Annnnnnnd another year comes to a close.

Big thanks to our recap minions HeadsNo2, gummimochi, and kaedejun for sharing their reviews with us and joining the spirited discussion for the Editors’ Picks this year. There wasn’t even any hair-pulling, and only one person lost an eye! It’s been a great year for K-dramas and an even better one at Dramabeans because of all our readers, so thanks to you guys for making this community what it is. Okay, enough mushy stuff.

And the winners are…

SONG OF THE DAY

Queen In-hyun’s Man OST – “내 남자, 김붕도” (My Man, Kim Boong-do) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of 2012 Editors’ Picks [Year In Review, Part 6] (4,080 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 315 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Dr. Jin, Fashion King, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, Nice Guy, Padam Padam, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, year in review

If there’s anything that Santa has taught me over the years (other than a musical mnemonic about single-malt scotches), it’s that Christmas is a time of giving. Dramaland gives us so much throughout the year, that I thought it was finally time for me to stop being a grinch and give back, out of the goodness of my heart. *waits for credit*

So this year I’ve made a Christmas list, and every drama I’ve watched this year is on it. Because everyone deserves presents. Yes, even you, Show.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

The King 2 Hearts OST – “Hang-ah’s Dream” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dramaland: The gift that keeps on giving [Year In Review, Part 5] (8,856 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 138 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Gentleman's Dignity, Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Faith, featured, Gaksital, I Do I Do, I Miss You, I Need Romance 2012, King of Dramas, Nice Guy, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The Chaser, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, To the Beautiful You, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review

My first year-end review!

I was so excited for this opportunity that I decided to watch as many dramas as I could in preparation this year, and all but forced myself to doggedly stick with obvious train wrecks because I figured, “Hey, at least it’ll give me something to write about.”

If I learned anything, it was that I should never do that again. That’s a life lesson every drama viewer should learn early in their infancy, so I’ll just chalk it up to some late blooming on my part. Ergo, take some of these review choices with a grain of salt and (hopefully) not as a pure representation of taste.

This was the year for time traveling heroes, questionably nice guys, single-minded kings, guardian angels, reapers, rockers, brothers, heroes, and hanbok-wearing chickens. Not every year has a bandwagon, but 2012 sure did; there was more time traveling than you could shake a stick at. And for most of those offerings, you’d be shaking that stick pretty angrily.

Since hindsight is 20/20, I’m riding out this year’s trend by posing this question to each drama: If I could turn back time, what would I do differently?

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Read the rest of If I Could Turn Back Time [Year In Review, Part 4] (7,565 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 154 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Dr. Jin, Equator Man, Fashion King, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, Love Rain, Nice Guy, Oohlala Spouses, Operation Proposal, Padam Padam, Queen In-hyun's Man, The King 2 Hearts, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, To the Beautiful You, year in review

Looking at the buffet table of 2012, I’m left in awe at the vast array of possible selections before me. The sheer number of choices is growing every year and I feel like I have to taste-test the premiere and make a quick decision of whether to keep digging in or move on. Sometimes you don’t just know for sure until you’re left with the aftertaste.

And because some dramas that fall within the same genre can have unique flavors, I’m using a Taste O’Meter to assess this year’s dramas. Was it sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or savory? Maybe more than one?

Like any “Thanks to…” in a good Kpop album: My unending thanks to javabeans and girlfriday for the opportunity to let me write about what I love; to HeadsNo2 for the squee-fests and love of makgulli; to kaedejun for the laughs, hugs, and love of Oppa; and last but not least, to YOU GUYS for being awesome readers. I put in a good word for y’all with Santa but he may have used my note as a coaster instead. Or a tissue.

The series below include the ones seen in its entirety, listed chronologically(ish):

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Read the rest of A Variety of Flavors in 2012 [Year In Review, Part 3] (4,403 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 130 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, featured, Full House Take 2, Gaksital, I Do I Do, Marriage Plot, Nice Guy, Operation Proposal, Queen In-hyun's Man, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The King 2 Hearts, To the Beautiful You, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review

Review extravaganza time!

I know: Already? It feels like just the other day I was killing myself to corral all my thoughts in coherent fashion in a monster review of 2011′s dramas, and already it’s time to lose sleep wrangling my thoughts together for 2012. Time sure flies when you’re having fun, or old. Guess which one I am?

