Underrated/overrated korean dramas?

[Guest HiIamNick]

So lately I've been watching korean dramas that have good ratings but I noticed half the time a drama with good ratings usually is a cliche boring romance drama. For example, I tried so hard to watch "Heirs" but my god it was sooo boring all of it was just plain fan service and same goes for "You who came from the stars". I just think its really dumb that these dramas are popular just because theres attractive people in them. Don't get me wrong, I like romance but now a days its so so bad and stupid.
While on the otherhand dramas like "2 weeks" and maybe "Inspiring generation" (just started) have low ratings but have a better story than "Heirs" or any other random fan service bull**** drama. dramas like those deserve much more. But it made me wonder.... what other drama has bad ratings but was actually very good like the ones I listed? Any reccommendations?

[Guest ineedpie]

Dramas which are criminally underrated : The End of The World, Queen's Classroom, Can We Get Married, Heartless City, La Dolce Vita (an oldie but a goodie), A Wife's credentials, all these I can recall at the top of my head. Thoughtful topics are explored, and there is creative integrity from the crew and a genuine passion to tell a story in these dramas. 
Underrated and ongoing : Miss Korea. It is a hidden gem, obscured by the flashy and easy-to-watch 'You Who Came From the stars.' It is slow and not for everybody. But the side-characters are as well-considered as the main leads, whereas 'You Who Came From the stars' is empty and hollow when the camera is not panned on the main leads. It is not a crack drama for me yet, but I appreciate that there is a decent drama like this currently. The directing is perfect, so is the acting, and the emotional payoffs are satisfying. And Lee Yeon Hee is gorgeous. I actually think the last reason is enough for me to keep watching it, ehehehe. 
Can We Love is quite engaging, too. But Jung Wan (one of the main female characters) is so dullllll as a character. And Ji Hyun's family life is hell. Her mother-in-law is cray cray. I... don't have words for her daughter. 
I'd recommend La Dolce Vita. It's been many months since I've last seen it, but I remember it being quite emotionally draining for me. I'm a sucker for good melodramas. 
EDIT: Ooppps. La Dolce Vita got quite good ratings. I went off the rail in that one. 

[Guest atomichighfive]

Not all highly rated dramas are overrated. Jewel in the Palace had super high ratings but it is actually really awesome (if you like historical dramas).

But yeah, I was so bored with Heirs

I also suggest Tamra the Island, it's different and cute.

[babytotoro]

Underrated dramas would be The Queen's Classroom, The King2Hearts and Jamyunggo for me.Due to the unusual plot that included North Korea, TK2H wasn't well receive in Korea and had low ratings. But I am not a Korean so I am not sensitive to the drama plot and I find it really addicting and nice to watch, not to mention superb acting. 
Jamyunggo was a little too long-- 50 episodes and it was aired during the same time slot as Queen Seondeok which received higher ratings, however I liked the storyline. It was interesting and intriguing and I think it deserved more attention.

[Guest raucoussmiling]

Have to second The Queen's Classroom for underrated. Also Shut Up Flower Boy Band. I never hear about it, which is unfortunate because I definitely need more Eye Candy in my life. Also the soundtrack is spot-on.

[Manyhx3]

Underrated k-drama: Road number one, although they did feature Master's Sun Jo Ji Sub, Kim Ha Neul and Yoon Kye Sang. the problem lied in that there was too little romance scenes and it all was focused on the war. I loved it, it gave me a deep impression and it's hard to forget. It was truly a great production, considering the best drama made from inspiration of the Korea war. 
Ja Myung Go - I found the first few episodes to be very dragging, didn't capture my interest right away although I waited for so long. I didn't go beyond the first few episodes. SBS did cut 50 episodes to 39 episodes, I think they just got released in the wrong time or they might have gone well

Overrated? The heirs, Dream High 1 & 2, He's beautiful. Idol drams seem to be a huge thing even in the past. 

[Guest HiIamNick]

^ I just finished watching episode one of "Road Number one" It was really good never a dull momet. But my god when I went to go see a review from dramabeans (for fun) the person trashed it. But I soon realized that site was full of fangirls who just watch for the idols LOL.

[Guest kariilove]

Some people will probably disagree, but I think Time Slip with Dr. Jin is highly underrated. It incorporates science and history in a way that catches the viewers eye. I'd say it's a must-watch.

