Odds and Ends: Year-end drama sickness
by javabeans
javabeans: Oh my god tomorrow is December.
girlfriday: Nooooooooo. It can’t be! I’m not ready for December. There are too many things to do before the end of the year, and I haven’t done any of them.
javabeans: Or finished watching all of them. Every year I make a list of all the dramas I mean to watch and try to keep apace throughout the year so I don’t wind up in November with a bunch of half-finished shows. But every November I always feel like I failed as a drama fan because of all the shows I meant to watch and didn’t get around to.
girlfriday: You’re crazy.
javabeans: YOU HAVE A LIST TOO. Don’t deny it!
girlfriday: I only have one because YOU have one!
javabeans: Well it’s your fault for making this a competition.
girlfriday: I would never make it a competition, because I know that you watch more shows than anyone I know. It would be a useless game that I would lose every year.
javabeans: But don’t you feel like you have to watch everything in order to have an opinion on anything? (Which is not true and not necessary. Just inevitable.)
girlfriday: God no. I have lots of opinions and I haven’t the time to watch everything.
javabeans: But if I DID watch everything, I’d have so many more things to have opinions about!
girlfriday: Yes, because you suffer from such a severe lack of opinions.
javabeans: I’m just saying that the year-end reviews fed the beast and made me crazy. I think they made us all crazy, and blind with eyestrain, and probably hunchbacked. That’s why, in an effort to make this December less of a stressball of constant reviewing, we’re changing up the Year End Review series this time.
girlfriday: We’ll be doing shorter reviews, but MORE reviews, and we’re generally forcing ourselves to be choosier about what we write about.
javabeans: I’ll for sure miss some aspects of our old review style, and we’re keeping some of the key posts like Polls and Editors’ Picks, but I also think our plans for this year are a lot of fun too. (Side note: We’re aware that past years’ polls are no longer accessible. We’re super bummed about them, but the poll provider basically ceased operating and all the old ones are now gone.)
girlfriday: For one, we’ll be getting more input from all our other recappers, which will offer lots of varying opinions and cover a broader range of shows.
javabeans: I think it’ll make us look at the year in a more focused way — rather than writing ten thousand words about all the things we felt about all of the things we saw, we’ll be narrowing the focus and being a little more critical about our choices.
girlfriday: Hopefully, it leads to less blindness. No blindness for anyone is a goal this year.
javabeans: Although now we’ll have to contend with a new pain of deciding what to write about and what to let someone else write about. It’s like Sophie’s Choice: If I choose this drama, will I have to abandon that drama? (Not to be too dramatic or anything.) What if someone else writes about it less effusively than I would? But if I’m the only one who saw that drama, don’t I have a responsibility to write about it so it won’t be neglected like some poor Dickensian Christmas urchin?
girlfriday: Yes, it’s actually causing a lot of angst among the DB staff right now. There’s a lot of begging and pleading and bargaining going on, because nobody wants to abandon their 76th favorite drama of the year. BUT YOU HAVE TO. Them’s the rules.
javabeans: I do think the results will be fun though (after all the initial emotional angsting). We hope you guys will like the changes, although we know change is hard! Still, we thought it was worth adjusting the format and reducing redundancy.
girlfriday: I think we just needed the change of pace because we’ve been doing it the exact same way for a very long time, and I think a creative jolt was necessary, for sanity and such.
javabeans: Yes. I vote for sanity!
girlfriday: Says the person who CREATED the problem for one and all.
javabeans: Hey, I made it my problem. You didn’t have to make it your problem too.
girlfriday: It’s not my fault. Drama craziness is a contagion. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
javabeans: Never cure me!
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Tags: conversation post, Odds and Ends
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1 karen
November 30, 2015 at 8:10 PM
Awwww. Sucks that the old polls aren't there anymore. When I watch an old drama for the first time, I love reading the polls to see what people thought relative to other dramas. And your poll options were always super cool.
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Waiting
December 1, 2015 at 9:06 AM
+1
Totally agree! You had the best polls ever!
Now and again I think back to the 'Mane of Glory' poll (2014?) and at first was confused as to why Choi Jin Hyuk was the only one listed that year and then it dawned on me...who could beat out Wol Ryung?! (Gu Family Book for those who are not familiar). I think I laughed for days!
