So since June 2011, I have been surfing the Hallyu (Korean wave of culture gaining popularity around the world) by watching Korean dramas and even listening to Korean radio. I finished 14 shows that each had between 16 to 20 hour-long episodes. Looking back I don’t know how I did it. That’s a lot of reading! When I asked the lady who introduced me to this crack how many she’s watched, she said seven. That’s seven EVER, not just in one year.
That blinding illumination is my realization that I’m a junkie. :-\ Decades ago I used to be a soap opera watcher, so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.
At first this was going to be a ranking/best of list. But really since I watched them all to the end, even ones I didn’t like so much, there must have been some redeeming quality in them all. (Okay I hated Midas, but just like a book, I have a hard time not finishing them even when they’re awful.) Here’s a simple list in the order I viewed them. And an asterisk for one’s I really, really liked.
- Boy Over Flowers*
- Playful Kiss*
- My Princess
- Pasta
- My Girl
- City Hunter**
- Personal Taste*
- Lie to Me*
- Midas
- Coffeehouse
- Coffee Prince*
- Dream High
- Creating Destiny
- Secret Garden**
I also watched 9 episodes of the Japanese version of Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango), but after seeing the Korean version I had a hard time enjoying the Japanese one. (The boys just weren’t as pretty and the portrayal of black people was offensive.) Ironic considering the story is originally a Japanese manga.
In between those listed above, I watched at least one episode of 10 other k-dramas but for various reasons dropped them. Maybe I’ll pick some of them back up this year. Or maybe I need intervention.
Are you hooked on Korean dramas, too? Tell me what’s good or what you think I should watch.
Pinkpodster Ponders 