[Beanie Poll] Dramaland predictions for 2023
by DB Staff
All of our reviewing and rehashing of 2022 has made us seriously look forward to a fresh crop of dramas coming our way. And while we’ve all tossed up our hopes and dreams for 2023 in the recent Drama Chat, this post is less hopes and dreams and a little more ice bath, shall we say?
Make your predictions for dramaland in 2023!
Polls close January 31 at 11:59PM.
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1 Moren
January 4, 2023 at 5:29 AM
At this point romcom+murder is every drama writer’s go to theme. They can’t get enough of it because writing a 16 episode romance needs more than just wrist grabs, evil second leads and noble idiocy which nobody remembers how to do. Suspense is the easiest way to bring a couple together because everyone needs to be saved at least once per episode which is easier to write I guess. Also truck of doom has a legitimate psychopath behind it rather than a garden variety hit man. I miss normal romance dramas but I don’t feel anyone can write 16 episodes of that anymore. Even BP and HCCC faltered beyond episode 10.
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Unaspirated
January 4, 2023 at 5:48 AM
I agree that this seems like the main reason these kinds of elements are included. But if you already have charming characters and a romance that people are cheering for, I'm happy to watch people working out normal problems and learning how to be a couple and live their lives together. I wish we could get more of that.
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 8:02 AM
I wonder what is the reason behind this. Lazy writing seems like the first answer but it has become so common that I'm thinking there is more to this. A reflection of a change in the culture that might be local or broader.
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roses
January 4, 2023 at 9:19 AM
Lazy writing is definitely A answer because even Hollywood has failed romcoms but someone once told me the reason why romcom has disappeared is because there isn't enough consumption to sustain the genre. This is a vicious cycle like employment - you can't get hired till you have experience but to gain experience you need first get hire. I'm still watching Legally Blonde and You've Got Mail to feed my romcom deprived soul and they don't even feel dated.
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 9:29 AM
Have the romcom lovers of Korea moved on to something else? Here on DB this people are still very much present kkk.
wapz
January 4, 2023 at 9:40 AM
@lixie I see many people including myself getting their romcom dose from cdramas. They have improved a lot over the years and provide both romance and comedy without serial killers. I'm hoping two korean romcoms to be good this year but we'll see.
ar_arguably romantic
January 4, 2023 at 2:43 PM
I think cdramas are doing better with rom-coms nowadays because they're pretty good at weaving interesting work stories/challenges and slice-of-life, relatable things into the characters' lives so that the story doesn't live or die by its OTP. I think them airing like 5-7 episodes a week helps since there isn't much room for your attention to lose momentum.
Kdrama rom-coms have to put in something adrenaline pumping to keep our attention for the week.
mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:42 AM
I feel like we don’t get many of that anymore because they don’t bring in high ratings.
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 10:00 AM
Maybe because they are bad? Do we know of a few high quality romcoms over the last few years that still did not get high ratings?
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ar_arguably romantic
January 4, 2023 at 2:46 PM
There was Into the Ring. But it's more like political comedy too?
Unaspirated
January 4, 2023 at 10:05 AM
Maybe, but I just finished What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, which seems to have gotten great ratings, and the last few episode are all about them figuring out how to fit into each others' lives. Business Proposal did really well, and though we got a little of that at the end, I thought they could have used a bit more, since it wasn't clear to me how they were going to resolve the lingering power imbalance in the OTP. Some straight up romcoms definitely do well, so I'm hopeful that there will be more.
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ar_arguably romantic
January 4, 2023 at 2:40 PM
But why murder? There are tons of other crimes - like maybe we need to catch porch pirates, people who don't sort their recycling properly, people who voice-phish the elderly? They could also go with more interesting professions or beef up the ensemble.
Even in the past, 16 episode was a lot for a rom-com kdrama. Last quarter dramatics and separations were quite a thing.
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parkchuna is looking for an Emperor Penguin 🍉
January 5, 2023 at 12:58 AM
As much as i would like to see this trope killed off, i don’t think plain old murder-free romcoms are making a comeback anytime soon.
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2 Britney
January 4, 2023 at 5:34 AM
Something that's kinda funny to me is how different the reaction to certain dramas here is to what other folks/viewers say; an example would be how much Big Mouth & Again My Life were criticized here and yet I think both lead actors won awards for their performances that year as well as the dramas being highly watched. But sure, awards and viewership can be superficial so how do you *really* know a quality drama?
