Soompi Forums Awards: Best K-Dramas (2023) - Poll #1

[partyon]

Soompi Forums Awards: The Best K-Dramas of 2023 - Poll #1

 

 

For the 4th consecutive year, we're hosting our annual Soompi Forums Awards as soon as the new year has started!

 

Many people complained that 2023 was a really bad kdrama year, but maybe you can still tell us:

 

Which k-dramas you enjoyed the most in 2023?

 

In 2023 there were a total of 131 dramas. (Quantity over quality?)

 

Once again, due to technical limitation on this forum, we can only include 57 dramas in a poll. Unfortunately we have had to leave out dramas with the lowest ratings and/or shortest threads on Soompi. So we apologize if your favorite drama isn't included.

This poll includes both prime time dramas that aired on Korean TV networks, as well as, the most popular streaming dramas.

 

Daily & weekend dramas, c-dramas and the best of the rest dramas will be included in Poll#2 which is launching later this week.

 

Remember, only dramas that ENDED in 2023 are included in the poll.

 

The poll will be open until 18th of January.

 

cr.to owner

Happy voting, and as always, feel free to leave a comment in this thread.

Thank you to the talented @gm4queenfor the event banner.

 

Your Event Organizers,

@partyon @Sleepy Owl @agenth @confusedheart

 

tagging:

Spoiler

 

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[partyon]

The Event Organizers' Favorite 2023 Dramas

 

The Worst Of Evil  @partyon

Aside from Mask Girl, Doctor Cha, D.P. 2 and Love To Hate You, 2023 was not a stellar year for me kdrama wise. I finished only 12 kdramas (of which someone were on super Fast Forward), but dropped more than 20... Yikes.

 

The Worst of Evil was a drama I had low expectations of, despite the fact that it stars my Ji Chang Wook oppa and Wi Ha Joon oppa. I knew it was going to be violent - how couldn't it be when a police officer decides to go undercover and to attempt to become a Gangnam drug lord's right hand, in order to take it down? Slowly our police officer (played by JCW) starts losing grip of what is good and what is bad, as he builds up trust with said drug lord (played by WHJ).

 

This 12 episode drama didn't have a single boring scene, as it kept me on my toes throughout all its twists and turns. The acting in this drama was stellar, especially by Ji Chang Wook, who gave one of his best performances to date. And for once, the ending wasn't a typical kdrama one that didn't make any sense... In fact, the ending circled back to the original question: what is the worst of evil?

 

The Good Bad Mother @agenth

Are you shocked my favourite 2023 drama isn't The Worst of Evil (or the not yet completed Welcome To Samdal-ri)? Well, 2023 wasn't a year full of epic dramas to be honest. I haven't seen many that impressed me (and I did watch oppa's drama as well as The Glory, Doctor Cha and so on).... 

 

When I look back at the completed drama list The Good Bad Mother stands out. It's a story that is sort of relatable to me, and it is a show full of emotions, character development, and great acting. Don't ask me what the ending of The Good Bad Mother was, but I know I finished it, and watching the trailer clip resonates with me again. Here you can see the classical kdrama "cold guy" ML-character be thrown back to his childhood years as an adult due to an incident. Sometimes we wish we can redo some of our past, right? Well, ML can do it, and he gets a second chance with a FL who is not TSTL at all! She's been hurt, but she moved on, and is strong. If only all our romance-FLs would learn from her...

 

And of course the mother is a FL as well: the struggles of a single mum shown as it is, without excuses. Her methods may be cruel, but she just wants better for her son. 

 

Who doesn't want that? 

If you feel like watching something that has a unique touch in today's kdramaland, try out The Good Bad Mother! 

 

Revenant @Sleepy Owl

While just like @partyon Noona I did enjoy Mask Girl, D.P.2, Love to Hate You, Worst of Evil and also Romantic Doctor 3, I got to say, my most favorite would be Revenant this year. 

 

After watching Guest, which is one best the Horror kdramas out there, I had been waiting for another great horror drama. Despite Revenant having a top class cast list, and interesting plot, I started this drama pretty late, late enough for it to become binge-watchable. 

 

This drama while not being so scary, had good enough mysteries going around, and also we had some interesting twists happening. The whole idea of FL sort of fighting against the spirit who had possessed her also kinda seemed fresh to me, and its execution was very well directed.

