Korean dramas

I like K-dramas, but I'm not obsessed with them. A lot of them just can't hold my attention.

I started watching Protect The Boss some time ago. Liking it so far.

I need to watch that.

Just added Secret Garden from 2010 and starring Hyun Bin.

I liked Secret Garden and am currently watching Greatest Love. They are soap operas and that stylistic need to drag the hero/heroine through the mud bugs me. I do like the research into a specific topic and kind of wish the Hong sisters would look at the world of competitive billiards.

Is anyone else watching Vampire Prosecutor right now? I was completely turned off by the name at first but it's...actually pretty good. It's like Law and Order with vampires. It also surprisingly has almost zip romance thus far (I mean, this is a Kdrama AND a vampire show). So if you're looking more something darker with no rom-com fluff it's definitely something to check out.

Hmm...the title and the premise does sound absolutely retarded...

I know, right? The title sounds terrible and the basic plot description made me cringe. But so far it's been 95% detective procedural and 5% mysterious vampire backstory, and the mystery in each episode have been surprisingly twisty and non-cliche.

I recommend the first of it's kind in Korean Historical Palace Drama

Jewel in the Palace...or in Chinese 大长今。 it's pretty much amazing

Agreeing with whimsyful on Vampire Prosecutor. It's got great moody visuals, a slight twist from your standard vampire, and situations like Law and Order where the good guys don't always win. It's one where I look forward to the next episode.

I'm also dipping my toe into the Chinese/Taiwanese waters, first to check out the Taiwanese version of Boys Before Flowers/Hana Yori Dango.

And, thanks to everyone, a year after this thread was started, we now have 42 Korean Series and several Korean movies added to the wiki.

Yayy! The Korean movie section really needs to be expanded though. There are a ton of good kmovies, but the list on tvtropes is tiny right now.

RE: taiwanese dramas (should we make another thread for Asian dramas in general?) If you enjoyed City Hunter, check out Black and White (痞子英雄) opening theme in very low quality here.

So it seems like S Korea is finally getting on the zombie action...I'm not sure what to make of this.

We Koreans like zombies.

Don't know about an Asian thread, altho we could. I did put in an index for Taiwanese Series, but so far there hasn't been a lot of activity other than what I've added, so I don't know what the interest is out there of asian entertainment that's not Korean or Japanese.

I've only watched a couple of K-movies because the TV series has me hooked and I still need to sleep sometimes. Vampire Prosecutor has got me more and more caught up, both visually and plot-wise, and I see good things coming from the cable networks in that country..

Yeah, cable dramas have been very strong so far. Probably because they have more freedom to tackle (more) mature subject matters and don't use the terrible live shoot system. I've also started watching the 2010 cable drama Joseon X-Files (or Secret Investigation Record). It's a very interesting (and unique, as far as I know) mix of sci-fi/horror and sageuk—aliens in 17th century Korea! I'll put up a page for it once I've watched a few more episode.

Added an entry for Delightful Girl Choon Hyang as the beginning of The Hong Sisters rise to fame. Whimsyful, just started watching Black and White. If it's any good, I'll add that one too. Haven't watched J X-Files, mostly because I still need time to sleep / work / interact with other humans. It's on Hulu, though, so I know it's easily accessible to have a peek at.

Vampire Prosecutor just keeps getting better, in my book. It was a great episode 9 this weekend, with lots of backstory elements to the murder of the week.

I've added a page for Joseon X-Files. Will add more tropes as I continue watching. Might also add a page for Black and White later.

Ep 9 of Vampire Prosecutor was fantastic. If it keeps this up it'll probably somehow slip past my prejudice against vampire-themed-anythings and end up as my favourite kdrama of 2011. Also, am I the only one who really hopes that [[the Amoral Attorney Yoon Ji Hee has survived and is now a vampire]]? Because the potential face-off/team-up could be epic.

Agree with VP ep 9. Just another piece of vampire trivia that Tae Yeon can't see anything if the person's still alive. It's one of the few shows that I hope will have another season. The attorney becoming a vampire angle...hmm... so she might become a love rival against Jung In? We are passed the half-way point for the series, so it'll be interesting.

