Beanie level: Loan shark with a heart of gold

Day 19 – Best used trope / Best subverted trope

The Makeover Scene. A Journey To Love did a reversal in ep24 when Ning Yuan Zhoua and RuYi were undercover as Govt Officials. NYZ initially acted as a doting husband when he was picking jewelry for his “wife”. Only for RuYi to turn things around and had her “husband” model outfits for her instead.




They also had a conversation after about how it only makes a man happy treating a woman as a doll during dress up.

#2023RoundUp
#AJourneyToLove

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Day 18 – Favorite villain

Seo Do Young played by Kim Young Kwang in Evilive.



#2023RoundUp

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The proud hubby smile is the best one yet! 🥰

#Park’sMarriageContract ep7

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Day 17 – Oldie (non 2023) you loved the most

I completed watching 3 non-2023 dramas. Among those I chose 100 Days My Prince. Eventhough I know I liked the story, I wasn’t a big fan of any of the main actors at the time so I dropped it back in 2018. I picked it up again this year because I started to like D O. I ended liking the story of Won Deuk and Hyo Shim a lot. I loved how their relationship improved in time. It is not perfect but it was an enjoyable watch.


#2023RoundUp
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Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure

This would have to be Celebrity. I liked it more than I should. I enjoyed watching the ladies be catty with each other, flashy clothes and peek into the lives of influencers. I didn\’t like Jun Kyung but enjoyed watching his romance with Seo Ari. I should not like it but I do.


#2023RoundUp

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Day 15 – Special Kimchi slap edition: Worst Parent/s

This is a tough choice but I will award this to all the parents below. They annoyed/angered me like the Marquis annoyed the awesome Princess Yang Ying.

Live Your Own Life
Jang Sook Hyang, Tae Ho\’s evil aunt. The number of crimes she committed for the sake of wrestling control of Taesan feom hee MIL and nephew.
Kang Jin Bum, Tae Min and Tae Hee\’s father. Alcoholic, spineless and verbally abusive husband. He does not set a good example for his kids and nephew.
Lee Sun Soon, Hyo Shim\’s passive aggressive mother. The way she took care of his sons but neglected the daughter that helps out the entire family.

Perfect Marriage Revenge
Lee Jung Hye, Yi Joo\’s evil adoptive mother in
Han Jin Woong, Yi Joo\’s Chairman father, he turned a blind eye to the abuse because he was resentful YiJoo was more like him than his other daughter Yura.

Twinkling Watermelon
Lim Ji Mi, Chung Ah\’s evil stepmother and former tutor and also Chairwoman of Seowon Arts High School. She instigated the abuse and neglect for her student and stepdaughter.
Yoon Gun Hyeong, Chung Ah\’s Chairman father, even if he made up for it in the end, It does not erase the fact that he was neglectful towards his only child.

Such a waste of perfectly good kimchi!

#2023RoundUp
#AJourneyToLove gif

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    Oooh how his face tenses in apprehension! Bless, nobody wants kimchi juice in the eye

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      Right! That kimchi juice will hurt so bad!

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        I’ve rubbed my eyes accidentally after making kimchi with one single hole in my glove… so I had one kimchi-ed finger and that’s precisely the finger I put in my eye.
        The sting Aaaargh haha

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Day 14 – Best bromance / womance

#2023RoundUp

Lee Yeon and Lee Rang– my favorite frenemies and brothers in kdramaland.




Runner Ups:
Doo Sik and Juwon in Moving
Ha Eun Gyeol and Ha Yi Chan in Twinkling Watermelon

https://www.tumblr.com/inafieldofdaisies/717330376996110336/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-1938-tale-of-the-nine

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Day 13 – Show how you learned from your mistakes: let’s talk about drops

I have started and dropped more shows this year than previous years. I will just talk about the top reasons why I dropped them.
(1) I didn\’t connect with the story either I felt it was too silly, predictable, convoluted, drab or just made me annoyed
(2) the characters\’ actions is frustrating or annoying
(3) there were other dramas I am more invested in/liked more and there wasn\’t enough time for the other drama that is at the bottom of my list

I really have to cut back on drama watching and stick to 2-3 currently airing shows a week. The current trend of airing most good shows on a weekend also messed up my drama watching schedule. I hope they will spread it evenly like before. Whenever that was however long ago…

I posted my dropped shows in this Drama Chat https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/drama-chat-keep-your-bean-thank-you-very-much/#comment-4145412

#2023RoundUp

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    “The current trend of airing most good shows on a weekend also messed up my drama watching schedule.”