Too bad the information was not stored in some other way as a backup because you put so much work into it. Our part was easy...read, squeal, laugh, and click the button to select our choice. It was fun to see the trends.
Anything JB, GF and crew do is fine with me. If it needs to change, we'll roll with it and still have lots and lots to enjoy. :D
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loco
December 1, 2015 at 11:01 AM
You comment about Wol Ryung made me go back and re-read the recaps of the episodes that had him. I think I want a show with them- not with the same ending but with the characters..
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Waiting
December 1, 2015 at 12:07 PM
slfowie,
I agree! I would love a little drama special based on the first few episodes. I have rewritten Gu Family Book in my own mind to how I would have liked it (have an actual book and erase the time jump, for example!!).
Thanks for the reply kindred spirit! :)
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loco
December 2, 2015 at 2:54 AM
Yes! it would end all the heartache it had created..
missDVM
December 1, 2015 at 12:17 PM
I ABSOLUTELY have to agree with this. I look forward to the Dramabeans polls every year. It is always so funny and ridiculously entertaining. Please, Dramabeans, keep this as a tradition.
Seriously.
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2 darmini
November 30, 2015 at 8:14 PM
I can't believe it's December either! But I'm looking forward to the new format, especially because you'll be covering more dramas. And of course the blindness of the DB writers.
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darmini
November 30, 2015 at 8:17 PM
The blindness of the DB writers will be avoided, I meant to say.
Sidenote: Thanks for making the website lighter and faster to load!
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3 yayabean
November 30, 2015 at 8:55 PM
No blindness for my dear DB staff please.
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4 Sheelin
November 30, 2015 at 9:05 PM
Thank you for the care you take in your reviews. Your comments and witticism add another layer of enjoyment to kdrama. Just read your book, Why Do Dramas Do That?, and found it to be as much fun as your recaps. Looking forward to more ebooks!
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5 Jig
November 30, 2015 at 9:12 PM
As long as you get all the dramas I liked and forget all the ones I disliked I'll be happy.
(Joking of course. I love the diversity of tastes and opinions on dramabeans! It's what makes our conversations interesting and thought-provoking)
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6 pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
November 30, 2015 at 9:31 PM
I'm looking forward to end-of-year polls (RIP, old polls T_T) but please, PLEASE can we get the multiple choice (at least two choices) tick box on a few categories besides Drama of the Year?
I REALLY don't want to have to choose between Ryu Joon-yeol and Ji-soo for Breakout Performance, that would really be Sophie's Choice :(
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7 pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
November 30, 2015 at 9:33 PM
(I already sent in a request for multiple choice polls via the contact form but I'm not 100 percent sure it went through, I didn't get the green tick saying it was received/sent)
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8 earthna
November 30, 2015 at 9:39 PM
Sorry you had to go through all this but we all love the pain, don't we? I'm excited to see the changes! Thank you for sharing your love of dramas with us. :)
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9 Kiara
November 30, 2015 at 9:49 PM
DB Daesang award goes to....Kim Soo-hyun.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
November 30, 2015 at 10:49 PM
God I hope not. He's cute and it was really good but in no way close to being the performance of the year. I'd give it to Kim Hee-sun (Angry Mom), Yoo Joon-sang/Yoo Ho-jung (Grapevine) or Park Bo-young ahead of that.
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Kiara
December 1, 2015 at 3:42 AM
I'm just joking pogo. He seems to be winning every daesang awards out there that it's becoming a joke.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
December 1, 2015 at 8:11 AM
yeah, I get winning awards for Producer but a Daesang?
oh, well, KBS will probably give him yet another Daesang at their end of year awards since Producer did decently. But I'll be annoyed if IU gets nothing.
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Trinity 🍆
December 1, 2015 at 9:02 AM
I like KSH and think he's a good actor but I'm tired of seeing him win all the Daesang and Popularity awards. There are many other actors and actresses who are just as good or, dare I say, better then him and it's just old to always see him win.
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Kiara
December 1, 2015 at 9:22 AM
There are plenty of actors who are better and more talented imo.
J
December 1, 2015 at 10:48 AM
Honestly, the award shows are a joke althogether. I don't know what they base their winners on.
juniper
December 1, 2015 at 2:35 PM
I will never forgive him for stealing Han Seok-kyu's Daesang lol.
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Kiara
December 1, 2015 at 2:54 PM
The little respect I had left for the Baeksang Arts Awards went out the window that year.