I guess it's just a to each its own solution.
If you truly enjoy something even if everyone else criticizes it, just enjoy it.
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Midnight
January 4, 2023 at 7:46 AM
Awards aren't really a testament to quality, as networks usually just give the awards to the most famous actors and their works.
But I agree, in the end it is just to each their own. I recently watched a show that was highly praised and I hated it so much I just wanted to cry from frustration! Lol
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mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:45 AM
I hated Be Melo so much but I stuck to the end because I thought I was going to love it more but that never happened.
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Alluvial_Fan
January 4, 2023 at 5:10 PM
Wow, this is the first time I disagree with you. Loved Be Melo. Made me laugh and cry in a single episode. The farting show was genius.
Friends often have different opinions and it deepens our understanding of the world, eh?
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mmmmm
January 5, 2023 at 1:45 AM
Yes, we do :)
One of my good friends @ndlessjoie also loved that one so much. I found it very weird- though I can't really put my finger on why it's weird for me. I guess its humor isn't my type of humor? To each their own I guess.
mugyuljoie is preciousss
January 6, 2023 at 10:45 AM
No K-drama has made me laugh harder. The meta, the balance of humor and sadness. It was lovely.
mmmmm
January 6, 2023 at 11:00 AM
@ndlessjoie You can have this emoji from me 🙄
Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 7:56 AM
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 7:57 AM
Let's say Sally bought a rubber duck. It's very cute and she likes it. There is another person, he also bought a duck, but he's bought millions of them by now, he knows all kinds of styles and types of ducks. Which one is more qualified to know if a duck is of good quality? As long as both parties have agreed on what should be the criteria of good quality, there should be no doubt. That doesn't mean Sally can't enjoy and appreciate her duck, she should, but it does mean quality is not always subjective.
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Midnight
January 4, 2023 at 8:16 AM
I... don't agree... if I have understood what you mean correctly... 😆
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 9:27 AM
I was just using a rather silly example to say why I don't think quality should always be subjective, as people are usually led to believe in some areas.
Some things can be very popular or expensive or pretty but that doesn't mean they have very good quality if that's not our criteria for the quality badge.
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Midnight
January 4, 2023 at 9:36 AM
Ok I got it wrong the first time then.
Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
January 4, 2023 at 9:54 AM
The other person may just have very poor taste in ducks, or be colorblind and not know that his assortment of ducks doesn't look good together, or own the duck factory and exhibit favoritism toward his own ducks, whereas Sally recognizes that her solo duck is a Vermeer among ducks.
Now I will go back to my 19th rewatch of Melting Me Softly.
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Lixie
January 4, 2023 at 10:10 AM
Yes that is all possible kkk. But most likely Sally would hardly be able to judge her duck properly if that was her very first duck and the other person would hardly be able to ignore the objective characteristic of his ducks IF they both bought them with the same purpose.
Experience counts. Knowledge of facts does exists. I'm not disregarding personal tastes or experiences, just the belief that those are references for quality judgements.
parkchuna is looking for an Emperor Penguin 🍉
January 5, 2023 at 1:02 AM
This may be the first time i’ve seen someone on DB liking Melting.. Good for you! hahaha
3 Britney
January 4, 2023 at 5:45 AM
I felt weird seeing "another Park Min Young rom com" because I kinda feel like she may be one of those folks who are damned if she does something different and damned if she doesn't do something different. I wonder if she still enjoys doing rom coms or is she now just typecast into that role.
I saw something that said Ji Chang Wook was considered an "action star" but he just considered himself an "actor" so he's been taking on different kinds of projects that don't include action such as the magician role, the hospice worker, and I think he did some rom coms but the audiences/viewers aren't showing up for those like they did his action projects.
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ar_arguably romantic
January 4, 2023 at 2:58 PM
Seems like every time she does a non-comedy, it doesn't get the ratings. People aren't looking for PMY, they're looking for PMY+comedy. So of like how I really enjoy Jung Ryeo-won+law.
I guess it's like how people will more likely look for Louis Vuitton for bags, but not so much for fragrances.