 

Shamanism and the stories around it are always one of the most interesting, fresh (for non-Korean viewers) and sometimes also scary. Coupling Shamanism along with the old folktales surrounding ghosts made this drama's plot sort of unique, and how they connected those stories to the actual plot was done in a very neatly well written manner. 

 

The acting was top class given the cast list this drama had. I really loved and enjoyed seeing Oh Jung Se doing a lead role after such a long time, and Kim Tae Ri did an amazing portraying two characters and switching between them.

 

Love to Hate You @confusedheart

That trailer made you laugh, right? Right? Right?

 

I actually had to sit down, not literally of course, with chingu @partyon to recall the dramas I watched in 2023. TBH, I hardly watched any. Nothing seemed interesting enough. Give me Romance or Rom-Com or a good Revenge. But Drama Gods were ruthless and it was rather a dull year.

 

Anyhoo, my favourite has to Love to Hate You. This was the first drama of the year that I actually watched after chingu @partyon coaxed me into watching it and I don't regret it. The acting and comic-timing was absolutely perfectttt!  It was a light rom-com just what one needs after a long day at work. My favourite romance trope was used. A jerk of a famous actor, who you guessed it right, hates women and we have *drum roll* a fiesty lawyer who never leaves an opportunity to kick his behind. And then there was my second favourite trope- fake dating!  Yesssssssss..... it was just perfect. 

 

Mask Girl deserves a special mention too. I binge watched it. I was so obsessed. It is quite gripping and addictive. A good thriller. Highly recommended.  Celebral kind. For light fluffy romance, see above. 

 

Sorry for babbling!

 

Your turn! What was your favorite drama this year?
(Feel free to include the trailer to the drama in your post).

[WeunXK]

Mostly 2023 K-dramas, C-dramas and Thai lakorns that I started to watched in the begining but never finished or I FF the episodes.

 

 

I only managed to finished PMR and Worst of Evil

 

cto

[LeftCoastOppa]

In the "None of the above / Something else " category for all 3 above, I'd add a drama that was Mystery/Supernatural/RomCom ... 

 

Delivery Man -

 

 

 

A somewhat predictable drama, that remained light & fun, at only 12 episodes was an easy watch - Plus, it was one of the few drama's in 2023 that I never thought about dropping

 

[frozentundra]

To me it was a good drama year! Maybe I just watched different dramas or something? My top three for the year :

 

Alchemy of Souls, part 2. I LOVED part 1. I still feel a lingering sadness at losing some part of Naksu after part 1. I don't think they entirely, absolutely, sealed up all the missing parts of that character by the end of part 2, but the second part still became something I loved for itself. Both parts are a rewatch for me!

 

 

 

 

I also really loved Castaway Diva. But wow...watching this trailer after seeing the actual drama makes some of the mixed reactions understandable. From the trailer, you'd expect a fish out of water story and a focus on breaking into the music industry and becoming a diva or something. Maybe a little danger on the side, just to make it interesting. But the drama itself? It's actually about some kids trying to escape the burden of domestic abuse, and in a larger sense, about the theme of, how to get through really difficult moments in life and come out of them okay. So, big on problems with violent, abusive adults, with a little music and fish out of water-ness on the side. I was moved by the story of people who hung in there, supported each other, and were able to finally get free of their problems and move on. 

 

 

 

My third one was Twinkling Watermelon. Again, the trailer sounds like a really shallow, forgettable drama with a lot of exclamation marks. There's literally no hint of the warmth and difficulty of being the only hearing member in an otherwise deaf family. I almost didn't watch this because of the promo material. I'm glad I did, I would have missed out on a really fantastic drama!

 

 

 

[MayanEcho]

Thanks for tagging as always! 

 

I've only watched mainly Chinese and Japanese dramas and movies in 2023.  I noticed that all dramas I've seen last year were no more than 25eps, which can be binge-watched within 3 days. 

 

 

This year I hope I'll be able to include K dramas and movies. 

[frozentundra]

1 hour ago, MayanEcho said:

Thanks for tagging as always! 