10 Nana
November 30, 2015 at 9:56 PM
Lol.. december snucked on us while we're glued to the screen. Im not that excited abt year end polls anymore..
But for the review you must have Santa!
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11 gracefulegg
November 30, 2015 at 10:03 PM
I don't even want to know how many dramas I watched this year.... so of course let's count.... I might have a problem. I really enjoy the year end reviews and am looking forward to them bust wasn't yesterday September? Good Luck :)
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12 genuinecity
November 30, 2015 at 10:27 PM
~Sigh~ another year has gone by and all I've been (and ever been) doing is watching dramas! Ha, I'm not even mad/sad. Welp, here's to another deliciously addicting Korean drama-filled year!
Looking forward to the year-end goodies, ladies! I'm sure it'll be fun.
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kanz
December 1, 2015 at 7:03 AM
Another year gone by and my watching list just keeps growing. So many good dramas this year and I haven't even watched half of them. Though I did watch some of the year's highlights, Kill Me Heal Me, Producer, Twenty Again, Oh My Ghost, etc.
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13 HANI
November 30, 2015 at 10:32 PM
Looking forward to year end reviews from everyone.
Probably wont join the polls tho. I must admit I watched & finished only few dramas this year. I actually surprise about it myself tbh.
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Jig
November 30, 2015 at 11:35 PM
I feel your pain. I read more recaps than I watched. I will probably base most of my votes on what I read versus what I watched lol
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Manin
December 1, 2015 at 1:27 AM
I do the same! I read more than what I watch. Also because I kinda tricked myself into it while studying. All like "well, the episode takes 1 hour to watch.. BUT it's won't take 1 hour to read a recap.. sooo, I can totally take a little break an read a quick recape before going back to studying!" xD
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Jig
December 1, 2015 at 1:38 PM
That is exactly my logic! My friends think I'm insane by reading spoilers of the drama, but at least I can get my k-drama fix while in school without feeling guilty "wasting" an hour actually watching it! lol
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14 thekellisbear
November 30, 2015 at 10:47 PM
How you previewed old dramas is really cool. I used to just look at Dramabeans and Girlfriday's rating list see if I would watch old shows... now I'm bummed about missing this idea I never had because the polls are gone.
Ha ha ?
But I look forward to the change.
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15 KompaktneHaare
November 30, 2015 at 10:54 PM
waaah!! December!!
Fighting, everybody!
Also, I never cease to wonder how the hell do you find those pictures (screencaps) from that enormous stack of pictures you seem to have..?? They're awesome, by the way.
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16 korfan
December 1, 2015 at 12:09 AM
Yes, December is unbelievably here already. The other 11 months apparently zipped by while we were all drama-watching! Heh.
Thanking Dramabeans and the entire DB staff in advance for the upcoming year-end reviews. Looking forward to reading them!
Thank you also for all you've done throughout the year. Drama-watching just wouldn't be the same without you guys.
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17 nil
December 1, 2015 at 12:19 AM
I thought you guys gonna send a dramabeans daesang awards to jisung for his kill me heal me drama.
Tho i think he is happy enough for a baby girl is million times better than a bunch of trophies
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18 pastmidnite
December 1, 2015 at 1:08 AM
Wow, it's the time of the year already? It really felt just like yesterday that I had fun (and a hard time) with the year-end poll (RIP old polls :-( )
Looking forward to the new style!
Here's to no blindness, no back pain or other kinds of pains!
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19 Manin
December 1, 2015 at 1:29 AM
It's december already? But so much to do! Feel like I'm at least 6 months behind on dramas atm. Good luck with the year end reviews. Will be exciting to see the new format!
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20 stringofpurls
December 1, 2015 at 2:43 AM
A little birdie (er... recapper) told me changes were coming. I think I'm going to miss the old style of year end reviews but I'm looking forward to seeing the new style. I'm glad the polls and the editors' picks are sticking around though.
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21 Den
December 1, 2015 at 5:45 AM
Looking forward to the new format. I'm less excited about the polls though because for the past couple of years it became less fun than usual to put in my vote.
Hope my favorites this year would get some reviews (in no particular order): Ex-Girlfriend Club, She Was Pretty, I Remember You, Warm & Cozy (yes, I did like this ;) ), Oh My Ghostess, Cheoyong 2, Kill Me Heal Me, The Producers, Hogu's Love, and some currently airing ones.
