I am afraid my end of the year review about Thirty but Seventeen might not get published, since you summed it up in a couple of sentences while I needed a few hundred words! ;)

On a serious note, I applaud your courage in admitting that things are not going well. I opened up about a similar truth in my end of the year review last year, and I was touched by all the Beanie support I got back then. I would like to return the favor now and wish you the best for 2019. Keep watching K-dramas to heal yourself and never be afraid to reach out to me and other Beanies. We are here for you! 

Now, I'm the one who wanted to cry reading this.
Thank you for sharing this, @pbnjelly513. And fighting!! 😊😊

I loved the leitmotiv of your article a lot. A structure using a 'tears' as a main origin makes this review a very nice and interesting read.

I can really relate about crying to calm down & only crying alone. With my mood swings, sometimes I just burst out crying when I shower before I know why. It’s never easy to tame down those emotions. Here I hope 2019 will be a better year for you & everyone! I always tell myself to do “whatever that makes me happy”. It’s easier said than done, but we needa at least try. 🙂

To be honest, I can’t really remember which kdramas made me cried this year. But my recent visit to the cinemas for A Star is Born was too memorable. It made me teared unknowingly even when I already knew the plot beforehand. I still listen to Shallow everyday (my local radio plays the song every few hours), & I still get goosebumps + teary every single time. It’s that impactful on me.

P.S I can’t wait to catch the Taiwanese remake of More than Blue in the cinemas! I’m actually curious how badly I will cry, haha! (though I haven’t watch the Korean original by Kwon Sangwoo & Lee Boyoung)

A great write-up, @pbnjelly513! Crying is cathartic. It does help unload and, just like you said, face life head-on. Fighting!
I cry a lot, I'm an easy crier. I sometimes *want* to cry while watching a movie or a drama and I'm no longer shy about it. I actually seek out things that would make me cry. I cried quite a lot while watching 30 but 17, whereas Hundred Million Stars warranted maybe just a sniffle or two.

oh my gosh @pbnjelly513 you're completely right. 2018 is the year of crying. And Crying feels GREAT. (I'm not a sadist, I swear). I definitely cried at ALL the scenes you mentioned (not elegantly, at that). And what makes me happy is that you LITERALLY enumerated all my favorite dramas this year (are we connected? LOL)

Thank you @pbnjelly513 for your review! I also like to cry a bit in my dramas, but it’s little moments of struggle that usually get to me (like in Misaeng) rather than tragic misunderstandings, deaths and heartache. That is why I stay away from melodramas as a rule (except in sageuks - give me heartache there or give me death!).

Not to sound too greedy, but I am hopeful some of DB Staff will write their end-of-year reviews too. Or Editor’s Picks. Please? I love reading previous year posts to find shows I’ve missed. That’s how I came across Full House 2 this year, going through @gummimochi’s list of 2012 flavours. http://www.dramabeans.com/2012/12/a-variety-of-flavors-in-2012-year-in-review-part-3/

Wonderful post.

The one that comes to mind that made me cry is Go Back Spouses. It was any scene with her mom. I'd be the same way if I could go back, she would never shake me off, lol.

Ahhhh! Thank you Dramabeans for posting my submission! I am honored and humbled that you decided to put it in your website. I am very grateful to this platform that allows me to share my thoughts on my life and my favorite dramas. Thank you Beanies for reading and leaving some really nice and thoughtful comments. I am not as active as I wish to be since I am still pretty shy in voicing my thoughts without a prompt, but I am one of those people that laughs out loud while reading posts and comments, and nods along, and upvotes almost everything. I'm glad to have met so many of you through the internet and wish to meet many more of you in the year to come!

I hope you have a happier or at least easier year as you create the life that you really want @pbnjelly513.

My Ajusshi and JBL both had me crying several times. Oddly enough as I looked at the dramas I watched this year, Familiar Wife is the one that makes me cry every time I think about it because I loved the ending so much.

Wow, you saw all the best dramas of 2018. I cry in dramas much faster than in real life. I don’t even cry for my own traumas. So, I understand when you say it’s a healing thing to cry even when your problems are still there when you stop the drama, it just helps you face your issues again. Thank you for this! And thank you for mentioning LIVE and Prison Playbook. I watched both and cried through both!

