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[near]

Hi, I'm near, and I'm an addict. So it started a few years back in 2017, I remember because the high was so good that I actually started tallying every time I used! 44 dramas and 637 episodes later, and I'm now an expert in dosage. I've decided to no longer feel guilty about using, and actually attempt to convince you that the stigma surrounding this genre is a lie!

You may have heard of the Oscar award-winning 2019 film called Parasite, or the dirty minded cinematic craftsman known as Park Chan-wook from Oldboy. Well, these Korean filmmakers are small fry in the long form storytelling scene in Korea, and the genre writer that's talk of the town is Kim Eun-hee. Her world building, and scenario staging, seasoned with intricately evolving character stories, has made me fall in love with this genre they refer to as K-Drama.

The side effects are true, the genre is filled with romantic melodramas, and the typical tropes normally associated with K-Dramas. But I'm certain with the right guidance and supplements you can avoid that and only reap the benefits. We all know how Squid Games blind sided the western world and had us spazzing-out uncontrollably on social media, that shit even made content creators replicate awful things! I won't get you that high, I promise.

Signal
A crime drama that spans from 1989 to 2015 via a walkie-talkie. You must start here to open your mind to the wonders of this universe.

Kingdom
Historical zombie epic that explores societal issues, politics and class divide. Game of Thrones meets The Walking Dead.

D.P.
Just watch this. David Fincher has been trying to make this for the better part of he's career. D.P. stands for David Pathetic.

 

[German Hops]

 

[March Climber]

Foreign TV and Korean Dramas are literally saving Netflix from creative bankruptcy, so I see this is a beneficial recommendation thread.

One of my recommendations is ‘Prison Playbook’ on Netflix. It was like that TV show Scrubs(in tone) but in a jail setting.

 

[feynoob]

If something is good, enjoy it.
I am enjoying Korean and chinese manga, after japanese content went to shit, due to fan service and boring plots.

 

[John Marston]

I hear ya man! I'm in the middle of season 1 of the Good Detective and I've enjoyed Queenmaker, Alchemy of Souls, Diary of a Prosecutor, Prison Playbook and Flower of Evil to name a few.

I do admit to fast forwarding the cheesy romance bits though

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

I recommend Mystic Popup Bar and Hellbound. My wife and I went into a K-Drama phase for a while - watched Kingdom, Goblin, Coffee Prince, Princess Hours. Then we got tired of it. But it was refreshing to get away from the Hollywood agenda for a while.

 

[rabbitontherun]

I started my k-drama journey at the beginning of COVID, with the first lockdown. Since then i've watched countless of them - mostly the cliche cheesy romantic stuff. My first was Crash landing on you

Currently i'm watching Taxi Driver

A taxi company/driver that takes revenge for it's clients (relatives of murder victims, victims of bullying, etc.).

 

[Goss Harag]

K-Dramas are great. I've been on quite a binge myself recently.

Vincenzo
Beyond Evil
Taxi Driver
Hellbound
My Name
Sweet Home
The Fiery Priest

All excellent. The Fiery Priest a particular favourite. Very funny.

Currently making my way through The Uncanny Counter.

 

[The Cockatrice]

K-Dramas are great, u dont need an intervention. Mouse, Taxi Driver, Signal, etc are all one f the best shows ever made. God I love Taxi Driver so much. It's so fulfilling, nice villains, well made revenge plots, cheesy, amazing soundtrack.

 

[GeekyDad]

...The side effects are true, the genre is filled with romantic melodramas, and the typical tropes normally associated with K-Dramas. ...

Unfortunately, yeah. Stranger being a prime example, but not in a romantic way -- just really, really poor writing. 'Twas a shame too because the two main actors were quite likeable. Now, my wife's Korean, so maybe she got more out of it than me, but based on the translated dialogue, I found it to be a dog with fleas. We sat through the whole damned series anyway. Eh...

 

[-Minsc-]

My wife is South Korean so K-Dramas have become the norm since we got married last year.