I also hope she enjoys rom-coms too! It would be sad if she wanted to do something different, but don't get good offers.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
January 4, 2023 at 4:26 PM
I'd be surprised if Park Min-young appears in anything, let alone another rom-com, this year. She has nothing on her 'upcoming' list, and while I think there should be far less attention paid to anyone's private life, it's hard to deny there's plenty going on in hers. Her last two dramas were not good and she barely did more than show up in Love in Contract. She probably could use some rest. And yes, it would be a shame if she only gets offers for rom-coms if that's not all she wants to do.
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4 Blue (@mayhemf)
January 4, 2023 at 6:25 AM
Rookie’s career will skyrocket:
My choice : Noh Sang-hyun
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bong-soo
January 4, 2023 at 4:42 PM
Yes indeed. I give Noh Sang-hyun a lot of credit for his recent performance in CURTAIN CALL which was the first time I have seen him in a drama. In a way he was done wrong on how his character was written i.e. the way his character’s ‘stuff’ was back loaded almost to the end. Add to that his character joined a long list of youngish guy characters in kdramas wrapped uptight. Anyway as a fellow Bostonian I was very pleased with his performance and wish him all the luck in the future.
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Blue (@mayhemf)
January 4, 2023 at 5:27 PM
You should totally check out 'Behind Every star'. He has a guest role, but he was so swoony!! there was a kiss too highlighting his uber sharp jawline.. lol.. its ep 4/5/6 I think. You can FF and just watch his scenes. He can totally pull a lead role.
Agree on CC - They pushed his entire arc to the last 3 episodes which sucked. But even in that he delivered.
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A. McG.
January 4, 2023 at 9:22 PM
He was also wonderful in Pachinko.
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5 redfox
January 4, 2023 at 6:26 AM
Natural disasters would be good cause we are living it.
a plot with speaking animals would be great (maybe mythical beasts who form a commune in human society)
an artist fascical, absurd murder mystery would be great with charming quirky profssors and likable villains
please I also need some more martial arts (perhaps a drama about an ahjumma taekwondo club and neighborhood watch who catches perverts, spies and cheating husbands with tricks only ahjummas possess). and their antisocial young teacher, who is more of a show dont tell type.
More deaf characters represented and sign language in dramas
a semi drama semi cooking show where you can cook along
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redfox
January 4, 2023 at 7:28 AM
prediction-wise: an actual kidnapping case where fans take their idol hostage but you can follow real time what is happening.
more space / scifi done well
more war dramas, like actual battlefield, more Korean war dramas
a reality show for startups with very high stakes
a new installment to Kingdom but joseon zombies in modern day Seoul and a time- travelling hero trying to save the future.
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Diana Hansen
January 4, 2023 at 8:50 AM
I like your suggestions! Now, where can we send these ideas to, or who?
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mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:47 AM
Your last suggestion is so good! It’d be nice if they show the ingredients and measurements of the dish the character is making. That will allow at least some watchers to replicate the dish. It might be a good memory.
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redfox
January 5, 2023 at 6:42 AM
in general, I would appreciate a cooking show of simple korean dishes for foreign viewer - something like omelet, dumplings, rice cakes, tteokbokki etc or a drama where every episode features a different dish / different flavor to life. and would include an english commentary with the recipe
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mmmmm
January 5, 2023 at 6:43 AM
That's a great idea. Yes, it the drama has one main dish for each episode that is well-interwoven into the story that might make one great drama.
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6 welh
January 4, 2023 at 7:12 AM
After decades away, more top Korean movie stars will return to TV dramas. The reason is simple: international platforms have big budgets and the Korean box office has only recovered 50 percent of pre-pandemic revenue.
When they hit their early 40s, more lead actresses will be pushed aside from rom-com roles to secondary/supporting roles or different genres like crime/mysteries since 2022 began to feature new actresses in their late 20s-30s taking lead positions.
The best drama of the year could be another Hook Entertainment scandal involving top stars being taken advantage of by their agents.
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Magie
January 4, 2023 at 7:46 AM
I don't see any actresses in their 40s being pushed aside. If anything its actresses in their 20s who are still struggling to land roles. SYJ, JJH, KTH and SHK are impossible to replace but even JDY, LBY, GHJ, LYA and KSA are consistently landing lead roles. If you look at the confirmed drama line up for 2023 then 70% of the dramas are still lead by actresses in their late 30s and early 40s dominate followed by actresses in their mid to late 40s and early 50s. There are barely any relevant actresses in the 20s anymore now that even IU is turning 30 followed by Suzy and HSH next year. There aren't any actresses in their 20s breaking out and most are stuck leading medicore dramas or worse playing side roles to older actresses. GHJ was and will always be the romcom queen and PMY will never give up on doing romcoms either. SMA and HJM are also hitting 40 this year and I don't see them being pushed out of romcom roles ever.
