r/KDRAMA Challange 2024

#1 - A drama that shares a filming location with The Heirs 

03/06/2024 My first time participating in the weekly binge! It was a lot of fun to watch and participate with everyone, it was also fun to watch this for the first time. Was a little worried there, but it all came out in the end, was a fun watch and not one I would have picked up on my own to be honest.

#2 wheel of trope: character getting a driver after drinking.

04/25/2024 I have so many feelings about this, BIG FEELINGS. This is an outstanding series, highly recommend it to everyone!

#3 - A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Common Scenes (riding subway)

01/11/2024 It was ok, but not great. The actors were solid, but the writing let them down, in this instance a longer run would have helped fill out the plot more. Has it's moments though, some great cinematography, and a hallucinatory quality to it. People getting far too salty over the sex scene though, although it did sort of feel like pandering to the audience, probably could have cut it and gotten the same effect.

#4 - A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: PPL - Health Supplements 

03/25/2024 I liked that series a lot, and was a fan of the ending. I was in the minority I think, totally fine without the romance. I am stoked about a second season

#5 - Korean culture highlights - character wears a hanbok (funeral) 

07/09/2024 Loved the acting and the cinematography of it, just outstanding. The plotline was somewhat predictable, nothing that had me going 'oh snap' but a solid watch.

#6 - A drama chosen by the wheel of chance: Number of People in Drama Poster (4)

02/01/2024 Strong start to 2024 KBL's, Black Mirror meets BL, love an original plot and a great soundtrack. Longer episodes and high production value. Going to be a high bar to start the year for sure.  

#7 - started airing in birth month (May)

06/05/2024 Hit every trope in the genre, and none of it was new. A lot of those scences where for sure homage to other genre films Clockwork Orange, Twin Peaks, etc. it did shy away from going in real dark. It sort of skirted it without going all in, could have gone all the way.

#8 - A drama with a title that includes a character's name

 07/14/2024 How did I end up here? Well, I'm trying to watch every kdrama with a horror tag...and this was not a horror.... a high school ghost thing, and there is a second season I may watch we'll see. 

#9 - A drama with a character who is an artist (tailor)

02/27/2024 That was a ride, the male leads where all in, but the FL was pretty green. It didn't help she didn't have much to work with honestly, I do feel sort of bad for her. I stuck with it though.

#10 - A drama in which a game is played (poker) 

04/27/2024 I picked this up for Zuho, but I low-key fell for the FL and want to see more of her as a lead in a full series. It's also nice to see a girl who knows what she wants but isn't irritating about it. Fun little watch. 

#11 - A drama where a character wears a sports team uniform or jersey and/or watches a sports game

05/29/2024 I was very, very close to dropping. I got bogged down in episode 12, the story lost momentum for me. The time travel also sort of went sideways there was a lot of back and forth. I did really like Geon Hee, and his character, but I did speed-run the last 4 episodes.

#12 - A drama that revolves around a group of friends and features their friendship as a key part of the drama

01/30/2024 Part of my rabbit hole for school bully/fighting didn't find until I fell into it after reading Dokgo universe. Would love to see the full run.

#13 - A drama with an OST by a K-pop group member (OST by a K-pop group member — "Butterfly" - Sandeul (B1A4)

04/02/2024 It had such a strong start but it really fell off hard, I did not like that ending at all, watching it at 2x speed.

#14 - A drama featuring an actor or actress who debuted before 2000 (Yoo Seung Ho)

01/18/2024 I liked the style, washed out, hyper colour and you can't argue with Seung Ho's acting always on point. I think they could have done more, but it was missing somthing and I'm not sure what exactly.

#15 -  A drama with childhood flashback scenes

04/07/2024 Solid little watch, acting was good, action, and production value. I liked the anime and the Japanese films, I think was a solid little installment in the universe. The cameo was a ton of fun at the end as well.

#16 - A drama with a character that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community

04/02/2024 Ok so this one is a bit unusual, it's a vertical short drama (64 1-minute episodes) it's on TopReels, and it was a pain to watch, BUT it had no reason to be as good as it was. I will add it here to give some love to some of the other formats that aren't always showcased.

#17 - A drama title that is not a direct translation of the Korean title ('Sexy Photo Studio')

05/06/2024 Surprisingly good watch, I very much enjoyed it. Hope more people give it a go, as far as the seeing ghosts trope goes, this was one of the better ones I've watched. Happy ending as well.