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22 mary
December 1, 2015 at 6:25 AM
So who gets to review Healer, KMHM, and Reply 1988 and how much minion blood was spilled in the assignment process...?
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23 kanz
December 1, 2015 at 7:00 AM
Looking forward to your year-end reviews DB gals! Your reviews are always a joy to read. You can't imagine how happy I am when I watch some obscure shows or shows not recapped here to be reviewed at year-end reviews.
Pray everything is going well with the assignment and whatsnot!
I love your site and year-end reviews and polls are just amazing! Other site may only recap or may only have polls, but you covered it all.. You go ladies!
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24 Auntie Em
December 1, 2015 at 7:44 AM
"Sophie's Choice"? How can you use that phrase for such a trivial matter as picking a drama.
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, read the book.)
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fishfingers_fb
December 1, 2015 at 8:51 AM
lol, if you think picking a drama is trivial, you're on the wrong website!
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Adal
December 1, 2015 at 9:25 AM
LOL. Agreed. This is serious business!
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
December 1, 2015 at 10:23 AM
hear, hear!
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Mia
December 1, 2015 at 9:10 AM
Wow!!! to your pious comment. I know I should not comment but your comment is so self-righteous. I also apologize for commenting self-righteously. Shake my head as I go back to work.
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Adal
December 1, 2015 at 9:30 AM
@Auntie Em
I did read the synopsis of the book, so I do know what you're talking about. Sophie's Choice IS heartrending.
But over here, things are fun and light and 'tongue-in-cheek', so bear with us. :-)
We don't mean to offend.
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25 Yon Yih
December 1, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Oh i totally can understand the dilemma since i've been feeling the same way every Fri n Sat when i can't decide whether i should let taekie be happy or junghwan be happy...my heart can't stand further...y we need to make a choice? Can't she married both n can't we just choose all in the polls...sobs
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26 Kiara
December 1, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Can we have a special award for cali for being the best vampire scholar ever?
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27 Cocoboo
December 1, 2015 at 9:48 AM
December came so fast! I look forward to the new format of the year-end reviews. I always like to check them out. There have been times where I wished I knew what people were talking bout this drama or that drama.
My drama-watching rate has slowed down a lot this year too. :(
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28 fay17
December 1, 2015 at 10:20 AM
Girls I so much love your job![Assuming this is the one and only job that you're dedicated to,don't tell me it's a side one] Almost it makes me wants to drop what I am doing and run to some other parts of the world where some god damn uni will let me have a degree on kdramas lol.Or can I join you? Pretty please?
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29 mindy
December 1, 2015 at 10:36 AM
Are you guys familiar with the internet archive, the Wayback Machine? It's down for maintenance right now but it might be possible that it archived some of the old polls!
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30 redfox
December 1, 2015 at 10:52 AM
yes, the end is approaching. I really think there are a lot of things that are special and different this year. even though there were not very many super-excellent dramas, there were fresh and original characters in many of them, that will be remembered for a long time. We saw nice and warm male leads, we saw heroines, who aimed for more than a good catch, we saw some rebels who really just yearned for closeness.
I nominate Min and Hyun as best couple - not just romance, but of all pairings this year, theirs was the sweetest. closely followed by brothers in Pinocchio.
and for Lump of Charm of the year I nominate Shin Se Gi (KMHM), Yeol (SGG) and maybe Yi-Seok (H2H) and ...well, I´ll leave it up to you
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31 juniper
December 1, 2015 at 2:44 PM
2015 hasn't been that great imo...I had hope in the beginning, but I'm not sure if it was any better than last year in the end. I vote Grapevine for best drama of the year. There's really no contest.
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Kiara
December 1, 2015 at 2:57 PM
Agreed! I took a break from K-dramas and would have missed it. I watched it later thanks to pogo.
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juniper
December 1, 2015 at 3:47 PM
Pogo did you a big favor lol. Ahn Pan-seok is one of the few PDs you can always depend on to deliver.
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fay17
December 1, 2015 at 3:22 PM
Yah,there have not been any single drama that managed to be that much worthy of the best drama title.
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juniper
December 2, 2015 at 8:48 AM
Punch was also pretty good, but yeah, I agree, it wouldn't be worthy of being called best drama.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
December 2, 2015 at 12:08 AM
Grapevine really was great - a true black comedy with a heart (and a flawless cast who communicated that heart brilliantly).
