[2023 Year in Review] A soundtrack for the season

47 December 31, 2023December 31, 2023

[2023 Year in Review] A soundtrack for the season

by solstices

Before penning this essay, I stared at a blank page for a long while, racking my brain for a way to sum up my year of dramas. Then I thought about the most recent drama I recapped, and it clicked. Just like Soundtrack #2’s heroine and her conflicting feelings towards the piano, I’d slipped into a drama slump early in the year. Few shows managed to catch my interest, and even fewer kept me invested.

Meanwhile, I sought solace in musicals. I’ve always loved theatrical productions, and I fell headfirst into them this year — and then, in a roundabout way, musicals brought me back to K-dramas. I followed some of my favorite actors from the stage to the screen, leading me to discover shows that ended up reigniting that K-drama spark.

In a similar fashion, a few Beanie comments under my last Soundtrack #2 recap reminded me of how much I loved To My Star 2, sparking a Christmas rewatch of both seasons — and it was such a warm, introspective, and healing way to wrap up the year. Sometimes dramas are good, and other times they lead you to another gift instead.

So, here’s my ode to the dramas of 2023, summed up in holiday gifts and peppered with some of my favorite numbers from musicals I watched this year!

When the winter season rolls around, I always find myself craving hotpot — a hearty soup filled with ingredients that are delicious on their own, but taste even better in tandem. It’s for this same reason that I love dramas with great cast synergy, so I’d be remiss to not highlight the shows that stood out in this department.

I’ve already waxed poetic about how good The Kidnapping Day was in my recaps, but I’ll say it again — this show struck the perfect balance between witty comedy, ethical dilemmas, and heartfelt emotion. Our precocious kidnappee and her bumbling kidnapper were undoubtedly the emotional core of the show, but what really stood out was their crackling chemistry with just about everyone on the set, as well as the way their sincerity and integrity inspired others around them to join their cause.

Track 1: “My Place” from In The Burning Darkness — for a tale of navigating through uncertainty and crumbling faith to protect what one holds dear.

I may not have been entirely invested in the central plot of Divorce Attorney Shin, but the ajusshi trio’s shenanigans were the undeniable highlight, especially that drunken karaoke scene (made even funnier by the fact that both Jo Seung-woo and Jung Moon-sung are musical actors). Joseon Attorney had tons of fun antics too, at least until it went off the rails in the final stretch. As for The Secret Romantic Guesthouse, it stole my heart with its trope subversions and endearing found family. I would have watched it anyway, with its cast full of my favorite web-drama actors, but it surpassed my expectations and delivered a compelling chronicle of liberation, loyalty, and love.

Track 2: “Love at First Sight” from Pirate — for another story of bravely fighting under false identities for the right to live, and falling in love in the process.

When I first saw the news article announcing that musical actor Park Kang-hyun would be making his dramaland debut with Heartbeat, I was instantly sold. My conversation with missvictrix went something like this: “OMG, Park Kang-hyun is in Heartbeat, can I please cover it?” “Sure, but only if you promise to make lots of 2PM references!” “Challenge accepted!” Thus began my very first foray into recapping a rom-com — a genre that doesn’t usually spark my fancy — and boy did I have so much fun. The show may have petered out towards the end, but I’ll fondly remember Heartbeat for its cast chemistry, its hilariously cheesy sense of humor, and the extra time I spent trying to squeeze as many 2PM and Park Kang-hyun songs as I could into my recaps.

Track 3: “Magic” — it may not be a musical number, but you can’t go wrong with more Park Kang-hyun magic!

Sometimes, following a favorite actor to a drama can lead to an unexpected discovery. It’s like buying a tin of assorted cookies just for that one favorite flavor, then realizing halfway through devouring the tin that maybe you like the whole array after all. Seo Young-joo finally got me to cave and watch Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, and I was rewarded with a tightly-knit ensemble cast that delivered fiery chemistry and a wildly entertaining adventure. Similarly, Choi Jae-woong guided me to an introspective story of redemption and reignited passion in My Lovely Boxer, playing a devoted dad alongside a standout performance by Lee Sang-yub. As for Kim Mu-yeol, his role as a morally-corrupt manipulator in Trolley led me to a deliberate and harrowing exploration of political machinations and ethical quandaries.

