With the arrival of The Extraordinary Attorney Woo, I’ve recently found friends in real life who are willing to watch my beloved Kdramas and chat about them! This is really exciting for me, as before it was a little secret I shared with internet friends only, and can feel rather isolating at times. Now that more people are showing interest in my shows, I thought it was time for a review update, in case you are trying to decide on your next Kdrama (and then we can talk about them!!). I’m picking up where I left off after my first set of reviews--if you missed it, click here to get caught up.
And now onto the update…
When the Camellia Blooms
This one came highly recommended from my author Facebook group after my original request, and had been on my list for a while. Something about the premise didn’t excite me though, so I waited this long to actually press play. True to form, this one is a mashup of romance and thriller--a single mother moves to a quiet town to raise her son, and somehow winds up as the target of a serial killer. Along the way, a local police officer falls madly in love with her, and will stop at nothing to catch the killer before she winds up as his latest victim. Oh, and her son’s father is a famous, MARRIED athlete/reality star and their lives intertwine when he finds out they have a son (!!). Though the romance wasn’t super believable for me, I was still highly entertained with this one.
My Holo Love
A woman with face-blindness becomes the perfect beta tester for a pair of AI glasses that allow her to have her very own holographic butler--think Siri, or Alexa in the shape of a young Korean man. Holo, as he is known, was designed in the likeness of his creator, which creates some trouble--or maybe not, with the whole face blindness thing…To be honest, I often felt lost while watching this, like maybe I missed a section, or an episode or something--and this one was even dubbed in English! I recall noticing a few consistency errors, and had to rewind a few times to see if I could make it make sense. I chalked it up to bad writing--just my opinion--or loose ends, etc. And then when the big plot twist came up, I was like…really? This one is a skip in my opinion.
Hometown Cha Cha Cha
After spending too much time on the last one, I went a good while before taking the plunge back in, but chose this next one after hearing one of the stars was involved in a media scandal in real life. The show was actually kind of cute--a young dentist quits her job and after driving aimlessly, ends up in a quaint little beachfront town. Seeing they have no local dentist, she decides to open up a dental practice, and she keeps running into the same local guy who seems to be involved in every single person and event that goes on there. Her uptight, snobbish ways are problematic, for him AND the townspeople, and she has to work to be sociable and help her business thrive. At first, I was surprised at how soon in the series the two leads became a couple, but as it turns out, the guy has a huge secret that they have to face together. The details aren't super memorable for me, but I do recall enjoying it, so get to it if you can.
Strongest Delivery Man
I really enjoyed this one! The lead is a delivery man with a tribe of loyal delivery friends as a result of his outstanding moral character. He’s been traveling from city to city, working as a delivery man for only a short amount of time before moving on. He’s been in search of something…I won’t spoil it here for you. Meanwhile, he crosses paths with a spoiled rich boy whose careless actions result in great loss, and our delivery hero makes sure to hold him responsible. Each of the main characters have great arcs in this show, and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. A must watch!
Business Proposal
Oh man, I’m just realizing how difficult this one is going to be to explain. Well…here goes…A woman goes on a blind date in place of her best friend whose father is always setting her up on blind dates with rich young men. The idea was to scare him off so he won’t ask her on any more dates. Only, the rich young man is also being set up by his grandfather, and to avoid going on more of these pointless dates, he decides to marry the next person he goes on a blind date with, so he can get back to running his business. Yikes. Oh, and did I mention, when she gets to the blind date disguised as her friend, she realizes he’s her boss? Yeah, so lots of dates, twists, confusion, and people falling in love with people from the other side of the tracks ensues. This one was a very quick watch with lots of humor, and highly recommended.
Melting Me Softly
I really liked the premise of this one… A young woman agrees as part of her job to be frozen in a cryogenic chamber for 24 hours. Not only will this give her a nice payday, she is hopeful it will one day lead to the type of technology needed to cure her younger brother with an intellectual disability. Frozen along with her is a television producer, who is using the experiment as the focus of his latest documentary. But then, you know, stuff happens as it tends to do, and the two wake up 20 YEARS IN THE FUTURE. So, everyone (including her sweet little brother and the producer’s fiance!) have aged 20 years while they’ve aged only one calendar day. As if this weren’t enough, they soon realize that if their body temperatures climb above 91.4 degrees, they will die. So of course they begin to fall in love while frantically working to find a cure, made more difficult by the sinister backstory responsible for keeping them frozen for twenty years in the first place. And, of course, there’s your usual amount of murder, blackmail, and political scandal. I thought this one was really entertaining, and rooted for the main couple throughout.
After loving this one, I started Backstreet Rookie, but I’d only gotten into the first episode when a friend insisted I begin The Extraordinary Attorney Woo IMMEDIATELY. Which, of course, I did--which leads us to this moment. I’m not quite done with Woo yet, mostly because I love it so much, I’m taking my time to get through it all to reduce the withdrawal I know I’ll have when it is over.
Speaking of shows I haven’t finished, this list might be of use to you as well…
DNF (Did Not Finish)
These are the shows I’ve started, but for some reason or the other haven’t made my way completely through…
Title: Triad Princess
Netflix Premise: “After jostling her way into a gig as a celebrity bodyguard, the boisterous daughter of a powerful triad boss shakes up a TV star's life and finds love.”
I was drawn to this one from the fun trailer and the fact that it is dubbed in English. But I never made it out of the first episode. Partly my own attention span, partly lots of cursing…I just didn’t get into it as quickly as I hoped and somewhere along the way lost interest. Maybe I’ll pick it up again one day…maybe not…
Title: Hello Me!
Netflix Premise: “Miserable and unsuccessful, a woman thinks she's lost all her spark — until one day, her spunky younger self appears in front of her demanding change.”
This one seems to be a great premise, and actually started out with a lot of action. I stalled on the first episode, but I do intend to finish at some point…
Title: Backstreet Rookie
Netflix Premise: “An audacious part-timer who is great at her job and a well-meaning manager who is suspicious of the new hire, team up to keep a convenience store afloat.”
I was enjoying this one, but took the advice of my friend to take a quick detour to watch Attorney Woo--I completely plan to finish this one once I’m done.
Speaking of shows I “completely plan” to watch, here is one last list you might find helpful…
Future Watchlist
Here are the ones I’ve heard good things about, seen promising trailers for, or have been on my must watch list for a while. So, unless a new Woo comes out of the blue--here’s what’s up next, in the order from the one I’m most interested to see, to the least.
Shopaholic Louis
One More Time
1% of Something
Jinxed at First
So Not Worth It
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
Eve
Cheese in the Trap
Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo
While You Were Sleeping
Run On
Hotel Del Luna
Revolutionary Love
Love, Marriage, and Divorce
Hi, Bye Mama
Mystic Pop Up Bar
I currently watch all of my shows from either Netflix, or Rakuten Viki (it has a lot of shows free, but I don’t pay for this service). Some on my list (like Shopaholic Louis) I haven’t been able to find free or included in one of my paid subscriptions yet, and I don’t pay extra for KDramas as there are always new ones to discover. If you’re looking to connect with people who watch them for more recommendations, check out Facebook groups online, or watch trailer countdowns on YouTube for more suggestions.
Happy viewing!