These days I shy away from blanket statements like “This was an awesome year” or “This was a terrible year.” Dramaland has been putting out so much material that all the nuance gets sucked out of a flattening statement like that. If anything, 2012 was the year it overflowed with variety—so yes, there were terrible shows, and there were awesome shows, and there were shows every step in between. But thanks to the explosion of cable programming—aided by the launching of not one, not two, but four new cable stations boasting big drama lineups—there was just about something for everyone.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Shut Up Flower Boy Band OST – “Jaywalking” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of 2012: Something for everyone? [Year In Review, Part 1] (9,584 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 260 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Arang and the Magistrate, Big, Color of Woman, Dr. Jin, Dream High 2, Faith, featured, Gaksital, History of the Salaryman, I Do I Do, Ma Boy, Nice Guy, Oohlala Spouses, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, Standby, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, Vampire Idol, Vampire Prosecutor 2, year in review, You're Here You're Here You're Really Here

And so it ends, and we have to say goodbye to the nicest guy we’ve never seen anywhere in the world – the drama world, anyway. More than just coming full circle, our characters (and especially our side characters) are able to finally move on from the shackles of their pasts in a satisfying way, even if they might have had to jump through one too many off-screen hoops to do it.

Some payoffs inevitably feel more earned than others, but at least we’re offered something sweet and hopeful to chase away all the bitter suffering. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t need a box of tissues for the journey ahead.

Final episode ratings clocked in at an even 18.0%, a solid and successful finish to a solid and successful show.

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Read the rest of Nice Guy: Episode 20 (Final) (4,569 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 346 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Moon Chae-won, Nice Guy, Park Shi-yeon, Song Joong-ki

This certainly is an emotional powerhouse of an episode, with Maru and Jae-hee coming to some startling (and sometimes frustrating) realizations about themselves and how they relate to each other. Now that Eun-ki’s back, she’s not about to let anyone off the hook as far as her dead daddy goes, and the only thing standing between her and a pile of bodies is Maru. I think, anyway. It’s hard to tell when he’s actually in there or when it’s his empty shell walking around.

Note: Please, please do not post any spoilers even remotely related to the final episode, out of consideration for those who haven’t watched it. As a fellow fan and as a recapper, I ask that you please try to contain all the feels. Nothing with a “Spoiler Warning” or a “The ending made me feel XYZ.” We’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow. Thanks! ♥

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Read the rest of Nice Guy: Episode 19 (3,586 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 79 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Moon Chae-won, Nice Guy, Park Shi-yeon, Song Joong-ki

Hey guys, just stepping in to recap this one episode because someone is busy ogling her Oppa in person (Priorities!), and because you really needn’t ask me twice to spend a day with Joong-ki. I’m easy like that. Let the melo and mayhem begin.

As finale week approaches, it’s fallout time for Maru and his precarious house of cards. Eun-ki begins to enact her revenge, unconcerned by the fact that the person who might suffer the most might be her own damn self. Can you call it karmic retribution if you have to throw yourself under the bus to get there?

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Read the rest of Nice Guy: Episode 18 (2,914 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 175 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Moon Chae-won, Nice Guy, Park Shi-yeon, Song Joong-ki

(I’m pinch-hitting on Nice Guy today, but fear not, we’ll resume with our regularly scheduled programming next week when HeadsNo2 comes back.)

I am happy to have a chance to weigh in on the show, which I’ve been faithfully watching and finding very entertaining, despite (or maybe because of?) some crazy-up-the-wazoo character behavior. But very compelling all the same.

Today gives us a bit of a merry-go-round of lies and cover-ups and more lies, with everyone putting on their best two faces. Admittedly that’s not a huge departure from the norm, but with the stakes climbing ever higher, every additional lie and loaded omission adds perilous weight to this tower of deceptions that’s on the verge of collapse. Now that, I’m looking forward to. Boom!

SONG OF THE DAY

Lucia – “연극이 끝나기 전에” (Before the play ends) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Nice Guy: Episode 17 (4,267 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 95 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Moon Chae-won, Nice Guy, Park Shi-yeon, Song Joong-ki

Good news and not-so-good news? Monday-Tuesday’s Oohlala Spouses looks like it’s getting its extension, while Wednesday-Thursday’s Nice Guy is not.

It’s no secret how we feel about extensions ’round these parts (almost universally met with dismay), so I’m not super thrilled about Oohlala getting two more episodes, although I can see how it may be more about giving succeeding drama School 2013 extra time. That show has just started filming, and for whatever reason it seems like they’ve been running behind schedule all this while. Oohlala’s story doesn’t need the added time, and in fact I’m feeling a little dread about Oohlala now that it’ll need to find more material.

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Read the rest of Extension for Oohlala Spouses, not for Nice Guy (645 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 71 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Nice Guy, Oohlala Spouses