Track 4: “The Song of the Highest Tower, Sensation” from Rimbaud — for an evocative character study woven from poetry.

Other times, though, that favorite cookie isn’t enough to convince you into buying the entire tin. Instead, you zero in on that single flavor, like cherry-picking the red gummies out of a mixed pack. I did just that — watching a whole episode of a drama I hadn’t been intending to pick up — entirely for the tiny two-minute cameos by musical actors Byun Hee-sang in Behind Your Touch and Kim Chan-jong in Welcome to Samdalri. Then I skimmed through Gyeongseong Creature just to watch Choi Young-joon play a psychopathic researcher once again, after his turn as one in the musical 98 Percent. And, well, we all knew I was going to watch Death’s Game given the impressive cast list, but it was a nice surprise to see Seo In-gook’s Monte Cristo co-star Kim Sung-cheol in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, so I totally rewound that scene to watch it again.

Actors aside, sometimes a drama is a treasure in and of itself. Like a musical box filled with comforting tunes and nostalgic memories, these shows warmed my heart with their earnest sincerity. Finland Papa was my hidden gem of the year — gently heartfelt and quietly thoughtful, it felt like stepping into a fairytale tailored to soothe the soul.

Another magical tale was Twinkling Watermelon, colored by retro nostalgia, vibrant music, and earnest emotion. Its delightful characters embodied how love has the capacity to be enduringly steadfast, even in the face of conflict and circumstance; their raw portrayal of connection beyond communication barriers brought me to tears. The show didn’t quite stick its landing in the final week, but the path taken to get there was so full of heart.

Track 5: “In the Rain” from Dry Flower — for more friendships formed through music and the bright-eyed idealism of youth.

Talking about music, we can’t leave out Castaway Diva, which delivered a rousing narrative of chasing dreams and protecting the people you love. The show may have floundered in its execution and underutilized its unique deserted island setup, but it featured a supportive female friendship and deep found family bonds, so I’ll forgive it for what could have been and appreciate it for what it gave us.

Track 6: “Music Note 2” from Anna, Tchaikovsky — for a dreamlike nutcracker song and a healing tale of musical mentorship.

Some stories were simple and sweet. Other stories were quite the opposite — ranging from complex historical periods, to suspenseful fantasy settings, there were miles to explore and tons to discover. Unfortunately, these dramas left waters uncharted. Despite weaving worlds with captivating lore and intriguing rules, their stories were too self-contained to fully utilize the worldbuilding available to them. Like an intricately-crafted diorama in a translucent glass bottle, we were left peering through the fog, hoping that if we squinted hard enough, we’d be able to see the world clearly past all its smudged colors and blurred edges.

The biggest culprit of this is Song of the Bandits, a show which theoretically had everything going for it. A broken friendship between a Japanese sympathizer caught between the battle for self-worth and the gnawing self-hatred that it incites, and his former serf that yearns to be acknowledged as himself and not in relation to someone else. The unforgiving oppression of Japanese colonial rule in the 1920s, and the turbulent lawlessness of the lands on the outskirts. Alas, the rich cultural context merely served as a backdrop to the action; the show traded off its character development for extended fight sequences that were elegantly choreographed, but decidedly hollow. The fraught relationship between Kim Nam-gil and Lee Hyun-wook’s characters was salvaged by the actors’ skill in imbuing pathos into their gazes and carving the weight of their past into their postures, yet for all that their emotions were palpable, it didn’t entirely resonate without sufficient glimpses into their past. I still enjoyed the drama, though I can’t help but feel like I’m savoring the breadcrumbs of potential that it implied, not what it actually offered.

Track 7: “Alive” from 77 (七七) — for another heartrending declaration of a man’s will to live as himself despite it all.

On a smaller scale, Night Has Come also fell victim to this. The premise — high school students trapped in a mafia game with life-and-death stakes — was intriguing enough to keep me hooked. There were just enough hints of the overarching mystery, piquing my curiosity about the game’s rules and its creator. The second week took some surprising turns, daring to break away from certain tropes, and I had my hopes up for gripping betrayals and distorted morality. Unfortunately, the show reverted back to a tried-and-true plot in the final week, focusing on hitting familiar narrative beats. Night Has Come had the opportunity to subvert expectations by mismatching game roles and character archetypes, but it chose to play it safe instead.