I'm still working my way through Black And White but I should be done by the end of the year. It's good so far - I like the interaction between the two cops. As a side note, I asked some police officers I know whether a taser could knock out the surveillance transmitters on the undercover officers (ep 1), and only one believed it would do more than just temporarily fuzz out. FYI

Also, this weekend was the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live Korea. They are using almost the same format as the american original, with the Weekend Update, political humor, a pop band, and a well-known entertainment celebrity. Muchh funnier, in my opinion, than SNL Japan, which bears little resemblance besides the sketch comedy.

When is the zombie series supposed to premier? Anybody know?

edited 15th Dec '11 10:58:04 PM by Shukmeister

RE: zombie drama. I have absolutely no idea, but possibly end of the year, seeing that it's a drama special? I'm still kinda skeptical about how authentic (read: gory) of a a zombie drama it can be given that's it's being broadcasted on MBC.

RE: VP—I'm just hoping the attorney is still alive (or undead), because she was kinda awesome. On a vampire related note, someone decided to make a sitcom about alien vampire idols. O_O

Added a page for White Christmas, a Psychological Thriller set in a high school which I marathoned over the weekend. In short: unless the final two eps of Vampire Prosecutor really knock it out of the park, this is probably my favourite Kdrama of the year.

Huh? You mean Gag Concert?

dRoy - Not Gag Concert, but a whole new show.

Whimsyful - Added Black And White under Taiwanese Series. Just a kernal, though, since I'm not through the entire series yet. FYI.

Watched the first two episodes of the zombie series, but the jury's still out. I'm gonna watch maybe two more before I decide if it's worth following.

I actually watched the first four episodes of Vampire Idol. Extremely campy, with a laugh track that grates on your nerves. Interesting idea, though.

Last episode of Vampire Prosecutor coming up, but there's rumors of a second season. I think there's enough meat to the plot to carry it off. We'll see.

edited 15th Dec '11 10:58:55 PM by Shukmeister

So...finale of Vampire Prosecutor was pretty fantastic. I think there's definitely enough meat for a second season, what with it's episodic procedural format and the side characters which could be fleshed out. They'd better keep the same PD and writer(s) and cast though.

Big time agreement there, whimsyful. It'll be a shame if it loses the chemistry and slick photography that characterized the first season.

On a different note, added another Vic Zhou series, Mars, which was a coming-of-age college romantic drama where the protagonist wants to participate in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and his female love interest is a shrinking violet art student. Younger and a bit cuter than his character in Black and White - lol.

Oh god, I'm still not done Black and White yet...if I start watching another series at this point, I won't have any pretense to a social life left.

Favorite kdramas of 2011, anyone? White Christmas is still my personal favorite out of the ones I watched because of the tight writing and how it had the largest Chekhov's Armoury I've seen yet in a kdrama, with Vampire Prosecutor a very close second. Also highly enjoyed City Hunter, but it really broke my Willing Suspension of Disbelief.

Favorite? Hmm. Favorite Taiwanese Series hands down is Drunken To Love You. Korean Drama choice is tricky, because I liked a lot of them. For 2011, I would say Can You Hear My Heart. I watched a lot of older dramas this year too, but I liked the pacing and most of the characters of that one. There were some wonderful comedic performances (Dokko Jin comes to mind!), but they don't normally stick with me after the series is over. If you think of the best in terms of whether or not I rewatch it once its done, my current favorite is Secret Garden. I'm watching Padam Padam, Color of Woman, and Ojakgyo Brothers as my current Koreans, and For Love Please Ring Bell Twice for my Taiwanese hit. Just watching the final two episodes of Japan's Nankyoku Tairiku.

And in between I work, play, and sleep!

edited 13th Jan '12 3:09:50 AM by Shukmeister

Just added Padam Padam and For Love Please Ring Bell Twice. I'm still watching Color Of Woman but my interest has been waning as the characters edge toward insipidness. I don't want to get caught up a bunch of new ones just yet. "White Christmas" is slated to be my drama-of-choice for an upcoming trip.

Yesss Vampire Prosecutor Season 2! With the original cast!

Hmmm how is Padam Padam? The premise sounds interesting but also really melodramatic. I'm only keeping up with What's Up right now though I'll probably check out History of the Salaryman sometimes, because it looks very weird in a Crazy Awesome way.