Best Korean Dramas (KDramas) of 2015 [UPDATED - also spoiler free ]

*WARNING: BIASED

Hey everyone, long time no see~

There are so many Kdrama’s airing this year that I have yet to see, therefore this list shall be VERY biased, hence the disclaimer at the top. The dramas mentioned are only the ones I’ve seen, therefore I can’t rank those I have yet to finish/watch. A lot of the dramas I did watch this year, were actually relatively old or from last year, therefore this list is pretty short since I’m only including things that came out this year. 

I plan to continuously update this as the year goes on and more shows air. I would love any suggestions, so feel free to leave me some in the comments below :) There are also quite a few dramas of this year that I am currently watching or have started watching but never finished because… #collegelife :’D I’ll mention them at the end of the list, and if you see one that you loved and want to encourage me to finish it, feel free to do so~

Without further ado, here is my personal list of the best dramas that aired this year (SPOILER FREE)

1. Kill Me, Heal Me

This drama was one of the most unique I have ever seen. I feel like Ji Sung was robbed of the Daesang Award this year, even though I’m a fan of Kim Soo Hyun as well. It’s just that the way he was able to portray so many different characters and make you believe they were different people was amazing. His chemistry with Hwang Jung-eum was amazing as well. The supporting characters (Park Seo Joon, her parents, Choi Won-young… etc.] all added a touch that made the drama special as well. Even though the end of the drama dragged on a little bit too much for me, the versatility of the leads and interesting story made up for it for me.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out!

2. Healer

Three words: Ji. Chang. Wook. No lie, if you have yet to hear of this actor, you are about to fall in love, like I did. I hadn’t had a chance to check out his previous work so his charms caught me way off guard in this drama. I’ve been a fan of Park Min-young as well since I saw her in City Hunter, (which is a bit similar to this drama in terms of vibe) but Chang-wook stole the show for me. The drama has a balance of nice actions scenes/shots, a pretty solid plot with good flashbacks, and the perfeccttt amount of romance (a lot more than I expected actually~ and I thoroughly enjoyed them :3)

3. Oh My Ghost(ess)

I regret hesitating to watch this drama, there wasn’t a single thing about it I disliked. It was such a refreshing romantic comedy with a nicely paced plot. Park Bo-young is no joke, being able to show so many different sides and be convincing in each one she portrays. Jo Jung-suk is just a babe, nothing more needed to be said ;P. And someone who completely stole the show for me was Kim Seulgi, I hope she gets more lead roles in the future because despite starting out as a character that was slightly annoying, she managed to make me fall in love with her. The supporting cast was all solid and entertaining as well. 10/10!

4. Pinocchio

First off, I have to admit Park Shin-hye impressed me in this drama, maybe it’s because she wasn’t playing a high schooler like nearly all of the previous dramas I’ve seen her in (You’re Beautiful, Heartstrings, The Heirs… etc.) and was portraying a young woman, but her commitment to the kissing scenes and romance part of the drama was a lot more believable and enjoyable imo. When I read the description of the plot before the show began, I was like “huh? Is this forreal?” (a girl who hiccups when she lies?) But Kdrama’s have a way of turning something otherwise ridiculous into something charming, and this was one of those cases. I’ve liked Lee Jong Suk since ‘I Can Hear Your Voice’, so he didn’t disappoint me as well. This drama actually provided an interesting insight to the word of journalism that I (and I’m sure a lot of people watching) never knew or cared about. It was refreshing in that sense, and the supporting characters were all loveable. Overall, a pretty solid drama and the ending was adorable.

5. She Was Pretty

The second lead syndrome in this one </3 Though it was kind of weird at first to see Hwang Jung-eum and Park Seo Joon together as love interests after seeing them as awesome siblings in KMHM earlier this year, they however promised to show everyone a different image and I believe they are staying true to their word thus far. The way Park Seo-joon looks at her *swoon* Someone that is kind of stealing the show for me is Siwon; his character is seriously blowing me away in this drama... I've been a fan of his for a looooong time (SuJu got me into Kpop) but I feel like I'm seeing him in a new light and his versatility is refreshing. The ending was solid and happy for almost everyone. 