Track 8: “A Boy’s Night” from The Fiction — for some solace on a lonely and painful night.

Talking about psychological fare, my favorite dramas are the kind that pose starkly incisive questions about humanity, spurring us to ruminate upon our moral frameworks. Beyond their bleak exterior, these shows’ depth afford them much room for analysis, delivering subtle yet astute societal critiques that linger in our minds long after the curtain has fallen. They’re like a slice of baumkuchen coated in matcha glaze — some people may be turned off by the outer layer of bitterness, but if you can get past it, you’ll be rewarded with layers upon layers of flavorful cake.

I absolutely love matcha, but when it comes to dramas, that veneer of apprehension can sometimes give me second thoughts. That was the case for D.P., which I put on my watch list the moment it came out, but I never quite felt like I was in the right headspace to tackle it. Then I found out that musical actor Bae Nara would make his screen debut in D.P. 2, and that sealed the deal. By no means was it an easy watch; I had to pause to catch my breath and collect myself several times, shaken by the atrocities portrayed onscreen yet unable to look away. For all that it was haunting, though, it was equally gripping. Bleakly realistic and unflinchingly human, D.P. 2 delved deeper into the paranoia and paralysis of trauma, alongside the culpability of bystanders and the devastating effects of systemic and structural marginalization. It was a visceral yet achingly poignant watch, and its messages will stay with me for a long time to come.

Track 9: “Wind (reprise)” from Eli — for more Bae Nara, but happier this time!

With a dark noir premise that seemed right up my alley, as well as Shin Ha-kyun (I will never get over his masterfully nuanced performance in Beyond Evil) and Shin Jae-ha on the roster, Evilive was a must-watch from the get-go. Finding out that Bae Nara was also cast in this show was the cherry on the cake, and I thoroughly enjoyed the chronicle of our antihero’s slow but sure descent into evil. As he fell prey to Faustian temptation and made one poor decision after another, it felt like watching an inevitable tragedy unfold, almost entirely of his own making. As someone who loves classic literature and Shakespearean tragedies, I was wholly enraptured till the very end.

Track 10: “Treadmill” from Treadmill — for another tale of morally dubious provocation.

Last but not least, the drama that struck a chord with me was Revenant. I’ve already written about why it was my drama of the year — not only was it a riveting mystery steeped in fascinating folklore, but it was also grounded in ubiquitous struggles and human fallibility. By lacing its spiritual horrors through the mundane, it wove a thoroughly unsettling reflection of grief and greed. Intricately crafted with a keen attention to staging and detail, Revenant was further elevated by exceptional acting and themes that came full circle, eventually culminating in a poignantly poetic conclusion.

Track 11: “Acrobatics” from Black Mary Poppins — for another haunting mystery crafted through manipulation and memories.

Looking back, my 2023 watch list has reminded me exactly why I love fiction in all its forms — for the spellbinding voyage into another world, anchored by resonant emotional beats that strike a chord with their universality. At times, the wind might steer your sailboat in an unexpected direction, taking you to an entirely different destination, but there’s always something to be gained from the journey itself and the characters you meet along the way.

Track 12: “Sun Within My Heart” from Artaud, Gogh — to celebrate the boundless capacity for vivid imagination and incandescent hope in all our hearts.♡

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1 vienibenmio

December 31, 2023 at 10:09 AM

I love musicals, too! My favorite OST this year is hand's down Castaway Diva. I am STILL listening to it. The contest version of "Night and Day" is probably going next to "Falling" from Run On and "How About You" from Suspicious Partner as one of my top favorite OST tracks of all time. As I've said, Castaway Diva's music is great because it's so weaved into the story - it captures the themes and emotions of the characters, and Mok-ha essentially expresses herself through her songs.

I also want to give a shout out to Destined With You and King the Land, though, for having great OSTs as well. In any other year they might have been my top favorite!

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