[2022 Year in Review] Editors’ Picks

by DB Staff

One of our favorite features at Dramabeans is our annual Editors’ Picks, which is the product of much voting, deep internal debate, hand-wringing – and of course, fangirling.

For some categories, the winner was abundantly clear. For others, it was a really close call. And for others yet, it was an unbreakable tie. So, rather than break any hearts while trying to break said tie, you’ll see we have two winners in the Best Romance category this year. Enjoy the post, and may 2023 be good to us all!

2022 Editors’ Picks

BEST DRAMA

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Dramaddictally: It’s not surprising that Extraordinary Attorney Woo set records this year for global reach. With its mix of humor, ethical quandaries, and pressing social issues, it covers much more ground than a standard legal drama. Taking on themes of representation, gender inequality, and discrimination (from the workplace to the intimate sphere), the show connects to societal problems without pretending to solve them. Instead, it offers court cases (many taken from real life) that leave us with food for thought about the work that still needs to be done. Park Eun-bin’s portrayal of Woo Young-woo, an autistic lawyer recently hired at a top firm in Korea, is mesmerizing in its ability to be heartfelt, realistic, and funny, while creating a memorable character that doesn’t slip into cliché. Young-woo’s interior dilemmas (about work, family, love, and self) allow us to see her process of growth, while she helps everyone around her grow as well, as they confront their own prejudices. The villains here aren’t just courtroom criminals, but colleagues and acquaintances who act out of fear and resentment of difference. Overall, the drama has a clear idea of what it wants to accomplish and is consistent with its messages and delivery right through to the end. Even throwing in a few standard tropes to the storyline can’t distract from the excellent writing, directing, and acting all around. This is a story to make us feel something, with a main character who faces new challenges head-on and is resolutely herself — leaving us with the idea that it’s okay to be who we are, even if it isn’t easy.

Honorable Mentions
Alchemy of Souls

BEST DIRECTING

Little Women

alathe: Little Women is nothing if not intricate. Its main argument is that rich people have the unfair power to change the environment around them, to the point where they can transform reality. They can don disguises and become someone new, as shown by the stunning array of outfits and identities our heroine sells her soul to wear. They can turn a plain house into a feast for the eyes, whether it’s a Louisa May Alcott-inspired extravaganza of a tea room, or an impossible tree in a vast, green basement. And, like our unforgettable villain, Sang-ah, they can manipulate other people’s lives as if they’re directing a movie. Little Women is full of haunting long shots that look like someone is placing our characters on a stage. (Or, indeed, trapping them in a locked room…) It’s strewn with odd-angled scenes where the protagonists lurk behind long walls, or stand confined in narrow hallways: a great visual metaphor for just how much poverty keeps them trapped. This is a show that wields its metaphors like knives. From the creepy-gorgeous symbolism of the opening credits, to the gleeful Gothic horror of its plot lines, it stays spine-tinglingly unsettling up until the very end. What stands out the most is not that it’s clever — although it certainly is — but that it’s playful. This show loves to imagine weird places, weird scenarios, and even weirder visuals. It’s confident that its weirdness is exactly what makes it great — and it is absolutely right.

Honorable Mentions
My Liberation Notes
Twenty Five Twenty One
Extraordinary Attorney Woo

BEST WRITING

My Liberation Notes

quirkycase: From the first episode, My Liberation Notes established itself as a tightly-written, thought-provoking drama. The unhurried pace and minimalistic writing style allowed us to get to know the characters naturally, which was critical for such a character-driven drama. Writer Park Hae-young knew just how to balance strong dialogue with moments of silence that let scenes breathe, and this delicate balance grounded her examination of inner turmoil and the stifling of the self. Through a variety of characters, she explored how both words and their absence can serve as communicative tools and coping mechanisms, contrasting practically silent introverts like Gu and Mi-jung with chatterboxes like Chang-hee. What a character doesn’t say can tell you just as much about them as what they do say, and with characters like Gu and Mi-jung, their silence spoke volumes. While the writing wasn’t perfect – the ending felt messier than the rest of the drama – it was impressive overall and made these characters’ journeys toward their own liberation feel raw and real.

Honorable Mentions
Through the Darkness

BEST ACTOR

Kim Nam-gil (Through the Darkness)

solstices: It’s no secret that Kim Nam-gil is a phenomenal actor, but he’s outdone himself with the role of Ha-young in Through the Darkness. In his capable hands, Ha-young truly embodied the title of the show, grappling with his sense of humanity in the face of the worst that other humans had to offer. Through his expressive gaze and subtle mannerisms, Kim Nam-gil’s nuanced portrayal grounded the show with a compelling emotional center. His despair was heart-wrenching, but never overwrought; he was intelligent, but not simply because he was a genius. Instead, we saw firsthand the tenacity and mental fortitude that got Ha-young this far — and how that eventually built up into too much pressure on his weary shoulders, because he’s ultimately just human.

