How was 2009 for you?
by javabeans
With the year coming to an end, that means it’s time to take stock of the past twelve months (well, eleven really) in kdramas. The broadcast stations will be holding their awards ceremonies at the end of the month, and I’m working on my wrap-up of 2009’s offerings — as are some very talented (and prolific!) drama-watching fans — which I’ll post up closer to the end of the year.
But this is your turn to weigh in on what you liked or didn’t. I didn’t do a year-end poll last year (after putting one up in 2007) and people seemed to really want one, so it’s back.
coup
Note that for most cases, I used the word “favorite” as opposed to “best,” so vote on your favorite in each category, whatever that word means to you. It could be the one you thought was the best quality, or simply the one you enjoyed the most. Polls will be open for voting till the end of the month.
FAVORITE DRAMA OF 2009
I tried to be inclusive but naturally couldn’t list every drama that aired in 2009 (there were more than 50). I included dramas that aired the majority of their episodes this year, but left off those that aired more than half their episodes in 2008 (like East of Eden) or haven’t yet aired half their runs (Will It Snow For Christmas).
Did I leave out your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
Update! Added:
FAVORITE THRILLER OR BLOCKBUSTER DRAMA
Dramas in this category often boast big budgets and feature big names in front of and/or behind the cameras, whether that means lead actors like Lee Byung-heon or A-list screenwriters like Choi Wan-kyu (Swallow the Sun) or Song Ji-nah (Story of a Man). These dramas may also feature stories with broad scopes, lots of suspense and/or heated power struggles — mobsters, assassination attempts, espionage, and money games, they’ve got it all.
FAVORITE HISTORICAL DRAMA
Some of these are more conventional historicals, while others are in the fusion bent, but all are period pieces and feature some great costuming, acting, and fusion-inflected music and score.
FAVORITE TRENDY DRAMA
Trendy kdramas, which are mostly set in contemporary times and tend to focus on relationships and modern urban life, aren’t the exact same thing as romantic comedies, but the two terms have become almost synonymous when talking about Korean dramas nowadays. (This is particularly true because trendy no longer means exclusively contemporary. The growing fusion trend is giving rise to the “trendy sageuk” such as Hong Gil Dong and Tamra the Island, both of which are, of course, not set in modern times.)
FAVORITE MELODRAMA OR SOAP
A couple of the dramas below seem like they belong more in 2008 (A Star’s Lover, Wife’s Temptation) but they did indeed broadcast more than half their episodes in 2009. The oft-derided (but highly watched) “makjang” genre fits in here, where fast developments employ outrageous plot twists and do anything under the sun to keep ratings high, whether it’s the use of devices like switched identities, secret babies, revenge vendettas, adultery, violence, and/or tragedy. But not all soaps are makjang, and while an entry like A Star’s Lover may also be considered a trendy, but I think its tone is pure melodrama.
FAVORITE FAMILY DRAMA
Family dramas are difficult to summarize in 100 characters (my word limit here), because they’re often populated with lots of members of a sprawling, multigenerational family. Tonally, there’s no restriction; they can range from straight/dramatic to light-hearted and comic. The themes most often explored are love and marriage, generational conflicts, and interfamily relationships. It’s stuff that sounds generic on paper, but the execution and tone of the drama sets the series apart from each other.
FAVORITE CHARACTER
If someone were to say a character’s name, would you immediately have a sense of not only which drama they were in, but what kind of qualities the character embodies? Has his or her name become shorthand for an entire set of traits? (“Sageuk F4,” for instance, probably elicits an immediate mental picture. As does “middle-aged Gu Jun-pyo.”) If you have to puzzle over a character’s name, wondering where he/she was from, they probably aren’t in this list.
FAVORITE COUPLE
For better or for worse, modern kdramas focus heavily on love relationships between its main characters. Often we’ll get the obvious love triangle or rectangle, although sometimes the lines will get even more messily entangled and create other romantic polygons. This kdrama emphasis on love could spark an entire discussion of its own, so I’ll just say that this means that a drama’s appeal is often linked inextricably to the effectiveness of its main pairing. It’s even true when the drama is (ostensibly) about something other than romance, such as medicine, law, business, war, or espionage. When a main couple fails to spark and create chemistry, no matter how well their parts are written, a drama loses some of its energy. But when they do come together, boy does the end result end up much more than the sum of its parts. So, who sizzled this year?
