What That Tells You About My K-Drama Taste: Strong female leads (Mr. Queen, Judge From Hell, The Glory, Queen of Tears) Well-developed, emotionally complex characters (It’s Okay Not to Be Okay, Queen of Tears, While You Were Sleeping) Action or tension with meaning (K2, Moving, The Glory, Happiness) Romantic connection without cringe (Lovely Runner, Hometown Cha Cha, Crash Landing) Visual or emotional depth (Moving, Queen of Tears, Crash Landing) Satisfying endings & emotional payoffs

Favorite Actors, Their Characters, and K-Dramas

Lee’s Favorites:

Kim Ji-won
- Descendants of the Sun as Yoon Myung-joo.
- Fight for My Way as Choi Ae-ra.
- Itaewon Class (Cameo, Ep. 16) as herself.
- Queen of Tears as Hong Hae-in.
Park Shin-hye
- Judge from Hell
Kim Won-hae
- Lovely Runner
- Revenant
- While You Were Sleeping
Oh Jung-se
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay as Moon Sang-tae.
Jang Young-nam
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
- Love Next Door
Kwak Dong-yeon
- Fight for My Way as Kim Moo-ki.
- Vinenzo as Jang Han-seo.
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (Cameo, Ep. 2) as Kwon Ki-do.
- Queen Of Tears
Shin Hye-sun
- Mr. Queen as Kim So-yong.
Jo Han-chul
- Vincenzo as Han Seung-hyuk.
- Love Next Door
- Home Town Cha Cha
Seo Yea-ji
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay as Ko Moon-young.
Park Seo-joon
- Itaewon Class
- Whats Wrong With Secretary Kim
- Fight For My Way
- Itaewon Class

Directornasty’s Favorites:

Choi Myung-hee
- Vincenzo as Choi Myung-hee.
Lee Do-hyun
- The Glory as Joo Yeo-jeong.
Seo Yea-ji
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay as Ko Moon-young.

AdorkableNerd’s Favorite:

Bae Suzy
- While You Were Sleeping as Nam Hong-joo.

Special Category ( I made this category for shows i consider a guilty pleasure…means i really enjoyed them or an element of them, while the actual story may or may not be ground breaking…it may be something where i REALLY enjoyed the actress or I enjoy the experience of reacting to it with whoever I did…..truly a wild card scenerio

Judge from hell (i just loved the carnage and violence. loved the female lead in being a badass and she held her conviction basically the whole franchise while still growing as a person…dope)

Kdramas That we enjoyed very much but are not necessarily favroites and you can recommend more of the following

Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2521)

Absolutely fantastic. I became a fan of Kim Tae-ri after this — she owns every scene with charm, wit, and emotional depth. Her character, Na Hee-do, is fiery, goofy, and stubborn in the best way — the kind of female lead who makes you root for her hustle. Her rivalry with Ko Yu-rim (played by Bona) starts as fierce competition but evolves into one of the most heartfelt “enemy-to-best-friend” arcs I’ve seen in any K-drama. It’s funny, surprisingly mature, and packed with that nostalgic energy of youth chasing dreams while the world keeps changing around them. The humor actually lands, the emotions feel real, and by the end you realize it’s less about romance and more about growth, legacy, and how people shape who we become.
Easily one of the best coming-of-age dramas — beautiful, bittersweet, and full of life.

Alice in Boderland (Jdrama)

All Of Us Are Dead

Attorney Woo

Bloodhound

Bon Appétit

A solid show — not legendary, but genuinely enjoyable and worth the watch. The tone reminded me of a cozy slice-of-life story that still knows when to sprinkle in humor and heart. The King character was hilarious and added just the right amount of eccentricity. Yoona was her usual adorable self — charming, expressive, and effortlessly likable. The story doesn’t try to overreach; it stays grounded in warmth, good acting, and relatable emotions. It’s the kind of drama that leaves you smiling rather than drained. A fun, light watch between heavier shows.

