r/kdrama 2023 Challenge List

#1 The Heirs Trope

What started out as a fun and cute story with very charismatic characters and great romantic and platonic relationships became just a giant mess of clichès, drama and mystery boxes just because, even managing to remove the charisma of and chemistry between the characters.

The 2ML and 2FL and their relationship got incredible shafted and was basically just the same argument/scene over and over again like a freespinning wheel.

Mingi is not a character, but a plot device for a poorly thought out 1st life and an  overdramatic clichè mystery.

The whole abusive father/mistress/reincarnated mother storyline was very messy (and tbh the acting for the reincarnated mother was just not good) and just a distraction and waste of screentime of the main quartet.

#2 Subverts a Trope (Meet Cute)

Fantastic slice-of-life show. Watching PHK just taking off to go on her day trips is very relaxing. Her interactions with all the different humans are great and show so many different aspects of humanity and community and just living. Despite it's shortness it brings a lot of depth to those aspects.

#3 Drama referenced in another drama (in Gaus Electronics)

One of my favourites. Can rewatch it forever.

#4 Food (Triangle Gimbap)

#5 Tropes (Truck of Doom)

Great acting and I love the diverse, competent female cast in a genre that's traditonally filled with guys. The story is overall enjoyable, although not that surprising.

#6 PPL (Make Up/Skincare) - Kohonjin

A rewatch. Still a great drama. The production is absolutely fantastic, it has a great OST (eg. Tempest) and the acting is all around great. And Yohan is such a great and fascinating character.

#7 Location (Park&Nature) -   (Wondae-ri White Birch Forest)

Okay. I like the zombie stuff in Joseon, and the main villain Cho Hak Joo is really great. But didn't care for the baby plot.

#8 Child Actor (Yeo Jin Goo)

Cute show, but let's be real: The star of it are the visuals. IU's gorgeous styling, the sets, colour grading and the cinematography. In comparison to other viewers I really like the ML, but I have no real care about the romance. It's very bland and trite, it just should have been platonic. While I really enjoyed the zany sidekicks, I got tired of P.O's character quite quickly (especially in conjunction with his romance to YuNa).

#9 Well-Known Supporting Actor (Jo Han Chul)

Very fun treasure hunting (and stealing) romp. The characters are not really deep, but the Interactions are very fun and occasionally heartwarming found-family style. The robbing scenes, especially the puzzle rooms, are very fun.

#10 Actor From My First Drama (Lee Elijah - Good Detective)

The first part was really good. The multiple timelines were done in an engaging way, and the villain who only appeared in the past so far was such a large presence that he hung over the present like a dark cloud.  But the second part failed to keep up. The multiple timelines really started to drag the pace, the ML had basically nothing to do, and even Heo Sung Tae as the villain was becoming an annoyance. Started strong, ended on a whimper (Part 2 Rating: 6/10)

#11 New Actor Baeksang Winner (Kim Nam Gil)

Really fun and good show. Loved the setting of Japanese Colonial Wild West, it's a really interesting and layered time period. The action was great, and the acting was good as well, especially Kim Nam Gil as always. The main antagonist Lee Gwang Il was a toxic hot mess, but he is my toxic hot mess. His preordained path as a japanese supporter who is in many ways getting used and abused by them is quite layered and very interesting. IMO the worst part was the "romance". They tried to convince me it was romantic when it's really just an unhealthy coping mechanism by a former (child) slave. That's a no from me. The group of outcasts was really enjoyable and I wished we saw more. I also read that the show was cut down from 20 to 9 episodes. We could have gotten so much more.

#12 Actor currently in Kpop group (Cha Eun Woo)

Sadly, disappointing. The acting is good, the foundational plot is interesting with a lot of potential worldbuilding. But it has a bad execution and is really messy. The action scenes and editing are a mess as well. 0% Horror.

#13 Co-Stars on Multiple Occasions

Enjoyable ride, much better than the first season. It had a good villain organisation and some fun cases. Ha Joon's truth was so cruel and tragic. Loved his part in the show the most.

#14 OST artist has a MAMA Award Win/Nomination (Punch nominated for Goblin)

A rewatch. Fun with a cast of great characters. The action is very good. The FL is trying at times, especially at the beginning, but she has some really good development.

#15 Multigenerational Main Cast

Good mini thriller. Visually gorgeous. The cinematography really helps to build the atmosphere of suspense, creepyness and even dread. The music helps as well. The father character is really good and interesting, and his connections to the other villagers/friends are a strength. The mother is very bland.

#16 Main Cast is my Zodiac Sign (Lee Hak Joo - Capricorn)

Great noir crime drama. A tightly written, good and interesting story, great acting, a fantastic Lee Sung Min.

