Good writing plus an actor/actress that doesn't measure up can't evoke chemistry. Bad writing plus good acting can still do a bit of damage control. When we talk of chemistry, it's usually in the romance category and there are actors and actresses who knows how to pull such chemistry irrespective of the writing. So to your question...
How natural do the actors act. Are they stiff when shooting the scenes that are meant to convey a brewing romance or they flow with the mood.
Another is the actors strength. There are some class of actors and actresses that it takes someone of like strength to match the chemistry so it doesn't come of as an unbalanced scale. If there's as much as 1.) an unbalance which now 2.) happens to be so glaring you can see it literally, chemistry is gone.
Another angle is when there is actually good acting , writing and direction but one of the leads isn't buying or selling the romance,like we had in Remarriage and Desires between Kim Hee-sun and Lee Hyun-Wook. Lee Hyun-Wook was selling but Kim Hee-sun wasn't buying at all.

But there are actors whom good writing and good acting can't save in the romance section but only skillful direction can save. For example, I haven't seen much directors use Kim Ji-suk's facial swoon to sell a romantic chemistry, it's always the writing and his acting but his romantic smile doesn't. I recall that in Monthly Magazine Home he was said to have sibling chemistry than romance chemistry with Jung So-min but that's just the way he smiles and he can't help it. My Unfamiliar Family kind of utilized and honed his smile wrt his romance when it came to direction so it came off as romantic care instead of familial care.

I don't think we have that much issues with bromances, sismances and chemistry between family members.

When I think of good chemistry, whether between actors or people irl, I think of people who seem to think along the same wavelength and who "fit" with each other. That is, if they seem natural and their banter goes smoothly, touches seem natural, speech is easy and not stilted or awkward. I think it is a result of two people having open and friendly personalities, similar senses of humor and timing, and an ease with each other. There is definitely a little je-ne-sais-quoi in the mix too, something intangible that just makes it work.

Where actors are concerned, I generally attribute good chemistry to the actors' actual personalities, not necessarily that it is something they can force.

When I read your question, I thought it would be easy to answer, but it isn't! I couldn't think of any particular definition except to say I know it when I feel it. So, chemistry must (at least for me) evoke a feeling or emotion. Then one scene in particular came to mind which is in Empress Ki when the characters played by JCW and HJW are riding horses along the beach and I went back and watched it to see why that came to mind. Aside from the actors, the horses, the beach, it was the music that really evoked a feeling in me. So, I think music is one of the key components. I wonder if chemistry is a somewhat undefinable quality that we just know when we feel it?

I think the chemistry is the human part where nobody has a real control. It depends on the actors' personality, their own experience, the age gap, etc.

If the actors are confortable and friendly with each others, it often shows on the screen.

But actors who never really date, the romance scenes tend to lack. For example Park Shin-Hye, she was a good actress in the other scenes but her kiss scenes often lacked before.

Sometimes, with the Korean sunbae-hoobae type of relationship, it can be more difficult to create a natural relationship on screen.

After the writting and directing are important too. I think Park Seo-Joon is great for the romance part. But in Itaewon Class, his character was written with no interest in the FL but suddenly it changed at the end. So I think he couldn't make it work with the sudden change of character. I had the same issue with Yoo Yeon-Seok in Hospital Playlist. He had a lot of chemistry with his last partners but in the whole season 1 of HP, his character showed no interest in GW and it didn't work when suddenly he was written like he fell in love with her.

For me is exactly what you said "having good actors who seem natural together". I don't care about the script, direction or anything, just the actors.

Innocent Man was crazy but I loved Chae Won unnie and Joon Ki together. If they don't do another drama together soon maybe I'll rewatch that one LOL (even though I still have nightmares of Joon Ki's make up).

I've always found chemistry completely subjective. Lots of times beanies gush about a couple's chemistry while I find none, and vise versa.

So I have come to the conclusion that it is not a set-in-stone observation.
It is just like different people have different impressions on us, it is the same for different actors, not only they have different impressions on us viewers, but also on each other as people. And then these actors go on and have a relationship, any kind of relationship, on screen. Their level of ease, spark, animosity, caution, openness, or any other energy between them, which is in essence their chemistry, will have different impressions on us viewers.

Chemistry isn't only for romantic couples. Chemistry must exist between every two people in a show to have the best result, and impression, (have I said impression enough already??) on audiences.

To answer your last question, I don't think it is easy to answer just how.
Sometimes actors just don't like each other, are uneasy, shy, mentally or even physically unsynched, or they aren't comfortable with the writer, the director...
Some things just can't be helped or changed by sheer will. And these energies, basically the chemistry, unconsciously affect the viewers' perception of them.

Age, experience, naturally friendly or energetic disposition, more openness, things like these all probably help in increasing chemistry. And it can probably be achieved by hard work and practice, but I don't think it is a simple step, or decision just to take going from this show to their next work.

