So, the year 2012 is nearly over, and it is time to look back and begin to make judgement. I started watching Korean Dramas early on this year, therefore, I am new to the game. I have made my best efforts to catch up on the classics, but there is so much to watch and only so many hours in the day. What I am going to do now is make a rough guess at what will be my favorite dramas from 2012. Obviously I didn't watch every single drama that aired this year, so my judgement must be taken with a grain of salt. It is fun to make lists, though, so I will lay down the best Korean Dramas of 2012 here. Please weigh in with your favorites in the comments section.
1. Rooftop Prince
I genuinely love this drama. Mickey Yoo Chun and Han Ji Min make a beautiful couple. I find it to be a hilarious comedy and an emotional romance all rolled in to one. I am a sucker for the ever-funny scenes that take place when a person from the past is thrust into the modern world and bombarded with the substantial advancements of technology since their time. I think Rooftop Prince is by far the best of the time travel dramas that I have seen (Faith, Queen In Hyun's Man, and 3 episodes of Time Slip Dr. Jin).
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| Mickey Yoo Chun and Han Ji Mia |
2. The Innocent Man (Nice Guy)
The Innocent Man (Nice Guy) become a big part of my life for a while (as sad as that sounds). I originally had planned to watch it when it completed airing, but I started this blog on October 20th and decided I need to write about this show because it is daebak. I watched the first 14 episodes over the course of 2 or 3 days (it's all a blur now) and began my screen cap/ blog writing fury. Now that it is over, I feel an emptiness. I am not loyal enough to say that I won't be able to fill the emptiness left by The Innocent Man (Nice Guy), but it might take some time to be replaced in my heart. Song Joong Ki is amazing as Kang Ma Roo because he has an angelic baby face, but does some very bad ass things in the show. Also, I fell in love with Moon Chae Won while watching this drama. She is gorgeous, and I love when she gets to act strong-willed and ferocious.
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| Moon Chae Won and Seo Eun Gi |
3. Arang and the Magistrate
Arang and the Magistrate is one of the first dramas I wrote about. Watching Korean Dramas to write about them is a very different experience than just watching them, I believe. While I am much more efficient with my time when I watch a drama without worrying about what to write about it, I feel that I get a better insight into the drama when I stop and think about it. With Arang, I was able draw out many beautiful ideas and lessons from this drama during my writing process. It really makes me think about the power of desire and will and how considering other people can be the most rewarding way to live.
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| Shin Min Ah and Lee Jun Ki |
4. Queen In Hyun's Man
Queen In Hyun's Man is one of the best love stories I have seen in a Korean drama. Maybe not everyone will agree with me on that, but that's okay. I think that the love between Kim Bong Do (Ji Hyun Woo) and Choi Hee Jin (Yoo In Na) is pure and sweet. Unlike some Kdramas where the main couple starts off with
a relationship of hate and hostility, they were never tarnished by that dirty feeling of "are these people masochists or what?" that I get from some couples. As a time travel drama, it is almost (but not quite) as amazing as Rooftop Prince. I don't really like to compare these two dramas too much, though, because I think that they each have their own individual spirits. Queen In Hyun's Man is a must-see drama for any Korean drama lover.
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| Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo making out! |
5. Reply 1997
Reply 1997 (Answer Me 1997) is a treat. Sung Shi Won (Jung Eun Ji) is such a spunky, relatable female character that it is impossible (for people with warm blood) not to love her. She lives in the world of super fandom and worships her kpop idol with an extreme (almost dangerous) passion. This drama features an array of interesting and well-developed characters that interact flawlessly with each other in their realistic environment spanning from the late 1990's up to present day. The ending has a sweet twist that is both funny, and romantic (clearly, I love that combination), and there is really nothing but joy, youth, and fun (with some tears too) to be had.
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| Seo In Guk and Jung Eun Ji |
Honorable mentions: I do, I do and The Moon That Embraces the Sun
Right now I am watching Bridal Mask which seems to be another contender for my 2012 list. I am also watching I Miss You and May Queen too. I will try to get a few more Kdramas from 2012 in before the end of the year so that I can come up with a more accurate judgement of the dramas of this year. Please, please, please tell me if there is something great from this year that I should watch.
Bridal Mask is AMAZING, you will definitely put it in your top for this year.
ReplyDeleteYeah it definitely gets my heart racing. I'm a little over halfway. Hopefully I'll finish this weekend. What are you watching right now? :)
DeleteI never got around to Rooftop Prince or Arang, but the rest on your list were also quite amazing. I'm also fairly new to Kdrama (just over a year now), and sacrificed watching many currently airing dramas.. just because there is still so much that I've missed in the last 5 to 10 years! So exciting that there's still so much many more to go through.. :D
ReplyDeleteI know! It's hard work to watch the classics and try to keep up with the current stuff. But it's completely worth the effort. When you have a chance, you really should watch Rooftop Prince. It's fun, romantic, action-packed, etc. Bridal Mask is turning out to be really amazing too. There are so many good dramas out there. I love feeling like I could watch them constantly and there would still be more. Thanks for commenting! ^__^
DeleteI too just started watching kdramas and love'em!. I love that I still have tons to watch left^^.my favorite so far has to be "coffee house" it has everything i like in a kdrama romance,comedy and great actors!^^
ReplyDeleteI watched the first episode of Coffee House but I couldn't get into it. I should give it another chance since you sell it so well :)
Deletecan download korean dramas here http://kdwes.org/
ReplyDelete