Hey there, folks! Almost exactly a year ago I posted that I was burned out on Hallmark and that my new love was k-dramas. Well, here we are a year and two days later, and I came to read an old Hallmark review of mine only to find the site inoperable. I’m so sorry for that! But it is now fixed and everyone should be able to look at my old reviews and rankings if they want to.
What you won’t get, though, is new Hallmark movie reviews. I gave up cable many months ago and now exclusively watch Korean television via streaming platforms like Netflix, Viki and Kocowa. I’m not kidding when I say I don’t watch any non-Asian content at all (although I do plan on trying to watch some of the Olympic games next month).
Do I miss Hallmark? Not a bit. I only watched half a dozen of the 2023 Christmas movies before going back to my normal Korean programming. I get my fill of tropes and romance in many k-dramas AND they are longer (since they are typically 16-episode series), with more fleshed out stories and characters, and better writing to boot.
My new top 15, for those who may ask (anyone? anyone?) is as follows:
There are a couple shows that would boot out #14 and #15 as shown – they are “Love Alarm” (Netflix) and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (Netflix). They both land somewhere between 10-15 on this list. I’d probably put “Love Alarm” at #10 and “Woo” at #14, thus pushing out “Youth MT” and “Itaewon Class” – which are both still excellent shows.
Hands down the best k-drama I’ve seen (and since starting to watch I’m up at almost 190 shows/movies watched thus far) is the one whose photo is featured at the top of this page. It’s called “My Dearest.” Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin starred in this historical romantic drama last year for which he won Best Actor and the show won Best TV show. And deservedly so. It was a beautifully told story (initially inspired by Gone With the Wind, about halfway through it veered off into its own storyline). Namkoong Min was spellbinding in the show.
In the rom/com genre, I cannot say enough things about the second show in that graphic – Lovely Runner. It just finished its run last week and it is a time travel romantic comedy that was so incredibly enjoyable to watch. Byeon Woo Seok went from an actor who has done a few things but mainly secondary roles to becoming a MASSIVELY popular star right now. Literally six months ago he could walk through an airport and maybe have 1-2 fans ask for an autograph, but now thousands show up to watch him walk through the airport.
Those two shows are the only ones I’ve given 10/10 scores to. They are that good. Both are available to watch on the streaming app Viki but “My Dearest” can also be viewed through a Kocowa membership through Amazon Prime (only 99 cents a month for two months and then $6.99/mo after that) I am assuming that Netflix may eventually bring those shows into their arsenal considering how hugely popular they were. Apparently they had the opportunity to take “Lovely Runner” and passed on it. They have major regrets about that now, I’m sure!
There are plenty of k-dramas available for free on Amazon, Tubi, Roku Channel, and Netflix. Some are very dated despite being less than 10 years old. But the newer ones – say, 2020 to present – are really, really good. So consider dipping your toes in the water – you’ll fall in love with actors like Hyun Bin, Cha Eun Woo, Park Bo Gum, Park Seo Jun, Lee Jun Ho, Ji Chang Wook, Song Kang, Seo In Guk, Lee Dong Wook, Park Hyung Sik, Gong Yoo, and so many, many more. And you’ll find well-told stories about strong female characters making their way in the world and falling in love along the journey. Isn’t that what Hallmark offers as well? Trust me – give k-dramas a try. You won’t regret it.
