SOOO. It’s May, 2021. Just like last year, it feels a bit late in the game to post my “Best K-dramas” list for 2020. I put off the making of the list in January because I wanted to finish some shows I had not yet gotten to watch (two of which I had to purchase on DVD: “World of the Married” and “18 Again”), but then I honestly just kept putting it off because…2020 was, you know, rather exhausting.
HOWEVER, with the results of the Baeksang Awards having just been published (here’s a write up in Forbes about the winners from one of my favorite Western K-drama journalists), I realized that I should, no MUST put my own opinion out into the K-dramasphere. So without further ado, here is my list of the best shows, actors/actresses, etc. of 2020. There were SO MANY great shows this year that I’m not limiting my list to ONLY the Top 10, but we’ll start there:
- Hospital Playlist: I watched the first episode and thought it wasn’t for me—I’m not really into hospital shows; my friend Becky told me to give it another chance & here it is at #1. The cast is impeccable, down to the smallest roles, but especially the 5 leads with Jeon Mi-do in a star-making performance. The dialogue, plot, direction, and the music were all top notch and wonderful. Can’t wait for season 2! The director & writer of the Reply series strikes gold again
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: I thought it was going to be a bit too gothic & cartoonish—but it turned into a profoundly moving & unexpected plunge into human longing & loss. All three leads were extraordinary, but Oh Jung-se KNOCKED it out of the ballpark as Sang-tae!! The mental hospital cast & patients were outstanding as well, plus the twist actually fooled me! Beautiful storytelling and incredible visuals
- Into the Ring / Memorials: This was a most unexpected delight. I HATE politics, so I thought I’d despise this show, but Nana was a REVELATION in the lead role as a complainer who runs for city council—she had hilarious comedic ability, poignant depth, and great romantic chemistry with Park Sung-hoon. Great performances the entire cast (especially Nana’s two friends and her parents) & such an unusual cinematography & direction—like a Kdrama version of Wes Anderson!
- Find Me in Your Memory: I think that I may love this show more than anyone else I know, perhaps because of Mun Ka-young’s incredible presence, but I also adored Kim Seul-gi’s performance as her protective sister just as much, along with all of the HBN News crew, a tragic love backstory, and truly chilling villains stalking our Ka-young!
- More Than Friends: To me, this was kind of this year’s Be Melodramatic—3 female friends and their romantic & family relationships, with sharp dialogue, an unusual central love story, and wonderful performances all around from a gorgeous cast
- (I’ll Go to You) When the Weather Is Fine: This show was definitely COMFORT FOOD in a difficult year, but my wife and I were so eager for each new episode of this quiet romance set in a country town; the side characters were hilarious and endearing as well. A must watch!
- Itaewon Class: Park Seo-joon gave a commanding performance in his lead role as a bar owner in pursuit of revenge—though his haircut was a bit hard to get used to—and overall the show was incredibly well made! However, while it was innovative in the direction the love triangle took, I didn’t ever connect with the direction the last third of the drama took and I never bought the OTP (sorry, I’m a Kwon Nara fan!)
- When My Love Blooms: I’ll be honest, there were times when this 1980’s/contemporary romantic melodrama dragged a bit and the plot was a bit much to be believed, but the four leads were so deeply compelling and the against-all-odds love story was so gripping that it covered a multitude of K-dramatic sins
- 18 Again: I wasn’t expecting much from a remake of a Zach Efron film, but the actors, PD, and writer pulled off a delightful and poignant exploration of a shotgun marriage gone sour, with both spouses wondering what life would have been like without the other, ending in an ultimately uplifting message in the same vein as one of my all-time favorites, Familiar Wife
- The Good Detective: This was SO BINGE-WORTHY! Intriguing noir-ish crime world with subtly hilarious dialogue; top notch acting, script, and resolution; score was a bit weak and just not enough romance!
- Start-up: After the first episode, I thought this was going to be my favorite drama of the year, but with each subsequent episode, I found I liked it just a little bit less—a deadly case of second lead syndrome, perhaps. Still, it was obviously made by an extremely talented PD, writer, and cast
- How to Buy a Friend: At only 8 episodes, this high school suspense drama may feel out of its league, but I really fell for the relationships in this show, along with great vivid cinematography, a break-out performance from Lee Sin-young, Shin Seung-ho, & Kim So-hye, with some intense character arcs, and even a little poetry to boot!
- Do You Like Brahms?: The first half of this was so precious—especially Park Eun-bin’s earnestly lovable violinist, as well as Park Ji-hyun’s presumptuous, fallen violin genius. The music was splendid, but the male leads were all a bit underwhelming and the plot began to drag in the latter half, though it resolved well by the end
- My Unfamiliar Family: This drama about a dysfunctional family had a very unusual plot—I was never sure where things were going to turn next. The cast was solid, loved the always charming Kim Ji-seok (Children of the 20th Century) in particular, but it was also a bit too heavy at times.