 

I've only watched mainly Chinese and Japanese dramas and movies in 2023.  I noticed that all dramas I've seen last year were no more than 25eps, which can be binge-watched within 3 days. 

 

I'm waiting for poll #2, because yes, that one

 

[gm4queen]

guys!

 

Thank you so much @partyon unnie for tagging me as always. Out of all the dramas listed in the poll, I've only watched 2 last year, Mask Girl and Divorced Attorney Shin. I guess it's because I was too busy in real life that I didn't have much time to watch K-dramas. But hopefully, I am planning to watch more K-dramas this year! Not in to non K-dramas... They are all makjang in my eyes... Ha ha ha!

 

Have fun, everyone!

 

[Ameera Ali]

I see no daily kdrama made it into the list 

 

 

[lebeaucouple]

Happy New Year 2024 to everyone here in this forum. @partyonThanks for the tag 

 

My favourite thrillers / mysteries drama for 2023

• A Bloody Lucky Day
• The Kidnapping Day
• Decoy Part 1 and 2
• The Deal - by Yoo Seung-Ho (you have missed out in the list) - see below pic

My favourite historical fantasy drama for 2023

• Arthdal Chronicles S2

My favourite webtoon drama for 2023 and anticipating for S2

• Moving

My favourite comedy and entertaining drama for 2023

• Taxi Driver 2
• Behind Your Touch
• Strong Girl Namsoon

My favourite romance drama (I just realised that I did not watch a lot romance drama in 2023)

• Love to Hate You
• Perfect Marriage Revenge

Hook you on - Ongoing drama - not yet finished airing at the time of writing

• Death game (very interesting)
• Gyeongseong Creature (very exciting)

The most disappointing drama for 2023

• The Uncanny Counter 2
• Sweet Home 2

[partyon]

13 hours ago, kingpin said:

I only managed to finished PMR and Worst of Evil

 

It's not bad though, I dropped more than 20 dramas last year. Maybe 2024 will bring us better dramas?

 

13 hours ago, LeftCoastOppa said:

A somewhat predictable drama, that remained light & fun, at only 12 episodes was an easy watch - Plus, it was one of the few drama's in 2023 that I never thought about dropping

 

Thanks for the recommendation - hadn't even heard of this drama before!

 

11 hours ago, frozentundra said:

My third one was Twinkling Watermelon. Again, the trailer sounds like a really shallow, forgettable drama with a lot of exclamation marks. There's literally no hint of the warmth and difficulty of being the only hearing member in an otherwise deaf family. I almost didn't watch this because of the promo material. I'm glad I did, I would have missed out on a really fantastic drama!

 

Haven't watched it, but I hear the drama became an unexpected hit! It's so nice when one finds hidden gems like this.

 

11 hours ago, MayanEcho said:

I've only watched mainly Chinese and Japanese dramas and movies in 2023.

 

Please come back to the forum tomorrow, as I will launch Poll #2 containing the best c-dramas of 2023.

 

7 hours ago, gm4queen said:

Out of all the dramas listed in the poll, I've only watched 2 last year, Mask Girl and Divorced Attorney Shin.

 

Is it because your Daniel oppa only appeared in Mask Girl in 2023?

 

4 hours ago, Ameera Ali said:

I see no daily kdrama made it into the list 

 

YA! Read the first post in this thread.

 

"Daily & weekend dramas, c-dramas and the best of the rest dramas will be included in Poll#2 which is launching later this week."

 

@lebeaucouple Am planning on starting The Kidnapping Day this week. I hear it was very good?

Also, are you planning on watching Death's Game part 2 tomorrow? Am so excited as I loved the first part!

Seo In Guk oppa is so cool in it!

 

I watched a couple of romcoms, but my favorites in 2023 were definitely the thrillers.

 

PS. @kokodus Why haven't you watched Death's Game yet?

[frozentundra]

7 hours ago, gm4queen said:

They are all makjang in my eyes... Ha ha ha!

I absolutely can. not. STAND makjang! I have seen tons of praise for a particular makjang drama from this year, and while I can agree that there are no slow parts and it does exactly what it sets out to do (and the ML is definitely a green flag)--it's still makjang. I watched it because it was short and it would be my ONE makjang, and I could say I'd experienced the genre. But soap operas...daily dramas...overacting and overwriting just make my eyes bleed. (I thought that Kdramas were soaps, based on you know, the word "drama," and it took ten years for my sister to convince me that it wasn't so, and to watch one. She was right, of course. Kdramas are just novel-length stories on screen, as opposed to short-story-length movies, and they can be any genre. But it turns out, makjang is one of those genres!) 