    This! So true!

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Day 12 – Best suit wearer

Kim Bum as Lee Rang in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 is my top choice. The suits he wore were all well-tailored. He cleaned up really well and looked amazingly handsome. I know Yeon wore suits too but I already chose him on the ML prompt.


Jung Sung Il as Ha Do Yeong in The Glory
It seemed forever ago when I saw him in the drama. He is still one of my choice for best suit wearer. The man looked amazing in a suit everytime he was onscreen.

Runner Up:
Kim Young Kwang as Han Dong Jin in Call It Love plus the black suits he wore in Evilive.

#2023RoundUp

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Day 11 Nam Da Reum prize: Best child actor

#2023RoundUp

Yu Na is such a wonderful discovery in The Kidnapping Day. She was able to hold her own against her older co-stars.

I really like Moon Woo Jin and Lee Re in Castaway Diva. They played the young KiHo and young Mok Ha with so much heart that you felt for their pain.
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Day 10 – Your 2023 crush

#2023RoundUp

⭐️Jo In Sung he is so charming as Kim Doo Sik in Moving.

⭐️Kim Young Kwang I like him a lot in Call It Love and found him so hot as a bad guy in Evilive.

⭐️Jung Sung Il he played the “nice jerk” in a suit so well in The Glory.

⭐️Liu Yu Ning – he plays the romantic badass in A Journey to Love. Plus he has such a beautiful singing voice!

https://www.tumblr.com/melodious-tear/735272808787083264/liu-yuning-as-ning-yuanzhou-a-journey-to-love-ep

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I love every moment Yeon Woo has made Tae Ha smile.🥰

When she was annoyed with him:

When she made his shirt pretty:

When she is happy with little things:

#Park\’sMarriageContract ep5

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Day 9 – Your non k-drama recommendation

I am currently obsessed with A Journey to Love. It is more than halfway done and I am already impressed with the characterization of both ML and FL, Ning Yuan Zhou and Ren Ru Yi (played by Liu Yu Ning and Liu Shi Shi). Both are strong, highly intelligent, martial arts experts and badass assassins learning to navigate their new relationship as they work together to fulfill their various missions. I love how the leads deal with the relationship issues maturely.
The rest of the diplomatic team is amazing as well. I am partial to Yang Ying, Yuan Lu and Shi San. There is substantial character development from key characters. I am also hoping for improvement for Li Tong Guang/Li Jiu with proper guidance from his mentors.
The cinematography, costumes, soundtrack and writing is top-notch. I savor every minute of every new episodes. I am new to the genre but @kiara did mention that this is a wuxia drama done right. I believe her.

Runner Ups:
Queen Charlotte
Till the End of the Moon

#2023RoundUp
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Day 8 – The character who most screams for mental health care

My choice has to be Han Yura, the FL’s younger sister in Perfect Marriage Revenge. Yura started off the series as the favored child who is spoiled rotten. Due to the course of the show, everything she was lead to believe on who she was turned out to be a lie. She must be suffering from immense inferiority complex, anger issues and maybe even PTSD. When the show ended, she was lashing out and desperately using her unborn child to latch onto a man who does not love her. I hope she can seek professional help to break the vicious cycle so her child can grow up surrounded by decent parents.

#2023RoundUp
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    It would be wonderful and would turn her world around if she broke her cycle of toxicity for her child.

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    I haven’t watched the show, but I hope to see Jin Ji-hee in more dramas. She is one of the child actors I miss.

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      She is good as Yura. It would be interesting to see her play other roles. She managed to make you like to hate the character and pity her at the same time.

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        Thank you!
        She can carry a sageuk if someone would cast her.

