Quarantine K-Dramas: What I've been Enjoying

Quick life updates: I have lost count on how many weeks I've been spending at home. In the past 3 months, I've been working at home and adjusting to this "new normal" situation. While I still enjoy and pretty much on board with the idea of staying at home for months, part of me also feels somewhat stuffed and emotionally saturated. Repeating the same routine every day, having online meetings, and trying to get the work done at home are definitely challenging, but I'm still thankful for every new day I wake up. So, yeah. That's pretty much sums up my quarantine situation.

To keep me sane without any chance of going out, obviously, I've been constantly watching K-dramas, mainly on Netflix, and have finished more drama than ever.

So without further ado, this is the lineup and quick review of dramas I've been enjoying lately:

I first found out about this drama because this is what every news portal were covering: Kim Tae-hee's comeback drama after she starts a family. But what makes me decide to give it a shot is its unique premise about a dead mother who came back to life and has to face her husband and her daughter, not to mention that her husband already remarried. I ended up sobbing in 14 out of 16 episodes because this is so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I love it so much I actually have written a dedicated blog post about this. "Hi Bye, Mama!" will definitely in my Top 10 K-dramas of all the time ♥️

Everyone on my Instagram literally posted about this. At first, I thought this will be another overrated drama which I usually won't like (pardon the snobby me for being picky which often not liking what everyone likes -- i.e Goblin or What's Wrong with Secretary Kim). BUT oh but, I was actually hooked and ended up finishing it in less than a week! (and yes, I purposely waited for it to end before start watching it).

Firstly, there's Park Seo-joon (and Kim Da-mi!!). Secondly, this is not a romantic comedy. It involves revenge, business, and financial tips (?), and has a good moral story about a young guy who's determined to make his dream comes true. What a motivating story for a millennial girl like me. Thirdly, I really appreciate the writer and the staff for bringing up several topics that are probably still viewed as negative or taboo in Korea: black people, transgender, sociopath, and ex-convict.

I think the plot unfolds a little bit too slow with a predictable ending, but overall it's still enjoyable to watch because of its diverse focus on each character. In the end, I can't help but keep clicking the next episode button to see their progress and what awaits them. So, thumbs up for Itaewon Class!

THIS. also appears literally everywhere and I eventually gave in to what society dictates me to watch HAHA but I'm not complaining since this. is. gold. 

Melodrama is often draining me mentally because I'm just too overwhelmed to enjoy all the dramatic plot, expressions, and the suspense. But again, I guess this all depends on the plot, and this intense drama about a long and complicated relationship between Ji Sun-woo and Lee Tae-oh is definitely won a place in my top k-drama! Before this, the only Korean drama about cheating I have seen is "My Wife's Having an Affair This Week", which I have written about here, but this is obviously nowhere near TWOTM due to its comedic side.

The similarity? Both had me thinking about this possibility of cheating and put me in a realization that one day I might be the one in this position and that's why I should have become independent enough to support myself. The funny thing, this drama is also featured as the main topic in several famous Instagram accounts, mainly because of its moral story about marriage and finance. This just proves that you can learn some good things from this drama.

My keyword for this drama is "Friendship Goals". Seriously, this drama has successfully shattered my personal beliefs that "I don't need friendship goals because mine is already perfect" 😂 

I know that this is from the same director from the Reply series, but I never watch any of Reply drama, so I actually have zero expectation about how this drama will turn out. But I'm glad I started because I'm liking it!

I love how these 5 doctors have such a mature and healthy relationship. They support each other and have this admirable bond, without any sign of jealousy or any visible distance whenever one of them has a new partner, or even when some of them hang out together without the other's presence. This may sound simple and obvious since they're all adults (like..."what do you expect, duh?!"), but since I have witnessed some friendship dramas in real life, I can't help but notice this first.

Some of the side stories are just too sad for me, which resulting in me crying every time there's a scene involving a patient's death or any medical complication appears. Still loving it though because overall, I think this is a good, light, and heartwarming drama to watch. I guess after this I'll try to see the Reply series.

Just for your information: "She was Pretty" currently placed as my #1 k-drama of all time and of course I will watch Hwang Jung-eum's NEW DRAMA! especially when it's produced by Netflix! and it also has Yook Seung-jae in it!

I'm so excited when the news first came out until the very moment I watch the last episode. This drama deserves more than 12 episodes (yes, it only has 12 episodes which is not fair 😭). The only thing that's a bit disappointing about this drama is its final episode. In the last episode, I get the impression that the story is somewhat rushed and the scenes are a little bit... messy (?) It jumps from one thing to another thing too quickly and the transition is not that smooth. The story itself is so much predictable with only one particular line spoken by Weol-ju. But despite that, I'm still very much liking this drama and recommend this for you who are looking for some fresh and unique Korean drama!

That's all! I have watched (and re-watched) some other dramas, but too bad I just don't like it enough to write a post about it HAHA So, these are all my recommendations if you're looking for Korean dramas to watch.

Will post some more about Korean variety show because I've been hooked to some variety/reality shows. Stay tuneddddd!