[partyon]

2 minutes ago, frozentundra said:

I absolutely can. not. STAND makjang! I have seen tons of praise for a particular makjang drama from this year, and while I can agree that there are no slow parts and it does exactly what it sets out to do (and the ML is definitely a green flag)--it's still makjang. I watched it because it was short and it would be my ONE makjang, and I could say I'd experienced the genre.

 

Let me guess: you watched Perfect Marriage Revenge?

3 minutes ago, frozentundra said:

But soap operas...daily dramas...overacting and overwriting just make my eyes bleed.

 

I would advise you to stay away from Thai lakorns, chingu.

[lebeaucouple]

5 minutes ago, partyon said:

 

@lebeaucouple Am planning on starting The Kidnapping Day this week. I hear it was very good?

Also, are you planning on watching Death's Game part 2 tomorrow?

I watched a couple of romcoms, but my favorites in 2023 were definitely the thrillers.

 

Yes. same here. I love to watch thrillers more.

Kidnapping Day (total 12 EP) and The deal - total 8 EP (see above pic that I sent earlier) worth watching.

 

Yes I will watch "Death Game" and "Gyeongseong Creature" tomorrow for sure. I like they release all in one shot so that we can binge watch all of them.

 

 

[partyon]

20 minutes ago, lebeaucouple said:

The most disappointing drama for 2023

 

Make sure to come back for Poll #3 which is launching this weekend... hehe

 

2 minutes ago, lebeaucouple said:

Yes. same here. I love to watch thrillers more.

 

Did you not watch The Worst Of Evil? That was my #1 drama in 2023. Just all around greatness!

Please watch it if you love thrillers!

 

3 minutes ago, lebeaucouple said:

Yes I will watch "Death Game" and "Gyeongseong Creature" tomorrow for sure. I like they release all in one shot so that we can binge watch all of them.

 

We EOs have been lately setting up watch parties on Viki so we can watch dramas together and chat while watching. Unfortunately Death's Game is not on Viki.

 

If anyone wants to join the EOs for a joint watch of new episodes of the currently ongoing My Happy Ending, let us know (e.g. by PMing us). It's a very interesting psychological thriller (first 2 episodes aired last weekend). We EOs will be watching ep 3 on Saturday night.

 

 

[frozentundra]

46 minutes ago, partyon said:

 

Let me guess: you watched Perfect Marriage Revenge?

 

46 minutes ago, partyon said:

I would advise you to stay away from Thai lakorns, chingu.

100% keeping my distance!

[gm4queen]

1 hour ago, partyon said:

Is it because your Daniel oppa only appeared in Mask Girl in 2023?

 

Excuse me, unnie... My Daniel oppa didn't appear in Divorce Attorney Shin last year. So you can't do this to me. Ha ha ha....

 

[kokodus]

2 hours ago, partyon said:

 

PS. @kokodus Why haven't you watched Death's Game yet?

I did watch the first few minutes. Then soon realized it's way too dark for my liking. I dont know. 

 

About the poll, I have not watched even a single drama in this list. I 'watched' worst of evil through you and @Ameera Ali's commentary, if that counts. LOL. 

 

I went to my mdl to check whether I have completed any drama at all last year....and I got this....

1) Hospital playlist season 2 which got released in 2021.

2)One Cdrama called Hidden love from 2023

3)One Taiwanese drama that we all watched together - Someday or one day. 

 

So yeah that is it. If you remember any other drama that I discussed in our thread but forgot to add in my mdl, please let me know. 

[Ameera Ali]

12 minutes ago, kokodus said:

 

I 'watched' worst of evil through you and @Ameera Ali's commentary, if that counts. LOL. 
 

 

Then you watch it , I did thoroughly job 

 

 

[kokodus]

21 minutes ago, Ameera Ali said:

 

Then you watch it , I did thoroughly job 

 

Yeah I know. Thank you. I watched 95% of the drama through your gifs.