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Day 7– The drama Beanies convinced you to watch and you can’t be grateful enough

I wanted to post my love for this show when it ended. I decided to use the #2023RoundUp instead to show my love for Perfect Marriage Revenge. I almost skipped this but since another beanie recommended to watch ep2 before ep1 it did the trick. I got hooked to all the makjang-lite-on- speed goodness.

PMR made me feel nostalgic for the old school melodramas I used to enjoy but without the torturous prolonged scenes of suffering of the leads. It dealt out equal doses of makjang-y delight which brought me to the depths of annoyance for Team Evil Stepmother. Also to the high levels of happiness for every win of Team YiJoo/DoGuk with lots of sweet romantic scenes in between. I suppose the show came at the right time since I was in the mood for it.









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Day 6– The character that deserves a kimchi slap

The Glory\’s Park Yeojin hands down.


Runners Up:
Jang Sook Hyang, Tae Ho\’s evil aunt in Live Your Own Life
Lee Jung Hye, Yi Joo\’s evil adoptive mother in Perfect Marriage Revenge
Lim Ji Mi, Chung Ah\’s evil stepmother and former tutor and also Chairwoman of Seowon Arts High School in Twinkling Watermelon
Han Yu Ra, Yi Joo\’s petty and jealous sister in Perfect Marriage Revenge

#2023RoundUp

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Day 5 – OTP you didn’t think you would adore
#2023RoundUp

Twinkling Watermelon wasn’t even in my radar since I avoid dramas set in high school. I just watched it on a whim, I am glad I did because I get to see Ha Yi Chan and Yoon Chung Ah, played by Choi Hyun Wook and Shin Eun Soo.


Also the other young couple I adore is Kim Bong Seok and Jang Hee Soo of Moving which were played by cinnamon roll Lee Jung Ha and Go Yoon Jung. Bong Seok is just a ray of sunshine and cuteness that Hee Soo needed.

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I could watch this two bicker all day. 😍

My forever favorite bromance. 😊

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    this is hilarious omg thanks for sharing!!!

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    You know I was just hearing “Beautiful”!😍 They are such a good team. I wish Yook Sung-jae was also with them. The trio gave us so many memorable scenes.

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Day 4 – The drama you loved and Beanies hated / The drama you hated and Beanies loved

💭 Dramas Beanies Loved but I Hated
My Dearest Part2 – I didn\’t like the narrative choices for the lead couple but I liked the historical parts.
Destined With You – I ended dropping this early. I didnt like it as much as other beanies.
Castaway Diva – I liked the beginning but got too depressing in the middle.
King the Land – too much fluff can be a bad thing.

⭐️Dramas I Loved but Beanies hated

Evilive– I started this when the show was about to end so I can binge watch it. There was very little buzz about the show in the recaps and fanwalls despite that it has been in my radar because of the leads.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show since its very different from the other kdramas I was watching at the time. Kim Young Kwang and Shin Ha Kyun were amazing in their roles.

#2023RoundUp

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    I won’t say Evilive was “hated”, just ignored or rather got very little love. Lack of availability was also an issue. I too binged it towards the end of airing. The leads needless to say are mesmerizing.

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      Lack of availability can be annoying. Other factors may also be into play since it also didnt too well in domestic ratings. Hopefully it will be available in one of the bigger streaming apps so more people can appreciate it.

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Day 3– Side character that stole the show

Kim Yong Myung, Ok Hee’s group member that works as a French Teacher in Behind Your Touch. He is a scene stealer every time he is up on screen. He has great chemistry with Ok Hee.

Crown Prince So Hyun, the beleaguered royal in My Dearest. I didn’t like him at first but he grew on me. I eventually got more invested in the history and the Crown Prince’s role in it. I admit that I knew what will hapen to him at the beginning since I looked up the real historical figure.

#2023RoundUp
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    I really enjoyed the role of Crown Prince So Hyun. The actor did a fantastic job of taking the CP from whiney to courageous in such a subtle way and yet wholly in keeping with the position and the era. He’s one of my favorite characters in part 2!

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      He was so mistreated by his own father. CP deserved better. The actor was good in the role as you described. Same! I was mostly watching out for him in the latter episodes.

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