... because if not, where would I go?

...Kim Soo-hyun is returning as a counterfeit king, and I need to see him play a morally grey character for the sake of my mental and fangirling health.

Also, Park Bo-gum's comeback and his IU × Kim So-hyun pairings.

Because korean dramas are the only thibg capable of pulling me our of tge real world and having me escape everything while watching.

Because where else will I get my weekly fix of White Trucks of Doom?

I don't want to miss the next hidden gem. If there are no new gems, there are always old favorites to rewatch.

-...the Kdrama comebacks of Kim Min-jae, Hyun Bin and Nam Joo-hyuk
-...more to all future Kdramas to acquire to the legitimate streaming platforms (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Viki, Viu, Kocowa) to avoid getting hard-to-find that soon to be lost media
and to avoid longest-spanning availability angst
-...some older to oldest, earliest Kdramas prior to streaming era (2010s) that would-be lost media will be unearth and preserve digitally for the first time
-...see some Kdramas that will have a saddest endings with both leads' deaths (just like 2004 KBS Kdrama I'm Sorry, I Love You)
-...more foreign, non-Korean stars to appear on Kdramas

While I have go-to entertainment from other industries, they are not easy to keep up with i.e. tracking them down to know what's coming.
KDrama on the other hand is my staple source of entertainment all year round. And tracking down is easier thanks to dramabeans's cataloguing.

Honestly, I don't know? There are very few shows announced for next year that really scream "I need to watch this". People complain about 2024, but honestly, 2025 doesn't sound much better. Not all hope is lost, because the biggest surprises can lurk in the stuff you least expect to be good, but so far... Maybe 2026 will be better.

Because asian dramas at their absolute worst are still far better than the nonsense that other industries put out.

We will still be here...

We will praise the good stuff and criticise the bad stuff

Bring on 2025

I knew the next two drama chats for the next two weeks:
December 29: Your favorite drama moment of 2024
January 5, 2025: Your drama watchlist for 2025

I had to check what I wrote last year:
"In the current global landscape of entertainment, which is pretty glum, k-dramas do have a consistency in acting and craft making that makes one want to return. Yes, there appears to be less and less real plot "twists," more tropes per series than necessary, more webtoon adaptations than original content and creeping Western story influences from OTT deals, but those of us who like and want to Korean culture are in it for the long haul. And this community sharing helps a lot, too."

I think the same statements are true today, with the addition that Korean entertainment insiders are fearful that the international acclaim of kdrama and OTT big budgets will actually kill the k-drama golden goose. Entertainment is a copycat business so 2024's surprise successes (senior acting leading a series, child actors being great and unexpected narratives in mystery series) can likely weather the storm.

No matter how many times I've said in the last few weeks how disappointing 2024 was, I have a list as long as my arm of 2025 dramas that I can't help but be excited about.

There are some great pairings ahead:
Lee Dong Wook and Lee Sung Kyung, Ahn Eun Jin and Kang Ki Yong, Son Sukku and Han Ji Min

Some unusual pairings:
Namkoong Min and Jeon Yeo Bin, Kim Seon Ho and Go Yoon Jung, Lee Jae Wook and Choi Sung Eun

Some faces we haven't seen in too long:
Kang Tae Oh, Park Bo Gum, Jeon Ji Hyun

Some faces we always want to see:
Park Hyung Sik, Junho, Taecyeon, Rowoon, Park Bo Young, Han Hyo Joo, IU

Some potentially fun stories:
TRY: We Become Miracles, The Tyrant's Chef, Cashero

Some moving stories:
Way Back Love, Our Movie

Some different stories:
Unknown Seoul, Please Stop Drinking, Tempest, God's Beads

And some crossover dramas:
Romantics Anonymous and Soul Mate (both j-dramas featuring Korean actors in lead roles)

What's not to love about dramaland?! I'm still in 🥰

The worst kdrama year is still miles ahead of the best western drama year.

...because I still find goodness in this land.

I know what it feels like to not find anything worth your time in something you like(d) anymore, and I don't think I'm there yet with kdramas.

I still keep receiving comfort, I still have fun and I also joy watching all these shows. Not all of them, and some disappoint me at the end, but there are some that don't. And that's enough for now.

KDramas are the only entertainment I watch.. I really applaud their creativity.. they really come up with amazing concepts. I'm also starting to appreciate shorter format shows recently.

Soooo… even though my phone didn’t ring at the end of 2024, I can already spot LOVE SCOUT on the horizon in 2025, waiting for me with lots of boxes of heart shaped cookies, ready for me to buy open arms. Who could resist that? I basically don’t have a choice.

Well, what else would I do. I'm happy seeing similar comments too
The only gap in my kdramas watching has been when I was transitioning from school to college. They have not only been a staple source of entertainment but actually a staple in my life. Though I've greatly reduced watching kdramas. I'll always come.back when there is something good to watch.

I still have more than 300 dramas in my Plan to watch list. Enough reasons to keep "living" in Dramaland next year and some more 😅

(Being realistic, I know I won't watch everything that's in that list. I'd have to shorten it).

