Totally agree about RIABB; signed my first book contract this year, with another in the works (both with small publishers, on stateside, one in the ROK), and now have much more appreciation for the ecstasy and agony that goes into the process. And, of course, a good looking nam- dongsaeng makes life easier... would that I had such!

My favorite drama this year, however, was The Fiery Priest. Kim Nam Gil (of whom I wasn’t even a fan) really did a great job, and the supporting characters all had a chance to shine. Whereas I did truly love Camellia (the leads were perfect, and the kid who played Pil-gu one of, if not THE best child actor I’ve seen in years), the side characters grated in some ways that they didn’t in Priest, which was good fun without the death rate.

Anyway, do watch Rookie Historian if you get a chance—as a former graduate student historian, that was another to love (in some entertaining places) on a “been there” level...

you know reading this whole blog, I could hear Monica scream in the back of my head, "I KNOW!!!" XD

Chun Woo Hee in character is indeed different in Be Melo compared to The Wailing. She nailed both characters! The women friendship was refreshing and the Age of Youth could totally be like them a few years later.

Shin Hye Sun gave one hell of a performance but the plot wasn't good enough to keep me. She needs to come back in a good drama soon.

I remember Angel Eyes! Kang Ha Neul and Nam Ji Hyun were adorable 😆 Camellia gave us the full version of the sweet KHN. Thank you show.

Rookie Historian was good. Even for a sageuk, it wasn't that politics oriented and the cast was great. The humour got me multiple times. Let's not forget Lee Ji Hoon, Park Ki Woong and Shin Se Kyung!

There must be something wrong with me because while I did see what everyone saw in RIABB at first, I couldn't finish it or like it completely. I felt like Dan-Yi was a bit too ditzy (?) and not serious enough for her counterpart in Lee Jong Suk. Which was good but also not? they painted her as having a hard time and being sad but did she ever really take care of her daughter in the drama? She was playful with the second lead without taking him seriously. Idk something was off.

I wouldn’t recommend ARTHDAL. Or at least wait to see if they do launch a Season 2. Spare yourself the pain of slogging through 18 episodes of darkness and misery to get to nothing much. *cough* *chokes*

I'm still waiting for Kang Ha Neul and Nam Ji Hyun to be reunited in a drama! I just remember the childhood part of this drama. The rest was meh... It was the same with Will It Snow For Christmas.

This is fun. I couldn't get into RIABB at all. I didn't feel the chemistry at all. I was sad because I'm a bibliophile, I love books and library porn. I am also really glad of the Be Melodramatic shoutout, one of the standout dramas.

Kang Dan-Yi from RIABB wore some of the worst outfits ever. They have forever entered my nightmares and to this day and I cannot escape from their oversized wooly grasp. People have nightmares about going to school or work naked. I have nightmares about going to work or school in the outfits Dan-Yi wore. Be gone evil outfits! Release me from your frumpy grasp!

Perfect description of Angel's Last Mission. Sigh.

When The Camellia Blooms is the one where.........it reminded me that Kang Ha Nuel should be a bigger damn deal.

Hella talented with looks to spare. It is amazing how certain actors are just risen to the top of the ecosystem just on looks not much else.

When he has been saving dramas or just being one of the best character actors working, he should just be everywhere and in everything.

you will absolutely love hotel del luna, moment at 18, and tale of nokdu

The light in your eyes is my favourite show of the year. I didn't know about the twist (I watched it weekly) , so when it arrived I was shocked (and partly relieved because things were getting too crazy for me!) and then I started crying like a baby: it was so overwhelming, so sweet, so hard to accept, so beautiful, so sad, so full of hope...
And my other favourite show was Be Melodramatic. I cried when it finished, I wanted more. In my case although I did love Cho Woo Hee, it was Jeon Yee Bee the one who truly stole my heart.

@sailorjumun As much as I enjoyed reading your takes on your stand-out 2019 shows, I think what I loved most was the Friendsesque subheadings! Nicey-nice!

