For me, in no particular order, it was Bossam, Hospital Playlist 2, The Red Sleeve, Mine, Youth of May, Navillera and Devil Judge. I want more "serious" sageuks from 2022 (currently watching Lee Bang-won) and more dramas with female relationships like in "Mine".

I'm going to give an Eeyore answer. I watched very few good dramas, several bad ones, and dropped a handful. Nothing stood out as "the best". If I had to choose one that touched me more, it would be SHALL WE HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE?

This chat idea is nice, but I would still like to see the Editor's Picks to help me choose gems I may have missed. I will wait patiently. No pressure. :)

CHIMERA is My pick for 2021. Best thriller/crime drama since Ghost, and Sign. Beautifully made and acted, it was the first time in a while that I could not wait for the next episode, next week. Next, are Hellbound and Silent Sea. When they came out, I watched them in one sitting as I could not take a break. As for Hellbound,...made me think about the human condition... and more, and for the Silent Sea,...also about the human condition but in a different aspect. I have already re-watched them all at least two times or more, they are that good. The acting on Chimera is beyond great with a special mention to actress Cha Joo-Young who I did not know before.

Move to heaven, taxi driver for me!

Run on, racket boys and hospital playlist 2 are honourable mentions

Mr. Queen and Vincenzo for the entertainment value

Move to Heaven and D.P for the acting, the plot and the storyline.

Here are my list based on the less than 20 Korean dramas that I've watched in Yr 2021:

Best Drama:
1) On The Verge of Insanity
2) Undercover
3) Beyond Evil

Coincidently the first 2 aren't even in my intended watchlist and are actually fillers while waiting for some new shows. Sometimes it's just one of those things for being in the right time, place and mindset :P

Special Mentions (Enjoyable ones):
1) Sell Your Haunted House
2) Mouse
3) Happiness

Most Underrated Drama: Inspector Koo
Most 'Duh' Drama: Sisyphus The Myth

I mostly watch dramas to be entertained so I tend to avoid stressful or depressing dramas. For me, the best drama is one that keeps me engaged and excited for the next episode. I’m also
a sucker for romcoms and I don’t care if a drama isn’t perfect. My best drama is Red Sleeve, followed by Hospital Playlist 2, followed by Dali and Gamjatang, then Hometown Chachacha.

I have to rethink harder about which the best drama is. Well, I’d picked “Move to heaven” for the best drama of 2021. Hands down. This drama is wonderful in everything.

Honorable mention: “Hospital playlist 2” is a brilliant finale of the series and never lost the momentum, “Racket boys” makes it unexpectedly good for a coming of age drama and Netflix’s original “The silent sea” successfully made the new genre, Sci-fi. Props to the productions and the cast especially Bae Doona.

Good to see this chat - but will we still have a year end vote which is after all a traditional DB feature until now?

2021 is a pretty good drama year, similar to 2018. I didn’t drop a lot of dramas but it may be because I’m now very picky as to which one to start.

My best drama picks are Beyond Evil and On the Verge of Insanity. Both are all-rounded good and not your usual standard dramas. Each is well-written with a fully thrashed out story and characters, excellent cast in main and side roles, good pacing and consistently good from the beginning to end without any weak episodes. Wholesome drama watching experience, leaving you satisfied and more. And re-watchable.

Then, there’s a whole raft of dramas that I like including:
* Mr Queen - so, so much fun and Shin Hye-sun (need I say more).
* Navillera - heartwarming and we have a senior citizen in the spotlight for a change.
* Run On - who can forget the two very different but equally lovely couples. That’s what a romcom should be without resorting to convoluted plots. Just follow your heart.
* Move to Heaven - each episode/deceased is a precious journey on its own.
* Undercover - I can’t fathom the Snowdrop’s controversy when Undercover covers similar ground. I simply love the JJH-KHJ coupling.
* Squid Game - different vibe and style from your usual dramas and what a breakthrough for kdrama on the world stage.
* D.P. - high emotion and high impact.
* Hellbound - the directorial choice of dealing with the beginning and consequences in two distinct chapters is impressive. This is the one drama that I don’t want a S2.
* Hospital Playlist 2 - the ultimate comfort drama in a COVID world.

As for the current crop, I am sure Our Beloved Summer will be in my list for 2022 unless the remaining episodes blow it off.

It's a bit difficult to pick just one! So I have to mention two favorites!

First, Human Disqualification. Everything about this drama was fantastic but the main leads, Jeon Do-yeon and Ryu Joon-yeol were particularly outstanding.

Second would have to be Vincenzo. I still miss the fun cast and that lighter!

Navillera was my favorite this year. I liked that it was only 8 episodes, but told a complete, emotionally satisfying story. The pacing, acting, and cinematography was just perfect in my mind. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it.

I also loved Bossam and Red sleeve cuff that just ended. Sageuks (true historical or fusion) are always favorites of mine typically.

My best 2021 drama was GROWING SEASON, a webtoon series that handled better the same issues and themes of Nevertheless.