Any intervention I need is to branch out from the romance stories. Thanks for the recommendations. Though my wife may be disappointed with my split K-Drama time.

Oddly enough I have yet to encounter the Kimchi-Slap. It's only a matter of time.

Edit:

Now, my wife's Korean,

Good evening bro.

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

I've slowly started to gravitate towards Korean TV shows since Squid Game.

I find the investment of 16 hour long episodes to be a lot so I haven't seen too many. But some of my favourite are:

Extracurricular
Business Proposal
Itaewon Class
Hotel Del Luna

There's a lot more that I have to watch on my list but it's going to take a long time to get through them all

 

[Rickyiez]

Kairos is the best show I've ever watched.

Adding on a few of my favorite

Flower of Evil
Mouse
Voice Season 1
Partner of Justice
Train
Tunnel
Signal
Beyond Evil
Tell Me What You Saw
Alive Again
365 Repeat The Year
Through the Darkness
Defendant
The king of Pigs
Memorist

They are all mostly crime/thriller without romance cliche and the Koreans are leagues ahead in term of acting compared to other regions nowadays .

Checkout my dramalist if you wanted to see my ratings on them https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/breaktru

 

[near]

I started my k-drama journey at the beginning of COVID, with the first lockdown. Since then i've watched countless of them - mostly the cliche cheesy romantic stuff. My first was Crash landing on you

Currently i'm watching Taxi Driver

A taxi company/driver that takes revenge for it's clients (relatives of murder victims, victims of bullying, etc.).

I enjoyed Taxi Driver for the most part, got to episode 14 where it probably should've ended and just couldn't be bothered watching the last two episodes.

K-Dramas are great. I've been on quite a binge myself recently.

Vincenzo
Beyond Evil
Taxi Driver
Hellbound
My Name
Sweet Home
The Fiery Priest

All excellent. The Fiery Priest a particular favourite. Very funny.

Currently making my way through The Uncanny Counter.

Hellbound is on my watchlist, I've seen Sweet Home and The Uncanny Counter, both of which were enjoyable. I ended dropping Beyond Evil, can't remember why.

I've slowly started to gravitate towards Korean TV shows since Squid Game.

I find the investment of 16 hour long episodes to be a lot so I haven't seen too many. But some of my favourite are:

Extracurricular
Business Proposal
Itaewon Class
Hotel Del Luna

There's a lot more that I have to watch on my list but it's going to take a long time to get through them all

Most of the dramas I've seen shouldn't really be 16 episodes, the vast majority seem scripted for a 12-14 episode season. I cannot tell you the number of shows I've dropped before the season finale!

Kairos

Never heard of this. Looks interesting, I might check it out if I ever get through my backlog!

 

[MayauMiao]

Waiting for All of Us Are Dead Season 2.

 

[Fart Knight]

 

[bender]

Korea saved the horror genre already. Korea is the fucking best.

 

[near]

Korea saved the horror genre already. Korea is the fucking best.

Never really thought about it, but the Korean film and television industry has pumped out a lot of excellent horror/zombie content. One of my favourite horror films of all time is The Wailing, and that came out ages ago.

 

[stn]

Extracurricular is really awesome. I also recommend Vagabond, though its more action-based. I'm still waiting for that season 2 announcement. *cries*

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

Most of the dramas I've seen shouldn't really be 16 episodes, the vast majority seem scripted for a 12-14 episode season. I cannot tell you the number of shows I've dropped before the season finale!

I feel like this is why I usually pick Korean shows with shorter episode counts. I know that really shouldn't be the deciding factor but I can't help it

 

[Lord Panda]

My Name, Hellbound (where are you S2), Glory are also great shows.

In terms of movies, I really wished there had been a sequel to The Man from Nowhere.

 

[The Cockatrice]

nightserg's Drama List - MyDramaList

mydramalist.com

my list of stuff I've seen/ratings.