I think what really elevated it above other kdramas was the way it stripped the usual predictability out of the narrative and refused to conform to tropes (nasty mother-in-law, poor Candy daughter-in-law, good-hearted servants who have no agenda beyond caring for their employers etc). It makes for a better story, even if it's not always feel-good.
The popular vote may give the Drama of the Year title to Healer, but for me it's Grapevine. My other pet contender for favourite drama, Sassy Go Go, is far more 'typical' kdrama and feel-good but also wasn't a slave to tropes - a thing it had in common with grapevine despite the wildly different tone and subject matter of the two dramas.
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juniper
December 2, 2015 at 8:32 AM
Yeah, it takes an amazing drama to crush your soul while you bust a gut laughing. What I loved most about it was that it had such a modern idea of class (it threw Candy out the window, as you say lol), and used humor instead of melodrama to critique the parents' lifestyle and values (and in the end, they're victims of their own foolishness). It didn't set up false dichotomies between love vs. money (In-sung's parents loved the baby just as much), it just showed the moral decay that occurs when status and money infiltrate human interaction and overtake genuine human feeling. It didn't use her relative poverty and her in-laws' abuse to sanctify Bom, either--she's seduced by their power/wealth and starts playing their game of her own volition, only to realize that she could lose her soul if she keeps it up. It also challenged the stereotypical (and ridiculous) social order in kdrama (rich people stomp on poor people, poor people cry about it; rich people help poor people, poor people serve them happily). At various points Bom and her parents had the upper hand because In-sung's parents were bending over backwards to keep up appearances as modern, liberal-minded people. I particularly liked how charity became another a weapon in class warfare (they tried to shame her family into silence by giving them money), especially after seeing so many shows where the second gen chaebol hero litters his poor girlfriend with all manner of expensive gifts and sweeps her away to millionaires' playgrounds to court her. Because there's nothing more romantic than being a charity case. Right.
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32 ginnie
December 1, 2015 at 3:22 PM
Looking for the year-end reviews! I always look forward to Javabeans' reviews....back in the day, when javabeans was still a blogspot account, I was already impressed. It just gets better with age (like wine LOL) . Change is good. This site has always been the 1st place for korean dramas recaps. I miss the old stuff but welcome the new.
I hope you'll be able to update the "Ratings" page for 2015 dramas that you've both watched....When the ratings are not there for certain 2015 dramas, does it mean you haven't finished watching them?
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33 drisris
December 1, 2015 at 3:43 PM
May I make a suggestion? Because more and more dramas are being added and reviewed, do you think you could add an A-Z INDEX hotlink just above the "drama recap and review index"? And also on the "ratings" page. It would be easier and quicker than scrolling all the way through the list. Thanks! LOVE your site!
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34 sparkzy
December 1, 2015 at 7:30 PM
Change is always hard. But I have full faith the team at dramabeans won't fail us!
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35 Doremi
December 2, 2015 at 2:06 AM
The most I remember for 2015 would be the autumn dramas that ended oct/nov(Twent Again and She Was Pretty). Sadly after that nothing caught my interest even the Bubble Gum that I thought I will surely watch
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36 bugs_bunny
December 2, 2015 at 7:47 AM
will await the 'new' year-end reviews! when i first started watching kdrama, i read each one of those in the top post section and made notes. over time i have come to luv the variety of all the writers in DB site as well as the commentary section, this has truly made viewing a fun experience.
To all DB staff that keeps this site moving, a big THANK YOU!
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37 seoulful
December 2, 2015 at 10:06 AM
does anyone know what drama the fourth picture from the top is from?
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Ayan
December 2, 2015 at 5:33 PM
Do you mean the picture of a girl and guy sitting on the sofa in front of the tv remotes?
It's from Who Are You, 16 episode drama, starring Yoon kye-Sang and Go Ara in the lead roles, I think there are recaps of the drama on DB.
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seoulful
December 3, 2015 at 8:02 PM
Cool! thanx a lot
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38 jane
December 2, 2015 at 9:39 PM
Yes i agree with what someone said that multiple choice will be good because some genre is so different, its quite difficult to pitch one against another.
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39 risa
December 2, 2015 at 9:56 PM
Sanity and sight FTW! I'm proud of you!
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