FAVE ALTERNATE PAIRING
Sometimes an alternate pairing is just as fun as the OTP (“one true pairing,” aka the main couple) — or even more so. When an OTP becomes too drawn out, often a second pairing will lighten things up and allow you to enjoy romantic chemistry without as much angst. Or perhaps you suffer from Second Lead Crush Syndrome (as I often do), and find the supporting male lead more compelling, or deserving, than the hero. You know it’s a losing proposition but you’ll root for Mr. Second Lead to get the girl instead.
NOTE: To clarify (sorry for the confusion), Boys Before Flowers’ true “soulmates” are Jan-di and Ji-hoo (Gu Hye-sun, Kim Hyun-joong). “Soeulmates” is the nickname for Kim Bum and Kim So-eun’s characters.
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
I’m talking about people who were relatively unknown before a 2009 drama made their star rise. Therefore, even though Go Hyun-jung acted the heck out of a memorable character, she doesn’t count because she’s already an A-lister. Even some actors who aren’t at her level — like Kim Bum (Dream), Kim Kang-woo (Story of a Man), or Jang Geun-seok and Park Shin-hye (You’re Beautiful) — weren’t counted because they were all known prior to their roles this year. On the other hand, the following actors went from unknown names to familiar faces overnight:
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
I learn this lesson time and time again: You can never judge a drama until it’s actually aired, no matter what it seems like from the pre-show promos and teasers. It cuts both ways: Sometimes a drama will be surprisingly good. But conversely, when pre-show buzz seems strong and/or certain well-loved stars are making television comebacks, it’s natural to get one’s hopes up. Unfortunately, that often leads to disappointments when the drama falls short of our expectations.
MOST OVERRATED DRAMA
I know the word “overrated” carries some baggage, but here I want to use it as the direct opposite of “underrated” — as in, you feel it got more attention than it merited (even if the drama was generally good). This is a small category, given that to be here, these dramas had to be popular enough in the first place to be considered overrated.
MOST UNDERRATED DRAMA
Now for the other end of the spectrum: These dramas had smaller fanbases and lower ratings numbers, but were, sadly, not given their due. Thank goodness for mania fans, eh?
(And because I know someone will ask: No, I didn’t include You’re Beautiful in either the overrated or underrated categories. It didn’t get high enough ratings to be put in the above list, but its media and fan buzz was so strong that I don’t think you could call it underrated, either.)
RELATED POSTS
- 2008 Year in Review, Part 4: Finding merit in the mediocre
- 2008 Year in Review, Part 3: Dahee Fanel’s 2008 Review
- 2008 Year in Review, Part 2: A Grump Reviews 2008
- 2008 Year in Review, Part 1: Witterings on 2008 Dramas
- 2007 Year in Review, Part 4: The Rest of 2007
- 2007 Year in Review, Part 3: Dahee Fanel’s drama round-up
- 2007 Year in Review, Part 2: Thunderbolt’s hits and misses
- 2007 Year in Review, Part 1: The Best of 2007
- How was 2007 for you?
Tags: 1 show to rule them all, A Star's Lover, Accidental Couple, Angel's Temptation, Beanie Awards, Boys Before Flowers, Brilliant Legacy, Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Dream, Friend, Heading to the Ground, Hero, Hon, IRIS, Ja Myung Go, Job Well Done, Loving You a Thousand Times, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen of Housewives, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Strike Love, Style, Tamra the Island, Triple, year in review, year in review 2009
![[Cast Away] A psychometric marries his enemy to foil her plans](http://d263ao8qih4miy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/castaway_header1.png)
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351 luyee（Jang Keun Suk is NO.1）
December 9, 2009 at 7:01 AM
YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL 别说是年度了···感觉近几年最好看的剧···加油··
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352 FasirisFay
December 9, 2009 at 7:45 AM
What about YOUR favourites in each category, Javabeans? Will you post them after the polls have closed? Just want to know your opinion!
