Bean friends, I need some advice.

Nothing’s really been able to hold my attention lately drama-wise. I finally got around to watching Stove League and I really like it, though I’m not sure I’m fully invested in all the characters 5/10 episodes in, though the actors are doing a wonderful job.

I was wondering: is Black Dog an underdog story or is it more of a slice-of-life/school drama? I feel like it could be what I’m looking for right now, but I’m so all over the place that I kind of need some more input. I would consider trying Diary of a Prosecutor but the day job makes me averse to both legal dramas and prosecutors, so…

What I want is something where I can really root for the characters and get invested in the story. I tried Crash Landing on Yupu, and while I LOVE Son Ye-jin’s character, the overall drama is pretty meh to me. I’m debating Chocolate but I don’t know if I have it in me to slog through a lot of tragedy right now. I mostly feel like I’m just waiting for Itaewon Class to start, but I want something to enjoy until then.

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    Chocolate is a cry fest, so if you want to cry it’s perfect (the acting is top notch, the romance is painfully slow, the amount of tragedy is ridiculous). I just started Diary of a Prosecutor and recommend you watch the first twelve or so minutes. I’m pretty sure you’ll laugh.

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      unless you are a cynic then you just want to punch the writer

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    Did you watch My Fellow Citizens, My Strange Hero, or Inspector Jo? I finally got around to them and all three are great so far. Plus, all eps are around 30 min.

    Never Twice is a current one and is a weekender so a lot of eps, but they are only like 20 something minutes and the mom and baby at the heart of the story are wonderful.

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      I LOVED My Strange Hero, one of my favorite 2019 dramas. Never got to the other two because of time, but they’re on my list. Not sure I can do a weekender, but I’ve been debating giving Never Twice a shot.

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        I keep using this word for it, but Citizens is delightful. At least so far. It is fast paced, good editing, and fun use of the OST. Though Siwon is the MC, and doing great, it is the heroine and the big bad (can not get over how young she looks) who steal the show. Well, and his father and sister who are also conmen and cant get over that he married a cop.

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    I vote for Diary of a Prosecutor! I understand your aversion because of your day job but the show is more focused on the prosecutors’ lives rather than their cases. It’s not the usual ‘gung-ho!’ ‘Let’s get all the bad guys!’ ‘Good lawyer, fighting bad guys!’ that we’re always seeing. It’s a slice-of-life approach and it’s funny.
    It’s set in a slightly less than average city and the Prosecutors deal more with civil cases rather than criminal cases and when they do, it’s low-grade criminal cases. It’s a laugh! No pressure 😅😅

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      Hmm, if it’s civil I could give it a shot – I often work as a defense attorney, and civil rights is my main specialty, so prosecutors are basically my enemy and I have a lot of trouble garnering any sympathy for them. I adore both the leads and slice-of-life is my jam, so I may be able to do it without getting rage-y. I basically had an aneurysm before rage-quitting Touch Your Heart because it was so stupid I couldn’t deal.

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        I haven’t touched a legal drama since Touch Your Heart. I can’t. My braincells deserve better.

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          I think I wrote three rants on my wall before I was like “this is not worth it” and stopped watching. That, and I started Hulk-raging every time I saw Lee Dong-wook’s terrible, awful, no-good, should-have-his-law-license-revoked character, so it was impossible for me to watch.

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            I don’t even remember if I ended up finishing the drama. I think I’ve erased all my memories of this show and specifically of everything law related. I just remember rage. Then nothing. And then it was over.

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        💀💀💀 I can’t blame you. I, too, shy away from most medical dramas. I just can’t!

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          The last legal drama I liked was Lawless Lawyer which was just fun and not about prosecutors, so I liked it more. Also, it wasn’t really a legal drama to me, more of a revenge drama where the characters just happened to be lawyers who used the law creatively, which I’m all about. None of this righteous “I only represent the innocent” bullsh*t. I feel like being a doctor would be worse, because medical dramas are so much more over-the-top.

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        The heroine in I Can Hear Your voice is a defense attorney, but it also has the mind reading Noona slayer so it doesnt take itself too seriously.

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    Black Dog is a story of a temp teacher’s struggles in the cut-throat education industry in SK. Acting is top notch, so you’ll probably root for FL right away. However, this drama is serious business. A lot heavier than Diary of A Prosecutor, which I enjoy for the comedic moments and characters.