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jerrykuvira
January 4, 2023 at 9:30 AM
Next time, please use the full names of the actor or actresses instead of abbreviations. How do I know GHJ is Gong Hyo-jin instead of Go Hyun-jung? It was fun guessing the names in the abbreviations but help us save the guess-the-name puzzle :)
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Doppelganger
January 4, 2023 at 12:15 PM
After decades away, more top Korean movie stars will return to TV dramas. The reason is simple: international platforms have big budgets and the Korean box office has only recovered 50 percent of pre-pandemic revenue.
This trend isn't unique to kdramaland. This has been going on in Hollywood for a while, with bona fide MOVIE STARS taking on prestige tv roles (e.g. Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies). With kdramas, you're seeing some movie stars turn to tv for the first time ever (e.g. Song Kangho).
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wheguhreh
January 5, 2023 at 8:14 PM
I'm not sure about that, especially for KDramas that want to make a splash in the international market. While I'm sure that there are still younger viewers, a lot of KDramas are watched by older people, especially in the U.S. I've found that while I support budding talent, I just don't relate to a bunch of 20-year-olds in my TV shows unless it's in a mixed generational plot format.
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7 Sharon
January 4, 2023 at 8:15 AM
The trend I have seen in the last few years is a drastic increase in the number of dramas relating to the occult and supernatural, especially since Netflix entered the picture, and I expect that trend to continue. I'm surprised that's not offered as an option to vote.
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mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:50 AM
I made a similar prediction today on another platform that we might have a lot more of occult dramas this year. I’ve heard of 2 already with A-list actor/actress as their main characters: Island (Kim Nam-gil) and The Devil (Kim Tae-ree).
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8 lotus
January 4, 2023 at 8:42 AM
Dramaland in general will bring:
another HosPlay dynamic but with no lovelive within the group🙏
thank you.
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lotus
January 4, 2023 at 8:43 AM
*loveline
typo... okay, 2023 is already rejecting the idea lol
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fab
January 4, 2023 at 1:54 PM
I loved the loveline! Especially with the absence of a triangle. Hospital is really unique in that regard, delivering 2 wholesome and great seasons.
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9 kakakash
January 4, 2023 at 9:25 AM
LOL the lee min ho drama. Boy am I buckled up for that one. I frkn love Go yoon-jung; she makes up for the void in my heart for Jun ji-hyun. They're my girls.
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Warrior Ajumma
January 4, 2023 at 4:09 PM
I freaking love Gong Hyo-Jin. She is the reason I got hooked on KDrama. But I am terrified of LMH and a Korean space drama. I will try it, but like Heirs, may drop quickly.
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10 mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:33 AM
OMG this is so hilarious!!! 🤣🤣🤣
I almost chocked on the chocolate milk I was drinking reading the first question and choices!
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mmmmm
January 4, 2023 at 9:40 AM
I know I am at the right place when the majority of votes also think that we will get another PMY romcom next year (regardless of how they interpret romcom).
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11 jerrykuvira
January 4, 2023 at 9:44 AM
For 2023, dramaland would bring more dramas without the romance or the romance is taking the backstage from start to finish.
Also something along the lines of Hospital Playlist - a medical drama that is medical at heart and mind first and foremost. Any other subplots comes third.
I hope dramaland brings Hospital Playlist 3.
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12 kellie
January 4, 2023 at 10:12 AM
K-dramas will continue to make serial killing look like 99.9% of the crime committed on the Korean peninsula.
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13 pliplipli
January 4, 2023 at 11:09 AM
wish I could say we would see a bigger variety of characters being represented, especially in the projects on global platforms like netflix, but unfortunately, I have no expectations of this really happening.
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14 hacja
January 4, 2023 at 11:11 AM
First of all, I liked and laughed the clever quizzes. As usual, well done Dramabeans staff!
