This year so far, I am going with Ji Sung in Connection. His performance was hauntingly beautiful!!

The first one that came to my mind this year is Ji Changwook's Park Junmo in The worst of evil. Many viewers may not enjoy the show as a whole, but JCW gave a stellar performance you won't be able to forget if you did watch him. Talking about microexpressions, voice, body language,... he delivered all in WoE. Best performance of JCW to date. While WoE PD received Best Director award at Baeksang 2024, JCW was robbed of at least a nomination for that role.

Jang Dong-yoon in Like Flowers in Sand! If feels like the performance of a lifetime - he fully inhabited this role and made his character feel like a fully-realized person we were getting to spend some time with ❤️ I also hold a special place in my heart for Byeon Woo-seok's Sun-jae in Lovely Runner and Uhm Tae-gu's Ji-hwan in My Sweet Mobster. For both, it was their first rom-com ML role, and they created such sweet and lovely characters.

Memorable performances of this year:

Jang Dong Yoon in Like Flowers In Sand
Ji Sung in Connection
Kim Hye Yoon in Lovely Runner
Park So Yi in The Atypical Family

Some recent performances that were genuinely fantastic for different reasons

Kim Nam-joo - Wonderful world.
Han Hyo-joo - Moving
Jisung - Connection
Honey Lee - Knight Flower
Kim Hye-yoon - Lovely runner.

With the exception of Han Hyo-joo who was part of an excellent ensemble, every single one of these actors pretty much carried their respectve dramas on their backs or at least did most of the heavy lifting acting wise

Last week I finished The Red Sleeve, and even though I didn't like that sageuk as much as other people (in fact it was quite a disappointment),
Lee Deok Hwa and Junho's performances were stunning.

Other shows I have watched this year:

_ Kim Sun Ah in My name is Kim Sam Soon.
_ Park So Ji in The Atypical Family.
_ Joo Jong Hyuk in Frankly Speaking.
_ Bae Soo Bin in Secret (even though I didn't like the drama).

Choose any role by Kwak Dong Yeon, even if it’s a cameo. Name the drama, there will always be a breathtaking scene by him. This year, his adorkable Soo Cheol in Queen of tears stole the show the minute he rode a bycicle.

I have to add Jeon Yu-na as Choi Ro-hee (the genius girl) in The Kidnapping Day was extraordinary. I agree completely about Ji Chang Wook's Park Junmo in The Worst of Evil. I also think Uhm Tae-gu's Ji-hwan in My Sweet Mobster will stick as an unforgettable performance as well.

Yoo Seung Ho has always been one of my favorite actors, but his performance in The Deal was one I will never ever forget. He was stunning.
Special mention to Yoo Soo Bin cannot be omitted.

Ji Sung in Connection. Again, he too, is always good. It is not even surprising, but it is still stunning.
Seriously, everybody was good in Connection.

Lee Hye Young in Bitter Sweet Hell. The charisma of this woman!

Ji Sung in Connection is the easy pick this year but I’d like to mention Uhm Tae-goo. Totally out of nowhere comes this very interesting performance and he’s truly impressive once you check out his other works, ranging from fiery to subtlety - he nails them all the same.

Kim Nam-Gil in Through the Darkness, I can't imagine any other actors doing this role.

I love Ji Sung's portrayal in Connection. He is the best actor for me this year.

Honourable Mentions:
Kwon Yul and Lee Mi Do in Connection
Lee Jun Young and Pyo Ye Jin in Freaking Fairy Tale. I just love them in the drama.

Hands down Jo Jung Suk in Captivating the King. That was a powerful performance of a lifetime that took my breath away. Nothing else comes close for me.

I don't know about unforgettable, but there were some good performances.

Jung Ryeo Won in "Midnight Romance in Hagwon."

I mentioned a bunch in last year's thread, but I'll add a few more here:

Kim Sung-oh in Unlock the Boss. After a year, I still feed bad for his character.

Somehow I didn't mention Choi Kang-hee last time. She had three distinctive roles I really liked in Heart 2 Heart, Queen of Mystery, and Hello Me.

Lee Soo-kyung in Let's Eat. I could almost feel her salivating.

He was mentioned numerous times in the last thread but not by me, so Lee Sun-kyun in My Mister, of course, but he was the steady anchor in my kdrama viewing career since Coffee Prince (Triple, Golden Time, Diary of a Prosecutor...)

For me, strictly 2024, I found myself captivated by Ji Sung in Connection; but overall, if a face that keeps floating before my eyes for how effective they were in the portrayal of their character has to be Hanee Lee from Knight Flower.

So while it's still very very close, I would say Hanee Lee.

