Okay y'all, I'm back with MORE Asian drama recommendations because, well...that's mostly we've been doing around here. My sister/apartmentmate has been working longer hours, I’m the Elf for Virtual Santa Visits again this year, and even after getting our boosters, we still aren’t engaging socially in these COVID times...but honestly we have always been homebodies, lol. So, when we do have downtime, staying home and watching TV has been the main vibe. As I said in my Part I and Part II of this series: if you're looking for some quality shows to watch but you've run out of options, I highly recommend that you dive into the world of Asian dramas (with subtitles, if required). So far I've tried Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Malay, Singaporean, and Thai shows. My personal tastes lean towards rom-coms with the occasional mystery or science fiction series, but there are a plethora of options for any and every taste: time travel, historical fiction, horror, courtroom dramas, etc.
(I usually watch dramas on either Netflix, Viki, or Dramacool, although occasionally you can find them on Youtube or elsewhere.)
IF YOU LIKE: contemporary dance, LGBTQ romance
TRY: You Make Me Dance
You Make Me Dance is a Korean drama consisting of 8 episodes (between 7 and 15 minutes long). I think this is technically a movie but because you need a Viki pass to watch it in one fell swoop, we did the free option of binging all the “episodes”. Personally I was unbothered by this, as they were very short (like under 15 minutes). The storyline focuses on Song Shi On, a poor university student majoring in contemporary dance. Jin Hong Seok, a debt collector, pursues Shi On intending to collect on his debt, but the relationship between the two deepens into something more.
This drama was so sweet and comforting, very much a classic romcom vibe. There was a little bit of suspense because even though there was no indication of it happening, we were still scared one or both of the main characters was going to die or something. LGBTQ representation in Korean dramas is a fairly recent phenomenon--we've seen examples pretty often in Thai dramas, and maybe two or three gay characters/relationships (some overt, some more implied) in Taiwanese and Chinese dramas despite it apparently being illegal to show in Chinese media. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say we were satisfied with how everything developed between Shi On and Hong Seok. :) Concepts like the red string of fate and what makes a soulmate were beautifully interspersed throughout the story, and I thought the chemistry between the male leads was lovely. All the actors did a fine job, and the dancing scenes were stunning!
IF YOU LIKE: mysteries, crime/law, rom-coms
TRY: Suspicious Partner
Suspicious Partner is a Korean drama consisting of 40 episodes, each 30 minutes long. The main character is Eun Bong Hee, a wannabe lawyer whose confident and strong personality often gets her into trouble. The male lead is Noh Ji Wook, a hard-headed and intelligent prosecutor who often gets pulled into Bong Hee's messes whether he likes it or not. Over the course of the drama, the two end up helping each other (to varying degrees) with a multitude of cases, falling in love along the way.
Usually, I prefer a "case of the week" format for mystery series, but I actually really enjoyed the fact that this series focused on only a few cases for longer stretches. I don't want to give any spoilers, but just know that despite its comedic and lighthearted energy, the series does have some very very dark moments. I thought the romcom aspect and the gritty crime aspect were very well balanced. Working within both genres also had the benefit of keeping the drama well-paced--the suspense surrounding the more serious events drove the plot forward, whereas the ever developing relationship between the leads and the humorous moments gave the audience a second to breathe. Bong Hee was very easy to root for, and Ji Wook (who is played by Ji Chang Wook, aka one of the handsomest men I've ever seen) was equal parts funny, sweet, and brilliant, albeit cranky a lot of the time. The supporting cast was also delightful, including the characters that we weren't supposed to like or weren't sure if we should like. Jung Hyun Soo's character in particular was fascinating and it was fun to toss theories back and forth as to what really happened in his case. The only qualm I had with the show was that I thought the last two episodes seemed a little tacked-on since the main plot is resolved before that, but I don't think that diminishes the overall quality.
Trigger warning for violence, murder, s*xual harassment, implied s*xual assault, blood, and crime/police presence.
IF YOU LIKE: video games/e-sports, rom-coms
TRY: Falling Into Your Smile
Falling Into Your Smile is a Chinese drama consisting of 31 episodes (45 minutes in length). The story focuses on the ultra-competitive world of e-sports, in which the all-male ZGDX OPL team is second to none. Armies of adoring female fans follow the team wherever it goes. But when one of the team’s star players suffers a hand injury, Tong Yao is recruited as scene’s first female player. The team's leader Lu Si Cheng is dismissive of her initially, but eventually agrees to accept her as a substitute.
I really vibed with the characters of this drama--I liked that Tong Yao was ambitious and headstrong, and I adored how Lu Si Cheng proved himself to be a lot more awkward/sweet than he appeared at first. So often in dramas they try to make their leads super perfect, so I appreciated that both Tong Yao and Lu Si Cheng had their flaws and grew from them throughout the series. Their chemistry grew as their relationship developed, and they seemed very well suited to each other. The members of ZGDX (and all the teams they were competing against) were unique in personality but all likable, amusing, and entertaining--the trio of Lao Mao, Lao K, and Xiao Pang was magnificent. (God Ming was SO attractive but that's just me, lol). The singing, teasing, and overall camaraderie between everyone in the OPL industry made the experience so much fun, even though there were so many of them, haha. Ai Jia and Jin Yang's relationship was also a fun surprise--I was not onboard at all in the beginning, but they really grew on me. The dynamic between Tong Yao and her mom and how that changed was also nice to see.