I actually dropped One Spring Night because I couldn't handle how painfully slow it was, but Spring Rain was so addicting it's actually my second most listened to song of 2019 on Spotify. I always came back to it when I wanted to be comforted or if I was in a sentimental mood. It reminded me of Jung Hae-in's softness. To this day though, I still can't figure out who the artist is.

editors and publishers can seem incredibly intimidating, unapproachable even.

But... surely not the Dramabeans editors & publishers? :)

I just came here to thank you for mentioning F.R.I.E.N.D.S, my the one n only love, the shelter that I run to when there’s no kdrama to save me from everyday life and boredom!

Thank you for sharing, @sailorjumun <3

"Kingdom" season 2 is coming January 2020 :)
Though "The Light In Your Eyes" will sit in my "To Watch" list a while longer (Kdrama slump feels are STRONG in 2019, yo!), I definitely agree that 2019 is Han Ji Min unni's year, ESPECIALLY with "One Spring Night". Though not a perfect drama, it still brings butterflies to my tummy any time it's mentioned. The part where there was actually a story and a follow through in addressing social issues (especially that of single parents & the stigma)-- HALLELUJAH!!!! Yes.... I'm giving the side-eye to "Pretty Noona...."

"...Camellia..." is another one that will be sitting in my "To Watch" list (and personal Netflix List) for a little while longer, but I promise (promise, promise!!!) I WILL get to it one day-- ONE DAY!!!-- because, as you say, KANG HA NEUL OPPA IN A MAIN LEAD ROLE, FINALLY!!!

The only thing I'll add is: Tale of Nokdu and Radiant were by far my favorite dramas of the year, and the only ones in my opinion (of course) that were worth finishing.
I didn't like anything else (or I just wasn't in the mood to watch that type of drama) that were favorites with others, for example Hotel del Luna(tic).

I totally agree with you on RIABB. You know a show is special (well, at least to you) when its name came up when you needed to pick your favorite ones of the year to distribute your beans to. For me, RIABB is my favorite. Everything about the show was wonderfully carried out. I love all characters, the color palette they used, the costume and the plot itself. Moreover, it made me begin reading again in oh-so-many years. (The number of books I finished reading this year is more than what I have read in let’s say the past 7 years.)

I love RIABB in so many levels. I still listen to its soundtracks sometimes. The opening scene of Dan-I in a bride gown really resembled Audrey Hepburn. Love that ❤️❤️❤️.

BOKSOO BOKSOO BOKSOO!!!

Kang bok soo!!!
The only problem I have with this drama is only how Kwak dong yeon’s character ended, I don’t think they ever gave us or him a closure.
I hope and pray you never get into Arthdal chronicles. No one should go through that pain unless there is a second season out and ready!

'Be Melodramatic/Melo is My Nature' got respect, if not stellar ratings, this year. Everyone who watched it thought it was smart and sly and snarky and original, without being nakedly ambitious. Plus the clever finale didn't let us down. This year it seemed a lot of the 'ambitious' series fell on their faces before reaching the finale.

my recommendation on the starting order of missed dramas: Tale of Nokdu (start now), HDL, Rookie Historian, EY (only the first half), Moment at 18. Not worth starting Arthdal (there is no ending).

also Watch Search WWW and The Crowned Clown :-)))

omg kingdomm. can someone let me know when season 2 comes out as well~

Yay, I love best of lists....🤷‍♀️

One of the things that I loved about Romance is a Bonus Book was the unique work place setting. Also, seeing the characters be competent at their jobs. I wouldn't mind more late 30s and 40s heroines who are excited about the next phase of their lives.

One Spring Night I loved the pace. It was slow moving but didnt feel dragged out to me. It was just lovely.

With a write up like this how am I ever going to drop OSN now? Im trying to drop as I honestly do not get the hype. I don't understand the ML's insta-love, or see a single solitary quality that would push insta-love into enduring feelings. I think the magic of that actor is how expressive and sincere his expressions/acting feels and watching an insta-love with no foundation denies the viewer of all of that. I just finished an ep where the FL spent her every interaction with ML telling him that she doesnt care about him or what happens to him or his heart. Shes only concerned with herself, thanks. And he looks at her and tells her that he falls more in love with her every day. She's awful. But I read write-ups like this that just scream TRY HARDER, ISA. Someone can't write something like that about a drama thats awful. I must be watching wrong?