#18 - characters celebrate a special day (birthday)

06/03/2024 The ending was rocky it needed a few more episodes I think to get where it needed to be. It was alright for what it was supposed to be.

#19 - A drama in which characters take a trip

03/21/2024 I thought the ending could have gone harder, it was sort of meh, and the open end was a tad predictable. It was a fun ride though, and I'm crushing hard on Ryu Da In.

#20 - A drama chosen at random from your plan to watch list

03/05/2024 Woke and chose violence for this one, specifically picked from titles I know end badly but have been sitting on my to watch because of that. It was a solid series, engaging for sure, those last two episodes went 0 to 100 real quick. I can see how that ending destroyed people though, I didn't mind it.

#21 - urban/rural location 

01/21/2024 The only thing missing was the cannibalism, it was a solid little watch though was a fun twist, not one that we normally get in a kdrama so that was a nice little surprise.

#22 - character who is a chaebol

06/09/2024 There wasn't a single likable character in that series. The FL was so stiff I thought she'd snap. Both the ML's were idiots and deserved better than the FL tbh she was selfish as shit. OST was solid though only part I liked.

#23 - A drama with a character who works for the government (military)

07/12//2024 Was cute! It has some problems to be sure, but overall, I liked it even if it was a noona romance.

#24 - A drama with a meal scene featuring 3 or more banchan (side dishes) on the table

06/29/2024 This was a lot of fun, off-the-wall, and light-fluffy romance that somtimes you just need.

#25 - A drama where a character wears a long wool coat

05/08/2024 This was a solid sci-fi/action series, really liked it. Didn't mind the ending tbh, on-brand with the genre and the series. Could leave it, or could go another season, I will watch for sure.

#26 - A drama found by searching existing recommendations

01/23/2024 Found this from a Weak Hero rec via MDL, and it did not disappoint. Liked it so much went and read the manwha as well, solid little action/bullying story. And complete so that's always nice, would love to see them carry on with the plot.

#27 - A drama with a main character that is over 40

03/30/2024 This was absolutely wild, super funny. Not sure how'd you ever explain it to someone, but it was a fun ride.

#28 - Drama with a multigenerational cast

07/09/2024 Liked this far more then I thought I would! That was a super satisfying ending as well. Solid pacing, loved the FL and MIL relationship, the plot wasn't too over the top. It was great production would recommend it to anyone.

#29 - Sageuk genre

06/16/2024 Not at all what I thought it was going to be like when the series started, but an enjoyable watch and it had a solidly happy ending. Fairly unique for a sageuk.

#30 - A drama with an episode which received more than 10% overall viewership ratings from Nielsen

05/19//2024 Loved it, It had great action, it moved well, and the storyline was interesting. I for one was pleased that the romance was not a major plot point, it was very sweet and supportive. That ending, while it made me ugly cry, was absolutely perfect.

#31 - A drama that has been reviewed in one of our past Spotlight On posts.

05/20/2024 On the April 2024 Post - -Thriller/Suspense I have no idea why it took me so long to watch this series, it was a solid little action romp. Lee Dong Wook is fire as always, he needs to do less rom-com and more action.

#32 - A single-episode drama

01/09/2023 This was really well done, I love a timey whimy plotline and it was really well done.

#33 - A mid-long form drama (5 seasons)

07/28/2024 Watched all 5 seasons of this series (62 episodes total) and I would 100% watch another one. It was a nostalgia trip and a fun ride. I liked the development of the relationship between the ML and FL throughout the seasons. The crime/mystery was fun, somewhere quite dark, but it was an interesting watch. There were times where they asked a lot, and the series ending left a lot to be desired. If I had to rank them; 1, 5, 3, 4, 2.  

#34 - A drama with less than 500 watchers on MDL

01/11/2023 401 watches when I finished it, found it via BL actors it was meh, even the romance was a little bland not much chemistry between the leads.

#35 - A drama that is at least 10 years old

02/25/2024 Been on my list a while as it's got a horror tag, and Taceyon. The cast was solid, but the writing was rough. Way too many flashbacks, and Taceyon got the short end of the stick in this.

#36 - featuring a Truck of Doom 

06/20/2024 For what it was, it was a solid watch, for not having BL it was a heavy bromance. Could have used a few more episodes to really flesh out the characters but not bad.