The best series for overall "impact" on K-dramas and the industry was SQUID GAME.

I realized I didn't watch very many 2021 dramas. I think I only watched eight (from worst to best)

From a Distance Spring is Green - I should've dropped it since it was pretty awful but I was super bored.

My Roommate is a Gumiho - dropped because I didn't like that he lied to her and made her think she would die if she didn't move in with him.

Police University - I enjoyed it but the plot seemed rushed and anti-climactic towards the end and there were too many times jumps in the last ep.

Dali and Gamjatang-the main couple was cute but I didn't really care about the rest.

The Red Sleeve - I haven't finished it yet and not sure if I will but I enjoyed what I saw although I'm confused why they had the whole court lady secret society and then seemed to drop it.

True Beauty - Cute and fun with a good message about being confident in your appearance.

My top 2 dramas of the year are (drumroll please!) Devil Judge and Yumi's Cells!
At first glance these might seem totally different but there is something they have in common: Jinyoung 💚 I started watching both for Jinyoung but ended up loving all the other characters and the story too. Devil's Judge was a great look at people fighting against corruption in a dystopian society. It kept me guessing as to who Jinyoung's character could trust. Should he trust his friend and mentor or Ji Sung, the "Devil Judge"? I completely fell for Ji Sung while watching Devil Judge and watched Kill Me Heal Me and Familiar Wife to get more Ji Sung while waiting for new eps of Devil Judge 😄

Yumi's Cells I started for Jinyoung and Minho 😍😍😍 The first two eps when she thought Minho liked her were so cute and I was heartbroken when he told her he wanted to set her up with his friend instead 💔😭💔😭💔 but I ended up liking Woong eventually too. The cells were adorable and I loved how it used them to show what the characters were thinking. I'm looking forward to season 2 where Jinyoung will be the lead!

The best (BY FAAAAAAAAAAAR) is Beyond Evil. Objectively speaking, the writing, the directing, the acting, the score, the production, everything was simply perfection about it. Personally speaking, it's in my K-pantheon now.

The second best is Mad For Each Other -- it was a rare combination of a factual view of mental illness and howling comedy that delivered the most endearing gem of the last year.

The third bests (in no particular order) are Run On, Squid Game, Mr. Queen, On the Verge of Insanity, DP, Yumi's Cells, The Sea of Silence, Vincenzo, Imitation, Dali, Sell Your Haunted House (my personal favorite), Navillera, Happiness, Move to Heaven and Racket Boys.

The not-the-bestest drama I just have a weak spot for is My Roommate is Gumiho, sigh.

I didn't include many sageuks, as I'm a rather "slow watcher" of them and not a particular aficionado of them. My opinions might not be as "authoritative" and rather shaky about the quality of them.

Best of 2021 for me is the one and only Vincenzo. This was thekdrama that yanked me back into kdrama land after years-long sabbatical. Vincenzo was the epitome of drama addiction (I felt like I was high on drugs) and an experience that comes around once-in-a-blue-moon. My sleep schedule got wrecked because of it, and it was so, so fun to participate in all the live discussions and theorizing. It's been almost a year and I still haven't crawled out of the Vincenzo hole.

I thank the show for being my lifeline in lockdown, for making me finally understand SJK's popularity, and also for introducing me to the gem that is JYB.

Other favorites of 2021 are all the Netflix shows: Squid Games, Kingdom, Hellbound, My Name, Silent Sea.

Vincenzo had everything: acting, writing, directing, ratings, and buzz.

Objectively, Youth of May was the best drama of 2021, and if KBS awarded Drama of the Year, it would win hands down.

I am on record as saying the last ten minutes of episode 8 of NAVILLERA were the best 10 minutes of television for me in 2021 so my choice is NAVILLERA.

These were the best of 2021:
Mr. Queen, Vincenzo, On The Verge of Insanity and Yumi's Cells! (Can't wait for the second season)

Tough call. I think all my top picks are between Netflix dramas funnily enough. Squid Game, D.P. and Sweet Home were my favourites, with some honorable mentions like Move to Heaven and Mad for Each Other.

I suppose I’ll have to go with the cliche pick and choose Squid Game. It’s the one I think back on when I think of memorable moments. Just the intensity of some of those scenes…The tug of war episode I watched at like 4am, and I HAD to watch the next episode immediately. My sleep schedule still hasn’t forgiven me for that one. I’m unlikely to look at marbles the same way ever again either!

Navillera.

My measure of a good drama is one where I’m so impatient I watch the episodes raw, then with subs, then wait impatiently for the Beanie review. So, Vincenzo, Run On, Da-Li and DP. What did they all have in common? Great characters, great acting, gripping stories.

Hard choice because 2021 indeed gave us many very good dramas. After giving it some thought, I think The Red Sleeve is the best drama of the year for me.

It has been a long time since Koreans were able to deliver amazing sageuk, and this one hit all spots for me. It's been a long time since I felt for characters as deep as I did for Deok Im and Yi San. Storytelling, directing, message and ultimate love story, which was executed on a top level which only Koreans can do for me.