Business Proposal

Crash Landing On you, i love this show and it used be top 10 but than i saw more shows…it had to go

Death Game (aside from finale non stop greatness)

Descendants of The Sun I WISH FOLKS WERE NOT SO VOCAL ABOUT THE LEADS SPLITTING UP IN REAL LIFE….Some of you guys really go down the rabbit hole and know everything about these actors and thats respectable…but its not alway needed for you to relay that information…Right off the jump on Episode 1…People were LOUD about why they cant watch the Leads because they know they split. They were loud about it even before it won the poll. At the time you watched it, that controversy was not present…it still won the poll and you passed that negative energy and i always had it in the back of my mind watching this show. I am not upset. But for a future reactor…you don’t gotta make sure they know they split in real life..think about it…it serves no positive value for a first time viewer. Thats just my 2 cents…(Cool show, not mind blown. The Leads are great. I think it just lacks something epic like most of the other shows i love have…It has Mature Charactors and Great Actors…and that is about it….lol. )

Doom At Your Service – Overall its a solid drama the concept is interesting along with the philosphy of god and man just started to drag around ep 12…time to move a long and that part was saved by the B couple. The drama should have been 12-14 episodes and a bit faster pace for my taste. If you are the type to cry a lot and need time to dry your tears, the slower pace might be what you need.

Eve i started watching with my wife and i really like it..Please dont me mean to me about me about watching it on my own…i cant react to every thing…..i never saw folks recommending it…it has one my favorite Actresses and i like Kdramas as a regular person…so i wanted to see it and i like it..but i am not fished)

Extracurricular* – This was a fun show when i first saw it and has previously been on my top 10. I’ve watched enough to where its no longer there and was replaced by hometown cha cha cha. i still remember this as good show

Flower of evil

Healer – Good show, Park Min youngs best role in terms of sheer performance. I think its great if you enjoy minimal stress, non toxic romance and very understanding people. There is minimal cringe from finding major revelations…the characters just get it. It has great actors and the action and stunts are phenomenal. Strong if you enjoy seeing social justice.

I would have preferred diving further into the antagonist side of the story and seeing them more involved in the narrative as central characters MORE than what was provided. These types of things appeal to different people. So thats just my personal taste. Whatever reasoning you’d have to justify the level of involvement we saw as a perfect balance or good for the story. I can understand, I just needed something to feel more tension somewhere that i could FEEL. There was tension in the story, but as it relates to me personally, I personally would have preferered to feel more tension and the nature of the story didn’t do that for me. This take is 100% feelings and emotions, none of it is meant to be acadamic or scholarly review.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha – This is a perfect show, the characters are mature, No unnecessary cringe that lasted behind what the viewer can handle. The chemistry of the characters was phenomenal. The show benefits from a large cast of goated actors who all have character arcs throughout the show so while the episode length is long, you dont feel it. This kdrama also stuck the landing very well

Hotel De Luna -Great show. LOVE LOVEd it. Loved IU and the supporting cast of goats. The humor was actually funny and i enjoyed the different stories and challenges to solve. I think the hype ended around ep 11. The main villain was underwhelming but i guess he was supposed to he. The main threat was herself and conquering her own desire for revenge. We needed to save her from herself. But that became drawn out. So we have 11 fantastic episodes and 5 ok episodes with dope moment

Kingdom – Good show I really enjoyed the evil and The Queen. Thats about it. Solid show great Zombie take

Legend Of The Blue Sea 10/10 show, LOVE LOVE the FL, while the story was interesting with a strong cast of performers, she FL was the central to the enjoyment. She was funny and her gimmicks throughout the whole series made sense and didnt get dull. We also had TRUE villainry with layers to their personality and actions so i loved it.

Love Next Door-, i liked it a lot, just not top 10

Marry My Husband* this used to a favorite of mine, peak toxicity, but gain…i saw more shows

My 19th life.- I like it for the actress . Story is ok

Mouse – indeed a masterpiece. Theres nothing bad to say about its story or plot…literally at all. What made mouse challenging is the sheer length and episode count from a reaction point of view. We could not binge that while keeping up with our schedule of other content. We would forget names in between episodes (we already struggle with names) so we have no idea who they are talking about often times so we missing impact until the revelation happens and we are like “ohhhhhhh”. But following the plans was often difficult when the characters were referring to names from 2 episodes ago which is easily 4 hours ago in literal episodes time and a week ago for us in terms of when we watched the the previous episode.

Moving* Great show, also used to a favorite…but then i seen more shows

Mr Plankton was a good show…and simply not my favorite type but its superb quality and thats just that.

No Gain No Life. Good show, great cast, i liked the FL Archetype

Parasyte

Our Beloved Summer

Good. Just good — but in a realistic, grounded way. It’s not trying to be sensational; it’s about how two imperfect people navigate love and personal growth. The cinematography and soundtrack are calm and mature, matching the emotional pace perfectly. I enjoyed watching their subtle changes, their regrets, and their reconnection years later — it felt genuine, almost therapeutic. It’s one of those shows that you don’t “binge for thrill” but sit with because the characters feel real. For me, it was more of an emotional study than an adrenaline ride — thoughtful, steady, and quietly satisfying.