[Buri]

Most overrated drama recently ended, and I must agree w/ you, would be "The Heir" gosh this drama.. all thanks to Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye fans cuz the drama itself was poorly written IMO. I tried to force myself to watch it every week for the side character esp WooBin (his character have it hard but he find ways around it) LMH's and PSH's characters over exaggerate their problem too much and I'm so tired of PSH roles, always the same.. she should pick a different role next drama or I never watch her dramas again!! Funny how I was in "The Heir" page and reading how the fans was like, this drama is sooo good and there's so much to learn from it regarding Love, Family, Friends, Bullies, etc.. When will realistically, we would go through what these "rich" kids goes through? Never! I never finish the drama because .. just because!
There are lots of unrated dramas out last year and yes Queen's Classroom was a gem! Those kids and the teacher, my goodness the kids act better than the actors from The Heir. And what they go through can be related to real life.. esp what the teacher tries to teach them that the real world, no one there to help you always when u fall, u have to learn to help yourself and vice-versa, the teacher also learn from the students! 
Currently airing, YWCFTS, it's not overrated because it's easy on the eyes and no overacting - the alien played his role and the self-centered actress played her role perfectly. It's so easy to follow through for me, cuz drama that ended before this was so intense and good (Shark, Secret, Scandal).. that i felt like i need something stress free and YwCFts was the that. Miss Korea, the pace of the drama is what's really killing it, love the actors but wow.. every ep drag imo. Inspiration Generation, Poong Cha died!!! why!! love his character. but after Basketball ended, I was ready to watch another drama set in those Korean-Japanese war era. Bridal Mask was still the best for me in that category. Empress Ki for the win in their time slot, love it. But I gotta say, cable channel is having some goods drama out and they have not disappointed me at all, such as Emergency Couple, Let's Eat and recently ended Reply 1994. 
Sorry I sorta went off topic. 

[Guest logbog]

Havne't watched any dramas yet. What do you think is the quientessential K-drama I should see?

[Guest kdramafanfan]

Underrated: Dr. Khang, Jejoongwon, 9 Ins 2 Outs

But I agree with @buri When in doubt go with cable.

[Guest AceFondu]

Dramas usually have high rating because of the actors/actresses.
For example.. Heirs.. or Gu Family Book

The cast is what supported this damn awful show. It is also the reason everybody loves it.. I personally watch any show for their storyline and judge it based on that, not for some cast.

I know people who just watch shows because their favorite idols star it in. They say they love it and it was great, even though it sucks...

This is how shows get overrated, Idol actors/actresses.

[Guest Narda]

Couldn't agree more with The Heirs as over-rated.Maybe if it hadn't such a weak plot, I would've willingly tuned in.
Back in the days, I also thought that Full House was over-rated.Such a stellar OTP but I thought the writing tried so hard to make me laugh.
YWCFTS -now this is a drama deserving of its hype. 
This rom-com is a few years old but it's pretty relevant.Fantasy Couple is one of those under-rated romcoms!

[happymess]

Overrated for me would include Heirs, Gu Family Book (although I enjoyed it a bit) etc. but I definitely wouldn't lump You From Another Star with them because I think it deserves the hype, if just for it's awesome female lead. It's story is original and while it's flawed, it more than makes up for it in my opinion. I think the leads aren't just "attractive", but also portray some really endearing characters and it isn't empty for me. I do agree that it's a bit flashy, but I don't mind that as long as I'm invested in the story and characters. As someone who didn't enjoy Heirs at all, You From Another Star has been quite enjoyable for me because finally it's at least a drama I enjoy that's getting good ratings.
That said, I do agree that it's not the drama I look forward to the most each week so I do understand where you're coming from. 
In fact, the drama I look forward to the most is Let's Eat! I'm not sure how underrated this is, but it's certainly my favorite airing right now. I agree that Miss Korea is also very underrated. Also Ghost-Seeing Detective Cheo-Yong is a nice change from the typical rom-com if thats what you're after (it's hard to find, but there's a thread for it here that will help you find eps). I know ghosts are getting a little old, but the tone of this drama is different from the others.
As for underrated dramas of the past: Evasive Enquiry Agency (if you haven't seen this yet, watch it RIGHT NOW), Arang and the Magistrate, Two Weeks, Flowers For My Life, Bad Family, Tamra the Island, What's Up, Que Sera Sera, Me Too Flower, Someday, Goodbye Solo, White Christmas, Conspiracy in the Court, Soulmate, The Return of Iljimae, School 2013, Mandate of Heaven, Nine, Sang Do Let's Go to School, Biscuit Teacher Star Candy, Story of a Man, Hon, Joseon X-Files, History of a Salaryman, A Wife's Credential, the list goes on and on. 
This actually just proves that a lot of amazing dramas are inevitably gonna be underrated each year. Sometimes I get upset over this, but other times I just think about how lucky it is that I discovered them and I take an odd pleasure in the fact that others are simply missing out.  Sometimes its amazing to think that I would rather watch any of those dramas a thousand times over before I'd try watching Heirs again.     

[kypchak]

How can nonKoreans really know what is over and waht is underrated? I assume the primary Kdrama home is still Korea.

[Buri]

kypchak said: How can nonKoreans really know what is over and waht is underrated? I assume the primary Kdrama home is still Korea.

[Guest AceFondu]

kypchak said: How can nonKoreans really know what is over and waht is underrated? I assume the primary Kdrama home is still Korea.

[kypchak]

Yeah, but we don't get as wide and universal picture about something being popular i assume. If we do from where can we find out?

[kypchak]

Buri said: kypchak said: How can nonKoreans really know what is over and waht is underrated? I assume the primary Kdrama home is still Korea.

[Guest AceFondu]

kypchak said: Yeah, but we don't get as wide and universal picture about something being popular i assume. If we do from where can we find out?