I will stick around because I am beginning to catch words and phrases I studied AND also derivate the meaning of words I dont know by deducing from individual syllables. The manner of speech is mostly the same bc dramas still mostly have the same writer but thats also where they can improve bc in life every person has a little different manner of speech. Movies language is so much harder to follow. Korean movies use slang a lot to be realistic and I don´t think that is very good for studying because lang will change in time.

But I am also staying because every now and then you meet an amusing character is is more than a cliche.

well, and I havent given up hoping for Zombie Detective 2.

I love the community and I keep discovering gems, although increasingly they are from a broader spectrum of countries than just Korea. It's also nice that older shows continue to pop up on streaming sites (why hello Seodongyeo!), so even if the current crop of shows is disappointing there's "new" old stuff to catch up on.

Because of what Bae Doo-na's Family Matters character will do to me if I try to escape 😱😱😱

I’m sticking around because I’m waiting for a Shin Eun Soo (Twinkling Watermelon, LightShop) and Kim Tae Ri collaboration.

In past interviews, Shin Eun Soo always mentions Kim Tae Ri as her inspiration.

The talents of those two would eat up the screen.

https://www.soompi.com/article/1288429wpp/shin-eun-soo-says-kim-tae-ri-role-model-shares-genres-wants-explore

Because where else would I get my daily dose of escapism, which I will need in 2025 more than ever?

If not where would I go for my slice of lifes, melos, swoon worthy romances, and high quality makjangs?

2024 wasn't the best year but it still had its good moments and good OST. It's so fun to share the good and the bad with Beanies!

Pretty much for two reasons:

Escapism and entertainment it gives me.

Community of k-drama fans with whom I can share my delight (or deep disappointment.)

같이!

I love kdramas since it was a wide range of stories that is complete, well-meaning, family oriented, good values, great characters and mostly well-written. They know how to pull at my heartstrings, tropes to use and enough romance to keep me inveated.

.....because there's a new drama of my boy, Park Hyung Sik. Looking so smolderingly badass and sexy. How can anyone think of missing that?

... Because where else but in Kdramaland will I find fellow citizens like my Beanies?! We know nothing about each other save our online names, but it's such a great community where I can squee, vent, learn about random things about what we're watching, that I can't do anywhere else!

The possibility of another butterflies inducing romance a la Marry My Husband and laugh out loud scenes a la Seoul Busters. These moments were the highlights of the year.

I used to think the 16 episode lengths were my primary reason for watching drama but as my drama preference has taken me more and more towards 40 episodes, I can't say this any more. But what I've always wanted is for things to end properly (or at least definitely) and dramaland continues on delivering this and as long as they do, I'll remain an avid viewer.

BUT! What makes me continously drop dramas before giving them the pre-determined 4 episode trial, is the length of the episodes. The trend of 1,5 hour episodes is actively killing my buzz halfway though the first episode. And I sure hope 2025 doesn't go any further in these ventures.

Where else can I get my daily dose of Kopiko injected straight into my veins?

Being Italian, Korean culture, but also Chinese and Japanese is a world yet to be discovered
Stories and characters that are a welcome escape from today's reality, despite Tropes & White Trucks of Doom ;-)
The 'life represented' in dramaland leave me amazed
Both positively (respect and order) and negatively (alcohol abuse, and social pressure, especially towards women and children)
Asian dramas are totally different from Italian TV series and so many Asiatic actors are truly fascinating :-D
So yes, I'll stick around dramaland in 2025 for all the reasons mentioned above and even more

Cos I have been watching k-dramas for the past 24 years since I was a child, and I want to attain my semi-goddess status soon 🤣

I'm only watching k-drama sporadically depending what the streaming gods provide, but I always enjoy reading from the fan base. I check for these drama chats every day!

I'm sticking with K-Dramas because:

1. There are a bunch of supernatural dramas coming out and I'm a sucker for those since I discovered K-dramas and K-movies do supernatural horror very well.

2. Regardless of some dramas being total let-downs, there are far more dramas that are watchable than English-language series these days.

3. When the acting is excellent, it is first rate and the best Korean actors/actresses can give their Hollywood counterparts a run for their money and then some.

4. Romances without people falling into bed almost immediately and "first kiss" scenes that are so good because of the build-up. Plus, K-Drama Oppas are some of the best screen kissers in the world!

Because all my favorite actors are playing in sageuks in 2025! Also, PBG has 2 dramas slated to air! And I’ve been waiting for his and IU’s drama for like 4 years! 😝

Because every so often a drama comes along that makes it all worthwhile!

... out of sheer stubbornness, if nothing else!

I’ll stick around because then I’ll have something to talk to my fellow Beanies that I like.

And 2025 BB Kim Seon-hi will have a new drama.
And I still haven’t watched No Gain No Love to see two of my cuties Shin Min-Ah and Kim Yong-dae.
And I still haven’t tried watching Happiness.
And I still haven’t rewatched Tell Me that You Love Me and Dr Slump.

I have no other obsessions. Or “you know i have no chinguu!!”