There was so much depth to Kim Nam-gil’s insightful interpretation of Ha-young, giving us a multifaceted and realistic protagonist. It isn’t easy to have chemistry with a co-star, let alone a whole ensemble cast, but Kim Nam-gil managed that and more. Over the course of the show, the emotional toll of Ha-young’s job grew apparent through the gradual shift in his demeanor and tone of voice. As Ha-young faltered, our hearts lurched with him, and his sincerity had us rooting for him as he slowly learned to find the light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a reason Kim Nam-gil has been my unrivaled favorite actor for over a decade now, and this role definitely reaffirmed my admiration of his acting prowess.

Honorable Mentions
Nam Joo-hyuk (Twenty Five Twenty One)
Ji Sung (Adamas)

BEST ACTRESS

Park Eun-bin (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)

Unit: “Extraordinary” is one way to describe the phenomenal performance of Park Eun-bin as our extraordinary Attorney Woo. The odds were stacked against her, as a number of things could have gone wrong with playing a person on the spectrum. Yet Park Eun-bin treated Woo Young-woo with respect and affection, and delivered on the role without relying on exaggeration to bring the many facets of the character to life. Woo Young-woo never felt stereotypical or one-dimensional, and it’s all thanks to Park Eun-bin’s uplifting portrayal of the character. Hers was a delicate dance between going all out to portray Young-woo’s no-filter (and sometimes, frustrating) personality, and reeling her in just in time to not go overboard. It takes a great actor to display such a nuanced performance — enough to have us cheering for Young-woo’s highs, and rooting for her during her lows — and the balanced manner with which Park Eun-bin handled the character was almost effortless. For someone who (according to news reports) initially rejected the role because she felt she couldn’t do justice to it, Park Eun-bin gave us the performance of a lifetime as Woo Young-woo, cementing the character as an unforgettable one, and herself as one of the best actresses in dramaland.

Honorable Mentions
Kim Tae-ri (Twenty Five Twenty One)

BEST ROMANCE*

*It was a dead tie amongst the DB staff, so enjoy the double whammy!

Business Proposal

tccolb: There is much to squee about in Business Proposal’s romance, and the show really excelled in zipping through each rom-com trope, sparing viewers from the torture of noble idiocy and over-prolonged misunderstandings. But the fun fluff was also balanced by realness and maturity, which really made our cherished couple sparkle all the more. Hari and Tae-mu’s relationship was grounded by their mutual respect and admiration, and I really appreciated how this was reinforced in the writing of their dialogue. Both continue to speak formally at work and then, when off the clock, both switch to a more familiar “half-honorifics” speech – using each others’ names instead of titles. It was a really nice detail to match their levels of speech, showing just one of the many ways our OTP was golden — as lovers and as equals.

~and~

Alchemy of Souls

Jenzy: Well, was it even a surprise? In the midst of the flashy magic and political intrigue, the hard-won relationship between Jang Wook and Mu-deok/Naksu ended up being the bleeding heart of this drama. From complete strangers to their student-teacher-master-servant relationship, the opposites attract coupling between the violently brusque assassin and the well-meaning squishy-hearted mage made for some great comedic beats and natural attraction — and we will forever be grateful for some of the more iconic moments involving chaste tea or chamber pot water. But what really elevated this romance was the way the two depended on each other and made the effort to be each other’s rock. Whenever Wook wasn’t busy frustrating Mu-deok by taking his umpteenth bath of the day, and Mu-deok wasn’t putting Wook in another near-death scenario, there lied a deep, unshakeable understanding that these two wouldn’t hesitate to put their lives on the line if it meant the other’s safety. And we got to see this resolve tested and refined time and time again with each episode. It’s that “us against the world” trust these two shared that made their romance feel so much more satisfying than standard pretty-people chemistry, and dramaland is better off for it.

Honorable Mentions
Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk (Twenty Five Twenty One)

BEST COMEDY

Business Proposal

alathe: Sometimes giggly, sometimes zany, sometimes downright mystifying, but always charming — there’s nothing quite like the wonderful world of Business Proposal. Who can forget the high-octane shenanigans of our heroine, whose growing stack of shameless lies and social embarrassment is forever in danger of toppling? Or the slowly thawing arrogance of our hero, who isn’t even slightly above it all? (Competitive fishing, anyone?) This drama’s style is fast-paced and teasing: it’ll hit you with gag upon gag, with such a knack for unlikely comedy that you’ll be grinning every step of the way. This is a show that delights in its tropes: it’s here to wallow in every old drama convention we know and love, and — lackluster ending aside — it pulls them off joyfully. Still, tropey as the humor is, it’s paired with some truly original touches. There’s Young-seo desperately adjusting to a life without her father’s credit card, all the while ordering expensive furniture with the wide-eyed zeal of a lost kitten. There’s Grandpa, whose plaintive delivery of the immortal line, “Rich people are human too!” just about killed me. There’s the archaeopteryx noises. But, most of all, I love how the show entreats you to suspend all manner of disbelief, shed your skepticism like Shin Geum-hee would shed her jacket in a freezing cold restaurant, and revel in the sheer, romantic glee of this gorgeous story and its quirky cast.