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353 淡淡的回忆
December 9, 2009 at 8:20 AM
呵呵。。最喜欢美男啦。。真的好好看哦，自己已经完全被迷住了，。，
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354
December 9, 2009 at 9:16 AM
是美男啊
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355 Yemzel
December 9, 2009 at 2:37 PM
I moved back to my country, and internet here really sucks, I even went Kdrama cold turkey after BBFs but I ran into a friend and we got talking then I started watching old coffee prince, one thing lead to another, next thing you know I'm a squealing rabbit-pig. So I watched like a third of what I did before, but I still voted.
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356 lina
December 9, 2009 at 5:06 PM
YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL
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357 Nujiiko
December 9, 2009 at 6:02 PM
I LOVE "THE CITY HALL" VERY MUCH !!! ^ ^
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358 vivian
December 9, 2009 at 6:14 PM
LOVE “THE CITY HALL” so MUCH!!!!!
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359 vivian
December 9, 2009 at 6:20 PM
支持《city hall》车大叔！！
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360 yd4nam
December 9, 2009 at 7:13 PM
you're beautiful all the way ~
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361 nano
December 9, 2009 at 7:28 PM
Once again I would just like to point out that HTK and Jeremy (JGS and LHG really) are beating Soeulmates in the alternative couple category....That is so awesome!!!!!
Yay for You're Beautiful...BEST DRAMA EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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362 迷迭香0214
December 9, 2009 at 7:42 PM
“you are beautiful” Fighting! Fighting!!!
love jang keun suk
我們小帥-張根碩，你要加油哦！原來是美男也加油~！！
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363 Icarusfalls
December 9, 2009 at 8:12 PM
City Hall is 2nd or 3rd in polls...!!! Yah!!! I wish it was 1st.. but silver or gold ain't bad!!! ^_^
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364 Jessica
December 9, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Love "You are beautiful" so much!
"You are beautiful" Fighting !!!!!!
Wuli Jang Keun Suk, Park Shin-Hye Fighting !!!!!! ^ o ^
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365 joe
December 9, 2009 at 9:33 PM
i loved you’re beautiful..
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366 fanny
December 9, 2009 at 11:45 PM
是美男啊
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367 js
December 10, 2009 at 12:13 AM
YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL 别说是年度了···
love jang keun suk
我們小帥-張根碩，你要加油哦！
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368 GoRN-91
December 10, 2009 at 12:20 AM
I love You,re Beautiful Veryyyyyyyyyyyy much!!!
You're Beautiful Fighting!!!
[Cheer from Primadonna Thailand ^.^]
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369 GoRN-91
December 10, 2009 at 12:38 AM
CHANG GEN SUK ILOVE IT
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370 rice
December 10, 2009 at 2:22 AM
是美男啊 加油
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371 laladina
December 10, 2009 at 2:26 AM
oh!!! I love jang keun suk~~~
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372 KIMI7
December 10, 2009 at 2:43 AM
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL (... > 3<...)
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373
December 10, 2009 at 5:06 AM
changgenesuk Iam your chinese girl fan loving you love you
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374 MONICA
December 10, 2009 at 9:38 AM
支持朴MM和张根硕~~是美男啊，加油！ You are beautiful,keep fighting!
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375 KBC12
December 10, 2009 at 8:57 PM
Cityhall,Cityhall,Cityhall,
This is one of BEST drama ever.......brllilant script,brllilant acting,brllilant music.... Oh, the emotions!!......Best drama2009....Best drama for years come............
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376 vivian
December 11, 2009 at 5:31 AM
love You ,JANG keun suk!!!
You’re Beautiful Fighting!!!
硕，很爱很爱你！！！
加油哦！！！
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377 Winnie
December 11, 2009 at 6:55 AM
I can't vote for the "Which were your favorite TOP THREE dramas of the year? "
because I think "Style" is really good drama which missed!!!
