It’s a bit embarrassing to publish one’s list of favorite Kdrama shows & performers in April of the next calendar year, but I had been trying to finish watching a few dramas that I’d never gotten to last year before putting this list together & I’m glad I did. I know that my list is completely subjective to my particular taste, so I wouldn’t assume anyone else would share the preferences that I’ve listed below, but, to me, these shows and the people who played the parts in them would, at the very least, be worth your time to check out. I hope you enjoy watching some of them at least!
[I also acknowledge that I missed a number of shows that I probably should have made time to watch, including The Fiery Priest, Leverage, Liver or Die, Miss Lee, SKY Castle, Touch Your Heart, and Vagabond. Hope to catch up sometime…]
Best Lead Actors (listed alphabetically)
- Hyun Bin (Crash Landing on You)
- Jang Dong-yoon (The Tale of Nokdu)
- Jang Ki-yong (Search: WWW)
- Jung Hae-in (One Spring Night)
- Nam Joo-hyuk (Dazzling/The Light in Your Eyes)
Best Lead Actresses (listed alphabetically)
- Chun Woo-hee (Be Melodramatic/Melo is My Nature)
- Kim So-hyun (The Tale of Nokdu, Love Alarm)
- Lee Na-young (Romance is a Bonus Book)
- Oh Yeon-seo (Love with Flaws)
- Son Ye-jin (Crash Landing on You)
Honorable Mentions: IU (Hotel del Luna); Park Min-young (Her Private Life); Shin Se-kyung (Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung)
Best Supporting Actors (listed alphabetically)
- Gong Myung (Be Melodramatic/Melo is My Nature)
- Kang Tae-oh (My First First Love, The Tale of Nokdu)
- Lee Jae-wook (Search: WWW)
- Son Ho-jun (Dazzling/The Light in Your Eyes)
- Son Hyun-joo (Justice)
Best Supporting Actresses (listed alphabetically)
- Jeon Hye-jin (Search: WWW)
- Jeon Yeo-been (Be Melodramatic/Melo is My Nature)
- Lee Da-hee (Search: WWW)
- Lee Joo-bin (Be Melodramatic/Melo is My Nature)
- Lee Sun-bin (The Great Show)
Best New Actor/Actress (listed alphabetically)
- Kang Mi-na (Hotel Del Luna)
- Ong Seong-wu (At Eighteen)
- Shin Ye-eun (He is Psychometric)
Best Couples
- Crash Landing on You (Hyun Bin & Son Ye-jin)
- He is Psychometric (Jinyoung & Shin Ye-eun)
- Romance is a Bonus Book (Lee Na-young & Lee Jong-suk)
- Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (Shin Se-kyung & Cha Eun-woo)
- Search: WWW (Lee Da-hee & Lee Jae-wook)
Biggest Disappointments
- Dazzling—Honestly, I wanted to like this show so much and the individual acting was very good. The first few episodes totally had me. But then it just turned into a confusing and frustrating mess in terms of the plot and writing that couldn’t be saved by outstanding acting
- Abyss—The two leads (Park Bo-young and Ahn Hyo-seop) are adorable together, but the plot felt so alternately loopy and heavy-handed…and frequently just too HEAVY, that I had to drop it, though it was amazing to see ageless beauty Kim Sa-rang pop up in a cameo, effortlessly playing a college student even though she’s in her 40’s
- Melting Me Softly—Again, I really like these lead actors, but it was just too silly and over-the-top that I couldn’t continue watching
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