 

[near]

I'm surprised at the number of gaffers that actually invest time in kdramas lol

We have a community here! I'm so proud.

 

[MayauMiao]

I feel like this is why I usually pick Korean shows with shorter episode counts. I know that really shouldn't be the deciding factor but I can't help it

Disney-Lucasfilm could learn from that.

Too bad they got greedy and ruined The Mandalorean with Season 3.

 

[Rickyiez]

Never heard of this. Looks interesting, I might check it out if I ever get through my backlog!

I've added more into my list if you're interested to crime/thriller genre

 

[Kurotri]

I have only recently started getting into kdramas and well goddamn, they know how to reel you in and entertain you. Some recommendations:

Train - This was my first kdrama, I think it's a fantastic entry point.
First Responders - Great show that mixes detective work and firefighters.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo - This was a 10/10 for me, if I needed a single word to describe it, I'd say "fulfilling".
Weak Hero Class 1 - this one explores the relationships of three friends and how simple misunderstandings can grow into huge problems. If you like high school settings, must watch.
My Name - nothing extraordinary but very solid nonetheless.

When it comes to movies, the revenge trilogy is the one to go for if you are into heavier stuff. Want some enjoyable popcorn action? Watch the 2 The Roundup movies starring Ma Dong-seok.

And yeah, use mydramalist, great help.

 

[near]

I've added more into my list if you're interested to crime/thriller genre

You gave Life on Mars an 8/10, we are now friends.

When it comes to movies, the revenge trilogy is the one to go for if you are into heavier stuff. Want some enjoyable popcorn action? Watch the 2 The Roundup movies starring Ma Dong-seok.

When it comes to Korean films, mate, I have an insane list of good films to recommend! I've seen The Roundup, if you enjoyed that, you should definitely watch Extreme Job, absolutely hilarious.

 

[Kurotri]

When it comes to Korean films, mate, I have an insane list of good films to recommend! I've seen The Roundup, if you enjoyed that, you should definitely watch Extreme Job, absolutely hilarious.

Aw man I would love that, feel free to post it! Got Extreme Job bookmarked too, hope it tides me over until the third film comes along.

 

[near]

Aw man I would love that, feel free to post it! Got Extreme Job bookmarked too, hope it tides me over until the third film comes along.

A Taxi Driver
Burning
Little Forest
Broker
The Witch
Intimate Strangers
Believer
Keys to the Heart
#Alive
Space Sweepers
The Call
Moon Young (short film, but it evokes so many emotions, I have to recommend)

Literally everything Bong Joon-ho has directed, specially Memories of Murder! Some of those might not be to your preference in terms of mood, but I thought I recommend a variety of genres. You may have seen some of them. A lot of these are available on blu-ray if you can track them down, a fair few on Netflix (more if you use a VPN), and you can stream/rent via Amazon.

 

[Hugare]

Never really thought about it, but the Korean film and television industry has pumped out a lot of excellent horror/zombie content. One of my favourite horror films of all time is The Wailing, and that came out ages ago.

The Wailing is fantastic

If you enjoed that, I recomend the movie The Medium

Its produced by The Wailing's director, and its just as good if not better (I like it more)

 

[near]

The Wailing is fantastic

If you enjoed that, I recomend the movie The Medium

Its produced by The Wailing's director, and its just as good if not better (I like it more)

Yeah, I've heard of that one, it's not a Korean film, it's Thai, but I intend to watch that either way. Looks really creepy lol

 

[Kurotri]

A Taxi Driver
Burning
Little Forest
Broker
The Witch
Intimate Strangers
Believer
Keys to the Heart
#Alive
Space Sweepers
The Call
Moon Young (short film, but it evokes so many emotions, I have to recommend)

Literally everything Bong Joon-ho has directed, specially Memories of Murder! Some of those might not be to your preference in terms of mood, but I thought I recommend a variety of genres. You may have seen some of them. A lot of these are available on blu-ray if you can track them down, a fair few on Netflix (more if you use a VPN), and you can stream/rent via Amazon.