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378 victress
December 11, 2009 at 7:12 AM
You're beautiful~~~
i like it !! and i think it's the best of this year
i will support You're beautiful and keun suk!!!~~~
keun suk move move move@@!!!~~~
i love you ~oppa~
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379 Yang
December 11, 2009 at 9:32 AM
(JANG KEUN SUK),YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL.
I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH (FOREVER)....!!!!!!
Fighting Fighting Fighting..
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380
December 11, 2009 at 9:07 PM
支持朴MM和张根硕~~是美男啊，加油！ You are beautiful,keep fighting!
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381 TH
December 11, 2009 at 9:45 PM
Why isn't You're Beautiful under "Most Overrated Drama"? :/
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382 shiro401
December 11, 2009 at 9:56 PM
@TH
Maybe because the highest rating it got is only 11.9%, so it cannot meet the definition of overrated.
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383 my Hyongnim
December 11, 2009 at 10:00 PM
YOU 'RE BEAUTIFUL you 're the bestttttttttttttttttttttt
hyongnim I miss you !!55+
I love YRB so much and I really love JKS'S smirk HAHA
HE made me very surprise I love hyongnimmmmmm
Shinhye is really cute then she was been a boy . mayb I'm crazy for her hehe
Although YRB got the rating not hight in Korea but in Thai and I believe that other country be really HIT and HOTTEST
I want to see A.N.JELL againnnnn
I miss them Heappp!!
but BOF 's the big disappoint for me. sorry then I say..that TT-TT mayb I was one of all thinking that.... I seen F4 ver. taiwan and japan I relly love them but Korea I'm not TT^TT However I 'll supported Korean series Forevver55
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384 my Hyongnim
December 11, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Keunsuk OPPA I love you
You'R BEautiful Fighting!!
Taekyong-minum-shinwu-jermee
you all
be in OUR heart always!!^^
JKS Prince of killing smirk..Oobs!!..kILLING SMILE haha!
Oppa saranghayo
FIGHTING!
From: JKS's Fanclub @popcornfor2
and Thailand Fans everyone more hehe I'm waiting for you ^^
(Keun-gi crazy)5555555
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385 my Hyongnim
December 11, 2009 at 10:15 PM
I 'll be Pig-Rabbit for you
my star ^^
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386 asdfghj
December 12, 2009 at 12:58 AM
i am 23 this year, not too much of a k-drama fan and never liked any idol dramas, but surprisingly i enjoyed You're beautiful a lot. i wasn't even a fan of any of the cast before watching. The drama has some touching moments and made me smile a lot. and i gotta praise Park Shin Hye. her acting is very good, not to say she's only 19 years old. I've watched her older dramas, and this girl can really act even at such a young age. after discovering her dancing videos on youtube, i'm so amazed by her dancing skills. her singing is not bad too for a non- professional singer.
hope she gets more attention and recognition for her talent. she deserves credit too for the popularity of YB.
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387 Beth
December 13, 2009 at 5:03 AM
Jang Keunsuk is the best!!!!
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388 星星
December 13, 2009 at 5:06 AM
张根硕 加油 永远爱你~~
YAB 非常好看~~
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389 leesurang
December 13, 2009 at 5:26 AM
I love you are beautiful so much.
I think that it very perfect drama.
leehonggi leehonggi
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390 jojo
December 13, 2009 at 10:42 PM
I LOVE CITY HALL SO MUCH!
IT'S THE BEST KOREA DRAMA IN 2009.
KIM SUNA AND MR.CHEUNG ARE PERFECT COUPLE I'VE NEVER SEEN.
HOPE THEY CAN HAVE MORE DRAMAS IN THE FUTURE.
ALL THE STAFF IN CITY HALL ACTED SO GOOD THAT I LOVE EVERY ONE! EVEN THE BAD GUY "BIG BROTHER", OWING TO WHO WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH DEEP LOVE BETWEEN MILAI AND CHOKU.
THANK YOU FOR KBC.
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391 jojo
December 13, 2009 at 10:48 PM
CHCHCHCH CH CH
CH CH CH CH
CH CH CH CH
CH CH CH
CH CHCHCHCHCHCH
CH CH CH
CH CH CH CH
CH CH CH CH
CHCHCHCH CH CH
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392 sunah
December 14, 2009 at 9:24 PM
City Hall forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best drama, best comedy, best love story, best chemistry, best OST, best actor, best actress, best supporting cast and best ...best of everything!!!