Honorable Mentions
Good Job
Gaus Electronics

BEST THRILLER

Through the Darkness

DaebakGrits: Through the Darkness is a slightly unconventional K-drama thriller — in the sense that its suspense is not gleaned from an external conflict with a singular villain playing cat-and-mouse games with our heroes. Instead, the story is a fictionalized account of the South Korean police force’s experimental implementation of the profiling techniques used by the FBI to help capture the perpetrators of serial murders. While each couple of episodes does offer up a new case and a “bad guy” for Ha-young and his team to hunt down, the suspense is derived primarily from the profiling process, which was still novel and undervalued in the 1990s and early 2000s. There’s an acute curiosity that builds while watching the characters learn and apply the new techniques, and the tension increases whenever Ha-young makes observations or gains an insight that brings him closer to catching a serial killer. It’s a very subtle and understated form of suspense, but it’s very effective at keeping the audience engaged and feeling as though they are part of the detective process.

Honorable Mentions
Blind
Adamas

BEST FANTASY OR SCI-FI

Alchemy of Souls

missvictrix: It shouldn’t be a surprise that Alchemy of Souls is omnipresent in our Editors’ Picks this year – the expansive, imaginative, and delicious drama was a joy to watch. Bequeathing the title of Best Fantasy is no small feat, and it made me ask myself a worthy question: what actually makes a good fantasy drama? I think there are a lot of elements that must come together, but perhaps the most important one is world-building. First, the world of a fantasy has to be sound and solid enough to convincingly deliver all sorts of fantastical action — everything from illuminating jade and magic mirrors, to a hierarchy of mage power levels and the totally-not-a-big-deal plot point of soul-swapping alchemy. Then, the world-building of a fantasy has to take that structure and those magical elements, and sweep us up in its story. It might sound easy from the outside, but as someone who’s seen her fair share of fantasy dramas that are just impossible to connect with on a heart level — well, it makes you appreciate just how much heart, how much story, and how much rich characterization was poured into Alchemy of Souls. It grabs your emotions as much as it does your imagination — and even takes them both fully hostage for a bit. Now that’s what I call the recipe for a perfect fantasy.

BEST ENSEMBLE

Alchemy of Souls

mistyisles: The strength of a good ensemble cast lies in both how distinctive and compelling each character is individually and how well they all play off each other — and Alchemy of Souls excels on both accounts! From uber-powerful mages to lowly maids, each major character (of which there are many!) has a distinct role to play — both story-wise and within the fantastical society of Daeho — and is just bursting with personality. And a lot of it comes down to the actors’ full commitment to these larger-than-life characters and the ridiculous scenarios they manage to concoct. Sometimes hilarious (that scene with the slop bucket comes to mind) and other times heartfelt (or heartbreaking!), these characters push each other to new heights (or depths), learn from each other, and develop deep relationships with each other that grow and shift over time. The “Four Seasons,” the magical family leaders, the pompous but secretly soft-hearted prince, the bloodthirsty assassin trapped in a physically weak body, and others, are each iconic in their own right. But put them in a scene together, and that’s when the real magic starts.

Honorable Mentions
Our Blues
My Liberation Notes
Under the Queen’s Umbrella

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY/ART DIRECTION

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

solstices: It was a bold choice for the show to launch into an extended backstory with only a brief cold open to pique our interest, but it was a gamble that paid off, aided by its skillful cinematography. From the outset, the show utilized its outdoors setting to the utmost, taking advantage of the natural topography to create breathtakingly picturesque scenes. Through its rich colors and haunting aesthetic, Bulgasal: Immortal Souls elevated its ambitious world-building, immersing viewers into its intricate lore and complex tale of karma. It felt like I was watching a historical fantasy epic, making me wish we stayed in the past even just a few episodes longer.

The show built up a creeping sense of dread through its use of slow pans and sweeping wide shots, as well as a suffocating tension through shadows and camera angles that don’t show the whole picture, but reveal just enough for you to draw your own inferences. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls is an example of a big budget used well — the monsters were appallingly grotesque, created with believable CGI and detailed special effects makeup that must have been painstakingly crafted. Even in the present timeline, inevitably constrained by rigid architecture and reduced grandeur, the show managed to maintain its vivid storytelling through artistic lighting and symbolic framing. Not only was Bulgasal an entertaining watch, but it was also a downright gorgeous one.