I've always considered the ability to create chemistry in direct sync with the possession of charm with the individual. If you know how to charm, creating chemistry with anyone not inclined to hostility is a piece of cake. I've always considered charm to be easily defined as the ability to make people comfortable in your presence. And the thing about chemistry, it really only needs one sender and one receiver to work. Having two (or one emotionally influenced), that's what we call 'a sizzle'.😏

Well, this question is too difficult for me to answer. And I can see that many have given their two cents here, so I’ll refrain from trying to answer this.

But what interests me in this sub-thread is whether chemistry is totally subjective. In the list below, I will list some OTPs I found having great chemistry in the drama they were in together. If anyone of you think any of these OTPs do not actually have chemistry, do let me know. My assumption right now is that great chemistry is quite objective:

1. Live Up to Your Name (Kim Nam-Gil and Kim Ah-joong)
2. Dali and the Cocky Prince (Kim Min-jae and the FL I can’t remember her name)
3. Another Oh Hae-young (Erik and Seo Hyun-jin)
4. Romantic Doctor 1 (Seo Hyun-jin and Yoo Yeon-suk)
5. The second lead couple in Another Oh Hae-young (Kim Ji-seok and the actress I can’t rem her name)
6. Hometown Cha Cha Cha (Kim Seon-ho 😍 and Shin Min-ah)
7. My Unfamiliar Family (Kim Ji-suk and Han Ye-ri)
8. Forest of Secrets 1 (Bae Doo-na and Cho Seung-woo)
9. Coffee Prince (Yoon Eun-hye and Gong Yoo

I am not an expert. What I see for on-screen chemistry is, it is like the exposure triangle in photography: acting , directing and the script. Each of them matters.
And I also think casting director should also take some of the credits as well. (Though I am not sure that there are separate casting director role in K drama production.) That's for the presentation.
What audience sees is totally up to themselves. Sometimes, I find an OTP very cheesy but my sister is loving the pair.
Apart from chemistry, I usually don't like watching actors who literally seem like they are acting (if you know what i mean).

Two extremes. Watch the couple together in 'Now We Are Breaking Up', then watch the couple together in 'Something In The Rain'. In one the actors are merely reciting dialog, looking into the middle distance rather than interacting with their partner. In the other the pair are engaged and aware of each other, obviously enjoying being in each other's company.

A third example is the recent drama 'Monthly Magazine Home'. The series was supposed to have been a romance but, especially on the actress's part, strong 'sibling' energy was being given off. She engaged with her costar well enough but there was a wall between the pair that 'romance' was never going to penetrate.

It reminds me of magnets. It is where two pieces of the halves either try to run away or pull at each other like crazy. It is the lack of any friction/interaction which makes it lukewarm in my eyes.

I am not sure I can describe what makes it. Sexual tension, attractions, fascination, adoration, intensity. The sum of all the parts is never equal to it's total.

And this is true for more than just ML/FL pairing. Here are a few examples which are not conventional lover's pairing but have an crazy chemistry for me.

1. Devil Judge (Ji sung and Park jin young)
2. School 2013 - Kim woo bin and Lee Jong suk
3. Beyond evil - Shin Ha kyun and Yeo jin goo.

Like Shin Hye Sun in School 2013!
That show if full of stars.

Thank you as always for your insightful comments and knowledge. It helps me understand things I know little about.

That makes no sense because these same companies have always come and gone, made money and didn't long before the rise of kdramas and music groups from Korea became popular in the West.

Stop blaming it on 'Westernized' when your favorites make mistakes. You ain't their gatekeeper and they are telling you, to your face, they want worldwide money and are taking chances to get it.

JYP and CJ ENM are in completely different categories in K entertainment industry, aren't they? Can we compare them like this?

Hum... Shopping Wang Louie writer gave us Do Do Sol Sol La Sol, I wouldn't count on her.

I agree with tabong! I also want a simple murder-free romcom. The world is full of horrible things & I want a distraction.
Right now my favorite show is Be Melodramatic. More of this type please!

Just watch latest episode too. So sad they have 1 episode this week (it is bcoz of Chuseok holiday in SK?)

Glad my Viki subsciption are worth in-a-while then 😆.

Sad story in parts but the book club was so sweet. I quite like these slow stories this one was pretty heavy particularly with the female leads family story but the small town get togethers were really nice.

My attitude, I can forgive but I won't forget.
I don't have to build sort of any special attachment towards any actor, actress, idol in SK as everyone is entitled to their own life. They reap what they sow.
As long the storyline is good enough, it would be fine for me.
Any sort of feeling attachment including hatred, condemnation, love... it will tolls your heart.

Totally depends on the scandal for me. A lot of the scandals I hear about don't really seem like scandals at all, and others are nasty rumors that later turn out not to be true. I have no issue watching actors making a comeback after situations like that.