I will not answer, though, because I am skeptical of all but general predictions. We base our predictions on the past shaping our imagination of the future, so judging by this last year, I would say there will be at least one blockbuster romantic fantasy set in a magical time vaguely resembling the Goguryeo period involving magical hanbok that will attract 400 comments where viewers debate exactly what specific rules govern the use of the magical hanbok, since the show is vague in defining them.
But I don’t think this will happen. Instead, I tend to think history is contingent, not determinative—somewhere a butterfly flaps its wings, influencing a pop idol’s dating scandal that inspires a writer to think of a show about a traveling troupe of musicians during the Joseon era.
Instead I’d like to make predictions about Dramabeans, which I read daily. While I think these will happen, I’m not going to bet my Dramabeans subscription on them. That would be $48 down the drain and I’d have to spend all my Internet time watching Youtube influencer videos.
1. Regardless of how many sageuks are produced, by September someone will write on Dramabeans: “we need more sageuks!”
2. A rom-com will bomb in the ratings and a different person will write “people are sick of trope filled fluffy rom coms. We need more sageuks.”
3. In the reviews of a detective drama a commentator will write “I’m so happy they didn’t feel compelled to put in a romance.”
4. At least once a month someone will write in the open forum: “I’m tired of all these dark dramas. Could someone recommend a fluffy romance?”
5. By November, someone will write “what happened to all the legal dramas? I miss the old style lawyer shows where a lawyer opened up a coffee shop.”
6. Once a week at least one person will write in “what we’re watching” raving about a 60 episode fantasy C-drama in which an arrogant male doctor is transported back in time, where he meets and falls in love with a bubbly female servant and they decide to serve the Qing dynasty by helping to subdue the evil Kingdom of Tungning.
7. Someone will write in the open forum “I miss the old style Dramabeans, where there were routinely 400 comments on a thread debating the rules governing magic hanbok”
8. At least 10 readers will write in blaming Netflix for sex and violence in shows, shortening kdramas, extending kdramas, and not showing kdramas. Meanwhile, Netflix will go out of business, and Disney will take over the streaming of kdramas, showing them to legal subscribers only in the island country of Nauru.
9. I’m running out of characters, so I’ll end with one final prediction: at least one person will be enraged with the crazy contributor Hacja, who seems to think he is funny when he’s just stupid.
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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
January 4, 2023 at 12:01 PM
10. The hit show of the year will be a mystery-thriller about a drama fanatic who can read other viewers' minds and uses that ability to twist comment threads in sometimes hilarious, sometimes perverse ways. Can he somehow change the discourse, or even dramas themselves? Tune in to find out!
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hacja
January 4, 2023 at 12:05 PM
This show will be a ratings disaster!
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LadyShayo
January 6, 2023 at 1:37 PM
Ok, this would be fun 😅
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Alluvial_Fan
January 4, 2023 at 5:23 PM
Genius list but I hate #8. Disney is death to real storytelling. It must get burned bigly in the Asian market and return to scaring American children, which is the reason it exists.
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15 fab
January 4, 2023 at 2:08 PM
This is great! I'm waiting for a year where wrist grabs and unconsented skinships become a taboe thing of the past. And the excessieve alcohol consumption! You can have big revelations and move the plot with dialogs while sober.
And because I've seen so few of then, I want a good medical Saeguk and a good Weekender! C'mon MBC!
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16 ar_arguably romantic
January 4, 2023 at 3:09 PM
More chaebols who have normal people jobs....which makes me think that the job market is so brutally tight in korea, maybe the chaebols should step aside and let someone whose family scrimped and saved to send them to college have the job. Chaebols should use their chaebol status and create more jobs.
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redfox
January 9, 2023 at 4:38 AM
and more charity from chaebols.
also would it not be great to see a reality tv with actual chaebols doing some good deeds or creating a community house or youth club to hang out. Or if they had a mission and merit based competition to invent startup for social benefit. to reduce bullying and address housing problems, and to improve the situation of foreign workers etc. of course that takes a a new level of admitting problems. winning money for each episode or task would go to a charity of their choice. there could also be an evaluation like maybe 6 months after to see the effect
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17 MikeyD signed up
January 4, 2023 at 7:32 PM
I predict in there will be three truly outstanding, ground-breaking dramas in 2023. And they will not get particularly good ratings. Oh, and people will argue over how they ended.
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