6.  MASK

This drama was SO addicting. Ju Ji-Hoon has grown so much from the Goong (Princess Hours) days :) And despite never seeing any other works from the lead actress – Park Su-Ae – I found her to be quite endearing and good at portraying different emotions and personas. The story was unique and had some mystery and captivating elements. My boy Hoya from Infinite was also a nice addition to the well-rounded cast. Though some parts of the story drag a bit too long for my taste, it overall had a good balance between romance and mystery/drama.

7.  I Remember You

If your planning on watching this for romance, I advise against it; this drama tended to focus more on the actual storyline(s) which is not bad thing of course, but if you came here expecting an explosion of chemistry then you might be slightly disappointed :p My thoughts while watching this drama: HELLO PARK BO GUM. Where have you been all my life? His charisma blew me away!!! This pause he has before he says something cool… it’s just… I cant describe what it is in words, but you just need to watch the drama and see his character in action, lol. If you’ve watched the drama, I know you know what I’m talking about XD Jang Nara is so baby-faced, my goodness; and she was pretty cute/cool in the drama. Honorable mention to Do Kyungsoo/D.O for an amazing portrayal of his character; he got the crazy eyes down-pat. [SPOILER] Choi Won-young was also an interesting villain, since I was used to seeing him be a cute father figure or friend (in roles like his in the Heirs or Kill me, Heal me) it was interesting to see him be the antagonist this time around and his character had this cool aura I enjoyed about him. The ending was pretty solid as well. 

8. Sassy, Go Go [currently airing]

Don’t even remember how I ended up starting this drama because it is not my typical cup of tea, but no regrets… I’m actually surprised at myself for how much I’m enjoying it to be honest. It’s the first drama I’ve seen of Jung Eunji (from Apink) and I didn’t know what to expect from her (although I heard she was a good actress) I feel like she’s doing a great job at portraying all these different emotions. Also, I’ve for sure never seen the main lead Lee Won-keun but he is SO cute. His character is an enjoyable one (reminds me of those stereotypical perfect manga/anime boys) and he delivers his role well. Jisoo is giving serious me second lead syndrome XD Much more than Siwon in She Was Pretty, and I’m interested to see how that gets resolved. Pretty sad that its only 12 episodes though.

9. The Girl Who Can See Scents (Smell)

Started this because of Yoochun, and I was a bit scared to be honest. After the ROADKILL that was Fashion King (even though I love Yoo Ah-In) I’ve been steering clear from Shin Se-kyung even though I feel like she is an ok-ish actress. (Anyone else see that drama and knows what I mean? XD) The idea of the show was pretty unique and the CG effects of her ‘seeing’ the scents was pretty cool and not tacky/cheesy looking in the slightest. The main villain, whose name I wont mention in order not to spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, did a great job at being cree-py, and overall the drama had a satisfying ending. Though some of the comedic elements were a bit too cheesy for me, (I get that second-hand embarrassment real easily) it was still a good balance to the mystery/more serious elements of the drama. Overall pretty solid and enjoyable.

That is about it, thanks for reading. As I mentioned at the start, I will continuously update this as I start/finish dramas until the year comes to an end J Again, if there are any amazing dramas I missed that aired this year that you want to recommend, feel free to share~

Drama’s I’ve started/currently watching:

       a.     Producer

       b.     Blood

Drama’s I’m Thinking of Watching:

      a.     Heard It Through the Grapevine

Take care, Happy watching~

xoxo SiSi

The Red - Red Velvet MV & Album Review

I nearly forgot I had a blog, my apologies, it’s been ages^^ Like 7 months or so… eep! I can’t promise that I’ll start posting more often…  I guess I shall appear & post when I have something to talk about. Kinda like now XD

Red Velvet came back with their first full length album ‘The Red’, and I’ve actually been looking forward to this because RV are definitely one of the more unique and distinct groups out there right now.