I am such a crybaby and to be honest even this post brought tears to my eyes while reading and picturing the scenes you chose.
I have no problem with dramas which make me cry because at the same time they make me grateful for what I have in my life and remind me to be a better and kinder person first of all to myself and then to all the people because life is like a battlefield and just god knows what they are going through. I just want to be like Park Dong Hoon and tell them “ It’s no big deal” ...❤️

@pbnjelly513 Jeeeelllyyyyyyy!! *scoots over with my blankets and tissues and cookies*

You go, girl! Thank you for sharing your story, it’s deliciously inspiring. Sorry to hear that you’ve been having a rough time of it, I hope 2019 brings better things! 💖 You got this!

*quickly fans away the tears brought to my eyes from reading this post*

Thank you for your lovely essay, @pbnjelly513 Jellybn. Your comments on JUST BETWEEN LOVERS hit the nail on the head. The show went where few fear to tread -- all the way to the rehab. What a rare and refreshing plot twist character arc.

Some of my biggest frustrations with Kdramas are uncomfortably-realistic depictions of binge drinking and dysfunctional family dynamics. Most shows, perhaps mirroring real life, wimp out and don't take it to the next step. Maybe my beef is that they only show the addictive behaviors without the ensuing consequences, which admittedly can take decades to manifest. Or they fail to provide logical alternatives: ending the harmful behavior or relationship and getting mental health care. I'm looking at you, THIRD CHARM, which featured a protagonist saddled with a horrible family of origin, a self-centered female lead who by rights should have expired of cirrhosis, and more geographical cures than you could shake a stick at. In a similar vein, TEMPERATURE OF LOVE initially depicted chef On Jung-sun's admirable attempts to detach from his toxic parents, in particular Mommy Dearest. He was repeatedly undermined by high-handed scriptwriter Lee Hyun-soo, whose own parents were narcissistic jerks. The performances in both shows were notable for their veracity even as the scripts went sideways. The opportunity losses were what brought tears of frustration to my eyes.

Thank you again for the reminder of Junho's and Won Jin-a's terrific performances in JUST BETWEEN LOVERS. I awarded it 3 Beans, my highest encomium of 2018, in a three-way tie with LIVE and LIFE ON MARS.

@pbnjelly513 your take on dramas this year is exactly how i felt. Tears and emotional attachment was the most memorable take away that i got out of this years drama as well. I'm also not very good at attaching myself to a drama and their characters and can never squeeze those tears out but so many of them, whether it was happiness or sadness, finally broke my icy heart. This was a very relatable post and you wrote it wonderfully.

My tearducks are only allergic to Sageuks and none suited my taste this year, I barely sat through the first episode of TGP, and 100DMP just can't seem to hold my attention long enough for me to commit more than a few minutes to it.
This honor shall be granted to the C-dramas I've watched this year and the last decent historical from the drama gods: 7 Days Queen

When I really need a good cry, I re-watch "My Ajusshi." I've been bawling for every episode. My heart wrenched.

Oh My Good .. that Thirty But Seventeen picture above. I bawled during that scene and the entire of episode!

Thank you for sharing your piece. Prison Playbook was my favorite drama that I watched this year. My GOD it was such a great drama.. gotta rewatch it again soon. I was bawling my eyes out them they did my looney dirty :'( Also I watched I can speak and 1987 recently.. such wonderful tear jerkers.
Your writing makes me want to watch My Ahjussi. I really am in need of a good cry. Here's to hoping we all have a better 2019!

'I'm Not A Robot' really did turn into *emotional torture porn* about halfway through. I'm used to getting tonal shifts in wacky K-comedies at the halfway mark but this one dragged the viewer down into a black pit of despair. And yes, I loved the series.

"hundred million stars from the sky" is so different than the rest of the list. It is the only Korean drama that I watched while being aware that Its ending will completely break me. And it did... I cried few times while watching 30 but seventeen but atleast it had a happy end. Hundred million stars is like one of those wounds that just refuses to heal and you will forever feel it's pain.

That first paragraph could totally be me writing it, tho not that well.
I'm a selfish cryer too. When others cry buckets watching certain scenes, i might only shed a tear or two, or at times, I just feel sad. This year crop of dramas managed to wring out a couple more tears than my usual tear per drama quota, and that's a good thing.

I cried in Just Between lovers a looot, i mean... a LOT and 30 but 17 makes cry a few times. Such a beautiful drama! I really need to see My Ajusshi and maybe Woohoo Waikiki deserve a second chance.

i'm currently watching waikiki !!