Queen Of Tears* Love it because of kim ji won

Revenant

Shop For Killers

Squid Games

Penthouse– With only 1 season…id say it was ok…i watched 3 seasons and i’m simply invested, characters actors and crazy plot point…so i really like it. But normally i wouldnt react to 3 seasons…so this is a special case…i’m a penthouse fan.

The King: Eternal Monarch

This was literal peak for me. It’s grand, sophisticated, and layered — exactly the kind of storytelling I love. The writing is intelligent, the world-building complex, and every twist feels deliberate. The dialogue is high-level, full of subtext and philosophy, yet balanced with humor when the moment calls for it. Lee Min-ho plays one of the best “kingly” roles I’ve seen — powerful but introspective, regal but human. The blend of fantasy, time travel, and political intrigue made it feel like a fusion of romance and cosmic chess. Easily one of my top “royal” dramas. The tone and atmosphere are unmatched.

Trauma Code – Perfect show, its short and to the point and every episode has weight. I enjoy how the Dr HAN!!!! developed…WHAT A GOAT. I actually dont have much to say but thats not a bad thing…its a hospital show and if you like that, you will like this show and they have reasonable trauma and tension related to the medical profession. I like it

Study Group – Great show, i normally dont care for the protagonists unless they are very pretty or handsome…lmao …lets face it…but these protags (while a pretty cast) thrive on their character, what they stand for. They are not all goody goodys but do stand for good and unwaveringly so. Reminds me of one piece. Its a good show, good action, good characters all around and the plot makes sense.

Trauma Code– I really thought this was a fun show. I liked that it was short and sweet. The MC is among my favorite type of MC’s…comes of as a Jerk but is actually caring..If you think about it…lol..I tend to like the same archetypes Male or Female.. He’s surrounded by a strong cast with tons of adrenaline and fascination each episode.

Weak Hero – I strongly like this show especially after season 2

Weight Lifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo – Great show, surprised me to enjoy something so wholesome, picked up on ep 4-5…saved the ML in my opinion…while not in my top 10, its safe to recommend dramas like this because it was really fun, memorable…and it felt fulfilling, like hometown cha cha cha did.

Whats wrong with secretary kim Show is carried by fantastic and likeable cast

When Life Gives You Tangerines- Great show…BUT i think it was best enjoyed with my wife, the sentimental aspects would have been lost with the trio for me personally cuz none of us are that sentimental , the family and saddness it had was best felt with my wife. It also brought value to us as a couple and a family. Very Good and memorable although not something id normally watch by myself…you can safely recommend for my wife and I as i enjoyed that experience

When the Phone Rings – GREAT SHOW…loved ep 1-11, ep 12 was not a good ending

Worst Of Evil

W World – Dope concept, creative, The ML and Father carried it for ME and generally my crew. The lead actress is proven to be fantastic as we seen her in Happiness and Moving. The direction they took with her being a damsel in distress for lack of a better term didn’t pull us in. Its cute…she’s cute..but i dunno. Generally the channel prefers Strong female characters or leads….I dont think the show has ONE strong female lead…while i guess you can say she’s strong…she went to prison and made tough decisions for the people she loved. Show has a lot of dope twists and turns and i like how even in the show fans were wilding over the direction of the Manwa…its well thought out and worthy of a recommendation and watch experience. Its even understandable why the FL, was a Damsel for the story they told, her personality and acting fits. The innocent girl, who created her ideal comic boyfriend, innocent and pure and the one good thing in his life…

Special Category – Means these shows have elements that are GREATLY appreciated although they are not in our taste profile

Twinkling Watermelon – Great Writing (not something i’d watch again)

This is ACTUALLY A FANTASTIC SHOW… it just didn’t connect with me emotionally like the others…i can’t really explain why.

Goblin – ICONIC MOMENTS, good story… Felt long at times. I have no regrets because the concept of the story has stayed with me and has offered value after watching, the Grim Reaper and Sunny along with the iconic walks…were just fantastic….

Uncanny Counter – Great First Season.. GREAT….Season 2…was just Ok even though it had Grade A actors……

The Following are remarks concerning shows that didn’t enter our taste profile

Strong Woman Bong Soon – Great Male Lead , funny moments. Would Not watch again

Strangers From Hell- Interesting Concept…cool

Vincenzo – Good moments…..just longer than it needed to be a lot of times, great cast

Black Knight-Nothing worth mentioningM