Cheers! While I have seen some of them like The Witch most of these are new to me. Looking forward to 'em.

 

[Shtef]

I tried to watch signal on netflix, but image looks really weird, like its wrong format.

 

[Rickyiez]

You gave Life on Mars an 8/10, we are now friends.

I love the retro settings and atmosphere they did in Life on Mars . The ending could be a little bit ehh but it seems like they are setting it up for second season .

 

[near]

I love the retro settings and atmosphere they did in Life on Mars . The ending could be a little bit ehh but it seems like they are setting it up for second season .

Have you seen Reply 1988? That show really captures time.

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

nightserg's Drama List - MyDramaList

mydramalist.com

my list of stuff I've seen/ratings.

Your ratings for Extracurricular and Decision to Leave

I wish more people watched Extracurricular

 

[thefool]

Is there good crime/detective shows?

 

[near]

Is there good crime/detective shows?

Awaken isn't too bad. There is also Live which is a bit more light-hearted and involves incidents that occur within the Police.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Your ratings for Extracurricular and Decision to Leave

I wish more people watched Extracurricular

I loved that show. It was a huge surprise. I avoided it for quite a while because the cast seemed too young but oh boy they all played fantastic.

 

[near]

I loved that show. It was a huge surprise. I avoided it for quite a while because the cast seemed too young but oh boy they all played fantastic.

Apparently it's getting a sequel. Not sure how I feel about that to be honest. Haven't watched a kdrama S2 that was actually good.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Apparently it's getting a sequel. Not sure how I feel about that to be honest. Haven't watched a kdrama S2 that was actually good.

I guess we'll see. I loved both Stranger and Taxi Drivers S2's so Im ok with it.

 

[near]

I guess we'll see. I loved both Stranger and Taxi Drivers S2's so Im ok with it.

What is Taxi Driver S2 like? Is it a continued storyline from S1 or a completely new arc? I got up to ep14. of S1 and dropped it. I found S2 of Stranger boring and a shadow of it's S1.

 

[The Cockatrice]

What is Taxi Driver S2 like? Is it a continued storyline from S1 or a completely new arc? I got up to ep14. of S1 and dropped it. I found S2 of Stranger boring and a shadow of it's S1.

It continues ofc, minus one character cuz she had other plans, but it's also self-contained. This time around theres a central villain besides the other episodic ones. It still has the cheesy/goofy scenes where you have to lower your realistic expectations of whats going on as well as the obvious "ads" lol but still loved it.

 

[crunchyBiscuits]

Apparently it's getting a sequel. Not sure how I feel about that to be honest. Haven't watched a kdrama S2 that was actually good.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but I don't think it needs a S2. The ending was perfectly fine imo

 

[John Marston]

I've added a bunch of stuff to my viewing list because of this thread. Thank you everyone!

 

[sono]

My love from the star is great

My Love from the Star - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[kunonabi]

I fell in love with Korean film a way back and that led to to watching dramas. The thing about korean filmmaking is that even the stuff that isn't very good still maintains a solid baseline of competency and craftsmanship. Its so different from a lot of American stuff where I just scratch my head at how really basic shit gets fumbled so often.

 

[NahaNago]

I got into K- drama when saw Dream High a couple of years ago. I kinda fell off just like I did with kpop. Started with girls generation and then fell off a couple of years later.

I'm going to try and get back into Japanese dramas since I'm back into studying the language again.

 

[near]

I fell in love with Korean film a way back and that led to to watching dramas. The thing about korean filmmaking is that even the stuff that isn't very good still maintains a solid baseline of competency and craftsmanship. Its so different from a lot of American stuff where I just scratch my head at how really basic shit gets fumbled so often.

The way they shoot, and edited film is quite different from ours, it's not better or worse, just different. It also lends itself really well to the way they tell stories, which often follows a variation of our own pop culture. It can be really refreshing to expose yourself to this medium, especially if you're burnt out on hollywood and television.