Honorable Mentions
Alchemy of Souls
Little Women
Under the Queen’s Umbrella

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE

Choi Hyun-wook (Twenty Five Twenty One)

mistyisles: It would have been easy for Twenty Five Twenty One and a less talented actor to reduce the character of Moon Ji-woong to simple comic relief. And at first, he almost seemed poised to be that sort of character. You know the type: popular, flirty, doesn’t care about studying, only exists to tell a few jokes here and there, etc. But it didn’t take long for Choi Hyun-wook to turn that expectation on its head. Ji-woong was a pretty, popular, comic relief character who remained consistently bottom of the class, but he was also much more than that. He ran the gamut from making big, showy, romantic gestures that made him feel like the hero of his own show to displaying a refreshingly comfortable platonic best-friendship with the girl he’d known since infancy. But I think the moment that Choi Hyun-wook’s performance as Ji-woong shone the brightest was when he discarded his plans for a huge confession moment in favor of one made through simple, intimate eye contact across a crowded room. In a show that centered on a doomed relationship, Ji-woong and Yoo-rim’s side romance offered a bit of hope that sometimes young love can work out. And seeing what he did with that side romance, I look forward to the day when Choi Hyun-wook gets to headline his own show as romantic lead.

Honorable Mentions
Joo Hyun-young (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)
Ha Yoon-kyung (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)

BEST BROMANCE

Sohn Seok-gu and Lee Min-ki (My Liberation Notes)

Dramaddictally: While Sohn Seok-gu and Lee Min-ki don’t actually get a ton of screen time together, their bromance develops through comedic moments that feel like true brotherly affection — with both the adoration and the annoyance. Lee Min-ki’s Chang-hee is like the idolizing little brother to Sohn Seok-gu in his role as Gu — a drifter character that helps out with Chang-hee’s family farm. Gu is everything that Chang-hee wants to be: independent, rich, and crazy cool. For Chang-hee, who hates his small town and being too money-strapped to move out of his parents’ house or buy a car, Gu feels like he will be a savior. So, Chang-hee goes about trying to make friends (in the most little-brother way possible) by coming over uninvited, snooping around the house, and talking about himself nonstop. Gu’s stolid tolerance, in the face of such annoying behavior, is the heart of the humor in their interactions, but there is a deeper layer too. While Chang-hee imagines that Gu will save him, Gu starts to come out of his armored shell, giving the impression that it’s Chang-hee (and the rest of the Yeom family) that are the ones saving Gu. What starts as a one-sided fixation becomes a begrudging bromance as Gu offers Chang-hee hope, and Chang-hee gets Gu to open up a little.

Honorable Mentions
Rain and Kim Bum (Ghost Doctor)
Lee Jae-wook and Shin Seung-ho (Alchemy of Souls)

BEST SCENE STEALER

Kang Ki-young (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)

quirkycase: Delightful characters are in no short supply in Extraordinary Attorney Woo, but Kang Ki-young as harried boss Jung Myeong-seok was a standout scene stealer. Whether the moment was serious or comedic, he never failed to make an impression. Somehow, he always found the right tonal balance for a scene, and his reactions to his junior colleagues’ antics were seriously on point thanks to his great comedic timing. His chemistry with Park Eun-bin was fantastic, and it was a blast to watch the two of them develop their mentor-mentee relationship that was equal parts touching and hilarious as Myeong-seok did his best to go with the chaotic flow. Kang Ki-young played Myeong-seok with an endearing combination of exasperation and amusement, and he brought such warmth to the role of the mentor sunbae trying to wrangle the hoobaes in his charge and turn them into strong, confident lawyers.

Honorable Mentions
Seo Hye-won (Business Proposal)
Lee Deok-hwa (Business Proposal)

BEST CHARACTER

Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri, Twenty Five Twenty One)

DaebakGrits: A large part of Na Hee-do’s charm and appeal is in the nostalgia of her character, and I’m not just referring to her high-waisted jeans and 90s hair accessories. She embodies a youthfulness and a longing for a time when — no matter our current age — we were energetic, idealistic, and passionate about our dreams. Beneath her positivity, however, are the usual teenage angst and conundrums stemming from her complex relationship with her mother, her romance with Yi-jin, and her frenemies-to-friends situation with Yoo-rim. No matter the circumstances, though, she tackles her problems and chases her dreams with an admirable gusto that makes her utterly endearing. Na Hee-do is the heart of Twenty Five Twenty One, and even though the drama’s ending left many of us disappointed, I think it’s safe to say the wonderful characterization of Na Hee-do will help this particular drama to stand the test of time.

Honorable Mentions
Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin, Extraordinary Attorney Woo)
Gu Ryeon (Kim Hee-sun, Tomorrow)
Jang Wook (Lee Jae-wook, Alchemy of Souls)

 
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