I’ll start off with my title track/MV review, then break down a little bit of what I thought of each track. Hope you enjoy~

01. Dumb Dumb: As for the track itself, my only slight dislike if I had to be super nitpicky is all the MJ references in the rap breakdown towards the end of the song; it kind of didn’t flow with the rest of the track for me. Other than that, and that is a slight critique, I am very impressed with the track. It was everything I was expecting and more : addicting, unique and refreshing. Yay for Yeri getting more lines showcased; her voice is so soft and I’m glad we get a better grasp of her vocals here. Wendy was killing it with her adlibs and vocals.

As for the Music Video, Seulgi was killing me with the choreo - part of the reason why I can’t wait to see the song live - I believe she is the main dancer and this clearly shows why. The chorus is literal perfection. Not sure if there was storyline to the video, because if there was I clearly missed it, lol. But regardless, the video is the right balance of quirky and fun without being too weird. The nearly-completely-ripped jean outfits are something I can see becoming a trend. The girls killed it, and looked amazing, I also liked their mini shorts with the one stocking outfits with their representative colors.  Overall, they looked and sounded amazing and I can already tell they are gonna take over the music charts~   

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGdbaEDVWp0

02. Huff n Puff: Also known as the track from the first teaser XD Very strong vocals and a strong beat to match. Sometimes I get kinda lost in the transition of the beat(s) but the song overall still manages to work. Wendy’s adlibs/vocals are fire. I kinda hope they promote this song live as a mini stage before ‘Dumb Dumb’. 

03. Campfire: If I had to describe this song in one word it has to be: ‘smooth’. Beautiful vocals & Irene’s rap(s) are pretty strong; this song also has a beat that is much easier to follow. Overall a solid track, nothing specific to nitpick on my part. There is also something oldies about it.

 

04. Red Dress: AKA Teaser 5 track :p This song, in my opinion, is strong enough to have been a title track on it’s own for some parts, but because its overall tone is a little bit slower and not as upbeat as some of their tracks I can see why it wasn’t picked. I get a very f(x) vibe/feel from this track. This song also changes beats a bit, but it is easier to follow than ‘huff n puff’ for me.

05. Oh Boy: There is something RnB-ish about this track. It has a beautiful piano + background beat combo. The little harmonies they have throughout the song are nice to hear.

06. Lady’s Room: Very upbeat, and definitely cutesy tempo to this song. Kinda like the lyrics, you get the vibe you want to hang with your friends and have a good time. This is another track that reminds me of f(x), not that that’s a bad thing. I think RV are demonstrating how versatile they are as a group on this album.

07. Time Slip: The repetitive beat at the beginning and reappearing throughout the song reminds me off Iggy’s Fancy. This is the song that was used in their third track teaser for the MV. When that base disappears, and they showcase their vocals to a slightly different beat, the track gets unique and highlights the girls’ voices nicely.

08. Don’t U Wait No More: This is the song I was looking most forward to after hearing it in their second teaser for the MV. Had they not chosen ‘Dumb Dumb’ as their title track I would have been quite fine with this song being the title. It’s very strong AND unique. The harmonies, overall upbeat-ness, and vocals of the track are no joke. I would actually love to see them sing this live as well to see how they would choreograph this. The only downside is that it’s quite short, not even three minutes long.

09. Day 1: The trumpet or brass they play in this song gives - along with the other instruments - me a very retro feel and also an anime/OST feel. Their vocals are so light and smooth with lots of harmonies. Something about the beat, probably the way the piano is played, definitely gives it a TV show end theme or intro feel XD.

 

10. Cool World: Something about this track gives me an EXO vibe^^ It is a smooth track that is a strong topper on the album as a whole. If it was released in English I could see this being a track that plays on a US radio station.

I was surprised at the diversity of all their tracks. All the members manage to show their individual strengths and for a group that is still considered ‘rookies’ this is an extraordinarily strong album. Red Velvet is one of the groups that I’ve stanned since the beginning and their growth in the short time they’ve been around is amazing. The girls’ vocal ability really is outstanding in this album.

side note: It'd be cool if they had a repackage of this album later on called 'The Velvet' :3 

Hope you enjoyed as much as I did, let me know what you thought down below~

xoxo SiSi