#17 College Alma Mater Plot Point

A rewatch and still very good. This time I also enjoyed the bridge game a lot more than before. Excited for season 2!

#19 No Romance

Solid show with some good action. Heo Joon Ho was fantastic and the best part. The MCs (and their actors) were good as well, but half the time they were more side characters than protagonists. The villain was okay. Very threatening but sadly without a lot of depth.

#20 Athlete Main Character

Such a fantastic and warm show. Love the characters, their stories and development, and all of their interactions. The communication and dialogues are A+, and everything looks so colourful and beautiful. The little easter eggs to the movies and shows are so fun and the OST is beautiful. The acting was fantastic. The main 4 are such a fantastic group of friends, but side characters are also gems. On their own, interacting with the mains or interacting with each other.

#21 Disguise/False Identity

Good remake that takes itself sometimes a bit too serious. The team is fun (although not as deep as the OG crew), they use a few OG cases in a very inventive way to tell it's own story. Because they use 2+ episodes for a case, they can establish a deeper villain motive, which is nice. But due to the time they take, it sometimes lead to situations where the show takes itself a bit too serious.

#22 Revenge

Okay, but very bland revenge drama. Most characters don't have a lot of depth. In the first half the good guys were weirdly incompetent, but more interesting on a personal level (eg. the uncle-nephew-relationship). In the second half that was swapped, and the heart was noticeable missing.

#23 Featuring a Pet

Heartwarming stories, love the characters and how they evolved. The production is good, especially the dreamy and whimsical cinematography of the ghost town.

#24 Always wanted to watch

Brilliant beginning with the suicides as murders, but the writing began to meander quite a bit around the middle. Namkoong Min is great as always, and I enjoyed the two FLs as well. I also really liked that all 3 had their own investigations. The villains were okay, although many stayed a bit bland. It had a statisfying end with basically all things tied up. 

#25 Liked Poster at First Sight

Okay, If a bit bland dystopian show. The setting, design and acting is good, but the story itself is a bit messy. Plot strings that do nothing and seem to be dropped, bland characters. Worst offener: The main villain. Boring and bland.

#26 by Director/Writer previously enjoyed

Fantastic look into folklore and supernatural believes with great acting by Kim Tae Ri and Oh Jung Se. A very engaging story overall that kept up the tension. The side stories were really interesting and allowed the deep dive into certain folkloric aspects. But some flaws exist like the IMO underdeveloped detective 2ML and the underwhelming final episode due to a deus ex machina. But overall a really exciting show.

#27 Existing Recommendation (MDL)

A major step down from the seasons prior. I liked the individual Golden Time Team cases (few as they were), but the main case/storyline was bad and I did not care at all. 

#28 Inspired by Comments/Reviews

#29 Suggested by a KDC participant

While the plot itself is a standard revenge-undercover crime story, all aspects have been fine tuned to perfection. The acting is great, the action is fantastic, and the directing just amazing. It was just exciting to binge.

#30 Direct Title Translation

The story was really good and I loved the villain 'Pied Piper' who dove into and used social unfairness to commit his crimes. The moral complexities it showed where also very interesting and quite realistic. But man, the colour grading was horrible, especially in the beginning where it was either very washed out or with a yellow-brown tinge.

#31 Less than 2% Nielsen

Not my humour at all. Too over the top, slap-sticky and repetitive.

#32 Single Episode Drama

Very interesting hour into the spiral of insanity of Prince Sado, and how it effects him and those around him especially his mother, wife and sister. Kim Dae Myung is fantastic as Sado.

#33 Long Form Drama

#34 Less than 500 Watchers (after completion: Nr. 198)

Very interesting absurdist take on work and how it effects life. Explores what people would do for money in an interesting way. Amusing due to the dark humour. The episodic nature made some episodes stronger than others.

#35 10 Years Old

Fantastic group of friends and family. Sadly, the husband!mystery was obvious from the first episode and dragged a bit in the last few, and tbh I thought the SW/YJ relationship was a bit boring. The best relationship in the triangle was the brotherly bond between YJ&TW, it was very sweet. And I don't know why they shoved in the older sister for two episodes but then never really mentioning her again. It made that a bit creepy. The massive strength of the show are the character and their relationships. It was really fantastic and a fun ride.

#36 Previous Challenge (2021: Foreign Drama)

Love this adaptation. The characters are a lot more fleshed out and dynamic, and it has a lot more heart and levity than the book. While there are some issues due to the official censorship (eg. Cultural Revolution...), it is very true to the book. The portrayal of the VR game scenes was fantastic, and the whole science was explained very well. It has some length and drag in the middle, but at the same time I didn't mind it because I loved to be immersed in that world.