Comments on: 2012: Something for everyone? [Year In Review, Part 1]

By: Breeze

Breeze — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:45:18 +0000

This list is so different than the one I took inspiration for publishing here by taking Google’s Zeitgeist as the source..
http://www.thekoreaguide.com/2012/12/16/top-korean-dramas-for-the-year-2012/

By then from what I understand that the list would be based more on the buzz that was created before and during the show and this one is more of an insiders point of view.. And so very insightful.

Two of the dramas that has made me really curious is the Nice Guy and Answer me 1997.. which I have kinda added it to my bucket list and will watch it once m done watching Sinsaui Phoomgyeok…

Thanks for the insights..

By: Chiomy

Chiomy — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 03:21:43 +0000

I completely agree with you.

By: Kiara

Kiara — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 02:24:49 +0000

Thank you much JB . If it wasn’t for your recaps on QIHM’s I would have missed one of my favorite K-drama of the year.

By: Applegreen

Applegreen — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:39:28 +0000

Yes, I too share your sentiments on Nice guy. I just couldn’t understand all the rave and praise heaped upon nice guy. I just couldn’t. I didn’t connect with the characters, and the plot was very disjointed and non-sensical.

By: Applegreen

Applegreen — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:36:30 +0000

OMG Javabeans, you have no idea how much I agree with what you’ve written. I was basically nodding my head throughout the read, thinking “Exactly!!!”. I like reading your insights. And it sure is a bonus that what you’ve said reflects my sentiments. Keep up the good work. I’m a frequent visitor of your blog so I’ll be coming back for more!

By: Lady Seoul

Lady Seoul — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 02:55:02 +0000

Thanks~ for yet another year end review! Which reminds me I need to finished watching Shut Up! Flower Boy Band. La sighs. I don’t know why I can’t get passed the 2nd episode..

By: Ky

Ky — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:23:07 +0000

I like your take on Nice Guy! Yep its pretty much the traditional stuff, very nicely executed. Which indeed speaks a lot though it’s kinda sad many don’t appreciate that!
I’m no fan of wacky narratives but this one was interesting enough to keep me fairly engaged until its last run. I won’t say it’s the best drama out there because it really isn’t but it will surely remain as one of the more memorable ones. It’s a pity because I really wanted to love it and there are times when I still think ‘Hadn’t it been for that abrupt ending I would’ve liked it a lot more.’ It did make narrative sense but having sat through an entire 19 and a half episodes of complete ‘twisted-ness’ the epilogue just didn’t seem fair. Eesh I was left feeling hollow instead of being satisfied and that’s simply frustrating! But well overall I enjoyed it, great cast and directing and oh I love the soundtracks!

By: lili

lili — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:43:40 +0000

Excellent :

*Gaksital- Great story (deep, very deep), fantastic actors and nice score. This drama simply blew my mind away…

*Queen In Hyun’s Man – sweet, very sweet… by far the best time travel drama this year. Lovely soundtrack.

Good :

*Nice Guy- great cast, good story and beautiful score (particularly Xiah’s song “Love is like a snowflake”)…perfect drama for the season.

*The Moon that embraces the sun- Good actors except for Han Ga In who I thought was a bit stiff. Interesting overall.

*Arang and the Magistrate- Awesome actors with sizzling chemistry. Best OST of the year imo.

Average :

*Faith- Love the romance in this one, Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun have chemistry, it’s undeniable…2nd best OST of the year IMO.

*Rooftop Prince- wonderdul premise with hysterical moments…the ending is unfortunately a let-down. Great cast nonetheless.

Disappointing : (I don’t want to use the word “bad”)

*Big- Great premise but the ending sucks.Period.

“What a travesty to build the drama around one actor, especially when his true identity wasn’t the “hero” of the story. You put the star before the story, and we all suffered.” THIS, you took the words right out of my mouth.

*Dr Jin- Worst chemistry ever, were we supposed to believe that Song Seung-heon and Park Min Young’s characters were in love?!? Their characters were boring and it was painful to watch everytime they appeared on screen…Song Seung-heon is not what I call a fantastic actor (there’s a scene where he is supposed to faint/passed out, it was so unnatural that I couldn’t stop laughing). Screenwriters were probably on high during the whole show. Waste of a good side cast (Lee Bum Soo, Kim Eung Soo,Kim Jae Joong…), the only interesting thing about Dr Jin was the political aspect…

In Progress :

*Cheongdam dong Alice- I like it for the moment, Park Shi Hoo is so talented, hot and charismatic that I couldn’t possibly miss this one lol.

*I miss you- Good, a little too melo but I like the cast so wait and see.

*The King of Dramas- Awesome for the moment, bring it on^^

Not listed :

*I do, I do- I didn’t finished it + I’m not a fan of the lead actor.

*Oohlala Spouses- I didn’t finished it because I didn’t like where the script was going…

By: RealKDramaaddict

RealKDramaaddict — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:52:07 +0000

JB, thank you for your thoughts on 2012 Kdramas.

Such an uneven year. QIHM was a sweet treat and Arang with Faith were quiet and addictive. The goat!

I am astonished that your take on Nice Guy matches my thoughts and the general dislike of this overrated drama with disjointed narratives and emotionally convoluted net of sick, obsessed, twisted, but beautiful on the outside people.

Melo: Five Fingers did pull me in with the consistent current of strong emotions that were coherent, albeit overacted at times.

Salary Man was very good and the first episodes of RTP were hilarious.

Thank you again for your time and this eloquent analysis.

By: bd

bd — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:03:44 +0000

Top drama of the year was AM1997.

INR2012 was an underappreciated romcom and one of the better written and acted ones in K-dramaland (just like “The Man/He Who Can’t Get Married”).

Unfortunately, a lot of duds this year.

RTP – aside from the early humor of the “Joseon Power Rangers” – it had a nonsensical/lazy script that was full of clichés and tired, predictable scenarios. Even the “romance” was laughably forced; RTP was this year’s “Secret Garden.”

“Big” was a mess all around and I’m beginning to think the Hong sisters are vastly overrated as writers.

“Faith” – nothing (script/dialogue or acting) was engaging enough in the 1st few eps for me to continue watching.

“Dr Jin” – laughably bad, which in itself was reason to watch early on, but eventually that and the good acting by much of the supporting cast wasn’t enough to keep watching this trainwreck.

“Oolala Spouses” – The concept had promise, but it didn’t quite work out the way it should have (the writers made the husband an overly unlikeable character and the actress over did the “male mannerisms”).

TMTETS – not a total dud since the early eps with the “kid actors” were charming and well acted, but the rest was entirely forgettable. Kind of funny how Kim Soo-hyun won so many awards/plaudits for his acting (did a decent enuf job) when his kid counterpart blew him away.

“Arang” – haven’t yet finished this, but started off strong and then kinda meandered. The storyline became too embroiled w/ the “baddies” (evil mom, the young apprentice and the old guy) and none of them were particularly engaging and didn’t have the charm of the earlier eps w/ the banter btwn the 2 leads and w/ other endearing characters like the shaman.

Overall, aside from AM1997 and INR2012 – a rather weak year for K-dramas (granted, a few others which I haven’t watched such as QIM and Gaksital are supposed to be pretty good).