I read and contributed to the discussion post titled “Name a drama everyone liked but you hated/dropped”, and I wanted to take the same idea but just the opposite. Also in that discussion, I noticed really popular dramas like Vincenzo, Squid Game, etc. So now I’m curious as to which dramas are your favorites or you like that aren’t that popular.
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The King: Eternal Monarch It’s definitely popular but there’s a large number of ppl that didn’t like it. I think it’s the plot holes and confusing time travel that throws ppl off. Personally, I really like it. The plot was different from the typical time travel since it’s not actually traveling through time. They travel through different parallel universes.
Descendants of the Sun Same thing. Very popular but probably has as much ppl who dislike it as there are ppl who like it. Lots of complaints were towards the fl’s acting. I didn’t think it was that bad. The plot was simple to follow and the cast had amazing chemistry.
I may add more later if I can think of more.
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I tend to like dramas that aren’t popular.
Fashion King: The ending had people up in arms. I try not to let a drama’s ending ruin the entire show for me. Sure, I was left with more questions than answers, but I still liked the acting, the writing, and generally the characters. It was one of those rare dramas where I didn’t dislike anyone in the love square/triangle.
The Perfect Neighbor: The story felt so different to me, and although it had its slow moments, I really liked it! Maybe I’m a sucker for dramas where the playboy falls in love.
Cheese in the Trap: It’s not my favorite but I enjoyed watching it. I still don’t understand why the general populace didn’t like it…
My Husband, Mr. Oh!: I think some people felt this drama was too slow. Personally, I really like this one, and it’s one of the first Korean dramas I was able to get my mom interested in.
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After a quick glance through my MDL, I don’t think I have a lot that would fall in this category, but I guess I would mention
A Piece of Your Mind - This actually has fairly decent ratings on MDL and Viki, but if I remember correctly, its run was cut short because of poor ratings. Nevertheless, I really liked it. It is very visually appealing, and despite its somewhat depressing topic, I somehow found it to be very comforting, like a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold winter’s day.
Which reminded me of another drama that aired around the same time and which many people also felt was rather boring: I’ll Go to You When the Weather is Nice. I guess sometimes I am drawn to a lovely, meandering walk through the countryside.
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Marriage, Not Dating I stuck with it because of the wholesome relationship those ajummas had with each other. Everyone else was terrible. My apologies to Yeon Woo Jin fans.
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I felt the same way about A Piece of Your Mind It was a bit depressing but I think I liked it so much because of JHI. He was so nice to look at for some reason. Too bad the drama was underrated and cut short. The plot could’ve progressed to something good.
Ppl probably didn’t like it because of the “voice” that dominated most of the drama. Even I started getting annoyed with it…
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Marriage, Not Dating - I gave it a 6.0 rating, but I have mostly good memories from that drama (thank you, selective amnesia - for once, you work in my favor).
I really really liked the last wedding scene. It just seemed so fitting for the couple who kept going from one embarrassing scene to another. It was fun and sweet, and it’ll forever be one of my favorite wedding scenes ever.
Tomorrow With You - Saw a lot of hate reviews, with people saying it’s boring and stuff - but I really really loved it. I still think it’s an underrated gem because everything about the plot, romance and comedy was so GOOD.
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I didn’t remember a drama that fits this topic until now.
Yes, there was this one, a family drama, a weekender and so too long for most viewers, and it had no youth as the main characters, all of them were in their late 30s or early 40s.
You might never have heard of this drama, it was at Viki but no longer has a channel and the ratings might be low, but the FL grew on me, while she was playing either well off actress or broke widow … I just thought whatever came along the way, she stayed true to herself, that doesn’t mean that her character didn’t develop … At the end she was able to turn her life around and find true happiness, after she practically lost everything in the start.
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My ID is Gangnam Beauty Lots of mixed reviews. Seen some pretty negative comments about the fl looking older. (Which she’s supposed to look like that because her character went through ps) Also, comments were judging Cha Eunwoo’s acting. I admit it wasn’t SUPERB A+ but it wasn’t terrible to the point of making me cringe or unable to watch. I think he played it well enough portraying a tsundere ml. The message in the plot wasn’t that hard to realize but some viewers only judge the ps part. This drama helped me understand (to a certain degree) the mindset of someone who got ps or wants to get it done. The thing is, you have to watch knowing this IS about how ps changed a person’s life. Don’t watch it if you already don’t like ps.
Goblin Since I’ve seen this one on several ppl’s list about dramas they didn’t care for despite being popular, I wanted to add it here. I really did enjoy this one a lot. I’ve also re-watched it a few times. It’s not flawless but considering it’s a fantasy genre, I think they did it quite well. The biggest turn off for some people, that I noticed, was the age gap. The gap in real life and the one in the drama. It’s understandable, since this trope isn’t for everyone. To enjoy this drama, you really have to just throw away logic and prejudice by watching it with no expectations at all. It’s completely a romantic fantasy.
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Me too! I liked Marriage, not dating. I liked the overall atmosphere of the drama and some scenes are nice to rewatch, but I also remember that sometimes I could not stand the female lead’s character, when she, even though already being in love with the male lead, started flirting with some other man, just because she didn’t want to admit or feelings for the lead.
I remember me thinking, that without this, the drama could have been one of my favourites.
I just watched it half a year ago here at Viki, and the whole time I had a really strong feeling of déjà vu. I can‘t remember where I might have watched it before.
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ikr that really annoyed me… I hate it when FLs become yo-yos(funny how that almost never happens with MLs). I did think some of the embarrassing scenes were wayyyy too embarrassing, and that’s why I cut a few stars from the rating. But overall it was a fun watch. I like almost anything that has a satisfying ending
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You are absolutely right. It’s funny that all the good looking, successful men in k-dramas are fighting over the one nice, normal woman. And of course she is the only one a man could desire in the drama while all the other women are either just evil and in no way likeable or the shallow ex-girlfriend with no character trait at all.
Or like a video on you tube put it: The second lead syndrome would better be named second male lead syndrome, as the second female lead tends to be not so likeable.
It would be nice to watch a drama with two or three nice female leads for a change. Are the producers and script writers that afraid that we might not like the right female lead if there is more than one likeable female lead?
And why has the really beautiful female lead nearly always to pretend to be not that pretty even though she is prettier than the average girl might be?
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Pretty much every Sageuk except a few really popular ones. I can tell a lot of people drop them cause the pilot starts out booming with timed comments and then later on its not uncommon to not see a timed comment for 5-10 mins. On most modern day shows the comments never stop especially if they like the ML.
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I liked the “Bad kids”.
Many people said they dropped it because it was nothing like the book, which is true. I think the original story would never ever get the green light for chinese TV. However, the writers did a pretty good job with the altered storyline and they didn’t leave too many plot holes. The actors, especially the child actors, were good and the directing matched the story. The conflicts and the ending were quite plausible.