makes it a great time to discuss some of the K-dramas and K-movies that have come out in the past year. Here are some of the dramas and movies I do recommend streaming along with some of the things that I watched but would personally skip over if I could go back in time.
1. STREAM: TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE
Twenty Five, Twenty One is the story of Heedo and Yijin, and what happens to them the years before and after they turn twenty five and twenty one. This story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and it discusses many themes such as youth and first loves. Honestly, I love this show because of the amazing acting along with the gripping storyline. This is a drama that you do not want to skip.
Calling this one a skip may make me unpopular with other K-drama fans, but unfortunately this one did not hit the mark for me. I will say that I enjoyed the beginning of this drama and I found the lead couple to be extremely funny. However, what made me stop this drama was the fact that once the lead characters got together, the show’s spark was lost for me, making it difficult to continue.
Semantic Error is about Chu Sangwoo and Jung Jaeyoung, two boys that are polar opposites that end up falling in love. Now, this show doesn’t do anything new; it’s a simple enemies to lovers story. But what makes this show great is the lead actors— they were both fantastic and throughout watching I felt all of the butterflies in my stomach that the characters would have! Each episode is also 20 minutes, making it a great show to binge watch.
4. SKIP: EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo revolves around Woo Young Woo and her life as a lawyer with autism. What makes this drama a skip for me was the fact that they didn’t develop the male lead, Lee Junho, enough, yet they spent a lot of time on the romance between Young Woo and Junho too much. I ended up losing interest in the show because of this. However, I did love the plot outside of the romance, and I wished it was focused on more.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about 20th Century Girl. I loved the first half of the movie. It was fun to see the romance bloom between the main characters. However, the second half of the movie was not up to the standard of the first half. While I did shed some tears due to the ending, I also felt that it was extremely rushed. I do wish that this was a drama, so that there would be more time to explore some parts of the story. But, as a movie, I don’t really recommend this one unless you want to be extremely frustrated by its ending.
Love and Leashes was a pleasant surprise for me. At first, I was quite worried that this would be an uncomfortable watch. This is because the story revolves around a couple who are in a BDSM relationship and the only exposure I have ever had to BDSM was 50 Shades of Gray, which clouded my judgment of BDSM in general. But this movie was pleasantly sweet. It also does a great job of demonstrating what BDSM relationships are like and it includes conversations about consent in relationships, too! Overall, it’s a great quick watch if you are looking for a lighthearted romantic comedy that also has some teachable moments.
And those are my thoughts on some of the K-dramas/K-movies I watched this year. Let me know if there are some other dramas that I missed out on this year or if I should reconsider watching some of the skipped dramas again.