September and October 2022 Korean Drama Reviews

Today’s Webtoon

This dramas stars Ma- Eum (Kim Se-Jeong) who used to be a judo athlete, but wants to transition into a different job after suffering an injury. She uses her passion and love for webtoons to eventually get hired at a struggling Webtoon department and becomes an editor. It also stars Goo Jun-Yeong (Nam Yoon-Soo) as a newly transferred employee into the webtoon department, he doesn’t understand what he is doing there as an editor but starts to fit in after working together with Ma-Eum.

This drama did a great job of keeping the story interesting and something with depth. As someone who likes to read webtoons, it was interesting to see the work that goes on behind the scenes to create a webtoon and the mechanics of it. I really liked how it was a big cast and they showed the different characters and the problems they face as artists, editors and managers. It really kept the momentum of the show going and the different way they could solve problems was interesting. I was also surprised at the depth that they went into with especially Shin Dae-Ryuk’s character and it was interesting understanding his thinking and his past. I think this drama is an embodiment of the underdog spirit, they know they are fighting for their life but they keep their belief and are able to accomplish what was considered impossible. I really like these type of stories because it feels hopeful. It is nice to watch a heart warming drama that makes you feel good which this drama did well.

What I didn’t like was that the ending was good but it seemed to lack impact and the love lines kinda got lost in the mix of the drama. I am not sure what they were trying to do, it seemed for a while they wanted a love triangle and then took a sharp left and then just kinda left it hanging. I think the romance department was pretty lacking and to me if you don’t want to commit to that then it would be better to just omit the whole love line sequence in the drama altogether. I don’t really have much complaints about this drama. I thought it was very good and I connected with the characters and felt the story was interesting and didn’t find myself bored in the drama.

I would recommend this drama if you like heart warming and office style dramas.

Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist

Poong is about a physician Yoo Se Poong (Kim Min-Jae) that was famous for working for the royal family but gets kicked out the royal court and he has become unable to use his needles due to trauma and eventually finds his way to a doctor and a bunch of misfits that work there. He starts to work as a doctor that instead of using acupuncture to heal people he learns to treat and people’s mental pain that is affecting their physical bodies. Just to warn everybody that there is plans for a second season and this was planned from the start so the ending is a definitely a cliffhanger, so don’t go into watching it thinking that everything will be wrapped up at the end.

I am a sucker for dramas about acupuncture and psychology and they have mixed the two in this drama. I thought it was a very well made drama the way they told the story and the way they treated each patient was interesting and was always a mystery that needed to be solved. Of course they had greedy officials which I find very tiring in the historical type dramas but at least the story and plots were somewhat more interesting than the typical way they try to be evil. I also really liked the misfit group of people and enjoyed the humor that was sprinkled throughout the drama. I really liked the feel good aspect of the drama and enjoyed the characters and humor. I thought it was interesting to see dealing with mental health in historical type times since I haven’t really seen this be done before I thought it was a fresh perspective .

What I didn’t like about this drama was the chemistry was a bit lacking between the male and female leads. It didn’t ever really give me butterflies or twinges that they were meant to be together. This could be because they were planning a second season so they wanted to leave something to be explored in a second season so I am not too bothered by this aspect about this drama.

I would recommend this drama if you like medical/psychology type dramas

If You Wish Upon Me

This drama is about Yoon Gyeo -Rye (Ji Chang-Wook) a man that has lived a rough life and has found himself having to volunteer at a hospice for causing an accident. He starts to change as a person there after he gets involved with volunteer team leader Kang Tae-Sik (Sung Dong-ll) and Nurse Seo Yeon-Joo (Sooyoung) and their team that grants wishes to those who are dying. For the first time Gyeo-Rye starts to understand how to be truly happy for the first time even when having to face death head on.

This is a great drama if you need something to sob uncontrollably to something. I didn’t know if I could handle watching this drama since in almost every episode there is death or dealing with really tough situations. I kinda wanted to give up after an episode or two but somehow it was still interesting and I wanted to keep watching even if I ended up with a headache from crying to this drama. I though Chang-Wook did a great job which I was surprised because I didn’t really like other dramas that he was in but I thought he did a great job in this one. I liked how they showed the different people’s last wishes and it kept it interesting even though it was heart breaking.

What I didn’t like was some ideas they had in this drama was unrealistic, I don’t want to say too much but it had to do with a coma patient. Also I don’t really get how they can work and live there as volunteers, it is somewhat strange concept to me also is there enough money for a wage especially as they are volunteers. Again I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two main leads, it was a interesting dynamic but I didn’t really feel the spark between them, they seemed more like brother and sister to me. They have cute moments but I never really got the passionate love between them more of a familial type love to me.

This is a tear jerking drama that is somewhat unrealistic but has heart and I would recommend it!

Good Job

This drama is about Eun Seon-Woo (Jung II-Woo) who owns Eun Kang Group one of the largest companies but does undercover work and loves disguises while he searches for his mom’s killer. He is doing it undercover and has to deal with snakes within his company since everyone wants his downfall. It also stars Don Se-ra (Kwon Yuri) who was born with hyper-acuity and is able to see farther than anyone else. She is caring and wants to take care of her family that was with her together in the orphanage. She works odd jobs and runs into Seon-Woo and he gets her onboard with his work and they make a great team investigating.

I think this was a fun drama with a bit of mystery and romance. I think I appreciated the humour aspect of it and the drama didn’t always take itself very seriously and that made it more watchable. I thought the main leads had good chemistry even though it seemed like they never kissed or got very romantic even at the end. They seemed to hold hands and hug a lot more which seemed a little odd by the end but I didn’t mind it, it was cute. It has a good ending and it seemed like they were hinting at a second season which could be interesting but I am not dying to second season or anything though. Honestly the plot twist was pretty good and had me fooled.

I am not sure I loved Yuri’s acting or if it was her character, I just found it lacking somewhat for the main lead but it wasn’t terrible or anything. One thing I thought was not great was the disguises that they would wear, they acted as if they were very good at going undercover but it was pretty laughable most of the time.

This is a fun romantic comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously and I recommend if you want a light drama with some mystery.

Upcoming Korean Dramas

Gaus Electronics

This is an office comedy about the workers in Marketing Team 3 which is a team that other workers look down upon. It focuses on love friendship and corporate life that is based off a webtoon.

Mental Coach Jegal

This is about a former Taekwondo athlete that learned a hard lesson and became banned from the national team and in the present became a mental coach that helps other athletes get out of slumps and mental hardships to be able to compete again.

Love is For Suckers

This is about two friends with a 20 year old friendship that are struggling with love and work. Yeo-Reum works as PD and is struggling to keep her show alive and Jae-Hoon is a plastic surgeon that has lost his spark for his job and is working to make money.

Seasons of Blossom

This is more of webdrama and is based off the webtoon with the same name. It is about love and friendship in a high school class. It is about love and painful pasts with each other.