As of October 2021, these are my top 10 Korean Dramas

 In no particular order, from the ones I have watched so far, here are my favorites.  Keep in mind, they can be from any year.

1)  My First First Love

Happy endings all around except for the poor Seo do-Hyeon character.  The sweetest moments were between him and Han Song-i, but alas, they were not meant to be.  I am happy with who she ended up with but so sad for him.

2)  Startup

Once again, happy endings but there is one that missed out and it's sad.  This time it's Han Ji-Pyeong.  Come on!  They couldn't have written in a happy love story for him?!  Also, I loved the grandmother character in this story.  That was a very touching part of the drama.  Loved her.

3) The Heirs, also called The Inheritors

This is an iconic and very popular Korean drama.  Very melodramatic but still, the characters are so endearing.  Also, there are some funny parts in this series that made me laugh out loud and wonder if I actually have a Korean sense of humor.  I also loved the main character's mom- who couldn't speak and only did sign language.  Very sweet.

The weak point in this story is the beginning when it takes place in California.  Lee Min Ho, while an excellent actor, couldn't pull off being able to speak English.  The actors that they got for the English parts were not good and their dialogue was terrible.

Also, the song "Love is the Moment" always coming on whenever the two main characters were sharing a moment.  Kind of a catchy tune, but also kind of funny at the same time.  

4. The King: Eternal Monarch

Disclaimer:  I HATED the graphic violence in this and fast forwarded through all of that, so it shortened my viewing time by a couple episodes!!

Another disclaimer:  I didn't understand most of storyline of how the parallel worlds and doppelgangers worked- so complicated, but the characters suck you in.

Also, didn't love the girl that played the main character, though she slightly grew on me as the show continued.  I liked her better in Goblin.

I loved the King's body guard's nickname of the Unbreakable Sword.   

5) Her Private Life

I didn't like the first episode.  I didn't understand what Ryan Gold's problem was and had to go back and figure it out.  This is a very sweet love story.  The fangirling stuff was cute, too.

6) Bride of the Century

7) Touch Your Heart

I was sad that the secondary love story between the single mom and the office guy that had a crush on her didn't work out.  

8) Descendants of the Sun

Disclaimer:  I did not watch the fighting scenes because of the violence or the surgery scenes because I am squeamish.

I loved the four main characters in this dramas and the actors that portrayed them.

9) It's Okay to Not Be Okay

I can't believe this made it on my list because at the start I hated the main character and how she was so aggressive.   She eventually grew on me but by the way she acted at the beginning, I almost decided to stop watching it. Though it is still tame by US standards, it is the most edgy MPAA rating-wise for me.  I like the main characters to be good and I didn't think the lady author was going to be that way.  I was wrong and I thoroughly loved this.  I especially loved the main guy character in this series.  

Another thing I loved about this series was the character that had autism.  This actor did a terrific job portraying someone with autism and also provided some comic relief.

10)  Strongest Deliveryman

This was adorable in every way!  Absolutely LOVED it!

DISCLAIMER:  Many F words.  You don't have to hear them at least, but you do have to read them.

Honorable Mention:

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo

Disclaimer:  I actually only watched the first and last episode. (These Korean dramas are such a time commitment and you can't really watch while doing something else because of having to read the subtitles!). However, I LOVED the last episode and because it was so good, I will eventually watch the rest of the episodes in between.

Korean Dramas explanation

 Warning:  This will be a long post!

During the summer, I decided to watch a Korean drama, just to see what all the fuss what about.  The secretary at my school watches them and I thought I would try it.  The first one I watched was "Crash Landing on You", which I didn't watch completely but then watched the last episode and saw the semi-happy ending.  I know I should have watched the whole thing, and maybe at some point, I will.  

The second one I watched was "Cinderella and the Four Knights".  I thought it was adorable.  That was when I found other neighbors who also love them and I got recommendations from them and I was "off to the races".

I found this Kdrama blog who mentions her criteria for watching and reporting on the dramas.  I found that my criteria is fairly similar to hers, so I thought I would start with hers and adjust it. 

https://kdramahappyendingaddict.home.blog/2019/02/13/who-is-the-kdrama-happy-ending-addict/#more-9

A few things about me:

• I watch only Korean Dramas. 

• I’m a Happy Ending Addict. Seriously, I don't want to get invested unless there is a happy ending.  I watch Kdramas to escape, so I want to end smiling!
• Also important: the characters need to be good people.  They can be flawed but need to grow and change.  Also, I don't like bad language, violence, or gratuitous sex, which is actually why I started watching Korean dramas in the first place.  If I watch something violent, I just fast forward through it.

• I only watch one drama at a time, binging through it from start to end before starting a new one.

• I focus on Romance dramas. They might be other genres as long as they have a romance element I enjoy.

• I am watching older and newer dramas. I do not watch dramas still airing, because I like to binge watch the whole season in one go.