If they committed an actual crime, especially if it harmed someone else, then I'd rather not watch them in anything. Events that are long over are harder, especially if they were very young at the time. But if they did lasting damage, I can totally understand people not wanting to watch something that that person is in. And that's probably not a risk most people who do casting are willing to take. I don't know any details about your bullying example, but maybe for me it would depend how bad it was? Some nasty comments when you were 12 is one thing, but a sustained tormenting of someone might be another. The first I could probably forgive (which of us wasn't a jerk sometimes at that age?) but the second would be harder for me to understand.

I do agree that Korea seems to assume guilt in these situations, and I wish we could get all the facts before we cancel peoples' careers.

Depends on the 'scandal'. I think Korea uses that term very loosely - two consenting adults dating is also a 'scandal' 🙄. Similarly 'bullying' covers a spectrum. There's a good post on r/KDRAMA on school violence which talks about how the term bullying might diminish the severity of the crime in a lot of these cases.

A broad line I'd drawn for myself was to not watch anything starring people convicted of or credibly accused of sexual crimes - can't watch stuff with Kang Ji-hwan or Park Si-hoo for example. But I've watched 4 Lee Kyung-young dramas this year so I guess I'm not as rigid on those boundaries as I'd like to believe 🤷‍♀️.

Like others I think it depends on what the scandal was - and often if it was really true. It seems like every now and then there’s a big internet pile-on and a lot of extra details get added with not a lot of fact checking (not just related to SK celebrities).

I think you can. But then you should always remember that actors are actors. You don’t really know who they are more than the fictional characters they play. If forgiving makes you feel good and can have fun watching their work again, I think you should. But if you really can’t forgive them because their wrong doing is too bad, it’s ok, too. There is no right thing wrong thing to do about this. You just do what you feel you want to do.

I forgot to say the other reason this show is not working for me is the consistent ad breaks. It’s just over 20 mins in and I thought they haven’t had the ad break yet and she walks into the kitchen and I immediately thought oh here it comes. I paused to write this knowing even if this isn’t the time for the spotlight, at some point in this episode at least one of the main sponsors will be interrupting the story.

I agree, if I can't get behind a certain actor, I try to power through it if the other actors are doing a fine job or if the story is good. The OST has to be a solid selection, I believe it helps amp up the scene and the emotions trying to be conveyed in that moment.. But theres also the ffw button lol

What a bummer! I am very attuned to soundtracks and listen to them often, so I think this would be jarring for me too. I don't think that I've ever had a soundtrack for a drama that I've watched be a complete dud for me, but there are definitely some where I only like one song, or am only into the instrumental tracks.

I think the characters are a really big deal for me. I need someone to cheer for or someone that I find really interesting in some other way, and the dramas I struggle with are the ones where that doesn't really happen.

Find it very hard to watch family drama/ toxic family members and unprofessional/ abusive behaviour in a professional setting. Forecasting Love and Weather, for example, had tonnes of both and it was my most reluctant bean this year. Somehow dragged myself over the line.

All 36 episodes are available on Viki if you can access it.

iQIYI also has all Love Between Fairy and Devil (and the animated version). Appears to be free up to episode 31.

A couple of days ago it wasn’t on Netflix in my region! I will check it again tmr if they have it already.

This is one of the best cdramas out there right now of this type. And I'm actually on my second watch and it's as good as the first.
Also the OST in this one is TOP NOTCH!!!

Yes, just start watching C-drama again after a very loooooonnnnngggg time.
My last Cdrama was Legend of Condor Lovers.

Oh I thought they were releasing 2 episodes daily everywhere. That means there's only a week till it is fully released there. It is fully available on Viki and Iqiyi but with their VIP subscriptions. It's also on the dark site as every other show is.

I think it's one of the better sageuks in recent memory if only because it deals with slightly different issues and the setting is mostly outside the palace. The way the main leads' relationship develops is also believable.

But like most sageuks it's too long (20 episodes!) and drags after a point. I'd say give it a try if only for some excellent work by both Il-woo and Yu-ri.

Bossam seems to focus more of the love story in the first half of the series and then politics in the second half.

I'll admit I didn't like Jung Il Woo's character. He came off as someone who's nice deep down but has a real chip on his shoulder. He would constantly say mean/awful things when angry and got angry easily/often. I didn't enjoy watching his son navigate through his mood swings.

What have you tried watching? I loved Bossam—loved the music, actors, cinematography, all of it. But I like sageuks in general. I love Jung Il-woo too.

I love the variety of topics that get covered in this thread and this week was particularly interesting.

A day trip sounds great, hope you find somewhere nice to go. In the UK everything will be shut on the unexpected bank holiday Monday so people will need to be creative to find things to do in nature/visiting friends etc. if they are not planning on watching the historical event.

I haven't watched EVE but your note on brand promotion and sparkly eye shadow had me LOL.

I think it’s under new management.