- Extracurricular: This high school show was similar in some ways to How to Buy a Friend, though distinct enough to merit a place on the list with such a great cast—especially long-time drama star Choi Min-Soo as a bodyguard for teenage prostitutes—which is one of the not so great aspects of the show—along with Kim Dong-hee, Jung Da-bin, and the sociopathic Park Ju-hyun—so different from her role in A Piece of Your Mind—all giving engaging performances. It was unsettling in so many ways, but I couldn’t stop watching
Notes on the others shows I completed:
- A Piece of Your Mind (I loved the two leads & the direction/ cinematography/ score, but there was a serious lack of inertia that kept it from living up to its unique premise)
- Backstreet Rookie (again, I loved the two leads & their families—but not much beyond that. Also, it was seriously gross at times with the Jamaican wannabe who wrote erotic manhwa)
- The Game: Towards Zero (enjoyed watching it for the most part, but it felt pretty average)
- The King: Eternal Monarch (loved some of it, other parts felt REALLY contrived)
- Meow: The Secret Boy (part of me enjoyed the cuteness; part of me felt really creepy for rooting for a girl to fall in love with a cat who turned into a human)
- My Holo Love (cute but too fluffy; again, kind of weird rooting for a girl to fall in love with an AI hologram)
- Record of Youth (the Parks were wonderful and beautiful, even while the show collapsed around them)
- SF8 (some interesting Black Mirror-like stories)
- The School Nurse Files (this was one of the WEIRDEST dramas I’ve ever seen, but I was digging it for a while, then I kind of stopped caring near the end)
- Train (loved the tragic story, but it just lost steam and my interest)
- Was It Love? (enjoyed till the end, but not great enough to make the top shows)
- XX (too short and the sound was really weird, but enjoyable!)
2020 DRAMAS THAT I DROPPED / DISAPPOINTMENTS:
- 365: Repeat the Year (maybe I should give it another chance?)
- Alice (liked the actors, but lost interest in story)
- Chip In (too over the top)
- Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (couldn’t stand Go Ara in this role)
- Eccentric! Chef Moon (liked the actors, but got bored)
- Lie After Lie (too melodramatic)
- Mystic Pop-up Bar (felt like a Hotel del Luna wannabe)
- Please Don’t Date Him (bored)
- Private Lives (didn’t like the characters)
- Search (couldn’t get in to the mystery or military setting; NOTE: I never finished DOTS)
- Sweet Munchies (got bored, but maybe I could try again…leads seemed good)
- Tale of the Nine Tailed (felt like a Goblin wannabe; sorry to my friends who loved it)
- Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation (couldn’t get into the plot)
- When I Was Most Beautiful (didn’t like the leads)
- The World of the Married (so well made, but I just found that I didn’t really care about any of the characters)
DRAMAS THAT I RANKED AS BEING FROM 2019: Black Dog, Chocolate, and Crash Landing on You
BEST LEAD ACTOR
- Kim Dong-wook (Find Me in Your Memory)
- Jang Sung-jo (The Good Detective)
- Kim Soo-hyun (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
- Park Se-joon (Itaewon Class)
- Seo Kang-Joon ((I’ll Go to You) When the Weather is Fine)
- Son Hyun-Joo (The Good Detective)
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
- Jeon Mi-do (Hospital Playlist)
- Mun Ka-young (Find Me in Your Memory)
- Nana (Into the Ring / Memorials)
- Park Eun-bin (Do You Like Brahms?)
- Seo Yea-ji (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
- Shin Ye-eun (More Than Friends)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Choi Min-Soo (Extracurricular)
- Lee Jae-Wook ((I’ll Go to You) When the Weather is Fine)
- Oh Jung-se (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, The Good Detective)
- Woo Do-hwan (The King: Eternal Monarch)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Ahn Eun-Jin (Hospital Playlist, More Than Friends)
- Kim Seul-gi (Find Me in Your Memory)
- Lee Elijah (The Good Detective)
- Moon Jeong-Hee ((I’ll Go to You) When the Weather is Fine)
BEST NEW ACTOR/ACTRESS
- Kim Hwan-Hee ((I’ll Go to You) When the Weather is Fine)—not really “new” as an actress but in more of a main part
- Lee Do-hyun (18 Again)—again, he’s been in shows before, but this is his first lead role in a regular drama
- Park Ju-hyun (A Piece of Your Mind, Extracurricular)—these roles could not have been more different, but she nailed both with nuanced performances
BEST COUPLES
- Kim Dong-wook & Mun Ka-young (Find Me in Your Memory)
- Kim Soo-hyun & Seo Yea-ji (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay)
- Park Min-Young & Seo Kang-Joon ((I’ll Go to You) When the Weather is Fine)
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