I feel the same way about Be Melo and When the Camellia Blooms! I just love Bum Soo and Yong Shik's characters, and they're so different from each other. Thanks, writers and PD-nims!

I'm looking for the right time to start The Light in Your Eyes, on a day when I don't have to worry showing up with swollen eyes the next day, most probably.

Love the Friends titles! I also turn to Friends whenever I’m in a drama slump or need a laugh. No matter how many times I’ve watched it, it still makes me laugh.

Based on Beanies comments, I might watch RIABB based on the fashion 😅

TLIYE and Melo Me are my top dramas for this year. TLIYE broke my heart to pieces when the twist was revealed. The mother and son scene was heartbreakingly good. Writing about Melo Me makes me miss the friendship. It’s my first time watch Chun Woon-hee, she’s a delight but Jeon Yeo-bin stole the show for me. Eun-jung’s story arc made me cry buckets just on the first episode. I was rooting for her to get back on her feet after all she went through.

Thanks for this Friends esque write up @sailorjumun!

Sailorjumin, I partially agree with you about ANGEL'S LAST MISSION- but the problem was not the length of the drama- there could have been more than enough material for 16 episodes. Instead you nailed it with the confusing 'theology' or more realistically, with the attempt to meld together two incompatible religious world views. This included a total misrepresentation of the nature and function of angels- who are not observers but rather agents of God in the Judeo-Christian world view: they are doers, whether as messengers or for some other purpose, including violence- remember that the very first angel who appears in the bible is literally armed with a flaming sword (to prevent Adam and Eve from returning to the Garden of Eden). While we eventually got the 'right' ending the nonsense between the beginning and the end made that ending seem contrived. But this was still one of my favorite shows for exactly the reason you said: The great acting by Shin Hye-sun and even L (I was as astonished as everyone else by that) was what made this show so watchable. Mt theory is that Shin Hye-sun is not only incredibly talented but so very good and skilled at her profession that her co-stars actually gain a great deal of knowledge and, perhaps even more important, absorb from her the attitudes of a good actor during the time that they spend in her presence.

ROMANCE IS A BONUS BOOK was simply special- There is simply no denying this. And in a different way, so was CAMELLIA.

As for the ones you did not get to: Skip ARTHDAL CHRONICLES. But do watch HOTEL DEL LUNA.

Awww 🥰
And I love DB and its awesome community as much as Yong Shik loves Dong Baek too.
Reading this, I think I have to watch Be Melodramatic as well. If it’s up to par with Age Of Youth, then it’s definitely my kind of dramas.
Oh time, where are you? 😌

I am marathoning VIP. It is so good. I stopped at episode 1, and I'm so glad I continued. Omg. Episode 2 onwards is so deliciously compelling and rivetting. I felt dirty watching it. Jang Nara is so, so good. Seriously, her portrayal of the wife, the numbness, the denial, the anger, the mistrust, the suspicion, is just phenomenal. And I am only at episode 5. I want to punch, and kick that no-good, lying, cheating scumbag of a husband of hers, and I love that he is portrayed as a quiet, reserved man, not a charming player at all, just a nice, kind, good guy, the sort of guy who one would never, ever cheat on his wife. Can somebody come up with the recaps soon on the latest episodes? I want to rant so, so much. I think I know who the other woman is, and I want to punch her teeth out, and pull out all her hair. Sorry about the violent language, but if you watch it, you would be right here, ranting with me.

At eighteen, Be Melodramatic, Search WWW and Secret Boutique were the top dramas for me this year!!! They were favess❤❤

Heyy i like your review, I just started working one year ago, and wasnt keeping up with the kdrama land, but i wish i was ! (Also i like to watch friends snippets too) And i got to watch only 1 drama this year, and that is Romance is a bonus book, and I'l terribly happy it's picked as your number 1, yeyey and it's cheesy and romantic and adorableeee. Where do I get myself a Jong Seok