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      I think I’ll give both a shot and see what grabs me – DoP seems to have a lot of people enjoying it, and if it’s more slice-of-life and comedic I can probably handle it.

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    Chocolate is pretty depressing! The combination of YKS’ dimples and Jang Seung Jo’s gorgeous face is carrying the show for me. It’s like, can you get even sadder? I’m not particularly attached to any of the characters either. The tragedy seems rather contrived but from the latest episode, the romance is starting to pick up so yay that!

    Black Dog is more like a slow burn. I enjoy it! Well, I’ve been enjoying it more as of late but I’m not sure what exactly about it I’m enjoying. I think it’s both Slice-of-life and and an underdog school drama focusing solely on the teachers and their dynamics. If you want to see La Miran just crushing it, check it out. There’s a character that ignites some inside rage that makes you want to bitch slap him every time he talks. I could do without him but otherwise, it’s a slow burn good show.

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      I love Ra Mi-ran and Seo Hyun-jin so I was excited to see that they were doing something with a meaty story together. I just never started because I’m having so much trouble starting things these days. I think I’ll give it a shot, though.

      Still undecided on Chocolate, since I don’t know if I have it in me to deal with lots of tragedy, but you never know.

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    I recommend Diary of a Prosecutor, if only for Lee Sun-kyun’s beautiful voice. It’s a lot like Misaeng because it’s a character-focused drama set in a typical workplace. I already feel really connected with the cast just 6 episodes in. And on top of that, it’s also pretty funny with heartfelt moments sprinkled in.

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    Skip Chocolate, it’s a very uneven sloggy cryfest. Why am I watching? Who knows.

    Have you tried No Second Chances? It’s a family weekender, and the first few episodes may not draw you in initially, but it gets more fun, and the OTP is cute as a bug.

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    I can’t recommend Black Dog enough, especially because I feel like it hasn’t been getting enough love.

    I’d say it’s both underdog and slice-of-life. It’s a slow-burn workplace drama in which you follow Go Ha-neul, a green temp teacher at a private high school. She’s a soft-spoken adorable little baby teacher, but can definitely stand her ground when needed. But because she’s new, she makes mistakes, even if she’s a hard worker, because new jobs are hard on everyone. But that’s ok, because she has mama bear Ra Mi-ran to back her up when needed.

    It’s extremely easy to root for Ha-neul in her quest to acquire a permanent teaching position. There’s also so many (often understated) character moments that make you feel warm inside as she slowly becomes more comfortable with her colleagues.

    While it is a school setting, it focuses more on the teachers’ daily struggles rather than the the students’, which to me has been quite refreshing. That said, as it is a workplace drama, there is a lot of talk about conflicts that occur when teachers try to do administration (rather than taking you on a journey on how to teach the best classes), which to me has been really interesting but for someone who just wants to relax after a day of work dealing with similar issues might not be the right thing to watch.

    Anyway, I clearly have been loving this show a lot. In comparison, I’ve also been watching Stove League, which has been good, but I’ve also remained a little disconnected. There’s also Never Twice, which is a crazy, adorable ride, as weekenders should be, and has me willing to die for Kwak Dongyeon’s character Hae-joon and his soft spot for baby Yeol-mu. He’s a phenomenal actor (and Hae-joon is very different from Se-ho in Boksoo!).

    Anyway. To answer your question. BLACK DOG IS GREAT.

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      You make a good case, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be giving this a shot, because I love a good story like that. I don’t mind school politics, or even politics in general in dramas, but it has to be relevant and well-done, and not just stupid chaebol trying to keep his position/company politics that are boring and shoved in to the plot to give the characters something to do in the last four episodes.

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      Listen to Daisy Daisy is the smartest

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    If you want something easy on the eyes and the brain then I would suggest Never Twice. Its cute.

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    If you want an underdog story I’m liking Nagi’s Long Vacation. It’s a jdrama and it’s just 10 eps, really fast paced and I find the heroine adorable but it’s a realistic setting so no absurdity like in current kdramas.

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    I don’t have any recommendations, just here to say I also am a bit lost in the Kdrama landscape ~ I started Crash Landing a couple of days ago, and am committed to it now, regardless of feelings (I’ve got my mom, my sister, and my friend all texting me about it…).

    I personally cannot watch medical dramas, I have given up that genre due to my work. I admire you for still trying to watch your field in this one ~

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