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393 Charmagne
December 14, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I love You're Beautiful and everything, but I think the best drama of the year was Shining Inheritance/Brilliant Legacy. Come on people! If the ratings doesn't say it, then what else is there? lol. There was chemistry between Han Hyo Joo and Lee Seung-Gi. The OST fit the drama so well. There were so many elements that made the drama so interesting and entertaining--brother going missing, fighting for the inheritance, love triangles, and the conniving and evil wench of a step-mother.
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394 IVY
December 16, 2009 at 12:48 AM
CH CH ~~~~
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395 Jingle
December 16, 2009 at 6:21 AM
BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA.... QUEEN SEONDEOK , JUST LOVE LEE YO WON!
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396 Kerr
December 16, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Same here... QUEEN SEONDEOK! I've read Lee YO-Won got the best actress Grimme award, that's awesome! She's one of my favorite character in QSD, she was great & is such a beauty!
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397
December 16, 2009 at 6:05 PM
you are beautiful
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398 Icarusfalls
December 17, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Love the love from the city hall-ers!!!
CH forever!!
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399 tas82
December 17, 2009 at 8:45 PM
I think Queen of Housewives should be on the underrated list!!!! Tae-bongsshii,lol!!!
CITY HALL was by far the best DRAMA of 2009 don't get me wrong I loved YAB, Shining Inheritance, Queen of Housewives, and loving Smile at the mo BUT in terms of having the full package, the acting, script, direction, music, setting, emotional roller coaster ride, even simple things like wardrobe (ahem MFL), not forgetting the realism and I'm sorry but it has to be said, out all the dramas the best chemistry to hit our screens this yr it has got to be CITY HALL ALL THE WAY!!!!
I was really looking My Fair Lady but in turned out to be just ok, shame really.
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400 czak
December 20, 2009 at 7:59 AM
okey let me just start of by saying that this year has the best dramas ever...
okey let me start of with the drama that made the most noise...
BOF it had the great cinematography, sceneries and made my imagination wild thinking about the life of people born with a silver spoon. I really loved GJP at the start he had this strong character that really made me wait until the wee hours of the morning waiting for the raw videos in youtube. but toward the end he really pissed me off with his cowardly behaviour -for me the saddest part of this drama was the time when GJD hid in his closet so that she will not be found out by his fiancee. i mean she was all crumpled in the closet hiding, where is the love in that. GJP & GJD's chemistry was mediocre
the only thing that made me finish the drama was because i feel in love with the Seoul couple (SYG & Gaeul scenes were the best from their 1st meeting until the end). and lastly my over the top addiction to hyun joong made me see though the drama... I know many people would bash on my for being a fangirl, what can I do I loved him since WGM...oh well... i rate this drama as 7
then there was YAB, I love the quirky funny hilarious scenes between GMN with the ANjells. I love all scenes with jeremy and his wild imagination, GMN with her acting tough & clumsy mistakes, SW with his good Oppa image, TK with his OCD tough & bossy ways, UEE was the best with her schemes. for me the breakthrough actor would have to HongKi or UEE.
but the sad part about this drama for me was the ending... i mean is there any drama more disappointing than this one???
really hated what the writers did to the last 3 episodes...
Brilliant legacy was one of the drama that made me fall in love with LSK.. he's just so adorable... ah i Love him... him being a rich jerk was really the cutest and darnest thing...
QSD, i feel in love with this drama due to Bidam, he really captures my attenstion everytime he is in the scene, and even when his scene is finished i cant stop thinking about him, he is like the korean Johnny depp... he is a character actor...
one drama that i LOVE this year was SOUL. it was purely the best written drama ever... from start until end it made me on my toes. i think it was the most underrated drama cause people tend to like comedy or melodrama...
as for IRIS, i am still looking for a time to set down and watch it in one sitting, as in an IRIS marathon....
for other drama i like the plot of the drama "temptation of a wife" and "angels temptation"... cant help it, i really like revenge plans...
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