The whole cast in Mr Sunshine, a masterpiece indeed

Lee Jun Young in Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale. His commitment was wonderful.

Peng Yuchang in I Am Nobody. He had some amazing comedic timing and was so believable in this character, no matter what feelings he was expressing.

Angel Zhao is so far making a very good impression with in The Princess Royal.

I still recall Lee Sung-kyung's performance in Call It Love very much, she did great work with that character.

An Ode To Two Stars ⭐⭐

All this talk of Ji sung and a recent Beanie post (@coolargo) about The Devil Judge pushed me to write some more.

Very well-made shows like Connection, or The Defendant, have such phenomenal cast and crew before and behind the camera that I can't help think that some other veteran actor might have very well been able to pull off Ji Sung's roles. Not his aura, or the exact replica of his depiction, but any other interpretation of the same role. The show wouldn't have ended up exactly the same, but still very well-made and pleasing to watch.

But there are shows like The Devil Judge, or Kill Me Heal Me, that are unimaginable without Ji Sung. It's not that they would be different. They would simply not exist. Ji Sung is the whole show. He carries every single bit and dialogue on his experienced shoulders in a way that absolutely no one would be able to replicate. It doesn't matter how many great talents are in the making of the show, the show is all him!

Which leads me to: I sometimes think about this difference between Ji Sung and Cha Tae Hyun specifically.
Ji Sung dominates the screen. Cha Tae Hyun is an amazing actor who has a unique talent of standing back and providing the best background for his co-stars. Both are great veteran actors, and each has their own uniqueness, but I do love how CTH always brings out the best in his cast-mates!

So far this year me and kdramas don't vibe together at all. From cdrama pool I've yet to encounter blew-me-away award worthy level of performance objectively speaking, unlike last year. But few were close:

- Liang Yongqi's ex husband from THE DOUBLE. Princess was good too, but I found her character a bit too extra even for show's hardcore camp standard;

- ML (Qin Junjie) and FL (Maggie Huang) in HEROES did a very nice job separately and together, making it even more jarring for me to then see her as flatter than cardboard SFL in SNOW FALL;

- speaking of SNOW FALL, its leads Gao Weiguang and Ouyang Nana were also amazing and made me VERY interested in their future projects. I'd love to see them working together again even tho I know the chances of that are around negative zero;

- Li Geyang from IN BLOSSOM who succeeded at nearly impossible task of making me adore third wheel SML, and not due to pre-existing actor bias;

- special shot-out to actors (I recall them but not their names, unfortunately) who played FL's parents in THE LEGEND OF SHEN LI flashbacks - for such a tiny screentime they managed to make me genuinely invested in their tragic love story. Not to say that actual leads were bad or anything - they fit their roles well and had great chemistry, but I wasn't 100% hooked for some reason. Maybe it's super thick beauty filter that blurred full display of their facial expressions...

Never is a bit of a stretch I probably will some day. I do tend to lean towards performances where the actor is like a fish in water so that it seems he was born to play it. Even though I didnt like the drama itself then Jun in Cinderella was just... I don´t know, it fit him like a tailor suit and it was delightful to see an actor melt into his part and enjoy it. Reminded me of old Fred Astaire movies with the flamboyance and the dance acts and the flashy props

Jung Woo-sung : Tell Me That You Love Me. This one is getting my best actor for DB year roundup.
Kim Ji-hyun : Tell Me That You Love Me
Jo Jung-seok : Captivating the King. Close first for best actor category.
Song Kang-ho, Lee Kyu-hyung : Uncle Samsik
Lee Young-ae : Maestra.
Han Hyojoo, Ju Ji-hoon, Park Ji-yeon : Blood Free.
Jang Seung-jo : Nothing Uncovered, Strangers Again.
Kim Soo-hyun : Queen of Tears.
Lee Yi-kyung, Song Ha-yoon : Marry My Husband
Shin Hye-sun : Welcome to Samdalri, See You In My 19th Life.
Ji Seung-hyun, Choi Soo-jung, Lee Si-a : Goryeo-Khitan War.
Lee Mi-sook, Lee Min-young : Perfect Marriage Revenge.
Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ok-bin : Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun.

I can't think of anyone from this year.
I know I am always tooting this horn, but Lee Jun Ki in *Flower of evil* is unbeatable for me.
And Shin Hye Sun in *Mr Queen*.

Time will tell if I actually remember anythinh but so far this year is all about the allure of la femme d'un certain âge :

Although Miss Day & Night never did get around to respecting older women, Lee Jung Eun still managed to out shine that nonsense.

And Lee Hye Young in Bittersweet Hell - a glamorous screwball thriller worth watching.

Um Tae-Gu in "My Sweet Mobster."