The drama isn't without it's flaws--some of the plotlines come out of nowhere, and are resolved so quickly you kind of wonder if the story needed them in the first place. But honestly, that's how most dramas go, and I didn't mind it because the characters were so much fun to watch. I will also say I came into the series with zero understanding of e-sports, and I have to admit that I still don't understand much after watching it, lol. But the "in game" scenes were cool, especially the music and animation, but I would often get confused about who was controlling which avatar, lol.
IF YOU LIKE: family and marriage drama (and when I say drama I mean DRAMA), feminism
TRY: The Fierce Wife
The Fierce Wife is a Taiwanese drama consisting of 46 episodes, each a little over half an hour long. The main character is Xie Anzhen, a happily devoted housewife to Wen Ruifan. Married for over 10 years and with a 5-year old daughter, Anzhen literally lives to serve her family. Ruifan appears to be happy with his life as well, but stress at work in the form of a competitor for the role of VP takes most of his attention. Additionally, the couple is constantly dragged into the ongoing conflict between Ruifan's sister (Anzhen's childhood best friend) and her philandering husband, who works with Ruifan and is his close friend as well. One day her mother asks the couple to take in Anzhen's cousin, Li Wei'en. Anzhen welcomes Wei En into her home and helps her get a job at Rui Fan's company. What follows can only be described as family drama, ruminating on the topic of family, marriage, love, and what constitutes true happiness.
I was fully expecting this drama to be soap opera-y, but I wasn't expecting how much I would love it. For a drama made in 2010 for a relatively conservative audience, it has a very progressive take on gender roles, marriage, and romance. Anzhen was an absolute angel of a woman and watching her go through so much was heartbreaking, although seeing her 'rise from the ashes' of her troubles was an enjoyable experience. Although I had very strong opinions about who was right and wrong in each situation, I thought the series did a good job of fleshing out the characters and showing their intentions; even when I thought someone was making the wrong choice, I still fully understood why they did it and how they validated their behavior. Every character developed in some way throughout the series, and it was interesting to follow the journey of how they got from the person they were at the beginning to who they had become at the end. My favorite characters were definitely Ruifan's competitor at work (He Ailin) and Ruifan's sister (Wen Ruixuan) & her husband (Hao Kangde).
Trigger warning: cheating, a lot of yelling, car accidents, toxic relationships in general
IF YOU LIKE: office romance, a mix of comedy and angst
TRY: Secretary Kim
What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, or just Secretary Kim, is a Korean drama consisting of 16 episodes, with an hour and nine minute duration for each episode. The series revolves around the narcissistic Lee Young Joon, the vice president of a company run by his family. He is very self-absorbed and thinks highly of himself, so much that he barely acknowledges the people around him. Capable and patient secretary Kim Mi So has remained by Young Joon's side for nine years. The conflict begins when Mi So finishes paying off her family's debts and decides to finally resign from her job so she can focus on herself and her dreams, causing Young Joon to reevaluate their dynamic and to try and find a way to make her stay.
Secretary Kim is one of those dramas that is extremely popular, and you see recommendations for it on pretty much every list. Usually when a drama has a lot of recommendations/praise, I build it up in my head and then end up being slightly disappointed (see Vincenzo), but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Secretary Kim lives up to the hype. I usually dislike boss/employee relationship plots, but the show put in a lot of work to prove that Mi So and Young Joon were equals. While both characters seemed straightforward on the surface, every episode revealed how complex all the different facets to their personalities really were, which made them interesting to watch as well as easy to sympathize with and support. The actor playing Lee Young Joon had the most difficult job of making a character that would be easy to find annoying or overbearing likable, and I was so impressed that he pulled that off. Like I wrote for Suspicious Partner earlier, this drama masterfully balanced sweet, funny moments with darker, more serious situations. The childhood trauma plotline captured my interest without swallowing up the whole storyline, and the chemistry between all the characters (especially the leads, but also between Young Joon and his best friend President Park and the secondary romance between Bo Sa Ra and her "hero") was phenomenal. I would rewatch it in a heartbeat.
IF YOU LIKE: science fiction/magical realism, absurdism, adventure
TRY: School Nurse Files
School Nurse Files is a Korean drama with 6 hour-long episodes. The story focuses on An Eun Young, a school nurse with a special ability to see "jellies." Jellies are creatures (almost monsters?) that look like something out of a Miyazaki movie, made from the residue of human desire. Eun Young uses a toy knife and a BB gun to eradicate the jellies and keep the high school students safe. The other main character is Hong In Pyo, a Chinese language teacher at the same school who has a special energy that makes him untouchable to the jellies.
I'm not gonna lie, this was absolutely bizarre. The story feels like a huge metaphor (or a collection of smaller metaphors?) most of the time, and often things are left unexplained...however, I think both of those points are positives rather than negatives. The overall message of the show is that being weird is good as long as you aren't hurting anyone, and I think its unpredictable structure and eclectic mood emulate that. You have the option to intellectualize or theorize about things, or simply accept them as they are. The first two episodes were my favorite, although I enjoyed the series as a whole. The storyline about the mite eater was also sweet, despite its creepy edge. The overall arc of the show managed to capture a multitude of emotions: nostalgia, a dark foreboding energy, hope, acceptance, and wonderment--the combination of which very much mirrors life, in my opinion.
The dynamic between Eun Young, who is just as weird as her job despite being desperate for normalcy, and In Pyo, who is a very regular, nice guy with an interest in the bizarre, mirrors the relationship between the show and its audience beautifully. I thought they were lovely individually and apart, and their partnership made the show even more enjoyable for me. I definitely saw glimmers of romance in there, although the show is not at all a romance. Basically, I had a GREAT time, and I wish it was longer!!! Hoping for a season two...
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